Tag Archives: 1971

Dino 246 GT

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1971 Dino 246 GT

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

If I call this a Ferrari, I annoy purists who insist it was never sold as a Ferrari, which is true. If I don’t call it a Ferrari, I get eye rolls from everyone who agrees that, even though they were badged as “Dinos” in the 1970s, they are, for all intents and purposes, Ferraris. This is also true.

A third truth is that these are beautiful cars that were underappreciated for a long time. I think of it like 911 owners who look down upon Boxsters… presumably because they cost less yet are just as capable with, perhaps, a better overall balance.

The Dino 246 was sold between 1969 and 1974, available in closed-coupe GT form or targa-top GTS form. There were 2,295 closed coupes built, which outnumbered the open cars by about a thousand. Power is from a 2.4-liter V6 rated at 192 horsepower.

This was a British-market example when delivered new in Rosso Chiaro over black. It was restored in the 2000s and now has an estimate of $305,000-$370,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $329,154.

AC 428 Coupe/Convertible

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1971 AC 428 Fastback

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

With the Americans really stealing AC’s thunder, the company decided to launch a grand tourer model instead. They took an extended Cobra chassis and dropped a Pietro Frua-designed body over it in 1965. The body featured an aluminum trunk lid and hood.

For power, they turned to Ford. A 7.0-liter (428ci) FE V8 was chosen, and when fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, generated 345 horsepower. The big issue was two-fold. First, the cars were expensive to produce, as the chassis were built in England, shipped to Turin to get a body fitted, and then returned to England to be completed. Second, the big engine put off a lot of heat, a lot of which would end up in the cabin.

This Fastback is one of 51 produced and one of about 80 428s (or Fruas, as they are also known) produced in total. It is expected to sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,600.

1968 AC 428 Spider

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

And here we have the drop-top version of the AC 428/Frua. It features essentially the same Frua styling but with a retractable cloth roof. Power was also provided by a 345 horsepower, 7.0-liter Ford V8.

The Spider variant is even rarer than the already-scarce Fastback. Just 30 were built out of the total run of 81 cars. This is sort of the peak example of the last true, stylish AC car. Sure, the company is still around, but everything after this really lacked the same sense of style. Not to mention that, once the 428 went out of production in 1973, AC didn’t offer another car until the 3000ME came along in 1979.

No pre-sale estimate is available at this time, but it is worth more than the coupe. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $302,000.

AC 428 Fastback

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1971 AC 428 Fastback

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

With the Americans really stealing AC’s thunder, the company decided to launch a grand tourer model instead. They took an extended Cobra chassis and dropped a Pietro Frua-designed body over it in 1965. The body featured an aluminum trunk lid and hood.

For power, they turned to Ford. A 7.0-liter (428ci) FE V8 was chosen, and when fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, generated 345 horsepower. The big issue was two-fold. First, the cars were expensive to produce, as the chassis were built in England, shipped to Turin to get a body fitted, and then returned to England to be completed. Second, the big engine put off a lot of heat, a lot of which would end up in the cabin.

This Fastback is one of 51 produced and one of about 80 428s (or Fruas, as they are also known) produced in total. It is expected to sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,600.

Richard Petty’s ’71 NASCAR

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1971 Plymouth Road Runner NASCAR

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020

Photo – Mecum

Richard Petty drove a Ford in 1969 and was lured back into a Chrysler product in 1970 with the fantastic Plymouth Superbird. After it dominated the 1970 season, NASCAR tweaked the rules out of the be-winged cars’ favor, so Chrysler decided to put Petty in a redesigned 1971 Road Runner for the next season.

The second-generation Road Runner debuted in 1971, which was also the final season that a car won the Cup championship “using a production-based body and engine” per Mecum’s lot description. It’s powered by a 426ci Hemi V8.

Petty won his third championship in this car (and 21 races that year). The following season would begin NASCAR’s “modern era,” making this car the last of its kind. It was also the final season for the all-Petty Blue livery. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $450,000.

Hemi GTX

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1971 Plymouth GTX Hemi

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The GTX was a model produced by Plymouth for only a few years. It debuted in 1967 as a trim level on the Belvedere. It was redesigned for 1968, when it broke out as its own model, even though it remained more or less identical to the Belvedere/Road Runner/Satellite. It was just more upscale than those models.

That continued on for 1969, but in 1970 it became a sub-model of the Satellite. For 1971, the cars were restyled again (and the Belvedere was dropped). This was the final year for the GTX, and it looked just like the Road Runner and Satellite, again, but was a stand-alone model. You could get it with a 440 or a 426 Hemi. Plymouth moved just 2,942 GTXs in 1971, only 30 of which were powered by the 426ci (7.0-liter), 425-horsepower Hemi V8.

This is supposedly the only such Hemi GTX in Violet Metallic, and it’s coming out of a muscle car collection that Mecum is planning on selling in July. We’ll see. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $250,000.

