Lola T296

1976 Lola T296

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

Eric Broadley’s Lola Cars was a long-time race car manufacturer based out of the U.K. They built open-wheel and sports cars between 1958 and 2012. In the 1970s, one of their big focuses was prototype sports cars, which included fantastic-looking racers like this one.

The T290 series was introduced in 1972 and was produced for a few years in six different variants. In all, 108 examples of the series were built, including this T296, which was made for the 1976 season. It features an aluminum monocoque and was built to accept four-cylinder engines.

This was the first of eight T296 examples produced and was purchased new by Mader Racing Components. It’s competition history includes:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 52nd, DNF (with Georges Morand, Christian Blanc, and Frederic Alliot)
  • 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans – 40th, DNF (with Morand, Blanc, and Eric Vaugnat)
  • 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans – 48th, DNF (with Vaugnat, Daniel Laurent, and Jacques Boillat)

It’s competitive career ended after the 1980 season, but before the decade was out, the car was active again on the historic circuit. It featured a Ford-Cosworth engine in-period, but is now powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter BMW M12 inline-four. This car a green card into almost any historic automotive event, and it can now be yours. Click here for more info.

XK150 S Roadster

1960 Jaguar XK150 S 3.8 Roadster

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The XK150, which was produced from 1957 through 1961, was the final iteration of Jaguar’s first post-war sports car, the XK120. The XK120 of 1948 featured a 3.4-liter straight-six designed by William Heynes, and that engine remained in various production vehicles through 1992 (!).

The XK150, like the cars before it, was offered in three body-style configurations: coupe, drophead coupe, or roadster. It could also be had in base, SE, or S form. The S and SE cars were either powered by a 3.4-liter inline-six or a larger 3.8-liter inline-six. This car has the latter, which was rated at 265 horsepower with triple SU carburetors – the most of any XK120/140/150 variant.

This roadster, or OTS (open two-seater) in Jaguar parlance, is finished in cream over red and was restored in 1998. This is best of all of the early XKs, and it’s now offered by private sale. Click here for more info.

Alfa Tipo 33 TT 3

1972 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 3

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The World Sportscar Championship was a serious place to be in the 1970s. Some of the most legendary race cars of all time came out of manufacturer desperation to win in this series. Its golden era was roughly between 1966 and 1981, when Group C appeared and everything changed.

So it’s no wonder that Alfa Romeo’s “33” line of endurance racing prototypes was updated fairly frequently between 1966 and 1977. The Tipo 33/3 was introduced in 1967, and by 1969 they realized they could do better. They entered the Tipo 33 TT 3 beginning in 1971.

Differences included a steel space-frame chassis and redesigned cylinder heads for the 3.0-liter V8 that upped output to 440 horsepower (at a shrieking 9,800 rpm). This car was a factory Autodelta racer, and it’s competition history includes:

  • 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans – 4th (with Andrea de Adamich and Nino Vaccarella)

The car was sold in 1974 to a privateer and later passed through a number of collections. It raced at the Le Mans Classic in 2012 and was last on track there in 2018. Alfa shifted to 12-cylinders after this, making the 33 TT 3 the last great V8-powered Alfa prototype racer. It can now be yours, and more info is available here.

McLaren M8F

1972 McLaren M8F

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The McLaren M8A was a Can-Am car developed by Bruce McLaren himself for the 1968 Can-Am season. The suffix kept changing all the way down to the M8F as the car’s progression developed. Can-Am, if you recall, was the most badass racing series of all time. The rules were simple: two seats, closed bodywork over the wheels, and a roll hoop. Run whatcha brung.

The M8F was developed for the 1971 season and used a lengthened chassis, an aluminum monocoque, and lower bodywork when compared to earlier cars. The car was designed around a Chevy V8, and this car featured a 7.5-liter unit accompanied by two turbochargers when new. That equated to 930 horsepower. Since being retired, that monster engine was replaced by a naturally aspirated V8.

The car competed in the Interserie Championship in 1972 and 1973. Interserie was kind of like a European Can-Am series that would go even more bonkers as time marched on. The M8F was the final iteration of Bruce McLaren‘s Can-Am creation, and this one can now be yours. See more about it here.

Carrera RS Lightweight

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The classic longhood-style Porsche 911 was produced from 1965 until 1973. It reached its peak right at the end before the impact bumpers arrived. The Carrera RS (for Rennsport) debuted for 1973 and has become one of, if not the ultimate classic 911.

Available only in 1973, the Carrera RS 2.7 was powered by a 2.7-liter flat-six that was good for 207 horsepower. That might seem puny, but this is a driver’s car. In fact, it only exists because Porsche needed to homologate the 911 for racing. They ended up building 1,580 examples in 1973.

That number was split between Touring and Lightweight models, and a majority of them were Touring cars. Only 200 featured a lack of sound insulation, thinner glass, and thinner body panels. The Lightweight also lacked a radio, clock, glovebox, and more. This was the beginning of Porsche charging more for less.

Despite all of those missing items, this car was spec’d from the factory with an electric sunroof (one of only three Lightweights with that option). It’s finished in Light Yellow with the classic lower body graphics, and it will require quite the sum to take it home. Check out more about this car here.

