Tag Archives: sports cars

C.G. 548

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1971 C.G. 548 Prototype

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 18, 2013

1971 C.G. 548 Prototype

The cars badged as C.G. were built by Carrosserie Chappe Freres et Gessalin in France. They were based on Simca 1000s. C.G. was to Simca like Alpine were to Renault (sorry for the SAT flashback). Production began in 1967 and lasted through 1974. A coupe and roadster were offered.

The name refers to the weight of the car – a featherweight 548kg. In 2006 this car was acquired by an aspiring historic race car driver. He wanted something weird – mission accomplished. He had it completely restored, and in the process, converted to race specification. A roll bar was installed and the engine was upgraded. It’s a 1.3-liter Simca straight-four, supercharged, making 160 horsepower. The transmission and suspension were also modified making this a competent competition machine.

It was a $350,000 investment turning this car into a racer. The fun all the upgrades bring overshadows how rare this car is. The estimate at this sale is between $155,000-$185,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

One-Off Ferrari 365 GTC

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1967 Ferrari 365 GTC Speciale

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2013

1967 Ferrari 365 GTC Speciale

This is an interesting car. It is a one-off Ferrari built specifically for the head of Pirelli. On the rear of the car, it says “330 GTC” but the chassis lists it as a “365 GTC,” which didn’t technically go on sale until 1968.

Here’s what happened: Leopoldo Pirelli, President of the tire company the bears his name,  wanted a 330 GTC – but he knew the model was at the end of its road. So he asked Enzo Ferrari to fit it with the engine from the forthcoming 365 GTC and custom made five-spoke Campagnolo magnesium alloy wheels – the first Ferrari ever built with this style wheel (they showed up on a lot of cars after this). So what Pirelli got was basically a prototype vehicle – a 330 GTC fitted with next year’s engine. Ferrari would have called it a “Speciale.”

The engine is a 4.4-liter 320 horsepower V12. The car has been mechanically restored and has been shown at a variety of museums. Only 150 365 GTCs were built and this is the first one – and the only one like it. It can be yours for $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info. And here for more from Bonhams in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $885,000.

Lamborghini’s First Road Car

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1966 Lamborghini 350GT

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1966 Lamborghini 350GT 2+2

Ferruccio Lamborghini’s tractor company made him a small fortune by the late 1950s. He liked cars and owned Alfas, Maseratis and Ferraris. When his Ferrari broke and he tried to tell Enzo Ferrari how to improve it, Enzo basically told him to take a flying leap. So Lamborghini set up his own company and hired Giotto Bizzarrini (from Ferrari, who would later run his own company) to design him a V-12 engine.

The engine was a 3.5-liter aluminium V-12 making 280 horsepower. The two-seat grand touring body was designed by Gian Paolo Dallara (who came over from Ferrari and who would also later run his own company). Performance was brisk – 60 mph came in 6.8 seconds and it topped out at 158 mph.

When new, it cost $15,600 – or about $118,000 today (which really doesn’t seem that all that much considering what a stripper Gallardo will run you). It was a success and allowed Lamborghini to continue on making cars. Only 135 of these were built so they are exceedingly rare when compared with Ferrari’s of similar vintage. It should sell for between $345,000-$425,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Arizona.

Update: Not sold.

Swallow Doretti

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1954 Swallow Doretti

For Sale at Fantasy Junction | Emeryville, California via Gstaad, Switzerland

1954 Swallow Doretti

So what’s with the location above, you ask? The car is located in Switzerland, currently, but is being sold by Fantasy Junction in California. So if you swing by the dealership in Emeryville wanting to check this car out, they will just send you down the street… to Switzerland. No big deal.

The Doretti was the only model manufactured by Swallow – a subsidiary of Tube Investments Group. The name Swallow came from Swallow Coachbuilding Co Ltd – which is the same company that spawned off Jaguar. Jaguar sold off the coachbuilding aspect of their business in 1945. When Tube Investments took over, they put the Doretti into production.

