Tag Archives: 1976

Manta Mirage

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1976 Manta Mirage

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

The Manta Mirage is one of the coolest kit cars ever produced. Manta Cars existed from 1974 through 1986 in Costa Mesa, California. The Mirage was their attempt at a do-it-yourself supercar (for the day). The design is like two steps removed from a McLaren Can-Am car, but it is road legal.

Chevy small-blocks were the main engine option, and his one has a 5.7-liter V8. The body is fiberglass, and the whole thing weighs less than 2,000 pounds. It also has detachable gullwing doors that transform the car into a targa-like thing.

About 1,000 examples were produced in kit and turn-key form. This one looks pretty nice for a 1970s fiberglass special. Click here for more info.

Maserati Khamsin

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1976 Maserati Khamsin

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Maserati launched five new models under Citroen’s seven-year ownership. The four-seat Khamsin was among the last and went on sale in 1974 with styling by Marcello Gandini during his time at Bertone.

Power is from a front-mounted 4.9-liter V8, the same powerplant previously used in the Ghibli SS. Output was rated at 320 horsepower. It’s got all of the Citroen hydraulic goodies – for better or worse, and the car went on sale a year before Maserati ownership passed to De Tomaso.

By the time it exited production in 1982, just 435 examples of the Khamsin had been built. This right-hand-drive example was sold new in the U.K., and its restoration was completed in 2012. Now it has an estimate of $160,000-$190,000. Click here for more info.

TVR 1600M

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1976 TVR 1600M

Offered by Brightwells | August 2023

Photo – Brightwells

TVR replaced the Vixen and Tuscan with their M Series line of cars beginning in 1972. The first model launched was this, the 1600M. The cars rode on a steel backbone chassis, and every M Series car shared pretty much identical fiberglass bodywork.

The 1600M drew power from a 1.6-liter Ford Kent inline-four sourced from the Ford Capri. It made 86 horsepower, which was enough for the car to attain 105 mph. TVR axed the 1600M after a year of production, but brought it back in 1975, and it continued on until 1977.

Just 148 were produced, and about half are thought to survive. This one was re-done in the 1990s and was recently returned to roadworthiness. It now has an estimate of $18,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Maserati Bora

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1976 Maserati Bora 4.7

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Weybridge, U.K. | November 26, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Bora was Maserati‘s first mid-engined car. It debuted after Citroen took over Maserati, and it was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. The car debuted in 1971 and lasted through 1978. It sort of spawned a V6 sibling, the Merak.

The 4.7-liter V8 in this car was the first engine available before a 4.9-liter unit became an option in 1973. The engine was actually a version of that used in the later Ghiblis, which is the car the Bora replaced. Output was rated at 310 horsepower when new, and top speed was 170 mph.

Just 289 examples of the Bora 4.7 were produced, which made it slightly more common than the 4.9 (by like 14 cars). This one has been completely restored and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $126,137.

Sauber C5

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1976 Sauber C5

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Gstaad, Swizterland | December 29, 2021

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Peter Sauber founded his motorsports company in 1970. Everything started with sports cars and prototypes, like this. Things would eventually progress to the top of the sportscar mountain before the team entered Formula One in 1993.

This C5 was campaigned by the Francy Racing Team, which was apparently some kind of back door Sauber works team. It ran a few seasons in the European Interserie Championshop. Race highlights include:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 29th, DNF (with Eugen Strahl and Peter Bernhard)

The car had a few owners over the years and was used in the Le Mans Classic in the 2000s before being restored in 2020. It appears to have a 2.0-liter BMW inline-four under the rear bodywork and is most probably turbocharged. It now carries a pre-sale estimate of $210,000-$255,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Renault-Alpine A442

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1976 Renault-Alpine A442

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Sports prototype race cars were kind of getting a little out of hand in the 1970s. Think about Porsche’s Can-Am killer and some of the other wild cars that came out of that era. And look at the intake on this thing. I’m pretty sure there are smaller jet engines.

