McLaren unveiled a customized MP4-12C at Pebble Beach, indicating the British automaker will offer a long line of individual options for customers. This particular McLaren features a host of new upgrades and modifications put together by the British automaker, most notable of which are the Satin Orange paint and aggressive new fenders. There are also carbon fiber bits all over the car including a windshield cowl, engine cover gilles along the outside of the glass, and a new carbon rear exhaust cover. The rims have a polished face with black painted centers and the roof panel has also been painted black. Standard options of the 12C include carbon mirrors, a carbon lower front spoiler and rear valence as well as a stealth package which blacks out the exhaust tips and wing supports.

Built on the chassis of an early validation prototype, this isn’t a oroduction car but merely a glimpse at what sort of custom options McLaren will be offering in the future to owners.

Priced at $229,000 for a standard model, the upgrades raise the asking price for this MP4-12C to around $270,000.

[Source: Team Speed]

The world’s oldest surviving production Bentley was sold through the Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for $962,500.

The 1921 3-liter chassis number 3 was sold 90 years ago to Noel Van Raalete, Bentley’s very first customer, for £1,150. The Bentley was a show-stopper, featuring ‘matching numbers’ with original aluminum coachwork and brass brightwork.

The 3-liter was a very well engineered vehicle that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endureance races in 1924 and 1927.

“Pebble Beach is the ideal venue to showcase Bentley’s old and new,” said Chairman & Chief Executive, Wolfgang Durheimer. “On the same day that Gooding & Co. auctioned the world’s oldest surviving production Bentley, we hosted a private preview of the brand new model. During Monterey week, the enthusiasm for the evolution of the automobile is palpable.”

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is in full swing, and Lotus has just unveiled the Exige Matte Black Final Edition, a special model reserved exclusively for the North American Market. The Exige Matte Black Final Edition will premier within the Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill on August 18-21. Lotus will only produce twenty-five Exige Matte Black Final Edition cars, as a farewell model to the lightweight sports car that sold for the last ten years. The Exige will feature a more powerful 257-hp engine, a stealthy black paint job and black Alacantara sport seats.

Check out the photos and tell us what you think!

GALLERY: Exige Matte Black Final Edition

With the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance kicking off tomorrow in Monterey, California, hundreds of collectible cars will be up for sale.

There will be at least five auctions slated for this week, put on by Bonhams, Gooding & Company, Mecum, RM and Russo and Steele. Collector car insurance company Hagerty has compiled the estimated net worth of every car being auctioned this week at a whopping $230 million. Some of the highlighted collector cars include a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza expected to fetch around $3 million and a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR Prototype that may break the overall record price of a car sold at auction, selling for around $13 million. Two cars formally owned by Steve McQueen will also go under the hammer, including one of his motorcycles.

Stay tuned for updates on the auction!

[Source: Hagerty]

Aston Martin has officially confirmed the American debut of the One-77 and V12 Zagato, which will take place during the Pebble Beach automotive week in Monterey from August 17th to the 21st. The British automaker will commence the celebration on the evening of Wednesday August 17 where the V12 Zagato will have its official American debut.

The V12 Zagato was first unveiled as a concept car at the famous Villa D’Este Concours in Italy earlier this year, where the car experienced tremendous success among the show goers, and won the award for Design in the Concepts and Prototypes class. Aston Martin will build the V12 Zagato in a very limited production which will commence in the summer of 2012.

As for the One-77, it was on display in the Monterey area several years ago, but as a concept. Now the flagship Aston Martin will get a more official unveiling, boasting a 7.3-liter V12 engine with over 700-hp.

Julian Jenkins, Vice President Aston Martin the Americas said, ”We are very excited about the program this year including the debut of the V12 Zagato, and we look forward to welcoming current owners, new customers and automotive enthusiasts to share our celebrations at The Aston Martin Estate.”

AutoGuide will be on hand, so look for live pictures and video late next week.

GALLERY: Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Have you ever gone to an auto show and fell in love with a concept car? Yes, we have too, so no need to feel embarrassed.

However, if you have the means, you can possibly own two concept cars shown by Ford in the last decade. We are talking about the 2001 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept and the 2004 Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept.

Both these vehicles will be presented by RM Auctions at their upcoming event held in Monterey, CA. on August 19th.

Proceeds from the sale will go towards the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a charity Ford has supported over the years.

As for the cars, while the Thunderbird Sports Roadster concept is a functioning vehicle, the Shelby GR-1 is just a rolling platform. While the GR-1 cannot be driven, we think its still better than buying an ancient oil painting.

RM Auctions predicts the Thunderbird Sports Roadster concept will fetch between $125,000 – $175,000, while the beautiful Shelby GR-1 will get between $150,000 – $200,000.

This auction is part of the annual Pebble Beach Concours event which attracts the worlds rarest cars and also some of the world’s wealthiest people. It truly is an auto show like no other.

GALLERY: Shelby GR-1 Concept

[Source: Art Daily]

If you’ve seen Le Mans, you’ll remember the opening sequence with a lovely slate-grey Porsche 911 that Steve McQueen drives through the countryside. Now, here’s the chance to own that same car.

McQueen liked the 1970 Porsche 911S so much that he bought it after the movie was completed and shipped it to California, where he added it to his personal collection alongside his Jaguar XKSS, Ferrari 250GTL, and various motorcycles. This model was fully-equipped from the factory, including air conditioning, leather seats and a radio.

And after a few owners it’s hitting the block at RM Auctions, where it will be featured at the Monterey auction on August 19th. Like anything even vaguely McQueen-related, it’ll go for big bucks, so you’ve got five months to start scraping the change from under the couch cushions.

If there was ever a scenario to prove that competition brings out the best in people, this is it. Shelby Supercars’ (SSC) has teased the world with its Ultimate Aero II, the successor to the Ultimate Aero TT. You see, the Ultimate Aero TT used to be the fastest production car in the world holding a 256 mph record. That is until Bugatti took their Veyron Super Sport and hit an astonishing 267.81 mph record.

And instead of SSC fine-tuning and tweaking their Ultimate Aero TT to take back the record, they decided to just build something bigger, better, badder and faster – hoping to leave Bugatti in the dust for quite a while. The car doesn’t officially launch for another few days, but it was unveiled to a select few out in Monterey. They captured the unveiling on video, but never actually display the vehicle, just the over-the-top reactions from its attendees.

But now there’s at least a video that reveals its edgy design (a massive improvement over the current kit-car styled SSC) that only has one thing on its mind: to take back the production car speed record. And even though the general public doesn’t really reap the rewards of this competition between Bugatti and SSC – since we don’t quite have a chance to go over 250 mph on a daily basis – there’s a bit of giddiness knowing these two superpowers are willing to battle it out.

[Source: Jalopnik]

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It’s no M3, in fact its not even a 335is, but Infiniti has officially launched a more high performance version of its G Coupe. Called the IPL G Coupe, the initials stand for Intiniti Performance Line, with this new G Coupe likely the first of many such models for across Infinitis range.

Upgrades to the G include a retuned 3.7-liter V6 engine with a high-flow exhaust

to bump power slightly to 348-hp. Torque also jumps to 276 ft-lbs. Those aren’t very dramatic changes with the GS sporting 18-more horsepower and 6 more ft-lbs of torque

Additional modifications include a retuned suspension, 19-inch wheels with sport brakes and a limited slip differential – plus there’s a unique aero kit, as well as IPL badging for a time of 14.7:1 Other standard features include a special IPL engine cover, a back-up camera and incredible red stitching.

Infiniti has also just announced the debut of the G25 model, although there’s no word on pricing.

GALLERY: Infiniti IPL G Coupe