All posts by Francis Mitterrand

Auctions

1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS “Evo 3.6” is for sale

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For decades, the Dino lived in Ferrari’s shadow.

Created at the insistence of Enzo Ferrari himself and named in honor of his late son Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, the sub-brand was never intended to be a bargain-bin alternative to Maranello’s finest. Yet history has a way of rewriting narratives. While the Dino 206 GT and later 246 GT and GTS rolled out of Ferrari’s factory and shared much of the company’s engineering DNA, the absence of the famous prancing horse on the nose left many collectors treating them as second-tier Ferraris for years.

Not anymore.

A heavily reimagined 1972 Dino 246 GTS currently crossing the auction block in the United States is attracting the kind of money typically reserved for the marque’s most celebrated classics. With bidding already sailing past $800,000 and the auction still open, this once-overlooked sports car is proving that the Dino name has finally earned its place among Ferrari royalty.

Then again, this isn’t your average Dino.

The car underwent a comprehensive restoration and transformation by British specialists Moto Technique between 2017 and 2018. While the original 246 GTS relied on a charismatic 2.4-liter V-6 mounted behind the driver, Moto Technique decided nostalgia wasn’t enough. In its place sits a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter Tipo 105C V-8 equipped with individual throttle bodies, revised cylinder heads, and a bespoke MoTec engine-management system.

The result is approximately 400 horsepower—nearly double the output of the original car.

Power is routed to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission, preserving the mechanical interaction that makes classic Italian sports cars so addictive. Supporting upgrades include a larger aluminum radiator, coil-over suspension, and anti-roll bars front and rear, all intended to ensure the chassis can keep pace with its vastly increased performance.

The visual changes are just as dramatic, although they’re handled with enough restraint to avoid upsetting purists entirely.

During the restoration, the body was stripped to bare metal before being refinished in deep black paint. New plexiglass headlamp covers sharpen the Dino’s already gorgeous front-end design, while larger 17-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires bring modern grip levels to a shape penned more than half a century ago. Behind those wheels sit brakes sourced from a Ferrari 360 Modena—a clear sign that Moto Technique expected this Dino to do more than simply pose for photographs.

Inside, the transformation continues.

Daytona-style seats trimmed in red and black leather create a cabin that’s equal parts classic Ferrari and bespoke grand tourer. Matching red carpeting brightens the interior, while a gated shifter preserves the tactile charm enthusiasts expect from an Italian exotic. There’s even a modern audio system with iPod connectivity, a subtle reminder that this Dino was built to be driven rather than preserved as a museum piece.

Since the restoration’s completion, the car has covered just 13,679 kilometers, suggesting it has been enjoyed enough to stay healthy while remaining remarkably fresh.

The irony is impossible to ignore. A model once dismissed as “not a real Ferrari” is now commanding supercar money thanks to a build that boldly abandons originality in favor of performance. Yet perhaps that’s exactly why bidders are lining up. The Dino was always celebrated for its beauty and balance. This example simply asks the question: what if Ferrari had kept developing it?

Judging by the auction results so far, plenty of collectors are willing to pay handsomely for the answer.

Source: Bring a Trailer

News

LEGO’s Life-Size Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear Just Set a Speed Record at Goodwood

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If you’ve ever stepped on a Lego brick and wondered whether revenge was possible, the answer has arrived from Goodwood. To celebrate the launch of its newest Ultimate Car Concept Series model, Lego teamed up with Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg to build a full-size, drivable version of the Sadair’s Spear—and then promptly sent it charging up the famous Goodwood Hillclimb.

The result? A new speed record for a drivable Lego creation.

Driven by Koenigsegg test driver Markus Lundh, the life-size Technic replica reached 111 km/h (69 mph), more than doubling the previous Lego Technic vehicle speed record of 50 km/h. It wasn’t quite hypercar territory, but for something assembled from hundreds of thousands of plastic elements, it’s an astonishing achievement.

Lego’s latest publicity stunt coincides with the launch of the Technic Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear Megacar, a detailed 1:8-scale kit that becomes the sixth member of the company’s Ultimate Car Concept Series. Instead of simply unveiling the model on a display stand, Lego and Koenigsegg decided to think much bigger—roughly 1:1 scale, in fact.

And they didn’t just build a static showpiece.

The full-size replica consists of an eye-watering 327,906 individual Lego elements and tips the scales at 1,800 kilograms (3,968 pounds). Surprisingly, only 400 kilograms (882 pounds) of that weight comes from the Lego pieces themselves, with the remainder attributed to the supporting structure and mechanical components required to make the car functional.

The project consumed more than 9,400 development and construction hours, and the engineers clearly weren’t interested in cutting corners. The giant model features working doors, an operational Ghost Mode, a sliding rear section, and even a Koenigsegg-style key fob. In other words, it’s every bit as over-engineered as you’d hope a life-size Lego hypercar would be.

“Innovation and extreme performance are at the heart of everything we do,” said Koenigsegg founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg. “To see Sadair’s Spear recreated not only as a highly detailed 1:8 LEGO Technic model, but also as a full-size, drivable vehicle is truly remarkable.”

