Tag Archives: jet

Muntz Jet

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1952 Muntz Jet

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 6-7, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Earl “Madman” Muntz was a businessman in Glendale, California, who acquired the rights to the Kurtis Sports, a car designed and produced by Frank Kurtis. Only 16 examples were built by Kurtis until Muntz took over production.

Production shifted to Illinois, and the design was tweaked somewhat to make the car longer. It’s still aluminum-bodied, and various engines were used during the course of the model’s 1950-1954 run. This car has a triple-carbureted V8 under the hood, but the catalog makes zero mention of the engine’s origin or displacement. Sad face.

The purple finish over a white iguana skin interior is quite striking. It also comes with a black Carson top. Only about 198 of these were built, and Muntz lost $1,000 on each of them. This one is selling at no reserve. You can see more photos here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $117,600.

Jet Electrica 007

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1982 Jet Electrica 007

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

No one may look back at the Dodge Omni and think “sporty,” but that didn’t stop Chrysler from trying when they introduced the Omni 024 3-door hatchback in 1979. Built through 1982, the car and its Plymouth counterpart, the Horizon TC3, were supposed to be an early-80s sports hatch. There was even a De Tomaso trim level.

Meanwhile, during the energy crisis, the U.S. Department of Energy started handing out money to companies that said they would develop and sell electric cars. Jet Industries, primarily known for their snowmobiles (even though they were based in Texas), actually ended up producing about 3,000 “Electrica 007s,” which were just altered Omni 024s.

The Chrysler engine was replaced with a 23 horsepower direct-current electric motor. The hatchback area was full of batteries, and the car could hit 70 mph and attain 60 miles of range (though not at the same time). This would’ve been the perfect Back to the Future car. Only 50 are known to exist, and this one should bring between $5,000-$10,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,320.

Matra Jet Prototype

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1967 Matra Jet 6 Prototype

Offered by Aguttes | Linas, France | September 30, 2018

Photo – Aguttes

The Djet was a product of the Rene Bonnet company but when they went bankrupt in 1964, Matra bought it out and continued production of the little sports car. They iterated on the cars, selling the Djet 5 and 5S. Eventually they dropped the “D” and the car became the Jet 5S.

And then came version 6. What we have here is a prototype that used a Jet 6 as the starting point and is now a purpose-built race car. It’s powered by a bored-out 2.0-liter Gordini straight-four from an Alpine.

It was raced by its original builder, Marcel Moissonnier, in hill climbs around France. The current owner acquired it in 2015 and has used it on closed-circuit tracks. One-of-a-kind, it should bring between $17,000-$23,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Aston Martin Bertone Jet

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1960 Aston Martin DB4GT “Jet” by Bertone

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 18, 2013

1960 Aston Martin DB4GT Jet Coupe by Bertone

The year 2013 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of Aston Martin. It’s only appropriate that the rarest and one of the most desirable examples of Aston’s early GT cars would come up for sale to cap off a year of celebrations.

The DB4 was introduced in 1958 to replace the DB Mark III. At the end of 1959, Aston introduced the DB4GT – a sporting, lightweight version of the grand touring car. The engine was an upgraded 3.7-liter straight-six making 302 horsepower – a 60+ horsepower bump over the stock car. The factory-bodied GTs used a body designed by Carrozzeria Touring. They also made for successful race cars.

The next iteration of the DB4GT was made by Zagato. They were even lighter and had a very racy body and are highly sought after today. And then there is this car. The only DB4GT bodied by Bertone. It’s a steel body and it was actually penned by a young man just getting his start at Bertone: Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car resided in Lebanon before coming to the U.S. In the 1980s it was discovered by the chairman of Aston Martin and it was taken back to the factory.

The restoration – which was immense – was completed by Aston Martin in 1988 and the car has racked up over 35,000 miles since. It’s being offered for sale for the first time in nearly 30 years (the time before that spent mostly sitting out of the public eye). Only one was built. The name “Jet” was acquired over the years and it is speculated that Bertone wanted to build a run of these cars, but the premiere of the car was overshadowed by the debut of the Jaguar E-Type at the same show. Talk about bad luck!

The pre-sale estimate is $4,300,000-$5,900,000. That’s a big range but high-dollar cars like this usually aren’t even assigned a reserve. It’s nice to Bonhams to do so, though. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ 14th annual Aston Martin auction.

Update: Sold $4,897,334.