Star Wars fans, behold, your dream car; too bad the listing has ended. The original owner of this particular piece of automotive art apparently had a serious love affair with George Lucas’s space-themed soap opera. Painstakingly painted across the surface of this unassuming Chevy are images of Yoda, Han Solo, X-Wing fighters and other movie characters, as well as nebula and galaxies originally photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. This would have been just the thing to drive to the theatrical premiere of the Clone Wars. A lot of work went into this paint job, though it would take a level of dedication we don’t have just to own it, let alone drive it in public. After all, it’s a Cobalt underneath it all, and it’s emblazoned with the stigmata of the basement dweller.

Besides the gradual thawing of most of the country, March means the beginning of the Formula One season as well as Sebring, the Geneva Motor Show, the Amelia Island Concours, and NASCAR ramping up to full speed. Those events alone would be enough to sate even the healthiest automotive appetites, but there’s plenty more going on in the motoring world. As always, we tried to list the highlights as well as a few smaller events that we hope will be of interest to you. Feel free to use the comments section to add or modify listings.

Our Google Calendar and select listings are after the jump, all with links so you can get the full details. A few other March events worth noting are an homage to the Legends of Riverside; the Desert Classic Concours in Palm Springs; Hot Import Nights and DUB stops in L.A.; another Automotive World alternative vehicle conference; and a variery of local and regional auto shows under the Motor Trend/Autorama/World of Wheels banners. Some events are listed after the jump; all are in the Google Calendar.

As always, we want to give a shout-out to our two favorite sources; The New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and our buddy Dave Lindsay’s SoCalCarCulture pages for local stuff here in Southern California. Dave’s photographic coverage of these local events is fantastic. Check out the March event calendar we put together for you after the jump and start adding to it. Oh, and don’t forget we spring forward on the 8th.

Auction house Bonhams is gearing up for another landmark event, scheduled to take place in just a few days at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Enthusiasts undeterred by the financial crisis will find all manner of automobile and automobilia at the auction, including several Steve McQueen artifacts, a land-speed record-breaking 1949 Vincent motorbike, and a selection of muscle cars from the collection of action movie star Bruce Willis.

Bruce will be offloading a prized collection of classic American steel, including a pair of Corvette roadsters (an original ‘57 and a ‘67 Stingray), a 1955 Chevy Nomad, a ‘69 Dodge Charger and the piece de resistance, a 1968 Shelby GT500 convertible. The star factor is sure to add to their value, and the latter is expected to fetch upwards of $150,000. For a closer look, head on down to The Petersen, or just click on the images in the gallery below to see what officer John McClane is selling.

There are quite a few legendary Corvettes – the L88, ZL1 and Z06 to name a few – and modern day super Vettes will no doubt become future automotive icons, as well. None of them, however, have the status of the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport. Only five were produced by the “father of the Corvette”, Zora Arkus-Duntov, to battle with Shelby’s Cobra roadsters before General Motors cancelled its motorsports activities in 1964. The Grand Sports are rarely offered up for sale, and this is the first time one is being put up for auction. Both RM and Keith Martin, publisher of Corvette Market Magazine, have declared the car to be the most important Corvette ever to be offered for sale. This particular Grand Sport is chassis #002 and is one of only two roadsters. It features a completely original unrestored body and was previously owned by Roger Penske and George Wintersteen. No price estimates were given, but the bidding will surely go into the millions of dollars.

It’s the end of the run for the McLaren SLR Roadster, but Mercedes wants to give Yanks another shot at owning one. Beginning November 1, those of you who still have bank accounts can sign up for the auction of the final topless SLR to be sold in the U.S.

You’d be right to assume the final edition of a limited run model would bring a huge premium when it goes on the block, as collectors have always put higher values on the first and last of most anything. But if you plan to take this particular knick-knack home, prepare to drain both savings accounts. Mercedes says the car will be the only SLR Roadster wearing Sienna Pearl metallic paint and Tobacco Brown leather. So when you show up to accept your Oscar, no one else will be driving the same one.

The auction begins November 20 at 1 p.m. EST and ends that night at 5 p.m. Bidding starts at $529,500, and anything above that will go to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Thanks for the tip, James!

Up for grabs and with 56 bids registered bids, we have eBay item number: 270287784055. The lucky top bidder gets a Ferrari 360 Modena and an Acura NSX, but only needs one parking spot. The product description explains the impossible, while almost making this thing sound appealing. “The best parts of both cars were used to build an exclusive new vehicle. The appearance comes from the Ferrari 360 Modena, the quality and reliability from [a] Honda NSX… this is definitely no comparison to the Toyota MR2, Peugeot 306, or Pontiac Fierro [sic] conversions…”

So you get a 94,000 km, 300 hp, Acura NSX with a custom body and interior that make it look something like a Ferrari 360. Lighter, more reliable, and cheaper to maintain than a Ferrari, presumably more lust-worthy than a stock-bodied NSX, and all for just EUR 25,500.

While the front and rear views might make you think it’s a real Ferrari at first glance, that NSX greenhouse makes any other angle a dead giveaway. The builder didn’t do a bad job, but it’s just another project that has us scratching our heads and asking, “Why?” It’s in Zurich, Switzerland if you’re interested. Thanks for the tip, Emanuel!

When is a 1996 Lincoln Town Car with 114,000 miles on the clock worth $15,098? The correct answer should be never. In this case, however, the answer is when someone supposedly drops $45,000 worth of work into one to make a fake Bentley Arnage. The result is what you see above; add a couple of fender-mounted chandeliers and it could score a role as The Duke’s car in Escape From New York. That giant C-pillar is more Rolls than Bentley and those chrome dubs are more bad than good. The biggest disaster comes into view when you open the door and look inside. That interior reportedly cost $10,000. You’d think that amount would buy more than quilted leather, a passel of winged-B emblems that aren’t fooling anybody, and that stock instrument panel, but apparently… no. Anyway, somebody liked it enough to buy it, so what do we know. We’re sure it’ll look great in their garage. You know – right next to the Fierarri.

C“We’re not building a cheap Ferrari”. That was the oft-repeated party line from Maranello as the Prancing Horse marque was plainly working on the new California. Well no kidding, not at these prices.

The first example of the Ferrari California was sold during its American unveiling in Santa Monica this week, garnering a top bid of $520,000. The event was attended by a handful of Hollywood celebrities, and even the Governator dropped by. Half a million can buy you a lot of car, and the California is expected to retail for about a third of that amount, but of course that’s not the point: proceeds from the sale will go to the After-School All-Stars charitable foundation.