Tag Archives: gt

Jensen GT

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1975 Jensen GT

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | July 8, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Brothers Richard and Alan Jensen built their first Austin Seven-based cars in the mid-1920s. In the 1930s they began modifying Fords before turning to full scale production of their own designs in 1935.

In 1972 the company introduced the Jensen-Healey, the best-selling car in company history. It was a two-door convertible that lasted through 1976, when the company folded. A year prior to that, they presented this “shooting brake” version of the Jensen-Healey, and called it the GT. This wagon-esque car featured a tiny rear seat and shared the Healey’s 2.0-liter straight-four (which was a Lotus-designed engine) that makes 144 horsepower.

This is, perhaps, the best-looking Jensen GT I’ve ever seen. Well-restored, it’s a 61,000 mile car in bright Atlantic Blue with a large cloth sunroof, chin spoiler and wire wheels. The GT was only produced for a span of eight months, with just 511 cars constructed before Jensen closed up shop. This one should bring between $17,900-$23,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $20,194.

APAL Horizon

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1968 APAL Horizon GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 9, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

APAL began as a Belgian company that built cars based on Volkswagens and Porsches, beginning in Liege in 1961. As the years went on, APAL turned more toward replicas and beach buggies, eventually relocating to Germany in 1998. They still sell kits and parts today.

Edmond Pery, the founder of APAL, understood fiberglass: how to make it and why it was great for cars. The Horizon was an original design that kind of resembles a VW Beetle-based kit car of the era… like a Bradley or something. This car is VW-powered as a 1.7-liter flat-four sits well behind the passenger compartment. It puts out an impressive 100 horsepower.

Good news for sun lovers: this car is technically a targa: the roof panel is removable and can be stowed on board. This particular example has been restored and has never been road registered, making it, essentially, a brand new car. Only 10 Horizon GT Coupes were built out of a total of about 150 APAL coupes of original design. This rarity should bring between $53,000-$74,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $31,969.

Cheetah GT

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1964 Cheetah GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monterey, California | August 19, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Shortly after the sporty Corvette went on sale, tuners got their hands on it and began modifying it for racing. Bill Thomas was one of those tuners and he began his career in 1956. GM was impressed and paid him to help with the Corvair and Chevy II.

Thomas also opened Bill Thomas Race Cars in 1960 in Southern California. When Ford partnered with Shelby, General Motors felt a little left out and went to Thomas to see what could be done about it. Thing was, GM had a ban on factory racing so they had to support the program covertly.

So Bill Thomas and Don Edmunds designed the Cheetah. Chevrolet supplied the 400+ horsepower 5.5-liter V-8 and a bunch of other parts. The first two cars were bodied in aluminium by California Metal Shaping. After GM gave the thumbs up, the rest of the cars were fiberglass, done by Contemporary Fiberglass. GM wanted 100 cars to homologate it for FIA competition but they cancelled their support after only 11 cars were made between 1963 and 1965.

This is the fourth fiberglass Cheetah built. It was one of three purchased by Alan Green Chevrolet in Seattle and the only one of those to see action on the track, competing in the SCCA. A subsequent owner converted it for street use, which included stamping his own serial number on the chassis and replacing the body. In 2012, the original body was put back on the car.

There were extra chassis and bodies completed, but only 11 actual cars were ever built, turn-key, by the factory. These are legendary American performance machines that are much rarer than Shelby’s counterpart (and also like the Cobra, originals are way outnumbered by replicas). They rarely change hands and this fully restored example should bring between $300,000-$500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

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.

Diablo GT

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2001 Lamborghini Diablo GT

Offered by Coys | Monaco | May 14, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The Lamborghini Diablo was one of the best supercars of the 1990s. It was the brand’s main model and was in production between 1990 and 2001. It started production while Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler and continued through Megatech’s rocky years and on into the “present” under the stewardship of Volkswagen’s Audi.

The Diablo got a slight facelift in 1999 and there had been various models of the Diablo produced previously and that continued right up until the end. One of the final special edition models was the GT. It was the “track day” variant – it had a spartan interior, more aggressive bodywork and a tuned engine. That engine is a 5.7-liter V-12 making 575 horsepower. It is rear-wheel drive.

Only 80 Diablo GTs were produced and they cost nearly $300,000 when new. They were never officially sold in the U.S. (though there are some cars here). This is car #73 and it is as it was from the factory, with the exception of a nicer radio (yes, those are the stock wheels). It’s been in Europe all its life and is expected to bring between $700,000-$775,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold, about $700,000.

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.

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.

Mustang Enduro Prototype

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1980 Ford Mustang GT Enduro Prototype

Offered by Auctions America | Hilton Head, South Carolina | October 31, 2015

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The third-generation “Fox body” Mustang was built between 1979 and 1993. Ford actually took them racing int the 1980s. In the early 80s, these racing IMSA Mustangs were very boxy and wide. So Ford had three road-going prototypes built in 1982 to “resemble” these boxy racing cars. This is one of them (the other two are red).

The engine is a 5.0-liter V-8 that has been modified to something that more resembles a race engine than the Fox body’s dorky 2.3-liter straight-four base powerplant. Horsepower is generously “more than stock.” Everything else – from the shifter, transmission, drivetrain and suspension – has been customized.

This 14,000-mile car is a very rare prototype and one of the coolest Mustangs built in the 1980s – which, let’s be honest, wasn’t the nameplate’s high point. It should bring between $45,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $40,700.

Gordon-Keeble

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1964 Gordon-Keeble Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, England | June 26, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

There were some great, low-production British marques of the 1950s and 1960s that had style and performance and perhaps none are better than the Gordon-Keeble. The car came together because of the design talents of John Gordon and Jim Keeble. The steel body was designed by Bertone and it debuted in 1960 as the Gordon.

Production started in 1964 and the coupe was powered by a 5.4-liter V-8 from a Corvette good for 300 horsepower. Top speed was 140 mph and it could hit 60 in six seconds. The price was a little steep and in 1965 the company was re-organized and the final car was built in 1966.

Only 99 of these were built (until a 100th example was constructed in 1967 out of spare parts). They’re good-looking, powerful, fast cars. And their rarity is ensured forever. This example should bring between $92,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $125,550.

Peerless GT

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1959 Peerless GT

Offered by Russo & Steele | Newport Beach, California | June 5-7, 2015

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

The Peerless GT is a very attractive four-seat grand tourer that was built in limited numbers in the U.K. between 1957 and 1960. It was the only car Peerless ever built, even though the company could trace its roots back to World War I, when they serviced American Peerless trucks.

It’s a fiberglass body and uses the drivetrain components from a Triumph TR3. The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making 100 horsepower, so it slightly out-powers the TR3. Some of these were used in racing and there was even a factory Le Mans effort in 1958. When Peerless folded in 1960, the car lived on through 1962 as the Warwick GT.

Only about 325 Peerless GTs were built. They certainly aren’t common but they are around. Seriously, this is a pretty car, isn’t it? Even if it’s a little Aston Martin-ish, it’s still distinct. $45,000 will buy you the best one around. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.