Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023
Photo – Bonhams
The Aston Martin Virage debuted for 1989 and was produced in its boxy gloriousness through 2000. But it wasn’t this boxy. This prototype wasn’t meant to signal the design language of the company’s upcoming near-supercar, it was just convenient to use a shortened Lagonda as a test mule.
But it also allows us to see the answer to the question “What if they made a two-door Lagonda.” Well, it’s kinda neat. Sure, it definitely looks like its been chopped a bit, but you can also still kind of see the upcoming Virage in its shape and front end.
It was powered by a 5.3-liter V8 and, after testing duty, was parked in the service department, only to be spotted by an Aston customer who wanted to buy it. It was overhauled by the factory and fitted with a contemporary Virage engine in 1993. It’s a pretty neat, one-off thing, and it can be yours for between $315,000-$440,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Northampton, England | May 20, 2023
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
The Sierra was kind of a remarkable car for Ford of Europe. It was the sort of new-age family car for Europe, much like the Taurus would be in the U.S. But instead of the hotted-up SHO models, Europe got the Cosworth-powered RS.
The Sierra RS debuted at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show and was intended to homologate the Sierra for Group A Touring Car racing. The road cars featured a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that made 201 horsepower. The Cosworth engine was only available in two-door Sierras that had some body tweaks, including that high-mount rear spoiler.
In all 5,545 were sold, including 500 of the RS500 version. This example remained with a French owner for over three decades and has under 50,000 miles. It has an estimate of $70,000-$82,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | July 2, 2022
1983 Renault RE40
Photo – Artcurial
First up is Renault’s 1983 entrant, the RE40. It led them to second place in the constructor’s championship that season, with drivers Eddie Cheever and Alain Prost, the latter of whom drove this car. And won a race in it.
The powerplant is a turbocharged 1.5-liter Renault-Gordini V6 that made about 640 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, #3, includes:
1983 San Marino Grand Prix – 2nd (with Alain Prost)
1983 Monaco Grand Prix – 3rd (with Prost)
1983 Belgian Grand Prix – 1st (with Prost)
1983 U.S. Grand Prix – 8th (with Prost)
1983 Italian Grand Prix – 19th, DNF (with Prost)
It was also used as a test car for both drivers during the season. It was restored in 1995 and is now being offered directly from Renault’s collection. The estimate is $850,000-$1,250,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Not sold/withdrawn
1986 Tyrrell-Renault 015
Photo – Artcurial
Tyrrell Racing was actually around for quite a while, debuting in 1971 and lasting through 1998. That puts this car sort of right in the middle of their existence. The 015 was designed by Maurice Philippe and featured power from Renault.
The Renault-Gordini engine is a turbocharged 1.5-liter V6, which this chassis, #3, retains. Its competition history is not described, but the teams driver’s were Martin Brundle and Philippe Streiff, the latter of whom kept this car at the end of the season. He traded it to Renault in 1994 for a 1984 Renault F1 car.
Renault is now selling it, with an estimate $160,000-$260,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Not sold/withdrawn.
1993 Williams-Renault FW15
Photo – Artcurial
Williams‘ FW15 was the team’s car for 1993. It was designed by a who’s who of F1: Patrick Head, Adrian Newey, Paddy Lowe, and Eghbal Hamidy. A Renault 3.5-liter V10 was stuffed out back, and the combination proved super successful: Williams won the constructor’s championship, with driver Alain Prost taking the driver’s championship. The team’s other driver was Damon Hill.
Unfortunately, this is not a race chassis and has never had an engine in it. It’s purely a display car and has been retained by “the constructor” since new. Renault is selling other cars, so it’s unclear if this is coming from Renault or Williams, but I’d assume Renault. The estimate is $42,000-$84,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $54,696.
1997 Benetton B197
Photo – Artcurial
Benetton’s 1997 car was the B197, designed under technical director Pat Symonds. It featured power from a 3.0-liter Renault V10 capable of up to 755 horsepower. Unfortunately, this is a pure display car as well, so it’s never even had an engine mounted in it. That said, the body is a real ex-F1 car body, complete with Mild Seven livery.
Benetton utilized Jean Alesi for the entire season along with Gerhard Berger, who was replaced by Alexander Wurz for three races mid-season due to health issues. Berger won a race upon his return, proof that someone else in your seat makes you step up your game. The estimate here is $42,000-$84,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | November 20-21, 2020
Photo – Mecum
The Pontiac Grand Prix debuted in 1962 and was produced in seven different generations until they killed off the nameplate in 2008. This example is from the fourth generation, which was produced from 1977 through 1987. The Grand Prix was Pontiac’s NASCAR entry for 1986, so they introduced a homologation variant called the 2+2 (the Chevy version was called the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe) that essentially had a glass fastback. It was supposed to gain an aerodynamic advantage on track.
The 2+2 was supposed to be equipped with a 5.0-liter V8 making 165 horsepower when new. Mecum lists this car as having a 3.8-liter V6. The 2+2 ended up being a 1986-model-year-only variant. It’s a weird product of the times.
