Tag Archives: 1979

Ferrari 312 T4

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Ferrari 312 T4

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s 312T line of cars participated in Formula 1 from 1975 through 1980. Variations won 27 races and three driver’s championships, including in 1979 when the Scuderia entered this car, the 312 T4. It is the car that Jody Scheckter used to win his only F1 championship.

It is powered by a 3.0-liter flat-12 that made somewhere around 500 horsepower. This chassis, 040, has the following competition history:

  • 1979 Belgian Grand Prix – 1st (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1979 Monaco Grand Prix – 1st (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 French Grand Prix – 7th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 German Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Austrian Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Dutch Grand Prix – 2nd (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Italian Grand Prix – 1st (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Canadian Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 United States Grand Prix – 10th, DNF (with Scheckter)

Another Monaco Grand Prix-winning chassis. Scheckter was the only person to have raced this chassis and is the only person to have driven it since the season ended. It’s a big deal, and it has an estimate of $5,600,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info.

Matra-Simca Bagheera

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Matra-Simca Bagheera X

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Bicester, U.K. | September 23, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Here is a forgotten sports car. Matra, who did not build many cars under their own name (but when they did, they were weird), teamed up with semi-established-but-fading automaker Simca to launch the Bagheera in 1973. The car was marketed as the Matra-Simca Bagheera until 1980, at which time Chrysler Europe failed and was taken over by PSA. It was then sold as the Talbot-Matra Bagheera in 1980.

Various sub-models were offered, including the 1977-1980 “X”. This specified a 1.4-liter inline-four that was good for 90 horsepower. Like all Bagheeras, and the follow-up Murena, the car features three-across bucket seating. Which is really weird.

Just 1,440 examples of the X (and Jubile, combined) were produced. It’s a right-hand-drive car (one of 57 converted aftermarket) and wasn’t initially registered until 1982. The car was restored between 2014 and 2020. It now has an estimate of $15,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Citroen CX GTi

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Citroen CX 2400 GTi

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The CX was Citroen’s replacement for the pretty-hard-to-top DS. It featured styling that was definitely evolutionary, and the thing remained on sale from 1975 through 1991. They built over 1.1 million units in that span.

Various engines were offered across a variety of trim levels. Most were four-door fastback sedans (some with a long-wheelbase chassis), while station wagons were also available. The 2400 GTi debuted in 1977 with power from a fuel-injected 2.4-liter inline-four that made about 125 horsepower. Don’t let the GTi name fool you. This was not a hot hatch.

But it did have hydro-pneumatic self-leveling suspension along with a very weird interior design (single-spoke steering wheel, no steering column stalks). This car has 36,000 miles as well as an estimate of $29,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, but Historics is being LAME and won’t tell anyone for how much.

Fittipaldi F6

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Fittipaldi F6

Offered by Bonhams | Brussels, Belgium | May 13, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Imagine Max Verstappen, or Sebastian Vettel, or Michael Schumacher, three years out from an F1 world championship arriving on the grid with a team of their own. It would be insane. But it’s exactly what Emerson (and brother Wilson) Fittipaldi did in 1975.

Emerson Fittipaldi won the F1 driver’s championship for Lotus in 1972, and Wilson drove for Brabham for ’72 and ’73. They started working on Fittipaldi Automotive in 1974. The team appeared on the grid in 1975 with Wilson driving the only car (and Arturo Merzario running in one race). Emerson would be the team’s main driver from 1976-1980, and the team’s final season was 1982.

The F6 was used for the latter part of the 1979 season (and, strangely, one race toward the beginning of the year). Two chassis were built, with Emerson driving one of them in seven races and Alex Ribeiro failing to qualify for three races in the other. The engine at the time was a Ford-Cosworth DFV 3.0-liter V8.

This chassis is lacking all running gear and is set up as a static show car. Apparently it doesn’t even really roll, and the suspension is listed as “not correct.” Still, it’s an interesting part of F1’s small history of “owner/drivers.” It has an estimate of $55,000-$75,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $25,602.

Shadow DN9B

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Shadow-Cosworth DN9B

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Shadow Racing Cars competed in Formula One between 1973 and 1980 after having established themselves in Cam-Am. Success was scarce, but the team did score a win in 1977 and had a number of podiums over the years.

The DN9 was first entered in 1978 and used there for nearly 3/4 of the season. It returned in 1979 and was eventually upgraded to “B” spec. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth V8. No details on the specific competition history for this chassis, but apparently it was used in 1979 by Jan Lammers. Lammers had a best finish of 9th that season and only seven finishes out of a total of 15 races.

