Monterey 2009: Face to face with the Veritas RS III

We heard that Veritas was bringing its RS III supercar to Monterey this past weekend, but we weren't sure where it was going to be. Fortunately, we happened upon the car in the lobby of the Portola Plaza Hotel where the RM auction was being held and spent several minutes inspecting the silver single-seater despite the fact that the Ferrari 288 GTO we wanted to see auctioned was going up on the block.

Our first impression of the car is that it's absolutely stunning and much better than in any photos we've seen. In fact, we thought it looked quite a bit different, and after checking the original photos of the car, our hunch was confirmed. This particular car has a completely redesigned front end with revised headlights (we think it looks like an angry reptile), and the hood scoop is gone. The side of the RS III is now much more sculpted and features large winglets behind the front wheel, and the rear has revised taillights and a diffuser-style rear fascia.

We don't know yet if these visual changes are a late change to the design or some type of sport model, but we like the direction Veritas has taken with the car. The new look is much more aggressive than before, and despite its near half million dollar price tag, it just jumped way up on the list of cars we would buy after we cash in a winning lottery ticket. Check out the new photos in the high-res gallery below.

Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.