Tag Archives: spider

Maserati A6G/54 Spider by Frua

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1957 Maserati A6G/54 Spider by Frua

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 20-21, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

It seems like each year there is a theme among auction houses as to a certain type of car that is, for whatever reason, more prevalent at the Pebble Beach sales than usual. Two years ago it was open-wheeled race cars. This year it’s Maseratis. Both Gooding & Company and RM Sotheby’s are offering difference collections of Maseratis. The car you see here is probably the best one available.

The A6G/54 was introduced in 1954 (and built through 1956) and was the final version of the A6G, a car that dated back to 1947. It is powered by a 160 horsepower 2.0-liter straight-six and four body styles were offered, though none were built by Maserati themselves. Frua offered a Coupe and Spider, while Zagato and Allemano also offered a style each.

This is the fifth of 10 Frua Spiders and one of only 60 A6G/54s built in total. It was sold new in the U.S. and has spent a majority of its life on the west coast. Restored in the 1990s, this beautiful car does not come with a pre-sale estimate, which should tell you what you need to know regarding affordability. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,300,000.

The Real Testarossa Spider

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1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spider by Pininfarina

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5-6, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

The 1980s were a weird time. Cars from that era are just now beginning to be looked upon fondly… because nostalgia can tint things. For instance, Ferrari built a rear-mid-engined sports car (12 cylinders, no less) with zero intentions of ever taking it on a track. It was boxy and angular – the style of the day. And they built a lot of them – 7,177 to be exact.

The Testarossa appeared on Miami Vice and its popularity took off. It was a car that all of the rich people in the 80s wanted. A lot of them wanted convertibles, too, after they saw this car. But Ferrari said no.

So what’s the story here? Commissioned by Ferrari, Pininfarina designed and built this lone authentic Spider and gifted it to Gianni Agnelli, then head of Fiat. Other companies would offer “conversions” where they’d basically hack apart a Testarossa to make it into a convertible, but only one – this one – has a factory history.

The engine is a 4.9-liter flat-12 making 390 horsepower, which doesn’t seem outrageous, but the top speed was still 180 mph. This might be the first time that this car has ever come up for public sale. It is iconic and will likely remain the most valuable Testarossa in the world. Artcurial estimates a sale price between $750,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,355,870.

Siata 208S

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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.

Abarth Spider Tubolare

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1962 Abarth 1000 Sport 131-MC Spider Tubolare

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 13, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Abarth cars are some of the hardest to find information on. They tuned some cars and they built their own race cars – and the records are only in the hands of marque specialists (if they exist at all). This Spider Tubolare is a race car, and one I’d honestly never heard of until now.

There was a new wave of sports prototype car building going on in the late-1950s and early-1960s. Tubular spaceframe chassis construction offered a stiff, lightweight alternative to traditional chassis design. And it allowed a company like Abarth to swap engines in and out of the mid-engined layout depending on what races they wanted to enter. This car uses a 1.0-liter straight-four that was installed in period to compete in the European Hill Climb Championship.

This car has been owned by Fabrizio Violati since the 1970s and has been a part of his Maranello Rosso collection for nearly 40 years. As it’s been on display for a while, it needs a complete refreshening to be usable. In any case, it should sell for between $200,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $198,786.

Ferrari Daytona Spyder

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1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | London, U.K. | September 4, 2014

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

While many vintage Ferrari models as of late have quickly approached (and in some cases, surpassed) the million dollar mark, the Daytona Spyder has long been a million dollar Ferrari. They are very rare – although recreations seem to be as numerous as originals as many owners had their Daytona’s roofs cut off in the 1980s and 1990s because a convertible was cooler.

No one would dare cut open a Daytona today, but those conversions are out there. This, however, is the real thing – a genuine 365 GTS/4. One of only 122 built (for comparison, 1,284 hardtop coupes were built, the GTB/4). The engine is a front-mounted 4.4-liter V-12 that makes 352 horsepower. This is one of the most classic Ferraris (in coupe or spyder form) and perfect for your daily driver around Monaco.

This particular car was purchased new by Bill Harrah and he sold it in 1976. It spent the next 31 years with that new owner before the current owner acquired it in 2008 – and to date, the car has only covered 3,946 miles. It’s practically brand new (although it has been thoroughly recommissioned and repainted).

If you feel the need to drive around pretending you’re Don Johnson from Miami Vice (as I so often do), then this is a car you’ll need in your fleet (Crockett’s car in the show was actually a Corvette done up to look like a Daytona Spyder). Anyway, this is the real deal and it’s among the very finest Daytona Spyders in the world (and perhaps the lowest mileage). It should sell for between $3,000,000-$3,750,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Silverstone’s auction lineup.

Update: Sold $3,711,510.

A Very Unique Lancia Aurelia

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1953 Lancia Aurelia PF200 C Spider by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 15-16, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Lancia Aurelia is an interesting car in that it could be had as a fairly plain sedan or an outrageous roadster like this. And prices are all over the board too. The model was produced between 1950 and 1958 with a total of 18,201 produced.

Pinin Farina got their hands on some Aurelias and built wild Jet Age bodies on them. This particular car was shown at the Geneva and Turin motor shows in 1953. Pinin Farina built seven or eight “PF200” (their designation) cars and it is thought that only three lacked a roof. And all of them were different.

The engine is a 90 horsepower 2.0-liter V-6 but it is all about the style. It is #2 of the three open-top cars and it rides on a very rare Aurelia B52 chassis, of which only 98 were produced. The car completed a 10-year restoration recently and has been in the same hands for nearly 50 years. This is your chance to acquire a one-off Pinin Farina concept car for between $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Read more here and check out more from RM here.

