Vauxhall PA Cresta

1959 Vauxhall Cresta

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Brooklands, U.K. | November 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Cresta was Vauxhall’s executive car, the largest in the lineup when it went on sale in 1954. The second generation, the PA, arrived three years later in 1957 sporting very American styling, with tailfins and chrome galore.

Between 1957 and 1962, 81,841 examples of the Cresta were built between the four-door sedan and wagon. For the first few years of production, the cars featured a 2.3-liter inline-six carried over from the previous generation. It made 82 horsepower. A 2.7-liter unit would appear in 1961.

It took five years to restore this example, which is one of just 32 still registered in the U.K. It’s big by British standards, and stylish too. The estimate is $22,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Matra-Simca Bagheera

1979 Matra-Simca Bagheera X

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Bicester, U.K. | September 23, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Here is a forgotten sports car. Matra, who did not build many cars under their own name (but when they did, they were weird), teamed up with semi-established-but-fading automaker Simca to launch the Bagheera in 1973. The car was marketed as the Matra-Simca Bagheera until 1980, at which time Chrysler Europe failed and was taken over by PSA. It was then sold as the Talbot-Matra Bagheera in 1980.

Various sub-models were offered, including the 1977-1980 “X”. This specified a 1.4-liter inline-four that was good for 90 horsepower. Like all Bagheeras, and the follow-up Murena, the car features three-across bucket seating. Which is really weird.

Just 1,440 examples of the X (and Jubile, combined) were produced. It’s a right-hand-drive car (one of 57 converted aftermarket) and wasn’t initially registered until 1982. The car was restored between 2014 and 2020. It now has an estimate of $15,000-$21,000. Click here for more info.

Quattroporte Evoluzione

1999 Maserati Quattroporte Evoluzione

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Bicester, U.K. | September 23, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Quattroporte nameplate has been around with Maserati since the early 1960s. Each generation looked completely unlike the last, and the Marcello Gandini-styled fourth generation went on sale in 1994. It was angular and boxy, which was Maserati’s styling theme for the ’90s.

Maserati was also not a major volume player during the decade, even though they had been recently taken over by Fiat prior to this car launching. In 1997, Ferrari took a 50% stake in Maserati and helped them freshen up, which is where the Quattroporte Evoluzione came from. Power is provided by a twin-turbocharged 3.2-liter V8 good for 330 horsepower. Two V6s were also offered.

Production ended in 2001, with just 2,400 examples built, and only 730 of those were Evoluzione cars. They are quite rare and have also aged very well. This right-hand-drive example has an estimate of $16,000-$22,000. More info can be found here.

MG XPower SV

2004 MG XPower SV

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Datchet, U.K. | July 22, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Here we go. The XPower SV was MG’s last sports car hurrah before being acquired by Nanjing Automobile. It was also completely out of the blue and unlike any other MG sports car before it. Just 82 were produced between 2003 and 2005.

Power is from a 4.6-liter Ford V8 that made 320 horsepower (a 5.0 making 385 horsepower was also offered in the SV-R). Body panels were constructed of carbon fiber, and other trim bits were lifted from other cars, including Fiats. All of this added up to a top speed of 165 mph and a 0-60 sprint of 5.3 seconds.

Sports cars built by a company that is struggling financially are always a risky proposition – MG had a hard time moving these, and some didn’t find owners until 2008. That said, they are pretty interesting and very fast. And they rarely change hands at auction. This one has an estimate of $43,000-$48,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $64,382.

Marcos Mantaray

1999 Marcos Mantaray 4.6

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Datchet, U.K. | July 22, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

It’s kind of amazing Marcos was still turning out sports cars in the late 1990s. They were like a smaller version of already-small TVR. Founded in 1959, the company really hit their stride in the late ’60s – and that basic design would continue on in updated form for the next 30 years.

The Mantaray was the replacement for the Mantara and went on sale in 1997. Two Rover V8s were offered, with the larger being the 4.6-liter unit this car has. Turbo fours could also be had. Just seven were built with this engine out of a total production run of about 27 cars.

