Tag Archives: 1998

Prototype Race Cars in Monterey

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Prototype Race Car Rundown

Offered during the Pebble Beach auction weekend | August 15-17, 2014

1995 Kremer-Porsche 962 K8 Spyder

Offered by Mecum

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The K8 was an evolution of the Porsche 962. Porsche withdrew from the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona due to last minute rule changes. The Kremer brothers of Germany had been producing Porsche race cars since 1962 and they entered this “K8 Spyder” – which had been a Porsche 962 in a previous life. It uses a twin turbo 3.0-liter flat-six and only four were built. This car won the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona with drivers Jurgen Lassig, Christophe Bouchut, Giovanni Lavaggi, and Marco Werner. It also raced at Sebring and Le Mans that year without victory. It maintains its race-winning livery today. It should sell for between $900,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $930,000.

1992 AAR-Toyota Eagle Mk III GTP

Offered by Gooding & Company

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

We’ve featured some of Dan Gurney’s Eagles – mostly open-wheel cars. Well here is a GTP prototype AAR Eagle. It’s powered by a turbocharged Toyota 2.1-liter straight-four making 700-750 horsepower, depending on configuration. AAR and Toyota teamed up in the 80s for sports car racing and the Eagle Mk III dominated the 1992 IMSA GTP season. Between 1991 and 1993, they won 21 of 27 races. This is chassis #004 and its major wins are:

  • 1992 12 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Juan Manuel Fangio II and Andy Wallace)
  • 1993 12 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Fangio II and Wallace)

It also had 12 other victories and has been owned by Fangio II since it stopped racing. It is being offered for sale for the first time and should sell for between $700,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,045,000.

1984 Lola-Mazda T616

Offered by Russo & Steele

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

The Lola T600 was new for the Group C category in 1981. For 1984, it was updated to the T616. They teamed with BF Goodrich racing and Mazda to run these cars for the 1984 season. Russo & Steele is also offering the sister car for sale, too. The engine is a 300 horsepower 1.3-liter twin-rotor Wankel. Here’s a brief rundown of its competition highlights:

  • 1984 24 Hours of Daytona – 31st (with Jim Busby, Rick Knoop and Boy Hayje)
  • 1984 1000km Monza – 1st in class (with Busby and Knoop)
  • 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans – 12th, 1st in class (with Busby, Knoop and Hayje)
  • 1984 1000km Nurburgring – 2nd in class (with Busby and Peter Halsmer)
  • 1984 1000km Fuji – 3rd in class (with Busby and Halsmer)

The pair of cars were stored after 1984 until original drivers Knoop and Busby found them and restored them. You can buy them now and read more here (and check out the rest of Russo & Steele’s lineup here).

Update: Sold $132,000.

1998 Ferrari 333 SP

Offered by RM Auctions

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The 333 SP is an interesting Ferrari. The Scuderia hadn’t gone sports prototype racing in a long time and with this car, they kind of still didn’t. Dallara designed the chassis (and built nine of the cars) and Ferrari never fielded a factory effort with the cars, instead selling them to privateers so they could campaign them.

The engine is a 4.0-liter V-12 making 650 horsepower. This is the most-successful 333 SP built, with the following achievements:

  • 1998 24 Hours of Daytona – 1st (with Arie Luyendyk, Mauro Baldi, Giampiero Moretti and Didier Theys)
  • 1998 12 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Theys, Moretti and Baldi)
  • 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans – 14th (with Theys, Moretti and Baldi)

The car still has its MOMO livery (MOMO being the company Daytona winner Giampiero Moretti founded). It is one of 40 ultimately built (Ferrari built five in addition to Dallara’s nine. Michelotto built the rest). RM didn’t publish an estimate, but you can read more here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $3,400,000.

 1970 Porsche 908/03 Spyder

Offered by Bonhams

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Porsche 908 was their prototype racer from 1968 through 1971. It replaced the 907 and preceded the 936. It’s basically a little wedge with two Batmobile-like fins out back. The engine is a 3.0-liter flat-eight making about 370 horsepower. It could top out around 180 mph. The /03 was the third evolution of the 908 and was made for 1970 and 1971 only. This car was never raced, instead used for extensive testing by the Porsche factory team. It is one of 13 908/03s built. This car, chassis #002, should sell for between $1,800,000-$2,300,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

DB7 V12 Prototype

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1998 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Coupe Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 18, 2013

1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Coupe Prototype

The DB7 is my favorite Aston. I think it’s gorgeous – especially the convertibles. But when Ford first put the DB7 out – it was powered by a less-than-exciting straight-six. While that engine followed the long line of Aston sixes from back in the day, it was out of line with modern luxury car buyers.

