Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023
Photo – Bonhams
Lotus has a long history in F1. From the days of Colin Chapman and Jim Clark to dominance in the ’70s and Mario Andretti’s only F1 championship. Lotus survived into the ’90s, selling out to what would become Pacific Racing, a team that disappeared after one season. The name then returned in the 2010s for a few years, which basically a holding place after Renault left and before they returned again.
Anyway, the Type 107 was designed by Chris Murphy (and team) and debuted for the 1992 season. The car was updated to “B” spec for 1993 and then to “C” specification for the first half of 1994 before it was replaced by the 109. Power in period was from a Ford-Cosworth V8 in ’92 and ’93 and a Mugen-Honda 3.5-liter V10 in 1994. Output was 725 horsepower for the Honda.
The history for this chassis, 107C-01 includes:
1994 Pacific Grand Prix at Aida, Japan – 8th (with Pedro Lamy)
1994 San Marino Grand Prix – 10th (with Johnny Herbert)
1994 Monaco Grand Prix – 11th (with Lamy)
Lamy then used this car in testing at Silverstone when it suffered a catastrophic failure and was essentially destroyed. After Team Lotus failed in 1995, the remnants of this chassis were purchased by the current owner in 1997 along with some spares and rebuilt to show-car status. The Mugen-Honda V10 is long gone, but a mocked-up Judd V10 without internals is in there. The estimate is still $90,000-$125,000. Read more about it here.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 16, 2023
Photo – Bonhams
Footwork was the name the Arrows team competed under in Formula One from 1991 through 1996. The name is actually that of their largest investor/sponsor, Footwork Express, a Japanese logistics company.
1993 was the second of two seasons that the team sourced their 3.5-liter V10 engines from Honda, which were branded as Mugen-Honda. Output was likely around 720 horsepower. This chassis, FA14-04, retains its engine, but that engine is lacking internals. So it’s essentially a roller.
The competition history for this one includes:
1993 Spanish Grand Prix – 10th (with Aguri Suzuki)
1993 Canadian Grand Prix – 13th (with Suzuki)
1993 French Grand Prix – 12th (with Suzuki)
1993 British Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 German Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Hungarian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Belgian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Italian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Portuguese Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Japanese Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Suzuki)
1993 Australian Grand Prix – 7th (with Suzuki)
So, no points for this car, and quite a string of bad luck. I kind of love relatively livery-less F1 cars from this era. They look so plain as to be almost homebuilt. But even a mid-pack car like this was highly sophisticated in its day. The estimate now is $145,000-$190,000. 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 Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Aston Martin was not at a particularly strong point in their history when they introduced the Virage at the tail end of the 1980s. This was just as their former models, which dated back to the 60s, were being phased out. The Virage would spawn the Vantage and eventually be sold as the “V8” alongside early DB7s.
The factory body style was a four-seat coupe. But this “Shooting Brake” (c’mon, it’s got four doors. You can call it a wagon) is one of seven such cars built by the factory for customers who demanded a little more versatility out of their sports cars. There were a few three-door versions as well, but only seven apparently got the four-door treatment. This was the first, and it’s shorter in length than the later ones.
Another thing Aston did was offer the upcoming Vantage’s 6.3-liter V8 as an option. And this car has it. It was rated at 456 horsepower when new. The whole build is a pretty much custom deal, with a 12″ stretch and a manual gearbox conversion. Certainly not something you see everyday, this Virage wagon is expected to bring between $170,000-$290,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | November 6, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This is something you don’t see every day. Or year. Or decade. Ascari Cars was founded by Klaas Zwart and was named for Alberto Ascari. Based in the U.K., they built very limited-run supercars throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. Their former HQ is now home to the Haas F1 team.
The FGT was their first product. The car was actually designed by Lee Noble independently and sold to Zwart, who founded Ascari around the car and produced it as a race car. The FGT competed in the British GT Championship through 1997, after which Ascari produced 17 road-going versions of the car and called them the Ecosse.
This example is the first FGT built (and likely the only true road-going version) – the initial Noble-produced prototype and what would become the first car to wear the Ascari name. It’s powered by a mid-mounted 6.0-liter Chevrolet V8 making 420 horsepower with an upgraded ECU.
It was apparently found by the current owner in a barn after sitting for 13 years. Lee Noble was called in, and the car was restored to as you see it now. Ascari built less than 100 cars in 15 years, and this is the first one. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | June 20, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
Benetton Formula arrived on the grid in 1986, taking over the Toleman team. They later gave Michael Schumacher his first two titles before being purchased by Renault in 2000. The B193 was their car for the 1993 season, and it was updated to B193B spec beginning at the third race of the season at Donington Park.
