Tag Archives: cabriolet

B53 Aurelia

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1952 Lancia Aurelia B53 Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Berkshire, U.K. | June 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Lancia Aurelia was the first production car with a V6 engine. It was offered between 1950 and 1958, and during that time, the company produced more than a dozen different chassis codes across six series. There are a whole lot of different Aurelias.

This is a B53 chassis, which were only produced in 1952. In fact, only 86 B53s were made. The B53 was powered by a 2.0-liter V6 that made 70 horsepower. It was a chassis for coachbuilders, and this one was bodied by Pinin Farina.

The restoration was completed between 2006 and 2008, and it now has an estimate of $85,000-$110,000. More info can be found here.

OSCA 1600 Cabriolet

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1963 OSCA 1600 GT2 Cabriolet by Fissore

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

OSCA was founded by the Maserati brothers and produced some pretty cool cars during its short existence between 1947 and 1967. Around 1960 they introduced the 1600, which was a home-grown car powered by OSCA’s own 1.6-liter version of Lampredi’s Fiat inline-four.

Between 1960 and 1963, the company would build just 128 1600 GT models. This is one of only three cabriolets, and only two of those three had a tubular chassis. In this car, the OSCA inline-four made 105 horsepower.

This car was on Fissore’s stand at the 1963 Turin Motor Show, and it spent decades at a time across multiple collections in the U.S. and Europe. It now carries an estimate of $370,000-$430,000. More info can be found here.

Touring Sciadipersia Cabriolet

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2015 Touring Sciadipersia Cabriolet

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Much like the coupe version of this car, you can really see the Maserati influence in this car. Well, not really influence, I guess. The car is based on a Maserati GranCabriolet. A 2015 example, specifically.

But the conversion performed by Carrozzeria Touring was not performed until 2020. The car retains the underlying Maserati 4.7-liter V8 that was rated at 454 horsepower. The Touring conversion was mostly limited to exterior styling inspired by the three Touring-bodied Maserati 3500 GTs built for the Shah of Iran (Persia).

Just 14 of these convertibles were produced, with this Belgium-based car having covered just 135 miles since completion. It now has an estimate of $380,000-$490,000. Click here for more info.

The Last Voisin

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1938 Voisin C30 Cabriolet by Dubos

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

The C30 was the final Voisin road car. Sure, there was a post-war prototype, but this was the last real model from the company. Coupes and convertibles were offered, but only about 30 chassis were completed in total. The Mullin museum had a copy of each.

This one has cabriolet coachwork by Dubos. Earlier Voisins utilized Knight sleeve-valve engines, but by this late in the game, Voisin had switched to a more modern powerplant (but still American): a supercharged 3.5-liter Graham-Paige inline-six (interestingly, Gooding described the last C30 as have a 3.6-liter engine).

This car entered the museum in 2008 and has been on display since, so it’ll need some work if you want to use it. The estimate is $150,000-$250,000. More info can be found here.

British-Bodied Delage

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1938 Delage D6-70 Cabriolet by Coachcraft

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 2024

Photo – Osenat

The D6 was, perhaps, the most successful model Delage ever had. The launch model, the D6-11, went on sale in 1932. Eight more variants would be produced before production wrapped… in 1953. This car is a D6-70 chassis, a model that was only offered in 1937 and 1938.

Originally, it would’ve been powered by a 2.7-liter inline-six rated at 78 horsepower. However, this car was purchased by its current owner in 1985 as a project, and part of completing that project was upgrading the drivetrain to D6 Olympic specification, which resulted in the inline-six jumping to 3.0 liters and sporting three carburetors – a setup rated at 100 horsepower during D6 Olympic production from 1948 to 1949.

This car was one of few delivered new to the U.K., where it was bodied by Coachcraft. While it’s been parked since 2020, the car was used heavily under current ownership, being driven to lands as far away as Syria. Now it has an estimate of $43,500-$65,000. Click here for more info.

