Tag Archives: 1999

The New Pantera

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1999 De Tomaso Nuovo Pantera 2000 Concept

For Sale at Maranello Purosangue | Maranello, Italy

Photo – Maranello Purosangue

The Pantera is the car that Alejandro De Tomaso will always be remembered for. Styled by Ghia and powered by a series of big Ford V-8s, it was a raw combination of American muscle and Italian flair. It was an exotic you could buy at your local Lincoln-Mercury dealer in the U.S.

The car went out of production in 1992 after undergoing a slight restyle from Marcello Gandini, founder of Bertone. Gandini is responsible for great supercars like the Lamborghini Miura, Countach, Diablo, Bugatti EB110, and the Lancia Stratos. After the death of the Pantera, De Tomaso only managed to produce small batches of cars for the next decade and De Tomaso himself passed away in 2003.

But the aura of the Pantera always lingered. So it was in 1999 that De Tomaso teamed up with Gandini to produce a new Pantera for the new millennium. The car was to celebrate 40 years of De Tomaso and it was presented near the end of 1999. It was a design study and is pure concept car. There’s no running gear or interior, but if you’re a collector that wants a piece of “automotive art” as the showpiece of your collection, look no further. This is currently for sale in Italy, and here’s a video of its exterior.

On an interesting note, here is what the car looked like before it was rescued:

Photo – Maranello Purosangue

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s, London 2017, $25,348.

Cerbera Speed Eight

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1999 TVR Cerbera 4.5L Speed Eight

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | November 26, 2016

Photo - Historics at Brooklands

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The TVR Cerbera is one of my favorite cars. Of all time. Ever. Why? No idea, really. Peter Wheeler bought TVR in the 1980s and introduced a series of sporty, exotic (and sometimes, downright weird) road cars through the 1990s and into the 2000s. The Cerbera was a 2+2 (a four-seat coupe, or a 3+1 in TVR parlance as the front seats were kind of offset so the rear passenger-side occupant had as much room as those upfront) that was available from 1995 through 2003.

Cerberas were generally eight-cylinder cars (a six was also offered), like this 4.5L Speed Eight that uses a 4.5-liter V-8 making 420 horsepower. Top speed was 185 mph and it will hit 60 in 4.1 seconds. It is a seriously quick car – but a handful as they didn’t have traction control. It’s a beast that takes some serious finesse to drive fast. They also never had the best reputation for quality, but who cares about reliability when you look this cool?

This car sports the wild TVR interior of the 1990s – it’s purple and has all the weird switch and gauge placements that made these cars famous. TVR built 271 Cerberas in 1999, supposedly, with a grand total of just 1,578 total. This one is really nice and for a while these were just used sports cars in the U.K. Now they are getting harder to find. Their prices are still relatively low, so get them before they all disappear – either into disrepair or into a million little pieces when they hit something or catch fire. This one should bring between $21,000-$28,000. That’s a steal and I wish I lived in the U.K. just so I could snag it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,508.

Oldsmobile IRL Support Vehicle

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1999 Oldsmobile Bravada IRL Support Vehicle

Offered by Mecum | Denver, Colorado | July 8-9, 2016

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Okay, so this is sort of a weird one, I’ll admit. The Oldsmobile Bravada is not a collectible car. Never has been, never will be. It was Oldsmobile’s only SUV they ever made as their unfortunate demise preceded the SUV explosion we’ve had of late.

This is a second-generation Bravada (of three) and a platform mate of the Chevy Blazer and GMC Jimmy. The 1996-2001 Bravada was powered by a 4.3-liter V6 making 191 horsepower. This truck was actually used by the Indy Racing League as a support vehicle. It says “Official Pace Vehicle” but it doesn’t have a lightbar, so it isn’t clear if it was used to pace races or to drive wrecked racers back to the infield care center.

The graphics are kind of cool and you’d definitely have the coolest Bravada around. This was the first Bravada produced for the 1999 model year and it has covered only 10,926 miles since new. It is AWD and is really nice all around. It should bring a little more than your average used SUV. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $11,000.

Bugatti EB112

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1999 Bugatti EB112

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Well what do we have here? Bugatti has existed in three different forms. First, Ettore’s original company, which built cars up to the war. Ettore died soon after it ended and the company fumbled along until closing its doors in 1952. But alas! Romano Artioli revived the marque in the late 1980s – in Italy. He built the over-the-top EB110 supercar through the mid-1990s. Then in 1998, Volkswagen bought the brand name and revived it again for the 2006 model year.

This car is listed as a 1999 – which you’d think means it was built by Volkswagen. But no. The EB112 was shown as a concept car in 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show. It never reached production and as the second chapter of the Bugatti story came to a close, three such EB112 super sedans were in the factory in some form.

When the assets were liquidated, Monegasque businessman Gildo Pallanca Pastor bought all three. In 1998, his racing team managed to complete two of the cars (hence why it is listed as a 1999). One was sold to a Russian collector and this one was retained by Pastor.

The engine is a 6.0-liter V-12 making 455 horsepower. Sixty arrives in 4.5 seconds thanks to all-wheel drive and the car tops out at 186 mph. It’s an incredible performer considering it’s a large, luxurious sedan designed in the early 1990s. It is in perfect condition and is one of those cars you’ll never get another chance to grab. Artcurial isn’t even publishing an estimate. This is a mind-blowing chance. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Mauck MSV

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1999 Mauck MSV 1120S

Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | December 4-6, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Uh, what? Basically I was looking through Mecum’s Kansas City catalog going “What’s the most interesting thing in here?” Well this Mauck MSV stole the show in that regard.

Mauck Special Vehicles was an Ohio-based vehicle manufacturer founded by Andy Mauck in the mid-1990s. The MSV 1120S was their prime offering and it was expensive when new, costing over $200,000. It’s essentially a bus, I guess, and it has McLaren F1-like butterfly doors.

