Pawel Litwinski / Gooding & Co.

Time to kick your car collection into high gear for the New Year – on January 23 Gooding & Company is offering some exceptionally pedigreed European motors at its annual Scottsdale Auction. Aesthetics-wise our pick of the lot is the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet (above), expected to fetch over $2.2 Million, one of only 40 Series 1 Pininfarina Cabriolets ever built. Upon its completion, the car was immediately shipped to the United States to be proudly displayed on Ferrari’s New York Auto Show stand, and the sale marks the first time one of these babies has crossed the auction block in many a year.

Considered by connoisseurs to be among the most beautiful Ferraris ever made, it’s sure to make a strong showing. Equally alluring is a highly coveted 1956 Jaguar D-Type Sports Racer, painted cream with blue racing stripes, expected to fetch above $3.5 million. This particular model is known for a victory at the Pomona Six-Hour Enduro race in 1959, the D-Type’s last big win in the USA. There’s also a stunning 1959 Costin Lister Jaguar Sports Racer on offer if your budget’s more in the $1.5 million range.

© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.