Offered by H&H | Duxford, U.K. | November 17, 2021
Photo – H&H
The Rover P6 was produced between 1963 and 1977 in a range of different models. They were all four-door sedans, save for some aftermarket wagons. The later cars, especially the top trim, big engine models, were quite good looking. This one especially.
The 3500 went on sale in 1968 and remained in production through the end of the P6 in 1977. It features a 3.5-liter Buick-based V8 rated at 150 horsepower when new. The “S” models featured a four-speed manual transmission and went on sale in 1971. Top speed was 123 mph.
This car is a five-owned example with just under 55,000 miles on the clock. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $16,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by H&H | Duxford, U.K. | November 17, 2021
Photo – H&H
There’s a lot going on here. Let’s start with the Metro part: this car started out as an Austin Metro, which was a small hatchback introduced by British Leyland in 1980. It was a no-frills economy car. But what if you wanted one all tarted up?
Enter Tickford, a coachbuilder whose roots dated back to the 1820s. They bodied all manner of British cars before and after WWII, and in 1955, the company was purchased by David Brown, owner of Aston Martin. In 1981, with Aston Martin company under new ownership, they created an engineering subsidiary called Aston Martin Tickford.
That company helped other manufacturers build high-performance models, including helping Ford with the Tickford Capri, Sierra Cosworth RS500, and the RS200.
Then there was a guy called Mike Bletsoe-Brown, who owned Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire. He set up a company called Frazer (unrelated to the American one) and contracted with Tickford to build the best Metro they could.
And so the Frazer-Tickford Metro was born. Think of it as the Aston Martin Cygnet‘s grandfather. They took a Metro 1.3 S and stripped it down. A fiberglass body kit was added, as were Aston Martin badges, a sunroof, and an interior worthy of an Aston. The engine was beefed up too, and the 1.3-liter inline-four now put out 80 horsepower.
Aston Martin bought out the project in 1982, and a dumbed down version called the Tickford Metro was available in 1983. Only 26 examples of the Frazer-Tickford car were built, three of which were destined for the American market, including this one. It’s back in England now and has a pre-sale estimate of $47,000-$61,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
If this car looks vaguely familiar, then you’re probably thinking it’s some kind of Aston Martin replica. It’s not. But if you were thinking that, then perhaps you are familiar with the Evanta. The Evanta was a car built in the 2010s that was inspired by the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.
The Evanta was designed by Ant Anstead, and that company folded a few years back. From its ashes sprang Dowsetts Classic Car Company, and they built this. It is said to be a one-off designed by Anstead. It wears a fiberglass body over a steel spaceframe chassis and is powered by a GM 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making somewhere in the area of 430 horsepower.
The interior is far above what you’d expect from a cottage industry manufacturer. Each Dowsetts car is built-to-order, but it’s unclear how many they’ve made, if it’s more than one. No pre-sale estimate is available, but you can read more about it here. And check out more from Silverstone here.
Offered by H&H | Duxford, U.K. | November 17, 2021
Photo – H&H
Marcos built some interesting, if not a little awkward-looking, sports cars in the 1960s. By 1972, the company was out of business. However, in 1981, Jem Marsh, who had co-founded Marcos initially, brought the company back to life. A stream of more modern cars followed until everything went belly-up again in the late 2000s.
The Mantula was introduced in 1983 and was sold as a coupe or a spyder. Just 119 spyder variants were produced through 1993. Externally, they carried many of the same visual cues as Marcos cars of the ’60s, but everything was just a little sleeker to fit the times. Power is from a 3.5-liter Rover V8 that was much lighter than the previous sixes the company used previously.
This 30,000-mile example is expected to sell for between $16,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | November 11, 2021
Photo – Mecum
COEs were seemingly everywhere even 30 years ago. Now seeing one on the road is kind of a treat, but in the 1970s they were much more commonplace. The cab-over-engine design is still popular in Europe, but different laws in the U.S. make them less appealing today than they were 40 or 50 years ago.
Something I find interesting about older semis is that it can be hard to pin down a year (or range of years) of manufacture. Trucks were generally in use until they were no longer functional. So some of the trucks you saw on the highway in the 1990s may very well have been produced in the 1970s, ’60s, or even earlier.