Ferrari Police Car

1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Polizia

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The 250 GTE 2+2 was the first four-seat production car from Ferrari. The 250 road car line dated back to 1953, and the GTE was introduced in 1959. About 1,000 were built through 1963, and it remains one of the most affordable entry points into a Ferrari 250 GT today.

A 237 horsepower, 3.0-liter V12 drives this long-wheelbase car. But none of this is the story here. It’s the fact that this is a police car. And was when it was new. But how? Well, the story is that Armando Spatafora (an Italian cop) was dispatched to a high-performance driving program alongside three other officers.

After he completed the course, he was given this car, siren and all. Ferrari actually built a second example, but it was destroyed after only a few weeks on the job. This one remained with the Polizia for six years. It’s never been restored, just preserved by a series of owners. It’s possibly the coolest 250 GTE there is. You can read more about it here.

Lancia Delta S4 Group B

1985 Lancia Delta S4 Corsa Group B

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The Lancia Delta is a car closely associated with rallying. The first-generation of the Delta was built from 1979 through 1994, and there were a number of variants of this five-door hatchback, including sporty ones.

The Delta S4 is related to the standard Delta hatchback mostly in name only. It was a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive near-supercar designed with one purpose in mind: to win in Group B rallying, which of course was the pinnacle of rallying when it was introduced in 1982. Group B was a little too extreme, and the FIA dialed back the regulations after 1986.

Power is from a supercharged and turbocharged 1.8-liter inline-four good for 550 horsepower. Sixty arrived in 2.5 seconds. This thing is a beast, even by today’s standards. And don’t forget: they built 200 road-going versions.

This car is chassis #208 and was a works Lancia Martini test car before being sold to a partner team. The car actually wears the Jolly Club team’s ToTip livery and is wrapped in a Martini livery. This is one of the most serious Group B cars, and it can now be yours. Click here for more info.

Ferrari 412 T2

1995 Ferrari 412 T2

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

Ferrari’s 1994 World Championship car was the 412 T1, so naturally, 1995’s car was the 412 T2. The Scuderia retained their driver lineup of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, but they also prepared for the future and let their 1997 driver, Michael Schumacher, test this very car prior to him taking a race seat with the team.

This car’s 3.0-liter V12 was the last 12-cylinder powerplant to win an F1 race. Ferrari was the only team still running a V12 during this season, while others ran V10s and V8s. Too bad we can’t have such variety in the sport today.

This was the second 412 T2 chassis built, and its competition history includes:

  • 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix – 5th (with Jean Alesi)
  • 1995 Argentine Grand Prix – 2nd (with Alesi)
  • 1995 San Marino Grand Prix – 2nd (with Alesi)

The car was later tested by Schumacher at Fiorano and Estoril, and it was sold into private hands directly from team leader Jean Todt. To be able to say you own the “first Ferrari F1 car driven by Michael Schumacher” would be a pretty cool thing to be able to brag about. And now you can. Check out more about the car here.

Lancia Montecarlo Group V

1981 Lancia Montecarlo Turbo Group V

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The Lancia Beta was a front-engine, front-wheel-drive coupe introduced in 1972. Lancia really switched things up in 1974 with the Beta Montecarlo, a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupe or targa. It shared very little with other Betas, and by 1980 they dropped the “Beta” part of the name, and it was thereafter known as just the Montecarlo. The targa model was sold as the Scorpion in the U.S. in 1976 and 1977.

The Montecarlo Turbo was a racing variant built to compete in the FIA’s Group 5 class. This silhouette race car shared the road car’s center body section and engine block, and that’s about it. Power is from an Abarth-sourced turbocharged 1.4-liter inline-four that was good for 460 horsepower.

The specific competition history for this chassis is not clear, but the program was a success overall, leading Lancia to continue on with the LC1 and LC2 prototype racers. You can read more about this car here.

BMW M1 Procar

1980 BMW M1 Procar

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

How do you take one of the coolest “classical supercars” and make it look even more badass? Turn it into a killer race car for a one-make series, that’s how. BMW built 399 M1 road cars between 1978 and 1981, along with 53 race cars.

Those race cars were destined for the BMW M1 Procar Championship, a one-make series devised by the head of BMW Motorsport. Strange homologation rules sort of necessitated the series, which was run as a Formula One support series for the 1979 and 1980 seasons. The cars were also used in different sports car racing series all over the world.

M1 Procars were more or less ground-up race cars. They had big front and rear wings, among many other changes from the road cars, and they are powered by a 3.5-liter inline-six tweaked to make 470 horsepower (the road car made 273).

The race history for this car, #36, includes:

  • 1982 24 Hours of Daytona – 40th, DNF (with Joe Crevier, Fred Stiff, and Dennis Wilson)
  • 1982 12 Hours of Sebring – 19th (with Crevier, Paul Fassler, and Bob Zeigel)

The car was also driven by Al Unser Jr. prior to the 1982 season. It’s been completely restored and used in historic competition. The current owner bought it in 2012 and it’s now for sale in Europe. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2020, $913,000.