Tag Archives: coupe

XK140 by Ghia

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1956 Jaguar XK140 SE Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The XK140 was the second in Jaguar’s line of post-war “XK” sports cars. It was sold between 1954 and 1957 and was offered from the factory as a two-door coupe, two-seat roadster, or two-seat drophead coupe. The factory coupe did not look like this.

There were a handful of coachbuilt XK140s, including potentially three in this style. In SE spec, power is provided by 3.4-liter inline-six with double SU carburetors and a “C-type” cylinder head that resulted in an output of 210 horsepower.

This car was ordered new by a Californian and another owner there before being purchased in 1967 by Ricardo Montalban. By the 1990s, it was in Japan, where it was restored to as you see it here. The car now has an estimate of $500,000-$650,000. Click here for more info.

Drogo-Bodied 250 GT Coupe

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1960 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe by Carrozzeria Sports Cars

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

If you’re thinking that this car looks vaguely 250 GTO-ish (or vaguely like an Iso Grifo from the cowl back), well, you aren’t crazy. What we have here is a Ferrari 250 GT that was sold new as a Pinin Farina-bodied coupe.

That coupe, powered by a 3.0-liter Colombo V12, was crashed in Switzerland in 1965. It was sent back to Modena, where the chassis was shortened and the car was subsequently rebodied by Piero Drogo’s Carrozzeria Sports Cars. In the 1970s it was crashed again, this time in France, with repairs carried out by Sbarro.

There are definite GTO influences, but the design is a one-off. More modern re-bodied 250 GTs tend to barely break into the seven figures, depending on what they’ve been re-bodied as. Yet this one, because of its period rebody, has an estimate of $2,700,000-$3,200,000. More info can be found here.

Touring Aero 3

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2015 Touring Aero 3 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera has been around since the 1920s and became quite famous in the 1930s and ’40s with their coachbuilt bodies. Touring would later body some of the most famous Ferraris, Aston Martins, Maseratis, and Lamborghinis of the 1950s and 1960s. They closed up shop in 1966.

In 2006, the company was resurrected under new ownership and started producing limited-run vehicles based on existing cars. One such vehicle is this, the Aero 3. It’s based on the Ferrari F12berlinetta. It shares the F12’s 730-horsepower, 6.3-liter V12. This particular car utilized a 2015 F12 as a starting point and was converted by Touring to Aero 3 spec in 2020.

These are limited-run cars. A maximum of 15 Aero 3s will be built, but it’s unclear how many have been completed thus far (or if they will ever even get to 15). It has an estimate of $640,000-$960,000. Click here for more info.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

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2023 Aston Martin Valkyrie Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Dubai, U.A.E. | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Valkyrie is one of these new-era supercars with complicated Formula One-style hybrid powertrains that languish in a development period for years before finally coming to market long after everyone’s initial excitement has worn off. The Valkyrie name was chosen after a bunch of other code names were used following the car’s 2016 (!) introduction.

Or maybe it was more of a tease than in introduction. Anyway, production didn’t commence until late 2021. They said they will only build 150 of these with a retail price of about $3,500,000 when new.

Power comes from a 6.5-liter V12 that has been tweaked by Cosworth to produce around 1,000 horsepower. Additionally, it has an electric boost system that can add another 160 horsepower. Aston has since added a track-only variant as well as an open-top Spider.

The estimate on this one is $2,900,000-$3,300,000. Click here for more info.

Voisin C30 S

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1938 Voisin C30 S Coupe

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

Photo – Gooding & Company

Gabriel Voisin was a visionary designer – of both automobiles and aircraft. But brilliance doesn’t necessarily transfer over to business skills. By 1937 Avions Voisin had been reorganized under SADAV, and the new heads of the company tapped Voisin to design a new car.

It would be his final pre-war design. Long known for their use of Knight sleeve-valve engines, Voisin would shift away from them for the C30 and move to the (likely) 3.6-liter supercharged Graham inline-six. Only about 30 C30s were built before the war put an end to production.

This is said to be the only “C30 S” Coupe produced. It bounced between two owners between 1945 and 1998. For the next 10 years it resided with one owner and was sold in 2008, presumably into the Mullin collection. You can read more about it here.

