Aston Martin One-77

Aston Martin One-77

The british car manufacturer built the ultimate supercar, the Aston Martin One-77, which made its official (but very discrete) premiere at the 2008 Paris Auto show. The looks of this car is what astonishes me the most: it's strongly inspired by Aston Martin's legacy of very similar models (V8 vantage, V12 vantage, DB9, DBS, Rapide, Virage...). Yet, it is a unique piece of art with a real personnality. You can't help but like this true supercar. Because indeed, it is a true supercar: yhis beast has a V12 engine delivering more than 700 horse power, allowing the 0 to 100 km/h in 3,5 seconds. 

Only 77 units will be made, which explain the name "One-77". The price tag for this very rare beauty? It starts at 1,3 million euros. Although the car's official commercialization started at the end of 2009, we've only really been starting to see them at the end of 2010 / beginning of 2011, due to delays. Among the already famous ones, the white Aston Martin One-77 from Abu Dhabi with plate number "77" (now this is quite original and elite, huh?) and the black one from Monaco. Many other One-77s were seen, mostly with swiss or english plates. 

But what really stands out (as of may 2011) is this insane spot by Demon348 in Paris: he spotted not one but TWO Aston Martin One-77, in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, in Paris. I had seen the brown one the day before but couldn't get a picture nor a video, but he was lucky to see them both a black one and the brown one! What an incredible sight!!!

Sources of the pictures:

• Demon348
• calians.sevan's, Ed Callow's, Raphaël Belly's FlickR Photostream
• Internet forums

Here are a few pictures (click to enlarge):

Pagani Zonda Cinque

The Pagani Zonda Cinque.

This car is a declination of the "not so exclusive" Pagani Zonda F, and is a special limited edition.

The idea for it came in 2008 from a dealership in Hong Kong. Like all Zondas, the Cinques were built with art and passion by mister Horacio Pagani. That being said, I always like limited editions: not only does it make the car worth spotting, but they also tend to gain in value over the years. Then the car would be both an enthusiast's dream but also a good investment! Oh how I wish I had the money to "make that investment"... and especially drive that!!! ... Oh well, it's always good to dream a bit! Some say the Zonda Cinque is the "road legal" Zonda R...

Like its name suggests, there are only FIVE coupés in the world. But seeing how this cas was such a success, they made 5 roadster in 2009. The original Zonda Cinque has a particular and very recognizable color combo : white, red, black and carbon fiber. But not all of them have it (the client is king and choses the color he wants!), as you can see in the following pictures. This expensive (close to 1,2 million euros... before tax) and exclusive toy comes with a V12 engine by AMG, going up to 750 horse power and doing the 0 to 100km/h in 3,4 seconds. The top speed is said to be as high as 347 km/h!!
The Cinque is, to put it simply, a feline of the road, terrorizing the streets it choses to hunt on. One  particular Cinque from Qatar (plate number "77777") has been seen in London, always next to 1 of the 4 Bugatti Centenaire, and became quite popular among the car spotters and enthusiasts; although the knightsbridge neighborhood didn't like it that much (they never like when the arabs come for summer with their cars lol) = its revs and loud engine has been heard in the heart of London all summer long in 2010.

Funny fact: the Hong Kong car dealership that came up for the idea of the Zonda Cinque had two of them at the same time. Although it's normal considering they had the idea, that's pretty crazy: almost 40% of the whole coupé production!! Check-out the pictures down below! ;)

Why is this car special ? Rare + limited edition + ... ZONDA !!

Sources for the pictures:

• Internet car forums
• SoluzSR's FlickR Photostream
• GeeCeeEss's FlickR Photostream
• P K Wright's FlickR Photostream

Here are more pictures (click to enlarge):

Lamborghini Reventon

The Lamborghini Reventòn

The mighty one, I like to call it. Directly inspired by a fighter jet, the Lamborghini Reventon is a pure design beast. Based on the Lamborghini LP640, the Reventon is a 20 units limited-edition model, presented at the Frankfurt IAA in 2007. The expensive and rare Reventon was a success, so they made the roadster version in 2009: only 15 units.
That being said, as far as I know, the technical differences with the Lamborghini LP640 aren't that enormous, except the engine is a bit stronger (V12) pushing 650 horse power, doing the 0 to 100 km/h in 3,4 seconds and has a top speed of 340 km/h. As you might've understood, it's definitely not the most powerful Lamborghini ever: the LP 670-4 SV is a little bit more powerful (670 horse power), and let's not even talk about the Aventador's 700hp (although it was created more than 4 years later therefore with all the new technology). The interesting thing about the Reventon is its futuristic and aerodynamic design.

Just like the Maserati GranTurismo looks like a shark, the Reventon looks like a fighter jet or a UFO : it's either military or out of this world. Very agressive, it's as if it was going 400km/h while standing still. Good optical illusion. The looks of a car is really important to me, and those amazing pure lines make up for the fact that it's just an endless declination of the murcielago, a bare copy of the LP640. That kind of makes you wonder when you pay more than 1,5 million euros for one. Yeah, it's THAT expensive. And now that the new Lamborghini LP700 Aventador is out, and heavily inspired by it (and more powerful), it might make Reventon owners wonder....

