Wolf F1

1977 Wolf-Ford-Cosworth WR3

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Walter Wolf made money in the Canadian oil business and later came to know Frank Williams, whose first F1 team was struggling. Wolf bought in. Then he bought Hesketh. Then he bought bits of Graham Hill’s former team. At the end of 1976, Wolf forced out Williams, who went on to found Williams Grand Prix Engineering, which is still on the grid.

Walter Wolf Racing first appeared in F1 in 1977. They ran a single car all season for Jody Scheckter, who currently owns this, a derivative chassis of their first entry: the WR1. They would upgrade the car throughout the year as the WR2, WR3, and WR4. This car is chassis WR1/3 (aka WR3, which debuted in March 1977), and it’s competition history includes:

  • 1977 Belgian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1977 French Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 Austrian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 Japanese Grand Prix – 10th (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 United States Grand Prix West – 13th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1978 German Grand Prix – 10th (with Keke Rosberg)
  • 1978 Austrian Grand Prix – 11th, DNF (with Rosberg)

The car features a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 and a Hewland gearbox. After Wolf got their WR4 and WR5 cars ready in 1978, they sold WR3 and WR3 to Theodore Racing, who used them with Keke Rosberg. The car ran in F5000 in Australia in 1979 and then in the 1980 Aurora AFX British F1 Championship with the likes of Kevin Cogan and Desire Wilson.

This car was rebuilt under Scheckter’s ownership and now has an estimate of $480,000-$695,000. More info can be found here.

Lomax 224

1977 Lomax 224

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | October 21, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

The Lomax Motor Company was a kit car manufacturer out of the U.K. that produced this, the 224, which is actually based on the French Citroen 2CV. The first Lomaxes went on sale in 1982. Apparently you can still get one. This one is called a “1977” because that’s the year of the 2CV it is based around.

The 224 (two cylinders, two seats, four wheels) carries over the 602cc flat-twin from the Citroen, and it was rated at 35 horsepower. There were also 223 (three-wheeled) and 424 (four-cylinder) models.

This one has been parked for a decade and has remained with the family of the person who completed the build. It will sell at no reserve, and you can find out more about it here.

Update: Sold $3,769.

TVR 3000M

1977 TVR 3000M

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | London, U.K. | February 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

TVR‘s M-Series of cars defined the marque for the 1970s. They launched in 1972 with the 1600M. The 3000M debuted in October 1972, and just 654 were built, although mechanically identical variants such as the hatchback Taimar and the drop-top 3000S would add to that total, as would a small number of turbocharged cars.

Power in the 3000M is provided by a 3.0-liter Ford V6 rated at 138 horsepower. The body is fiberglass, which is finished in blue over an off-white leather interior here.

These are relatively affordable old sports cars that will make onlookers do a double-take, especially in the U.S. but in Europe as well, as these are not a common sight anywhere. The pre-sale estimate here is $15,000-$20,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

AMC AM Van Concept

1977 AMC AM Van Concept

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Highland Park, Illinois | June 1, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well look at AMC, predicting the minivan yet somehow also treating their futuristic minivan prototype with all of the gaudiness of late-1970s van life culture. This thing is kind of like an inflated Pacer, with some styling cues definitely carried over.

There’s no engine – never was – but it has “Turbo” and “4×4” badging, so they were definitely thinking outside of the box. The body is fiberglass, and those turbine wheels look great with white-letter BFG tires. Oh, and side pipes! On a van!

Too bad it never made it past this prototype roller stage. It’s been part of a concept car collection for the last 35 years. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

March Formula One

1977 March-Cosworth 771

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

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Not only was March Engineering a fairly long-lasting Formula One team, but they were also a race car and chassis constructor for other series for quite a long time. The F1 team first appeared on the grid in 1970, and they would continue to participate through the 1992 season.

The 771 was one of two chassis the team used for 1977. This is the first of two such examples built, and it’s powered by a 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV V8. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1977 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Ian Scheckter)

It was also used as a test car during the season and was actually merged with the second chassis prior to its Canadian Grand Prix outing. Later use included U.K. hill climb events, which must’ve been pretty exciting in a contemporary F1 car. It has an FIA Historical Technical Passport and had some decent refreshes about six years ago. It’s expected to bring between $345,000-$435,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $355,985.

Three Cars from the Jaguar Land Rover Collection

Three Cars from the Jaguar Land Rover Collection

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018


1974 Rover P6 3500 Estoura

Photo – Brightwells

Jaguar Land Rover bought the entire 453 car James Hull collection in 2014. Many of those cars were Jaguars, but they had a bunch of other oddballs and are selling a good number of them. We’ll show you three, starting with this Rover P6 Estoura.

The Rover P6 3500 was produced between 1968 and 1977. They’re powered by a 3.5-liter V-8 making 146 horsepower. The cars were four-door sedans and if you wanted a wagon, you had to go to an outside company. Enter FLM Panelcraft, who turned 150 P6 3500 sedans into Estoura estates. It is said that this is one of the finest of this model in existence and you can read more here.

