Tag Archives: coupe

1957 Frick Special

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1957 Frick Special GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 5, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Bill Frick found his automotive niche prepping and modifying race cars in the 1950s and 60s. He worked in NASCAR and had his own shop in New York. Before the War, Frick got his start swapping engines and he returned to his origins in the 50s when Cadillac introduced a new V-8.

In 1953 Frick created a car called the “Studillac” which had a Cadillac V-8 stuffed into a 1953 Studebaker. He got the car bodied by Vignale and set up shop to offer them for sale. But ultimately only three were built – the original “Studillac” prototype, a convertible and this coupe.

The engine is a 5.4-liter Cadillac V-8 making a very solid 270 horsepower. The body, designed by Michelotti and built by Vignale, resembles other Vignale cars of the era, specifically those from Ferrari. This car cost $9,000 when new and was first sold in Michigan.

The current owner acquired it in 1989 and the car is all original (though, it has been repainted). It has a tick over 40,000 miles and known ownership history from new. It’s the only one like it and should bring between $180,000-$220,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

REO Royale

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1931 REO Royale Sport Victoria Coupe

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Aarhus, Denmark | May 28-29, 2016

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Ransom E. Olds left Oldsmobile in 1905 after only eight years at the helm. He immediately founded REO which would actually last until 1975, producing only trucks after WWII. In the 1930s, many high-end American car companies were producing big, beautiful cars. REO wasn’t really known as a high-end company, but they jumped into that market with the Royale in 1931.

The model would last through 1934 and was offered in different body styles. The 1931 Model 35 range could be had as a Sedan, Victoria or four-passenger Coupe. It is powered by a 5.9-liter straight-eight making 125 horsepower. It’s no slouch when compared to its rivals. In fact, its styling is on par or better than some of its rivals.

This car was actually sold new in Denmark and was at one point actually used by the King (though it was never owned by the Royal Family). The current owner acquired it in 1981 and set about on a five year restoration. It is said that this is one of four such cars in Europe and it should sell for between $90,000-$105,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, listed for $92,500.

Vantage V600

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2000 Aston Martin Vantage V600 Le Mans Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, England | May 21, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Here is a massively powerful Aston Martin that was never sold in America. Aston had a spotty export record through most of the 1990s, until Ford bought them and started shipping the DB7 stateside. They never bothered with this, as it was very low production.

This car is part of a line of cars that started in 1989 with the Virage coupe. The Vantage was introduced in 1993 and built in very limited numbers through 2000. Almost all were coupes (all but nine that is). The base Vantage came with 550 horsepower. The V600 was powered by the same 5.3-liter supercharged V-8 but instead of 550, it made a monstrous 604 horsepower. Top speed was reported to be 200 mph. It’s a legitimate supercar.

Only 40 Le Mans versions of the Vantage were built and it could be had in base or V600 form. Thirty of them were to V600 specification. This is one of the most powerful and intense cars Aston Martin has ever built and, as an example of this generation Vantage, is one of the last hand-built Newport Pagnell Astons before Ford’s economies of scale production took over. It should sell for between $470,000-$610,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $654,859.

De Tomaso Vallelunga

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1968 De Tomaso Vallelunga Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 13, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Alejandro De Tomaso’s little car company – that lasted an impressive 40+ years – built a number of cars over the years, most famously the Pantera. But a decade before the Pantera debuted, De Tomaso introduced their first road car, the Vallelunga (named after a race track near Rome).

Built between 1964 and 1968, the Vallelunga is powered by a rear-mid-mounted Ford 1.5-liter straight-four making 104 horsepower. The body, built by Ghia, is fiberglass and the whole car only weighs 1,600 lbs.

This particular car had an extensive restoration that was completed prior to the 2004 show season. 50 road cars were built (along with three prototypes and five racing cars). It’s quite rare and should bring between $360,000-$410,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Monaco.

Update: Not sold.

Aston Martin One-77

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2011 Aston Martin One-77 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 13, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin One-77 is the most extreme road car the company has ever built – and one of the rarest: as its name implies, it is one of just 77 built. It was introduced in 2008 and went on sale the next year. All cars were complete by the end of 2012.

Every car is unique, but all are powered by the same 750 horsepower 7.3-liter V-12 – making it the most powerful naturally-aspirated car when it was introduced. Top speed is a ridiculous 220 mph. The company never even officially let journalists drive it.

This is car #25 and it was delivered new to Switzerland, where it has barely been used, having covered just about 850km since new. This is the first One-77, I believe, to hit the open auction market. With an original price tag of over $1.5 million, the car is now expected to bring between $2,000,000-$2,600,000. That’s quite the appreciation in just five years. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Monaco.

Update: Not sold.