Of course, the production Lego set is considerably less ambitious than the rolling Goodwood spectacle—but only by a little. The 4,104-piece Technic kit packs in a detailed V-8 engine, a functioning nine-speed transmission, steering, Koenigsegg’s signature Triplex suspension system, a removable roof, and a working gear indicator.

The standout feature is Ghost Mode, which replicates one of Koenigsegg’s signature party tricks. Activate it, and the body panels open, the dihedral synchro-helix doors swing outward, and the mirrors fold simultaneously in a choreographed mechanical display that would make most modern supercars jealous.

As for pricing, the Technic Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear Megacar (42232) arrives for Lego Insiders on July 1 before going on general sale July 4. At $449.99, it isn’t exactly a toy-store impulse purchase. Then again, neither is a Koenigsegg.

The difference is that this one can sit on your shelf—and unlike the full-size version, it probably won’t need 9,400 hours of engineering support before you take it for a spin.

Source: Koenigsegg

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The Trabant NT Concept Rewrites a Cold War Icon

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There was a time when the Trabant occupied a very specific place in automotive history: not at the intersection of luxury and performance, but at the crossroads of necessity and constraint. Born in East Germany and produced from 1957 to 1991, it was never intended to turn heads. It was intended to move people. Simply. Efficiently. Without excess.

And yet, like so many machines engineered under limitation, the Trabant outgrew its original brief in the cultural imagination. What began as a modest two-stroke symbol of utilitarian mobility has, over the decades, become something else entirely: a rolling artifact of a vanished world, equal parts nostalgia and engineering time capsule.

Now, that legacy is being reinterpreted—not as a museum piece, but as a concept for a very different automotive era.

The Trabant NT Concept, designed by Serbian designer Nagy Perge László, asks a deceptively simple question: what if the most famous “people’s car” of the Eastern Bloc had survived long enough to go electric?

The answer is not a faithful reproduction, nor does it try to be. Instead, it takes the Trabant’s most recognizable design DNA and filters it through the language of modern EV design. The result is a form that feels familiar at a glance, but undeniably contemporary in execution.

The boxy silhouette remains, and that alone is enough to trigger recognition among enthusiasts. The upright stance, the simple geometric surfacing, and especially the vertical rear lighting elements all nod toward the original car’s unmistakable identity. But where the original was defined by austerity, the NT Concept introduces clarity and refinement. Surfaces are cleaner, proportions are more deliberate, and the overall stance is more confident—less appliance, more object.

At the front, the transformation is even more pronounced. The familiar mechanical necessity of a grille is gone, replaced by a sealed, aerodynamic fascia typical of electric architecture. Thin LED light signatures stretch across the front end, giving the car a visual identity that is both futuristic and consistent with today’s EV design language. It’s a face designed less to breathe and more to communicate.

This tension between past and future is the concept’s central idea. It does not attempt to erase the Trabant’s history—it reframes it. The original car was defined by simplicity born of restriction; the NT Concept suggests simplicity born of intention. In that sense, it aligns itself with a broader trend in the industry, where heritage nameplates are being revived not as retro replicas, but as reinterpretations for a new technological era.

We’ve already seen this play out with varying degrees of success. The Renault 5 E-Tech channels its predecessor’s charm through compact electric packaging. The modern Mini continues to evolve its iconography without losing its personality. And the Volkswagen ID. Buzz reimagines the Microbus as a clean, digital-era utility vehicle with emotional appeal baked in. Against that backdrop, a reimagined Trabant doesn’t feel like a nostalgic stretch—it feels almost inevitable.

Of course, concept sketches and digital renderings live in a world free of supply chains, regulatory constraints, and cost engineering. The more intriguing question is what happens if this idea moves beyond design study and into production reality.

The proposal, at least in theory, positions an electric Trabant as an affordable entry point into EV ownership, with a targeted price point around €20,000. That figure is critical. Without it, the concept risks becoming just another retro-flavored design exercise. With it, the car becomes something far more interesting: a culturally loaded, mass-market electric city car.

And that is where the Trabant name still carries weight. Not in performance credentials or technological innovation, but in emotional recognition. It is one of the few automotive nameplates that transcends its original product category. Even those who have never driven one understand what it represents—an era, a system, a shared memory of mobility under constraint.

If investors and manufacturers were ever to seriously entertain a production revival, that emotional layer might be the strongest argument in its favor. In a market increasingly crowded with competent but characterless electric crossovers, the idea of a small, affordable EV with genuine cultural identity is not just appealing—it is strategically useful.

The Trabant NT Concept does not pretend to solve the automotive industry’s biggest challenges. It does something more subtle. It reframes a historical icon in a way that feels compatible with the present, and potentially relevant to the future. Whether it ever reaches production is almost secondary. The real achievement is that it makes the idea feel plausible.

And in today’s automotive landscape, plausibility is often the first step toward reality.

Source: ; Photo: Nagy Perge László