Tag Archives: sports cars

Isdera Commendatore 112i

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1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | Sometime in 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well here we go. Two years ago, Historics auctioned a Lister Storm road car and I said “now if you could just snag an Isdera Commendatore” you’d win my heart. Well, RM Sotheby’s is doing it. The one and only Commendatore 112i is going under the hammer in Paris next year.

Isdera was founded by Eberhard Schulz in Germany in 1982. The company’s biggest success on the production car front was the Imperator 108i, which was a production version of the Mercedes-Benz CW311 concept car (which was designed by Schulz). Thirty were built between 1984 and 1993. Apparently, Isdera has produced 70 cars since 1993, but nobody really knows what they are.

The Commendatore 112i launched as a concept car at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was named for Enzo Ferrari and was originally fitted with a 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V12 capable of 408 horsepower. A Ruf six-speed manual transaxle was fitted, and the car could do 211 mph.

The body is fiberglass over a spaceframe chassis. Production never materialized, and only this prototype was built. It reappeared in 1999 under the care of a Swiss businessman who updated it to the name “Silver Arrow.” It was offered for sale a few times in the ensuing years, but Isdera managed to reacquire it in 2016. It was then restored back to 1993 specification, including it’s awesome periscope mirror.

This car is 100% pure 1990s insanity. It is at the top of the heap of over-the-top supercars. And it is being sold directly from Isdera – at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,343,774.

Ruf Turbo R

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1998 Ruf Turbo R

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 22, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ruf Automobile has produced some pretty awesome Porsche-based cars over the years, some of which have become legendary, like the CTR Yellowbird. Other highlights include the CTR2 and BTR. Recently we even featured a CTR3 Clubsport.

The Turbo R is based on the 933-generation of the Porsche 911, which was produced between 1994 and 1998. The 993 was the last air-cooled variant of the 911. And it’s Turbo model was a beast. That’s where the Turbo R gets it start.

Ruf took the 993 Turbo’s twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six and tweaked it to put out 490 horsepower (about 88 more than stock). It also got a revised suspension and a Ruf body kit and wheels. An integrated roll cage was helpful if things went wrong on the way to the Turbo R’s 204-mph top speed. This example has all-wheel drive.

The Turbo R was only produced in 1998, and just 14 were built. A 993 Turbo S can bring upwards of $300,000. This should easily sail into that range. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $764,000.

Chimaera 4.5

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1999 TVR Chimaera 4.5

Offered by Brightwells | Online | December 10, 2020

Photo – Brightwells

The Chimaera was TVR’s “tourer.” It was intended for long-distance cruising and was sold between 1992 and 2003. Now, TVRs don’t have the world’s greatest reputation for reliability (so take “long-distance” with a grain of salt), but the intent was still there. Also, who cares. TVRs are awesome. And this one has over 90,000 miles, so take that, reliability skeptics.

There were a number of different power levels of Chimaera offered. We’ve featured a 4.0-liter example previously, and this one is two steps up. The 4.5 is powered by a 4.5-liter Rover V8 rated at 285 horsepower. Top speed was supposed to be 160 mph.

All Chimaeras were drop-tops, and only one model was slotted in above the 4.5. This example is finished in Canyon Red over Biscuit leather. It is expected to sell for between $13,500-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,903

DAM/TPR 4100

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1987 DAM 4100

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | November 13-14, 2020

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Group B rallying was one of the best classes of motorsport since… well, since motorsports. In the 1980s, there were some outrageous rally cars, and one such example was the MG Metro 6R4. Badged as a derivative of the frumpy Austin/MG Metro front-wheel-drive hatchback, the 6R4 was a rear-mid-engined four-wheel-drive monster powered by a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 capable of over 400 horsepower.

There were 220 examples of the 6R4 built, 20 of which were high-level competition cars. The other 200 were Clubman cars, which were sold to the public. Many of them ended up in the hands of privateer rally drivers. So what is this car then?