Thankfully they figured this out and decided to stuff a 6.0-liter V12 underhood. The output was 420 horsepower – about a hundred more than the six. The car went on sale in March of 1999.

But prior to that, Aston had to do some development work on the new engine. Enter this car, chassis DP 001. It’s a DB7 – and it’s listed in the lot description as a “circa 1999” but I would assume that, if the car went on sale in March of 1999, they started development work in 1998 or prior – hence my labeling it as a 1998. Anyway, this car was used as a test mule with the new powerplant. Later, it was sold by a dealer (on behalf of Aston Martin) in England in 2004 under the condition it never be road-registered and used on track days only. And that’s what it has been doing. Recently, windows have been added and the interior cleaned up – but it currently is not running.

This is a chance to own a piece of Aston Martin history – a factory prototype (even though it isn’t too exciting, I still think it’s cool). It is expected to sell for between $23,000-$31,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this auction’s lineup.

Update: Sold $34,663.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams, Newport Pagnell 2015 $35,612.

1998 Lamborghini Concept Car

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1998 Lamborghini Pregunta

For Sale at Autodrome Paris | Paris, France

1998 Lamborghini Pregunta

Honestly, I’ve never heard of this car. But I’m no fan of concept cars and there are quite a few of them out there. But here’s the story on it:

Lamborghini was to be signed over to Volkswagen (or, more specifically, Audi) at the end of July of 1998. It was being bought by VW from Indonesian ownership (some of the darkest days of Lambo’s history). A few weeks before this was set to occur, Lamborghini contacted Heuliez – a French coachbuilder with a design office in Turin. They gave them a Diablo chassis and running gear and told them to go crazy and create a one-off supercar prototype. I guess they were burning any cash the company may have had left with the security of knowing VW would be plugging that gap soon anyway.

Lamborghini put all kinds of strict wording in their agreement that the car couldn’t be shown to the public without their approval and it must cast Lamborghini in a positive light. The result is certainly not the prettiest supercar or prototype ever created (although it does follow that 90s trend of outrageousness), but Lamborghini approved it anyway and it debuted at the Paris Auto Show in 1998. Then it went to the Geneva show in 1999.

The engine is a 530 horsepower version of the Diablo’s 5.7-liter V12. Unlike some of the Diablos, this car is rear-wheel drive only. I’ve looked at all the photos available on the website that contains the listing and I can’t find a Lamborghini badge on it anywhere. Everything says Heuliez, the company that created it. It was shown at auto shows as a Lambo though, so whatever. I usually say “concept cars don’t count” but in any case I’d call it a Lamborghini. Just one that came about during a turbulent era. VW quashed all independent design projects Lambo had going on as soon as they were acquired.

Heuliez encountered significant financial troubles in 2010 and last year, most of the concept vehicles they had retained over the years were sold off at auction. This one escaped and was acquired by a dealer in Paris, where it is currently for sale for an undisclosed amount. Click here for more.

Viper GTS-R GT2

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1998 Dodge Viper GTS-R

Offered by Mecum Auctions | Dallas, Texas | September 6, 2012

The second-generation Dodge Viper was introduced in 1996. It was the first time the car could be had in two-door hardtop coupe form. Generation one cars were only available as a roadster. Stylistically, the cars were unlike anything else on the road – especially at their price point.

Chrysler took the Viper racing in 1997. It competed in the FIA Championship in GT2 guise. The Viper won the GT2 Championship in 1997 with the French Oreca team. The team’s colors were white with blue stripes (they would adopt the famous red with white stripes for 2000). Vipers would also win their class at Le Mans in 1998 and a few more GT Championships over the years.

To celebrate and commemorate their 1997 FIA GT2 Championship, Chrysler released a special edition of the Viper road car for 1998. It was called the GTS-R (sometimes referred to as the GT2). They came only in Stone White with twin Viper Blue stripes. The cars had the racing aerodynamic package with the big spoiler out back, BBS-style wheels and some small giveaway graphics. Power was increased by 10 horsepower to 460 over stock in the 8.0-liter V10.

