TVR T440R

2002 TVR T440R

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Northamptonshire, England | May 2024

Photo – Iconic Auctioneers

Peter Wheeler bought TVR in 1981 and transitioned the company from wedge-shaped sports cars into a company producing cars that reflected the era… and an era of that no one really saw coming. Cars of the early 90s begat some wild supercars by the year 2000.

The T440R was the second of two prototypes of a car that TVR hoped to homologate so they could race it at Le Mans. The first prototype was destroyed by the factory, leaving this as the sole example. It was initially powered by a 440-horsepower engine (hence the name) but has been restored with a 4.4-liter inline-six.

This car is a good representation of the final stretch of the Wheeler era at TVR: aspirational, wild, and rare. It now has an estimate of $240,000-$285,000. More info can be found here.

Toyota TF102

2002 Toyota TF102

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Toyota announced they were heading to Formula One in 1999, but they didn’t appear on the grid until 2002. The TF102 was their first F1 car, and this is chassis #03. It was used as a test car for the team throughout the year, seeing seat time with both of their drivers: Mika Salo and Allan McNish. It was also driven by Stephane Sarrazin and Alan Briscoe.

The team was both a chassis constructor and an engine manufacturer, and this chassis retains a 835-horsepower, 3.0-liter Toyota V10 (though, some electronics are missing). The TF102 peaked early, earning Salo a 6th place finish in its debut in Australia. Salo would achieve a 6th-place finish two rounds later in Brazil, and it was all downhill after that.

Toyota left F1 after the 2009 season, never having won a race. This chassis was purchased by its current owner in 2020 and has a pre-sale estimate of $320,000-$430,000. Click here for more.

Gillet Vertigo

2002 Gillet Vertigo Race Car

Offered by Bring a Trailer | October 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer

Gran Turismo fans know exactly what this is. The Vertigo is the product of Gillet Automobiles of Belgium. They’ve been making versions of it since the early 1990s, and some of them look quite different than others, but this is the most famous one.

The race car (there are apparently a few road cars) was aimed at the FIA GT Championship, and it won its class three years in a row in the late 2000s. Power is provided by tuned 3.0-liter Alfa Romeo V6, and the car features a carbon fiber monocoque and bodywork.

This particular car competed in the 2005 FIA GT series, winning its class at Zhuhai in China. It’s said to be one of three such race cars built. It was later restored by Tony Gillet himself and has about a week left to bid on. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $94,420.

Ferrari F2001B

2002 Ferrari F2001B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 16-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s F2001 was a dominant car in Formula One. Michael Schumacher won eight races in an F2001, securing the driver’s and constructor’s titles. For the start of the 2002 season, Ferrari tweaked the prior year’s chassis and dubbed it the F2001B. This car was used by Schumacher for the first two races of the 2002 season and the first three for teammate Rubens Barichello.

This chassis, #215, was a success right out of the gate. It’s competition history consists of:

  • 2002 Australian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher, from pole)

Schumacher won the title again in 2002, using the F2002 for the rest of the season. They used 3.0-liter screaming V10s during this era. This car is one of likely two built, and it’s a race winner to boot. You can read more about it here.

Update: Withdrawn.

MG ZT Wagon

2002 MG ZT-T 190

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | October 15, 2022

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

This car? Big fan. The ZT was one of the last MGs before they were resurrected by a Chinese company. The ZT was the big car, offered as a sedan or wagon. The car was based on the Rover 75, but looks a lot better. V8-powered models received rear-wheel drive.

The wagons were called “ZT-T”, and this particular example is a “190” – meaning it’s powered by a 2.5-liter V6 that was rated at 187 horsepower when new. A manual transmission was the only option on this model. Top speed was 137 mph.

ZT and ZT-T production was not huge. Over five model years, a combined total of 27,000 cars were built. Apparently, only 1,756 of those were 190 wagons. This one is expected to fetch $3,500-$4,500. I’ll take it. Click here for more info.

2002 Firehawk

2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SLP Firehawk

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 19, 2022

Photo – Mecum

The fourth-generation Firebird went on sale for 1993. It was kind of pointy, but if you look at the rear 3/4 of the car, you could tell the genes were there for some muscle. That became more apparent when a mid-cycle refresh came in 1998. The car got a new hood with two big intakes/nostrils up front. It was bulky and looked like a muscle car.

So, of course, on top of the Firebird there was the Trans Am, which usually specified some kind of upgraded suspension, an appearance package, and a power bump. But what do you do when that’s not enough? You go to SLP Engineering and have them turn it into a Firehawk, naturally.

