Tag Archives: spider

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

Ferrari 750 Monza

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1954 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

1954 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti

Ferrari has always been a company focused on racing. The saying has always been “they build road cars so they can afford to go racing.” And it’s true. While, this is a race car, it was successful because of earlier race cars.

To wit: the engine. Alberto Ascari’s second Formula One championship was at the helm of a Lampredi straight-four-powered car. Because this engine was so successful in F1, Ferrari decided to install it in their sports racing cars, beginning in 1953. The 750 Monza (which used a 250 horsepower 3.0-liter variant of the engine) was the fourth iteration of what is now referred to as the “Monza” line of sports cars. It was built for 1954 only.

This car has known ownership history from new and was driven by Mike Hawthorn at Goodwood during its first racing season. It was then acquired by Jaguar and used for testing purposes (for comparisons to the D-Type). They sold it to one of their drivers (1951 Le Mans-winner Peter Whitehead) who sold it to Jack Brabham, who took it to Australia and hired drivers to race it in the 1955 season down under.

It entered its first historic race in 1987 and has been used and cared for since. It has been restored at some point and is a driveable and raceable race car. It is among the first of the 35 750 Monzas built and should bring about $2.5 million at auction. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Monterey lineup.

Update: Failed to sell (high bid of $3,250,000).

S/N: 0462MD

Cisitalia Spider Nuvolari

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1947 Cisitalia 202 SMM Spider Nuvolari

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2012

1947 Cisitalia 202 SMM Spider Nuvolari

Cisitalia was founded in 1946 by Piero Dusio in Turin. They started by building little single-seat race cars with an eye on Formula One (Dusio entered one F1 race in a Cisitalia but DNQ’d). Instead, the company shifted focus to road-going sports cars and in 1947 the 202 SMM was introduced.

Because it was proper Italian form to send your new sports cars to the circuit, the 202 made its debut at the 1947 Mille Miglia, the first running of the race after the war. Five were entered and one was driven by Tazio Nuvolari, who despite great odds, came home second. After that, the 202 SMM was nicknamed “Spider Nuvolari.” My favorite design feature of this body, by Stabilimenti Farina, are the little fins at the back of the car. The engine is a 60 horsepower 1.1-liter straight-four.

This was one of the first 202s built and by 1949 it was in the hands of an American doctor in New York, who never raced it. But when he sold it in 1951, the new owner took it racing in the SCCA and beyond. Some highlights of its career include:

  • 1952 6 Hours or Vero Beach – 11th (with owner Paul Ceresole)
  • 1952 12 Hours of Sebring – 18th, DNF (with Ceresole & J. Greenwood)
  • 1953 12 Hours of Sebring – 34th, DNF (with Ceresole & Logan Hill)

By 1953, the car wasn’t exactly competitive and it passed from collector to collector until it was restored in the 1980s. Yes, the restoration is a bit old (you can see it in the seats) the body and paint look great. It is one of about 28 ever built and should sell for between $700,000-$850,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $650,000.