Lawil S3 Varzina

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1971 Lawil S3

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 11-19, 2020

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Lawil S.p.A. was founded by Henri Willame and Carlo Lavezzari in Pavia, Italy, in 1967. The company actually stuck around through 1988, building a range of microcars over the years. Their early cars were based on Lambrettas.

The S3, also known by its nickname Varzina, was introduced in 1968 and remained in production through 1980. It is powered by a 246cc twin from a Lambretta that makes 12 horsepower. Top speed was about 40 mph.

The S3 wasn’t very popular in Italy but sold okay in other markets (or okay enough to keep it around for a dozen years). They’re a rare sight today, and this one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,100.

Lamborghini Jarama

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1971 Lamborghini Jarama GT

For Sale by Girardo & Co. | London, U.K.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The Lamborghini Jarama was a two-door 2+2 produced between 1970 and 1976. With its front-engine, rear-wheel drive, and four-seat layout, it is not the type of car Lambo builds today. Which is a shame. But in the 1970s, this sort of expensive continent-crosser was a popular sell. It competed against cars like the similarly-styled Iso Lele. What an interesting time that would’ve been, getting to cross-shop those two now-obscure models.

This is a 400 GT model, meaning it is powered by a 350 horsepower, 3.9-liter V12, which was shared with the Espada. A hotter “S” model was also produced and brought a modest horsepower gain, among other options.

Originally silver, this car is (obviously) now finished in white – which is a really nice, underrated color for something so exotic. It reigns it back in a bit. This, #18 of the 177 GT models produced, is offered by Girardo & Co. You can find out more about it on their website, here.

Corvette ZR2 Convertible

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1971 Chevrolet Corvette ZR2 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 3-13, 2019

Photo – Mecum

There have been some great limited-edition factory Corvettes, like the original Z06, the L88s, and the ZR1 and ZR2. The ZR1 was available as a coupe or convertible and could’ve been had in 1970, ’71, or ’72. The ZR2 included all of the special bits that a ZR1 had, except the engine.

Instead of the LT1 in the ZR1, the ZR2 was equipped with a monstrous 7.0-liter (454) LS6 V8 rated at 425 horsepower. Chevy moved 188 examples of this engine in 1971 (the only year the ZR2 was available), but only 12 had the ZR2 package.

And only two of those were convertibles, making this car an extremely rare example of the last of the original run of special edition Corvettes before all of the power was zapped from them. If you think about it, the ZR1 of the early 1990s was the next “go-fast” limited edition Corvette. The last ZR2 we featured brought nearly a half million dollars in 2013. And it was a coupe. Click here for more info on this car and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $380,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2019, high bid of $300,000.

TVR 2500

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1971 TVR 2500 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 6, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

The TVR Vixen of 1967 was an evolution of the Grantura that dated back another five years (the first Granturas go back to 1958, but the styling of the Series III cars is mostly represented here). While the styling may have been a carryover, the drivetrain underneath was the real news.

The first Vixens were powered by a 1.6-liter Ford unit. But the same year the Vixen was introduced, TVR also launched the Tuscan, which had a V-8 or V-6. Unfortunately neither of these engines met U.S. emissions standards so TVR built a best-of-both-worlds car: the 2500 (or as it was called in the U.S., the Vixen 2500).

Built in 1971 and 1972 only, the 2500 was powered by a 2.5-liter Triumph straight-six that made a modest 105 horsepower. This made it the most powerful Vixen model, but it lacked power when compared to its competition.

Fortunately, a recent owner of this particular example had this car restored in the 1990s. In the process, they hopped up the engine a little bit, making it more of a performer. Only 289 of these were built (though an extra 96 cars were constructed with a different chassis from the M Series… of which there was a “2500M” model that is unrelated to the car pictured above and the 96 “2500”s built on their shared chassis. Confused yet?).

This car should bring between $29,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $33,845.

Lombardi Grand Prix

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1971 Lombardi Grand Prix

Offered by Artcurial | Monaco | July 2, 2017

Photo – Artcurial

So what do we think it says about the design of an automobile if it is produced by a couple of different companies under a couple of different names? Does this mean that the design is solid and popular and so in-demand that a bunch of companies are all clamoring to build it? Or does it mean that one company tried, failed, went out of business and sold the design to someone else?

The Lombardi Grand Prix went on sale in 1968 and was sold through 1972. It was also sold as the OTAS Grand Prix, the Giannini 1000 Grand Prix, and the Abarth Scorpione. The car’s underpinnings are borrowed from the rear-engined Fiat 850, meaning this car is powered by an 843cc straight-four making 43 horsepower. Top speed is 99 mph. It won’t set the world on fire, but it’s small, light, and nimble enough to be loads of fun.

This example has been thoroughly gone through, having been restored about five years ago. They only built a few hundred of these and this one is expected to bring between $33,500-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $27,247.