365 GT4 BB

1974 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Sywell Aerodrome, U.K. | June 4, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

“Berlinetta Boxer” describes a series of Ferrari near-supercars produced from the early 1970s through the early 1980s. It was the first mid-engined Ferrari-branded road car, and it used a why-the-hell-not flat-12 engine. There were essentially three models over the run: the famed and loved 512 BB, its injected twin the 512 BBi, and this, the sort of odd duck 365 GT4.

The 365 GT4 was the first of the series and was replacement for the 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Manufactured from 1973 through 1976, it is the rarest of the BBs, with just 387 examples produced. Power is provided by a 4.4-liter flat-12 that made 375 horsepower. The engine would get bigger for the 512 – though less powerful.

This car is one of 88 right-hand-drive examples, and it has a replacement drivetrain. The pre-sale estimate is $215,000-$285,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

3500 GTI Vignale

1962 Maserati 3500 GTI Spyder by Vignale

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Northamptonshire, U.K. | May 28, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The 3500 GT was Maserati’s big grand tourer of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both 2+2 coupes and two-seat convertibles were offered, with styling by a select few Italian carrozzeria, including Vignale, who bodied this example and most of the model’s convertibles.

In 1960, Maserati introduced the GTI variant, making it Italy’s first fuel-injected production car. The 3.5-liter inline-six got Lucas fuel injection and a power bump to 232 horsepower. Because fuel injection was still relatively new, it could be somewhat troublesome, and more than a few GTI examples were converted back to Weber carburetors later in life. Not this one.

This car was delivered new in London, and from the 80s onward, it spent time in France and Italy before returning within the last decade to London with its current owner. Only 245 Vignale convertibles were built out of a total 3500 production run of 2,226 examples between 1957 and 1964. The pre-sale estimate here is $470,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $523,210.

Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Limited Edition

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Northamptonshire, U.K. | May 28, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

We’ve covered the history of the Talbot marque before, and it’s very confusing. We’ll pick up the trail in 1935 when the Rootes Group had both Talbot and Sunbeam under their ownership. Sunbeam-Talbot was a marque that existed from 1935 through 1954, when the cars just became Sunbeams. This was because Talbot-Lago was operating in France and it was confusing. Still is.

Well Talbot-Lago only lasted five more years after that. The dormant Talbot name was then sold to Simca, which became part of Chrysler Europe in 1970. In 1977, Chrysler introduced the Chrysler Sunbeam model. It was a three-door hatchback. It was not very exciting.

However, Chrysler dumped Chrysler Europe on PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) in 1978 for $1. PSA in turn dumped the Chrysler name, rebranding all Chryslers in Europe as Talbots. So now, a few decades removed from Sunbeam-Talbot, there was a Talbot Sunbeam on sale in Europe. Around this time, they also wanted to make the Sunbeam (the model) more exciting.

The hot-hatch Ti variant was introduced in 1978. Chrysler had already been in talks with Lotus to build a rally version of the Sunbeam to take on the Ford Escort RS. Thus, the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus was born, and it went on sale in 1979. It was one of the best hot hatches of the ’70s/’80s.

Power is from a 2.2-liter high-compression version of the Lotus 907 inline-four. Road cars were rated at 150 horsepower. Rally cars were able to get up to 250 horsepower out of the engine. There were also suspension and exhaust tweaks. The car was responsible for Talbot winning the WRC manufacturer’s championship in 1981.

Only 1,184 right-hand-drive examples were made before production ceased due to the fact that they were more expensive to make than they could sell them for. Fifty-six of them were taken by Ladbroke Avon Coachworks to be turned into “Limited Edition” cars that featured the paint scheme seen here.

This limited-edition Sunbeam Lotus carries a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$37,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $28,914.

Sierra Cosworth RS500

1988 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Sywell, U.K. | May 28, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Ford Sierra was a European family car sold between 1982 and 1993. For a brief time, the two-door variant was sold in the U.S. as the Merkur XR4Ti. A high-performance version, offered as a hatchback in 1986 and 1987 and as a sedan from 1988-1992, was also sold. It was called the Sierra RS Cosworth.

In 1987, some people at Ford thought about homologating the car for touring car racing, which required 500 “evolution” models. So Ford roped in Aston Martin Tickford to help convert the cars to “RS500” spec. Changes included a larger turbocharger for the 2.0-liter inline-four, which now was good for 224 horsepower. The front end was reworked to aid cooling, and a second spoiler was added beneath the rear wing.

This car has less than 36,000 miles, and a pre-sale estimate has not yet been published. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold, but Silverstone won’t tell us for how much. Lame. Gotta love that transparency.

Frazer Nash-BMW 327/80

1939 Frazer Nash-BMW 327/80 Cabriolet

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5-6, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Frazer Nash was the official British importer for BMW cars between 1934 and 1939. The cars were sometimes slightly modified by Frazer Nash before being sold, and they were all sold in the U.K. under the Frazer Nash-BMW marque. BMW’s 327 was built between 1937 and 1941 (and again after the war for a short period).