Here's a little trivia:
As far as some owners are concerned, I know the president of Tchetchnya, Ramzan Kadirov, owns one. And at least 3 more are in the middle-east (one in Saudi Arabia, one in Bahrain, one in the United Arab Emirates), one in Monaco, one in Paris (rumors... but it's hidden, I don't know where), at least two in the UK (one spyder, one normal), one in Taiwan (could be a spyder). Considering I have seen some rare things (from unique to 1 out of 4 or 1 out of 5)... I definitely hope I'll see one... soon... But haven't done that yet :(

Why is this car special? Rare + expensive + lamborghini's most limited edition

Source of the pictures:

• Eddy Clio's caradisiac page
• Internet car forums

Take a look at the other pictures (click to enlarge):

Bugatti Veyron Centenaire

The Bugatti Veyron Centenaire - Only 4 in the world

Ever since the 1001-horse-powered Bugatti Veyron was launched at the Paris Auto Show back in 2000, Bugatti hasn't stopped creating exclusive limited editions (it is said they're having trouble to sell all of the 300 Veyrons that were supposed to be built, so they keep creating special editions of it). Actually, there are more than 10 limited editions of the Veyron nowadays, I think! As far as I'm concerned, they're only simple declinations of the magnificent Veyron, and I wouldn't mind it that much if they didn't bear some rather silly names for most of them (for french speakers, at least). Nevertheless, I'm not here to spit on the Veyron nor to be harsh with it, because I love all Veyron models and wouldn't dare to criticize too much what I worship.One of those limited edition is the CENTENAIRE.

Only 4 were made. 
A dark-green/chrome one (the Malcolm Campbell edition), a white/chrome one (the Hermann Zu Leiningen edition), a crimson/chrome one (the Achille Varzi edition) and finally a blue/chrome one: the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition (yes, they all have chrome as a main color). The Jean-Pierre Wimille edition of the Centenaire is the exclusive Bugatti Veyron I had the privilege of spotting in Paris during summer of 2009 and 2010. 
Funny fact: 3 out of those 4 limited-edition Veyrons are owned by people from the middle-east: two of them are from Qatar (the Hermann Zu Leiningen and Jean Pierre-Wimille) whereas the Achille Varzi has Liechtenstein plates (when I wrote the article) but is owned by someone from the Middle-East that lives in Monaco. That comes to show how much they love being exclusive! 

Why is this car special? Rare. Only 4 Centenaire.

Sources for the pictures: 

• http://bugattipassion.fr/
• Raphael Belly's FlickR Photostream
• Telkine's FlickR Photostream
• Autogespot

Bugatti Veyron // Jean-Pierre Wimille Centenaire edition

More pictures here (click to enlarge):

Bugatti Veyron // Hermann Zu Leiningen Centenaire edition

Bugatti Veyron // Achille Varzi Centenaire edition

Bugatti Veyron // Malcolm Campbell edition

Ferrari Enzo MIG-U1 by Gemballa

Ferrari Enzo MIG-U1 by Gemballa

Now that's exclusive. 

Not very often do you get to see such a rare and unique car. Before Uwe Gemballa disappeared in mysterious circumstances somewhere in South Africa (and eventually was found murdered there), he was well-known for his tuning work on Porsche cars. That being said, with this one, he wanted to show he could work with other brands: not only did he pick Ferrari, but he chose its most exclusive and beautiful model, the Ferrari Enzo. Gemballa was the man, this is his legacy.

At the beginning, there were supposed to be only 25 units of the Ferrari Enzo by Gemballa. Tthe original website even has a configurator... where you can virtually see the MIG in all sorts of color: red, blue, green (it's definitely brutal in full black)! Anyway, only one model was made. A unique and very exclusive white and black monster, bearing the name MIG-U1 (it stands for Mustafa and Ilyas Galadari - Uwe 1). That's why when we call this car the "MIG-U1", it's somehow incorrect, considering it's a special name for the specific owners and 25 others were meant to be made... But still, let's keep "MIG", considering it's unique so far! 

The owners are from Dubai and have other amazing cars: Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir, Brabus SL65 "Stealth", a matte red Ferrari 599 GTO, two Brabus SL65 Black Series. They even used to have (or still do, I don't really know) red CLK GTR AMG, Gemballa Mirage GT and red Bugatti EB110!!

Back to the MIG: I had the privilege of seeing it with my own eyes, and above all, hear it with my own ears. Indeed, the engine, is by far the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life: the ground was SHAKING, as if an earthquake was occurring, or as if the metro was passing underneath our feet. Breath taking. The first time the owner started the engine (video 1), everyone was flabbergasted by how loud this monster was... it's as if a fighter jet flew by! When it came to Paris, the car sadly only had 41km on it (can be seen in picture #6 if you look closely). But still, it's a great car!

Why is this car special? Unique + Gemballa's last work

VIDEO1 (sound engine): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k03r-IGrLM
VIDEO2 (the beast driving): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd-OtXvJx48
VIDEO3 (walkaround video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAIWD_tK-LE

Take a look at more pictures I took of this incredible car (click to enlarge):