1968 Siata Spring

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | November 11, 2012

In the 1950s, Siata was known for their little two-seat sports cars, namely the highly desirable 208S. Steve McQueen had one and he called it the “Little Ferrari.” They have that classic 1950s Italian sports car look. As you can see from the photo above, something changed.

The marque was relatively dormant from about 1958 until 1967 when Siata introduced the Spring, a car whose design and introduction was dictated by market research. It might look like an MG in kit-car form, but it isn’t. There were other cars at the time going for the retro-look, as cheap as it looks today.

The Spring is based around a Fiat 850 – so it is rear-engined. It’s a straight-four of 843cc making 46 horsepower. This unusual (and maybe a little under-powered for a “sports car”) rarity was restored in the 1990s, turning very few miles since. Spring’s were produced by Siata through 1970 when production was taken over by ORSA, who built them for another five years. Only a few thousand were built. It is expected to sell for between $10,500-$18,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Artcurial’s sale, click here.

Update: Sold $15,900.