Tag Archives: 1953

Coachbuilt Jaguar Mk VII

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1953 Jaguar Mk VII Cabriolet Prototype by Beutler

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | July 5, 2014

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

The Jaguar Mk VII wasn’t an exciting car. It shared a similar style to the Bentleys and Rolls-Royces of the era – or really, any large British sedan. It was built between 1950 and 1956 as four-door sedan only. And if that’s the case, then what do we have here?

A two-door version, of course, built as a stylish (for the era, although you could argue “plain” today) by Swiss coachbuilder Beutler. It features an all-aluminium body around the base Mk VII mecahnicals: a 3.4-liter straight-six making 160 horsepower. The car was shown initially at the Geneva Motor Show before being packed away back at Jag headquarters and eventually sold and registered in 1964.

The car retains its original engine, which as been refurbished, and the interior has been “renovated.” The catalog description does not mention a “restoration” anywhere. At any rate, this is a one-of-a-kind Jaguar that can be yours for between $82,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial in Le Mans.

Update: Sold $217,162.

Ferrari 166 MM/53

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1953 Ferrari 166 MM/53 Barquette by Oblin

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1953 Ferrari 166 MM-53 Barquette by Oblin

The Ferrari 166 MM was the evolution of the Ferrari 166 S that was introduced for 1949. For 1953, Ferrari upgraded the 166 MM for one last go and called the limited run the 166 MM/53. That’s the history of the model name… let’s talk about this car.

Upon completion, chassis #0300M was sent to Vignale to be bodied. It left the factory as one of two 166 MM/53s bodied as a Vignale Berlinetta coupe. By May of 1953, the little coupe was screaming around Spa-Francorchamps, it’s 2.0-liter Colombo V-12 and its 154 horsepower echoing off the trees of the legendary circuit. After returning to Belgium at the beginning of 1954 (after racing in Brazil for a brief spell), the car was sent to Martial Oblin in Brussels to have a new body fitted.

The result is this sporty little barchetta – and the only Ferrari bodied by Oblin (it’s one of only three cars he bodied in total). The car competed successfully in races all over Europe after that. It has had many owners since and was completely restored in 2012 at a cost of over $400,000. This is one of 25 166 MMs built and one of 13 166 MM/53s built. I think that qualifies as rare – especially when it has one-off bodywork. It is expected to sell for between $4,000,000-$4,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial’s Retromobile sale.

Update: Not sold.

Reyonnah Roadster

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1953 Reyonnah A175 Roadster Prototype

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1953 Reyonnah A175 Roadster Prototype

As rare as they are, we’ve actually been fortunate enough to feature a 1951 Reyonnah on our site before. What’s a little strange is that the other car we featured was listed as a 1951 whereas this car is listed as a 1953 – and this was the first example built.

I’m only featuring this “duplicate” car because 1. it’s the original prototype and 2. I’m doubling it up with another old microcar. Might as well toss this in with it. Anyway, this car uses a 175cc single-cylinder putting out 8.5 horsepower. What’s even cooler than the fact that the original prototype still exists, is that this car has been owned by Robert Hannoyer’s family since it was built by him back in 1953.

Hannoyer’s son Jean-Pierre is the one selling it. Only about 12 of these were built and a handful of them still survive. This is the first one. The Reyonnah we featured sold for $184,000. This one is expected to bring between $68,000-$110,000. You can read more here and find more from Artcurial here.

Update: Sold $168,903

Three Rare Microcars

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1953 Reyonnah A175 Roadster Prototype

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1953 Reyonnah A175 Roadster Prototype

As rare as they are, we’ve actually been fortunate enough to feature a 1951 Reyonnah on our site before. What’s a little strange is that the other car we featured was listed as a 1951 whereas this car is listed as a 1953 – and this was the first example built.

I’m only featuring this “duplicate” car because 1. it’s the original prototype and 2. I’m doubling it up with another old microcar. Might as well toss this in with it. Anyway, this car uses a 175cc single-cylinder putting out 8.5 horsepower. What’s even cooler than the fact that the original prototype still exists, is that this car has been owned by Robert Hannoyer’s family since it was built by him back in 1953.

Hannoyer’s son Jean-Pierre is the one selling it. Only about 12 of these were built and a handful of them still survive. This is the first one. The Reyonnah we featured sold for $184,000. This one is expected to bring between $68,000-$110,000. You can read more here and find more from Artcurial here.

Update: Sold $168,903

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1941 Pierre Faure Type PFA Biplace Electrique

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1941 Pierre Faure Type PFA Biplace Electrique

When the Germans took France, they quickly banned the sale of gasoline to those without special permission to drive. The innovative (including Peugeot) tried their hand at building very small electric cars as a way to build vehicles, stay in business, and keep France motoring.

