We should warn you right off that today's first contestant requires some travel for most potential buyers, since it's in Italy. But don't let that deter you from slapping down a thick stack of British pound notes (5,000 pounds, to be exact), because what we've got here is a genuine 1973 Lamborghini Espada! Yes, you heard right- the craziest-looking Lamborghini ever made, complete with loony V12 engine and... wait, scratch that last bit- there's no engine in this car. Also no transmission. The seller, no doubt in a particularly candid mood, states "of course it needs restoration," and we agree strongly with that statement. But so what? All you need to do is buy this BMW V12, mate it to some kind of mid-engine transaxle (hey, use your imagination!), and you're in business with full-on V12 power! Man, this project is just too easy.

But when you're contemplating a Hell Project of this caliber, you might need to consider the Decadence Factor. Sure, a '73 Espada is fairly decadent, but how about a high-end statusmobile from one of the darkest years of the Great Depression? Hell, back in '36 you could feed 1,000 Dust Bowl refugees for a year with what it would have cost to buy a new Cord... and that's whey this 1936 Cord 810 Westchester is the car for you! Imagine rolling down the Las Vegas Strip in a fully restored Westchester, with your beefy bodyguards brandishing grenade launchers at over-inquisitive bystanders from the back seat and the showgirl of your choice riding shotgun. Yes, it's a pretty picture... and to put yourself in it you just need to buy this car (the seller of which refuses to state a price in the ad), and then spend the rest of your life chasing down '36 Cord components. The seller freely admits that the car "is missing some pieces," which qualifies for Understatement of the Year. Then there's the "repaired" engine block (we figure JB Weld is involved). But hey, you get "boxes of parts" as part of the deal! OK, so you get that BMW engine we mentioned earlier and you're .000052% of the way there!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Sometimes, on this great journey through life, you witness something so truly breathtaking, so utterly, impossibly perfect, pure and good, it shifts the paradigm of your perception. It is deceptively easy to go right by the "First Love" exhibit in front of Detroit's Cobo hall. A passing glance will reveal nothing out of the ordinary, as slick show cars go. Look closer and you'll bear witness to high-dollar rodding nirvana. Simply put, this is, by a wide margin, the finest example of no-holds-barred custom fabrication work this Jalop has ever seen. Ever.

The details on this '36 Ford are so fine and numerous, the quality of the build so high, the execution so flawless that I cannot imagine a better example of the art. While his contemporaries are going with full chrome inboard Jag E-type suspensions, Troy and his team are giving us inboard drums and hidden discs. While the competition throws out candied colors, he goes for subtle, almost factory finishes that catch the eye like the Mona Lisa. They go with big chrome wheels, he's sporting custom-machined and painted wide fives, with a tasteful throwback hubcap. Even the hubs to match the wheels are works of art. The underbody of this car is better than most of its contemporaries' coachwork; nary a bolt, rivet, or pin is visible. The mesh below the hood has cutouts that match the car's heart shaped logo. Nothing has been overlooked, nothing is flawed. I, and many others, stood mouths agape at the craftsmanship of this car. Bravo sir, bravo. – Ben Wojdyla

Related:
Salt Flats Monster: '69 Barracuda LSR Car [internal]

Audi feted its new Park Avenue forum this morning, showing off the R8 for the first time on US soil, as it paraded alongside the R10 TDI LeMans diesel racer. As a nod to heritage, Audi also rolled out the granddaddy of them all, the 1936 1938 Auto Union Type C D "Silver Arrow," whose roaring V16 V12 penetrated the post-rush lull on Manhattan's most exclusive street. Just imagine the sound of an entire field of these things lined up on the N rburgring, and try to forget who was most likely seated in the VIP section. [UPDATE: Behind the wheel is R10 TDI racer Emmanuel Pirro. [UPDATE 2: It's actually a 1938 Auto Union Type D Silver Arrow. Thanks to Benztown for the double-check tip.]

Related:
The Full Awesomeness of the Auto-Union Type C; Exclusive! Live From New York, It's Spinelli Covering The Audi R8 Event! [internal]

With platinum getting all the attention, gold was starting to look as dated as a Look magazine cover photo of Burl Ives. But then something weird happened, at least in the hot rod world. Gold, the more metallic the better, came back with a tide of 1960s-period hot rods, a likely reaction to the highly graphical, megabux rods featured on every cable channel north of PBS. While, in some ways, Jorge Zaragoza's 1936 Ford Coupe falls into the second category — with its Roush-tuned big-block and Tremec five-speed, in others, it's an emblem of retro understatement. That's not unexpected considering Zaragoza helped restore Tom McMullen's iconic, flamed deuce highboy, featured on the cover of Hot Rod in 1963.

Jorge Zaragoza's Golden '36 [Rod and Custom]

Related:
t for Show or for Go?: Track Testing a Custom 34 Ford [internal]