Two engines were offered: a 7.4-liter V-8 or a 5.9-liter straight-six diesel. Many of the parts were bought from Ford and GM making repairs much less expensive. Everything else was pretty much customized. The interior of this thing looks like a private jet.

Between 1996 and 1999, just over 100 of these were built, many of them having been shipped overseas or sold to celebrities. Some less decked out versions served as handicapped accessible vans for municipalities in the U.S. Whatever your take on this thing is, you must admit it’s at least interesting. Check out more pictures here and see more from Mecum in Kansas City here.

Update: Sold $50,000.

The 1999 Packard

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1999 Packard Twelve Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Packard is one the most revered American automobile manufacturers of all time. Their glory years were from their founding by James Ward Packard and his two partners in Warren, Ohio, in 1899 up through their huge pre-war touring cars and limousines. They built some of the finest cars money could buy. Unfortunately, their post-war fortunes were not as grand. They merged into Studebaker and the marque disappeared for 1959 (after two years of selling re-badged Studebakers).

Or did it? Well, yes, it did – but that didn’t stop the new owners of the Packard trademark – Packard Motor Car Company of Phoenix, Arizaon – from constructing this “new” Packard in 1999. The styling is unique and has little bits of classic Packard styling added in (like the grille). It’s a four-door luxury sedan prototype in working order – a concept car for the road. The styling can be polarizing for some, but I don’t really mind it as it reminds me of the kind of crazy era of concept cars that proliferated through the 1990s. I’m thinking “Chrysler Thunderbolt” here.

The coolest part is that this car is all-original. It’s not a re-bodied Lincoln or something like that. The chassis is aluminium. It has four-wheel drive. The engine is a 8.6-liter V-12 making 573 horsepower. It’ll hit 60 mph in only 4.8 seconds. Not bad for a sedan – from 1999.

This car popped up on eBay in 2009 and I don’t know the outcome, but it hadn’t met its reserve by the time it hit $125,000. So I’m guessing they want more. On the plus side, should you choose to spend it, you’ll have the newest Packard on the block. Read more here and check out more from RM here.

Update: Sold $143,000.

Hommell Vaillant

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1999 Hommell Vaillant Grand Defi Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 18, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Hommell Berlinette might be a car you know of it you actually owned one (or are a more-than-casual fan of the Gran Turismo series on PlayStation, where the car is among those you can purchase and race). But outside of those two limited circles, Automobiles Michel Hommell isn’t really well known.

The Berlinette was shown in prototype form in 1990 and in production form in 1994. The company lasted until the end of 2003. The Vaillant is a special racing edition of the Berlinette (although this car is road-registered and street-legal – in Europe anyway). It is named for the comic book character Michel Vaillant, of whom I know nothing about. The mid-mounted powertrain mirrors that of the standard Berlinette, featuring a 2.0-liter straight-four making 167 horsepower.

About 16 examples of the Vaillant were built and they were intended for a Celebrity racing series featuring celebrities that I’m sure I don’t know. At any rate, Hommells are very rare and are an attractive late-90s sports car for those who like them. This one should sell for between $83,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams at Spa.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Artcurial Paris, June 2019.

Update: Sold, Aguttes June 2021, $66,230.

Ford Thunderbird Concept

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1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

For Sale at Vintage Motors of Sarasota | Sarasota, Florida

1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

The Ford Thunderbird is one of America’s legendary sports cars. It started as a Corvette challenger that quickly grew soft while the Corvette stayed sporty. Ford tried to keep it relevant but by 1997 the model was killed off.

But only two years later Ford introduced a luxury roadster concept called the Thunderbird and it looked way better than the model it was going to replace. The car sported retro looks and would go on sale for the 2002 model year.

This is one of three concept Thunderbirds built by Ford. One of those was later re-bodied as a “Sports Roadster” (a sporty, topless version). One of the concepts is still owned by Ford. And this is the third – the only one in the wild. It was built around the chassis of a Lincoln LS and uses that donor car’s 3.9-liter V-8 (which is actually a Jaguar motor) making 252 horsepower. This car isn’t street legal – it doesn’t have windows or gauges and has a governor on the engine to keep speeds very low.

The return of the Thunderbird was short-lived. Between 2002 and 2005, only 67,518 were built. It was expensive and not sporty. It was a flop all around. But this is actually a really cool opportunity to obtain a piece of history related to one of America’s great cars. The price is $195,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn 2018, $25,300.

Shelby Durango

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1999 Dodge Durango Shelby SP360

Offered by Auctions America, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, March 16-18, 2012

I’m going to be honest: those are some ugly wheels. Everything Carroll Shelby attached his name to – and he seems willing to attach it to just about anything (there was a Shelby Omni, after all) – becomes collectible. You don’t see many of these next to the GT350s and GT500s and Cobras at auctions. Maybe because it’s a late model SUV with a big engine and some giveaway Viper paint.

Only 300 Shelby SP360s were built between 1999 and 2000.  The 360 stands for the number of ponies under the hood, coming from the supercharged 5.9 liter Magnum V8. It could hit 60 mph in 7.1 seconds on its way to 142 mph (which was seriously fast for a 2+ ton SUV). I’ve heard a standard Durango from this era and it sounded great. I bet this sounds awesome.

These will never reach a level anywhere close to the Shelbys of yore. This is a well-equiped 4WD model and I’m unaware of the mileage (it could have been a daily driver, although this does not appear to be the case as it looks fairly clean). I think a $20,000 hammer price should elate the seller. I wouldn’t pay that much. For more info click here and more from AA in Ft. Lauderdale, click here.

Update: Sold $13,750.