Tag Archives: cars

3500 GTI Vignale

Posted on by
Reply

1962 Maserati 3500 GTI Spyder by Vignale

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Northamptonshire, U.K. | May 28, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The 3500 GT was Maserati’s big grand tourer of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both 2+2 coupes and two-seat convertibles were offered, with styling by a select few Italian carrozzeria, including Vignale, who bodied this example and most of the model’s convertibles.

In 1960, Maserati introduced the GTI variant, making it Italy’s first fuel-injected production car. The 3.5-liter inline-six got Lucas fuel injection and a power bump to 232 horsepower. Because fuel injection was still relatively new, it could be somewhat troublesome, and more than a few GTI examples were converted back to Weber carburetors later in life. Not this one.

This car was delivered new in London, and from the 80s onward, it spent time in France and Italy before returning within the last decade to London with its current owner. Only 245 Vignale convertibles were built out of a total 3500 production run of 2,226 examples between 1957 and 1964. The pre-sale estimate here is $470,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $523,210.

Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

Posted on by
Reply

1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Limited Edition

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Northamptonshire, U.K. | May 28, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

We’ve covered the history of the Talbot marque before, and it’s very confusing. We’ll pick up the trail in 1935 when the Rootes Group had both Talbot and Sunbeam under their ownership. Sunbeam-Talbot was a marque that existed from 1935 through 1954, when the cars just became Sunbeams. This was because Talbot-Lago was operating in France and it was confusing. Still is.

Well Talbot-Lago only lasted five more years after that. The dormant Talbot name was then sold to Simca, which became part of Chrysler Europe in 1970. In 1977, Chrysler introduced the Chrysler Sunbeam model. It was a three-door hatchback. It was not very exciting.

However, Chrysler dumped Chrysler Europe on PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) in 1978 for $1. PSA in turn dumped the Chrysler name, rebranding all Chryslers in Europe as Talbots. So now, a few decades removed from Sunbeam-Talbot, there was a Talbot Sunbeam on sale in Europe. Around this time, they also wanted to make the Sunbeam (the model) more exciting.

The hot-hatch Ti variant was introduced in 1978. Chrysler had already been in talks with Lotus to build a rally version of the Sunbeam to take on the Ford Escort RS. Thus, the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus was born, and it went on sale in 1979. It was one of the best hot hatches of the ’70s/’80s.

Power is from a 2.2-liter high-compression version of the Lotus 907 inline-four. Road cars were rated at 150 horsepower. Rally cars were able to get up to 250 horsepower out of the engine. There were also suspension and exhaust tweaks. The car was responsible for Talbot winning the WRC manufacturer’s championship in 1981.

Only 1,184 right-hand-drive examples were made before production ceased due to the fact that they were more expensive to make than they could sell them for. Fifty-six of them were taken by Ladbroke Avon Coachworks to be turned into “Limited Edition” cars that featured the paint scheme seen here.

This limited-edition Sunbeam Lotus carries a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$37,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $28,914.

’63 Consul Capri

Posted on by
Reply

1963 Ford Consul Capri

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 21, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Consul was Ford of Britain’s family car when it went on sale in 1951 as the base model in the Zephyr range. A sedan, a two-door wagon, and a convertible were offered. The second generation ended production in 1962.

In 1961, Ford launched the Consul Classic, which overlapped the second-gen Consul production and that of the Cortina. The Classic was available as a four-door sedan, a two-door sedan, or as a two-door Capri coupe, which is what we have here. The big factory engine option on the Capri was 1.5-liter four, however this car has been hot-rodded with a 2.0-liter Pinto inline-four, a five-speed manual gearbox, and Minilite-style wheels.

It looks good, especially in green. This car was one of the styling highpoints for Ford of Britain. Only 19,421 Consul Capris were produced in two and a half years. This one has a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$24,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $23,302.

BACI Neoclassic

Posted on by
Reply

1994 BACI Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 15, 2022

Photo – Mecum

It’s been a while since we’ve featured an obscure neoclassic. So obscure, this one is, that even Mecum didn’t know what they were dealing with at first, labeling it an Excalibur. It’s a BACI, a roadster produced by the Besasie Automotive Company Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Just 14 of these were built between 1993 and 1995, and they were based on the Ford Thunderbird of the era. This car is powered by a fuel-injected 5.0-liter V8 and features Bose audio, a power-retractable soft top, and air conditioning.

Parts of the styling are supposed to be reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz Special Roadster. Maybe from the back? You can read more about this one here, and check out more angles via the photos.

Update: Sold $29,700.

Renault 20/30 Landaulette

Posted on by
Reply

1908 Renault Type V-1 20/30 Landaulette

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 21, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

This one is a little confusing, as is Renault’s early model line. Their first cars debuted in 1899 with simple voiturettes, though they carried more than half a dozen model names in their first few years. Prior to WWI, the company offered dozens of different models, many of which based on the same powertrains.

