Mini de Tomaso

Posted on October 9, 2023 by classiccarweekly

1978 Innocenti Mini de Tomaso

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | October 14, 2023

Innocenti was founded in 1947 and is most famous for producing the Lambretta scooter. Beginning in the 1960s, they started manufacturing cars before they were taken over by Alejandro de Tomaso in 1976. Fiat gained control in 1990 and phased the marque out by 1996.

Innocenti actually sold Minis under license in the 1960s and ’70s. In 1974, they sort of continued, but sold Minis that had been redesigned by Bertone. They were branded “Innocenti Mini” and looked quite different than the ones coming out of England. The Mini de Tomaso was shown at the 1976 Turin Motor Show featuring a sportier appearance than the stock cars.

Power was up too, with the 1.3-liter inline-four outputting 78 horsepower by 1978. Outside of the Cooper S, this was the most “hot hatch” the original Mini ever was. The estimate is $20,000-$24,000. More info can be found here.

Three Italian Microcars

Posted on February 23, 2017 by classiccarweekly

1975 Casalini Sulky

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | March 8, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

Casalini bills itself as the oldest microcar company in the world. Not the first, the oldest. They sold their first microcar in 1969 and are still selling tiny vehicles in Europe today. They built this thing – with slight modifications over time – from 1971 through 2000.

Let’s talk about that name, “Sulky.” It seems like it would only by driven by depressed divorcees and people who just failed out of graduate school. Just imagine passing a parade of these things on the highway, all of the drivers sobbing and listening to Adele (okay, so a sulky is technically a type of one-seat horse-drawn carriage).

This car is powered by a 50cc single-cylinder (later cars had 60cc singles then 250cc twins) situated above the rear wheels (which are driven). While the outside of this car looks a little rough, the photos of the engine compartment make it seem very clean, so it might actually be a runner. It will sell at no reserve and you can see more photos here.

Update: Sold $1,701.

1960 Lambretta Li 175

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | March 8, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

Innocenti’s fame stems mostly from their line of Lambretta scooters that sold like crazy in Italy after WWII. They built a lot of cars too, but the Lambretta name is more well known than Innocenti’s. The first three-wheelers were badged as Lambrettas but later trucklets (there were vans too) were called the Innocenti Lambro.

This pickup model has a 175cc single-cylinder engine making 7 horsepower. This vehicle is listed in the auction catalog as a “circa 1960 Innocenti Lambro”, which, when coupled with the engine size, raises some questions. If it’s truly an Innocenti Lambro, it would be a Lambro 175 model, which was built from 1963 through 1965. There were also Lambretta-badged pickups with a 175cc engine built from 1959 through 1963. The real giveaway is the badging on it which clearly makes it a Lambretta Li 175, likely a Series 2 model at that. Top speed is 38 mph in case you’re hellbent on setting land speed records.

These aren’t seen too often today (especially outside of Italy) and this one, which is kind of rough, should sell for between $1,875-$2,500. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,403.

1962 Moto Guzzi Ercole

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | March 8, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

This is (at least) the third commercial vehicle produced by a motorcycle manufacturer that we’ve featured. In the vein of the famous Vespa Ape and Lambretti Lambro, the Moto Guzzi Ercole is a scooter-based pickup truck (though this one seems larger). The Ercole was first introduced in 1946 by Moto Guzzi, Europe’s oldest continuously operating motorcycle manufacturer.

The Ercole would be made through 1980 and this one is powered by a hefty 500cc single-cylinder engine. This three-wheeler is really just a motorcycle up front (the inside of the “passenger compartment” is literally just a motorcycle) with a steel cage wrapped around it. The rear pickup bed is a dumper, which is nice. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,403.

Italian Mini

Posted on November 24, 2016 by classiccarweekly

1974 Innocenti Mini Cooper

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Milan, Italy | November 25-27, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The ubiquitous Mini. Produced nearly unchanged from 1959 through 2000 (!), Sir Alec Issigonis’ little two door car of the people is an absolute icon. It is the basis for countless kit cars, and was produced under the banner of quite a number of marques, including: Austin, Rover, Authi, Leyland, Mini (as a brand itself), and Innocenti.

Italian Innocenti built their version of the Mini between 1965 and 1975. They would build another car called the Mini which was based on this car, but carried Bertone bodywork that made it unrecognizable as such. It’s not listed, but we’d guess this car features a 1.3-liter straight-four.

This example is very nice and is ready for the road. The interior looks brand new and although Minis are relatively easy to find, their Italian cousin isn’t seen nearly as often. At any rate, this one should bring between $7,500-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $15,579.

March 2014 Auction Highlights Part II

Posted on April 5, 2014 by classiccarweekly

Here we are with our second March 2014 auction recap. The first part was all Amelia Island stuff (mostly). Now we have a couple more sales, first of which is Auctions America’s Ft. Lauderdale sale. Our featured car from this sale was a Heritage Edition Ford GT which brought an impressive $412,500. The top sale was this 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 for $825,000. It was the 23rd Cobra built.

Photo – Auctions America

Interesting cars were easily topped by this 1973 Intermeccanica Squire SS 100. It’s an SS 100 replica powered by a Ford straight-six. Only about 50 were built. This one sold for $13,475. Check out full results here.

Photo – Auctions America

The other half of this post covers Osenat’s March sale. Our two feature cars (the Rene Bonnet Le Mans and the 1902 Ache Freres) both failed to sell. The top sale was this 1971 Porsche 911 2.4S for $109,710.