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Dowsetts Comet

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2018 Dowsetts Comet

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

If this car looks vaguely familiar, then you’re probably thinking it’s some kind of Aston Martin replica. It’s not. But if you were thinking that, then perhaps you are familiar with the Evanta. The Evanta was a car built in the 2010s that was inspired by the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.

The Evanta was designed by Ant Anstead, and that company folded a few years back. From its ashes sprang Dowsetts Classic Car Company, and they built this. It is said to be a one-off designed by Anstead. It wears a fiberglass body over a steel spaceframe chassis and is powered by a GM 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making somewhere in the area of 430 horsepower.

The interior is far above what you’d expect from a cottage industry manufacturer. Each Dowsetts car is built-to-order, but it’s unclear how many they’ve made, if it’s more than one. No pre-sale estimate is available, but you can read more about it here. And check out more from Silverstone here.

Update: Sold $87,676.

Marcos Mantula

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1988 Marcos Mantula Spyder

Offered by H&H | Duxford, U.K. | November 17, 2021

Photo – H&H

Marcos built some interesting, if not a little awkward-looking, sports cars in the 1960s. By 1972, the company was out of business. However, in 1981, Jem Marsh, who had co-founded Marcos initially, brought the company back to life. A stream of more modern cars followed until everything went belly-up again in the late 2000s.

The Mantula was introduced in 1983 and was sold as a coupe or a spyder. Just 119 spyder variants were produced through 1993. Externally, they carried many of the same visual cues as Marcos cars of the ’60s, but everything was just a little sleeker to fit the times. Power is from a 3.5-liter Rover V8 that was much lighter than the previous sixes the company used previously.

This 30,000-mile example is expected to sell for between $16,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,651.

Diamond T COE

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1956 Diamond T 931C COE

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | November 11, 2021

Photo – Mecum

COEs were seemingly everywhere even 30 years ago. Now seeing one on the road is kind of a treat, but in the 1970s they were much more commonplace. The cab-over-engine design is still popular in Europe, but different laws in the U.S. make them less appealing today than they were 40 or 50 years ago.

Something I find interesting about older semis is that it can be hard to pin down a year (or range of years) of manufacture. Trucks were generally in use until they were no longer functional. So some of the trucks you saw on the highway in the 1990s may very well have been produced in the 1970s, ’60s, or even earlier.

Diamond T is perhaps best well-known for its beautiful Art Deco pickup trucks of the 1930s and ’40s. But they were also building heavier trucks for commercial and military use. This 1956 COE model is said to have a “262 engine,” which I think means a 12.2-liter Cummins turbodiesel.

It’s one of the tallest COEs of its day and is well restored. It’s being sold on behalf of the American Truck Historical Society. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $18,700.

March Formula One

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1977 March-Cosworth 771

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Not only was March Engineering a fairly long-lasting Formula One team, but they were also a race car and chassis constructor for other series for quite a long time. The F1 team first appeared on the grid in 1970, and they would continue to participate through the 1992 season.

The 771 was one of two chassis the team used for 1977. This is the first of two such examples built, and it’s powered by a 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV V8. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1977 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Ian Scheckter)

It was also used as a test car during the season and was actually merged with the second chassis prior to its Canadian Grand Prix outing. Later use included U.K. hill climb events, which must’ve been pretty exciting in a contemporary F1 car. It has an FIA Historical Technical Passport and had some decent refreshes about six years ago. It’s expected to bring between $345,000-$435,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $355,985.

22B-STI

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1998 Subaru Impreza 22B-STi

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Silverstone calls this the “holy grail” of STis, and they aren’t really wrong. The 22B is one of those legendary hot Japanese cars of the 1990s, even though it’s a lot less famous than a Supra or a Skyline GT-R.

The 22B was born out of Subaru’s World Rally success, as it started out as a WRX STi turned into a widebody coupe with the addition of flared fenders. Engine size increased, and the turbocharged 2.2-liter flat-four produced 276 horsepower. An adjustable wing pulled straight from the WRC car was added out back. The car was built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and their third straight WRC championship

In all, just 426 were built, 16 of which were delivered new to customers in the U.K. This one was first owned by the guy who developed the Colin McRae rally video games, and it now has less than 16,000 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $315,000-$385,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ascari FGT

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1993 Ascari FGT Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | November 6, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is something you don’t see every day. Or year. Or decade. Ascari Cars was founded by Klaas Zwart and was named for Alberto Ascari. Based in the U.K., they built very limited-run supercars throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. Their former HQ is now home to the Haas F1 team.

