Hemi GTX Convertible

1969 Plymouth GTX Hemi Convertible

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

The GTX was the “fancy” muscle car. Or the “gentleman’s muscle car.” Basically, it was a better-equipped Road Runner. It was a good-looking car and was only offered as a two-door hardtop or a convertible.

And the convertibles were rare: just 700 were made in 1969. Of those there were 16 Hemi-powered cars, five of which went to Canada (including this car). That 426 (7.0-liter) Hemi V8 was rated at 425 horsepower. As this was a gentleman’s car, it also has a TorqueFlite automatic transmission.

This car was restored around 2015 and is finished in a very 1969 color combination of bronze and black over a tan interior. This is one of the better muscle cars – and one of the top convertibles of the era. You can check out more about this car here.

Update: Sold $155,000.

300ZX V8 IMSA

1994 Nissan 300ZX V8 IMSA GTS

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 2023

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So this may be a purely purpose-built, tube-frame race car with composite bodywork, but it does have your standard Z32 road car tail panel, which is excellent. Nissan was around for the Group C era, and they eventually transitioned to the GTS class in IMSA.

Initially, they started campaigning second-generation 300ZX race cars with their twin-turbocharged V6s. But those became a little too dominant for IMSA’s liking (in 1994, a 300ZX won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring outright before winning their class at Le Mans). So for 1995, IMSA outlawed the twin-turbo V6.

And Nissan said “okay, we’ll raise you two cylinders.” The next season’s cars, including this one, were powered by a 4.5-liter V8. Two such chassis were so equipped, and the racing history for this one, #008, includes:

  • 1995 24 Hours of Daytona – 21st (with Steve Millen, Johnny O’Connell, and John Morton)
  • 1995 12 Hours of Sebring – 5th, 1st in class (with Millen, O’Connell, and Morton)

This is a pretty serious machine that I suspect would be terrifyingly fast at 50%. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $156,000.

TR4

1962 Triumph TR4

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2023

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I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a TR4 on whitewalls. And I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think (probably that it’s bad?). But I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a TR4 finished in this kind of light blue. The whitewalls are working.

The TR4 was the logical successor to Triumph’s TR3, and it launched in 1961. Production continued on through 1965 before the revised TR4A took over. Power is from a 2.1-liter inline-four that was rated at 105 horsepower when new.

This one has obviously been redone and is fitted with a red interior, a black soft top, and front disc brakes. If I’ve done my math correctly, the bidding on it should end tomorrow. Check out more here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $22,000.

Lancia Dilambda

1930 Lancia Dilambda Cabriolet by Carlton

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2023

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The Lambda was a car produced by Lancia between 1922 and 1931, and it was powered by a V4 engine. The short-lived Trikappa of 1922-1925 was the first Lancia powered by a narrow-angle V8. It’s successor, the V8-powered Dilambda, is what we have here. It’s like “two Lambdas” in terms of engine capacity. It was sold from 1928 through 1935.

The engine is a 4.0-liter V8 that made about 100 horsepower. Just 1,104 were built in the first series through 1931. This was Lancia’s halo car during its run. And this particular one was bodied by the Carlton Carriage Company in London. The result is very English and very good looking.

The history of the car includes being stored during WWII, refurbished about 5-6 years ago, and then driven across the U.S. on its way to Pebble Beach. The dealer selling this car has dropped some pretty fantastic photos of the car on its cross-continent journey. You can take a look at them here.

Update: Sold $307,000.

Wanderer W50

1938 Wanderer W50 Cabriolet by Glaser

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2023

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Wanderer was founded in 1896 by Johann Winklhofer and Richard Jaenicke, with the Wanderer name first appearing in 1911. It became part of Auto Union in 1932, and the final Wanderer-branded automobiles were produced in 1941.

The W50 was introduced in 1936, with two body styles available: limousine or cabriolet. This was the “big” Wanderer, despite it only being a six-cylinder car. It you wanted a larger Auto Union, you had to set up to a Horch. The 2.25-liter inline-six was rated at 55 horsepower.

The cabriolet body here is by Glaser, and this car was founded in a Berlin parking garage in the late 19980s before it was restored. This is the type of car you could only find stashed in a barn or basement of a parking garage in Germany. Bidding is open, and it closes this weekend. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $47,000.

DKW-Vemag GT Malzoni

1965 DKW-Vemag GT Malzoni Race Car

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | January 2023

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DKW was a German automobile manufacturer that was part of Auto Union and lives on today as one of the rings in Audi’s logo. In 1956, DKW designs (and the name) were licensed to a Brazilian company called Vemag. A couple of their cars were just re-branded DKWs, and a few models were distinct to South America.

One of them was designed by Rino Malzoni. These GT coupes were initially developed for racing, and this car is one of three fiberglass-bodied cars built for Vemag’s in-house racing team. It’s powered by a 981cc two-stroke inline-three. This car was raced in-period by Emerson Fittipaldi.

The cars were produced for Vemag by a company called the Lumimari Company and branded as DKW-Vemags. Only a handful of road-going versions were made before Lumimari changed their name to Puma and continued on with a very similar design. To be clear, this car is not a Puma. It is the proto-Puma. DKW-Vemag shut down after 1967. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $32,250.

VW Hormiga

1978 Volkswagen EA489 Hormiga

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2022

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Functional. That’s what the design of this screams. Volkswagen developed the EA489 Basistransporter for “developing markets,” which I think is code for “third-world countries.” It was produced as a knock-down kit in West Germany and sold under a few names. Versions produced in Mexico between 1977 and 1979 were called the Hormiga.

The engine is a 1.6-liter flat-four located under the cabin. The air intake sprouts out of the roof like a bathroom vent, and the thing is front-wheel drive. Power for Mexican-market models was rated at 50 horsepower, and it was rated to carry about 2,200 pounds.

Never seen one of these? Hardly surprising, just 3,600 were built in Mexico, and even the limited number of examples produced for other markets were all used up and thrown away. This one has obviously been redone. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $21,250.

Acura Daytona Prototype

2022 Acura ARX-05 DPi

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2022

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Honda Performance Development entered the prototype race car arena in 2007 in the American Le Man Series. They badged the cars as Acuras and HPDs, depending on the market in which they were running. The ARX-05 debuted at the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona.

This particular car was assembled by Wayne Taylor Racing in preparation for the 2022 running of the Daytona 24. It’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 making somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower.

2022 saw ARX-05s campaigned by Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, the former with Konica Minolta sponsorship as shown here. This car grabbed the pole at Daytona and won four races that season with drivers Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerque. It’s now being sold by HPD themselves. There’s only a few days left to bid. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $563,000.

De Tomaso Guara Barchetta

1995 De Tomaso Guara Barchetta

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2022

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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 8C Spider

2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | Online

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Alfa Romeo resurrected the 8C nameplate for its return to North America. It was to be a halo car – one that sits atop all others in their model line. The 8C Competizione, the coupe version, was produced in limited numbers between 2007 and 2009. Just 500 were built.

The Spider was even rarer. Only about 329 were built between 2008 and 2010 (even Alfa is not super forthcoming about the exact number, it seems). It shared the coupe’s Ferrari/Maserati 4.7-liter V8 that made 444 horsepower. Styling was done in-house at Alfa Romeo, and the result is stunning. Both the coupe and spider are fantastic-looking cars.

This particular Spider is one of not-all-that-many that were destined for the U.S. It no-sale’d on BaT earlier this year at $289,000. With 10 days left on the auction as of this writing, bidding this time around is already at $260,000. So we’ll see if it surpasses March’s bidding, and if so, if it’s enough to find a new home. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $263,000.