Lotus 107C

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1993 Lotus 107C

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Lotus has a long history in F1. From the days of Colin Chapman and Jim Clark to dominance in the ’70s and Mario Andretti’s only F1 championship. Lotus survived into the ’90s, selling out to what would become Pacific Racing, a team that disappeared after one season. The name then returned in the 2010s for a few years, which basically a holding place after Renault left and before they returned again.

Anyway, the Type 107 was designed by Chris Murphy (and team) and debuted for the 1992 season. The car was updated to “B” spec for 1993 and then to “C” specification for the first half of 1994 before it was replaced by the 109. Power in period was from a Ford-Cosworth V8 in ’92 and ’93 and a Mugen-Honda 3.5-liter V10 in 1994. Output was 725 horsepower for the Honda.

The history for this chassis, 107C-01 includes:

  • 1994 Pacific Grand Prix at Aida, Japan – 8th (with Pedro Lamy)
  • 1994 San Marino Grand Prix – 10th (with Johnny Herbert)
  • 1994 Monaco Grand Prix – 11th (with Lamy)

Lamy then used this car in testing at Silverstone when it suffered a catastrophic failure and was essentially destroyed. After Team Lotus failed in 1995, the remnants of this chassis were purchased by the current owner in 1997 along with some spares and rebuilt to show-car status. The Mugen-Honda V10 is long gone, but a mocked-up Judd V10 without internals is in there. The estimate is still $90,000-$125,000. Read more about it here.

Update: Sold $124,208.

Marcos Mantaray

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1999 Marcos Mantaray 4.6

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Datchet, U.K. | July 22, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

It’s kind of amazing Marcos was still turning out sports cars in the late 1990s. They were like a smaller version of already-small TVR. Founded in 1959, the company really hit their stride in the late ’60s – and that basic design would continue on in updated form for the next 30 years.

The Mantaray was the replacement for the Mantara and went on sale in 1997. Two Rover V8s were offered, with the larger being the 4.6-liter unit this car has. Turbo fours could also be had. Just seven were built with this engine out of a total production run of about 27 cars.

This big-motor sports car has been with the current owner since 2005. It’s got under 15,000 miles and also has an estimate of $19,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $21,961.

Tyrrell 014

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1985 Tyrrell 014

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Tyrrell was an innovative F1 team, especially in the 1970s. Ken Tyrrell started campaigning cars in other Formula in the late 1950s, arriving on the F1 scene in 1966. The team’s peak occurred in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Their final win came in 1983, and the mid-1980s were not kind. Their last season was 1998 before being bought by BAR, which became the Honda F1 team.

The 014 was the replacement for the 012 (which was a car that got Tyrrell disqualified from the 1982 championship season). The 014 was used for the latter half of the 1985 season and the first few races of 1986. The team’s drivers during that span consisted of Martin Brundle, Stefan Bellof, Ivan Capelli, and Philippe Streiff.

This car was raced with power from a Renault-Gordini turbocharged 1.5-liter V6. Only four 014 chassis were made, and the history for this one, 014/3, includes:

  • 1985 Italian Grand Prix – 8th (with Martin Brundle)
  • 1985 Belgian Grand Prix – 13th (with Brundle)
  • 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch – 18th, DNF (with Brundle)
  • 1985 South African Grand Prix – 7th (with Brundle)
  • 1985 Australian Grand Prix – 13th (with Brundle)
  • 1986 Spanish Grand Prix – 10th, DNF (with Brundle)

This car is described as being “in as-last-raced condition” and does not have an engine. But the gearbox is there! So you can sit in it and pull through the gears making revving noises. The estimate here is $63,000-$100,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $73,933.

Trident Venturer

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1971 Trident Venturer Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Trident Cars Ltd was one of many low-volume sports car manufacturers that operated in the U.K. between the 1950s and 1970s. Their first car, the Clipper, was born out of a TVR prototype that TVR decided not to build. So one of their dealers, Bill Last, set up Trident cars to make it.

The Clipper was followed by the Venturer in 1969. Styling was similar, but instead of the Clipper’s V8, the Venturer received a 3.0-liter Ford V6 and a lengthened Triumph TR6 chassis. Production ceased in 1974, and an attempted restart in 1976 saw a few cars built before Trident closed for good in 1977.

About 84 Venturers were built, making it the most common of Trident’s models. This one was restored in the late 1990s and now has an estimate of $23,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,926.

Facellia Coupe

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1962 Facel Vega Facellia

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | July 10, 2023

Photo – Osenat

Most Facel Vega cars were boaty grand tourers meant for rocketing you from Nice to Monaco. With the Facellia, Facel Vega wanted to show they could do “sporty” too. It was supposed to be targeted at the Mercedes-Benz 190SL, Porsche 356B, and Alfa Giulietta.

