Tag Archives: coupe

Porsche 550 Coupe

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1956 Porsche 550A Coupe Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

RM throws out every superlative they can think of in the description for this car. It’s a little much, but the point is taken: this is an important and likely unrepeatable opportunity. Porsche’s 550 Spyder is already a legendary car, for reasons good and bad, and they command seven figures every day.

Porsche built four coupe prototypes of the 550. It’s got a slick fastback profile and is powered by a 1.5-liter flat-four. These were fully prepared race cars developed as a replacement for the 550 RS. The competition history for this chassis, 550A-0104, includes:

  • 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans – 5th, 1st in class (with Wolfgang von Trips and Richard von Frankenburg)
  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 9th (with Ken Miles and Jean-Pierre Kunstle)

It also ran in SCCA races around the U.S. before being tracked down and restored by a Porsche collector in the 2000s. Since then, it’s been shown here and there. It’s got a pre-sale estimate of $5,500,000-$7,500,000, which seems low considering with 550 Spyders go for and the race history this car has. Anyway, you can found out more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Trident Venturer

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1971 Trident Venturer Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Trident Cars Ltd was one of many low-volume sports car manufacturers that operated in the U.K. between the 1950s and 1970s. Their first car, the Clipper, was born out of a TVR prototype that TVR decided not to build. So one of their dealers, Bill Last, set up Trident cars to make it.

The Clipper was followed by the Venturer in 1969. Styling was similar, but instead of the Clipper’s V8, the Venturer received a 3.0-liter Ford V6 and a lengthened Triumph TR6 chassis. Production ceased in 1974, and an attempted restart in 1976 saw a few cars built before Trident closed for good in 1977.

About 84 Venturers were built, making it the most common of Trident’s models. This one was restored in the late 1990s and now has an estimate of $23,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,926.

Graber-Bodied TC 21/100

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1955 Alvis TC 21/100 Coupe by Graber

Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | June 18, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Another Thursday, another Graber-bodied Alvis. Some of the Graber-bodied cars from Alvis looked pretty much like their factory counterparts. But this car is a far cry from the stock and stodgy TC 21/100 “Grey Lady.” The TC 21 went on sale in 1953. The TC 21/100 was introduced in October of that year.

It featured an updated exhaust system and and an increased compression ratio over the initial model. The engine was a 3.0-liter inline-six that made 100 horsepower initially, but with the changes, the updated model could hit 100 mph.

Only 11 TC 21/100s were bodied by Graber (only five of them were coupes), and this one was sold new in Switzerland. It was restored in the last few years and has an estimate of $90,000-$110,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $104,814.

Alvis TD 21 by Graber

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1959 Alvis TD 21 Coupe by Graber

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Lucerne, Switzerland | June 3, 2023

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Alvis’s TD 21 was produced after their TC 108G and before their TE 21. Sold between 1958 and 1963, the TD 21 was split between two series, with this example being one of 784 cars produced in the Series I range between 1958 and 1961.

“Factory” body styles were actually produced by Park Ward and were styled as a four-seat coupe our a four-seat drophead coupe (convertible). Except when they weren’t. Graber, a Swiss coachbuilder, bodied about 50 examples of the TD 21 (along with other Alvises).

This one received coupe coachwork by Graber, and it was restored around 2011. Power is provided by a 3.0-liter inline-six that made 115 horsepower when new. The cars were capable of just over 100 mph. This one has an estimate of $115,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

Ghibli SS

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1972 Maserati Ghibli SS Coupe

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | June 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Simply, this car exemplifies great, classic, Italian styling. It is among the handsomest grand tourers of the era, with styling penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia. The first Ghibli debuted at the 1966 Turin Motor Show with power from a 4.7-liter V8.

The SS variant arrived in 1969 with a 4.9-liter V8 rated at 330 horsepower. Convertibles also arrived in ’69. This coupe was originally a different color but was repainted blue in 2007. It also has a light beige interior and a modern stereo. It’s made to be used.

In all, 1,170 Ghibli coupes were produced through 1973. Just 425 of those were SS coupes powered by the 4.9-liter engine. This one has a few days left, and you can view more about it here.

