Tag Archives: 1969

The First McLaren Road Car

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1969 McLaren M6GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 24, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

New Zealander Bruce McLaren founded the racing team that still bears his name to this day in 1963. McLaren was killed in 1970 in his own Can-Am car in a crash at Goodwood. Needless to say, his legacy is alive and well.

McLaren Can-Am cars were some of the best in the late-60s and early-70s. The M6A was their car for 1967. 1968 brought the M6B and for the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans, the company was developing a closed-coupe sports car called the M6GT. In order to race it in a sports car class, they had to build models for the road. The plan didn’t work out, and only three prototypes were completed – two of which were converted from M6B Can-Am cars, and one, which was a road car built from scratch. The first road car was sold to a customer in the U.S.

The two converted M6Bs were converted to road cars and Bruce McLaren used one as a daily driver. This is the other one. It was sold to a racer named David Prophet who actually raced it for a little while. It was restored in 1996 and is perfect for the road today. It uses a 5.0-liter Chevrolet V-8 making 370 horsepower. It’s as sleek as a race car and can do 180 mph. While it may look like a kit car or something, this is a legitimate McLaren road car – the grandfather of the F1. It should sell for between $210,000-$260,000.  Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Hemi Charger Daytona

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1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 16-25, 2015

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Chrysler was serious about NASCAR at the end of the 1960s. They were designing purpose-built specials to compete in NASCAR and win on the big ovals of Daytona and Talladega. The Plymouth Superbird would come in 1970, but for ’69 there was the Charger Daytona, which was a modified Dodge Charger (specifically, the Charger 500 model).

The changes were mostly aerodynamic: a pointed nose cone that was attached at the front to cut through the air and a 23-inch mega-spoiler out back. There were smaller trim bits as well and the standard engine was the 440 V-8. But this example has the Hemi option – a 425 horsepower 7.0-liter V-8.

Only 503 Charger Daytonas were built and only 70 have a Hemi. This is the lowest-mileage Hemi Daytona known to exist, having only 6,435 original miles and was once part of the Otis Chandler Collection. It is an easy six-figure car. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Kissimmee next January.

Update: Sold $900,000.

Porsche 908/2

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1969 Porsche 908/2 Longtail Spyder

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Porsche 908 was the successor to the 907 and it was introduced by Porsche to fight in the Group 6 category, which had just undergone rule changes for 1968. First came the 908/1. The 908/2 was a topless spyder, unlike the closed coupe 908/1.

The Langheck Coupe was a long tail version for high-speed tracks. But when Porsche chopped the top for 1969, the Longheck (long tail) Spyder was born. The engine is a 3.0-liter flat-8 making 350 horsepower. The light fiberglass body allowed this car to achieve high speeds on the straight at Le Mans.

This was a factory team race car before going into privateer hands, and its competition history includes:

  • 1969 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Vic Elford and Richard Attwood)
  • 1970 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Attwood, Gerhard Koch, and Gerard Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Brands Hatch – 6th (with Koch and Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Monza – 14th (with Larrousse and Rudi Lins)
  • 1970 Targa Florio – 13th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Spa – 9th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Nurburgring – 6th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd (with Lins and Helmut Marko)
  • 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans – 43rd, DNF (with Hans-Dieter Weigel and Claude Haldi)

This car was later owned by Jo Siffert and appears in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Later in 1971, it ended up in a private collection before being acquired by Peter Monteverdi. It has had a recent restoration and a handful of other owners. It’s an awesome machine with a fantastic history. There is no pre-sale estimate, but it’ll go big. Read more here and see more from this sale here.

Chassis # 908.02-05

Update: Sold $3,437,744.

Mustang Boss 302

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1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Fastback

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Las Vegas, Nevada | September 25-27, 2014

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Everybody loves the first generation Mustang. GM and MOPAR guys, even if they don’t love them, have to at least respect them. Ford offered some serious muscle in the Mustang line alone in the late-60s. Like this Boss 302.

There were two 302 cubic inch engines available on the 1969 Mustang. The 4.9-liter Windsor V-8 and the Boss V-8. Those who bought the Windsor must’ve felt shortchanged with only 220 horsepower. The Boss 302 was built for 1969 and 1970 only and was underrated at 290 horsepower.

It was sort of a homologation model so Ford could run this engine in the Trans Am series. They had flat black graphics that clearly screamed “Boss 302” on the fender. Only 1,628 Boss 302s were built for 1969 and over 7,000 for 1970, making the ’69 much rarer. There was also a badder Boss – the 429 that was also offered. This car is correct in every way and should top the $100,000 mark. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this auction’s lineup.

Update: Sold $88,000.

Here are some videos of a similar car:


Abarth 2000 Sport Prototipo SE010

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1969 Abarth 2000 Sport Spider SE010 Prototipo

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 13, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Carlo Abarth founded his company in 1949. Originally a race team, they soon turned their attention to tuning Fiats. Racing was always the love of Abarth so long as Carlo was in charge (instead of a trim line on modern Fiats).

They never lost their racing roots, as this car attests. The 2000 Sport Prototipo was introduced in 1968. This car is part of the later SE010 series with its signature four headlights (or “Quattro Fari“). The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making around 250 horsepower.

This car was used in hillclimbs in Italy when new, winning many that it entered. It was later acquired by Fabrizio Violati and has been in his Maranello Rosso collection for years. This is chassis #40 of what is believed to be around 50 built total. They don’t come up for sale often and this one is in very nice condition, even if it will require a thorough re-freshening after having been on display for many years. It should sell for between $330,000-$410,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $302,415.