Alpine was owned by Renault at this time, but this car was designed and built by Alpine (with Renault power and funding, of course). Power is from a turbocharged 2.0-liter Renault-Gordini V6 capable of 490 horsepower. Only four examples of the A442 were built, and the competition history for this one, chassis 4422, includes:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 22nd, DNF (with Patrick Depailler and Jacques Laffite)
  • 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans – unknown

What? Yeah, there were two A442As, a single A442B, and an A443 entered in 1978’s race. The A442B won the race. But whether that car was chassis 4422 or 4423 has apparently been disputed. Renault says it was car 4423, but RM presents evidence that it could’ve been 4422. You can make up your own mind, but this car is the only A442 in private hands. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $4,600,000-$6,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,553,471.

Lamborghini Espada

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1976 Lamborghini Espada Series III

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 20, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Lamborghini Espada is an interesting car. They’ve never been as valuable as any other 1960s Lambo, and they feature a pretty polarizing design. It is kind of like someone smashed a Murena GT, an Iso Lele, and DeTomaso Mangusta into one four-seat, front-engine GT.

This rear-wheel-drive car is powered by a 3.9-liter V12 that was rated at 350 horsepower when new. The Espada was built in three different series between 1968 and 1978, with the Series 3 launching in 1972. Only 456 S3 cars were built, but they seem to be the ones that crop up most often (the S2 cars were actually more common).

This one has been restored and is finished in black. Some Espadas wear some pretty wild colors, so this one looks pretty restrained. The pre-sale estimate is $155,000-$175,000, which is expensive, but not Miura expensive. That said, this is not a cheap car to own. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $138,417.

Mini Pickup

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1976 Mini Pickup

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

The classic Mini has been sold under a variety of marques, including Austin, Morris, Innocenti, Authi, Leyland, Rover, and of course, Mini (to say nothing of its Wolsely and Riley cousins). Mini, as a marque, began in 1969, replacing the Austin and Morris brands.

The pickup truck body style was offered between 1961 and 1983. This one is powered by a 1,275cc inline-four. I like the bed cover – as if there is sufficient cargo beneath that needs protection.

There were 58,179 pickup variants built, and this one has been restored. They aren’t nearly as common as the coupes and are rarely seen at auction. This one carries an estimate of $20,000-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $22,172.

BMA Amica

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1976 BMA Amica

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Milan, Italy | October 16, 2020

Photo – Aste Bolaffi

The Amica was produced by Baldi Mini Auto between 1971 and 1994. BMA was based in Alfonsine, Italy, and they were acquired by another company in 1994, which is why production ended. During their course of business, they offered three different models, including two versions of the Amica.

This is the original version, which features three wheels and gullwing doors. Power is from a two-stroke 250cc parallel-twin. The doors are actually covered in canvas, and they are white on this car, making them seem invisible in Aste Bolaffi’s super zoomed-out photos on their site.

This particular car has never been registered and is essentially brand new. A few interesting notes: Baldi Mini Auto is not related to Baldi, manufacturer of the Fiat-based Frog microcar, nor are they associated with the British BMA microcar company. This car is expected to sell for between $1,000 and $3,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,920.

Camaro Europo Hurst

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1976 Chevrolet Camaro Europo Hurst by Frua

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | September 16-25, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The second-generation Chevrolet Camaro was in production for an eternity: 11 years between 1970 and 1981. Even by 1976, it was kind of long-in-the-tooth. And it was weak. The most powerful ’76 Camaro had the same 165 horsepower, 5.7-liter V8 that this car has. It was a long way from the ZL-1 (from only seven years earlier!).

One way to spice things up would be to let an Italian coachbuilder get their hands on one. In this case, it was Pietro Frua, who debuted his take on the Camaro at the 1976 Turin Motor Show with this car. It was later shown at 1977’s New York show, where the company displaying it said they were going to offer conversions of standard Camaros to look like Frua’s. They were going to call them the “Europo Hurst.”

It is unclear if any were actually made. I think this is actually an okay-looking car, and it’s definitely something different compared to what else was on sale in 1976. It is expected to bring between $80,000-$120,000 when it sells at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $31,900.