Exemplar Concept Car

1967 Exemplar 1 Concept Car

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

Photo - Dragone Auctions

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.

Bizzarrini P538

1967 Bizzarrini P538

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

We’ve actually tried to feature one of these before but there was a problem. You see, there are two kinds of Bizzarrini P538s. The first batch were built by Bizzarrini in the 1960s. The other batch were built to-order by former-Bizzarrini engineer Salvatore Diomante between the mid-1970s and early 1990s. Not many of either were built. The car we were going to feature months ago was of the latter variety. But this is a true, Bizzarrini-built P538.

It was a race car that debuted at Le Mans in 1966. This wild prototype racer is powered by a 5.3-liter Chevrolet V-8 engine making 365 horsepower. At least two of these were built with Lamborghini V-12 engines.

It’s unknown how many were built in total. It is thought about eight were built by Diomante and at least four by Bizzarrini (at least two of which are V-8 cars like this one). If you’re familiar with numbers, you’ll know that “two” is super rare for just about anything. It’s been beautifully restored and price reflects its greatness: a pre-sale estimate of between $700,000-$900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

BMW-Glas 3000

1967 BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback by Frua

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Lake Como, Italy | May 23, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Hans Glas GmbH was a German auto manufacturer that built things like the Goggomobil and a few cars under the Glas brand. In 1966, BMW acquired Glas, mainly for their production capacity. They phased out most of the Glas models, or at least changed their names to BMWs. The 3000 was branded as BMW-Glas 3000 V8 for 1967 and 1968.

The original Glas 3000 was designed by Frua. It was a kind of boxy coupe, but when BMW came in, Frua designed this Fastback version. BMW took it to motor shows all over Europe, but it was the only one like it built.

It is powered by a 160 horsepower 3.0-liter V-8. It is coming up for sale off of a fresh restoration and has just under 65,000 miles on the odometer. Being one of one, it will command a premium over all over 3000 V8s. It should sell for between $410,000-$520,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Paris 2020 – $229,581.

DB6 Volante

1967 Aston Martin DB6 Mk I Volante

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 9, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin DB6 is one of the sexiest Astons ever made. And in most cases, a drop-top Aston Martin is always more drool-inducing than their closed-roof counterparts. This car is no exception.

Prior convertibles were just that, convertibles. With the introduction of the DB6 in 1965, the term Volante was used to describe a rag top Aston and let’s be honest, it’s a fine, exotic-sounding word. The DB6 is a wonderful GT too, a true four-seater. It is powered by a 4.0-liter straight-six making 282 horsepower.

The DB6 would remain in production through 1970 – into the 1971 model year – with a total of 1,575 hard tops produced. The Volante was much rarer – only 178 built with this car being a Mark I, signifying it was built before the summer of 1969, when the Mark II was introduced. This is a 58,000 mile car with recent service history that is ready for the road. It should bring between $1,000,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

427 S/C Cobra

1967 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 14, 2015

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Here it is. One of the greatest cars of all time. By 1965, there had already been two versions of the Cobra. First, the 260, and then the 289. But the Cobra’s competitors were getting faster and faster and the 289 didn’t have any more power to give. So Carroll Shelby went to ford to get an aluminium 390 V8 and Ford said no and gave him this old iron-block 427 V8 instead.

The thing was monstrous and heavy and the Shelby team had to redesign the chassis to handle it. This is why 427 Cobras have those wide hips compared to earlier cars. So the Mk III Cobra, the 7.0-liter 427 V-8 powered monster, was built between 1965 and 1967.

What makes this even more special is that Shelby was a racer at heart and he wanted to see these things taking checkered flags all over the world. As the FIA was screwing around with their rules and classifications for different cars, Shelby was just trying to keep up. He ordered 100 competition Cobras from AC. 53 were completed before the FIA changed things again and Shelby put a hold on the order. But the new rules pitted the Cobra and GT40, siblings, against each other. Carroll bowed the Cobra out to run the GT40 program and left these roadsters to privateers, selling 16 of his 53 competition Cobras to private teams.

But he had some leftovers. Instead of racing them, they painted them (and this blue with two white stripes is the absolute best Cobra paint scheme there is) and sold them to the public as “Semi-Competition” (or S/C) road cars. They were the fastest street cars ever produced at the time of their introduction (and for quite a few years afterward).

The engine puts out 485 horsepower in S/C form. Top speed is said to be about 185 mph, which is insane for 1967. This particular car has known ownership history from new and 18,000 original miles. It has light SCCA competition history and is one of 29 authentic factory 427 S/C Cobras built. It’s incredible. You can read more here and see more from RM in Amelia Island here.

Update: Sold $2,117,500.

Mercury Comet 202

1967 Mercury Comet 202 R-Code Sedan

Offered by Mecum | Austin, Texas | December 13, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The Mercury Comet began in 1960 as Mercury’s compact model. It was originally going to be an Edsel model, but the Edsel marque was killed off before it ever had the chance to exist. In fact, for the first two years, they weren’t even branded as Mercurys… just “Comet”s.

