Tag Archives: cars

2002 Turbo

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1974 BMW 2002 Turbo

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, Arizona | March 18-20, 2021

Photo – Mecum

This site doesn’t feature too many post-war German cars, but people love BMW’s 2002. The name was a little short-sighted, but I guess they never imagined having to try and Google “BMW 2002” only to get a ton of results for 2002 325Cis.

The 2002 was mixed in with a number of other visually similar but mechanically different models, including the 1602, 1802, 1502, 1600, and 1800. The 2002 went on sale for the 1968 model year and would be offered in base, cabriolet, ti, and tii forms through 1976. There was one model that topped all of those, and it was the Turbo, which was sold between 1973 and 1975. Only 1,672 examples were produced.

It was BMW’s first turbocharged production car and features a turbocharged, fuel-injected 2.0-liter M10 inline-four rated at 168 horsepower. Top speed was 130 mph. The Turbo is easily the most sought-after 2002 variant, with prices that can easily climb into the six figures. Check out more on this one here, and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $154,000.

Lamborghini Espada

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1976 Lamborghini Espada Series III

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 20, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Lamborghini Espada is an interesting car. They’ve never been as valuable as any other 1960s Lambo, and they feature a pretty polarizing design. It is kind of like someone smashed a Murena GT, an Iso Lele, and DeTomaso Mangusta into one four-seat, front-engine GT.

This rear-wheel-drive car is powered by a 3.9-liter V12 that was rated at 350 horsepower when new. The Espada was built in three different series between 1968 and 1978, with the Series 3 launching in 1972. Only 456 S3 cars were built, but they seem to be the ones that crop up most often (the S2 cars were actually more common).

This one has been restored and is finished in black. Some Espadas wear some pretty wild colors, so this one looks pretty restrained. The pre-sale estimate is $155,000-$175,000, which is expensive, but not Miura expensive. That said, this is not a cheap car to own. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $138,417.

Fiat 600 Rendez Vous

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1959 Fiat 600 Rendez Vous by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 13, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Fiat 600 was introduced in 1955 and would remain in production until 1969. It was the basis for Fiat’s 500 and was available as a two-door fastback and a mini-MPV called the Multipla. They built over 2.5 million of them. But this example is no ordinary, somewhat-dumpy Fiat 600.

The famed Italian coachbuilder Vignale decided that they wanted to take this near-microcar and make it look like a fancy, two-door coupe. Its classy looks make it look a lot bigger than it is, and it isn’t made clear if this car has a 633cc inline-four or the 767cc version. In either case, the engine is mounted out back.

Fewer than 20 of these “Rendez Vous” cars are thought to have been produced, and this one was restored less than 300 miles ago. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

599 GTZ Zagato

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2009 Ferrari 599 GTZ Nibbio Spyder Zagato

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 13, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 599 GTB Fiorano was Ferrari’s front-engine V12 grand tourer between 2007 and 2012. It spawned a few notable factory variants, including the HGTE (which was more of an add-on package), the XX (which was a track car), and the GTO (which was a road version of the XX). There was also the limited-edition drop-top, the SA Aperta.

Zagato, which had done similar things to the 599’s predecessors, the 575 and the 550, decided to do a limited run of modified 599s, dubbed the GTZ Nibbio (there were both coupes and spyders). Basically, they took a 599 GTB and re-sculpted the body to include their current weird design language, which consists of a rounded tail and two bulbous pointy bits on either side of the front grille. In this case, they also chopped off the roof.

The 6.0-liter V12 remains unchanged and is still rated at 612 horsepower. Only nine Nibbios were made, six of which were convertibles. Somehow this car was completed in 2020 and retains Zagato’s prototype serial number. You can read more about this car here and see more from RM here.

Update: Not sold.

Pilgrim Family Tourer

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1980 Pilgrim Family Tourer

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | February 13-18, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Pilgrim Fiberglass was founded in 1985 in Brighton, England, by Den Tanner and Bill Harling. The company is still around, having outlasted early models like this to become one of the most prolific Cobra kit car manufacturers in the world.

Their first two models were the Bulldog, which was introduced in 1985, and the Family Tourer, which went on sale in 1989. The Family Tourer was essentially a four-seat version of the Bulldog and largely shared its 1950s MG-inspired styling.

The basis for the car was actually the fifth-generation of the Ford Cortina. This is based on a 1980 model, hence the model year listed above, even though it was built in 1992. It’s powered by a 1.6-liter inline-four and features a steel backbone chassis. Only about 250 Family Tourers were built, and this one will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,398.

Renault Clio V6

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2002 Renault Sport Clio V6 Phase 1

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | March 5-6, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

In the 1980s, the French were doing some crazy stuff with their hatchbacks. Renault and Peugeot produced some monsters. Twenty years later, Renault decided to go crazy again and produced probably the coolest hot hatch of the 21st Century (yeah, I said it).