This car was designed by architect Michel Dufet and produced by Pierre Faure. The engine was a small electric motor making 10 horsepower driving the two rear wheels. It was capable of 25 mph and could do 40 miles on a single charge. About 20 of these two-seaters were built, this being #16. It is in original condition and would be a perfect candidate for complete restoration having spent many years in a museum. It should sell for between $20,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Sold $69,170.

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1967 Attica 200

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 6, 2014

1967 Attica 200

Well here’s a bonus! If you take a look at this page’s URL, you’ll notice this little car is a bit tacked on. I couldn’t not feature it – how often does an Attica 200 come up for sale? There wasn’t even one at that giant microcar auction last year!

Basically, this car is a Fuldamobil that was built under license in Greece. Bioplastic S.A. was the company’s official name and in 1962 they acquired the German Fuldamobil license. The 200 was in production through 1971 and uses a 198cc single-cylinder making, approximately, a handful of horsepower (accurate, I know).

This thing has been remarkably well-restored. Attica built other models as well over the years and I’m not sure how many of these they made, but only about 10 remain. It should sell for between $21,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $18,732.

Gordini Type 24 S

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1953 Gordini Type 24 S

Offered by RM Auctions | Paris, France | February 5, 2014

1953 Gordini Type 24 S

This is the first car RM Auctions announced for their sale in Paris this February… and they announced it last fall. I’ve been waiting to feature it since the day I saw it because I knew it was awesome and I knew it was rare.

Much like Enzo Ferrari, Amédée Gordini tuned and raced cars in the 1930s. After the war ended, he also started producing race cars under his own name. Unlike Ferrari, he never really built purpose-built road cars and his little company shut down in 1957 and he later sold the rights to his name to Renault. Imagine “Ferrari”-trim level Fiat 500s. Not a pretty sight.

But what he did in his day holds up – like this Type 24 S. The engine is a powerful 265 horsepower 3.0-liter straight-eight underneath an aluminium body. This car was a Gordini-factory race car and its competition history includes the following:

  • 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans – DNS
  • 1953 Tour de France Automobile – 1st or 2nd (with Jean Behra)*
  • 1953 Carrera Panamericana – 76th, DNF (with Jean Behra)
  • 1954 12 Hours of Reims – 28th, DNF (with Behra and Franco Bordoni)
  • 1954 Tour de France Automobile – DQ (with Andre Guelfi and Julio Quinlin)
  • 1954 Coupe de Salon at Montlhery – 1st (with Behra)
  • 1955 1000km Buenos Aires – 5th (with Elie Bayol and Harry Schell)
  • 1955 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Bordoni)
  • 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans – DNS

So it never started at Le Mans, big deal. The bodywork that the car currently wears was added for the 1955 24 Hour race, but it had an accident in practice and didn’t get to race. This car was sold after 1955 and used by privateers in many events. It has had five owners in its life, all French.

Only 32 Gordinis of all types were built in their 11 years of construction. This is the only one like this and it is expected to sell for between $4,075,000-$5,435,000. You can read more here and see more from RM in Paris here.

*The auction catalog lists this car as the winner, but my other sources say it placed second. S/N #36.

Update: Failed to sell, high bid of $3,346,750.

Fiat 8V by Ghia

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1953 Fiat 8V Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 16-17, 2014

1953 Fiat 8V Coupe by Ghia

The Fiat 8V was a short-lived sports car built by Fiat in the early-1950s. It was the first purpose-built sports car by the company and very few were made. Many of the cars had custom bodywork from Zagato, Vignale, and Ghia. Only about 1/3 of the cars had Fiat-designed bodies on them.

The car gets its name from the V-8 engine underhood. Ford had copyrighted the “V8” name, so Fiat just put the digit in front of the letter and called it a day. The engine is a 2.0-liter making 115 horsepower and that power took the 8V to competition victories in the 2-liter class all over Europe. Even though the cars were only built from 1952-1954, the 8V would win the Italian 2-liter GT championship every year through 1959.

This car was actually sold new to Ghia so they could build a body for it. Ghia has a strong association with the 8V as they were responsible for the eight legendary “Supersonic” cars with remarkable jet age bodies. The car you see here is the only non-Supersonic 8V bodied by Ghia. The car came stateside in 1957 and was restored in the 1990s.

It has competed in the biggest concours around the world including Pebble Beach and Ville D’Este. It is one of only 114 8Vs built and the only Ghia-bodied car without Supersonic coachwork. It is expected to sell for between $800,000-$950,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s Arizona lineup.

Update: Sold $946,000.

Here’s video of this actual car:

Connaught L3

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1953 Connaught L3

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 14, 2013

1953 Connaught L3

Connaught Engineering was founded after World War II by two ex-RAF pilots who happened to own a car dealership in Surrey. Well, automobile production took a little while to ramp back up in Britain and the two men, Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver, got a little impatient and decided to build their own cars instead of wait.

