Tag Archives: 1975

Chevron B31

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1975 Chevron B31

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 2024

Photo – Iconic Auctioneers

Chevron‘s B31 was a sports prototype race car that initially competed in the 1975 European 2-Litre Championship. It was an evolution of the 1973 B26 and was actually entered in high-level competition through 1990. Which is an insanely long time to keep a race car around.

This car previously was fitted with a Cosworth DFV but has since been taken back to its as-designed 2.0-liter Hart DOHC inline-four that was rated at 290 horsepower. It has a Hewland five-speed manual gearbox and fiberglass body work.

It is the fifth of six B31s built in 1975. It has a Martini livery and won a historic championship in 2013. It now has an estimate of $125,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Lancia Stratos

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1975 Lancia Stratos HF

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Moritz, Switzerland | September 9, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Lancia Stratos HF, or commonly just the Stratos, was produced from 1973 through 1975 with just 492 examples were completed in that time. The car was intended for rally competition and succeeded wildly, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975, and 1976. A Stratos also won the Targa Florio.

It has a steel space frame wrapped in a Bertone-designed fiberglass body and features a 2.4-liter Dino V6 mounted transversely behind the driver. There’s also a mini-car-like 85.8″ wheelbase with very little rear overhang. The car is small and compact and, with just 188 horsepower, can still pack a punch.

The true era of the supercar wouldn’t dawn until the 1980s, but this car certainly deserves mention in the “early supercar” conversation. This particular example was mostly totaled by its first owner and rebuilt at a Lancia dealer with a replacement chassis. With that in mind, it is still estimated at $610,000-$715,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

NSU Ro 80

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1975 NSU Ro 80

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 12, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

NSU was one of a handful of German automakers that restarted production after WWII. But they really didn’t get going until the late 1950s. In 1967 they introduced this large sedan powered by a Wankel rotary engine. Two years later, the company was acquired by Volkswagen, who eventually merged it into Audi, scrapping the NSU name after 1977.

1977 was also the year the Ro 80 ceased production after a decade and a total of 37,398 examples built. The car was completely out of left field – and in a good way. First, the engine: a 995cc twin-rotor Wankel rotary. It made 113 horsepower and drove the front wheels through a semi-automatic transmission that featured an three speeds and an automatic clutch that worked off of a vacuum system.

The car featured a very low drag coefficient, enabling it to hit 112 mph. The wheels were pushed to the corners, and the interior was appointed with a PVC headliner and carpeted floors. Unfortunately, early cars suffered all kinds of reliability problems that were eventually rectified for later units, but not before the damage was done. Fuel economy was also poor, and all of the warranty claims sucked up NSU’s cash, leading to the VW takeover.

This example is one of 45 registered in the U.K. and has a pre-sale estimate of $17,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $10,785.

Baldi Frog

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1975 Baldi Frog

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | October 16, 2021

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

The Baldi Frog was a microcar based on the Fiat 500 that was produced between 1973 and 1975 by Carrozziere G.A.M.C. Baldi of San Remo, Italy. The cars could be registered as quadricycles, which made them more appealing to city buyers who didn’t want the tax burden of a larger vehicle.

The cars actually used a shortened version of the Fiat 500 chassis, and this one is powered by a 500cc inline-twin that was rated at 18 horsepower when new. Two other engine choices were offered, including a 125cc unit from a Lambretta scooter. There was also a larger 595cc engine from the Fiat 500R.

It also has a folding fabric sunroof. Only 300 Baldi Frogs were built, and this one is expected to sell for between $16,000-$22,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

DAF 44

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1975 DAF 44

Offered by Barons | Sandown Park, U.K. | June 8, 2021

Photo – Barons

DAF still exists as a heavy truck manufacturer, but passenger car production, which started in 1958, wrapped for good in 1976. The 44 was a small family car styled by Giovanni Michelotti. It went on sale in 1966 and lasted through 1974. This one is titled as a ’75, which may have been the year it was first sold.

DAF models were usually technically interesting. This car has a front-engine/rear-wheel-drive layout and is powered by an 844cc flat-twin rated at 34 horsepower. It used DAF’s “Variomatic” transmission, which was essentially the first successful CVT gearbox.

The 44 was replaced by the short-lived 46 in late 1974 after nearly 168,000 had been built. This example is actually quite nice, and it should bring between $1,200-$2,100. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,409.

Edmunds Midget

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1975 Edmunds Midget Race Car

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | April 2021

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

It’s not every day you get the chance to buy a race car directly from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. This USAC midget was raced Bev Griffis in 1986 to the first female USAC regional victory. Which is pretty awesome. Not sure about the sponsor she had to put up with while doing it though.

The car was built by Don Edumunds of Edmunds Autoresearch, a race car constructor based out of Anaheim, California. He built about 400 of these of various styles between 1963 and 1981. The car spent time in New Zealand back in the ’70s before returning stateside.

Power is from a 2.2-liter Volkswagen flat-four. The car does two things: it goes or it doesn’t. It has direct drive – no shifting here. Just fire it up and give it a push. It’s a compact little historic thing, but it’ll need a little work to get running. Bidding is underway, and the auction ends this weekend. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $13,500.