The second-generation Clio went on sale in 1998 and somehow lasted through 2012. It was available as a three- or five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. Some of them actually looked okay for what they were, but they were all largely sad in the power and front-engined, front-wheel-drive departments.

In 2001, Renault designed a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive version of the Clio (okay, it was a pretty different car, but shared the name and corporate face). It was based on the Clio V6 Trophy race car of 1999 and was powered by a 2.9-liter, 24-valve V6 located in the rear hatch area, like the Renault 5 Turbo.

This is a “Phase 1” example, meaning output was rated at 227 horsepower and that the car was actually assembled by Tom Walkinshaw Racing in Sweden. Later cars were built by Renault themselves and made more power. Top speed was 146 mph. Only 1,513 Phase 1 cars were built through 2003.

These cars will only appreciate with time, and once they are eligible for U.S. import, I expect them to be grabbed up and hard to get for a good price. Check out more about this RHD example here, and see more from Silverstone here.

Update: Sold $41,240.

Yenko Stinger

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1966 Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger Stage II

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, Arizona | March 18-20, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Cars with flat-six engines mounted out back are supposed to be very sporty, almost race cars. Or so I hear. So why was the Corvair labeled a danger, and why did Chevy never make sit sportier than the base model ever was?

Enter Don Yenko, who would become even more famous for modifying Camaros in the late 1960s. He started by hotting-up Corvairs into “Stinger” form. He wanted to make the Corvair SCCA eligible, but it didn’t really fall into a pre-existing category. So he modified an example to fit. But the SCCA required 100 production examples before that version would be race-eligible. So 100 1966 Yenko Stingers would end up being built. This is #50.

The changes from the base car varied from example to example. This car has a “Stage II” flat-six rated at 190 horsepower. It also has four carburetors, a limited-slip differential, a front spoiler, and a four-speed manual transmission. It’s a cool car and among the coolest of Corvairs. Read more about this one here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $82,500.

Mercedes-Benz 300D Adenauer

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1961 Mercedes-Benz 300D Adenauer

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | March 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

This four-door Mercedes-Benz luxury car shares its three numerical digits with the legendary 300SL “Gullwing” sports car. But both cars share the “300” with Mercedes’ 1951-1957 W186 300 series, of which the 300D seen here was the successor.

Introduced in 1957, the 300D shared a version of the Gullwing’s fuel-injected 3.0-liter inline-six that, here, produced 178 horsepower (thus the “300” designation for “3 liters”, back when such things made logical sense). The 300D was available as a four-door sedan or a cabriolet. The cars were nicknamed “Adenauer” after Konrad Adenauer, who was the first Chancellor of West Germany and a fan of this series of cars.

Only 3,077 hand-built examples of the 300D sedan were built through 1962. This one isn’t a show winner, but it’s a driveable example of one of Germany’s greatest cars of the 1950s. It is expected to sell for between $68,000-$82,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $74,564.

Alfa Romeo Montreal

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1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, Arizona | March 18-20, 2021

Photo – Mecum

I’ve always considered this to be sort of Italy’s take on the muscle car. There have been plenty of cars with Italian designs and American V8s, but this is an entirely Italian car. It features a fastback body that was designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone and combines that with a homegrown V8.

The fuel-injected 2.6-liter V8 was derived from the one used in the Tipo 33 race cars and put out 197 horsepower in road car form. The distinctive design features C-pillar vents, headlight shades, and Campagnolo wheels. Top speed was 139 mph.

Approximately 3,925 examples were produced between 1970 and 1977, and they were never officially exported to North America. The “Montreal” name actually comes from the prototype’s first showing at a World’s Fair in Montreal, Canada, in 1967. You can see more about this orange example here, and more lots from Mecum are available here.

Update: Sold $66,000.

8 Litre Bentley

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1931 Bentley 8 Litre Pointed-Tail Two-Seater

Offered by Gooding & Company | Online | January 28-February 5, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

The 8-Litre was the best (and final) model produced by Bentley before being taken over by Rolls-Royce. Just 100 examples were produced between 1930 and 1932, and only 78 are known to still exist. And this is one of them.

It was originally fitted with a Weymann close-coupled saloon body, but that was removed and replaced in the early 1960s. The chassis was shortened at this time, and coachbuilders Hoffman & Burton were enlisted to build a sporting body. They came up with this striking pointed-tail two-seater.

Aside from the rarity, the powerplant is the big story here. As the model’s name suggests, the inline-six displaces eight liters and produced 220 horsepower. This one appears to have known history since new and carries an estimate of $550,000-$825,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co.

Update: Sold $861,215.