Based on the Triumph TR2, the car uses the same 2.0-liter straight-four making 90 horsepower. The body is unmistakably 1950s-vintage British. Performance was good, the car capable of 100 mph and a 0-60 time of 12.3 seconds. It cost about £200 more than a TR2. Only 276 were built before Jaguar, who was a significantly larger player in the British auto industry at that time, complained that the car’s production was driving the cost of materials up, and Tube Investments being an automotive supplier, shut it down before their customers got mad (more or less). In a way Jaguar was responsible for this car’s birth and death. This one has been in the same ownership for over 30 years. It is for sale for $62,500. Click here for more info.

Venturi Transcup 260

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1991 Venturi Transcup 260

For sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

1991 Venturi Transcup 260

MVS, or Manufacture de Voitures de Sport, was founded in 1984 by two former Heuliez engineers: Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy. The name was changed to Venturi at some point and the Transcup series was introduced in 1991. There were five different Transcup models, all with different power ratings. This is the top of the line Transcup 260 model.

It uses a 2.9-liter (or 2.85-liter) turbocharged V6 making 253 horsepower – yeah, apparently Venturi rounded up. The car is very sporty looking and doesn’t look as old as it is – even Venturi’s earlier cars looked sporty and semi-modern. They’re quick too.

The seller says there were 128 of these built, but the language is a little choppy and I don’t know if they mean 128 Transcup cars total, or the Transcup 260 in particular. There aren’t many of either, that’s for sure. This one is a 70,000 mile car, which is a little scary and high for a supercar. Then again, it’s over 20 years old and comes with a service booklet. The price is $51,890. Click here for more info.

Jensen 541

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1956 Jensen 541

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | December 4, 2012

The Jensen 541 is a rare four-seat coupe from Jensen Motors Ltd of West Bromwich, England. It was the first of a series of three different 541 models, which would go on to include the R and the S. It is also the most common – if you can call anything where only 226 were built “common.”

Introduced in 1954, the 541 was a sporty car with a 4.0-liter straight-six making 135 horsepower. Performance was gauged at 0-60 mph in 10.8 seconds (which doesn’t seem so sporty today) and a top speed of 115 mph. This car is painted in “Deep Green” and it’s fabulous inside and out – truly one of the best in existence.

The 541R came along in 1957 and the 541S in 1960, each with horsepower increases and the latter with an available V8. The original 541 lasted through 1959 and a limited-edition convertible was also available. It’s a very attractive and little known British sports car from the 1960s that happens to be a little larger and more practical than a period MG. The estimate is $55,000-$63,000. For more information, click here. And for more from this sale, click here.

Ferrari 512TR

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1994 Ferrari 512TR

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, England | November 17, 2012

The Ferrari 512TR is the second iteration of the Ferrari Testarossa. The Testarossa was produced from 1984 through 1991, when the 512TR was introduced. It lasted until 1994, and was replaced by the F512M, which lasted through 1996. In the four years it was in production, 2,280 512TRs were built.

This is one of my favorite Ferraris, for reasons I can’t really explain. It has that classic Testarossa style, but it’s smoother, less boxy and squared-off – and it has some of the best wheels Ferrari ever put on a car. It uses a 4.9-liter flat-12 making 428 horsepower. It can hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.

This is a 17,000 mile car that was serviced about 9 months ago. The car is in great condition and the rear-mounted flat-12 looks almost clean enough to eat off of – almost. This would be a fun, good-looking, Ferrari to own. It is expected to sell for between $80,000-$96,000 – down from its $212,000 as-new price. You can read more here and check out the rest of the auction line up here.

Update: Sold, $83,700.

Maserati MC12

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2005 Maserati MC12

Offered by RM Auctions | London, England | October 31, 2012

Give me this beautiful Italian beast any day over the Ferrari Enzo, the car upon which it is based. Okay, so the only things these two cars have in common, besides a corporate overlord, is their chassis and engine. The purpose of this car, unlike the Enzo, was to go racing – specifically in the FIA GT Championship, winning it in 2005. Although introduced in 2004, MC12s could still be seen on the circuit through 2010. They also competed in the FIA GT1 Champhionship, Italian GT and the American Le Mans Series.