This car was used in historic series over the years, and it was restored somtime after 2003, with just a few hours on the engine since being rebuilt. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $230,000-$280,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold, price not disclosed. LAME, Bonhams. Lame.

Ferrari 512 BB

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Ferrari 512 BB

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Sywell, U.K. | June 5, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Ferrari’s Berlinetta Boxer debuted as the 365 GT/4 in 1973. It looked pretty much like this, but it shared its numerical designation with the car it replaced, the 365 GTB/4. It was the first mid-engined Ferrari road car and began the line of flat-12 powered sports cars from the company that would last into the mid-1990s.

The 512 replaced the 365 GT/4 in 1976. It is powered by a carbureted 4.9-liter flat-12 rated at 355 horsepower. It would remain in production until being replaced by the fuel-injected version (the 512 BBi) in 1981. Just 929 carbureted examples were built, which makes it slightly rarer than the injected version.

This car is one of 101 right-hand-drive carbureted models and was restored in 2015. No pre-sale estimate is available, but you can read more about it here and see more from Silverstone Auctions all-Ferrari sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Cicostar Matic 50

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Cicostar Matic 50

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | September 20, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

I credited Bonhams on the above photo, but I doubt they want to be associated with such terrible photography. This little blue blob was produced by Cico S.A. of France to take advantage of France’s sans permis laws enacted in the 1970s in response to the fuel crisis.

Basically, they were small, sub-50cc cars that could be driven without registration or a license. They had to hold two people and not have a top speed in excess of 45 kph. You just had to be 14 in order to drive it on the road.

These go by different names. Bonhams lists this as a “Matic 50” and elsewhere you’ll find it called an LCS. Power is from a 49.9cc (just under the law) two-stroke single from Motobecane that makes 3.2 horsepower. They were produced between 1971 and 1983, and the top speed was right at the legal max: just under 28 mph. This one is estimated to sell for between $1,300-$3,900, and if the reserve is even the lower end of that estimate, it will be a stretch for this car to sell. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,077.

Statesman DeVille

Posted on by
1

1979 Statesman DeVille Sedan

Offered by Shannons | Online | August 19-26, 2020

Photo – Shannons (obviously)

Statesman was actually a standalone brand offered by General Motors in Australia. They were available from 1971 through 1984 and were sold through Holden dealerships. Statesmans (Statesmen?) were big cars that were better appointed than their Holden counterparts.

This is an HZ Statesman, which is the fourth generation. It was introduced in 1977 and was replaced in 1980. Two models were offered during this generation: DeVille and the Caprice. The car is powered by a 5.0-liter V8.

Equipment includes four-wheel disc brakes, a crushed velour interior, and a Radial Tuned Suspension. Statesmans are rarely seen outside of Australia, making this a great chance to grab one and export it. This car is expected to bring between $13,000-$17,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $21,486.

Lil Red Express

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Dodge Lil Red Express

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

Photo – Mecum

The D-Series Dodge pickup was built in three generations from 1960 through 1980 before being replaced by the Ram (although some Rams still used the “D” nomenclature through the early 1990s). The Lil Red Express was an option package on the D150 Adventurer pickup that was available in 1978 and 1979.

Each Lil Red Express came equipped with dual vertical stack exhaust pipes, wood bed trim, and an 8-track cassette of C.W. McCall’s #1 hit “Convoy.” Okay, I made that last part up, but you can obviously tell this was a pickup for serious over-the-road trucker cosplayers. “Lil Red Express” also doubles as a great name for a ginger rapper (you’re welcome).

This truck is powered by a 360ci/5.9-liter V8 that made 180 horsepower new. Dodge offered a number of special option package (or “lifestyle”) pickups during this era, but this is the most famous. Those exhaust stacks were illegal in some states, so you couldn’t get this truck everywhere. Only 2,188 were built in 1978, and 1979 saw 5,118 takers. Check out more about this truck here, and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $24,000.

Panther Lima

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Panther Lima

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | Date TBD…

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Robert Jankel’s Panther Westwinds had not only a weird name but also a weird catalog of cars. The Lima was a retro-styled sports car introduced in 1976 and eventually replaced by the Kallista in 1982.

The Lima was based on the Vauxhall Viva and Magnum. It featured a fiberglass body reminiscent of a Morgan and is powered by a 2.3-liter Vauxhall inline-four. They weren’t terribly quick or powerful, but a turbocharged version went on sale in 1979.

In all, 897 examples were produced. This bumblebee-liveried RHD example will sell at no reserve whenever this auction ends up taking place. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,329.