Three body styles were offered: a cabriolet, a four-seater, and a 2+2 (the different between the last two, I think, being roofline). Power is from a 1.6-liter twin-cam inline-four that made 115 horsepower. That engine had serious problems, and warranty claims, in which Facel replaced broken engines, ate through all of their money.

The Facellia debuted at the 1959 Paris Motor Show, and a Series 2 came about in 1961. It was replaced by a Volvo-powered Facel III in 1963, but the financial issues pretty much spelled an end for the brand. Just 1,045 Facellias were made. Read more about this one here.

Koenigsegg GT1

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2007 Koenigsegg CCGT GT1

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Koenigsegg CCX was introduced in 2006 as the company’s third-ish model. The company decided they wanted to go GT racing around this time, so they developed this, the CCGT GT1. It was aimed at the FIA’s GT1 class in their GT Championship. This would’ve put it up against the likes of Chevy’s C6.R, the Aston Martin DB9R, and the Maserati MC12 GT1.

It’s powered by a 5.0-liter V8 that made over 600 horsepower. It also had a carbon-fiber monocoque – which the FIA outlawed for the upcoming season shortly after this car debuted, thus rendering it illegal and immediately obsolete. The FIA also then stipulated that 350 road cars had to be produced to homologate the car for racing. I’m not sure Koenigsegg has produced 350 cars to date, total. It’s like the FIA wants to keep their fields small and uninteresting.

So this was the only example built. One of Koenigsegg’s shareholders took the car home, and has had it ever since. Now it’s coming up for sale for the first time with an estimate of $3,750,000-$5,000,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $4,267,570.

Unipower GT

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1969 Unipower GT

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

It’s hard to come by cars for sale that begin with the letter “U”. So far, our feature cars with this characteristic are limited to those built by Unic in France. The Unipower GT project was championed by Ernie Unger, who had previously worked at Lotus and Elva as well as at the Rootes Group, where he was an engineer on the rear-engined Hillman Imp.

Eventually Unger got his idea for a well-handling British sports car off the ground, with the help of some other folks, including financial backing of Tim Powell and his company, Universal Power Drives, which sold equipment under the Unipower brand.

The GT launched in 1966 with power from a buyer’s choice of Mini engines. The last GT was delivered in early 1970, and in all, just about 75 were built. Only about 40 are known today.

This one is set up for competition use and is powered by a 1.3-liter inline-four Cooper S engine. It’s eligible for historic racing and has a pre-sale estimate of $65,000-$90,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Bugatti Type 22

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1914 Bugatti Type 22 Prince Henry Open Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s a fun secret: most “old” Bugattis really aren’t what they started as. So much has been replaced over the years that, often times, more is new than is old. The other bucket is “assembled cars” that used bare Bugatti frames (or frames “believed to have been from a Bugatti”), reconstructed coachwork, and maybe some period mechanical components.

These trade hands often as “real” Bugattis but there is very little real about them. This car is described by Bonhams as a 1914 Bugatti Type 22-Style tourer, which is more honest than most. It was not born this way. The Bugatti Type 22 was introduced in 1913 as an updated replacement for the Type 15. It featured an oval radiator, a larger body, and quarter-elliptic springs.

This car was built around a Bugatti inline-four engine. The frame is thought to have been from 1924-1926 and has been shortened. The gearbox is also from the mid-’20s. There’s then more swapping around of bits in its history – and creation of the missing ones. Now what you have is true Bugatti power moving what could be referred to as a recreation. As this is a pretty regular occurrence in Bugatti circles, the estimate here is still a hefty $155,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $142,509.

DKW Schnellaster

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1957 DKW Schnellaster

Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | July 1, 2023

Photo – Dorotheum

The Schnellaster was the first Auto Union vehicle produced in West Germany after the war. It was built in Ingolstadt, Germany, now known as the HQ location for Audi, which Auto Union became later on down the line. We’ve actually featured a Schnellaster pickup before.

But a panel van and a microbus (passenger van) were also offered. The van features front-wheel drive and a two-stroke vertical twin (or triple) engine. This one has the 900cc inline-three from the DKW 3=6. Output was 32 horsepower, and top speed was about 60 mph.

This van has been used by commercial business for most of its existence, or at least until it was restored in the 2000s. Now it has an estimate of $33,000-$39,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Panhard CD

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1964 Panhard CD Rallye

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | June 30, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

This was Panhard near the end: swoopy sport coupes with sad engines to make them move. The CD was designed by Charles Deutsch (of DB) who was recruited by Panhard to design a successor to his HBR 5. This was the result, and you can see the DB’s influence.

The CD would be available from 1962 through 1965 before being replaced by the Panhard 24, which looked like an evolution of this design but much more restrained. Power is from a 848cc flat-twin. This Rallye version features two carburetors and an increased power output: 60 horsepower.

Amazingly, only about 180 of these were produced. And just 57 were Rallye versions. This one has a pre-sale estimate of $71,000-$93,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $78,274.