The third generation Comet was built in 1966 and 1967 and was actually bumped up to Ford’s mid-size Fairlane chassis. Actually, for 1967, the Comet sub-models became their own models (the Capri, Cyclone, Caliente, etc.) and the only Comet-badged cars were the base Comet 202, which was available as a two (as seen here) or four-door sedan.

This car is actually one of only 22 Comets to receive the R-Code 7.0-liter V-8 making 425 horsepower. Only six are known to still exist. This thing is a true sleeper. It is also in excellent, unrestored condition having covered only 2,004 miles in its lifetime. It can be yours now. Check out Mecum’s site for more info and click here for more from Mecum in Austin.

Update: Sold $169,000.

OSI 20M TS

1967 OSI-Ford 20M TS Coupe by Ghia

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 28, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s a weird one. Officine Stampaggi Industriali was founded in 1960 in Turin by two men – one the former president of coachbuilder Ghia, the other from the Fergat automotive component manufacturing company. OSI built custom cars and bodies for other manufacturers. The company was absorbed into Fiat’s design office in 1968.

In 1967, OSI designed a sporty Italian coupe based off of the Ford Taunus 20M (hence the “20M” in this car’s name). The car has four seats and two engines were offered – this one uses the larger 2.3-liter V-6 making 106 horsepower. Top speed was about 112 mph. It wasn’t quick, taking over 11 seconds to hit 60 mph.

This car was recently restored and, because it is based on a very popular old Ford, it is easy and inexpensive to maintain. Only 409 2.3-liter coupes were built (and 870 with the 2.9-liter). Only about 200-300 of these cars (both engines) remain today, making them fairly rare. This one should sell for between $20,000-$27,000 – a nice price for a pretty Italian automobile. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Hendon.

Update: Sold $29,029.

Praga M53

ca.1967 Praga M53/59

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

This is a former Czechoslovakian Army vehicle built by Praga. It uses a Tatra straight-six making 110 horsepower. They only built less than around 350 of these, so it’s kind of rare. This six-wheel-drive truck will do 37 mph. It’s certainly interesting and should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Read more here.

Update: Sold $33,350

Five Military Vehicles

The Littlefield Collection

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014

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ca.1960 Daimler Ferret FV701

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Ferret was an armored car built by Daimler in the U.K. for reconnaissance purposes. They were built between 1952 and 1971. The engine is a straight-six making 129 horsepower which can push it to 58 mph. These were used in almost every Commonwealth country up to and into the early-1990s. In total, 4,409 were built and they have become an attainable military vehicle for many collectors. This one should sell for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $54,050.

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ca.1951 Vauxhall Churchill FV3901 Toad

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Churchill tank was used by British forces during WWII. They were built between 1941 and 1952 and they were pretty much obsolete by the time the war ended, making them a great candidate for modification for other service. One such modification was that to a “Toad” – a minesweeper. The engine is a 21.2-liter flat-12 making 350 horsepower. The flail (that chains that pound the ground to detonate mines) has its own engine, another V-12. It will do a whopping 12 mph.

They converted 42 Churchills into Toads in the early 1950s. The one you see here has been fantastically restored and is the only one left in the world. And it is fully functional. This is one of the stars of the show. It should sell for between $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $80,500

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ca.1959 ChKZ 8U218 TEL 8K11 Scud A

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

No, I did not just slam my fingers on my keyboard to name this. This is an accurate vehicle name as I can provide. It was built by ChKZ (Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant) in St. Petersburg, Russia. This particular model of TEL (transporter, erector, launcher) was built between 1958 and 1962. The missile is a Scud A – a Soviet ballistic missile and one of the scarier parts of the Cold War.

The vehicle is powered by a 520 horsepower 12-cylinder engine. Top speed is 23 mph. This is a really cool piece of Cold War history. It can be yours for between $300,000-$350,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $345,000.

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ca.1967 Praga M53/59

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

This is a former Czechoslovakian Army vehicle built by Praga. It uses a Tatra straight-six making 110 horsepower. They only built less than around 350 of these, so it’s kind of rare. This six-wheel-drive truck will do 37 mph. It’s certainly interesting and should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Read more here.

Update: Sold $33,350

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1942 Vickers-Armstrongs Infantry Tank Mk III, Valentine Mk V

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Mark III Infantry Tank was called the Valentine in the U.K. during World War 2. They were built by Vickers-Armstrongs, among other manufacturers. It was a big, strong tank that was fairly reliable too. It’s powered by a 138 horsepower GMC straight-six. The top speed was 15 mph. This is one of many tanks I’m hoping to feature over the coming weeks. Between 1940 and 1945, 8,275 of these were built. In original condition, this should sell for between $100,000-$150,000. Click here to read more and here for more from this awesome sale.

Update: Sold $109,250.

Attica 200

1967 Attica 200

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

1967 Attica 200

Photo – Bonhams

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.