1967 Exemplar 1 Concept Car

Offered by Dragone Auctions | Westport, Connecticut | October 17, 2015

Photo – Dragone Auctions

Here’s a car you’ve never seen before – and we’re comfortable saying that because no one outside of the folks who did the recent restoration has seen this car in decades. It was built with the backing of the Bridgeport Brass Company and the Copper Development Association to showcase that brass and copper provided many functional and styling opportunities on motorcars.

The car started life as a 1967 Buick Riviera and was sent to Carrozzeria Coggiola of Italy. Sergio Coggiola did the body work which is heavily laden with brass and copper – both inside and out. The styling and color palette are wild; check out the rest of the photos. The engine is the standard 360 horsepower, 7.0-liter V-8 out of the Buick.

Only one of these was ever built and it was destined for the crusher after spending two years on the auto show circuit trying to convince major manufacturers of the value of copper and brass. It was saved when the president of the Bridgeport Brass Company bought it and let it sit, covered, at his estate until he died in the 1980s. The Dragones bought it in the 90s and just recently got around to restoring it. It is fresh and should bring between $1,200,000-$1,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1961 Chaparral 1

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 17, 2014

Jim Hall’s Chaparral race cars are some of the most imaginative and forward-thinking cars ever built. A racing driver in his own right (he contested in the 1963 Formula One season), Hall had some money from his family’s oil business and paved his own path for racing success.

The Chaparral story starts with Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes, builders of racing cars in California (they were behind the Scarab) Jim Hall approached them and helped engineer a new race car called the Chaparral 1 that they were about to begin building. They built two for Hall and three for other customers. This car, serial #003, was the second car bought by Jim Hall. After success with this car, Hall would buy out the Chaparral name and make it his own, building cars under the Chaparral 2 name until 1980.

This car uses a 5.6-liter V-8 making 339 horsepower. The engine is housed in front of the driver, but behind the front axle, thus technically making it mid-engined. The competition history for this car includes:

1962 12 Hours of Sebring – 6th (1st in class), with Hap Sharp, Ron Hissom, Chuck Daigh & Jim Hall
1962 Road America 500 – 1st, Sharp & Hall
1963 12 Hours of Sebring – 62nd (DNF), with Sharp & Hall

The car was sold to a privateer after the 1963 season and was raced through 1965. It was restored in 1997 and acquired by the present owner in 2004 who’s used it in historic races. Chaparrals aren’t generally cars you can buy – making this early example a rarity indeed. If a Chaparral is on your wish list, then now is the time. It is expected to sell for between $2,250,000-$2,750,000. Check here for more details and here for more from RM in Arizona.

Update: Did not sell, high bid of $1,750,000.

S/N: 003.