They acquired some chassis from Lea-Francis and had the cars bodied elsewhere. They were little, two-seat sports cars – a craze that was just taking off across the U.K. This was the second model and it features a 1.8-liter straight-four making 122 horsepower and an upgraded suspension compared to the earlier model.

This is one of the last road cars they made as they quickly turned to single-seaters – which would compete in Formula One through 1959. This car has known ownership history from new and was restored in Italy within the past 10 years. It is thought that Connaught only built about 17 road cars of all types, making this extremely rare. It should sell for between $130,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Goodwood lineup.

Update: Not sold.

S/N: L3 7120

Maserati A6GCS/53

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1953 Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder by Fantuzzi

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 16-17, 2013

1953 Maserati A6GCS53 Spyder by Fantuzzi

In the early 1950s, Maserati was winning races in Formula Two. They thought, “if we can win races at this level, why can’t we go sports car racing too?” Their single-seater was based off of their A6 road car – and so is this.

The World Sportscar Championship was what they were after with the clunky-sounding A6GCS/53. The engine is a version of the 2.0-liter straight-six used in the Formula Two racer – it makes 170 horsepower. Most bodies for the A6GCS were built by Fantuzzi using aluminium. You have to admit, this is one good-looking race car.

This car was sold new to an American Maserati distributor and while he never raced it, Juan Manuel Fangio drove this car on a publicity photo shoot. This car did a lot of amateur road racing in its day although the biggest race of its career was:

  • 1954 12 Hours of Sebring – 33rd, DNF (with Don McKnought and William Eager)

The car has had many owners and was acquired by the current one in 2006. The restoration is as old as 1999 and it is eligible for just about every historic racing even in the world. Only 58 A6GCS/53 were built and only 52 had Fantuzzi coachwork. This one should sell for $2,450,000-$2,950,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Did not sell (high bid of $2,200,000)

S/N: 2053

One-Off Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale

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1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe by Vignale

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 16, 2013

1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe by Vignale

Photo – Bonhams

The Ferrari 250 Europa was the first road car variant of the Ferrari 250 – the model line that pushed Ferrari over the edge from race car builder who built road cars to road car builder who builds race cars.

This particular Europa was bodied with a one-off body by Vignale and shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show. It was purchased from Ferrari by Luigi Chinetti – the longtime U.S. importer for Ferrari and the man responsible for introducing the brand to America. He had the car painted red for the auto show. Chinetti owned the car for about five years before selling it. It bounced around and ended up in California – where it was painted purple and a Chevy V8 was installed.

A model-correct, 200 horsepower 3.0-liter V12 is in the car now. The car was bought in unrestored, original and slightly modified/damaged repaired condition in 2004-ish by Tom Shaughnessy, renowned Ferrari rescuer.

In 2009, the car went to its current owner in Switzerland, who painstakingly restored it to the exact look it had on the Auto Show stand in 1954. Only 20 250 Europas were built (not to be confused with the 250 Europa GT). Only one of them has a body that looks like this. It is expected to sell for between $2,800,000-$3,400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ Quail Lodge Auction.

Update: Sold $2,805,000.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s “Driven by Disruption,” December 2015, $3,300,000.

Update III: Sold, RM Sotheby’s “Leggenda e Passione,” September 2017, $3,440,850.

Ex-Le Mans Ferrari 340/375

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1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Auctions | Lake Como, Italy | May 25, 2013

1953 Ferrari 340 375 MM Berlinetta Competizione by Pinin Farina

This Ferrari 375 MM was one of the first 375 MMs built by Ferrari. It was constructed early in 1953 to be ready in time for the 1953 World Sportscar Championship. The 375 road car was an evolution of the 340 but for the race cars, a special 340/375MM was built – meaning it had the proven, competitive chassis of the 340 with the new, more powerful 375 engine.

That engine is a 340 horsepower 4.5-liter V12 that came straight from Ferraris Formula One car (this car was originally fitted with a 4.1-liter V12 but had the engine switched by the factory prior to the 1953 Spa 24 Hours). The body was designed and built by Pinin Farina. Three of these such cars were built and the one you are looking at was driven and raced by legends. It’s competition history includes:

  • 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans – 56th, disqualified even though it ran well (with Giuseppe Farina and Mike Hawthorn)
  • 1953 Spa 24 Hours – 4th, not running at finish (with Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi)
  • 1953 Pescara 12 Hours – 1st (with Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli)
  • 1953 Carrera Panamericana – 6th (with Maglioli, Forese Salviati and Mario Ricci)

The car passed between owners, spending time in American and British collections before the current owner acquired it in 2004. It has been professionally restored to its 1953 Le Mans livery. No estimate was available as I wrote this as the lot description had yet to be published. The last one of these (of the three made) that came up for sale failed to meet its reserve in 2005 at $3.5 million. Expect more. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Villa Erba.

Update: Sold $12,812,800.