1994 Nissan 300ZX V8 IMSA GTS

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

So this may be a purely purpose-built, tube-frame race car with composite bodywork, but it does have your standard Z32 road car tail panel, which is excellent. Nissan was around for the Group C era, and they eventually transitioned to the GTS class in IMSA.

Initially, they started campaigning second-generation 300ZX race cars with their twin-turbocharged V6s. But those became a little too dominant for IMSA’s liking (in 1994, a 300ZX won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring outright before winning their class at Le Mans). So for 1995, IMSA outlawed the twin-turbo V6.

And Nissan said “okay, we’ll raise you two cylinders.” The next season’s cars, including this one, were powered by a 4.5-liter V8. Two such chassis were so equipped, and the racing history for this one, #008, includes:

1995 24 Hours of Daytona – 21st (with Steve Millen, Johnny O’Connell, and John Morton)

1995 12 Hours of Sebring – 5th, 1st in class (with Millen, O’Connell, and Morton)

This is a pretty serious machine that I suspect would be terrifyingly fast at 50%. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $156,000.

1974 Dino 246 GTS

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Sywell Park, U.K. | June 5, 2021

So, technically, Dino was a separate marque from Ferrari. This car does not have any Ferrari badging. Instead, that little yellow rectangle up front says “Dino” – which was the name of Enzo Ferrari‘s son who died in 1956. Three road cars were produced under the Dino marque, including the 206 GT/S, the 246 GT/S, and the 308 GT4. Even still, they are still generally referred to as “Ferrari Dino”s.

The 246 looked very similar to the 206 it replaced when it launched in 1969. It was the first “Ferrari” produced in massive numbers – 3,761 were made between the GT coupe and the GTS targa. Power is from a mid-mounted 2.4-liter V6 rated at 192 horsepower when new (in Europe… U.S.-spec cars had less power).

The GTS was sold between 1971 and 1974, and 1,274 were made. This right-hand-drive example is one of 72 finished from the factory in Nocciola Metallizzato. Two rare, sought-after options included Daytona-style seats (“chairs”) and Group 4-style fender flares (“flares”). This one has the standard seats, but it does have the flares. The pre-sale estimate (or “guide price” in Silverstone-speak) is $530,000-$600,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $536,485.