1931 - Bugatti Royale on 2040-cars

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Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

Bugatti by Venet is the world's fastest art

Some consider the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport to be a piece of rolling art, while others consider the real masterpiece to be the engineering feats to be what lies underneath. Impressively, French artist Bernar Venet has managed to combine these two notions in one dramatic special edition model: the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Venet.
Venet, whose works can be found everywhere from New Zealand to Versailles, confessed that he initially thought it unnecessary to alter what he already considered a work of art. The French painter and sculptor drew inspiration from Bugatti's engineering equations that led to the development of the Veyron. The numbers and functions were placed on the bodywork in such away that it appears they are being blown off the Grand Sport as it drives at speed. These equations are also stitched into the interior, and the finishing touches come in small replicas of Vanet's works on the oil cap, filler cap and the center console.
The Bugatti Grand Sport Venet will be on display at the Rubell Family collection during Art Basel Miami Beach, which runs through December 9. Check out the video below to see Venet discuss creating this high-speed work of art, surrounded by his own works.

Original Bugatti Veyron concept to be displayed for first time since 1999

With all of the special editions and differing variants of the Bugatti Veyron being produced year after year, perhaps now is a good time to reflect back on the machine that started it all. Bugatti has announced that it will put the original EB 18/4 Veyron design study on display at the Salon Rétromobile in Paris. This is the first time the concept car will be publicly shown since it debuted at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show.
Taking a new look at the images of Bugatti's seminal Veyron in concept form reminds us how closely the boutique automaker followed its initial design when crafting the 1,001-horsepower production model in 2005. Have a look for yourself in the high-res image gallery above, and feel free to compare that car's sensuous curves with the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, an updated topless model with 1,200 horsepower and a 255-mile-per-hour top speed.