These were sold through Pontiac dealerships. This example is from the final year of Firebird production, making it a final-year example of the top dog… or top bird Firebird/Trans Am you could get. The 5.7-liter V8 was tweaked to put out 335 horsepower. It’s got all of the goodies too: T-tops, a limited-slip differential, a composite hood, a cat-back exhaust, and more. This car has just 57 miles, which will make it among the most expensive Firehawks out there. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $61,600.

Hobbycar

2002 Hobbycar B612

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 24, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

The Hobbycar is an amphibious car produced in France by Hobbycar, a company founded by Francois Wardavoir. The B612 was introduced in 1992, and 52 were produced before the company went out of business. They also had a second model called the Passport.

The engine is a Peugeot 1.9-liter turbodiesel inline-four that developed 92 horsepower. Once in the water, hydrojets provide propulsion. Steering on water is by joystick as well. It has seating for four, but it has no top – and once it’s in the water, there’s only about four inches between the waterline and the side of the craft. So… don’t take it out in a storm. Or a slight breeze.

These are pretty rare, and I’m not sure I’ve seen one come up for sale publicly in the last 10 years. It should bring between $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $34,707.

McLaren MP4-17

2002 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-17

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Moritz, Switzerland | September 17, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

McLaren-Mercedes was a pretty solid chassis/engine combo in Formula One about 10-20 years ago. The MP4-17 was actually used in two slightly different configurations over two seasons. There was the initial car (later retroactively dubbed “MP4-17A”) that was used for 2002, and there was 2003’s updated car, the MP4-17D.

This chassis (#06) debuted in 2002 and was later upgraded to “D” spec. Power is from a 3.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V10 good for 845 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 2002 European Grand Prix – 3rd (with Kimi Raikkonen)
  • 2002 British Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 French Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 German Grand Prix – 11th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix – 4th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 United States Grand Prix – 3rd (with David Coulthard)
  • 2002 Japanese Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 Australian Grand Prix – 1st (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 San Marino Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2003 Spanish Grand Prix – 20th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2003 Monaco Grand Prix – 7th (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 Japanese Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)

The car was also used as a test car here and there. Once its competitive career was over, the car was backdated to “17A” spec, in which it currently exists. It is expected to sell for between $2,200,000-$2,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,136,444.

2002 Turbo

1974 BMW 2002 Turbo

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, Arizona | March 18-20, 2021

Photo – Mecum

This site doesn’t feature too many post-war German cars, but people love BMW’s 2002. The name was a little short-sighted, but I guess they never imagined having to try and Google “BMW 2002” only to get a ton of results for 2002 325Cis.

The 2002 was mixed in with a number of other visually similar but mechanically different models, including the 1602, 1802, 1502, 1600, and 1800. The 2002 went on sale for the 1968 model year and would be offered in base, cabriolet, ti, and tii forms through 1976. There was one model that topped all of those, and it was the Turbo, which was sold between 1973 and 1975. Only 1,672 examples were produced.

It was BMW’s first turbocharged production car and features a turbocharged, fuel-injected 2.0-liter M10 inline-four rated at 168 horsepower. Top speed was 130 mph. The Turbo is easily the most sought-after 2002 variant, with prices that can easily climb into the six figures. Check out more on this one here, and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $154,000.

Renault Clio V6

2002 Renault Sport Clio V6 Phase 1

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | March 5-6, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

In the 1980s, the French were doing some crazy stuff with their hatchbacks. Renault and Peugeot produced some monsters. Twenty years later, Renault decided to go crazy again and produced probably the coolest hot hatch of the 21st Century (yeah, I said it).

The second-generation Clio went on sale in 1998 and somehow lasted through 2012. It was available as a three- or five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. Some of them actually looked okay for what they were, but they were all largely sad in the power and front-engined, front-wheel-drive departments.

In 2001, Renault designed a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive version of the Clio (okay, it was a pretty different car, but shared the name and corporate face). It was based on the Clio V6 Trophy race car of 1999 and was powered by a 2.9-liter, 24-valve V6 located in the rear hatch area, like the Renault 5 Turbo.

This is a “Phase 1” example, meaning output was rated at 227 horsepower and that the car was actually assembled by Tom Walkinshaw Racing in Sweden. Later cars were built by Renault themselves and made more power. Top speed was 146 mph. Only 1,513 Phase 1 cars were built through 2003.

These cars will only appreciate with time, and once they are eligible for U.S. import, I expect them to be grabbed up and hard to get for a good price. Check out more about this RHD example here, and see more from Silverstone here.

Update: Sold $41,240.