Update: Sold $13,578.


1960 Vauxhall Velox Friary Estate

Photo – Brightwells

This looks like Britain’s idea of a big American wagon. Which it kind of is as it was built by Vauxhall, then a division of General Motors. Well, actually GM didn’t build it as the Velox PA, which was produced between 1957 and 1962, was only offered from the factory as a four-door sedan.

But estate cars were popular and if the factory wouldn’t build them, someone else would. In this case, it was Friary of Basingstoke and the result is beautiful, in a 1960s wagon kind of way. This car is powered by a 2.3-liter straight-six making 83 horsepower. This example was restored at some point.

The Queen had one – and now you can too. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $12,729


1977 Princess 2200 HL

Photo – Brightwells

Brightwells dubbed this sale “affordable classics” and that’s exactly what we have here. Princess was a marque produced by British Leyland from 1975 to 1981 (and for an extra year in New Zealand). It was not an Austin, nor a Morris (though it was produced by the Austin-Morris Division) but was a separate brand entirely.

This is a first generation Princess (of two) and it sports the larger of the two engines offered during its 1975-1978 model run. It’s a 2.2-liter straight-six making 110 horsepower. Two trims were offered, with this being the lesser of them. It’s a super 1970s car if you want a throwback to what is largely considered a sad era for British motorcars. But Princess-branded cars are getting harder to find. Click here for more info on this one.

Update: Sold $3,111.

Princess 2200

1977 Princess 2200 HL

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

Brightwells dubbed this sale “affordable classics” and that’s exactly what we have here. Princess was a marque produced by British Leyland from 1975 to 1981 (and for an extra year in New Zealand). It was not an Austin, nor a Morris (though it was produced by the Austin-Morris Division) but was a separate brand entirely.

This is a first generation Princess (of two) and it sports the larger of the two engines offered during its 1975-1978 model run. It’s a 2.2-liter straight-six making 110 horsepower. Two trims were offered, with this being the lesser of them. It’s a super 1970s car if you want a throwback to what is largely considered a sad era for British motorcars. But Princess-branded cars are getting harder to find. Click here for more info on this one.

Update: Sold $3,111.

ZiL 114

1977 ZiL 114

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 18, 2015

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

This was the biggest Soviet limousine you couldn’t buy in the 1970s. That’s right, it was reserved for top members of the communist party only. The ZiL-114 was a development of the 111, which was introduced in 1958. Designing began in 1962 but production copies didn’t appear until 1970 and production lasted through 1977 before being replaced by the 115.

The engine is a big 7.0-liter V-8 making 300 horsepower. It could do 120 mph. These old Russian cars are super interesting because they were produced in low numbers and were reserved for special people. It’s rare to see them today – especially outside of Russia.

This car is purported to have been Leonid Brezhnev’s, although there is no proof of this other than a hand-written note found in the car years ago. It is completely functional and is currently in Belgium. Only about 150 of these were ever built. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $44,856.

Shadow DN8

1977 Shadow DN8

Offered by Coys | Nurburg, Germany | August 9, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Is there a better place to sell a competition car than at an auction at the Nurburgring? The car you’re looking at is a very special one. But first, a little history. Shadow was a race car team and manufacturer that began in the Can-Am series in 1970. In 1973, they went abroad into Formula 1.

The team was founded by Don Nichols. This car is coming from his personal collection – he has been the sole owner since it was built in 1977. The engine is a 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV V-8. This car was driven during the 1977 Formula One season by Alan Jones. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1977 Austrian Grand Prix – 1st (with Alan Jones)
  • 1977 Dutch Grand Prix – 13th (with Jones)
  • 1977 Italian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Jones)
  • 1977 U.S. Grand Prix – 9th (with Jones)
  • 1977 Japanese Grand Prix – 4th (with Jones)

That’s right, this is a Formula One race-winning car – the only race Shadow ever won. It was restored to its race-winning livery in 2013 and is ready for the historic circuit. This should sell for between $495,000-$565,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ lineup.

Update: Sold about $582,900.

Barzoi 2

1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Photo – Osenat

Okay, so this isn’t the greatest picture in the world, but I can’t tell you the last time I saw one of these come up for sale. And you get the idea of how freakish this thing really looks from this photo.

The weird inset reverse-pop-up headlights are one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen – it’s like KITT’s nerdy kid brother. If you look at the panel in front of the lights, you’ll notice that it pops up and shield the lights when not in use, creating a slick aerodynamic front profile. The lot description describes it as “James Bond”-ish and I think that is apt. If I didn’t know any better, I could picture this thing as a submarine.

This was not a kit car, unlike the Barquette above. Well – not kits that consumers could put together anyway. The chassis is out from under a Simca 1000 Rallye (this one is from a ’73 model). The engine is also from the same car – it’s an 80 horsepower straight-four unit of 1.3-liters. It is also rear-engined.

The Barzoi 2 was the last road car Fournier-Marcadier built and only 50 were made. This is expected to bring between $20,700-$28,500. Click here for more info and here for more from Osenat.

Update: Not sold.