Top 10 Supercars of 2007 wallpapers

We close 2007 with our review of the year's 10 best supercars. This list was hard to rank since our definition of a supercar is rather broad. Included is the very best, as well as concept cars and some limited edition sports cars.

The most limited of them all tops our chart. While it has yet to make a public impact, the Veyron Pur Sang is by far the rarest-only five have been made.

Probably the most important sports car that debuted in 2007 was the Nissan GT-R which might appear in future lists. If the rest of the winners are any indication of the future, then we have a lot to look forward to: Corvette ZR1, Zonda R, McLaren P11 and Hennessey Venom.

Top cars of 2007:

1. Bugatti 16/4 Veyron Pur Sang (Best Veryon)
2. Lamborghini Reventon (Styling Renaissance + LP640)
3. Koenigsegg CCXR Edition (1018 bhp, 1.5 million)
4. Ferrari F430 Scuderia (F430 with proper intakes)
5. Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (100kg CF Diet)
6. Aston Martin DBS (James Bond's Whip)
7. Mazda Taiki Concept (Most Radical Concept Ever?)
8. Porsche 911 GT2 (Most Powerfull 911 from Porsche)
9. Vector Avtech WX-8 HPV (Revival of the outrageous)
10. Gumpert Apollo Sport (See one on Bullrun 2008)

Aston's Vantage V12, race-bred Mazda, 770 bhp Carrera GT

To celebrate the opening of their new design center, Aston Martin debuted the V12 Vantage RS. This stunning concept takes advantage of the DB9's engine and the small overall size of the V8 Vantage architecture.

There are no plans to produce the RS, but Aston is considering a small run if interest in it is sufficient. When this happens, the RS might challenge the DBS as the flagship Aston.

Mazda have really stepped up to the plate for Detroit. They have released details and a teaser image of the Furai Concept. Bridging the gap between design and motorsport, it takes the recent styling language from the Mazda showcars and blends them with a proper Courage C65 racing chassis.

We end with Edo Competition's new Carrera GT upgrades. Their Stage III package enlarges the V10 engine to produce 770 bhp. It leaves us wondering, just which supercars haven't Edo upgraded?

Top Lots from Barrett-Jackson

While other auctions focus on niche markets, Barrett-Jackson is anything and everything. Their 100% no reserve sale in Arizona is constantly growing and will be held for the 37th time in January.

During the six days of live auction some remarkable lots will cross the block, but none as rare as the Corvette Rondine by Pininfarina. This original concept car has never been sold and will be looking for its first owner at B-J.

Another interesting concept on offer is the Thunderbird 'Italien', which has unique touches and a fastback profile. The third and final show car is the Concept 'Cuda which won over everyone's heart at SEMA last month.

Among the huge array of muscle cars we pick a Plymouth Superbird that looks enormous in white. It flaunts a 440 Six Pack and has low mileage.

The last car we feature is a Ruxton which was custom made in 1929 . This is the same roadster that was seen at Pebble Beach and sits somewhere in between a hot rod and true classic.

Essen Motor Show Gallery, Production Dodge Challenger Anounced

Essen

As promised, today we have a feature gallery from the Essen Motor Show. In it are debut supercars such as the Abt Audi R8, Hamann Stallion, Rinspeed Extreme and Bitter Vero.

Essen comes to us from Dirk de Jager who got comprehensive photos of the tuning, concept, racing and historic sections. Several stands were over the top such as H&R who always seem to have a new Gemballa Mirage on display. Michelin also brought out an updated SLR 722 GT.

Chrysler released the very first shots of the production Dodge Challenger earlier today. It will be sold next year for the very first time in 35 years. Only a special edition SRT8 version is available with an MSRP of $37 995 USD.

So far we only have a few teaser shots until we get closer to the car's debut in February at the Chicago Auto Show.

Oldest Surviving Rolls Sets World Record Price

The very first Rolls-Royces set a theme of mechanical efficiency and reliability that built the foundations of the company. One of these early cars recently sold at Bonham's London sale for a record price of 3,521,500 GBP or 7.1 million USD.

Bonham's car was the oldest surviving Rolls-Royce and one of the four surviving 10 HP models. These were exhibited and tested in Europe before the seminal Silver Ghosts would appear several years later.

This sale set a new world record for the highest price paid at auction for a Rolls-Royce and now places the 10 HP third among the most expensive cars sold this year:

1. 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM ($9.3 million)
2. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster ($8.1 million)
3. 1904 Rolls-Royce 10 HP (7.1 million)
4. 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Berlineta ($5.7 million)
5. 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake (5.5 million)

Essen Supercars

The Essen Motor Show opened over the weekend for the 40th consecutive year. While it flaunts diversity, Essen's mainstay is in aftermarket tuning which is celebrated more in Germany than anywhere else. Today we focus on the show cars that were prepared for this market.

Brabus could be called 'the' premier Mercedes tuner and they had two exciting debuts. The first was a highly prepared SLR Roadster which had more horsepower and interior bits. Alongside it was the same Maybach they used to reach over 200 mph at Nardo.

Both the new BMW M3 and Audi R8 had companies scrambling to make tuning packages. For the Audi, both PPI and Abt gave the car a work over while only AC Schnitzer managed to complete an M3 called the ACS3.

Porsches are a big hit at Essen and 9ff showed the most radical example. Their GT9 replaces the back half of the car with a tube frame to speeds over reach 400 km/h. Of course, Essen also has prominent sections for current and historic motor sport so we will feature the rest of the show soon.