Tag Archives: 1981

Matra Murena

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1981 Talbot-Matra Murena

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 20, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Bagheera was a 2-door sports car produced by Matra (technically Matra-Simca, then Talbot-Matra once Chrysler Europe sold out to PSA). The successor to that car was this, the Murena, which was technically marketed as the Talbot-Matra Murena but is often referred to simply as the Matra Murena. It was available from 1980-1983.

Different specifications were available, and this example is a base trim car with a 1.6-liter straight-four capable of 88 horsepower. Top speed was 113 mph, so consider it more of a hot hatch than a die-hard sports car.

It’s an interesting little car from a dying manufacturer. There was no successor to the Murena, as it was Matra’s final original road car. Only 5,640 of the 10,680 units produced had the 1.6-liter engine. This is a cheap way to buy an unusual classic sports car and get into the car collector world. It should bring between $9,000-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Renault 5 Turbo

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1981 Renault 5 Turbo

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 29-30, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Renault 5 was a hatchback built by the French company in two different series, the first lasting from 1972 through 1985 (though the early cars don’t resemble this one at all). A second generation was built between 1984 and 1996. There was nothing particularly sporty about the 5 – some used engines as small as 782cc.

Rallying was the place to be seen in 1980s Europe, and Renault wanted a part of the action. They developed the 5 Turbo as a rally car. It was essentially nothing like the front-engined, front-wheel drive 5 hatchback, as these are mid-engined, rear-wheel drive cars. The engine is a 1.4-liter turbocharged straight-four that made 158 horsepower. It was a serious hot hatch – one of the first such factory specials.

In order to take it rallying, Renault built some road-going models as well. This is one of 3,576 of the original 5 Turbos. This car was delivered new to Switzerland and sports a brilliant two-tone blue paint scheme (which is a respray) and awesome 1980s-style “Turbo” graphics. This 40,000 mile example should bring between $92,225-$105,400. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $97,512.

1981 Stutz Sedan

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1981 Stutz IV Porte

Offered by Auctionata | Berlin, Germany | December 15, 2016

Photo - Auctionata

Photo – Auctionata

Harry C. Stutz changed the name of the Ideal Motor Company to the Stutz Motor Company in 1912 (after just one year). They built some of America’s best cars in the 1920s and into the 30s but the company closed their doors in 1935. In 1968, the Stutz name was resurrected by James O’Donnell to build a great new design by Virgil Exner.

The first cars were two-door coupes and convertibles. They began production of a sedan in 1979 called the IV Porte (four door). It was based on the Pontiac Bonneville/Oldsmobile 88 Royale of the era and this car is powered by a 165 horsepower 5.7-liter V-8. Production of the IV Porte stopped in 1981 and was succeeded by the Stutz Victoria.

Only about 50 of this model were ever built. This example has only covered about 2,600 miles and was in a German museum for 30 years. It has a partially gold plated interior, side exhaust and rear mounted spare. These are very distinctive cars and somewhat collectible. The bidding starts at $42,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Clenet Series II

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1981 Clenet Series II

Offered by Auctions America | Santa Monica, California | June 25-26, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

In the 1970s and 80s, neo-classics became somewhat popular in the U.S. with their retro styling and modern drivetrains. This trend was exemplified by cars like the Zimmer Golden Spirit, the Tiffany, and even the rebirth of Stutz. And Alain Clenet’s Clenet Coachworks of Goleta, California, was right there in the mix.

Most neo-classics were based around other cars. For example, this one features a Ford V-8 engine. It’s a two-door convertible that seats four and has a lot of tiny, unnecessary details like etched glass and Waterford crystal ashtrays. When new, these cars cost approximately $75,000 and they make great daily drivers if your commute includes a parade route.

This car is all-original and is one of 187 Series II Clenets. The Series II (there were four total) isn’t the best-looking of the bunch (the Series I and IV are both more attractive), but it was the most-produced. This one should bring between $15,000-$20,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,000.

