Alfa Romeo

The Monterey Car Week auctions left the collector car world in a state of shock. Sales totals were expected to be similar to 2018 when 850 cars sold for US$370 million but when the hammer fell for the final time in Monterey, just 770 cars had fetched $245 million – a shortfall of 80 cars and $125 million, or 34 percent down. Here's a car-by-car glance.

Italian manufacturers have a distinct approach to automotive design and Alfa Romeo, the most accessible of Italian luxury marquees in North America, is no exception. So does Alfa's flagship Giulia sedan deliver?

The Italian city of Turin played host to a new and important Concours d'Elegance this week when the inaugural Parco Valentino Classic was run in conjunction with the fifth Parco Valentino Motor Show from June 19 to 23, 2019.

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este has been held annually at the palatial 16th-century villa on Lake Como since 1929.​ As a setting for a celebration of automotive heritage, there could be no finer location, as the former royal residence is world-renowned for its terraced Renaissance gardens.​

The world's best concours car is generally attributed to the winner of the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award, which this 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B​ won in February. In 2018 it won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance​, and now it has taken 'best in show' at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este​

The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, now in its 24th year, is a multi-faceted diamond, with many ancillary events combining to offer something for everyone, regardless of which genre of automobiles an individual might be interested in.

The 2019 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance continued to grow in stature this year, but it was the symbiotic cluster of elite auctions that threw up the most interesting results. The collector car market is undergoing generational change, attracting a younger clientele driving prices below $500,000.

It's always a toss-up whether the most impressive part of the Geneva Motor Show is the hypercar or concept lineup. We give the 2019 edge to hypercars, but concept cars aren't far off. Debuts include serious plug-in power, off-road hardware and a revival of a crazy-cool retrofuturistic convertible.

Car auctions have made the digital transition far better than most industries, and while we may no longer have the rampant bull market of a few years ago, the collectible car industry looks in better shape than ever. Here's a selection of the more interesting lots that sold in Paris.

Alfa Romeo unveiled a 4C Spider called the Italia. When the cover was pulled off it in Chicago, we could see that the handcrafted little 4C would be something special. Only 15 of the cars will be built for the North American market, each with a US$5,000 price jump over the standard 4C.

A 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B has taken out the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award, the de facto world championship for concours cars. This one-of-five car was displayed at the 1937 Paris Auto Salon, 1937 Milan Auto Show, 1938 Berlin Motor Show, and won the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The 2018 Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award, the defacto world championship for concours cars, will be announced in Paris on February 7, 2019. The eight contenders for the award have already won major concours events during 2018. Here's our rundown of the cars in contention.