Ferrari 312T

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1975 Ferrari 312T

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 16, 2019

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well, there are few race cars more desirable than a Ferrari Formula One car. And one that won the driver’s and constructor’s championship is more or less holy grail territory. The 312T was the replacement for the 312B3 and debuted at the third race of the 1975 season.

The 3.0-liter flat-12 pumps out 500 horsepower, and five examples were built. Two of which were used by Niki Lauda during the season, while teammate Clay Regazzoni also took the helm of this chassis throughout the season. The competition history of this car consists of:

  • 1975 Spanish Grand Prix – 25th, DNF (with Lauda)
  • 1975 Belgian Grand Prix – 5th (with Regazzoni)
  • 1975 Dutch Grand Prix – 2nd (with Lauda)
  • 1975 French Grand Prix – 1st (with Lauda)
  • 1975 German Grand Prix – 3rd (with Lauda)
  • 1975 Austrian Grand Prix – 6th (with Lauda)
  • 1976 South African Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Regazzoni)

It was purchased by its first private owner out of Ferrari storage in 1979. It was restored by its present owner and won its class at Pebble Beach in 2017. It now should bring between $6,000,000-$8,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $6,000,000.

Gulf-Mirage GR8

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1975 Gulf-Mirage GR8

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 24, 2018

Photo – Gooding & Company

John Wyer is a name closely associated with Gulf Oil racing. He made a name for himself winning the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans as a team owner with an Aston Martin. Ford hired him to run their GT40 program (it didn’t go well and he was replaced by Carroll Shelby). So he went out and created his own company, J.W. Automotive Engineering. And the race cars they built were called Mirages.

1967 was the first season for Mirage race cars and in 1975 their new car was called the GR8. It featured an aluminium monocoque chassis and a fiberglass body. Power came from a 482 horsepower, 3.0-liter Ford Cosworth V-8. It definitely has the look of one of those weird-in-retrospect 1970s prototype race cars. But it was pretty stout on track. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd (with Vern Schuppan and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud)
  • 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans – 2nd (with Jean-Louis Lafosse and Francois Migault)
  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 2nd (with Schuppan and Jean-Pierre Jarier)
  • 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans – 10th (with Schuppan, Jacques Laffite, and Sam Posey), as Renault-Mirage M9
  • 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans – 24th, DNF (with Schuppan, Jaussaud, and David Hobbs), as Ford M10

A different GR8 won the race in ’75 and this car underwent some development along the way, becoming a Renault-Mirage M9 in 1978 when a smaller Renault engine was installed and in 1979 it got the Ford Cosworth engine it sports now, thus it was then called a Ford M10. But still, five years for the same chassis at Le Mans – with three podiums at that – is pretty impressive.

In 1987, the car was retrofitted with its 1978 GR8 bodywork and passed between several collectors. It’s well-sorted and wears the best livery in racing. It can be yours for between $2,500,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Countach Periscopio

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1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | July 7, 2018

Photo – Artcurial

The Countach was the second, what we’ll call, “Mega-Lamborghini.” Originally there was the Miura, the first mid-engined supercar. There were other V-8 and V-12-powered cars in between but they weren’t outrageous. And if there’s one thing that Lamborghini does well, it’s being outrageous.

Originally penned by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, the Countach went on sale in 1974. The LP400 (LP, for the longitudinal mounting of the engine) was powered by a 375 horsepower, 3.9-liter V-12. Top speed was 167 mph. The LP400 was the first model and there would be a few others, as production rambled on through 1990. Lamborghini as a corporate entity changed hands a few times during the Countach’s production run so it was a car made with many “cooks in the kitchen,” if you will.

The other thing that changed between 1974 and 1990 was the preferred styling by customers. The Countach was sort of the torch-bearer for this as they got boxier and boxier with time. But this cool, sleek, original design is really the best-looking of the bunch.

This example was purchased new by a Saudi Prince and by the 1990s it made its way to Italy. An extensive restoration by the third owner followed, with a repaint in the original Giallo Fly. It’s traveled less than 6,000 km since the end of the restoration. Lambo only built 158 examples of the LP400, making it the second rarest variant of the Countach (after the LP400 S). It should sell for between $1,050,000-$1,160,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artucurial.

Update: Sold $1,141,049.

Monica Sedan

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1975 Monica 560

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 9, 2018

Photo – Artcurial

No this is not a stretched Lamborghini Islero. Nor is it an Iso Fidia or Monteverdi. It is a Monica, which was a car built by CFMF, a company that specialized in building rail cars. The owner of the company, Jean Tastevin, was a car guy who lamented the fact that he didn’t buy a Facel Vega while they were still on sale. So he set out in the 1970s to build a high-quality French luxury car.

Introduced in 1974, the Moncia – whose sole model was the 560 sedan – is powered by a 5.6-liter Chrysler V-8 that makes 285 horsepower. A big American V-8 and French style made for what should have been a winning combination, but the oil crisis happened to hit around this time and that American V-8 was thirsty. Tastevin decided to shut the company down in 1975.

Only 22 of these were built and very few still exist. This one was sold new in Spain and it remained there until 1990 when it returned to France. It has been restored (in 2015) and would be a rare sight anywhere it’s shown. It should bring between $120,000-$155,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $131,418.