Frazer Nash only managed to import 19 of them before the outbreak of the war. BMW offered the 327 with the 328‘s more potent 2.0-liter inline-six. It was rated at 80 horsepower, hence the model designation here. In Germany, these were referred to as the 327/28.

This car was restored in 2005 and is one of 12 known to exist. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $184,888.

Ginetta G55 GT4

2016 Ginetta G55 GT4 SuperCup

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Ginetta is interesting. They’ve been around since the 1950s and have produced all manner of road and sports racing cars. But even the racing cars, especially the ones back in the day, were either prototype-ish or could double as road cars.

But not this. The G55, which looks like a two-door sports car that has been fitted with a track package, is actually a purpose-built race car. There is no road-car variant. Based on the G50, it was introduced in 2011 and is built to FIA GT3 specs. They also compete in a one-mark racing series, the Ginetta GT Supercup. The GT4 version, shown here, is destined for the Supercup and not GT3 racing.

While this car was built in 2016, it has been updated to 2022 spec. The GT4 version is powered by a 3.7-liter Ford V6 making 355 horsepower. It’s a race-winning car that comes with a spares package. The pre-sale estimate hasn’t been release, but you can read more about it here. Check out more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

March 881

1988 March-Judd 881

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5-6, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The March Racing Team was founded in 1969 and appeared on its first F1 grid the following year. They took a few breaks over the years, returning to F1 in 1987 after a four-year absence. For 1988 they had a young new designer on staff. That guy was Adrian Newey, and this was the first Formula One car he designed.

The team was branded as Leyton House March Racing for 1988 (they would race under the Leyton House Racing name in 1990 and 1991 before the March name returned for the team’s final year in ’92). The car features a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter Judd V8. The complete race history for this chassis is not known, but the team’s drivers were Mauricio Gugelmin and Ivan Capelli, the latter of whom is said to have run this car at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1988 where he qualified fourth and DNF’d.

The 881 was kind of a success, scoring a decent number of points and achieving two podiums in 1988. It was also used by the team for the first two races of the ’89 season. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Jawa A-700

1937 Jawa A-700

Silverstone Auctions | London, U.K. | March 5, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Jawa has primarily been known for their motorcycles since the company’s 1929 founding by Frantisek Janecek in Prague. They continued with bike production for decades, and continue to exist. For a brief time in the 1930s, the company experimented with four-wheel automobiles.

Only three models were ever offered, including the 750 (a very limited-run sports car), the 600 Minor (which is better known as its post-war successor, the Aero Minor), and this, the 700. It features a front-wheel-drive layout and is powered by a 684cc water-cooled two-stroke inline-twin. It was more or less a license-built copy of the DKW F2.

Only 1,002 were produced between 1934 and 1937, at which time it was replaced by the short-lived 600 Minor. It’s pretty amazing that this example exists at all, as Prague was sort of ground zero for “things not surviving WWII.” A restoration was completed sometime in the last two years. Only a handful of these exist, like very few. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,679.

Dowsetts Comet

2018 Dowsetts Comet

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

If this car looks vaguely familiar, then you’re probably thinking it’s some kind of Aston Martin replica. It’s not. But if you were thinking that, then perhaps you are familiar with the Evanta. The Evanta was a car built in the 2010s that was inspired by the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.

The Evanta was designed by Ant Anstead, and that company folded a few years back. From its ashes sprang Dowsetts Classic Car Company, and they built this. It is said to be a one-off designed by Anstead. It wears a fiberglass body over a steel spaceframe chassis and is powered by a GM 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making somewhere in the area of 430 horsepower.

The interior is far above what you’d expect from a cottage industry manufacturer. Each Dowsetts car is built-to-order, but it’s unclear how many they’ve made, if it’s more than one. No pre-sale estimate is available, but you can read more about it here. And check out more from Silverstone here.

Update: Sold $87,676.

22B-STI

1998 Subaru Impreza 22B-STi

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 13, 2021

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Silverstone calls this the “holy grail” of STis, and they aren’t really wrong. The 22B is one of those legendary hot Japanese cars of the 1990s, even though it’s a lot less famous than a Supra or a Skyline GT-R.

The 22B was born out of Subaru’s World Rally success, as it started out as a WRX STi turned into a widebody coupe with the addition of flared fenders. Engine size increased, and the turbocharged 2.2-liter flat-four produced 276 horsepower. An adjustable wing pulled straight from the WRC car was added out back. The car was built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and their third straight WRC championship

In all, just 426 were built, 16 of which were delivered new to customers in the U.K. This one was first owned by the guy who developed the Colin McRae rally video games, and it now has less than 16,000 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $315,000-$385,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.