Tag Archives: siata

Siata 200CS

Posted on by
Reply

1952 Siata 200CS by Bertone

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | April 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Siata only built cars in low numbers, and they all looked like low, sleek Mille Miglia-style racing cars for the street. Well, you know, until the Spring. The 200CS was a model that launched as a bare chassis in 1952. The Chrysler V8-powered car was supposed to preview the next line of Siata cars.

But instead, they switched to Fiat 8V power, and the 200CS was kind of a stillborn project. This one is now powered by a 6.4-liter Chrysler FirePower V8, which has been installed in place of the car’s original 5.4-liter Chrysler V8. The body was built by Bertone especially for John Perona, the then-owner of New York’s El Morocco nightclub.

The current owner traced the car down in 1983, finding it in an Indiana garage. It’s unclear how many 200CS chassis were built, but this is the only one that looks like this. Bidding is already into the six figures, and you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $689,999.

Siata Daina Coupe

Posted on by
Reply

1950 Siata Daina Berlinetta

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Gstaad, Switzerland | December 29, 2021

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Siata’s Daina model was introduced in 1950 and remained available through 1958, although most of them were produced before 1953 was out. Body styles were essentially limited to a coupe and convertible, with the “factory” styles being produced by Stabilimenti Farina. When Farina went out of business, Bertone took over. Other coachbuilders also bodied some cars.

This car carries Farina coachwork and is powered by a 1.4-liter Fiat inline-four. A more desirable version called the Gran Sport was also available, and information regarding production numbers is often contradictory. Somewhere between 50 and 200 Dainas were built.

This one was sold new in Italy, spending time with a few owners around Lake Como. A many-year restoration started in the 1980s, and the car was sold out of Italy (to Germany) for the first time around 2014. It relocated to Switzerland later on, and it now carries a pre-sale estimate of $195,000-$240,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Siata 208 CS

Posted on by
Reply

1953 Siata 208 CS by Balbo

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

Gotta love short-wheelbase coachbuilt Italian sports cars from the 1950s. They all look like the exhaust is dragging the ground and the bodywork is being worn by the driver instead of the, in this case, oval-tube chassis. The bodywork here is by Carrozzeria Successori Balbo, which was located near the suddenly closed Stabilimenti Farina coachworks. When Farina closed, Balbo got the orders for a run of the Siata 208 CS coupes.

The 208 was produced between 1953 and 1955 and is powered by Fiat’s 2.0-liter 8V V8, which was rated at 110 horsepower. The CS version was the closed coupe, nine of which were bodied by Balbo. In all, 35 208 cars were produced.

This car was sold new in Italy and came to the U.S. in 1964. It passed through a few high-profile European collections between the 1980s and 2000s, with the current owner buying the car in 2006. The most recent restoration was completed in 2012, and the car went on to win a Siata class award at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours. It is now expected to sell for between $1,400,000-$1,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,627,500.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2023.

Siata Berlinetta

Posted on by
Reply

1952 Siata 208 CS 2+2 Berlinetta by Bertone

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 16, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Though Siata could trace their roots back to 1926, they didn’t actually begin producing their own cars until 1948. Their great, sporty, Italian cars were a flash in the pan, however, and they disappeared by 1975 after spending nearly a decade producing a not-sporty, retro-styled convertible called the Spring.

Perhaps the most desirable car produced by the firm was the 208, which was offered in two forms including the S (roadster) and CS (coupe). They were built between 1952 and 1955 in small quantities, and fewer than 20 examples of the CS were built. Some of 208 S examples looked like an AC Ace, but every one of them was coachbuilt. A 125 horsepower, 2.0-liter V8 provides the oomph.

This Bertone-bodied coupe was ordered new by Stanley Arnolt (who was closely associated with the carrozzeria). It was also displayed at the 1952 Paris Auto Show. Fifty years later, it was restored, and it is now offered with a pre-sale estimate of $850,000-$950,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Siata 1500 TS

Posted on by
Reply

1964 Siata 1500 TS

Offered by Aste Bolaffi | Milan, Italy | May 24, 2019

Photo – Aste Bolaffi

Siata was founded in 1926 and spent their first few decades tuning Fiats. Their first original model debuted in 1948, but it was still Fiat-based. That trend continued into the 1960s, when they introduced the 1500 TS.

Based on Fiat’s 1500, the TS was styled by Giovanni Michelotti and was powered by a Siata-tuned 1.5-liter inline-four producing 94 horsepower. They are attractive, small, and all but forgotten. This is probably the last Siata you would picture if trying to recall all of their models.

Very few were built – and some were even built by Neckar Automobile in Germany. Even fewer survive today. This one should bring between $28,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,774.

Siata 300 BC

Posted on by
Reply

1953 Siata 300 BC Barchetta by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Giorgio Ambrosini’s Siata somehow survived until 1970, but it was the 1950s where they made their mark. The first cars were modified Fiats and their first homemade model was the 1951 300 BC Barchetta.

The car is very light (as you can see, the tires look like they were stolen off a bicycle) and it’s powered by a 51 horsepower 1.1-liter Fiat straight-four. Earlier cars had Crosley motors. This model was aimed at Americans who needed an agile SCCA weapon.

