2012 Delahaye USA Bella Figura Type 57S

After three years of hard-working on this one of a kind project, the American specialists at Delahaye USA considers the Bella Figura prototype is a carbon fiber tribute to Jean Bugatti and the Type 57S, much more than just a replica.

The Bella Figura Coupe by Delahaye is 194 inches long and 76 inches wide, with a 127 inches wheelbase and a floor to ceiling “distance” of 44 inches, pressing on the road with its total weight of 3.000 pounds.

The Bella Figura Type 57S is available in both left-hand-drive and right-hand-drive in turnkey complete, turnkey minus (that is, no engine and transmission), roller body (body, chassis and wheels only) and self-assembly kits both in the U.S. and the UK.

Performance wise, the first prototype car has an all aluminum 5 litre M70 BMW V-12, while the first production car, set to enter the manufacturing process in November - will have a new supercharged 556 HP 6.2 litre LSA Cadillac engine. The top of the line is a RENNTECH (Lake Park, FL) twin turbocharged Mercedes V-12 engine, but an inline Jaguar six is also possible.

24-karat Gold Ferrari 250 GTO Sculpture

Swiss artist Dante will unveil his 24-Karat Ferrari 250 GTO sculpture at next month’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2011 in California.

Based artist Dante Rubli is a veteran sculptor who has wowed the world with awe-inspiring pieces. His sculptures include scale models of iconic sports cars which are crafted in luxury finishes, like gold, white gold, and silver.

The sculpture will be displayed alongside a tribute to the Ferrari 250 GTO featuring several rare units of the model.




Press Release

Swiss Artist Dante to Bring Iconic Sports Car Series of Sculptures to United States

"24-Karat Ferrari 250 GTO to be Unveiled during World Famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Weekend"

BERN, Switzerland, July 25, 2011 - Award winning artist Dante has announced that the United States debut of his newest sculpture will take place next month in Pebble Beach, California. "I am delighted to have the chance to come to Pebble Beach to experience the finest Concours event in the world and exhibit my sculptures," said the artist. The highly anticipated third piece in Dante's Iconic Sports Car series will be unveiled during the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance weekend which gathers significant collectors and the finest examples of automobiles from around the globe.

"The iconic car sculptures are my tribute to the men who made the original cars: they were artists," said Dante. As a Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance sponsor, a Design by Dante tent will be in position Thursday, August 18 through Sunday, August 21 on Peter Haye Hill adjacent to the Concours site in RetroAuto Plaza, amidst fellow Concours sponsors such as The Wall Street Journal, Porsche and Infinity to name a few. Dante will personally be on hand to meet with media and special guests.

Dante will reveal his newest sculpture, a Ferrari 250 GTO, coinciding with a special display of rare Ferrari 250 GTO cars which the Concours has assembled from all over the world. "One of the most important reasons for my coming to Pebble Beach is the celebration of the Ferrari 250 GTO and the number of original cars being shown. It is my favorite car of all time," said Dante.

About Dante

Dante Rubli is an artist based in Bern, Switzerland. He has been producing works of art for twenty-five years. Working with a variety of textiles ranging from wood and steel to gold and platinum, Dante has created custom furniture, sculptures and even automobiles for celebrities and collectors the world over. The Iconic Sports Car series delivers his most recent works in three scales, each of which can be supplied in traditional gold, white gold, silver and a selection of other luxury finishes. Each design in the series is limited to ten exceptional pieces. To date, the series includes the Aston-Martin DB5, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and Ferrari 250 GTO. More

Jaguar Celebrates E-Type's

At the 1961 Geneva Auto Show, Jaguar stunned the automotive world with a timeless design that is still regarded as one of the finest in history. That car was none other than the E-Type. The company said it will mark the E-Type's 50th birthday at this year's Geneva Motor Show and at other events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Goodwood's Revival and Goodwood's Festival of Speed, without going into any more details.

“Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type,” says Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director Jaguar Cars. “It was a sensation when it was launched, and remains Jaguar's most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguar's founder, Sir William Lyons.”

After all, what other car is a permanent exhibit in New York's Museum of Modern Art? Even the proud Enzo Ferrari said about the E-Type that it was “the most beautiful car in the world.” If one was asked to portray the sixties in the form of a car, the E-Type would be the obvious choice.