The FGT was their first product. The car was actually designed by Lee Noble independently and sold to Zwart, who founded Ascari around the car and produced it as a race car. The FGT competed in the British GT Championship through 1997, after which Ascari produced 17 road-going versions of the car and called them the Ecosse.

This example is the first FGT built (and likely the only true road-going version) – the initial Noble-produced prototype and what would become the first car to wear the Ascari name. It’s powered by a mid-mounted 6.0-liter Chevrolet V8 making 420 horsepower with an upgraded ECU.

It was apparently found by the current owner in a barn after sitting for 13 years. Lee Noble was called in, and the car was restored to as you see it now. Ascari built less than 100 cars in 15 years, and this is the first one. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $26,269.

Huron 4A

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1970 Huron 4A Sports Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Huron Auto Racing Developments Ltd. was founded by Jack Smith and Roy Ireland in the U.K. when they met up with former McLaren designer Jo Marquart. Marquart wanted to design something that wasn’t a McLaren, and thus the Huron was born.

The 4A was a single-seat sports prototype based around a Cosworth 1.8-liter engine. Today, this car, chassis number one of three built, is powered by a 2.0-liter Ford-Cosworth inline-four. The history of the Huron 4A is interesting. Cars number one and two debuted at the 1971 BOAC 1000 at Brands Hatch. Then they failed to qualify at Le Mans, causing Camel to pull their sponsorship funding.

In an effort to make some money, Huron sent the cars to DAF, who fitted car #2 with a Variomatic gearbox. The two cars remained together through their next few owners, including an American SCCA racer. This car has retained its original Hewland gearbox since new. It’s now expected to sell for between $115,000-$160,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $110,688.

1951 Kenworth

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1951 Kenworth BC 825-C Conventional

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | November 11, 2021

Photo – Mecum

This is a pretty awesome-looking semi. And it’s from 70 years ago, yet it doesn’t look that much different from today’s semis. It’s pretty crazy actually, not to mention the fact that it survived this long, although the restoration certainly helped.

Kirkland, Washington’s Kenworth traces its roots back to a dealership owned by the Gerlinger brothers. They started producing their own truck called the Gersix in 1914. Bankruptcy followed in 1917, and the company’s assets were acquired by E.K. Worthington and Frederick Kent. They combined their last names to form “Kenworth” in 1923.

This truck is powered by a 262-horsepower Cummins diesel. The auction catalog is light on info, but the truck looks pretty sharp and is probably still fairly usable. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $46,200.

Arrows A11B

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1990 Arrows A11B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Arrows was around in F1 for quite a while: from 1978 through 2002, although they were known as Footwork Arrows for five years in the ’90s. The A11, and its derivatives, the A11B and A11C, were the team’s entries for the 1989, 1990, and 1991 seasons.

The A11 was designed by Ross Brawn, and the B variant was largely the same as the earlier car aside from some suspension modifications. The car was originally powered by a 3.5-liter Ford-Cosworth V8, although this chassis is currently engine-less. The competition history for this chassis, A11B03, includes:

  • 1990 San Marino Grand Prix – DNQ
  • 1990 Monaco Grand Prix – DNQ
  • 1990 Canadian Grand Prix -25th, DNF (with Michele Alboreto)
  • 1990 Mexican Grand Prix – 17th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 French Grand Prix – 10th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 British Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 German Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix – 12th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Belgian Grand Prix – 13th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Italian Grand Prix – 12th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix – 9th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Spanish Grand Prix – 10th (with Alboreto)
  • 1990 Japanese Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Alboreto)

If you’ve got a spare Cosowrth DFV lying around, this could be a fun project. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $182,309.

1906 Stuart

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1906 Stuart 7HP Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 5, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Star was one of Britain’s largest automobile manufacturers prior to WWI. In 1905 they decided to produce a less expensive, entry-level car, and they called it the Starling. The Starling featured chain drive and a De Dion engine.

The shaft-driven version of the Starling, which was sold from 1906 through 1908, was called the Stuart. Both the Starling and Stuart were under the control of the Star Cycle Company, which became Briton in 1909. This Stuart is powered by a 1.4-liter inline-twin rated at seven horsepower.

Both two- and four-seater bodies were offered on the Stuart, while the Starling was two-seater only. This one has ownership history back to the late 1940s and is said to cruise at 28 mph. It should sell for between $21,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $23,139.