This is car #38 of 40 that were bodied by Bertone (another handful or two were also built, some with bodies by Motto). It’s been in the U.S. since new and was first road-registered in 1989, having been primarily used for competition up to that point. For most of its life, it was driven twice a year to keep it running. It’s been repainted and the interior redone, but otherwise it’s largely original. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $198,000.

Siata 208S

Posted on by
Reply

1954 Siata 208S Spider by Motto

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Siata began life in Turn in 1926 when Giorgio Ambrosini began selling aftermarket performance bits for Fiats (so yes, there was a tuner scene in the 1920s). The company’s first original model was introduced in 1948 and they continued to build cars up through 1970. This is their finest work.

Sure, it may look a little AC Ace-ish but they were contemporaries from different parts of Europe. The 208S was produced in 1953 and 1954 only. It is powered by a 125 horsepower 2.0-liter alloy V-8 engine from Fiat (the famous “8V’ engine).

Only 56 examples of the 208S were built and this is the final of 33 Motto Spiders. This car has known ownership since 1956 and has been the recipient of two restorations, the most recent of which occurred in 2011. Since then it has appeared at some major Concours shows around the world (Pebble Beach, Kuwait, Villa d’Este), taking awards home in the process. It could be the nicest example anywhere. And it can be yours for between $1,500,000-$1,900,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s New York lineup.

Update: Sold $1,650,000.

Siata Daina

Posted on by
Reply

1951 Siata Daina 1400 Gran Sport

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2014

1951 Siata Daina 1400 Gran Sport

The Daina was Siata’s third road car, having been introduced in 1950. Production would run through about 1958. Siata is one of those smaller sports car companies where record keeping came second to building cars and many figures contain qualifiers like “about” or “estimated.”

The Gran Sport bodystyle (by Stabilimenti Farina) that you see here was the most successful Daina model and the one that is best remembered. Depending on who you ask, between 50 and 100 Gran Sports were built. The chassis is a modified version of the Fiat 1400 and it also uses a modified version of that cars engine: a 1.4-liter straight-four making about 65 horsepower.

These were popular in SCCA events in the 1950s having been cut out of the rule books in Europe shortly after their introduction. The history of this car really isn’t known prior to the last 25 years, when all that is known is that it was a restoration project that never got started. An actual restoration was completed in 2012 and it looks spectacular. This is a rare car that is fresh as if it just left the factory. It is the earliest Daina Gran Sport known and should sell for between $250,000-$325,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Gooding & Company’s Arizona lineup.

Update: Sold $247,500.

Siata Spring

Posted on by
1

1968 Siata Spring

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | November 11, 2012

In the 1950s, Siata was known for their little two-seat sports cars, namely the highly desirable 208S. Steve McQueen had one and he called it the “Little Ferrari.” They have that classic 1950s Italian sports car look. As you can see from the photo above, something changed.

The marque was relatively dormant from about 1958 until 1967 when Siata introduced the Spring, a car whose design and introduction was dictated by market research. It might look like an MG in kit-car form, but it isn’t. There were other cars at the time going for the retro-look, as cheap as it looks today.

The Spring is based around a Fiat 850 – so it is rear-engined. It’s a straight-four of 843cc making 46 horsepower. This unusual (and maybe a little under-powered for a “sports car”) rarity was restored in the 1990s, turning very few miles since. Spring’s were produced by Siata through 1970 when production was taken over by ORSA, who built them for another five years. Only a few thousand were built. It is expected to sell for between $10,500-$18,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Artcurial’s sale, click here.

Update: Sold $15,900.

Artcurial Monaco Sale Highlights (7/27/12)

Posted on by
Reply

His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert II, must have come to the conclusion at some point that, perhaps, he doesn’t really need all of the cars stored away in his family’s collection. Many were purchased by his father, Prince Rainer. In any case, Artcurial was called in to thin the herd a little bit. Thirty-eight cars in all were available at the auction and all of them sold. The top sale went to this 1987 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC AMG for $149,787.

Interesting sales was the name of the game and they don’t get any more interesting than this 1987 Fleur de Lys Newark Minibus. It looks old, but it is built around modern mechanicals. I’ve never seen one. It sold for $50,991.

This 1942 Dodge 4×4 Command Car brought the highest price of the four World War II-era American military vehicles offered at this sale at $71,706.

This 1913 Panhard & Levassor X19 Roadster is a very interesting pre-WWI car with a 10 horsepower four-cylinder engine. It sold for $103,576.

If 10 horsepower is too much for you to handle, you could’ve bought this five horsepower 1925 Citroen Cabriolet for $26,292.

Another very early car was this 1907 Berliet C2 Double-Phaeton. This is a museum-quality piece with a very aerodynamic windscreen. It sold for $90,031.

And finally, this 1969 Siata Spring. It’s based on a Fiat, but looks like an MG… kind of. You here more about these things than do you see them. It would’ve been an interesting acquisition for $31,870.

For complete results (sans photos), click here. To view the full lot list in PDF form with pictures, click here.