This year marked RM’s “Lucky Thirteenth” Arizona auction, held January 19-20, 2012 at the posh Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. Growing from $6.3 million in 2000 to consistent totals in medium eight figures, RM’s $25,660,400 sale in 2012 marked the Arizona auction’s fifth year with greater than $20 million in sales.

RM got shuffled around some this year, moving into a ballroom in the main Biltmore hotel from the convention center which was booked to an oil company’s North and South American sales meeting. The new room was inconvenient for bringing cars onto the block, and cramped for bidders and onlookers. A return to the Convention Center next year would be a positive development.

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The bigger, the better – that could be the most appropriate motto for the 2012 Retromobile Salon, which opened its doors for the 37th consecutive year February 1-5, in Paris. Although the main location, the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center remained the same as in the past years, Europe’s biggest classic car exhibition and fair moved to larger halls, the nearly 410 stands with more than 400 vehicles on display occupying 33,000 square meters (355,000 square feet), 6,000 square meters more than in 2011.

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Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance Creative Director, Jeremy Jackson Sytner at Thorough Events, commented, “The Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance is a significant new event celebrating the style and glamour of historical automobiles, the like of which this country has never seen. The event will also be a fitting testimonial to the craftsmanship of the UK classic car restoration industry of which the UK is a leading player.”

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The Drendel Family Collection consists of both road and race cars spanning 25 years of Porsche history from 1973 – 1997, with 10 of the 18 lots being offered without reserve. In addition, Gooding Amelia Island 2012 sale marks the first time many of these historically-important racing stars will have ever been presented at auction.

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The answer – emphatically – was the McRae GM1 of Steve Ross, the 2011/12 series points leader finally breaking the young British driver’s nine-race winning streak with lights-to-flag victories in both races on Sunday, February 5th, 2012.

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By Louis Galanos | Photos by Louis Galanos and as noted

Well over a year ago the Daytona International Speedway (DIS) embarked on a task that even the great Hercules might have shied away from. That is to search the world over for every car that ever won, what we now call the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and transport them to Daytona Beach, Florida for a 50th anniversary reunion and heritage display.

Tim Pendergast of Jacksonville, Florida was hired by the Speedway to track down these historic automobiles and get permission from the current owners to showcase them in the temporary building the Speedway was constructing on the grounds in front of the Speedway.

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Artcurial assembled a strong collection of approximately 100 automobiles for their 2012 Retromobile auction, with a drive-through sale that lasted more than five hours in front of a crowd of around 1,000 people.

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Bonhams offered over 100 cars and 35 motorcycles, including three private collections, with top sale going to the 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Coupe that sold for €1,012,000.

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Report and photos by Len Clarke

For auto enthusiasts in Tokyo and its surrounding areas, the end of January means the New Year Meeting, an annual event that brings together an almost unimaginable array of cars and assorted vehicles, both domestic and foreign, for a day of auto-sensory overload. It’s a car lover’s dream.

Organized by the JCCA, the Japan Classic Car Association, this event attracts huge numbers of cars, car clubs and fans. The venue is located in the city’s waterfront district (Odaiba), so there’s no shortage of space – and the promoters have made the most of it.

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The Phil Hill Award has been presented annually since 1993 to the person who the RRDC feels has rendered outstanding service to road racing. The recipient may be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body.

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Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale event was so different from years ago it’s difficult to put it in perspective.

B-J was once a collector car auction with a big party.

Today it’s a bigger party, built around a collector car and affluent lifestyle trade show, custom/collector car auction and multi-day automobilia auction, almost in that order.

Even year-to-year Barrett-Jackson evolves noticeably with its management team’s perception of enthusiasts’ – it’s hard to characterize the B-J clientele as “collectors” – interests.

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The Florida auction kicked off Mecum’s 25th year and a staggering 2,158 vehicles crossed the block, the most in company history. The six-day event achieved a 30% increase in attendance over last year.

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A.J. Foyt on the grid for the 1962 Daytona Continental, precursor to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Foyt served as Grand Marshal for the 50th Anniversary of this 24-hour race in 2012.

With over 50 years in motorsports – as a driver and team owner – American A. J. Foyt’s remarkable career has seen him make his mark nationally and abroad in at least four countries: Canada, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. His race record includes: winning the Indianapolis 500 four times in 35 consecutive tries; the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967); and the Rolex 24 At Daytona (1983, ’85). He’s won 12 national titles with a total of 172 major race wins in Indy Cars, NASCAR, USAC stock cars, midgets, sprints and sports cars.

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Russo and Steele offered more than 700 cars over five days in Arizona, with the top sale going to the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Roadster that sold for a world-record $687,500.

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Having qualified quickest and won all four MSC F5000 series races at the first NZ Festival meeting a week ago the just-turned-21-year-old did it again, claiming pole position in qualifying on Saturday morning before winning all three races contested, the first from series points leader Steve Ross and visiting Canadian driver Jay Esterer (both McRae GM1), the second from defending series champion Ken Smith (Lola T430) and Ross, and the third from Ross and Smith.

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With the minutes ticking down on the Rolex clock in Pit Row, there was an epic battle for the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona title taking place on Daytona International Speedway’s road course.

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If one has the occasion to visit Yvan Mahe’s Equipe Europe workshop in Ozouer Le Voulgis, France, the feeling one can get is that of dropping in on a living classic car museum.

Situated in the picturesque French countryside, about 30 miles from Paris, the Equipe Europe garage is specialized in the restoration, preparation, service and development of historic racing cars.

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The Louwman Museum was opened by HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on July 2, 2010. This opening marked the culmination of eight years of very hard work by Mr. Evert Louwman and his management team, led by Museum director Ronald Kooyman. Regulations being what they are, this was the time it took, from the first application to build a museum to the actual opening.

Beginning on the Louwman Collection

Owner of the collection, Mr. E.V.N. Louwman

Mr. Louwman’s father, Piet Louwman, started collecting cars as early as 1931, when a client (Mr. Louwman Sr. was in the business of importing and selling cars in Holland, among which Dodge) traded in his Dodge 1914 model (a car with all mod-cons) for something newer. This car is “the mother lode” of the Museum and takes a place of pride. The car collecting bug had found very fertile ground and Louwman never looked back. Now the Museum itself houses 236 cars of a great variety and is considered to be one of the finest all-round collections in the world.

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Jaguar XJR-9 Group C

The 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed will honor sports car racing in 1972 and the 30th anniversary of the famed Group C era when it returns to the 1.16-mile Goodwood hillclimb in West Sussex, England on 28 June to 1 July.

Forty years ago, the 1972 season was a pivotal year in sports car racing. In America, Can-Am was at its peak, with a fascinating battle for supremacy between McLaren, Porsche, Shadow and Lola, while in Europe a change in regulations prompted an intriguing fight between Ferrari, Matra and Alfa Romeo. Although ostensibly similar in appearance, these cars were very different in design philosophy, highlighting fundamental differences between European and American racing – technical sophistication versus raw power. A special class at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed will bring these cars together, providing a unique opportunity to witness the most exciting sports racing prototypes of all time in no-holds-barred action.

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