Tag Archives: mistral

Mistral Sports Racer

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1955 Mistral-Chevrolet

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 27, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

This Mistral sports special race car is sort of a descendant of the Microplas Mistral, which was a fiberglass body that was sold to re-body old British Ford sedans or even Triumphs. The Mistral body was licensed by Sports Car Engineering of Los Angeles in 1956 before they sold their company in 1958.

After this, the molds for the Mistral body were sold to Weltrex Plastics Limited in New Zealand. They produced about 10 Mistral bodies before winding up. This particular car was discovered in New Zealand a few years ago and restored in the US.

It’s powered by a 4.6-liter Chevrolet V8 making about 400 horsepower. It’s been outfitted with modern safety equipment in hopes of actually using it in modern historic events. Mistrals of any creation are rare birds, and this New Zealand edition is known to have been rare from the beginning. It has an estimate of $90,000-$120,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $62,720.

Neckar Mistral

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1965 Neckar Mistral

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | March 26-27, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

NSU was a German car company founded in 1873 to produce knitting machines. They turned to motorcycles in 1901 and cars in 1905. Based in Neckarsulm, Germany, the company was acquired by Volkswagen in 1969 and merged into Auto Union. This was sort of the genesis of the current Audi brand.

I told you that to tell you this: in 1932, NSU’s first run at automobile manufacture failed, and their Heilbronn factory was sold to Fiat. Between 1929 and 1957, cars produced at this plant were called NSU-Fiats. In 1957, the Fiat-designed cars produced at this plant were sold under the Neckar brand. This lasted until 1971.

The Mistral was the Neckar-branded version of the Siata 1500 TS, which itself was a Michelotti-styled derivative of the Fiat 1500. Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-four that made 94 horsepower. Like its Siata twin, this is a rare car today. It’s now offered at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,031.

Maseratis in Monterey

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Maseratis in Monterey

1959 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Frua

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

We did this a few years ago when there was an abundance of Maseratis on offer during the Pebble Beach auction weekend. It turns out there’s quite a few nice examples being offered this year as well. And there’s nowhere near enough time to feature them all.

This is a 3500 GT, a model produced between 1957 and 1964. It was the company’s first successful GT road car and, really, the first successful production car that Maserati launched. It’s powered by a 3.5-liter straight-six making 217 horsepower with the three Weber carburetors as configured in this car. Introduced as a coupe, coachbuilder Frua designed a single convertible to show the company that a Spyder was a good idea.

As good looking as it is, Maserati chose Vignale’s design instead and that car become the series production 3500 Spyder. That makes this a one-off – and one of only five 3500 GT chassis bodied by Frua. The current restoration was freshened in 2000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $605,000.

1956 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta by Zagato

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

This car looks loud… like a muffler-less, high-revving car with a heavy clutch. Sort of like a race car with a road car body. Which is kind of what it is. Maserati’s A6G/54 was a road car based on the A6GCS race car and was available between 1954 and 1956. The’re powered by a 160 horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-six.

The aggressive body here is by Zagato, one of only 21 of this model bodied by the coachbuilder. Of those 21, they are broken down by three different variations on this body style. And they were only built in ’55 and ’56. This example was raced in its day and restored recently with it debuting at the 2014 Villa d’Este. It’s rare and should bring between $4,000,000-$5,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Sold $4,400,000.

1968 Maserati Mistral 4000 Spyder by Frua

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

The Mistral was a 2-door Maserati GT car that was built between 1963 and 1970. It replaced the 3500 GT and was replaced by the Ghibli. It’s the perfect 1960s Maserati tourer, a competitor to the likes of the Aston Martin DB6.

Pietro Frua designed the Coupe and the Spyder variants. The Spyders were much rarer, with only 120 built to the Coupe’s 828. There were also three engine choices offered and we’ve already featured a Mistral Spyder with the smallest engine. But the car you see here has the largest: a 4.0-liter straight-six making 265 horsepower. Only 37 of the Spyders were the 4000 model, making it the rarest version of the Mistral.

Restored to as-new condition (with the addition of a second fuel pump), this car has covered 7,000 miles since completion. It is expected to bring between $750,000-$900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1964 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe by Michelotti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 5000 GT was an extremely rare Maserati offered in Coupe-only form between 1959 and 1964. It wasn’t even a car the company planned on building: the Shah of Persia liked the 3500 GT but requested Maserati build him one with a modified version of the engine from the 450S race car. So Maserati capitulated, stuffing a 4.9-liter V-8 engine making 325 horsepower under the hood.

Each car was specially built by leading coachbuilders of the day. Designer Giovanni Michelotti built this example for famed American sportsman Briggs Cunningham. Cunningham requested a 5000 GT that resembled the 450S and the result was something that resembled no other 5000 GT (nor any other Maserati). It almost looks like a custom Ferrari of the era.

The restoration dates to the early-1990s. It’s pretty special, and as a one-off version of a production car that only ever saw 33 examples built, it should bring big bucks. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,017,500.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019.

2007 Maserati MC12 Corsa

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 16-19, 2017

Photo – Mecum

The MC12 is the coolest Maserati of the last 25 years – easily. The car was designed around the underpinnings of the Ferrari Enzo. But unlike Ferrari, who doesn’t take their halo cars to the track, Maserati’s entire aim with this project was to return to the FIA GT Championship. Production of road cars began in 2004 and they had to homologate 50 of them to go racing, which they did by the end of 2005.

And racing they went. And it was pretty a successful endeavor – or successful enough that some customers demanded their own track version. So after the 50 road cars were built, Maserati constructed 12 “MC12 Corsa” examples that were track-only versions of their supercar. It’s powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 making 745 horsepower – pretty much the same powerplant from the factory-backed MC12 GT1 race car. These cost nearly $1.5 million when new. We’ll see what it brings in a couple of days. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $1,700,000.

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.

Maserati Mistral Spyder

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1966 Maserati Mistral Spyder by Frua

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 6, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Mistral was a grand tourer built by Maserati between 1963 and 1970. It was Maserati’s true two-seater for the period. The convertible Spyder model was introduced in 1964 (and also lasted through 1970).

Three different engines were offered in this car. This car has the smallest, a 3.5-liter straight-six making 235 horsepower (only 20 less than the largest, 4.0-liter engine). This car is thought to be one of the cars shown at the 1966 Turin Motor Show.

The restoration on this car dates back to the mid-1990s with significant work having been completed in 2012. It has covered 88,000 miles in its life. This car has a removable hardtop and is one of 125 Spyders built. Only 12 Spyders were fitted with the 3.5-liter engine and only 20 Spyders were right hand drive, like this car. It should sell for between $610,000-$760,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold for an undisclosed amount.