Tag Archives: 1991

Cappuccino Turbo

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1991 Suzuki Cappuccino Turbo

Offered by Auctions America | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | April 1, 2017

Photo – Auctions America

Japanese Kei cars – small vehicles designed to take advantage of cheaper Japanese tax and insurance regulations – were never sold in the U.S. There were many different versions, but only a few were sports cars. Suzuki designed their Cappuccino to meet Kei car regulations and to be sporty.

These cars have tiny engines – this one is powered by a turbocharged 657cc straight-three that makes 67 horsepower. It won’t set any speed records, but it does rev to 8,500 rpm. And it has 50/50 weight distribution. These facts add up to one thing: it is probably a blast to drive.

Produced from 1991 through 1997, this was Suzuki’s foray into the sports car arena. Name another sporty Suzuki. This example was imported into the U.S. late last year and like all Cappuccinos can have its roof arranged as either a coupe, T-top, targa, or convertible. It is one of what has to be just a handful in North America, especially in the U.S., and should bring between $12,000-$15,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale.

Update: Withdrawn.

Pontiac Tojan

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1991 Pontiac Tojan Knightmare

Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | March 24-25, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Ford Mustangs have their famous aftermarket tuners, specifically, Saleen. General Motors never quite had the same thing (they did in the 60s, with Yenko and the like). But for more modern Camaros and Firebirds, you were pretty much left to either DIY or hope GM put out some factory monster. Most GM tuners were focused on Corvettes.

Enter Nebraska-based Knudsen Automotive (who also built a low-run neo-classic). They lent their hand to turning third generation Pontiac Firebirds into more exotic-looking sports cars. Between 1985 and 1991, they made 133 Tojans. Only three of those were “Knightmares.” Powered by Pontiac’s 5.7-liter V-8, this Knightmare also features the optional rear wing that looks like it was plucked directly off a Countach.

The point of the Tojan was, for some serious cash (about $55,000 in the late 80s), give you an American sports car that could keep pace with a Ferrari 308. This 41,000 mile car with cousin-to-KITT appearance is pretty rare. I saw a red Tojan at a car show once and it definitely got my attention. Click here to see more about this car and here for the rest of Mecum’s Kansas City lineup.

Update: Sold $13,500.

Ferrari F1-91

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1991 Ferrari F1-91

Offered by Bonhams | Stuttgart, Germany | August 12-September 27, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Bonhams is offering cars from the Willi Balz collection at a public tender sale – meaning it isn’t a live auction, but instead you can offer a price via a sealed bid. There are a number of classic F1 cars on offer here, including this: Ferrari’s 1991 F1 machine.

The F1-91 was also known as the Ferrari 642, following the 1990 641/2 and the 1989 F1-89. For 1991, the Scuderia powered their cars with a 3.5-liter V-12. Horsepower should be about 740, as the 1990 car put out 685 from the same engine (up 85 from 1989). This car has race history including:

  • 1991 San Marino Grand Prix – DNS (with Alain Prost)
  • 1991 Monaco Grand Prix – 3rd (with Jean Alesi)

Since its retirement from Ferrari, it has been used at historic events including Goodwood and the Nurburgring. The 642 had a short shelf-life as it was only used in the first five races of 1991 before being replaced by the 643. This, chassis 124, is the third of five built and it should bring between $340,000-$680,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Ferrari 348 Zagato

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1991 Ferrari 348 Zagato Elaborazione

Offered by Dragone Auctions | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 4, 2016

Photo - Dragone Auctions

Photo – Dragone Auctions

The Ferrari 348 is not the most beloved Ferrari. Not by a long shot, although people who know know that they are a lot of fun for not a lot of price (in terms of Ferraris). The 348 was introcued in 1989 and lasted through 1995 when it was replaced by the similar-in-style F355.

There were two different powertrain configurations: the TB/TS and the GTB/GTS. The car you see here actually started life as a 348 TB, therefore it is powered by a 3.4-liter V-8 making 300 horsepower. Top speed was 171 mph and 60 arrives in about 5.6 seconds.