Update: Sold $1,100,000.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2017, $1,248,500.

Ferrari 250 N.A.R.T. Spider

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1961 Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 15-16, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ferrari 250 GT is, perhaps, the most celebrated model line in the history of Ferrari. This striking 250 began life as a 1961 250 GTE. In 1965, Luigi Chinetti, founder of the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) and Ferrari’s American importer for many years, decided to replace the normal Pininfarina body with this wild design by Fantuzzi.

Chinetti displayed the car at auto shows in New York, San Francisco, and Miami in 1965, generating good buzz for the brand. The engine is a 3.0-liter V-12 that’s had a little work done and it makes 300 horsepower.

Chinetti sold the car and the next owner had it for 33 years. It’s been recently serviced and has covered only 29,000 miles in its life. It’s one-of-a-kind and, from the right angles, quite gorgeous. It will likely sell for between $1,200,000-$1,600,000. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,017,500.

Ferrari 275 N.A.R.T.

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1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 N.A.R.T. Spider by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 16-17, 2013

1967 Ferrari 265 GTB4 N.A.R.T. Spider by Scaglietti

This is one of the most valuable Ferraris in the world. It was born out of a 275 GTB/4 and Luigi Chinetti’s (correct) feeling that convertibles go over big in America. He talked Enzo Ferrari into building a run of 25 convertibles based on the 275 GTB/4. Only ten ended up being built and Chinetti moved each one of them at $8,000 each in 1967 and 1968. They all carry the name “N.A.R.T.” in honor of Chinetti’s North American Racing Team that made Ferrari such a success in the States.

I actually had reservations about featuring this car because the “proceeds are going to charity” and at some auctions that’s a big red flag because the final selling price of the car tends to be wildly inflated over the actual value. But this car has an actual pre-sale estimate posted of between $14,000,000-$17,000,000 and I don’t think anyone dropping that kind of cash is really gonna bump the price just to feel good about themselves and make everyone see how great of a person they are (which is what charity cars at auctions are all about – showing you are a decent person even though you’re rich… that and the tax write-off).

The engine is a 300 horsepower 3.3-liter V-12 and the car was bought new by Eddie Smith, Sr. – directly from his friend Chinetti, to whom he traded back a coupe version he had just purchased. Prior to the coupe, Smith owned a California Spider, so he obviously had taste. When Smith died in 2007, the car passed into his son’s hands and has not been used often – which is why they are selling it and donating whatever it brings to charity.

This is essentially a one-owner car – which is something you’ll never see again with regards to a N.A.R.T. Spider. This car is a big deal, and RM is making you register with them specially if you want to bid on this car. You can find out more here and see the rest of RM’s lineup here.

Update: Sold $27,500,000.

S/N: 10709

NART Daytona Spider

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1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona N.A.R.T. Spider by Michelotti

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 17-18, 2013

1971 Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona NART Spider

The Ferrari Daytona is one of the most classic Ferraris. Of the cars they built in the late-1960s and even through most the 1970s, these are the Ferraris everybody wants. And on top of that, there is the 365 GTS/4 – or Daytona Spider. These are exceptionally rare and highly prized and collectible. They were built by Scaglietti.

And then there’s this. Only a handful of Ferrari Daytonas were custom-bodied and this is one of them. It is one of five custom-bodied Daytonas commissioned by Luigi Chinetti (the guy responsible for Ferrari being in America) – though not all were the same. It was built as a 365 GTB/4 coupe and sold by Chinetti in Connecticut. He bought it back in 1976 and shipped it to Michelotti in Italy to receive this custom body.

Michelotti designed it and built three just like it – all for Chinetti. It was finished in the colors you see and given to Mrs. Chinetti as a gift. The car also carries “NART” designation. N.A.R.T. stands for North American Racing Team – Chinetti’s race team that he used to tout the Ferrari marque around America. The engine is a standard 365 GTB 4.4-liter V-12 making 352 horsepower.

The car was acquired by its current owner in 1991. It has never been restored and was refreshed before being brought to auction. Remarkably, it has covered only 1,568 miles in its life (not including when it was a Daytona coupe for five years). As you’ll see next week, this NART Spider is a bargain at $700,000-$1,000,000. That’s even cheap for a 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in California.

Update: Sold $720,000

S/N: 14299

Ferrari 500 Mondial

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1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 16-17, 2013

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pinin Farina

We featured a Ferrari 750 Monza a few weeks back. Well this car, even though it’s called a “Mondial,” is part of that family of cars. In fact, it directly preceded the 750 Monza. The 500 Mondial was built for 1954 only.

Ferrari began building four-cylinder engines for Formula Two in 1952 and walked away with the championship in ’52 and ’53. Back in these days, the Scuderia would transfer those race engines directly into other cars – many of which were sold to customers (imagine Ferrari or McLaren doing that today). In this case, the 2.0-liter Lampredi straight-four was dropped into the 500 Mondial sports racing car. It makes 170 horsepower.

This was one of four cars entered by Ferrari in the 1954 Mille Miglia – but because the organizers of that race kept such poor records, nobody knows for sure who drove it or where it finished. It was sold upon completion of that race and used by a privateer in Italy before making its way to its second owner in Venezuela the following year.

It entered American ownership in 1964 and it was restored for the first time in 1987 and again 10 years later in 1997. Only 20 Series I cars were built, with an additional 10 Series II cars – making there just 30 examples of the 500 Mondial built. This is car #6. It has Scuderia Ferrari team history and Mille Miglia history. And it’s one of those great cars that is perfect for classic car rallies and tours. It is expected to sell for between $2,750,000-$3,250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $3,520,000.

S/N: 418MD