Monthly Archives: November 2021

1923 Crossley

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1923 Crossley 19.6HP Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Crossley Motors was founded in Manchester, England, in 1906. Passenger car production lasted through 1938, while commercial vehicles (and military trucks) were produced through 1945. After the war, the company focused on buses before being bought by AEC and phased out.

This inter-war “two-seater’ (it has a dickey seat in the back as well) was returned to the U.K. from Australia in 1990 and restored. Power is from an inline-four rated at approximately 20 horsepower when new.

Crossleys are around, but they aren’t super common. This one has a sporty body style with a 30-year-old restoration. It should bring between $27,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Brightwells September 2022.

Update: Sold, Brightwells, December 2022, $23,573.

1937 Detroit Electric

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1937 Detroit Electric Model 99C Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Louis, Missouri | December 1-8, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Detroit Electric started selling electric cars in 1907. Most of them were fairly stodgy, upright boxes on wheels. They were marketed towards women, and the company was very successful while electric cars remained popular.

However, that popularity faded into the 1920s. As time wore on, sales plummeted while styling became more mainstream. Bankruptcy occurred in the early 1930s, and the last production Detroit Electrics were sold in 1935. After that, they were available on a per-order basis. Only a “handful” (as if they can fit in your hand) were sold between 1936 and 1939. The company advertised up until 1942.

This is one of the last examples produced, and by this point, the company wasn’t even producing its own bodies anymore. This is a Willys coupe with a Dodge front end. Yes, there is a grille and hood louvers… even though there is not an engine. Late Detroit Electrics were five-horsepower cars, and they even retained the very early cars’ tiller steering! Check out more about this one here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Formosa 120 GR

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1967 Formosa 120 GR

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Weybridge, U.K. | November 27, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Okay, so this car is not from 1967. Formosa has only been building cars for a few years, and this one was built around a 1967 Triumph Herald. That means that the chassis is from 1967, but the body and interior are fresh. This isn’t a replica of anything specific, but is more in the fashion of 1950s/60s sports specials which was: applying a sporty body to a less sporty chassis.

Power is from a 2.0-liter inline-six, which is not a Herald motor, but is likely from a Triumph Vitesse. If so, it was a 95-horsepower engine when new. The body is fiberglass, and the interior is 1950s-sports-racer spartan.

There are more than one of these floating around. This right-hand-drive example carries a pre-sale estimate of $28,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Rene Bonnet Djet II

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1964 Rene Bonnet Djet II

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 4, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve featured a Djet before, a later Mk V variant. Those were branded as Matras, as Matra had taken over Rene Bonnet Automobiles in October 1964. By that point Matra was producing the bodies and supplying a factory for the production of the cars anyway.

Rene Bonnet was half of Deutsch-Bonnet before venturing out on his own. The first Djet (“jet”) debuted in 1962. The Djet II came later and featured a Gordini-tuned 1.1-liter inline-four that made 85 horsepower. The mid-engined sports car had a top speed of 111 mph.

This example has been with the same owner since 1992. Production figures vary, as Bonhams reports “181” produced, but I think they mean of all Rene Bonnet-branded Djets. Gordini-powered “II” production was likely less than 40. This one should bring between $47,000-$67,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,394.

Boshart EV

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2011 Boshart Tersus EV

Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | December 2, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Boshart Engineering, who is no longer in business, did some development work on the Phoenix SUT, which was an electric truck that looked identical to this one and was built by Phoenix Motorcars in Anaheim, California. Well Boshart, also of California, decided to produce their own version.

The bodies were the same. And neither company designed it. It’s actually a SsangYong Actyon Sports pickup, a truck from South Korea that was never sold in the U.S. The powerplant on this truck is a 37-horsepower electric motor. It’s got a two-speed automatic transmission and a reported top speed of 25 mph.

Why so slow? Well these were intended for use on “private land” or closed campuses. Not the highway. Or even the street. But they cost $30,000 when new. Thus, only 10 were sold. You can check out more about this one here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $9,900.

One-Off Iso Truck

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1966 Iso Centomila

Offered by Finarte | Online | November 29, 2021

Photo – Finarte

This may look like a Haflinger built by a refrigerator company but… oh wait, that’s sort of exactly what it is. When Iso Rivolta shifted from appliance to motorcycle manufacture after WWII, they also expanded into other territories, including microcars and sports cars.