Alfetta GTV Grand Prix

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1981 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Grand Prix

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1981 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Grand Prix

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s the other limited edition Alfetta GTV we’re featuring. It’s a “Grand Prix” special edition. It was built to commemorate Alfa Romeo’s return to Formula One, which occurred in 1981.

Underneath, it’s all Alfetta GTV. The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making 128 horsepower. Between 1981 and 1982, only 650 examples were made and this one has low miles. It should sell for between $11,000-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Artcurial’s lineup.

Update: Sold $14,477.

Five Rare Alfas

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1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1965 Alfa Romeo Guilia TZ

The Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ was new for 1963 and it was built to replace the Giulietta SZ. The TZ was developed with Autodelta – Alfa’s dedicated competition arm. It features a tubular chassis and sleek wagon-esque bodywork from Zagato – thus the “TZ” for “tubolare Zagato.”

The car uses a 1.6-liter straight-four making 160 horsepower. The car was very light and could do 130+ mph. TZs won their class at all of the big races including Le Mans, the Targa Florio, Sebring and more. The competition history of this car is unknown – if it was used in competition at all.

Only 112 Giulia TZs (sometimes referred to as the TZ1) were built between 1963 and 1965. This one has undergone a comprehensive restoration and is ready for classic car rallies or vintage racing events, depending on what your preference is. This car should sell for between $1,025,000-$1,365,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,289,366

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1966 Alfa Romeo Gran Sport Quattroroute

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1966 Alfa Romeo Gran Sport Quattroroute

Consider that the car you see here is one year newer than the car above. It is essentially a factory-made replica of one of their own cars. It is styled much like the 1750 Gran Sport by Zagato that Alfa built in the 1930s.

It uses the mechanicals from the Giulia 1600 – a 1.6-liter straight-four making 106 horsepower. The body is aluminium (which it wasn’t in the 1930s). There are also likely some creature comforts that the earlier cars lacked as well.

Between 1965 and 1967, only 92 examples of this very rare Alfa Romeo were built (it was not a success in its day). You almost never see them. While not as valuable as a real 1930s 1750 Gran Sport, this car should still likely bring between $47,000-$75,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial’s special second-day all-Alfa sale at Retromobile.

Update: Sold $75,604.

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1986 Alfa Romeo 75 1.8 i.e. Turbo Evoluzione

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1986 Alfa Romeo 75 1.8 i.e. Turbo Evoluzione

The Alfa Romeo 75 was a plaid, boring ol’ mid-size sedan built between 1985 and 1992. A standard 75 – or even some of their upscale, limited-edition trims aren’t collectible. But this Turbo Evoluzione certainly is. In order to meet FIA Group A regulations, Alfa had to build road-going versions of their 75 Group A Touring Car.

This is the result. The engine is a turbocharged 1.8-liter fuel-injected straight-four making 155 horsepower. Top speed was 130 mph and it could hit 60 in 7.5 seconds. This was a pretty badass sedan for 1986.

The cars were only built for a year and only 500 were made – which makes this a very limited edition model considering over 375,000 Alfa 75s were built in total. This car should bring between $20,000-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $38,606

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1979 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Turbodelta Coupe

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1979 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Turbodelta Coupe

Next up we have a pair of Alfetta GTVs. This one is a limited-edition model from 1979 called the “Turbodelta” which was developed by Autodelta, Alfa’s motorsport division. It is a homologation special so Alfa could compete in Group 4 Rally.

It starts with an Alfetta GTV. The engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter straight-four tuned to make 150 horsepower. Top speed was around 130 mph (I’m noticing a pattern among these cars). This is an all-original, low-miles example with known history.

Only 400 examples of the Turbodelta were built. This should sell for between $35,000-$38,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Sold $49,867

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1981 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Grand Prix

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2014

1981 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Grand Prix

Here’s the other limited edition Alfetta GTV we’re featuring. It’s a “Grand Prix” special edition. It was built to commemorate Alfa Romeo’s return to Formula One, which occurred in 1981.

Underneath, it’s all Alfetta GTV. The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making 128 horsepower. Between 1981 and 1982, only 650 examples were made and this one has low miles. It should sell for between $11,000-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Artcurial’s lineup.

