Porsche 914/6 Murene Prototype

Posted on April 24, 2018 by classiccarweekly

1969 Porsche 914/6 Murene by Heuliez

Offered by Osenat | Strasbourg, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Porsche 914 was a sports car designed in collaboration with Volkswagen. It went on sale in 1969 and was built through 1976. It’s mid-engined and came with a flat-four or a flat-six in 914/6 configuration.

This car is unlike any other 914. First of all, it’s a closed coupe and not a targa, as the 914 was from the factory. It was designed by Jacques Cooper (who also designed the original French TGV high-speed train) and he took the design to Heuliez who had a car mocked up and then built.

It debuted at the 1970 Paris Motor Show and still used a 2.0-liter flat-six that makes 109 horsepower. Porsche was working with Karmann to build the cars and didn’t want to split the duties between two coachbuilders. Heuliez bought the car from the firm that Cooper was working for when he designed it and kept it until 2012 when they liquidated most of their collection. Since its recent acquisition, the new owner went through the car mechanically and made it fit to drive. It’s a one-off, coachbuilt Porsche Prototype and it should bring between $225,000-$275,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1998 Lamborghini Concept Car

Posted on April 18, 2013 by classiccarweekly

1998 Lamborghini Pregunta

For Sale at Autodrome Paris | Paris, France

Honestly, I’ve never heard of this car. But I’m no fan of concept cars and there are quite a few of them out there. But here’s the story on it:

Lamborghini was to be signed over to Volkswagen (or, more specifically, Audi) at the end of July of 1998. It was being bought by VW from Indonesian ownership (some of the darkest days of Lambo’s history). A few weeks before this was set to occur, Lamborghini contacted Heuliez – a French coachbuilder with a design office in Turin. They gave them a Diablo chassis and running gear and told them to go crazy and create a one-off supercar prototype. I guess they were burning any cash the company may have had left with the security of knowing VW would be plugging that gap soon anyway.

Lamborghini put all kinds of strict wording in their agreement that the car couldn’t be shown to the public without their approval and it must cast Lamborghini in a positive light. The result is certainly not the prettiest supercar or prototype ever created (although it does follow that 90s trend of outrageousness), but Lamborghini approved it anyway and it debuted at the Paris Auto Show in 1998. Then it went to the Geneva show in 1999.

The engine is a 530 horsepower version of the Diablo’s 5.7-liter V12. Unlike some of the Diablos, this car is rear-wheel drive only. I’ve looked at all the photos available on the website that contains the listing and I can’t find a Lamborghini badge on it anywhere. Everything says Heuliez, the company that created it. It was shown at auto shows as a Lambo though, so whatever. I usually say “concept cars don’t count” but in any case I’d call it a Lamborghini. Just one that came about during a turbulent era. VW quashed all independent design projects Lambo had going on as soon as they were acquired.

Heuliez encountered significant financial troubles in 2010 and last year, most of the concept vehicles they had retained over the years were sold off at auction. This one escaped and was acquired by a dealer in Paris, where it is currently for sale for an undisclosed amount. Click here for more.

Artcurial Le Mans Highlights (7/7/12)

Posted on July 22, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Artcurial’s July 7th, 2012, auction held at Le Mans was an interesting one. Among the many exotics and classics, there was a small collection of Ligiers, quite a few race cars, and a large collection of one-off cars built by Heuliez. Top sale went to this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTC in deep maroon for $1,961,553.

Our featured Audi R10 TDI failed to sell. So did the Liger JS2. A Ligier JS1 followed the JS2 across the block and it too failed to reach reserve. The following two Ligier Formula One cars were then both withdrawn from the sale. The fifth and final Ligier, a 1985 JS6D sold for $3,305.

Our featued Simca Butagaz promotional vehicle sold for $30,346. And the Peugeot 905 Evo 1B brought $833,855. Other interesting sales (and there were many) included this 1966 ASA RB Type 613 1300GT for $379,329.

This 1979 Marcos Mini Marcos Mk IV sold for $16,690.

Other race cars included a 1962 Terrier Mk 6 that brought $51,589 (below) and a 1988 WM P88 Le Mans prototype that sold for $151,732 (second below).

The WM prototype was from the Heuliez Collection. Heuliez designs, and in some cases produces, cars for various automakers, usually European. They specialize in convertibles (lately, retractable hardtops) and station wagons. They’ve even built a few prototypes of their own to showcase what they can do. They sold a bunch of cars from their collection including all of the following, beginning with two cars designed and built by Heuliez. First the 1992 Raffica Concept which sold for $4,552. And following that, the 1986 Atlantic “Stars & Stripes” concept, which sold for $3,035.

There were a few Heuliez prototypes based on German cars, namely this 1969 Porsche 914-6 Murene, which brought $54,623 and the 1998 Mercedes-Benz G Intruder concept which brought the exact same amount.

Two other concepts, both French, included this very 1970s Peugeot 204 Taxi “H4” of 1972, which brought for $25,036 (orange car below) and this 1990 Citroen Scarabee d’Or Concept (tan roadster below), which sold for $9,104.

One of the more road-going (or off-road-going) prototypes was this c.1988 UHM-Heuliez VLH 4×4 which looks quite rugged and sold for $9,104.

And finally, an actual road-going car, a 1941 Peugeot VLV Electrique, a small electric car made at the onset of WWII. It is just one of 377 built and it sold for $22,760.