This one has had one owner its whole life and has covered only 3,600 miles. There aren’t too terribly many special edition Vipers that have been built and this is the coolest, most well-known of the handful. And it’s legitimately rare – although there are some imitations out there. If I were to own a Viper, it would be this one (or a Ketchup and Mustard Roadster).

For the complete lot description, click here. And for more from Mecum in Dallas, click here.

Update: Sold $83,000.

Porsche 911 GT1 Roadcar

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1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

Remember a week or so ago when we talked about the late-90s homologation specials that were thinly disguised race cars made street legal by some soft tuning and modification, namely the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR? Well you’re looking at its biggest competitor, the Porsche 911 GT1. This is the rarest supercar Porsche has ever made. And it is glorious.

The race version of the CLK GTR never won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Porsche, however, did – taking the top two spots on the podium in 1998. We actually featured a 911 GT1 Evo a few months ago when it came up for sale. But, in order to race these ridiculous “GT” cars, Porsche was required to build road-going examples, just as Mercedes and McLaren did.

The first road car was delivered in 1997. It featured a detuned version of the race car’s 3.2-liter twin-turbo flat-6, making 544 horsepower. The car could do 194 mph and hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. The base price was a very Porsche-sounding $912,000. This particular car is believed to be the only registered 911 GT1 road car in the United States. Approximately 25 were built in total (how no one knows the exact number is a little disheartening as Porsche is a reputable company and they are German, thus they are, stereotypically, supposed to be organized and on top of such things).

If you want to own the rarest of rare Porsches with performance and outrageous looks equaled by very few cars, then this one’s for you. Show up at any Porsche show with it and even people with 959s and Carrera GTs will be staring at their shoes in embarrassment of having “just another production Porsche.” The price is expected to be in the $1,250,000-$1,400,000 range. For more information, click here. And for more from RM in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $1,175,000.

Update II: Sold, Gooding & Company, Amelia Island 2017, $5,665,000.

Mercedes CLK GTR

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1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 17, 2012

The FIA GT1 Championship in the late 1990s netted supercar fans some amazing machines. But instead of basing their race cars on road-going models, constructors were building race cars and then hastily re-arranging things so that they could be driven on the street. The result were some very rare, very outrageous road cars. This is one of them.

The CLK GTR, while it shares its name with the CLK-Class, was created from scratch by AMG, Mercedes’ performance tuning arm. With the 1997 season ready to go, AMG had built one road car (a good faith sign that the required 25 homologation models were on their way, and the minimum they had to do to get the race version legally on the track). For 1998 Mercedes used an altered version of the GTR called the CLK LM. And for 1999 it was scrapped altogether in favor of the spectacularly doomed CLR.

The FIA GT1 Championship was shelved for 1999 due to lack of constructor interest. There had been enough demand by ultra-rich customers that Mercedes decided to fulfill its homologation obligation and built 25 road-going versions of the CLK GTR. This was number one. Twenty were coupes and there were at least five roadsters (an additional roadster may have been built, bumping it to 26 road-going cars). The engine was a 6.9-liter V12 making 604 horsepower. At the time of its release, the car held the world record for the World’s Most Expensive “Production” Car, with a price tag of over $1 million in 1998.

Enter H.W.A., which was founded in 1998 as an offshoot of AMG. The company now runs the Mercedes-Benz DTM effort but one of the first things it did in its existence was modify two CLK GTRs to “SuperSport” specification. Gone was the 6.9-liter V12. In its place was a 720 horsepower 7.3-liter V12, making this the ultimate Mercedes-Benz supercar of all time, bar none.

The pre-sale estimate is $1,250,000-$1,500,000. For more information and the complete lot description, click here. And for more from RM in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $1,100,000.

Cardi Curara

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1998 Cardi Curara

Offered by Coys, Essen, Germany, March, 24, 2012

1998 Cardi Curara

This car is very rare. As in, there was only one built. This Russian supercar is powered by a 5.4 liter BMW V12 making 326 horsepower. The styling doesn’t scream “supercar,” but more of “grand tourer” and with 326 horsepower, I think the latter is more applicable, although top speed is claimed somewhere around 198 mph (although I don’t see how).

When it was built, it cost around $185,000 USD. I’m not sure what it will bring in 2012, but it is relatively attractive and you’re going to be hard pressed to find another one. Plus, look at where the spare tire is stored:

And, for a car almost 15 years old, the interior is in excellent shape:

It would definitely make for an interesting buy. For more information, click here and to see the rest of the cars on offer from Coys, click here.

Update: Not sold.