So why not give off-road vehicles a go? This was the only one built, and it’s powered by a Fiat inline-twin sourced from a 500 Giardiniera. Apparently Iso sent it to Fiat for evaluation, and they liked it and wanted to take over, but Renzo Rivolta refused.

So the little truck returned to Iso, where it was used as a service truck. It’s the only one like it, and it’s expected to sell for between $21,500-$32,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,057.

JBA Falcon

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1991 JBA Falcon Roadster

Offered by H&H | Online | November 24, 2021

Photo – H&H

JBA Engineering, later JBA Motors, was founded by Kenneth Glyn Jones, John Barlow, and David George Ashley in Norwich, U.K., in the late 1970s. They were all engineers at British Leyland. The Falcon was introduced in 1982 and was based on Ford Cortina running gear.

Yes, it’s kind of a neo-classic sort of thing, as it isn’t an exact replica of anything in particular. It’s just supposed to evoke the look and feeling of a much older British sporting car. The body is aluminum with fiberglass fenders. This example is powered by a 2.0-liter Ford inline-four. Some cars had V6s.

It spent several years in storage with its original owner before being recently refreshed. JBA went out of business in 2007. This car, which was completed in 1991, is expected to sell for $5,000-$8,000. Click here for more info and here more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Flavia Sport Zagato

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1965 Lancia Flavia 1800 Sport Zagato

Offered by Bonhams | Online | November 19-29, 2021

Offered by Bonhams

Lancia, once one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of interesting cars, is now reduced to a single hatchback. The Flavia was introduced in 1961 and was offered in sedan, coupe, and cabriolet form at different times throughout its production run, which wrapped in 1971, at which time the model transitioned to the 2000.

For 1963, Lancia upped the Flavia’s engine from 1.5 to 1.8 liters. The flat-four was mounted way out ahead of the front axle and produced 104 horsepower in the dual-carburetor Sport model. Alloy bodywork here is by Zagato, and this car is one of just 670 bodied by the firm.

A restoration was carried out on this car in the Netherlands in the 2000s, and it’s been in France since 2006. The pre-sale estimate is $57,000-$69,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Entire auction disappeared from Bonhams’ website.

Abarth-Simca 1300 GT Coupe

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1963 Abarth-Simca 1300 GT Coupe by Sibona & Basano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Abarth used cars from many different manufacturers as base cars for their wild creations. In this case, the base car is a Simca 1000, which was a small, rear-engined sedan produced by the French marque between 1961 and 1978.

Confusingly, there were Simca-Abarth variants of the 1000, which were really just hot sedans. What we have here is an Abarth-Simca. It’s a GT car that Simca wanted Abarth to build that they could take racing.

It’s got a Simca 1000 floor pan, an Abarth-tuned 1.3-liter twin-cam inline-four, and a Simca 1000 four-speed manual gearbox. The cars were eventually homologated for FIA competition, and they were successful in European road racing events.

This car was sold new in Italy, where it was campaigned successfully. From there, it has kind of a complicated ownership history, and frankly it’s too late in the day for me to make much sense of it. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here. The pre-sale estimate is $405,000-$500,000.

Update: Sold $311,399.

Renault-Alpine A442

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1976 Renault-Alpine A442

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Sports prototype race cars were kind of getting a little out of hand in the 1970s. Think about Porsche’s Can-Am killer and some of the other wild cars that came out of that era. And look at the intake on this thing. I’m pretty sure there are smaller jet engines.

Alpine was owned by Renault at this time, but this car was designed and built by Alpine (with Renault power and funding, of course). Power is from a turbocharged 2.0-liter Renault-Gordini V6 capable of 490 horsepower. Only four examples of the A442 were built, and the competition history for this one, chassis 4422, includes:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 22nd, DNF (with Patrick Depailler and Jacques Laffite)
  • 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans – unknown

What? Yeah, there were two A442As, a single A442B, and an A443 entered in 1978’s race. The A442B won the race. But whether that car was chassis 4422 or 4423 has apparently been disputed. Renault says it was car 4423, but RM presents evidence that it could’ve been 4422. You can make up your own mind, but this car is the only A442 in private hands. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $4,600,000-$6,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,553,471.