Tag Archives: historics at brooklands

Venturi Coupe 200

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1988 Venturi Coupe 200

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Venturi cars are so cool! I hope you like them, because there were quite a different number of models in the early days and I plan to feature each one of them as they come up for sale around Europe. These cars went on sale in 1987 and they were originally called the MVS Venturi before being renamed the Venturi Coupe.

The auction catalog lists this one as an MVS Venturi but I can’t find anywhere that lists the year the name switched over. It’s powered by a turbocharged 2.5-liter V-6 making 200 horsepower. The car was luxurious and sporty for its day.

The Coupe 200 was replaced after the 1990 model year. Only 194 were built – 104 of those were from 1988 alone. This was the most common of all Venturi automobiles, so that should say something about their rarity. This nearly 24,000 mile car should bring between $15,500-$19,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Historics’ May catalog.

Update: Sold $20,376.

Mex 52

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1978 Mex 52

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

The era of the Special – a unique, one-off automobile based around something else – is long gone. People just don’t do it anymore. Today, if someone wants a custom car they either customize a car they’ve purchased but leave it largely intact, start a company in hopes of building a supercar, or build a kit car. But Russell Mexone is one of very few people who just build their own cars.

He had already constructed two other specials before building this one in the early 1990s. He took a 1978 Jaguar (hence the car’s year listed above) and made a body for it. The 5.3-liter V-12 (yes, this is a 12-cylinder car) made 265 horsepower when new in 1978.

The car was made street legal prior to it being sold to its second owner sometime around 2010. The aluminium body was handcrafted thereafter by a Scottish company. A lot of money has been put into this and it is expected to bring between $23,000-$28,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

The Qantas Flyer

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1916 Talbot 4CY 15/20

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

In 1916, Talbot had yet to be taken over by Darracq (which would happen in 1918). In fact, production pretty much wound up by 1916 because of WWI and wouldn’t really restart until 1919, making this car among the last built before their wartime hiatus.

While it may have been one of the last built, it was at the same time a first: this car was the first automobile ever purchased by Qantas, the Australian airline. The 4CY is powered by a 2.6-liter straight-four making 38 horsepower. That’s enough to get it to 55 mph. Qantas’ purpose for this vehicle was that it was to be used as a recovery vehicle for downed aircraft, making jaunts into the Outback in order to rescue crew.

This car was discovered in the 1990s at one of Qantas’ “original sites.” It was restored in 2001 by its new Scottish owner and given a new body in the style of a “balloon car” – one that was used to rescue stranded hot air balloonists instead of airline crew. Since then, it’s covered nearly 10,000 miles in rallies and historic motoring events. It should sell for between $42,500-$52,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Alvis TE 21

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1964 Alvis TE 21 Drophead Coupe by Park Ward

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The TE 21 was the penultimate Alvis motorcar ever built. Introduced in 1963, the TE 21 would be offered as a coupe or convertible (er, Drophead Coupe) through 1966. Production on the next model, the TF 21, would wind up in 1967 and Alvis pretty much just became a defense contractor after that.

The TE 21 is powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six making 130 horsepower. These luxurious two-doors were sporty as well, with a top speed of about 110 mph. The body was based on a design by Graber of Switzerland but was massaged and built by Mulliner Park Ward of London. It’s a very attractive car.

This early example was ordered off the 1964 London Motor Show stand and was used regularly through 1975 when it was parked. Rediscovered in 2008 by its current owner, this car was extensively restored and shows beautifully. Showing just over 40,000 miles, this is one of just 352 TE 21s built – and less than 100 of those were drop tops. It should bring between $93,000-$105,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $203,761.

March 2017 Auction Highlights

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Before we dive into March, we’ve got a little unfinished business from February, starting with H&H Classics at Donington Park. We featured a Raleigh Safety Seven that failed to sell. The top sale was this 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Roadster for $93,500. Click here for complete results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Next up, the road car half of Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale. The top seller was this 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT for $546,940.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Evanta Barchetta we featured sold for $47,560. More results can be found here.

We’ll stay in the U.K. and head over to Historics At Brooklands’ March sale. The Microplas we featured failed to sell, but like at the H&H sale above, a barn find condition E-Type was the top seller. It’s a 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Roadster and it brought $179,044.

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

A previously-featured Bianchi that failed to sell three years ago at a different sale ended up selling here, bringing $21,347. And the AC 378 GT Zagato sold for $165,271. Click here to see what everything else brought.

Up next, Brightwells’ March Classic & Vintage sale. We featured three microcars from this sale and two of them, the Lambretta and Moto Guzzi sold for $3,403 each. The Casalini Sulky brought $1,701. The top sale was this 1956 Austin-Healey 100/4 BN2 for $58,350.

Photo – Brightwells

The GAZ Volga we featured went for an affordable $4,619. Complete results can be found on Brightwells’ website here.

Now finally, the first of the sales from Amelia Island: Bonhams. The top sale was a previously-featured Alloy-bodied Ferrari 250 Europa that sold for $2,227,500. Our Most Interesting award goes to this imposing 1911 Pierce-Arrow Model 48 Touring for $550,000.

Photo – Bonhams

The rare ReVere Touring car brought $137,500. The even-rarer (okay, it’s a one-off) Godsal sold for $214,500 while the early Knox brought $292,600. Click here for more.

Microplas Mistral

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1967 Microplas Mistral

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | March 4, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Imagine if you and a group of your car-loving friends decided to start building your own car because one of your friends’ family was big into the fiberglass business? Well that’s pretty much exactly how it went down for Microplas Ltd. In 1954, six members of a British car club formed a company that built shells to turn ordinary British cars into sports cars.

