Monthly Archives: February 2016

Vertias Meteor

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1950 Veritas Meteor

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The regulations for Formula One changed after the war, leaving a hole below it for smaller displacement cars. Enter Formula 2. It lasted up through 1984, when it was then replaced by Formula 3000. Veritas was a German manufacturer that hopped on the Formula 2 train early. The Meteor was their single-seater model.

Vertias cars were mainly powered by pre-war BMW 328 engines. Cars built after 1949 used a new 2.0-liter straight-four from Heinkel. This example was the final single-seater built by Veritas and it was only raced once, at the 1952 Chemnitz Grand Prix.

When Veritas shut down in 1953, this car was given to an employee instead of a paycheck. He kept it until the late 1970s, when it made its way to Las Vegas and stayed there until 2008. It was a runner-up in class at the 1992 Pebble Beach Concours and was most recently restored in 2010. Less than 50 Veritas competition cars were built and this one should bring between $230,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Paris.

Update: Not sold.

Abarth 2200 Coupe

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1959 Abarth 2200 Coupe by Allemano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 3, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Carlo Abarth’s company began out of the downfall of Cisitalia, where he worked. So in 1949, Abarth & C. became its own marque… sort of. They built some of their own cars, but most of them were just tuned Fiats of some variety. The name lives on today as a trim level on Fiat cars.

One such Fiat that Abarth got his hands on was the 2100 Sedan. Produced from 1959 through 1968, the 2100 was Fiat’s large car. They were all four-door sedans and wagons. But Abarth went to Italian coachbuilder Allemano and decided they’d build a coupe version. Allemano crafted this nice body for it and Abarth went to work on the engine, enlarging the straight-six to from 2.1 to 2.2-liters. Horsepower was rated at 135.

Only 28 of these were built (and not all were bodied by Allemano, but most were). The restoration was completed in 2011 and it isn’t a car that comes up for sale all that often. It should bring between $195,000-$220,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s in Paris.

Update: Sold $131,200.

EB110 Race Car

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1995 Bugatti EB110 SS Competizione

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

The Bugatti EB110 was the Italian Bugatti – built during the 1990s supercar craze by Romano Artioli in Modena. It was a serious supercar, too: with a 3.5-liter quad-turbocharged V-12 making 611 horsepower and capable of 216 mph, it backed up its looks with performance.

But what Bugatti didn’t do in these years, was go racing. In fact, most of the supercar manufacturers of the 1990s didn’t take these wild things racing. It was left mostly in the hands of privateers. Enter Gildo Pallanca Pastor, a wealthy Monegasque businessman who loved to race. His Monaco Racing Team got permission from Bugatti to take the EB110 sports car racing.

They got the car approved and entered it in the IMSA Championship in the U.S. The driver lineup was Gildo Pastor and Patrick Tambay. They entered five races and then set their sights on Le Mans. However, by the time Le Mans rolled around in ’95, Bugatti was bankrupt – luckily Pastor had the money to keep going. Tambay had a wreck in qualifying and, being a privateer with one car and limited spares, they weren’t able to get the car repaired in time for the race. “Did not start” is what the record book reads.

This car is road-registered in Monaco and is in fabulous condition. There was one other EB110 that ran at Le Mans in ’94, but that’s it as far as EB110 race cars are concerned. This one should bring between $875,000-$1,300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,055,133.