The engine is a Ferrari-sourced 6.0-liter V12 making 620 horsepower. It’s slower than an Enzo, hitting 62 mph in 3.8 seconds on the way to its 205 mph top speed. The Ferrari has a higher top speed and also brakes better. But this car has style and soul. It’s sleeker, longer, taller and wider than the Enzo (and wider than just about everything else on the road) and somehow it has a lower coefficient of drag. It’s much, much prettier and the top is removable, which could prove useful should you try and use reverse – as there is no rear window. This is the only color combination in which they were offered from the factory.

As a homologation special (something we don’t see too much of nowadays), the MC12 was offered in limited numbers – only 50 road cars were built in total, 30 in 2004 and 25 in 2005. So it is very rare. They cost $800,000 when new and they have already appreciated in price. This one is expected to sell for between $1,000,000-$1,250,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM in London, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

Here’s some video of a similar car:

Koenigsegg CCX

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2008 Koenigsegg CCX

Offered by RM Auctions | London, England | October 31, 2012

Boom. The top speed of the car we featured yesterday was 15 mph. This car will do 245 mph. Yeah, that’s a McLaren F1 difference in top speed (they topped out at 231 with the rev limiter). This is one of the finest and fastest legitimate modern supercars in existence.

Christian von Koenigsegg’s first hand built road car was delivered to its new owner in 2002. The CCX model you see here was introduced for 2006 with an eye toward entering the American market (with emissions compliance, etc.). It uses a Koenigsegg-designed twin-supercharged 4.7-liter V8 making 806 horsepower with 62 mph coming in a scant 3.2 seconds.

The top on this car is removable and can be stowed in the trunk at the front of the car – it fits in there just perfectly and is a really neat design feature. Even neater are the doors: they are not gullwing doors nor are they “Lambo” scissor doors. They are what Koenigsegg refers to as “dihedral synchro-helix” doors. In other words, instead of just flipping forward, they go out, then rotate forward for a truly alien look. Coolest. Doors. Ever.

It’s a quick car – and that small spoiler on the back helps keep it planted. It exists thanks to Top Gear, which tested the first CCX (and it had an “off” into some tires when their test driver, The Stig, lost it at high speed). The wing was introduced and the car topped their lap chart, although the time was, jokingly, credited to “KoenigseggisseggggnignigsegigisegggnigseggniggseggCCX with Top Gear wing.”

It’s also pretty rare. Only 27 were built and this is one of only eight that are in right-hand drive configuration. It is expected to sell for between $380,000-$460,000, the high-end of that being only about $100,000 less than the price as new. Then again, it only has 1,700 miles on it, so it’s almost new. You can read more here and check out more from RM in London, here.

Update: Sold $397,000.

Autech Zagato Stelvio

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1991 Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1

Offered by Coys | Ascot, U.K. | October 13, 2012

I would hate to call a car that has been designed by one of the world’s foremost automotive design houses “bizarre” so I won’t. I’ll call it “Japanese,” as they are known for their love of quirky, boxy cars. Milanese design house Zagato created the aluminium body – which even has the signature Zagato “double bubble” roof, if only so slightly – while Autech, a Nissan-owned performance tuning subsidiary, was behind the rest of the car.

The car is based on a Nissan Leopard (a car America received as the Infiniti M30) and has an Autech-tuned 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 under hood making 320 horsepower. They also tuned the suspension and the frame. The entire car was built by hand and a production run of 200 was scheduled, although only 104 made it out the door.

They were very expensive when first released in 1989, but the price has subsided a little bit, with Coys expecting this to fetch between $38,000-$48,000. This is a very rare car – tell me if you’ve ever seen one let alone even heard of it. You can read more about it here, and check out the rest of Coys auction lineup here.