Well, Tony Pond was a works Austin-Rover rally driver. One of the team engineers was a man named David Appleby. When Austin-Rover (MG) pulled out of rallying in 1987, Pond and Appleby set up shop updating Clubman cars. Thus, the DAM/TPR 4100 was born.

This is the prototype. Pond and Appleby parted ways shortly after this car was built, but Appleby soldiered on without Pond and ended up producing 5-10 examples. Power is from a Cosworth-derived 2.5-liter V6 rated at 295 horsepower at an impressive 10,250 rpm. It’s got four-wheel drive, too.

This is like a cottage industry British supercar from the 90s (even though it was built in the late 1980s). It’s a car that never appears at public sales (or in public generally). The estimated price reflects it. The estimate is $190,000-$215,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold. Silverstone actually says sold for an “undisclosed amount,” which is about the sketchiest thing I’ve ever seen on an online auction.

Update II: Sold, Silverstone Auctions, March 2021, $124,501.

Mitsubishi Starion

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1989 Mitsubishi Starion EX

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | October 14, 2020

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Mitsubishi is sort of hanging on by a thread in the U.S. right now. But remember 25-30 years ago when they made awesome stuff? Between the Starion, the 3000GT, and the Eclipse, Mitsubishi was hot in the 90s. And through a weird bade-engineering agreement, all three of those cars were offered as Chrysler products in the U.S.

The Starion was offered between 1983 and 1989, and was also used as a successful rally car in the late 1980s. While always a hatchback, the Starion was offered in two body styles: narrow or wide-body. This is a widebody example with boxed fender flares. It’s awesome.

All Starions were turbocharged, although two different engines were offered. This one is powered by the smaller 2.0-liter turbo inline-four that was rated at 178 horsepower. The EX was the luxury model in the European market. North American trim levels were completely different. The pre-sale estimate is $17,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,615.

612 Scaglietti Shooting Brake

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2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Shooting Brake

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 11, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

There has been a long history of Ferrari owners turning their racy Italian thoroughbreds into something a little more… functional, and the converted shooting brake has always been a popular choice. Of course, when Ferrari introduced their own factory version (the FF), people were like “meh.”

The 612 Scaglietti was styled originally by Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina, and I think it has aged very well. This example was sent to Vandenbrink Design in the Netherlands in 2017 where it was converted into a shooting brake with a cool pair of windows over the heads of the rear-seat passengers. I like it.

Power is from a 533 horsepower, 5.7-liter V12, which makes this quite the grocery getter. It should sell for between $180,000-$300,000. That’s quite the range. So in other words, Bonhams has no idea what this will bring. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $243,038.

458 Speciale

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2014 Ferrari 458 Speciale

Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | September 20, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

I remember when the 458 Italia launched, and I remember seeing one shortly thereafter at a gas station near Cannes where some girl got out of the passenger side. She slammed the door into a concrete pillar, and the driver just laughed. A different world.

Somehow, Ferrari is already two generations down the road from the 458. The 488 GTB and the F8 Tributo are both fairly derivative of this design, as the F430 was to the 360, and the F355 was to the 348 back in the ’90s. In that regard, the 458 has aged kind of well. It’s not as garish as the later cars. And as all of the models just listed have done, the 458 was littered with special editions, including the 2013-2015 Speciale, which was akin to the F430 Scuderia or the 360 Challenge Stradale.

Differences from the base car include forged wheels, a larger rear spoiler, finned side sills, and re-designed bumpers. The 4.5-liter V8 also got a power bump to 597 horsepower. This example is essentially brand new and is registered in Switzerland. This Bonhams sale has become a supercar highlights sale, but there are no “confiscated dictator” collections this year (sad face). This is like “supercar-lite” when compared to the three Veyrons already announced. The price for this Blu Mirabeau car is estimated at $440,000-$550,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

August 2020 Auction Highlights

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The auction world started picking up steam in August, with most houses turning to online or partial-in-person sales. First up is Silverstone Auctions, where this 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV sold for $2,503,366.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The one-off RA4 Vanguard failed to sell, but the Zenos brought $26,506 and the Benova $41,231. More results are available here.