Update: Sold $14,477.

Koenig Ferrari 512

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1981 Ferrari 512 BBi by Koenig

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 25, 2013

Ferrari 512BBi by Koenig

The Berlinetta Boxer was Ferrari’s rear/mid-engined two-seater for most of the 1970s and 1980s. The 512 BBi was the last iteration of the Berlinetta Boxer and it was introduced in 1981. What set it apart was that it was fuel-injected.

But this car is slightly different. Willy Koenig was a race car driver in the 1960s through 1990. In 1974 he turned to tuning – and not your run-of-the-mill road cars either. Koenig Specials is his company (it is still around today) and they take outrageous cars and make them more, um, outrageous-er. Cars like the Lamborghini Countach, Mercedes SEC, road-going Porsche 962s and the Ferrari 512 – among others.

This car was tuned when new and spent most of its life in the U.S. before being sold to an owner in Europe in 2008. Most Koenig 512 BBis had their fuel-injected 4.9-liter flat-12 upped 110 horsepower in output from stock – to 450. This particular Koenig 512 had twin turbos strapped to it, pushing output to a ludicrous 650 horsepower. The top speed? A claimed 205 mph. To keep it on the ground, a Koenig body kit has been added as well and many other parts of the car upgraded to handle the power.

About 50 Ferrari 512s were modified by Koenig (either by the factory or by the owners). Koenig doesn’t build super specials like this anymore (although they do still build Ferrari accessories). This car is expected to bring between $100,000-$160,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Did not sell.

Bonhams at Petersen Automotive Museum – Results

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Bonham’s November 12th, 2011 auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles sold a few interesting cars that we’ll talk about here. One that did not sell was the 1906 Holsman Model G-10 High-Wheel Runabout we featured here a few weeks ago.

On the upper-end of things was a 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine that was once owned by Elvis Presley. It’s Elvis-association brought in $172,000 – which is a lot, but then again, this is a lot of Cadillac. This result would appear to show that, in this case, Elvis’ name is worth approximately $100,000.

On the interesting side was this 1981 Phillips Berlina T-Top:

Neo-classics were all the rage in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were quite a number of companies sprouting up in the U.S. that sol old-style cars on modern running gear. Every one of them looks like something Cruella de Vil would drive. This particular car from the Phillips Motor Car Company is built upon a C3 Corvette chassis and uses the donor car’s L82 V8. Chances are you could find numersou Excaliburs or Zimmers for sale at any one time, but this Florida-built Phillips is much rarer. It sold for $10,350.

The next car was featured in the the Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. It’s a 2004 Lexus that is fairly memorable from it’s role in the film (if you happened to see it). The car was featured prominently in the movie ads and at least one Lexus campaign if I recall correctly.

It doesn’t have much in the way of an interior – just a driver’s seat, a steering wheel, and some video screens. In the movie it was run on fuel cells (as that was the world-saving technology being touted as “the future” in 2004). Whether it runs or not in real life is another story. This car would work best as a pretty sculpture that sits in the middle of your collection. It brought $101,790.

Going back more than a hundred years we find this wonderful 1902 Autocar Type VIII Rear-Entrance Tonneau:

This car is a driver and is eligible for the London-to-Brighton Run. It’s attractive rear-entrance tonneau bodywork is a kind of marvel. Like three-door coupes today with their hidden rear-doors, this was an early attempt to build a somewhat sporty-looking two-seater with extra hidden seating and space behind the driver. Autocar traces its roots back to 1897 but they built their last “car” in 1911. They are still in business today, making large “vocational” trucks – thus making them, off the top of my head, America’s oldest vehicle manufacturer that’s still operating today. This car sold for $64,350.

Finally, we come to this 1951 Studebaker Land Cruiser Sedan.

It’s not remarkable – Studebaker made a good number of these – but it’s fresh (2007) restoration really looks good. It has a 120 horsepower V-8 and Studebaker’s stand-out “Bullet Nose” design. There’s just something about this car that struck me as intriguing. Do you agree or am I crazy?

For complete results, click here. Individual car pages are linked above.