Tag Archives: sebring

Maserati Sebring

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1963 Maserati Sebring Series I Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 8, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Sebring replaced the 3500 GT as Maserati‘s 2+2 coupe in 1962, after debuting at that year’s Geneva International Motor Show. It featured muscular but sophisticated styling penned by Giovanni Michelotti at Vignale. Just 593 were produced, and all but one were coupes.

Of those, 350 or so were Series I cars, which were built until 1965. Most of those were powered by a fuel-injected 3.5-liter inline-six that was rated at 232 horsepower in 1963. Both 3.7- and 4.0-liter units would be offered later in the model’s run.

A restoration on this example was performed between 2018 and 2020. No estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

La Dawri Sebring

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1957 La Dawri Sebring

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | July 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer

Okay, so “1957” probably isn’t the year here. No year is listed on the auction page, but what it does tell you about years is surprising. Unlike many fiberglass specials of the 1950s, this one is rear-engined. And it is powered by the 1.3-liter flat-four of its donor 1957 Volkswagen Beetle.

Can we take a moment to really appreciate how great this wild paint scheme is? This is the automotive equivalent of a surfboard. The windshield frame is a real highlight. La Dawri was only around a short time: founded in Canada in 1956 before moving to California the following year. They offered fiberglass sports car bodies until 1963.

Still, in that time, they produced no less than seven or eight different models. This Sebring screams “1950s sports car” but looks completely unlike almost anything else you could get at the time. It’s like some sports car special you would’ve seen in the background of an Elvis movie. This is a car that would be a lot of fun at the right price – and draw a lot of attention wherever it goes. Check out the auction here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $7,500.

Bremen Sebring

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1985 Bremen Sebring

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 14, 2020

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Kit cars get a bad rap, and while it is sometimes deserved, I always remember that “hey, someone thought this was a good idea.” In this case, that someone was Al Hildebrand, the importer of the Sterling (aka the Nova) kit car who decided he could improve upon that already-popular idea.

The Sebring is Volkswagen-based, and this car is powered by a flat-four from a Porsche 914 (displacement unknown!). It’s actually in really good shape, as many of these were not cared for as this one has been. The dashboard even has a TV monitor in it.

The coolest part of this car is that it doesn’t have doors. Instead, the entire canopy flips forward to allow access to the cabin. Founded around 1970, Hildebrand’s Bremen, Indiana-based company lasted until 1988. They offered other kits as well, along with V6 and turbo V6-powered Sebrings. This one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,700.

Winningest Porsche 962

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1984 Porsche 962

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

Two days ago we featured the most dominant (for a short period of time) race car ever built. Well here is another candidate for that title. The Porsche 962 was introduced to the racing world in 1984 and won just about everything it dared to enter through the end of the decade, with customer cars and continuation models continuing to be competitive into the mid-1990s.

This particular car (chassis #962-103) is the winningest 962 in history. It was the first 962 to actually win a race (the 1984 6 Hours of Watkins Glen) and then it went on to win many other races including:

  • 1984 Camel GT 500 Grand Prix at Pocono
  • 1984 Eastern Airlines 3 Hour Camel GT at Daytona
  • 1985 300km of Laguna Seca
  • 1985 500km of Charlotte
  • 1985 500km of Mid-Ohio
  • 1985 3 Hours at Watkins Glen
  • 1986 24 Hours of Daytona (driven by Al Holbert, Derek Bell & Al Unser, Jr.)
  • 1986 Road America 500
  • 1987 24 Hours of Daytona (driven by the 1986 team plus Chip Robinson)

This car, known as the Löwenbräu Special, also had a number of other top five finishes including a couple at the 12 Hours of Sebring. It spent its entire career with Holbert Racing and was owned by the Holbert family after it was retired until 2008 when it was acquired by  the Drendel Family, from whose collection this and a number of other fantastic Porsches are being offered at this Gooding sale.

The Porsche 962 features a 3.2 liter twin-turbo flat-6 making somewhere in the neighborhood of 720 horsepower. They are all fast but this one is perhaps the most prominent. It is estimated between $1,750,000-$2,250,000. Click here for more information and pictures and here for more on the Gooding sale.

Update: Sold $1,925,000.