In this case, I think, we have a 20/30hp chassis in model V-1 form (not VI as the auction catalog labels it). This was a large car for the company, and it’s powered by a 4.4-liter inline-four rated at 20/30 horsepower. No clue how long this model was offered, but it was at least 1908 and 1909.

The body here is by Stareys & Woolleys of Nottingham. The pre-sale estimate here is listed as $115,000-$135,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $101,136.

Marcos 1600GT

Posted on by
Reply

1968 Marcos 1600GT

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | May 7, 2022

Photo – Brightwells

The first of the Marcos GT line of cars was the 1800GT, which featured a Volvo powerplant. Two years later, the Volvo 1800 was out, and the Ford Kent-powered 1500GT was in. Due to the power drop between the two, Marcos bored the 1500 out, selling an uprated 1650GT for a brief time before introducing the 1600GT, which was sold from 1967 through 1969.

This model featured a 1.6-liter Ford Kent inline-four with a crossflow cylinder head. Output was rated at 100 horsepower when new. The 1600GT outsold earlier models, with 192 built in the three years of production.

Originally blue, this car has been redone, with the engine overhauled to displace 1,670cc, among other upgrades. The pre-sale estimate is $15,000-$18,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $16,449.

2002 Firehawk

Posted on by
Reply

2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SLP Firehawk

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 19, 2022

Photo – Mecum

The fourth-generation Firebird went on sale for 1993. It was kind of pointy, but if you look at the rear 3/4 of the car, you could tell the genes were there for some muscle. That became more apparent when a mid-cycle refresh came in 1998. The car got a new hood with two big intakes/nostrils up front. It was bulky and looked like a muscle car.

So, of course, on top of the Firebird there was the Trans Am, which usually specified some kind of upgraded suspension, an appearance package, and a power bump. But what do you do when that’s not enough? You go to SLP Engineering and have them turn it into a Firehawk, naturally.

These were sold through Pontiac dealerships. This example is from the final year of Firebird production, making it a final-year example of the top dog… or top bird Firebird/Trans Am you could get. The 5.7-liter V8 was tweaked to put out 335 horsepower. It’s got all of the goodies too: T-tops, a limited-slip differential, a composite hood, a cat-back exhaust, and more. This car has just 57 miles, which will make it among the most expensive Firehawks out there. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $61,600.

Alfa 8C Competizione

Posted on by
Reply

2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 5, 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Alfa Romeo may not be crushing it in the U.S. right now, but this car is proof that they can still put out some stunners, despite what the sales numbers show. To be fair, in this car’s case, they only built 500 of them, with orders for almost triple that.

Styling was done in-house at Alfa and was supposed to invoke the company’s classic models of the 1950s and ’60s. It’s a success. It took its name from the 1930s 8C, Alfa’s pre-war masterpiece. The car is powered by a Ferrari/Maserati 4.7-liter V8 that was rated at 444 horsepower. And it sounds amazing.

Colors were all over the board, but most appear to have been finished in red. It still looks good in black, and pretty much any other color you could lather it in. Bidding is already at $175,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $351,000.

1930 Ansaldo

Posted on by
Reply

1930 Ansaldo 15 GS Berlina by Liotti

Offered by Aguttes | Cassel, France | May 1, 2022

Photo – Aguttes

Gio. Ansaldo & C. was founded in 1853 and became a big player in the Italian railway manufacturing market before branching out into automobiles in 1921. The experiment lasted just 10 years, with production wrapping in 1931.

The Type 15 GS was introduced in 1928 as the company was bleeding money. It was a follow-up to the earlier 15, which was not at all a success. The 15 GS used a double overhead cam inline-four that made 60 horsepower.

This car wears lightweight four-door coachwork by Liotti of Florence that features a skin over a steel frame, whereas many contemporary coachbuilders still utilized wood frames. It was restored in the late 1980s/early 1990s and now carries an estimate of $42,500-$64,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $61,331.

Omega-Six

Posted on by
Reply

1928 Omega-Six 3-Litre Short-Chassis Competition Roadster

Offered by Aguttes | May 1, 2022

Photo – Aguttes

Omega-Six was a car company that operated out of the Paris region of France between 1922 and 1930. They were founded by Jules Daubeck, and the cars were designed by Maurice Gadoux, a former Hispano-Suiza engineer. Production didn’t do much better than about 50 cars a year.

They did have some sporting credentials, running at Le Mans in 1924 and 1925. Their lone victory came in an all-female race with Helle Nice at the wheel in a 3-Litre Competition car, which were unveiled in 1928. The 3.0-liter inline-six featured dual carburetors and carried a factory-advertised rating of 150 horsepower.

This chassis was purchased by Robert de Ganay, who won his class at Le Mans in 1931 under a pseudonym. It is believed to have been re-bodied around 1930 and has only had four owners since new. The car has been rarely shown since the 1970s and is offered with a spare 2.7-liter six. The pre-sale estimate is $425,000-$530,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.