The first model was designed for the Austin Seven. The second car the company introduced was a roadster called the Mistral. It was a popular body style and a number of different companies marketed the body under various names. The Mistral, introduced in 1955, was intended for the Ford Ten, but the car you see here is based around the chassis of a Triumph TR3. And it has an engine from a TR4, which is a 2.1-liter straight-four which put out 105 horsepower when new.

The car was put together in the late 1960s and the fact that it is based on a Triumph is good news for anyone who has to work on it as parts are readily available. It’s an all-original car – a popular kit that is rarely seen today – and it should bring between $12,500-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

AC 378 GT Zagato

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2012 AC 378 GT Zagato Prototype

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | March 4, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The company formerly known as Auto Carriers Ltd. is one of Britain’s oldest manufacturers. Since the end of WWII, the company has mostly built sports cars, some of which were quite famous, like that little roadster called the “Ace.”

When the 1970s arrived, it brought tough times for AC. It was a bumpy road that saw the company began building replicas of the Shelby Cobra – a car based on their Ace. Bankruptcy, joint ventures, and corporate sales followed. Production of Cobra replicas moved Germany and then in 2012, the company showed this concept at the Geneva Motor Show.

With an original design by Zagato, the 378 GT is powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 from General Motors that makes 437 horsepower. New management had set up a deal to produce these cars in South Africa (where the Noble and Superformance Cobra were also built) by Hi-Tech Automotive. But somewhere along the way, it all fell apart. This was the only AC-badged 378 GT Zagato built (it also nearly entered full-scale production as the Perana Z-One but only 10 ended up being built. There may have been other AC’s but it is more likely that someone has re-badged a Perana).

This fully road-legal and registered “pre-production prototype” has been owned and cared for by AC Heritage at the Brooklands Motor Museum. It’s an exciting piece from one of the world’s legendary marques. The estimate on this car is $130,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $165,271.

November 2016 Auction Highlights, Part II

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We’ll start it off with H&H Classics’ Donington Park sale. We didn’t get to feature anything, but this 1973 BMW 3.0 CSi was the top sale at $60,880. Click here for complete results.

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

Next up, Mecum in Anaheim, California. The top sale was a car perfectly at home in Los Angeles, a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder that brought $1,475,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The Studebaker Stake Bed pickup truck we featured sold for $14,000. Click here for more results.

Hopping back across the Atlantic, we have Brightwells’ Classic & Vintage Cars sale for November. The top sale was this 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena for $80,836. The Middlebridge Scimitar was featured brought $6,218. All the results can be found here.

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

Another Ferrari top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy for $3,655,120 at RM Sotheby’s Duemila Route sale in Milan, Italy.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Porsche 959 sold for $1,078,560 and the Alfa Romeo 6C blew past its estimate selling for $167,776. The Alpine A110 went for $119,840 and the Innocenti Mini $15,579. Go here to see all of the results of this insane sale.

To keep with the Italian exotic theme, Historics at Brooklands had this 1990 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary sell as the top sale for $296,320.

Photo - Historics at Brooklands

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

We featured a number of cars from this sale, including a slew of microcars. The Tourette Supreme was the most expensive at $38,938. The Bamby and the Berkeley were downright cheap, bringing $5,006 and $5,284 respectively. The Zagato Zele fell somewhere in between at $16,687.

There were also some sports cars like the TVR Cerbera which was hammered for $28,508. The oddball Carver sold for $36,852 and, going back in time, one of the first Dellow cars built sold for $20,859. Click here for complete results.

Zagato Zele

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1974 Zagato Zele 1000

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | November 26, 2016

Photo - Historics at Brooklands

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

It seems like every design house has tried their hand at producing a car of their own. Bertone did it a couple of times, Ghia did it for most of the 1960s, and even Pininfarina got in the game in the 1980s. But nobody did it smaller than Zagato with their Zele electric car.

Built between 1974 and 1976, the rear-engined, rear-drive Zele was available in three models, the 1000, 1500, and 2000 – all so-named for their motor wattage. In all, about 500 were made. This is an early 1000 watt model and these all sported a 50 mile range. This model has only covered 99 km in its life. That’s just over a single charge!

This two-seater – in correct original orange paint with black stripe (one of seven original colors available) – was originally owned by another Italian company that worked in the electric car field. It should sell for between $14,500-$17,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $16,687.

Cerbera Speed Eight

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1999 TVR Cerbera 4.5L Speed Eight

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | November 26, 2016

Photo - Historics at Brooklands

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The TVR Cerbera is one of my favorite cars. Of all time. Ever. Why? No idea, really. Peter Wheeler bought TVR in the 1980s and introduced a series of sporty, exotic (and sometimes, downright weird) road cars through the 1990s and into the 2000s. The Cerbera was a 2+2 (a four-seat coupe, or a 3+1 in TVR parlance as the front seats were kind of offset so the rear passenger-side occupant had as much room as those upfront) that was available from 1995 through 2003.

Cerberas were generally eight-cylinder cars (a six was also offered), like this 4.5L Speed Eight that uses a 4.5-liter V-8 making 420 horsepower. Top speed was 185 mph and it will hit 60 in 4.1 seconds. It is a seriously quick car – but a handful as they didn’t have traction control. It’s a beast that takes some serious finesse to drive fast. They also never had the best reputation for quality, but who cares about reliability when you look this cool?

This car sports the wild TVR interior of the 1990s – it’s purple and has all the weird switch and gauge placements that made these cars famous. TVR built 271 Cerberas in 1999, supposedly, with a grand total of just 1,578 total. This one is really nice and for a while these were just used sports cars in the U.K. Now they are getting harder to find. Their prices are still relatively low, so get them before they all disappear – either into disrepair or into a million little pieces when they hit something or catch fire. This one should bring between $21,000-$28,000. That’s a steal and I wish I lived in the U.K. just so I could snag it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,508.