Bandini Siluro

1953 Bandini 750 Sport Siluro

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

The Siluro: the most famous of all Bandini models. The cars were produced in 1100 and 750cc form, the former between 1947 and 1949, and the latter between 1950 and 1956. The 750cc Siluro won multiple SCCA championships and saw racing success on both sides of the Atlantic.

The 747cc inline-four was a modified Crosley unit capable of pushing out 71 horsepower. Bodywork varied car to car, but it followed general trends over the years. For example, 1953 cars received fenders that blended into the body in lieu of more cycle-style fenders or cars that were fender-less altogether.

This car arrived in the U.S. prior to 1957 after having raced in Italy. It later returned to Italy where it was acquired by the Bandini family and restored. It’s been a part of three historic Mille Miglias and now carries an estimate of $285,000-$400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Bandini Veloce Zagato

1955 Bandini 750 GT Veloce Zagato

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s another Bandini, one that seems somehow even smaller than the others. The 750 GT was not a model that ever entered “production” by Bandini and was instead a one-off. It features aluminum Zagato coachwork over a elliptical tube chassis that supposedly only weighs about 60 pounds.

Power is from a twin-cam 750cc inline-four rated at 67 horsepower when new. The car made its way to the U.S. by 1959, when it started upon a sports car racing career that included:

  • 1960 12 Hours of Sebring – DNF (with Victor Lukens)

There were a few class victories sprinkled in during the 1960 season as well. The car was purchased by Ilario Bandini’s nephew in 1998, returned to Italy, and restored. It’s now offered from his collection with an estimate of $450,000-$700,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Bandini 750 Saponetta

1957 Bandini 750 Sport Internazionale Saponetta

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Ilario Bandini’s little car company was founded in 1946 and was pretty popular in the 1950s, taking SCCA class championships in the middle of the decade. They built a number of models over the years, some as late as the 1990s, and it seems that very few were all that similar.

This particular car features a streamlined body and similar mechanicals to the company’s 750 Siluros. The engine is a 747cc inline-four that made 68 horsepower when new. A total of nine Bandini Saponettas were built. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1957 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Carlo Camisotti and Giovanni Sintoni)

Bandini himself campaigned this car for years thereafter, selling it in the late 1960s. It was restored in the late 1990s/early 2000s and has been used in the Mille Miglia Storica. It now carries an estimate of $675,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $707,815.

Moretti Alger-Le Cap

1954 Moretti 750 Alger-Le Cap

Offered by Finarte | Online | June 14-28, 2021

Photo – Finarte

Moretti S.p.A. was technically an automobile manufacturer. But maybe they could be better described as a boutique automobile manufacturer. It’s unclear if they built more cars of their own design, or modified more cars built by others.

That said, in the beginning, the company offered a couple of homegrown models, each powered by a Moretti-developed inline-four engine. The 71-horsepower, 750cc variant powers this car, which is named for its displacement. The 750 was available in limited numbers in a variety of body styles. This Alger-Le Cap is a two-door fastback.

The auction catalog states this is one of five known surviving examples of 200 built. It’s unclear if that’s of this body style or 750 production in total. Anyway, it’s rare. And the estimate is $73,000-$91,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Fiat-Daniela

1950 Fiat-Daniela 750 Testa d’Oro

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Small Fiats were the basis for many Italian sports cars after WWII. What quite a few enterprising individuals did was take a Fiat 500, bore it out to 750cc, replace some other internals, and go racing.

Daniela built five or six cars powered by 750cc Fiat engines. This car’s original engine went missing, and it’s now powered by a 105 horsepower, 1.1-liter Fiat inline-four. It hasn’t really been used much since the 1990s and is begging for restoration.

A previous owner had the car from 1958 through 1990, during which time it was raced in Nassau, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, and Lime Rock. It’s a pretty cool little thing and should sell for between $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $106,400.

Patriarca 750 Berlina

1949 Fiat-Patriarca 750 Berlina Sport by Faina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 24-25, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

With its almost-Porsche-like looks, this Patriarca 750 Berlina is one of many specials built on the backs of small Fiat road cars. Post War Italy didn’t have an economy to support a lot of fancy car sales, so companies like Fiat focused on small, affordable cars for the masses.

But that doesn’t mean Italians still didn’t love motorsport. So people like Rodolfo Patriarca and Carlo Abarth took to modifying these cars for sport. This car was based on a Fiat 500C and has an 81 horsepower, 750cc straight-four tuned for racing by Giannini.

