Nash Pickup

Posted on February 27, 2018 by classiccarweekly

1946 Nash P1 Pickup Prototype

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – H&H Classics

Nash was one of the lucky few to survive the Depression and the War. Nash had a history of rugged vehicles but they never really got going with light duty trucks, though in 1946 they apparently experimented with just such a vehicle. This was a time when automakers were scrambling to produce cars and trucks America wanted after years of a stagnant auto industry.

As you can tell, styling was certainly an important factor. It kind of reminds me of a Studebaker pickup of the era from the windshield on back. The front of the truck is clearly shares corporate styling cues from the Nash 600 and it’s powered by a 3.8-liter straight-six, which was likely installed during a comprehensive restoration and was probably not the engine it came with.

It’s unclear how many of these Nash actually built (the possibility exists that it was more than one), but the catalog says that this is the only one in existence. It’s curious that it is in the U.K., but Nash may have exported any prototypes to shield themselves from liability issues. At any rate, the P1 never made it to production, making this a rare piece of American auto history. It will sell at no reserve with an expected result of $21,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $30,216.

P1 GTR

Posted on May 1, 2017 by classiccarweekly

2016 McLaren P1 GTR

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Villa Erba, Italy | May 27, 2017

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Along with the LaFerrari and the Porsche 918, the McLaren P1 is among the three great supercars from the mid-2010s. Ferrari did a track version of their hypercar, and so did McLaren, with this “track-only” P1 GTR.

What sets it apart from the road car is the fact that it comes with its own track day series, among a multitude of performance options. They stripped some weight out of it and bumped the power. The electric-hybrid 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 makes a combined system output of 986 horsepower. There’s more grip, more outlandish aerodynamics, and even more speed.

McLaren opted to sell just 58 of these (offering them to existing P1 owners first). Of the 58 GTRs built, 27 were sent to Lanzante, a company in England who turns these track-only cars into street legal race cars. The fact that nearly half of the GTRs built are now street legal says, I think, that we may have reached the tipping point on performance track day specials. I’d bet most of the GTR owners don’t have anywhere near the talent required to squeeze even 75% of this car’s capability out on a track. So why not drive it on the street? It’s one of the rarest, flashiest cars ever built. It’s perfect for the billionaire who has everything else.

This is the first P1 GTR to come up for public auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

S/N #012.

Update: Not sold.

McLaren P1

Posted on January 6, 2016 by classiccarweekly

2015 McLaren P1

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 28, 2016

Photo – Bonhams

The McLaren F1 has a legendary status in the automobile world. It was so good that McLaren took about 10 years off from road car production before returning with the “mid-market” (in supercar terms) MP4-12C. Then they tried to top themselves with this, the P1 – one of the most advanced cars ever built.

It’s a hybrid supercar. It uses a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-8 and an electric motor for a combined output of 903 horsepower. Just about everything you see is carbon fiber, so it weighs nothing. The sprint to 60 mph takes only 2.7 seconds and the top speed is 217 mph. Active aerodynamics keep it suckered to the ground.

The car went into production in October of 2013 for the 2014 model year and the last one was built in December 2015. Only 375 were made and this was #371 – the last U.S. market car produced. Sold new to a Florida collector via Chicago, this is an easy way to pick up one of these rare machines while they are still new and available. Supercars are often bought when they first come out, used and they quickly resold where they will sit in collections for years or decades. Get ’em while they’re hot. The price should be between $1,900,000-$2,200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,090,000.