MV Agusta Pickup

1957 MV Agusta 1100 D2 Autocarro

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 9, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

Giovanni Agusta founded Meccanica Verghera Agusta, later changed to MV Agusta, in 1945 to build motorcycles. Agusta was an aviation company that dates back to the early 1920s, but motorcycles didn’t come until after WWII. MV Agusta has had a number of corporate overloads, but currently operates mostly independently (they are 25% owned by Mercedes-AMG).

What most people don’t know is that this bike manufacturer built a small run of light commercial vehicles in the 1950s. The Autocarro was a light delivery truck and MV Agusta sold their first example in 1954 (though it was a three-wheeled, motorcycle-based trucklet at that point). Production stopped in the early 1960s. This 1100 D2 is powered by a 27 horsepower, 1.1-liter twin-cylinder diesel.

It is presented in barn find condition, but it is very interesting. Very few of these were built and even fewer survive. It is thought that D2 production totaled about 2,000 units – a fraction of what Fiat was turning out at the same time. This project deserves restoration and should bring between $32,000-$43,000, even in this condition. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Fiat 1100 by Allemano

1953 Fiat 1100 Cabriolet by Allemano

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 20, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Fiat 1100 was a model that was produced a number of different times, but the car you see here was part of the line that was available between 1953 and 1969 (though light commercial variants were built through 1971). The cars were offered in a few body styles from Fiat, namely a four-door sedan, wagon, and a two-door convertible.

When Fiat introduced the car at the 1953 Geneva Auto Show, it was just sedans. But later that year at the Turin motor show they had a few special versions on the show stand, such as a Michelotti-designed Coupe and Cabriolet, which were both built by Allemano. In all, Allemano is thought to have built two coupes and four convertibles and this is the convertible from the Turin show stand.

Power comes from a 50 horsepower, 1.1-liter straight-four. This car sports single-family ownership for 56 years and its current owner had it restored to its present glory. Only two Allemano-bodied 1100 Cabriolets are known to exist and they are very striking. This one should bring between $275,000-$325,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2020, $158,000.

Hansa Cabriolet

1937 Hansa 1100 Cabriolet

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | April 26, 2014

Photo - Oldtimergalerie

Photo – Oldtimergalerie

Hansa was a German car manufacturer and, in my mind, I consider it a sort of German version of one of those British manufacturers that went through so many owners and mergers over the years. The company started as Hansa in 1906 and in 1921, Hansa-Lloyd was formed by the amalgamation of Hansa and Lloyd. But Hansa remained as a stand-alone marque, producing cars up to 1939.

Carl Borgward took over after that and Borgward became the marque of note, with Hansa coming back around to supplement the Goliath range later on. Anyway, the auction catalog has this car listed as a Hansa-Lloyd – which is accurate insofar as it was produced by Hansa-Lloyd und Goliath-Werke Borgward & Tecklenborg. But the marque for the 1100 model was actually just Hansa.

The 1100 was introduced in 1934 and uses a 1.1-liter straight-four making 28 horsepower. The model was available as a two-door sedan or two-door cabriolet, as you see here. It will do 57 mph and about 20,000 were built before war broke out in 1939 and Hansa production ceased. This nice example should bring between $27,500-$29,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Fiat 1100 by Bertone/Stanguellini

1954 Fiat Stanguellini Bertone Berlinetta

Offered by Russo & Steele | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

This car was supposed to be a Fiat 1100. But luckily it escaped that fate, being shipped to Bertone, the famous Italian design house and coachbuilder, before Fiat’s standard body could be installed. It was handed over to designer Franco Scaglione who was also working on the series of BAT concept cars for Alfa Romeo. There are some slight similarities, the one-off look being part of it.

The goal was to put these cars into limited production, but only a handful (four) were built. And if having the direct built-by-Bertone connection wasn’t enough, this car was then mechanically modified by Stanguellini, builder of tiny Italian race cars from the end of WWII through the mid-1960s. Horsepower from the 1.1-liter straight-four was bumped to 70.

This particular car was first shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show, where it was bought off the stand by Briggs Cunningham, for his wife – who didn’t like it. The next owner kept the car for 51 years, parting with it in 2006. It then underwent a four-year concours-quality restoration. It was shown at Pebble Beach in 2010, and at the Concorso Italiano in 2011, where it won Best in Show.

Since then, the car has spent time on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, while also being “for sale” at Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, California. The asking price is/was $295,000 – and it has been there since at least November of 2011. So what will it bring at auction? Well, you’ve seen the asking price, it just depends what reserve the consignor has placed on the car and how realistic they think that $295,000 really is. Then again, it’s been for sale for almost nine months and hasn’t sold at that price, so we’ll see. For more information, click here. And for the rest of the Russo & Steele Monterey lineup, click here.

Update: Not sold.