De Tomaso Guara Barchetta

1995 De Tomaso Guara Barchetta

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Alejandro de Tomaso had been designing and producing sports cars under his name since the 1960s. And the last car he put into production was the Guara in 1994. When production ceased 10 years later, only about 50 had been made across three body styles that included a coupe, spyder, and this, the barchetta.

The Barchetta had no windshield and no top. It looked eerily similar to the Maserati Barchetta race car of the early 90s. This isn’t all that surprising considering De Tomaso owned Maserati until 1993 and just repurposed the design for an exotic road car.

The Guara is powered by a 4.0-liter BMW V8 that made 279 horsepower. Later cars got supercharged Ford V8s (although not a shocking bump in power). This particular one looks to be still pretty much in the wrapper and is one of 10 barchettas built. You’re probably gonna want a full-face helmet to drive it – if you drive it. It doesn’t appear that any of its owners have thus far. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $230,000.

Alfa 1900C by Ghia-Aigle

1956 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint Barchetta by Ghia-Aigle

Offered by Bonhams | Gstaad, Switzerland | July 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Who needs doors? Certainly not Giovanni Michelotti, who designed this car while working for Ghia-Aigle. Carrosserie Ghia S.A., Aigle, started out as a subsidiary of Ghia but based in Aigle, Switzerland. It became independent in 1953 and employed Mario Boano, Michelotti, and Pietro Frua at different points. Ghia-Aigle closed in 1988.

Alfa Romeo’s 1900C was a short-wheelbase version of the 1900, which itself was sold from 1950 through 1959. The styling of this chassis was inspired by Riva speedboats. It is one of about 10 1900Cs bodied by Ghia-Aigle.

Power is from a 2.0-liter inline-four rated at 115 horsepower in Super Sprint spec. This one has known ownership history, with original delivery in Switzerland and a long time spent off the road. It’s expected to sell for between $300,000-$400,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $322,338.

550 GTZ Barchetta

2001 Ferrari 550 GTZ Barchetta by Zagato

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

The Ferrari 550 Maranello was produced between 1996 and 2002. In 2000, the company launched the 550 Barchetta, a convertible version that marked Ferrari’s fun new business of chopping the top and jacking up the price for a limited-edition model. Only 448 Barchetta examples were built.

This one was later customized by coachbuilder Zagato. It was actually developed with Ferrari as a convertible variant of the 575 GTZ, which itself was a Zagato-modified version of the 550’s followup car, the 575M Maranello. Because the 575 Superamerica (the 575’s expensive drop-top version) had yet to enter production, they backtracked to the 550 Barchetta to built the drop-top 575 Zagato.

When new, this car cost $1 million. It’s powered by a 478 horsepower, 5.5-liter V12. They planned to build five, but only three were completed. And this is the only right-hand-drive example. The pre-sale estimate is $640,000-$900,000, and you can read more about it here. See more from Bonhams in London here.

Update: Sold $769,393.

1992 Maserati Barchetta

1992 Maserati Barchetta

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | September 5, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Maserati Barchetta was a purpose-built race car from Maserati intended to compete in a one-make racing series, the Grantrofeo Monomarca Barchetta Maserati. They only built 17 of these and they went to well-heeled semi-professional drivers who competed against each other at tracks around Europe, but mostly in Italy. The series ran in 1992 and 1993 only.

All Barchettas are powered by a twin-turbo 2.0-liter V6 good for 315 horsepower. They’re very light, with fiberglass and carbon fiber bodies. The whole thing really wasn’t much of a success and Maserati wasn’t exactly flying high in 1992 to begin with.

They tried to make a road car variant, but only one prototype was built, although some of these are currently road-registered in Europe. The project sort of lived on briefly as the similar-looking De Tomaso Guara, but they had a slightly different body and engine. This particular chassis finished 4th in the first year of the Championship and you can read more here and see more from RM Sotheby’s in London here.

Update: Not sold.

Magnate Barchetta

2005 Magnate P708 Barchetta

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 7, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Giotto Bizzarrini stopped building “production” cars (even though they were all very limited in number) in 1969. Since then, a number of cars have shown up wearing his name, including a few P538 cars built using leftover components, and a number of concept cars.

There were concept cars using the Bizzarrini name in 1990, 1998, and a couple since the year 2000, including one called the P708 Barchetta. Developed with input from Bizzarrini himself, the P708 was shown around, seeing if there was any interest in a production version. It was supposed to be seen as a modern take on the classic P538.

Power comes from a 7.0-liter Chevrolet V-8 making 505 horsepower. The body is carbon fiber and it was built by a company called Magnate out of Thailand. It was purchased by an American in 2013 and only then was the car made driveable. It has since covered 1,000 miles. It’s listed as a “2005” because that is when construction of this car began, even if it took many more years to fully realize the final product.

At some point, the branding on the car switched from Bizzarrini to Magnate. What country of origin would you file this under? It had an Italian name, originally, but now sports a name (and body) from Thailand. It was completed in America but started out in Germany. It’s multi-national, for sure, and should bring between $335,000-$565,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $109,198.

