Tag Archives: historics auctioneers

Kougar Sports

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1968 Kougar Sports SB

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 12, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Kougar Cars was founded by Rick Stevens in 1979 in the U.K. So why is this car listed as a 1968? Well, that’s just what it’s titled as, since the car that gave its life for this Kougar to be born was built in 1968.

There were a lot of less-than-stellar kit cars available circa 1980, but the Kougar wasn’t based on a Beetle pan. Stevens offered a tubular chassis designed to incorporate the suspension and drivetrain from a Jaguar S-Type sedan. The bodywork was especially sporty given the time, and Historics likens it to the Healey Silverstone or Frazer Nash TT Replica of decades prior.

This car is powered by a 4.2-liter Jaguar XK inline-six and apparently carries the chassis tag (and probably suspension components) from a Daimler SP250. The pre-sale estimate is $50,000-$59,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $43,140.

Formosa 120 GR

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1967 Formosa 120 GR

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Weybridge, U.K. | November 27, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Okay, so this car is not from 1967. Formosa has only been building cars for a few years, and this one was built around a 1967 Triumph Herald. That means that the chassis is from 1967, but the body and interior are fresh. This isn’t a replica of anything specific, but is more in the fashion of 1950s/60s sports specials which was: applying a sporty body to a less sporty chassis.

Power is from a 2.0-liter inline-six, which is not a Herald motor, but is likely from a Triumph Vitesse. If so, it was a 95-horsepower engine when new. The body is fiberglass, and the interior is 1950s-sports-racer spartan.

There are more than one of these floating around. This right-hand-drive example carries a pre-sale estimate of $28,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Excalibur Sedan

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1988 Excalibur Series V Sedan

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | September 25, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Excalibur sort of invented the neo classic. The first Excaliburs were actually produced in 1952 and looked nothing like this. They were sports cars based on a Henry J chassis. The whole endeavor was a series of false starts. The ones we all know first went on sale in the mid-1960s, and they remained in production under a few different corporate umbrellas up until about 1990. They spawned countless look-a-likes, such as Zimmer, Clenet, Tiffany, and more.

Styling was originally reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz SSK and was penned by Brooks Stevens for Studebaker. Studebaker went out of business, so SS Automobiles was set up in Milwaukee in 1965. That company gave way to Excalibur Automobile Corporation in 1986 after a bankruptcy. It was owned by the Stevens family, and that’s where the Series V came from. It was offered as a sedan and limousine.

This car is powered by a V8, likely from Ford. Excaliburs aren’t something you see everyday, but the sedan versions are especially uncommon. This one is expected to sell for between $25,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $26,880.

Bowler Wildcat

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2001 Bowler Wildcat 200

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | September 25, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Bowler Wildcat is sort of a legendary off-roader, thanks in large part to its appearance on Top Gear in the early 2000s. The Wildcat is essentially a heavily modified Land Rover Defender. It was introduced in 1998 and remained available through 2007.

This example is the fourth Wildcat produced. It was used competitively, winning Baja-style rallies in 2006 in France and the U.K. It’s powered by a 5.0-liter V8 that was recently rebuilt and makes 334 horsepower.

It’s pretty much just a road-legal trophy truck. And a pretty cool one at that, especially if you remember its appearance on TV. This one is expected to sell for between $83,000-$94,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $75,517.

Tatra 603 II

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1974 Tatra 603 II

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | September 25, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Tatra 603 was introduced in 1956 as a more modern take on the company’s streamlined cars of earlier decades. That car was supplanted by the 2-603 in 1962, and the second generation of that car, the 603 II arrived in 1968. It lasted through 1975.

It’s powered by a rear-mounted, air-cooled 2.5-liter V8. Other updates for this model included four-wheel disc brakes and a seating re-arrangement to hold five people. Most of these were sold to officials in countries friendly with Czechoslovakia. You know, all of the ones the U.S. didn’t get along with.

Production totals are unclear, but this car was once owned by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. It was rebuilt by the Tatra factory in the 1990s and is now expected to sell for between $38,000-$52,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn from sale.

