Ford EX Concept

Posted on August 18, 2014 by classiccarweekly

2001 Ford EX Concept

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | August 27-31, 2014

Photo – Auctions America

Well this is pretty cool, isn’t it? It’s a true concept car – you don’t recall Ford selling anything like this in the past 15 years, do you? It’s cool. It’s wild. It’s extreme.

This is actually a working, drivable concept car. It’s powered by a 4.0-liter V-6 making 375 horsepower and lots of torque. It’s four-wheel drive, obviously, and although they don’t quite look it, those are 33-inch tires. It resembles more of the modern side-by-side ATV than it does a production truck.

If Ford would’ve built this, they would have been off-road legends. Instead, there is just this one example. If go-anywhere is your thing, then this is your ute. It has to be massively entertaining with all that power, no real weight, and extreme off-road capability (although it’s a little rare to be thrashing it on the trails). In any event, it should sell for between $75,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $96,250.

Update: Sold, Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2017, $110,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Phoenix 2019, $99,000.

Chrysler Plainsman Concept

Posted on July 22, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1956 Chrysler Plainsman Concept by Ghia

Offered by Auctions America | Burbank, California | August 1-2, 2014

Photo – Auctions America

Chrysler had a pretty good relationship with Ghia in the 1950s. The famed Italian design house built some pretty good-lookin’ rides for this one of Detroit’s Big Three during the decade. You might not call this car “good-lookin'” but it definitely screams “1950s.”

The design is by Virgil Exner and it certainly is of the era. I’m not sure about the name, however, and am pretty confident no one would buy a car called the “Plainsman” (although that would be a very apt name for the Camry). The original engine is gone, but since the 1960s it’s used a 440 (7.2-liter) V-8 making 375 horsepower.

This is said to be the only known station wagon concept car from the 1950s still in existence. It has an international history: being sold to a high-ranking Cuban official in the 1950s before the revolution. He had to smuggle the car out of the country when Castro took over and he had to flee. After that, it went to Australia where it was converted to right-hand drive and used regularly. Once back in the U.S., it was re-converted to left-hand drive and used even more. This car is highly original and it sold in 2010 for $90,000. You can see more here and check out more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $176,000.

Update: Sold, Worldwide Auctioneers, Scottsdale 2020, $742,500.

BMW Hurrican

Posted on June 2, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1964 BMW Hurrican Prototype

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Zurich, Switzerland | June 7-8, 2014

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

This is a strange one. It’s called a BMW Hurrican and I can’t tell you for sure whether or not this is actually a BMW. I mean, it certainly has BMW parts and a BMW badge – but there is little evidence anywhere that BMW had anything to do with its construction. As you can see in the photo, however, it is certainly welcome at the world’s greatest car shows, such as Villa d’Este.

It is said to be based on a BMW 1800ti, likely from 1964 – and a Ferrari 250 LM. Now, this car doesn’t have a pre-sale estimate listed, but rather “contact us” – but a Ferrari 250 LM is worth over $10 million. This car is not worth that. This is part of the reason it is interesting.

The story I’ve seen is that this car was built by a group of students (college, I believe) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The engine is a 1.8-liter straight-four making 120 horsepower. It also uses pieces from a Volvo, Fiat and Jaguar. While the build of the car began in 1967, it didn’t finish until 1975 and it’s been an attention-getter ever since. It definitely looks better than the 1800ti it is based on. You can read more here and see the rest of this auction lineup here. We have great readers at ClassicCarWeekly.net and I’m sure if any of you know more about this, you’ll let us know in the comments section.