Update: Sold $237,000.

300B by Boano

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1956 Chrysler 300B Coupe Speciale by Boano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Chrysler had quite the Italian coachbuilding hookup in the 1950s. But this car really wasn’t their creation. It was built at the behest of Gianni Agnelli, of the family that owned Fiat. Why he chose a Chrysler 300B is beyond anyone, but he did. And this is the result.

It’s different but pretty similar to the other Chrysler Ghia specials of the era (Felice Boano had worked at Ghia before starting out on his own). Just 1,102 Chrysler 300Bs were built in 1955, and they were powered by a 5.8-liter FirePower V8 that made 355 horsepower.

This is one of two Boano-bodied cars on an American chassis with an American engine (this is the other). Agnelli did not take delivery of the car, as Fiat/Chrysler was still decades and decades away. It came to the U.S. in 1989 and was restored after its current owner bought it in 2018. Awards at Pebble and Villa d’Este followed. Now it’s for sale, and you can read more here.

Update: Sold $1,105,000.

’56 Lincoln Premiere

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1956 Lincoln Premiere Coupe

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 12-20, 2023

Photo – Mecum

This is the best Lincoln of the 1950s. I mean, the Continental Mark II is pretty great, but it’s not technically a Lincoln. The ’56 Premiere, specifically a coupe in pink, is one of the ideal ’50s American cruisers.

The Premiere nameplate debuted for 1956, and a second generation would launch in 1958 before disappearing after 1960. Three body styles were offered this year, and this example is one of 19,619 coupes made.

Power is provided by 6.0-liter V8 rated at 285 horsepower. The want is strong, and it’s unclear if this one has been restored, but the interior doesn’t appear so (it’s two-tone white and pink just like the exterior). Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $40,700.

MyCar Coupe

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2009 MyCar Coupe

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | April 8, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The MyCar, which was a Giugiaro-designed city car that was produced in Hong Kong by the NICE Car Company, was sold for just a brief time. They were available in the U.K. and cost £9,995 when new.

Kind of steep for an electric microcar that had a range of 60 miles and topped out at 40 mph. They went on sale in the summer of 2009, and later that year the remains of the NICE Car Company were acquired by Aixam in France. So just about a half a year or so of production.

This car, which is actually quite good looking, has covered 350 miles since new and was fitted with new batteries prior to the auction. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $6,168.

Update: Sold, Historics July 2023, $3,195.

Venturi 111 Cup

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1991 Venturi Coupe 111 Cup

Offered by Broad Arrow Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo – Broad Arrow Auctions

For such a small company, Venturi sure produced a lot of different models. Or at least a lot of sub-models off of its early MVS Venturi Coupe platform. Their coupe models were produced between 1987 and the mid-1990s with essentially the same styling. Tweaks came for the Atlantique 300 of 1996.

The 111 Cup was a car aimed at the Italian market and built in 1991 and 1992. Italy had some big taxes on cars over 2.0 liters in capacity, and other Coupe/Transcup models exceeded that engine size. So they decided to swap those out for a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four sourced from Renault. It made 185 horsepower.

It’s thought that only three examples of this model were produced. This one has a remarkably low (claimed) 350 kilometers on it since new. The pre-sale estimate is $90,000-$110,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $56,000.

Fiat 1400 Rondine Coupe

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1952 Fiat 1400 Rondine Coupe by Stabilimento Monviso

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 2-3, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

The 1400 was Fiat‘s first all-new post-war model when it went on sale in 1950. It would be produced through 1958, while the similar 1900 model was sold from 1952 through 1959. The 1400 was marketed by the factory as a four-door sedan.

There were some coachbuilt versions of the 1400, however, including this stylish coupe. It was bodied by a small Turin-based coachbuilder called Stabilimento Monviso, who would be acquired by Ghia in 1955. Styling was actually by Giovanni Michelotti, and a small number of these “Rondine” coupes were built between 1950 and 1953.

It has suicide doors and two-tone paint. Power is from a 1.4-liter inline-four that was rated at 44 horsepower with a single Weber carburetor. The pre-sale estimate is $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $89,600.