In 1991 Zagato planned to build about 20 of these – but only eight were ever completed (they may have built another 3 or 4 in 1992… not sure). They restyled the front and rear of the car and added their signature Double Bubble roof. Nothing underneath the skin of the car was touched. It’s one of the rarest road-going Ferraris of the 1990s. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Lechner Sports Prototype

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1991 Lechner-BMW LSC1 Spyder

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 24, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Walter Lechner Racing is a racing team and a racing school based in Austria. They’ve competed in Porsche Supercup for over the past decade, but in the early 1990s they tried their hand at prototype sports car racing. They commissioned Reynard to build them a car. It was called the Lechner Spyder SC91. This is actually that car, but with newer bodywork and a different name.

This chassis was raced competitively between 1991 and 1999 under a variety of different names with revised bodywork as it went. The chassis is from ’91, hence the model year listed, but the bodywork (and name) it currently carries come from later on in the decade. It was originally fitted with a 3.5-liter Judd V-10 but now wears a 4.0-liter BMW V-8. Some highlights for this car include:

  • 1991 Interserie Siegerland – 2nd (with Walter Lechner as Lechner Spyder SC91)
  • 1991 Interserie Zeltweg II – 2nd (with Lechner)
  • 1992 Interserie Zolder – 2nd (with Lechner)
  • 1993 Interserie Siegerland – 2nd (with Lechner as Reynard Spyder)
  • 1993 Interserie Donington – 1st (with Lechner)
  • 1993 Interserie Zeltweg – 2nd (with Lechner)
  • 1994 Interserie Zeltweg – 1st (with Lechner)
  • 1994 Interserie Division I Championship (Lechner as driver, using this car for one race)
  • 1997 Interserie Spa – 2nd (with Josef Neuhauser as Reynard-Judd Can-Am)
  • 1997 Interserie A1-Ring (with Neuhauser)
  • 1997 Interserie Hungaroring (with Neuhauser)
  • 1997 Interserie Division I Championship (with Neuhauser)
  • 1998 Interserie Most – 1st (with Neuhauser as Horag-Reynard-Judd Can-Am)
  • 1998 Interserie A1-Ring – 1st (with Neuhauser)
  • 1998 Interserie Hungaroring – 1st (with Neuhauser)
  • 1998 Interserie Division I Championship (with Neuhauser)
  • 1999 Interserie Most – 3rd (with Neuhauser)

Good Lord! That’s a lot of podium finishes, not to mention an extended racing life for a type of car that normally doesn’t stay that competitive for that many years. At any rate, this thing has been raced privately and is ready to run. You can buy it for between $130,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $119,038.

Alfa Romeo SZ

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1991 Alfa Romeo SZ

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Coventry, U.K. | February 21-22, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The SZ (and it’s roadster twin, the RZ) were the result of a successful collaboration between Alfa Romeo and Zagato – two companies whose intertwined histories go back decades. The SZ was built first, launching in 1989 with production continuing through 1991.

The design by Zagato is rather boxy but definitely unique (Zagato really bought into boxy in the early 1990s). The RZ could only be had in one color: red with a tan interior (although one back car was built for Andrea Zagato). The engine is a 3.0-liter V-6 making 208 horsepower. It’s a compact little thing and for 1991, was pretty zippy.

Only 1,036 SZs were built and this one was sold new in the Netherlands. It’s for sale from it’s original owner and it only has 502 miles on it – so it’s basically brand new. Look for it to bring between $59,000-$82,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $130,805.

Benetton B191

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1991 Benetton-Ford B191B

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This car might be almost 25 years old, but make no mistake: it is a modern Formula One car. Modern Era, at the very least. This was a Benetton team car for both the 1991 and 1992 seasons, years where they had Michael Schumacher, Roberto Moreno, Nelson Piquet, and Martin Brundle as their star drivers.