Bianco Coupe

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1979 Bianco S Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | April 2, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Here’s another Volkswagen-based car from Brazil. The Bianco was designed by Ottorino Bianco (who designed Formula 3 cars first). It debuted at the 1976 São Paolo Motor Show but would only last through 1979 when the company closed.

It’s powered by a rear-mounted 1.6-liter Volkswagen flat-four. The body is plastic and fiberglass. It certainly looks like a kit car but they were actually built at a factory – by hand. About 20 per month were churned out.

If you’ve never seen one these don’t worry – most people haven’t. This car comes out of a Brazilian collection and has to be one of very few in the U.S. It should bring between $10,000-$20,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,750.

Puma GT

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1972 Puma GT Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | April 1, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Brazil is on the board! It’s always interesting to add a new country to our geographical list of cars and Brazil is the newest addition. Puma was based in São Paolo and they got their start in 1966. Brazil was a strange case –  it’s a huge country and imported cars were very expensive. Only manufacturers that built cars in Brazil really sold them there: like GM and VW.

So what do you think this Puma is based on? That’s right, a Volkswagen. It’s got a rear-mounted 1.6-liter flat-four. Complete cars were available in Brazil and some were exported to the U.S. in kit form. A convertible was also offered.

The Puma GT was built between 1968 and lasted up through 1995 when the company went under (the car’s popularity across the sea is one reason the company sprang back to life in 2006 in South Africa). This GT is one of 330 Coupes built in 1972 (they built 484 total cars that year). Puma’s total production as a marque was over 22,000 cars. This car is fully restored and comes out of a Brazilian collection. It should bring between $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,250.

Porsche 908 Coupe

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1968 Porsche 908 Coupe

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 11, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Porsche 908 was actually a series of race cars that the company produced between 1968 and 1971. We’ve already featured three variations: the 908/2 Longtail Spyder, the 908/03 Spyder, and a 908/03 Spyder Turbo. They all look different. For instance: this one has a top.

So the 907 was built in 1967 and to take advantage of a rule in the FIA book, Porsche adapted their flat-eight engine to 3.0-liters (in this car, putting out 350 horsepower) and the body was just sort of the natural next step from the 907. The first batch of cars were closed coupes to make outright speed. In total, 31 908s were built with five Coupes remaining. The factory competition history for this car (chassis no. 11) includes:

  • 1968 1000km Spa – 3rd (with Hans Herrmann and Rolf Stommelen)
  • 1968 6 Hours of Watkins Glen – 27th, DNF (with George Follmer and Joe Buzzetta)
  • 1968 500km Zeltweg – 13th, DQ (with Jochen Neerpasch and Rudi Lins)

After those three races, Porsche was quickly on to other styles of the 908 and its successive siblings. This car went to a privateer in Switzerland who used it in hillclimbs (which sounds like an awesome amount of overkill). It was wrecked slightly in 1974 and later repaired. In the last 10 years this car has seen use in historic racing and many shows. If you’ve been hunting for a true, usable factory Porsche racer, look no further. It should bring between $3,000,000-$3,300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Sabra GT

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1964 Sabra GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 10, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Autocars Co. Ltd. was an Israeli automobile manufacturer – Israel’s first – that set up shop in Haifa in the 1950s. They built a couple of different models, but the most remembered is the Sabra.

The Sabra GT’s design is actually by the kit car maker Ashley. British company Reliant built the fiberglass bodies, and, in fact, built the first run of Sabras in house (and then copied the car as the Reliant Sabre). This car is powered by a 1.7-liter straight-four making 61 horsepower.

Sabras were very popular in Belgium – a quarter of them were sold new there. Some were exported to the U.S. and they were available as a coupe or convertible. Production lasted from 1964 through 1968. At least 100 Sabras still exist, but you never see them. This one should bring between $80,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $93,500.

Abarth 2200 Coupe

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1959 Abarth 2200 Coupe by Allemano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 3, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Carlo Abarth’s company began out of the downfall of Cisitalia, where he worked. So in 1949, Abarth & C. became its own marque… sort of. They built some of their own cars, but most of them were just tuned Fiats of some variety. The name lives on today as a trim level on Fiat cars.

One such Fiat that Abarth got his hands on was the 2100 Sedan. Produced from 1959 through 1968, the 2100 was Fiat’s large car. They were all four-door sedans and wagons. But Abarth went to Italian coachbuilder Allemano and decided they’d build a coupe version. Allemano crafted this nice body for it and Abarth went to work on the engine, enlarging the straight-six to from 2.1 to 2.2-liters. Horsepower was rated at 135.

Only 28 of these were built (and not all were bodied by Allemano, but most were). The restoration was completed in 2011 and it isn’t a car that comes up for sale all that often. It should bring between $195,000-$220,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s in Paris.

Update: Sold $131,200.