599 “Alonso Edition”

Posted on October 10, 2023 by classiccarweekly

2012 Ferrari 599 GTB 60F1 Alonso Edition

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | November 4, 2023

Ferrari’s 599 GTB was offered for the model years 2007 through 2012. Its first year was when Kimi Raikkonen won the F1 championship for the Scuderia, Ferrari’s most recent championship season. So they were flying high when this car launched.

But by the time it was about to exit production, their F1 world had grown darker, despite the hiring of two-time champion Fernando Alonso. For 2012, they sold about 40 units of this special edition, which was named to celebrate 60 years of winning in F1. It’s associated with Alonso because the announcement came on the heels of his 2011 British Grand Prix victory.

The car is based on the 599 HGTE, meaning it is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 good for 612 horsepower, The HGTE was essentially a handling package with revised suspension details. The estimate here is $240,000-$300,000. For more info, click here.

Ford’s Burma Jeep

Posted on September 14, 2018 by classiccarweekly

1943 Ford GTB

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 25-27, 2018

Photo – Mecum

Every American automobile manufacturer that survived the Great Depression produced vehicles of some kind for the war effort during WWII. Ford produced planes, jeeps, trucks, and more (yeah, okay, so one of those links is for a truck Ford built for the Nazis). This is sort of a hybrid Jeep-Truck. It is often referred to as a “Burma Jeep.”

These were heavily used by the Navy and Marines, primarily in the Pacific Theater of the war. A 90 horsepower straight-six provided power to all four wheels. Five different variants were built, and this looks like a regular base model truck for cargo or troops. They came equipped with a huge winch and dual rear wheels. They were meant to go trouncing through the jungle. And that’s just what they did.

This one shows pretty well – and the odometer has less than one mile on it. So it’s probably pretty fresh (or that gauge isn’t working). This is the first one of these I can remember seeing at auction. It’s a cool piece of American military history and you can read more here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $8,800.

A Ferrari Rally Car

Posted on May 16, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1976 Ferrari 308 GTB Group B by Michelotto

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 18, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

When one thinks of Ferrari race cars, they think of Formula 1 or sports cars. Hardly anyone pictures rally cars. And yet, that’s what we have here. Not only a Ferrari rally car, but a Ferrari 308 rally car – one of the cheapest Ferraris money can buy today.

But this car ain’t cheap. Let’s start with a little history… the FIA brought about Group B rally in 1983. Michelotto built and campaigned Ferrari race cars and they jumped at the chance race in Group B. But Ferrari didn’t want to build 25 homologation specials in order to take it racing. So Michelotto took standard road-going cars and turned them into rally cars. No specials needed if the road car is quick enough to be made into a racer. The engine is a 2.9-liter V-8 making 288 horsepower.

This is a 1976 Ferrari (the 308 was fiber glass until 1977, when it became steel) that Michelotto converted to rally status in 1983. They only built four of them and this is the first and most successful of those four, having won the Spanish rally championship and coming in as “Vice-Champion” in Italy (which makes it sound like a proponent of gambling and drugs). The other three cars all had more powerful engines.

You can pick up a road-going 308 for about $35,000. If you want a Michelotto Group B 308, be prepared to shell out between $760,000-$1,000,000. Yikes! Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Spa sale lineup.

Update: Sold $835,136.