The cars were powered by a 3.5-liter Ford V8 that made about 700 horsepower. Unfortunately, this chassis (#02) has been converted to show car spec, so it is currently engineless. It started the season as a spare car before being used for testing. Its actual competition history consists of:
1993 German Grand Prix – 5th (with Riccardo Patrese)
1993 Hungarian Grand Prix – 2nd (with Patrese)
1993 Belgian Grand Prix – 6th (with Patrese)
1993 Italian Grand Prix – 5th (with Patrese)
1993 Portuguese Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Patrese)
Not too shabby. The car has been refinished in a later livery (it would’ve had a yellow and green Camel livery in ’93). At any rate, it’s a pure roller. Yet, it is still expected to bring between $89,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 22, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
If last week’s Isdera wasn’t crazy enough, here comes RM Sotheby’s yet again with another supercar score. A Cizeta V16T. The car was developed by former Lamborghini engineer Claudio Zampolli with financial backing from 80s music composer Giorgio Moroder, who left the project after the first prototype was built (it was called the Cizeta-Moroder up to that point).
The design itself was penned by Marcello Gandini, who, shockingly, also worked on the Lamborghini Diablo. Power is from a 6.0-liter V16 that was essentially two Lamborghini Urraco V8s squeezed together in a single block. Output was rated at 540 horsepower.
RM reports that just nine examples were produced before production ceased in the mid-1990s. Two cars have been built since, and word is that Zampolli will still build you one if you want it.
This car is one of three that was ordered by the Brunei Royal Family, although it was never delivered and sat in a Singapore Ferrari dealer’s storage facility until the current owner bought it in 2020. It has a little over 600 original miles. The other two Brunei Cizetas were converted to use Lambo V12s, and one of those is apparently a disassembled project car.
This is not a car that comes up for public sale often, so it will be interesting to see what it sells for. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | Sometime in 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Well here we go. Two years ago, Historics auctioned a Lister Storm road car and I said “now if you could just snag an Isdera Commendatore” you’d win my heart. Well, RM Sotheby’s is doing it. The one and only Commendatore 112i is going under the hammer in Paris next year.
Isdera was founded by Eberhard Schulz in Germany in 1982. The company’s biggest success on the production car front was the Imperator 108i, which was a production version of the Mercedes-Benz CW311 concept car (which was designed by Schulz). Thirty were built between 1984 and 1993. Apparently, Isdera has produced 70 cars since 1993, but nobody really knows what they are.
The Commendatore 112i launched as a concept car at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was named for Enzo Ferrari and was originally fitted with a 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V12 capable of 408 horsepower. A Ruf six-speed manual transaxle was fitted, and the car could do 211 mph.
The body is fiberglass over a spaceframe chassis. Production never materialized, and only this prototype was built. It reappeared in 1999 under the care of a Swiss businessman who updated it to the name “Silver Arrow.” It was offered for sale a few times in the ensuing years, but Isdera managed to reacquire it in 2016. It was then restored back to 1993 specification, including it’s awesome periscope mirror.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | July 23-30, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
It’s always fun when a manufacturer rolls out an unnecessary, limited-edition specialty car. Think of things like the Lancia Hyena, the Alfa SZ/RZ, and even the Chevy SSR (I like them, leave me alone). They just make life more interesting.
The Alfa Romeo SZ, or Sprint Zagato, was built between 1989 and 1991. It was a hardtop coupe and 1,036 were built. The RZ, or Roadster Zagato, was offered from 1992 through 1994 and only 278 were built. It’s boxy, distinctive, and the suspension is based on the Alfa 75 IMSA car. It is apparently quite the driver’s car.
Power is from a 3.0-liter V6 rated at 207 horsepower. The roadster could hit 60 in 7.5 seconds, which doesn’t sound all that quick, but hey, it’s only got 207 horsepower. It’s a momentum machine, capable of great gobs of grip. This example is a rare sight in the U.S. and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
This is the kind of weird European cottage industry stuff I expect to see in a Monegasque auction. Venturi, which originally produced cars in France, is now based in Monaco. Their heyday was the early 1990s, and they produced a dizzying array of models considering the company wasn’t around for all that long.
The Atlantique was a fiberglass-bodied series of cars featuring a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout. There were turbo and naturally aspirated versions, both with a 3.0-liter V6. But prior to that car’s introduction in 1994, there was the Coupe 260 Atlantique, which wasn’t technically part of the “Atlantique” line. It went on sale in 1991, and just 25 examples were produced through 1993.
The car was based on the 260 APC, a design that dated to the 1980s, and is powered by a 2.8-liter V6 that made 260 horsepower. It was lighter than the APC, and all were finished in this lovely shade of blue. This example was the final one built, and it is expected to fetch between $56,000-$78,000. Click here for more info, and here for more from this sale.
