2005 Magnate P708 Barchetta

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 7, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Giotto Bizzarrini stopped building “production” cars (even though they were all very limited in number) in 1969. Since then, a number of cars have shown up wearing his name, including a few P538 cars built using leftover components, and a number of concept cars.

There were concept cars using the Bizzarrini name in 1990, 1998, and a couple since the year 2000, including one called the P708 Barchetta. Developed with input from Bizzarrini himself, the P708 was shown around, seeing if there was any interest in a production version. It was supposed to be seen as a modern take on the classic P538.

Power comes from a 7.0-liter Chevrolet V-8 making 505 horsepower. The body is carbon fiber and it was built by a company called Magnate out of Thailand. It was purchased by an American in 2013 and only then was the car made driveable. It has since covered 1,000 miles. It’s listed as a “2005” because that is when construction of this car began, even if it took many more years to fully realize the final product.

At some point, the branding on the car switched from Bizzarrini to Magnate. What country of origin would you file this under? It had an Italian name, originally, but now sports a name (and body) from Thailand. It was completed in America but started out in Germany. It’s multi-national, for sure, and should bring between $335,000-$565,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $109,198.