This big-motor sports car has been with the current owner since 2005. It’s got under 15,000 miles and also has an estimate of $19,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $21,961.

Facel Vega HK500

1960 Facel Vega HK500

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Facel started out in 1939 in France – what great timing. The company was actually started by aircraft manufacturer Bronzavia. Jean Daninos took Facel over at the end of the war and started body manufacturing for automobiles. This all led up to the marque of Facel Vega being founded in 1954.

In 1959, they launched the HK500, which was an updated version of their earlier FVS. It had power from a 6.3-liter Chrysler V8 that made 360 horsepower. The HK500 would only be produced into 1961 before being replaced by the Facel II. Just 489 were built.

This right-hand-drive car was repainted in the last several years in a pretty excellent shade of gold with polished lower panels and coverless-bronze wheels. It looks mean, which, with 360 horsepower, it kind of is. It now has an estimate of $115,000-$140,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, but Historics won’t say for how much, probably to appease the prickly new owner.

MG ZT-T 260

2005 MG ZT-T 260

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

We’ve featured a ZT-T before, the model being the wagon – or estate – version of MG’s last large car, the ZT. It was produced between 2001 and the end of MG production in 2005. They are great looking cars, although I cannot vouch for their reliability or ease of sourcing parts.

The big difference here compared to the other ZT wagon we featured is that this is the monster. No sub-200-horsepower V6 here. This car has a 4.6-liter V8 rated at 256 horsepower. It also has a manual transmission, making it possibly the rarest combo. Less than 200 were so equipped. Top speed was 155 mph, and 60 arrived in 6.3 seconds.

The V8 was also the only version of the ZT available in a rear-wheel-drive layout. This one has 63,000 miles and an estimate of $10,000-$13,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $13,708.

Lotus Elite

1965 Lotus Elite Series 2

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Lotus Type 14 – sold under the name Elite – was a small, lightweight, classically British sports car sold between 1957 and 1963. Why this one is listed as a 1965 is beyond me. A two-seat coupe, the car featured a fiberglass monocoque and a steel sub-subframe for the engine and front suspension.

It was a pretty wild concept in the day and fraught with some issues, including the suspension pulling out of the fiberglass. Power came from a 1.2-liter Coventry Climax inline-four that made 75 horsepower in standard form and 85 horsepower in twin-carbureted SE spec.

This car has had quite a bit of work done, and its swoopy lines look great in white. About 1,030 Elites were produced before the name was re-used on a 1970s wedge-shaped 2+2 shooting brake. The estimate here is $43,000-$62,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $61,689.

Citroen CX GTi

1979 Citroen CX 2400 GTi

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The CX was Citroen’s replacement for the pretty-hard-to-top DS. It featured styling that was definitely evolutionary, and the thing remained on sale from 1975 through 1991. They built over 1.1 million units in that span.

Various engines were offered across a variety of trim levels. Most were four-door fastback sedans (some with a long-wheelbase chassis), while station wagons were also available. The 2400 GTi debuted in 1977 with power from a fuel-injected 2.4-liter inline-four that made about 125 horsepower. Don’t let the GTi name fool you. This was not a hot hatch.

But it did have hydro-pneumatic self-leveling suspension along with a very weird interior design (single-spoke steering wheel, no steering column stalks). This car has 36,000 miles as well as an estimate of $29,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, but Historics is being LAME and won’t tell anyone for how much.

BRA P-Type

1984 BRA P-Type

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | May 27, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

BRA (or Beribo Replica Automobiles) was founded by John Berry and Peter Ibbotson sometime around 1980. Their first product was this, the P-Type. They would later go on to build Cobra replicas and the Leighton, which was a Morgan 3-Wheeler replica. They are currently not active.

The P-Type was based around the MGB. This one uses the running gear from a 1964 model, including the 1.8-liter inline-four. The body work is very un-MGB, and is sort of vaguely immediate-post-war British in design.

This particular example was produced sometime around 1984, and in all, about 400 P-Types and Cobra replicas were built by the company before the end of that decade. This one has been in the same ownership for 17 years and has been used little in that time. It will now sell at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,153.