Richard Petty raced a NASCAR version of this car, hence the special edition and “Richard Petty” graphics on the doors. Apparently only 2,000 such examples were produced. This one has some weird options, like radio delete and the addition of air conditioning (why?). Anyway, you can see more here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020
Photo – Mecum
If you say “neo-classic” this is the car that should come to mind. There have been many neo-classics over the years, but the Zimmer is the best (or the worst, depending on your perspective). Founded by Paul Zimmer in 1978, the company produced nearly 1,500 Golden Spirits through 1988.
Bankruptcy followed, and by the strangest of circumstances, the company was resurrected in 1996 by a guy named Art Zimmer. He was not related to Paul. What in the world.
The original Golden Spirits were Mustang-based, and this car is powered by a fuel-injected 5.0-liter V8. It has a car phone and a bunch of horns up front. It’s really everything Cruella de Vil could ask for. Click here for more about this car and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 2-4, 2020
Photo – Mecum
The Spartan was initially produced by Spartan Motors of Santa Ana, California, in about 1983. They later relocated to San Marcos, California, and became the Spartan Motorcar Company. In 1998 – yes the company was still around in 1998 – production was shifted to the Table Mountain Rancheria, an Indian reservation in Friant, California. They wanted to keep building them. It is unknown if they were successful.
While the initial Spartan was based on the Datsun 280ZX (and could be purchased at Datsun dealers, which is insane), the Spartan II was based on the Z31 Nissan 300ZX. It features a 3.0-liter V6 that made 160 horsepower when new.
It’s a polarizing car, I know. But these are one of the more common neo-classics. They were liked enough when new that this company was around for nearly 15 years. Go out and get you one! Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | October 12, 2016
Photo – H&H Classics
This is one of those vehicles that, among other things, is 1. something you’ve probably never actually seen and 2. is technically classified as a motorcycle. It’s interesting that you need a motorcycle license to drive (ride?) this thing as it clearly has four wheels. I guess that makes it like a motorcycle with training wheels.
The Owosso Motor Car Company of Owosso, Michigan, built the Pulse GCRV (or Ground Cruising Recreational Vehicle) between 1985 and 1990. Their use of “recreational vehicle” is more akin to something you have in your garage to drive for fun on Sunday than something you’d live in, as the phrase is more commonly used.
This thing is powered by a rear-mounted 400cc Yamaha motorcycle engine and is styled to look like an jet fighter. There is even an active Pulse club that does rallies. Only about 347 Pulses were built, though the first batch of 21 were called Litestars before the name was changed. If you want something unique, look no further. It should bring between $19,500-$26,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 21, 2016
Photo – Bonhams
Lagonda was (and is again) a marque of automobile that has long been associated with Aston Martin since it acquired the brand in 1947. But in the mid-1970s, Aston Martin introduced a sedan model named Lagonda. This famously-boxy body style was launched in 1976 as the Series 2 Lagonda.
The Series 2 was built between 1976 and 1985, the Series 3 was for 1986 and 1987 only, and the Series 4 lasted from 1987 through 1990. All three of the final series look essentially the same. The Series 3 different from the Series 2 mostly in that it had fuel injection. Only 75 Series 3 cars were built.
It is powered by a 280 horsepower 5.3-liter V-8. All Lagondas were produced as sedans, but there was an aftermarket “Shooting Brake” wagon built by Roos Engineering of Frauenkappelen, Switzerland. The conversion actually took place in the mid-1990s and was very expensive. This is a unique and highly identifiable car. It should bring between $290,000-$360,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5-6, 2016
Photo – Artcurial
The 1980s were a weird time. Cars from that era are just now beginning to be looked upon fondly… because nostalgia can tint things. For instance, Ferrari built a rear-mid-engined sports car (12 cylinders, no less) with zero intentions of ever taking it on a track. It was boxy and angular – the style of the day. And they built a lot of them – 7,177 to be exact.
The Testarossa appeared on Miami Vice and its popularity took off. It was a car that all of the rich people in the 80s wanted. A lot of them wanted convertibles, too, after they saw this car. But Ferrari said no.
So what’s the story here? Commissioned by Ferrari, Pininfarina designed and built this lone authentic Spider and gifted it to Gianni Agnelli, then head of Fiat. Other companies would offer “conversions” where they’d basically hack apart a Testarossa to make it into a convertible, but only one – this one – has a factory history.
The engine is a 4.9-liter flat-12 making 390 horsepower, which doesn’t seem outrageous, but the top speed was still 180 mph. This might be the first time that this car has ever come up for public sale. It is iconic and will likely remain the most valuable Testarossa in the world. Artcurial estimates a sale price between $750,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | July 23, 2015
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
Here’s another Osella-Alfa Romeo (and if anyone thinks this might not be a G model, you could be correct… leave a message below if I’m wrong). Except this one is from the Turbo Era and it looks a little more traditional. The engine is still an Alfa Romeo, but instead of a V-12, it has a 1.5-liter straight-four that’s been turbocharged.
This car was raced by Piercarlo Ghinzani all season and it’s only finish was 11th place at the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix (which was the best finish for the team that season). He has owned this car since and the engine has been rebuilt by Alfa Romeo and has less than 200km on it since completion. It should sell for between $95,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