AAR Eagle-Santa Ana

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1969 AAR Eagle-Santa Ana

Offered by RM Auctions |  Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Here’s the last open-wheel car we’ll feature from Monterey. This car comes from AAR, Dan Gurney’s All American Racers. It was their car for 1969 and it uses a 5.2-liter Ford V-8. AAR built four of them, three of which raced at the Indy 500 that year. This one did not, although Gurney did run it in practice. The only racing this car has ever done is on the historic circuit and it has been in the same ownership for nearly a quarter of a century. It can be yours for between $125,000-$175,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $104,500.

Ashley 1172

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1969 Ashley 1172 Roadster

Offered by Coys | Athens, Greece | June 14, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Coys has this car listed as a 1969 Triumph Ashley Special, but I did a little digging and it would appear to actually be an Ashley 1172 – which is essentially a Triumph, but with a sportier body on it.

Ashley Laminates built fiberglass body shells and panels that were turned into a number of “specials” between 1955 and 1962. They found their way onto chassis from Ford to Triumph and some cars in between. In this case, this car started life as a Triumph. The engine was a 948cc straight-four from a Triumph Herald but was replaced in 2006 with a 1.3-liter straight-four from a Mini Cooper.

The 1172 was available as a coupe or roadster and the roadster was available from 1958 through 1961. But body shells were around for years before they were ever actually attached to a car. It’s a pretty cool little ride for not a lot of money: between $13,500-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ lineup.

Update: Sold $14,225.

Aston Martin Lagonda Prototype

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1969 Aston Martin Lagonda Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 17, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

You’re looking at the first 4-door Aston Martin. The Lagonda Rapide was David Brown’s attempt at reviving the Lagonda marque, which Aston Martin acquired in 1948. The Rapide lasted from 1961-1964. But that was a Lagonda. In 1969, Aston itself hand-built a prototype four-door version of their two-door DBS V8 and called it the Lagonda. This is that car.

It uses the same 5.3-liter V-8 from the DBS making about 315 horsepower. The Lagonda entered production in 1974 and it was short-lived, ending the following year. Only seven ended up finding homes. This was Sir David Brown’s personal car.

The Lagonda would change shape for 1976, taking on a boxy, angular form that is much more well-known (although, not necessarily more well-liked). The design of this car actually reminds me of a Monteverdi sedan I filmed last year. At any rate, this is the prototype for a run of only seven cars – so it is exceptionally rare. And being David Brown’s personal ride only adds to it. The pre-sale estimate here is $540,000-$640,000. Click here for more info and here for more the rest of Bonhams’ Aston Martin sale.

Update: Not sold.

Checker Aerobus

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1969 Checker Aerobus

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 5, 2013

1969 Checker Aerobus

So this isn’t technically a bus – but it is rather lengthy. Checker is an interesting marque because they lasted a lot longer than everyone probably thinks – and most people don’t even remember they existed at all off the top of their head anyway. That, and they built basically the same lone model for over 20 years.

The Checker Marathon was introduced in 1960. It was the passenger-car version of the Checker taxi that was the go-to taxicab before the Crown Vic took over. The car remained in production, essentially unchanged, until 1982 when Checker ceased automobile manufacture. Did you remember that there was this “other” American automobile company producing sedans in the early-1980s? I bet you didn’t.

One step beyond (or many steps beyond, depending on how you look at it) the simple four-door Marathon was this, the Checker Aerobus. It was designed as an airport shuttle and I guess it would have been successful, as it seated as many as 15 people. They were available beginning in 1962 and could be had in two different wheelbases. This is the longer wheelbase that has eight side-mounted passenger doors. Which is a little ridiculous. I’ve always considered this the road-going cousin of those stretched golf carts you see in hospital parking lots.

The engine is a 5.7-liter Chevy V-8 making 200 horsepower. Non-taxi Checkers (although most road cars have since been painted in taxi livery) are extremely few and far between. The Aerobus is infinitely rarer. Only 3,568 were built by the time production ended in 1977. This one has a custom interior, but it’s still super cool. There are two other interesting Checkers in this sale. Read more here and check out the rest of Mecum’s Dallas lineup here.

Update: Failed to sell (high bid of $24,000).

ZL1 Camaro

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1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 18, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

You’re looking at a very rare, very desirable car. In fact, this is about as desirable as Chevy Camaros come. The lot description here even describes it as having the “most exotic American-built production powerplant of the 1960s.”

What sets the ZL1 apart from any other Camaro – and any other COPO Camaro – is its all-aluminium 427 (7.0-liter) V8 rated at 430 horsepower, but in fact delivering far, far more (some estimates push that number to about 550). Let’s back up a little: COPO is GM-speak for Central Office Production Order. At the time, GM was not allowing themselves to use engines larger than 6.6 liters. To get around that, customers could use a special order process – usually reserved for fleet sales – to spec out their cars with options not available to the general public.

The ZL1 engine was developed in part with the Chaparral Can-Am race team. It was developed for drag racing but ended up being a terror on the streets. The engine reportedly cost $4,000 alone – about twice the cost of a base V8 Camaro.

Only 69 ZL1 Camaros were built (this is #23), making it exceedingly rare. Prices have come down from their ridiculous levels back in the 2006/2007 era where these were pushing a million bucks. A more realistic estimate would be about $400,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Indianapolis lineup.

Update: Failed to sell.