Low, Low Mileage Ferrari F40 Goes to Auction at Historics at Brooklands

A Ferrari F40 with just 10,500 miles (16,898 km) on the clock is set to go under the hammer at the Historics at Brooklands Auction in Surrey, England. Organizers believe interest in the vehicle will be high, valuing this particular example between £280,000 and £320,000 (US$439,432 and US$502,208).

Once the world's fastest street-legal production car, the F40 was the most powerful, most expensive and fastest car Ferrari had produced at the time.

It was also the last model commissioned by company founder Enzo Ferrari, built to celebrate 40 years of production at the brand's Maranello factory. 1,315 were built between 1987 and 1992. This example - appropriately finished in red - was built in 1989.

The F40 featured a 2,400 lb (1,089 kg) body made from a combination of carbon fibre, Kevlar and aluminium and a mid-mounted, twin turbo V8 that was good for 471 bhp (346 kw) and 200 mph (322 km/h). It had an impressive-for-1987 Cd figure of 0.34, which it shares today with the more down-to-earth Chevy Tahoe Hybrid...

The Historics at Brookland auction starts at 3pm on September 25th, with viewings starting on the day at 10am.

By Tristan Hankins

Canadian 1966 Batmobile Replica Commands Audi R8 Money

Last week, Carscoop asked you what your favorite TV or movie car was. Many of you expressed a fondness for the Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile used in the Adam West TV series of the late 1960s.

One of our readers tipped us off to this sweet, '66 Batmobile replica in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. You'll no longer be the "uncool dad" when you drop your kids off at school in this baby, old chum.

But before you rush out to buy some grey tights and adopt a young, orphaned acrobat consider this: it has the rather un-sweet price tag of CA$176,995 (US$172,779). You could easily get into an Audi R8 V10 for that money. Heck, we even found a 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago for roughly the same price.

And it pains me to remind you that under that svelte body are the aging Ford V8 and 3-speed-automatic transmission from a 1974 Lincoln Continental. Sure it's appropriate for the era, but then so were headbands and paisley and nobody wears them anymore.

What we really want is the Batmobile we saw on TV, not the one that was wheeled on and off the set between takes. You know, the Batmobile that could unlock doors and sounded like a jet fighter taking off.

Unfortunately, this little boy is still waiting.

By Tristan Hankins

Thanks for the tip Craig! , Link: Excellencechrysler

Carscoop Asks: What’s Your Favourite TV or Movie Car?

Whether you're a fan of Adam West or Roger Moore, you have to admit: cars and television go together well.

The Saint had the Volvo P1800. The Dukes wreaked havoc with the General Lee. The Caped Crusader and his sidekick did the "vra-vra-vroom" in the Batmobile. The Hoff had the Knight Industries Two Thousand (a personal favorite, if only for Will Daniels' quips).

Heck, some of these cars are more loved and remembered than the stars that drove them. Except maybe for David Hasslehoff. I hear he's big in Germany.

Then there are movie cars:

The Aston Martin DB5 from the early Bond movies; the screaming Pontiac TransAm from Smokey and the Bandit (another favorite); the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt.

So tell us, dear readers; what's your favorite movie or TV car? If you can't think of just one (heck, we couldn't), just tell us all.

By Tristan Hankins

Classic Bentley Parts Bin on 8,000 Mile Journey Across the U.S.A.

Classic cars come with classic car problems. The sort of reliability we take for granted today was unheard of thirty years ago. Classic cars don't start in cold weather They overheat in hot weather. They leak brake fluid. Their wiper motors break. Bits of trim fall off them. Their clutches fail. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

And it's not like you can take it down to your local mechanic and have them fixed. Parts are expensive or unavailable. In the days before eBay you had to go to swap meets and scrap yards in the hopes of finding the part you needed. It was Hell.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, at least for those who own a Bentley built between 1955 and 2002. To ease the burden on its U.S. aficionados, Bentley Motors is planning a road trip across the U.S.A., bringing with them over a thousand heritage parts and genuine accessories.

Dubbed the Bentley Heritage Roadshow, the idea is that Bentley owners will be able to get specialist and hard-to-find parts, as well as genuine accessories, direct from the original manufacturer. And if Bentley doesn't have the part you need on the day, then they can organize to have it shipped over from Crewe.

"Our task is to continue to provide these passionate owners and drivers with the service and parts they need." said Steve O'Hara, Director for After-Sales at Bentley.

Carrying everything from complete V8 engines to as-good-as-new owner manuals (still in their original packaging!), you're sure to find the right part for your Bentley.

The Roadshow starts its journey in California on September 16th, before passing through New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas before finishing up in Florida on October 23rd. If you are a Bentley owner who would like to get his hands on some genuine parts, contact your local dealer for further details.

By Tristan Hankins

Respect your Elders: Consumer Reports says V6 Mustang better than 1970 Boss, Misses the Point

"I like old Mustangs, but new ones do tend to show them who's boss." That's how a Consumer Reports article ends on a piece comparing the 2011 Ford Mustang V6 against the 1970 Mustang Boss 302, and I'm not quite sure if it really makes any sense.

Being boss means you put your contemporaries (not geezers) to shame. That's like saying, "Man, I just wiped the court with that WWII veteran. Look at me now!" Of course, all this comes about because of Consumer Reports' number chart comparing the 1970 Boss 302 and the modern-day V6 (see below).

While Señor Jim Travers makes the conventionally wise point that technology "has marched on", I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new V6s show the old Boss Mustangs "who's boss" (or anything else, for that matter).

Sure, the numbers are better for the most part, along with just about everything else (materials, comfort, value, etc.), but that's not really the point, is it? The Boss WAS the Boss, and should not have to be the Boss today. It could be just me, but I don't think anyone in their right mind cross-shops these two cars.

Another thing: just because it has similar or better numbers does not make the new V6 Mustang (as good as it is) a muscle car. Why? For the same reasons that so many people love it: it's an efficient, well put-together, high-output V6-powered, sporty coupe that can take corners without killing you and the wifey.

Muscle cars are loud, old, V8-packing pollution machines that get single-digit fuel economy figures when pushed on the highway and mostly do the straight line part of a trip. That's it, that's all, we're done.

Yes, the V6 Mustang is a better car in general, but is it really an "eye opener" to see that figures have gotten better over time? Nope.

By Phil Alex

Source: Consumerreports

Photo Gallery: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302

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Photo Gallery: 2011 Ford Mustang V6