Ford RS200

Posted on May 14, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1988 Ford RS200

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | May 16, 2012

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Ford was a little late to the Group B Rally party in the mid-1980s. Audi and Peugeot had been dominating the series for years by the time Ford rolled in with their RS200. By the time it was introduced in 1984, it had been 20 years since Ford built a vehicle as awesome and performance-capable as the RS200 (the GT40). This car has a space frame chassis, four-wheel drive and a mid-mounted 1.8-liter turbocharged straight-four making 250 horsepower on the road and somewhere between 350 and 450 in race trim. Later, the displacement would be bumped up to 2.1-liters and horsepower would go upwards of 650!

Unfortunately for Ford, shortly after their arrival on the scene, things would go horribly wrong. At the 1986 Portuguese Rally, an RS200 would go careening into the crowd, killing three spectators. Another RS200 would crash at a later event, killing the co-driver. So after only one year of serious competition, the RS200 – and Group B Rallying in general – were finished.

However, fortune shines on the enthusiast as Group B rules dictated that the cars must be homologated for the road with construction of 200 road-going versions of whatever outlandish car the manufacturers decided to race. Sources differ on how many actually were sold as street models but it seems to range from 140 to 220. It is known that 24 of these cars were upgraded to “Evo” specs, which are a bit more powerful (580 horsepower, and 0-60 mph in about 3.0 seconds).

This is one of the road cars, chassis 118, and it has a few rally-inspired extras on it. When it was freshened in 2010, the engine was upgraded to 2.0-liters and 550 horsepower, closer to the Evo’s specs of 580. It only has 1,850 original miles. These are rare and awesome cars – dare I say Ford has not built a car this awesome since – the GT included. The pre-sale estimate is between $185,000-$210,000. For the complete catalog description, click here. And for more of Silverstone’s Spring Sale, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Alfa Romeo 33/3

Posted on May 11, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1969 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 12, 2012

Unfortunately, this is the final car we can feature prior to the great sales taking place this weekend in Monaco. There were at least 10 other cars from RM Auctions’ sale alone that I wanted to feature, but just didn’t have the time. Oh, well. There’s always the chance that they’ll come up for sale again.

One reason I chose this car is that I don’t recall ever seeing one for sale and therefore do not expect to see one for sale again anytime soon. Thus, its being feature today. The first car from this sale that we showcased was the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 Daytona from 1968. Well, this was the next iteration of the Tipo 33. The 1960s were a very competitive period in sports car racing and cars were not necessarily competitive from year to year. Autodelta (Alfa’s works racing team) realized they needed to step it up for 1969. New, sleeker bodywork was wrapped around the also-new 3.0-liter V8 making 440 horsepower at a screaming 9800 rpm.

The 33/3 had a handful of podium finishes but no wins of note, placing third in the 1969 championship even though it didn’t take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after factory driver Lucien Bianchi was killed in a testing crash. Competition history for this car, chassis no. 23, is unknown – as, apparently, no one at Autodelta ever wrote anything down.

It was restored in 2006 – at the same time as “being left as original as possible.” So I guess that means it was restored where needed. Since 2006 it has not been raced and has accrued only test miles. The pre-sale estimate is $950,000-$1,100,000. For the complete catalog description click here. And to see the entire lot list for RM Auctions’ Monaco sale click here. Motorcycle fans should take a look as there is a giant Ducati collection going under the hammer.

Update: sold $1,595,440.

Porsche 917-30

Posted on February 29, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder

Offered by Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, Florida, March 9, 2012

Photo – Gooding & Company

Every once in a while a car comes up for sale that, basically, makes you yell “Holy crap!” and drop your sandwich and the plate it sat on. The plate falls in slow-motion and shatters on the floor. Complete spit-take. Like a car that you think only the manufacturer owns and sits in their private museum and will never be sold. Except that it’s apparently up for sale. This is one such car.

This is the “Can-Am Killer” – a car so dominant that it drove the series in which it competed into extinction. Nothing could keep pace with this monster of a race car. It is the most powerful road-racing car ever built. Its 5.4-liter twin-turbocharged Flat-12 produced about 1,200 horsepower. During qualifying sessions in the 1973 season, the turbos were turned up to full boost, pushing power output closer to 1,600. It weighed 1,800 lbs – so we’re talking sub-2.0 second 0-60 mph times. The car’s dominance, in conjunction with other factors, led to the demise of the Can-Am series.

This particular car (chassis #004) is painted in period-correct Penske Sunoco livery, although it was not one of the cars campaigned by Roger Penkse in the Can-Am series. It was supposed to be, however. In fact, Mark Donohue was supposed to drive this car in 1974 but because Can-Am more or less banned the 917/30 from competition (through rules changes), the car’s build was halted but eventually completed and sold new to Alan Hamilton, the Australian Porsche importer. Porsche then later re-acquired the car for somewhere around $2 million in 1991.

This is one of six (6) Porsche 917/30s built. Two of them are owned by Porsche. It is the most dominate of all racing cars and the ultimate version of the 917, which itself was a line of super-successful racing cars. It’s pre-sale estimate is $3,250,000-$4,000,000. What a rare opportunity. The complete catalog description can be found here and the entire Gooding catalog can be seen here.

As a side note, I recently learned (via a 30 minute TV comedy) that you’re supposed to wear blue and yellow on Leap Day, so this car is quite appropriate. Happy Leap Day!

Update: Sold $4,400,000.

Update II: Sold, Gooding & Company Amelia Island 2016, $3,000,000.