Tag Archives: coupe

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.

Touring-Bodied Alfa 6C 2500 Super Sport

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1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Coupe by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 2500 was really the best iteration of Alfa’s long-lived 6C line of cars. The 6C 2500 was introduced in 1938 and resumed production after the war, living on until 1952. Various versions were offered, including the Super Sport, which was available from 1939 through 1951.

The main Super Sport model was the coupe, of which 413 were built. This one carries attractive coachwork by Touring. It rides on a shortened 2,700mm wheelbase and was powered by a 2.4-liter inline-six good for 110 horsepower. Top speed was just over 100 mph.

This one led the sad life of many cars of this era: it was acquired in Europe by a US serviceman (awesome) and brought back to the U.S. It eventually worked its way up through tiers of collectors (less awesome) before someone spent half a million and seven years restoring it. It’s too bad regular people can’t buy cars of this caliber like they used to and that some dude who had “three other examples” had to keep hoarding. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Rohr Prototype

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1933 Rohr Tatzelwurm Coupe

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Rohr was founded by Hans Gustav Rohr, a WWI fighter pilot. Since Germany really wasn’t allowed to be too pro-military after the war, Rohr turned his focus to automobiles beginning in 1927. Their first car, the Type R sold in okay numbers, but the Depression really took the wind out of their sails. Mr. Rohr himself left the company to join Adler in 1931. The final Rohr cars were built in 1935.

This particular prototype started out as a 1933 Rohr Junior, which was actually a Tatra T.57 built under license. It features an air-cooled 1.5-liter flat-four and a body designed by Rohr engineer Karl-Wilhelm Ostwald. It features a streamlined sheet metal body with wood sides and floors.

It was used by the designer’s family for nearly 40 years before being laid up and later discovered by the consignor. It’s in original condition and carries an estimate of $54,000-$87,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $41,595.

T26 Grand Sport Coupe

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1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Grand Sport was the short wheelbase sports car version of Talbot-Lago’s T26, which was their first car introduced after WWII in 1946. The T26 hung around through 1953. This particular Grand Sport, one of just 36 built, was ordered new as a bare chassis by racing driver Andre Chambas.

Chambas designed the body himself in clay and supposedly had it built locally by Contamin, a company that actually built cabins for cranes. Power is from a 4.5-liter inline-six that made around 170 horsepower. Chambas took this car racing, including:

  • 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans – 17th, DNF (with Andre Chambas and Andre Morel)
  • 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans – 13th (with Chambas and Morel)
  • 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans – 17th (with Chambas and Morel)
  • 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans – 9th (with Chambas and Morel)
  • 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans – 52nd, DNF (with Chambas and Charles de Cortanze)

The original coupe body was removed after Le Mans in 1950 and replaced with an open style. This remained on the car until after Le Mans in 1953 (during which the car spun out, and the gearbox was subsequently ruined). The original coupe body was reinstalled at this time.

The car has had quite a few owners in quite a few countries since Chambas sold it in the mid 1950s. It’s a pretty fantastic looking car with a pretty remarkable (all privateer) racing history. Actually, this Talbot has more starts at Le Mans than any other. Pre-sale estimate? $2,150,000-$2,650,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $2,424,585.

Fiat 600D Vignale

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1963 Fiat 600D Coupe by Vignale

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Online | January 2023

Photo – Aste Bolaffi

Imagine a bunch of coachbuilt Chevrolet Cruzes running around. Only in Italy would a small city car spawn various different coachbuilt examples. The Fiat 600 was produced (in its Italian run) from 1955 through 1969.

The standard body style was a two-door sedan. It was built under license in other countries, and even as a small MPV called the Multipla. The 600D went on sale in 1962 and featured a 767cc inline-twin that made 32 horsepower.

This Vignale-bodied coupe looks nothing like a standard 600D, but it does retain the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It’s covered less than 600 miles since being restored. It is unclear how many Vignale coupes like this were built, but Vignale did build other styles on the 600 platform. The estimate here is $17,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

’96 Aston Vantage

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1996 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin Virage debuted in 1989 at a low point for Aston Martin. These were pretty exclusive cars, with about 40 made on average each year. In 1993, the Vantage showed up, wearing pretty much the same bodywork but with a twin-supercharged 5.3-liter V8. Output was rated at 550 horsepower. This thing was a monster in the early 1990s.

Top speed was around 191 mph. The craziest part was this was the base Vantage. There were more extreme versions than this. Meanwhile Ford took over Aston and put the DB7 into production with an inline-six. It’s like it was from a different company than whoever created this thing.

Just 280 examples of the Vantage coupe were produced. A true supercar with grand touring proportions, this Vantage carries an estimate of $75,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $124,424.