Ferrari 166 MM

1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 11, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

You’re looking at one of the earliest Ferraris. The 166 MM was one of the first Ferrari models – produced after only the 125 S, 159 S, 166 S, and the 166 Inter. The “MM” stood for “Mille Miglia”, the famous Italian road race that Ferrari won (actually finished 1-2) in 1949 with cars similar to this.

The cars are powered by a 2.0-liter V-12 making 140 horsepower. The Barchetta body is by Touring and, of Touring’s 25 Barchettas, this is #23. Only 32 166 MMs were built in total. One of the first owners of this car was a racing driver. And he took it racing. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1951 Mille Miglia – 6th in class (with Eugenio Castelotti and Giuseppe Rota)
  • 1953 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Ambrogio Arosio and Italo Di Giuseppe)

In early 1954, the car was already owned by someone else and racing hard in the United States. It’s been a respected car in the collector community pretty much since, winning awards at Pebble Beach as early as 1979. It’s Ferrari Classiche certified and retains all of its major original components. A Ferrari 166 is a hard to come by, but must-have for any serious collector. This is a great example and it’s expected to bring between $8,000,000-$10,000,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM Sotheby’s lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Evanta Barchetta

2015 Evanta Barchetta

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 25, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato is one of the all-time great automotive designs. But it isn’t one that has ever really been produced in replica form. The Evanta Motor Company of Hertfordshire never really built replicas of it either. Instead, they built a car that took the Aston’s classic looks and updated them for the 21st century.

And what a splendid job they did. Other Evantas resembled other Astons, but all the cars were “original” designs. Founded in 2008, Evanta put cars on the market shortly thereafter and in 2013 they presented the “Barchetta” – an open top roadster that incorporates the DB4GT’s overall aesthetic as well as its “Double Bubble” roof in the form of the twin headrests behind the cockpit.

The engine is a 6.2-liter V-8 from Chrysler that makes 470 horsepower. The one piece body shell is made of fiberglass and Kevlar and is incredibly light. This car sports just five miles since completion. Production was supposed to be limited to 49 examples but Silverstone Auctions points out that Evanta is in administration and is essentially being liquidated. The company’s owner, Ant Anstead, will warranty this new example through his new company. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $47,560.

Stanga Barchetta

1951 Stanga Barchetta

Offered by Dragone Auctions | Westport, Connecticut | June 4, 2016

Photo - Dragone Auctions

Photo – Dragone Auctions

“Etceterini” is a term to describe light Italian racing cars built between the immediate postwar period up through the early-to-mid-1960s. The Stanga brothers’ little company falls neatly into that category. Gianfranco, Sandro, and Camillo Stanga set up shop in 1949.

Stanga Barchettas began life as a Fiat 500 chassis (the Topolino, not the original Cinquecento). The engine is a Giannini-tuned Topolino engine, the straight-four now buffed up to 600cc. For the bodies, the brothers turned to Motto.

This car does have Mille Miglia history (all Stangas competed there) but the exact race history of this car is unknown. Only seven Stanga Barchettas were built and only two carry bodywork by Motto. This car should bring between $175,000-$185,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Ferrari 340 America

1951 Ferrari 340 America Barchetta by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 14, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

There were a number of Ferrari automobiles that wore a “340” badge. There was the 340 Mexico, the 340 MM, the 340 F1, and this, the 340 America. The America, obviously, was part of the Ferrari America line of cars that began in 1950 with this model. It would continue through 1966 with the 500 Superfast (and maybe through 1967 with the 365 California if you count that one).

The 340 America is powered by a 4.1-liter V-12 making 317 horsepower. That’s some serious get-up-and-go for 1951. It’s first owner was a Frenchman who drove his first 24 Hours of Le Mans 20 years prior. And with that, this car was entered in the 1951 24 Hours (just a week after its owner took delivery, no less). It’s competition history includes:

  • 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans – 56th, DNF (with Louis Chiron and Pierre-Louis Dreyfus (the car’s owner)
  • 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans – 45th, DNF (with Dreyfus and Rene Dreyfus)

It’s a quick car, too – able to hit 150 mph on the Mulsanne. It sports a recent restoration to 1951 Le Mans spec and has both competed in the historic Mille Miglia and has been shown at Villa d’Este. It is the third of 23 340 Americas built. Only eight were bodied by Touring (this is the second). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,233,680.

Siata 300 BC

1953 Siata 300 BC Barchetta by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Giorgio Ambrosini’s Siata somehow survived until 1970, but it was the 1950s where they made their mark. The first cars were modified Fiats and their first homemade model was the 1951 300 BC Barchetta.

The car is very light (as you can see, the tires look like they were stolen off a bicycle) and it’s powered by a 51 horsepower 1.1-liter Fiat straight-four. Earlier cars had Crosley motors. This model was aimed at Americans who needed an agile SCCA weapon.

This is car #38 of 40 that were bodied by Bertone (another handful or two were also built, some with bodies by Motto). It’s been in the U.S. since new and was first road-registered in 1989, having been primarily used for competition up to that point. For most of its life, it was driven twice a year to keep it running. It’s been repainted and the interior redone, but otherwise it’s largely original. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $198,000.