1971 C.G. 548 Prototype

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 18, 2013

The cars badged as C.G. were built by Carrosserie Chappe Freres et Gessalin in France. They were based on Simca 1000s. C.G. was to Simca like Alpine were to Renault (sorry for the SAT flashback). Production began in 1967 and lasted through 1974. A coupe and roadster were offered.

The name refers to the weight of the car – a featherweight 548kg. In 2006 this car was acquired by an aspiring historic race car driver. He wanted something weird – mission accomplished. He had it completely restored, and in the process, converted to race specification. A roll bar was installed and the engine was upgraded. It’s a 1.3-liter Simca straight-four, supercharged, making 160 horsepower. The transmission and suspension were also modified making this a competent competition machine.

It was a $350,000 investment turning this car into a racer. The fun all the upgrades bring overshadows how rare this car is. The estimate at this sale is between $155,000-$185,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.