280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

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1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

This is among the finest classic Mercedes-Benz products you can buy. It’s also among the classiest. The W111 chassis was designed by Friedrich Geiger and is among three generation of Benzes that fall under the “fintail” category, even though these late coupe/cabriolet variants don’t really have tail fins.

The two-doors came a few years after the sedans and initially launched as the 220SE in 1961. A displacement increase in 1965 brought the 250SE to market, followed by the 2.8-liter 280SE in 1967. All of these cars had straight-six engines. Then, in 1969, Mercedes launched the unnecessarily confusingly named 280SE 3.5, which had a 3.5-liter V8 that made 197 horsepower.

Coupes and convertibles were offered with the V8, and just 1,232 examples of the cabriolet were sold. They have been six-figure cars for some time and continue to creep up. This silver-over-blue example has a little time left to bid, and you can do so here.

6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet

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1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Alfa’s 6C 2300 model was short lived compared to the 2500 model that followed. It was in produced from 1934 through 1938. In that time, the company turned out just 760 examples, with the “B” variants coming into the line in 1935.

These 2300 B variants still used the same 2.3-liter DOHC inline-six that produced 70 horsepower on this single-carburetor unit. This long-chassis Turismo model wears one-off coachwork by Pinin Farina.

The car was later on display at the 1938 International Motor Show in Berlin and then spent decades in Switzerland and later France and Italy. It is one of 81 Turismo cars built between 1936 and 1937, and it was restored in the 1990s. The estimate here is $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Delahaye 235 Cabriolet

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1951 Delahaye 235 Cabriolet by Chapron

Offered by Osenat | Paris, France | February 3, 2024

Photo – Osenat

Delahaye’s 135 model dated back to before the war. In 1951 the company introduced the 235, which didn’t outright replace the 135, but sort of complemented it as a more modern take on the car. Produced through the end of Delahaye in 1954, the 235 proved not enough to save the company.

Power is provided by a 3.6-liter inline-six that was rated at 152 horsepower. A top speed of over 100 mph was claimed, and body work was supplied by some great French coachbuilders, including Henri Chapron on this example.

Only 84 examples of the 235 were built. This was the third of those 84, and it was the first Chapron cabriolet. It was on the stand in Geneva and was first owned by Willy Breitling (and was later titled in his famed watch company’s name). It has not been restored and has an estimate of $142,000-$185,000. Click here for more info.

Type 57 by Letourneur et Marchand

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1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Letourneur et Marchand

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Type 57 was a fairly popular car from Bugatti, with 710 examples produced between 1934 and 1940. This one looks like a lot of other Type 57s, with the upright radiator shell and sweeping two-tone bodywork. The thing that is really kind of trippy is the area around the headlights. Lots of curving metal there.

Each naturally aspirated Type 57 received a 3.3-liter inline-eight that made 135 horsepower. They were good for about 95 mph. This car wears coachwork by French coachbuilder Letourneur et Marchand, and it is first of eight so bodied.

It remained under ownership in France until being exported to the U.S. in 1957. And it’s been here most of the time since, spending a few years in the Netherlands in the 2000s. The estimate here is $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

BMW 329

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1937 BMW 329 Cabriolet by Reutter

Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | July 1, 2023

Photo – Dorotheum

The BMW 303 was an early model by the manufacturer, sold between 1933 and 1934. It was a six-cylinder sedan and was joined by a whole range of models with similar running gear.

The 319 was one such model, available in 1935 and 1936 with a 1.9-liter version of the 303’s inline-six. In early 1937, the 329 replaced the 319 and used the same 45-horsepower six. The big difference was that the 329 used the front end from the BMW 326 (which looked like the 328).

The 329 was only available as a two- or four-seat cabriolet and only for one year, with this car being bodied by Reutter. This two-seater is one of 42 produced. It now has an estimate of $87,000-$120,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.