It was originally built as a 1991 B191 but was re-fitted in 1992 to B191B specification – as you see it now. The engine is a Ford 3.5-liter V-8 making 730 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, B191B-06, includes:

  • 1991 Hungarian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Nelson Piquet)
  • 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix – 5th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Spanish Grand Prix – 11th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Japanese Grand Prix – 7th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Australian Grand Prix – 4th (with Piquet in his final F1 appearance)
  • 1992 South African Grand Prix – 26th, DNF (with Martin Brundle)
  • 1992 Mexican Grand Prix – 3rd (with Michael Schumacher – his first career podium)
  • 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)

After Brazil in 1992, Benetton had its B192 ready for action and the B191B was parked. This car is being offered in its 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix livery and it is fully functional. It is a historic racer – taking Schumacher to his first podium and delivering Piquet a stellar final race. It can now be yours for between $380,000-$470,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Bond Street Sale lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams Monaco 2016, $1,200,618.

Jaguar XJR-15

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1991 Jaguar XJR-15

Offered by RM Auctions | London, U.K. | September 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Everyone talks about the Jaguar XJ220 and how amazing it was (and how it was kind of a flop). It was one of the most well-known supercars of the 1990s. But no one ever mentions the XJR-15, the XJ220s direct predecessor and equal-in-awesomeness.

The droopy-eyed front end was styled by the same guy who went on to do the McLaren F1. The car is based around Jaguar’s Group C-dominating XJR-9 and XJR-12. The XJR-15 was a road car from the get-go, becoming the first street-legal vehicle that is fully made of carbon fiber. The engine is a Group-C spec 6.0-liter V-12 making 450 horsepower. The top speed was 191 mph (although 215 is listed – which would make it faster than the XJ220 that replaced it and the XJ220 was widely known as the “world’s fastest production car.”)

The cars were assembled by Tom Walkinshaw Racing and they sold new for approximately $1 million. 50 were scheduled to be built, but only 27 were turned out as road cars (there were 16 race versions built for a one-make racing series that ran three events in 1991 alongside the F1 calendar). It’s far rarer than an XJ220

This is an legitimate early-90s supercar and one that doesn’t get much respect today. If I were a supercar collector (I mean, when I become a supercar collector) this will definitely be on my list of “must-haves.” You can buy it for between $300,000-$425,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $363,964 (outselling XJ220 at same sale)

Venturi Transcup 260

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1991 Venturi Transcup 260

For sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

1991 Venturi Transcup 260

MVS, or Manufacture de Voitures de Sport, was founded in 1984 by two former Heuliez engineers: Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy. The name was changed to Venturi at some point and the Transcup series was introduced in 1991. There were five different Transcup models, all with different power ratings. This is the top of the line Transcup 260 model.

It uses a 2.9-liter (or 2.85-liter) turbocharged V6 making 253 horsepower – yeah, apparently Venturi rounded up. The car is very sporty looking and doesn’t look as old as it is – even Venturi’s earlier cars looked sporty and semi-modern. They’re quick too.

The seller says there were 128 of these built, but the language is a little choppy and I don’t know if they mean 128 Transcup cars total, or the Transcup 260 in particular. There aren’t many of either, that’s for sure. This one is a 70,000 mile car, which is a little scary and high for a supercar. Then again, it’s over 20 years old and comes with a service booklet. The price is $51,890. Click here for more info.

Autech Zagato Stelvio

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1991 Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1

Offered by Coys | Ascot, U.K. | October 13, 2012

I would hate to call a car that has been designed by one of the world’s foremost automotive design houses “bizarre” so I won’t. I’ll call it “Japanese,” as they are known for their love of quirky, boxy cars. Milanese design house Zagato created the aluminium body – which even has the signature Zagato “double bubble” roof, if only so slightly – while Autech, a Nissan-owned performance tuning subsidiary, was behind the rest of the car.

The car is based on a Nissan Leopard (a car America received as the Infiniti M30) and has an Autech-tuned 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 under hood making 320 horsepower. They also tuned the suspension and the frame. The entire car was built by hand and a production run of 200 was scheduled, although only 104 made it out the door.

They were very expensive when first released in 1989, but the price has subsided a little bit, with Coys expecting this to fetch between $38,000-$48,000. This is a very rare car – tell me if you’ve ever seen one let alone even heard of it. You can read more about it here, and check out the rest of Coys auction lineup here.