6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este

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1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este Coupe by Touring

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

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Alfa’s 6C model was around for over 25 years, debuting in 1500 form in 1927 and bowing out with double the displacement after 1954. While the handful of 6C 3000s built were mostly race cars, it was the 6C 2500 that was really the final evolution of the model.

The Super Sport variant debuted in 1939 with triple carburetors on the 2.5-liter inline-six, which was good for 110 horsepower. A few different body styles were offered on this chassis, including the Touring-penned Villa d’Este coupe, of which just 36 were built.

Delivered new in Switzerland, the car eventually made its way to Texas. It was restored in Milan, though the catalog doesn’t quite make it clear when. Sometimes in the ’80s or ’90s apparently. This car is pretty fantastic, and it has an estimate of $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Split-Window Corvette

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1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

Ah, the split-window ‘Vette. The C2 was the second generation of the Corvette and was produced from 1963 through 1967, a relatively brief time, especially considering how long the C3 lasted. The “Sting Ray” launched in ’63 in coupe and convertible forms, but it’s the coupe from this year that is a standout, styling-wise, amongst all Corvettes.

The split rear window was only available on 1963 coupes, as Zora Arkus-Duntov disliked the design (and it really was bad for rearward visibility). A 327ci (5.4-liter) V8 was the only powertrain option in the first year, though it could be had in four states of tune.

This car has the top engine option: the “fuelie” – meaning it had Rochester mechanical fuel injection for an output of 360 horsepower. This is a restored car and is finished in Silver Blue. Split windows command a premium, as do Fuelies. So this is a double premium: an estimate of $350,000-$400,000. Click here for more info.

Neckar St. Trop

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1965 Neckar St. Trop Coupe

Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | November 26, 2023

Photo – Aguttes

NSU sold Fiats under license beginning in 1929 under the NSU-Fiat marque. NSU sold the Heilbronn, Germany-based factory to Fiat in 1932, and in 1957, then name Neckar replaced NSU-Fiat as the marque until it ceased existing in 1971.

All Neckars were just re-badged versions of something else, in this case the already-obscure OSI 1200, which was a Michelotti-styled variant of the Fiat 1200 Spider. It’s got a Fiat 1.2-liter inline-four.

Aguttes says 280 convertibles and 70 coupes were built, all of which apparently by OSI and then branded differently for various markets. The pre-sale estimate is $27,000-$38,000. Click here for more info.

DB2/4 by Bertone

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupe by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 8, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The DB2 was Aston’s first real post-war car, as they only made 15 DB1s. In 1953, the DB2 was heavily revised for a new model call the DB2/4, which would remain on sale through 1957. Three factory body styles existed: drophead coupe, two-seat coupe, and 2+2 hatchback. But a number of coachbuilt versions were also produced.

Among them are a some really striking designs by Bertone. There were seven Bertone DB2/4s in total (out of a production run of 764 total DB2/4s), and all of them were commissioned by Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt. This was the only coupe among them.

RM’s write-up makes no mention of the engine, but it’s a 2.9-liter inline-six, the larger of two engines offered during the model’s run. The restoration of the car started in 2019 and completed in time for Pebble Beach in 2023. The estimate here is $1,200,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info.

Maybach Cruisero

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2010 Maybach 57S Cruisero Coupe by Xenatec

Offered by Bonhams | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 25 2023

Photo – Bonhams

There was this weird thing in the 2000s where coachbuilt versions of luxury cars were all of a sudden something companies wanted to do. Zagato styled some Bentleys, while Touring took a stab at Maserati. Then there is this, one of the longest two-door cars ever built from short-lived German coachbuilder Xenatec.

It’s based on a stock Maybach 57S sedan, including the 133.5-inch wheelbase, that had the bodywork tweaked to just two doors. Under the hood is the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 making 604 horsepower. If a $400,000 Maybach sedan was too common for you, you could’ve shelled out who knows how much more to get a coupe – something the factory never offered.

Just eight of these were built, one of which for Muammar Gaddafi, so you’ll be in good company if you have the estimated $550,000-$650,000 to spend on this today. More info can be found here.