Cadillac 30 Roadster

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1910 Cadillac Model 30 Roadster

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Slough, U.K. | July 17, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Cadillac’s Model 30 was produced from 1909 through 1911. It was their only model those three years and was based on a design stemming from 1906 (although it was called by different names then, including the Model G). The four-cylinder model would continue one essentially unchanged through 1914.

The engine is a 4.2-liter inline-four that was rated at 33 horsepower when new. In 1909 and early 1910, you could only get the 30 as an open car. Limousines and coupes didn’t come until mid-1910. Two roadsters were available at $1,600 each. This is the two-seat roadster.

It was restored over time, and the body is said to have been fitted about 100 years ago. So I guess that makes it close enough to being “original.” It is expected to fetch between $37,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $46,194.

Bandini 1100 Sport

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1951 Bandini 1100 Sport

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot, U.K. | May 15, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Bandini Automobili was a small boutique automaker based in Forli, Italy, between 1946 and 1992. It was founded by Ilario Bandini and was not associated with Ferrari F1 driver Lorenzo Bandini. The company’s cars were produced mainly for racing, with their Siluros taking multiple SCCA championships in the 1950s.

Bandini cars were also seen at the Mille Miglia, Formula 3, world endurance races, and more. The 1100 was produced between 1947 and 1950, mainly with Motto-sourced sports car bodies. The 1.1-liter inline-four engine was sourced from Fiat and modified with a twin-cam head from Alfa Romeo. Horsepower was rated at 65.

This car carries an open-wheel-style body and was restored in 2017. Just 46 Bandinis are known to exist, and this one should fetch between $105,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Evante Mk I

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1988 Evante Mk I

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot, U.K. | May 15, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Evante Cars Ltd was founded by George Walter Robinson in Spalding, England, in 1987 as an offshoot of Vegantune, a restorer of Lotus Elans. Vegantune found opportunities for improving the Elan, thus the formation of Evante to build a “modern” Elan.

The Evante roughly shares the Elan’s looks and is bodied in fiberglass over a tubular steel spaceframe chassis. This car is powered by a Ford-based 1.7-liter inline-four rated at 170 horsepower. The cars were built to order at a time when the global economy was in a recession. So it didn’t go great.

Production stopped in 1991, and the rights to the design passed between a few other companies over the years, with an Evante Mk II appearing later on in the 1990s. This Vegantune-era example carries a pre-sale estimate of $16,000-$22,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $16,811.

Austin Metropolitan

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1956 Austin Metropolitan Coupe

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot, U.K. | May 15, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

A few weeks ago we featured a Nash Metropolitan, which is what this car is usually referred to as. But, it was actually built under four different brands including Nash, Hudson, Metropolitan, and Austin. The easy way to identify an Austin is the right-hand-drive layout.

Actually, Austin built them all and then shipped most of them to the States for sale by Nash/Hudson/AMC. Metropolitans aren’t uncommon in the US (I love them), but the Austin version sure is. This one is still in England though.

Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-four (sourced from the Austin A50 Cambridge) that made about 68 horsepower. While the Metropolitan launched in the US in 1953, they didn’t go on sale in the UK until the very end of 1956, making this a very early UK model. Austin-branded production continued through 1959. There were no ’60 models in the UK, and 1961 cars were just known as “Metropolitans” as they were in the US. Both coupes and convertibles were available.

This one looks good and should bring between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $16,992.

Jaguar XJS Celebration

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1995 Jaguar XJS Celebration Convertible

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | April 17, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The XJS was Jaguar’s follow-up to the E-Type. Introduced in 1975, variants of the car would remain in production through 1996. The final generation of the XJS launched in 1991, and two different engines were available: a 4.0-liter inline-six or a 5.3-liter V12.

This car, sadly, has the six, which was rated at 237 horsepower when new. I’ve always felt like if you’re going to buy one of these, you might as well get the overly-complicated and still-not-that-much-more-powerful V12. Bragging rights. So why are we featuring this car? Because it’s a wonderful shade of teal. That’s why.

The Celebration edition, I think, was to celebrate that Jaguar had saved on development costs by not completely redesigning this car after 20 years. They built 115,413 XJS cars in 21 years, which is pretty impressive. This one has about 10,000 original miles and should sell for between $34,800-$41,700. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $62,605.