Built by Patriarca for gentleman driver Sesto Leonardi, the competition history for this car includes:

  • 1950 Targa Florio – 3rd in class
  • 1950 Mille Miglia – 1st in class

It continued to race through 1953, with at least one more appearance at the Mille Miglia. It’s wonderfully restored and eligible for many historic events. You can read more here and see more from RM here.

Update: Not sold.

Fiat 750 Vignale

1963 Fiat 750 Vignale Coupe

Offered by Coys | London, England | May 18, 2017

Photo – Coys

Fiat never built a car called the “750” but they did build one called the 600. Produced from 1955 through 1969, it was visually similar to the classic 500, but with a larger engine. There was also the van-like Multipla version, which was the basis for some wild designs. The normal 600 was also used as the basis for some cool coachbuilt cars. Fun fact, there was a version of the 600 called the “750” – but it was only produced by Zastava in Yugoslavia.

Vignale took the sort of tiny, round 600 and enlarged the engine to 750cc. In this guise, the straight-four probably made more power than the original 633cc engine. The body is the star here, though. It’s very stylish, sort of a mini-coupe that doesn’t resemble the base car at all. Vignale also built a two-door sedan and a convertible.

As far as production numbers go, there may have been as many as 40,000 750 Vignales built. That seems like quite a few, but then again Fiat built 2,695,197 600s in total, so it’s kind of a drop in the bucket. This one shows nice and it is completely usable. It should bring between $13,000-$15,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Fiat Giannini 750 Sport

1950 Fiat Giannini 750 Sport by Lotti

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 9, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

The Giannini brothers opened a garage in 1885 and started servicing Itala cars in 1922. Shortly thereafter they got involved with racing which led them to a profitable business (that an offshoot of still exists today) wrenching on Fiats.

In the 1940s, the Giannini brothers were building some really solid engines. In fact, they set world speed records in a Fiat Topolino using their know-how. The car you see here was actually built by the Benedetti brothers of Florence and was bodied by Carrozzeria Lotti of the same town. The car was originally based around a Fiat 1100, but later the engine was swapped for a Giannini 750cc straight-four.

This car has period race history, including:

  • 1952 Mille Miglia – 125th (with Carlo Chiti and a co-driver named Cioni)

The current owner has had this car since the early 1990s. It’s certainly one of a kind and even its name had to be created in order to tell what it is. It’s been completely restored and is likely eligible for historic events. It should bring between $270,000-$320,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

A Cool-Looking Moretti

1954 Moretti 750 Spider Bialbero

Offered by Coys | Nurburgring, Germany | August 10, 2013

1954 Moretti 750 Spider Bialbero

Moretti built a number of small sports cars using a 750cc engine. This is one of them – but it seems like everyone I come across has a different body on it. The body here was evidently designed by Giovanni Michelotti. I’m not sure who built it. It kind of resembles a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – or at least that’s what I can see inspiring it. “Bialbero” refers to the engine being a “twin cam.”

1953 was Moretti’s first go at racing. Since the 750 was the larger of the two engines they used in their cars, it was a natural fit for the race tracks. This car was owned by the French importer for Moretti who raced it a little bit in Venezuela (where he was from), but  he preferred Ferraris and saved them for the big events, like Le Mans.

He sold it to one of his countrymen, who raced it until 1960. The car returned to Europe in the 1980s when it was restored and it was restored again a few years ago. Morettis are rare, but this is probably the only one bodied like this (just guessing). It should sell for between $315,000-$370,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys nice auction lineup.

Moretti 750 Gran Sport

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

Offered by RM Auctions | Lake Como, Italy | May 25, 2013

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

Photo – RM Auctions

Turn-based Moretti built sports cars of their own design in the 1950s before moving on to becoming a specialist at re-bodying Fiats in the 60s, 70s and 80s before calling it quits in 1989.

The 750 was introduced for 1953. Giovanni Moretti wanted to build serious sports cars for competition and the 750cc straight-four in this car was the company’s ticket to its cars winning races in the hands of its customers. The 750 Sport was the base model of the 750 line, the Gran Sport being a lightweight version and they only ended up building a handful of Grand Sports between 1953 and 1954 – less than 25.

The body is by Michelotti. The other thing the Gran Sport (sometimes written as “Grand Sport”) has over its sibling other than lightness, is a little more power – a total of about 65 horsepower. It’ll do about 100 mph too. It’s tiny and it’s quick. And it’s apparently also sporting near-bicycle-like tires.

RM Auctions actually sold this exact car at their Monaco sale back in 2010, where it brought $151,200. The market is stronger now than it was then, so we’ll see what it brings this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Villa Erba.

Update: Sold $174,720.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2016, $132,000.