Next up is Gooding & Company, a sale from which we featured two cars. Both sold. The Duesenberg brought $1,012,000, and the VLF sold for an undisclosed amount, WHICH IS LAME. You should assume they paid $15,000 for it, and then refuse to buy it from (presumably) whoever is about to try and flip it for an insane profit (based off of that $15,000 number). The top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose for $3,080,000. Go here for more results.

Photo – Gooding & Company

Bonhams’ “Quail” sale was held in Los Angeles this year. The cars with the four largest estimates all failed to sell (including the Offener Tourenwagen), leaving this 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder atop the heap at $2,232,500.

Photo – Bonhams

The Grid-Porsche didn’t seller either. The Adams Probe sold for $184,800, and the Mason Tourist King brought $201,600, which seems strong. Check out the other cars that sold here.

RM’s Monterey sale also shifted to the internet (they called it “Shift/Monterey”). The top sale was a 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive for $4,290,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

To start, a BMW M1 Procar we featured a while back sold here for $913,000. The Duesenberg from this sale sold for $781,000, and the Fiat Wonderful Coupe brought $181,500. All of our feature cars actually sold, which I guess means they were well-selected. The Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 sold for $176,000, the Edwards America convertible $148,500, and I’m pretty sure a previously-featured Fiat 1100 Allemano cabriolet sold for $158,000. Complete results are available here.

H&H had another online sale this month, and two of the cars we featured from last month failed to sell again (see: Willys-Knight and Renault). The good news is that the Hupmobile found a new home for $32,396. The top sale was actually this 2007 Jaguar XKR (with crazy low mileage) for $36,814. More results can be found here.

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Finally, the FAM cabriolet prototype was withdrawn from the otherwise all-motorcycle Bonhams auction.

VLF Force 1

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2015 VLF Force 1

Offered by Gooding & Company | Online | August 3-7, 2020

Photo – Gooding & Company

Yes, this is a Dodge Viper. Buuut, it’s Dodge Viper with Henrik Fisker-penned bodywork produced by VLF Automotive, a company originally founded by Bob Lutz to stuff V8s into formerly-electric Fisker Karmas.

VLF said, “Hey, we’re gonna build 50 of these things at $286,500 a pop.” Well, we all know how start-up supercar companies go. This car is the first of just five completed. It shares the Viper’s 8.4-liter V10, but it’s been cranked up to 745 horsepower. It’s said to hit 60 mph in three seconds and top out at 218 mph.

The design isn’t bad, but it looses some of that Viper meanness in an attempt to beautify it. Actually, it kind of looks like a Viper that is halfway finished eating a Jaguar F-Type. This car is expected to bring between $275,000-$325,000. Good luck finding another one. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold. Price lamely not disclosed.

Zenos E10

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2016 Zenos E10 2.3 R Roadster

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | July 31-August 1, 2020

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Zenos Cars was founded in 2012 by Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards in Norfolk in the United Kingdom. They announced their first car, the E10, in 2013, and it was a lightweight mid-engine sports car. Production started in 2015, but the following year the company had some financial problems and everything stopped by 2017.

There was a base E10, the turbocharged S model, and the even-more-powerful R model. This is an example of the latter, and it is powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter Ford EcoBoost inline-four that was rated at 350 horsepower. That engine went into a car that weighed about 1,600 pounds dry. That combo was good for a sprint to 60 mph in about three seconds, and it topped out around 150 mph.

Silverstone is offered two Zenos cars at this sale: this car and a base roadster. Neither car has ever been registered, and they are essentially brand new. Due to the company’s financial problems, I sort of want to think that these were two leftovers or demonstrators that are being liquidated. But that’s just conjecture. What is cool is that Zenos built over 100 examples of the E10, making it a legitimate production sports car. Here’s your chance to get one of the last new examples. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $26,506.