Diamond T is perhaps best well-known for its beautiful Art Deco pickup trucks of the 1930s and ’40s. But they were also building heavier trucks for commercial and military use. This 1956 COE model is said to have a “262 engine,” which I think means a 12.2-liter Cummins turbodiesel.
It’s one of the tallest COEs of its day and is well restored. It’s being sold on behalf of the American Truck Historical Society. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Not only was March Engineering a fairly long-lasting Formula One team, but they were also a race car and chassis constructor for other series for quite a long time. The F1 team first appeared on the grid in 1970, and they would continue to participate through the 1992 season.
The 771 was one of two chassis the team used for 1977. This is the first of two such examples built, and it’s powered by a 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV V8. The competition history for this chassis includes:
1977 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Ian Scheckter)
It was also used as a test car during the season and was actually merged with the second chassis prior to its Canadian Grand Prix outing. Later use included U.K. hill climb events, which must’ve been pretty exciting in a contemporary F1 car. It has an FIA Historical Technical Passport and had some decent refreshes about six years ago. It’s expected to bring between $345,000-$435,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
Silverstone calls this the “holy grail” of STis, and they aren’t really wrong. The 22B is one of those legendary hot Japanese cars of the 1990s, even though it’s a lot less famous than a Supra or a Skyline GT-R.
The 22B was born out of Subaru’s World Rally success, as it started out as a WRX STi turned into a widebody coupe with the addition of flared fenders. Engine size increased, and the turbocharged 2.2-liter flat-four produced 276 horsepower. An adjustable wing pulled straight from the WRC car was added out back. The car was built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and their third straight WRC championship
In all, just 426 were built, 16 of which were delivered new to customers in the U.K. This one was first owned by the guy who developed the Colin McRae rally video games, and it now has less than 16,000 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $315,000-$385,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | November 6, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This is something you don’t see every day. Or year. Or decade. Ascari Cars was founded by Klaas Zwart and was named for Alberto Ascari. Based in the U.K., they built very limited-run supercars throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. Their former HQ is now home to the Haas F1 team.
The FGT was their first product. The car was actually designed by Lee Noble independently and sold to Zwart, who founded Ascari around the car and produced it as a race car. The FGT competed in the British GT Championship through 1997, after which Ascari produced 17 road-going versions of the car and called them the Ecosse.
This example is the first FGT built (and likely the only true road-going version) – the initial Noble-produced prototype and what would become the first car to wear the Ascari name. It’s powered by a mid-mounted 6.0-liter Chevrolet V8 making 420 horsepower with an upgraded ECU.
It was apparently found by the current owner in a barn after sitting for 13 years. Lee Noble was called in, and the car was restored to as you see it now. Ascari built less than 100 cars in 15 years, and this is the first one. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Huron Auto Racing Developments Ltd. was founded by Jack Smith and Roy Ireland in the U.K. when they met up with former McLaren designer Jo Marquart. Marquart wanted to design something that wasn’t a McLaren, and thus the Huron was born.
The 4A was a single-seat sports prototype based around a Cosworth 1.8-liter engine. Today, this car, chassis number one of three built, is powered by a 2.0-liter Ford-Cosworth inline-four. The history of the Huron 4A is interesting. Cars number one and two debuted at the 1971 BOAC 1000 at Brands Hatch. Then they failed to qualify at Le Mans, causing Camel to pull their sponsorship funding.
In an effort to make some money, Huron sent the cars to DAF, who fitted car #2 with a Variomatic gearbox. The two cars remained together through their next few owners, including an American SCCA racer. This car has retained its original Hewland gearbox since new. It’s now expected to sell for between $115,000-$160,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | November 11, 2021
Photo – Mecum
This is a pretty awesome-looking semi. And it’s from 70 years ago, yet it doesn’t look that much different from today’s semis. It’s pretty crazy actually, not to mention the fact that it survived this long, although the restoration certainly helped.
Kirkland, Washington’s Kenworth traces its roots back to a dealership owned by the Gerlinger brothers. They started producing their own truck called the Gersix in 1914. Bankruptcy followed in 1917, and the company’s assets were acquired by E.K. Worthington and Frederick Kent. They combined their last names to form “Kenworth” in 1923.
This truck is powered by a 262-horsepower Cummins diesel. The auction catalog is light on info, but the truck looks pretty sharp and is probably still fairly usable. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