It was an even more impressive car considering the E-Type's performance managed to match its looks. Its straight-six 3.8-liter engine produced 265 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, so the car was capable of doing 150 mph, earning it the title of the fastest production car of its time.

On top of that, it only cost a fraction of the price of rivals with similar performance (in today's money $60,000). It remained on the market for 14 years, selling more than 70,000 units.

VIDEO: Ford Model T’s Assembly Process Still Looks Amazing Even Today

Few cars have revolutionized the automotive industry like the Ford Model T did. Besides being the first affordable vehicle, the “Tin Lizzie” is also known for its devilishly efficient mass assembly process, enabling Ford to build 15 million units in 19 years. Granted, it had a fairly simple design, but the rate at which workers were able to build one is amazing even today. The video we found shows how the front axle is built and attached to the frame. Hit the jump to watch the clip.

Black Lightning: A Russian Delivery Boy Fights Capitalism in a…Flying Volga

You may not know the name Timur Bekmambetov, but you would surely have seen Wanted: that over-the-top movie with Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and that guy from Atonement. That was him.

He also made two really cool Russian language urban sci-fi / horror movies called Night Watch and Day Watch, the first of which made more money in its homeland than the first three Lord of the Rings movies put together. So when Mr. B releases a new movie, I’m there. His latest effort is Black Lightning, which is a superhero origin story. Spoilers ahead...

Dima is a university student with a problem. He has a massive crush on the new girl, Nastya, but no money and no car. His well-meaning Dad gives Dima his old Volga and encourages him to get a job. The job Dima eventually finds its delivering fresh flowers for an over-demanding boss.

Sounds pretty ordinary so far, huh? Well, get this: the Volga is a Soviet Era flying car, powered by a very unique power source that the big bad needs to power his top secret mining laser (yes, the villain in this movie is a capitalist!). The bad finds out about Dima’s Volga and his henchmen end up murdering the boy’s father. Dima responds by becoming a sort of superhero and national icon, using his flying car to save lives and fight crime.

Meanwhile, the bad guys are closing in and soon Dima is forced to fight for his life – and the lives of all of Moscow. Black Lightning is the sort of superhero movie Hollywood hardly makes any more. It’s silly, but not too silly and has the right mix of gravitas and humour to keep you humming on.

It’s not high art, but it’s well made, and the acting and special effects are what we’ve come to expect from Bekmambetov over the years. The cast is great, especially Viktor Verzhbitskiy as the villain. He’s worked with this director before, and always manages to have that slimy menace that Lex Luthor-esque movie villains so richly deserve.

The film should be readily available to rent and buy, albeit only with subtitles, and you can check out the (subbed) trailer below.

It Came From eBay Hell: The Geo Storm Pickup You Never Knew You Wanted

Few names in automotive history make the average car enthusiast’s skin crawl like, “Geo”. Geo was General Motors response to the growing number of Japanese and South Korean imports that had invaded the U.S. market. Essentially taking the most boring and insipid models from Suzuki, Toyota and Isuzu and building them stateside, Geo embodied the whole, “Who Gives A...” attitude that has made GM so reviled by some.

The Geo Storm was essentially an Isuzu Impulse stripped off all the things that would have made the latter an appealing proposition to the enthusiast: Lotus tuned suspension, turbocharger and AWD. What was left was essentially a four-cylinder sedan with two less doors and a vaguely sporty body. Still, it was a big seller for Geo and GM, no doubt leaving the corpse of Colin Chapman rolling in his grave.

And so it was, from the depths of eBay Hell, a “1 of a kind” Geo Storm pickup truck. Behold the myriad of features such as a sliding rear window with “WWII Bomber Girl mural”, gullwing T-Tops and custom 17-inch rims. A fourth generation Camaro-style front end, red white and blue “Patriotic paint theme”, a Chevy Chevelle SS hood cowling and a shaved tail gate handle complete the exterior package.

The car retrains Isuzu’s 12-valve engine and 5spd manual transmission, the former of which has recently had a comprehensive tune-up. It’s hard to poke too much fun at the seller: a civilian combat veteran hit by some family health problems. All told it’s a good conversion and the price – US$13,000 – could be a lot worse. Check out the pics (and video) and leave your voice your opinion below.

Source: eBay