Djet III

1964 Rene Bonnet Djet III

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

Fun fact: the Rene Bonnet Djet was the first rear-mid-engined production car. There were four series of Djet produced by Bonnet before production was taken over by Matra in 1965. They would continue producing various versions for the next few years.

The Djet III was produced between about 1962 and 1964 and featured power from a Gordini inline-four that in this example has been rebuilt to 1.1 liters and is capable of 105 horsepower. This car features a tubular trellis frame and is one of 15 Djet IIIs produced. Other series of cars had more conventional frames.

Bodywork is fiberglass, and this one was restored about 15 years ago, with the work apparently fresh enough that the engine still requires break in. It now has an estimate of $85,000-$110,000. Click here for more info.

Singer Gazelle

1964 Singer Gazelle

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | October 25, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

The Gazelle was one of those Rootes Group sedans of the 1950s and ’60s, and this one is somehow the first Singer product we’ve featured here. The Singer was positioned between the Hillman and Sunbeam cars that looked fairly similar.

Six or seven different generations of Gazelle were offered, with this, the Gazelle V, produced between 1963 and 1965. Output totaled 20,022 in that time. Power is from a 1.6-liter inline-four. Changes for the V included disc brakes starting in 1964, at which time the gearbox became fully synchronized.

This car was purchased by its current owner in 2019 and then received a freshening of the suspension and hydraulic system. It has an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. More info can be found here.

Panhard CD

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.

DB5

1964 Aston Martin DB5

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | London, U.K. | February 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

This is what you would call an absolute classic in its classic color. The DB5 was the James Bond car – so much so that it continues to pop up in later films. It was introduced in 1963 and sort of had an evolutionary design compared to that of the DB4 it replaced. In 1965, it was replaced by the DB6, which looked even more similar to the DB5 than the DB5 did to the DB4.

Power is from a 4.0-liter inline-six that was rated at 282 horsepower. That was enough for 145 mph, and Vantage options pushed power to over 300 horses. Convertibles and shooting brakes were also sold, although the latter were coachbuilt. But the 2+2 coupe is the most classic.

The alloy coachwork is from Touring Superleggera. Just 1,059 units were produced, and this was a British-market example that received a two-year restoration after 2017. The estimate is $590,000-$645,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $760,126.

Coachbuilt 230SL

1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

The W113 was Mercedes-Benz‘s first real SL class, in the terms we think of it today. It was the “replacement” for the 300SL and 190SL, and three models were offered between 1963 and 1971. There was the initial 230SL, which was sold from 1963 through 1966. It was replaced by the short-lived 250SL and then by the 280SL.

The 230SL was powered by a fuel-injected 2.3-liter inline-six rated at 148 horsepower. The W113 was sold with a removable hardtop, which earned the cars the nickname “Pagoda.” They all had that removable hardtop. Except this one.

Pininfarina wanted to design a true coupe version of the car, and Mercedes sent them a 230SL to do just that. Tom Tjaarda styled it. The design is interesting… from the fenders on back. The front end is a little droopy. There were 19,831 230SLs built, and only one coupe. The pre-sale estimate is “in excess of $1,000,000.” Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,215,000.

Rene Bonnet Djet II

1964 Rene Bonnet Djet II

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 4, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve featured a Djet before, a later Mk V variant. Those were branded as Matras, as Matra had taken over Rene Bonnet Automobiles in October 1964. By that point Matra was producing the bodies and supplying a factory for the production of the cars anyway.

Rene Bonnet was half of Deutsch-Bonnet before venturing out on his own. The first Djet (“jet”) debuted in 1962. The Djet II came later and featured a Gordini-tuned 1.1-liter inline-four that made 85 horsepower. The mid-engined sports car had a top speed of 111 mph.

This example has been with the same owner since 1992. Production figures vary, as Bonhams reports “181” produced, but I think they mean of all Rene Bonnet-branded Djets. Gordini-powered “II” production was likely less than 40. This one should bring between $47,000-$67,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,394.

Mercedes O319 Minibus

1964 Mercedes-Benz O319 Minibus

Offered by Brightwells | Online | February 18, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Mercedes-Benz has been in the commercial vehicle business for a long time. Longer than just about anyone, in fact. The L319 was a “light” commercial platform produced by the company between 1955 and 1968. It was their first such vehicle, slotting in between a small delivery van and a run-of-the-mill truck.

They were available in a variety of body styles, including vans, flatbed trucks, and more. A minibus variant called the O319 was also available. This would’ve originally had a small, 55-horsepower diesel engine in it, but now it has a replacement 2.0-liter diesel inline-four.

This tiny bus has apparently been in a private Welsh collection for years, being primarily used as a wedding party bus (though the interior still has very bus-like rows of seating). It is expected to sell for between $41,000-$48,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Bid to $34,192… Brightwells doesn’t make it easy to tell if a car sold or not. This one missed its estimate so I’m not sure.

Honda S500

1964 Honda S500

Offered by BH Auction | Osaka, Japan | December 20, 2020

Photo – BH Auction

The S500 was just the second production car from Honda. And it spawned a line of sports cars that has, thus far, culminated in the spectacular S2000 (after quite a long gap). Produced only in 1963 and 1964, the S500 would be replaced by the S600 and then the S800.

Only 1,363 examples were produced, all of which were two-door roadsters. Power is from a 531cc inline-four that routes power to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission and chain drive. That’s right, Honda leaned heavily on its motorcycle experience with this car. It’s got Keihin carburetors and a 9,500-rpm redline.

With just 44 horsepower on tap, it wasn’t blindingly fast. But it’s tiny. Like really tiny. And is a complete “momentum car.” And I’m sure it’s a blast. No estimate is available at this time, but you can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Steyr-Fiat

1964 Steyr-Fiat 1100 D

Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | August 29, 2020

Photo – Dorotheum

This is a shameless weird-marque grab. I love that the alphabetical list on this site is an amazing collection of different marques, and Steyr-Fiat is a rare one. There isn’t much special about this car other than who made it, and the fact that I turned down featuring a 120-year-old Peugeot to squeeze this in makes me a little naseous.

The Fiat 1100 was a small sedan produced between 1953 and 1969 across a few different models. The base 1100 gave way to the 1100 D in 1962. It was powered by a 50 horsepower, 1.2-liter inline-four.

Steyr, of Austria, produced the 1100 under license, along with some other Fiats. In some cases, they fitted their own engines instead of Fiat’s, along with other mechanical modifications. And they were sold as “Steyr-Fiats” for a period of time (with a unique front badge listing both names). This is the type of car you will only ever find in Central Europe. This one should bring between $7,000-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,174.

Glas 1300 GT

1964 Glas 1300 GT Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | March 26-27, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here is another Hans Glas rarity. The 1300 GT debuted at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show and was updated to 1700 GT specification in late 1965. Most of the cars were coupes, but a limited number of cabriolets were also produced. BMW bought Glas in 1966, and in 1967, they launched the BMW 1600 GT, a BMW-badged version of this car with a bigger engine.

This 1300 GT is powered by a 1.3-liter inline-four rated at 74 horsepower. That enabled a top speed of 106 mph. Styling was actually by Frua, and only 5,013 coupe examples were built between the 1300 and 1700 models.

Finished in blue over black, this car is sold at no reserve with a spare engine. It’s a rare coupe that will stand out wherever it goes. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $17,892.