Fiat 600D Vignale

Posted on January 4, 2023 by classiccarweekly

1963 Fiat 600D Coupe by Vignale

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Online | January 2023

Imagine a bunch of coachbuilt Chevrolet Cruzes running around. Only in Italy would a small city car spawn various different coachbuilt examples. The Fiat 600 was produced (in its Italian run) from 1955 through 1969.

The standard body style was a two-door sedan. It was built under license in other countries, and even as a small MPV called the Multipla. The 600D went on sale in 1962 and featured a 767cc inline-twin that made 32 horsepower.

This Vignale-bodied coupe looks nothing like a standard 600D, but it does retain the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It’s covered less than 600 miles since being restored. It is unclear how many Vignale coupes like this were built, but Vignale did build other styles on the 600 platform. The estimate here is $17,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Issi Microbo

Posted on May 26, 2022 by classiccarweekly

1954 Issi Microbo 125

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Turin, Italy | June 10, 2022

Issi, which stands for the Italian version of Industrial Experimental Scientific Institute, was never a true automotive manufacturer, but they did produce a few prototype microcars during the post-war microcar boom.

They produced an initial prototype and later two other examples, the second of which was shown at the 1954 Turin Motor Show. This is that car. It’s powered by a 125cc single sourced from motorcycle manufacturer Idroflex. That engine drives the single rear wheel and is supposedly enough to push the car to 70 mph. Which sounds… scary.

It’s unclear what happened to the other two, but this one has definitely survived. The pre-sale estimate is a little eye-watering at $85,000-$105,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Withdrawn.

BMA Amica

Posted on October 6, 2020 by classiccarweekly

1976 BMA Amica

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Milan, Italy | October 16, 2020

The Amica was produced by Baldi Mini Auto between 1971 and 1994. BMA was based in Alfonsine, Italy, and they were acquired by another company in 1994, which is why production ended. During their course of business, they offered three different models, including two versions of the Amica.

This is the original version, which features three wheels and gullwing doors. Power is from a two-stroke 250cc parallel-twin. The doors are actually covered in canvas, and they are white on this car, making them seem invisible in Aste Bolaffi’s super zoomed-out photos on their site.

This particular car has never been registered and is essentially brand new. A few interesting notes: Baldi Mini Auto is not related to Baldi, manufacturer of the Fiat-based Frog microcar, nor are they associated with the British BMA microcar company. This car is expected to sell for between $1,000 and $3,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,920.

May 2019 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

Posted on June 29, 2019 by classiccarweekly

We’ll start with Historics at Brooklands, who originally had an old Maxim fire truck in their catalog that mysteriously disappeared (from the catalog). The top sale was this 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that brought $787,534.

The awesome (and purple) TVR Cerbera we featured sold for $20,648. Mark my words: when these are eligible for U.S. importation, these prices are going to go way up. Click here for more results from this sale.

Next up is Aste Bolaffi’s sale in Milan. If you ever wanted to own a Siata (that isn’t a Spring) but didn’t want to spend a ton of money, this was the place to be. The 1500 TS we featured sold for $25,774. The biggest money was paid for this 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT. It sold for $369,814. Click here for complete results.

We move to RM Sotheby’s in Auburn, Indiana for their spring sale at that location. The top automotive lot was this 1930 Cord L-29 Convertible Phaeton Sedan for $157,300.

The Hupmobile Skylark we featured sold for $15,400 and the Haynes Touring went for only $10,560, a figure that made me nauseous, as do most of the results, as there were quite a few I would’ve stepped up to buy had I been there.

Onward to Bonhams in Greenwich. The top sale was $417,500 paid for this 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet by Pinin Farina.

The Dodge Brothers touring car we featured failed to sell, but the Arnolt-MG managed to bring $64,960, and the Stutz Roadster $44,800. Full results can be found here.

Finally, we move to Artcurial’s sale on June 17. Amid a pretty tough sell-through rate, this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB stole the show at $2,175,046.

Speaking of a tough sell-through rate, the Alpine A310 we featured, along with a previously-featured Hommell coupe, failed to find new owners. The good news is that the CG 1300 sold for $64,454, and the BMW Z1 brought $41,626. The rest of the results can be found here.

Siata 1500 TS

Posted on May 21, 2019 by classiccarweekly

1964 Siata 1500 TS

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Milan, Italy | May 24, 2019

Siata was founded in 1926 and spent their first few decades tuning Fiats. Their first original model debuted in 1948, but it was still Fiat-based. That trend continued into the 1960s, when they introduced the 1500 TS.

Based on Fiat’s 1500, the TS was styled by Giovanni Michelotti and was powered by a Siata-tuned 1.5-liter inline-four producing 94 horsepower. They are attractive, small, and all but forgotten. This is probably the last Siata you would picture if trying to recall all of their models.

Very few were built – and some were even built by Neckar Automobile in Germany. Even fewer survive today. This one should bring between $28,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,774.

November 2018 Auction Highlights

Posted on November 24, 2018 by classiccarweekly

We start off our November rundown with Bonhams’ London-to-Brighton sale. The Darracq we featured was the top sale, bringing $779,115. Other big dollar cars included the very early Peugeot for $463,202, a previously-featured Schaudel for $156,891, $149,420 for the Liberia, and the Star that brought $113,559. We’ll give Most Interesting (of the few cars left that sold that we didn’t feature) to this 1903 De Dion-Bouton 8HP Two-Seater that sold for $70,974.

Photo – Bonhams

The 1902 Rambler brought $62,756 and the Wolseley sold for $89,652. Click here for final results.

On to France, for a sale from Osenat. The Chenard et Walcker we featured didn’t find a new home, but this 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 did, selling for $280,945. More results can be found here.

Photo – Osenat

Mecum’s second-to-last sale of the year was held in Las Vegas, and the Bugatti we featured from this sale took top honors, bringing $1,012,000, while the lilac Duesenberg sold for $770,000. On a related note, Most Interesting goes to this lilac 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet (with Woodlight headlights!). It sold for $203,500.

Photo – Mecum

A previously-featured V12 Cadillac failed to sell here… again – as did the Talbot-Lago that came from the same collection as the Duesey and Bugatti. The Black buggy brought $7,700, and, fun fact, you could buy 100 Black buggies for the same price as the Duesenberg! Complete results can be found here.

The Aguttes sale held in Lyon saw this 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe sell for $151,092 – the overall top sale.

Photo – Aguttes

Meanwhile, that crazy gullwing Alfa Romeo handily beat its pre-sale estimate, bringing $121,467. The Delahaye failed to sell, and more results can be found here.

Italian auction house Aste Bolaffi held a sale of classic cars in Turin in November. The sale included many scale models from Bertone and a handful of real cars as well. We didn’t feature anything (because it wasn’t on my radar), but the top sale was this 1999 Ferrari 456M for $77,602. Complete results can be found here.