Tag Archives: sportscars

Ruf BTR2

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1998 Ruf BTR2

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Southam, U.K. | September 28, 2018

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The original Ruf BTR was produced in the 1980s and was based on the legendary 930 Turbo. They were available through 1989, but Ruf wouldn’t build the successor until 1993. Maybe they were waiting on the next generation of turbocharged 911s. If they were, they got impatient.

The BTR2 is powered by a turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six that made 420 horsepower. It was the first 933 Turbo offered to the public, beating Porsche to the punch by a few years. Porsche would use two turbos in their car and it ended up making less power. This car had a top speed of 191 mph.

Only 18 examples of the BTR2 would be produced through 1998. Fifteen of those were coupes like this one, but only five of those were right-hand drive as this one is. It’s got a built-in roll cage if you want a track toy. And even if you don’t, it would still be an awesome weekend rocket. It should bring between $195,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Noble M12

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2001 Noble M12 GTO 2.5

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 12, 2016

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Lee Noble has designed a lot of low-volume sports cars, including the Ultima GTR and the line of cars that bears his name. The M12 is the most popular Noble model, with quite a few different versions available. They first went on sale in 2000 but the company (having been sold in 2006) moved on to other projects after 2008.

The M12 chassis is steel and the body is fiberglass. All M12s were powered by Ford V6s, and this one features a 2.5-liter twin-turbocharged Ford Duratec V6 making 310 horsepower. Later cars grew in engine capacity – and power. Top speed of this model is 165 mph and it can hit 60 in 4.1 seconds.

Pre-built Nobles were assembled in South Africa, but in the U.S. they were technically a kit car and were distributed by 1G Racing (which went on to become Rossion, maker of the Noble-like Q1). As a side note, 1G Racing used to be located down the street from where I lived… so Nobles were about the sportiest thing I could ever hope to see on any kind of regular basis.

This 15,000 mile car has never seen the track and should sell for between $33,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,568.

Kissel Gold Bug

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1920 Kissel 6-45 Gold Bug Speedster

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Tracing the evolution of sports cars is fairly easy until you get back to about 1945. Cars of the Post-War sports car craze are easy to distinguish from more mundane automobiles. Trying to trace it back before the war gets a little trickier. Sure, there were race cars and specials and cars you could drive to Le Mans, race, and drive home. But as far as the earlier cars go, you’re looking at Genesis (or one of a few that qualify for that title).

The Mercer Raceabout and the Stutz Bearcat are two of America’s first sports cars. The Kissel 6-45 Speedster, nicknamed “Gold Bug” (due to it’s signature color) is the third. The Kissel Motor Car Company was founded by Louis Kissel in Hartford, Wisconsin in 1906. They built high-quality cars, trucks, and emergency vehicles. After WWI ended, they saw a market niche they could fill for the exciting decade to come. So in 1919 they introduced the Gold Bug Speedster and it was far and away their most popular model.

The low-slung two seater – with two additional seats that extend out of the body over the running boards for the crazy and/or brave – is powered by a 61 horsepower six-cylinder engine. Performance is sporty – thus it being known as an early sports car. Kissel closed shop in 1930 after producing some 35,000 vehicles. Only about 150 are known to exist today. This one can be yours for $159,500. For more information and photos, click here.

Here are some videos of a similar car:


Porsche 911 GT1 Roadcar

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1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

Remember a week or so ago when we talked about the late-90s homologation specials that were thinly disguised race cars made street legal by some soft tuning and modification, namely the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR? Well you’re looking at its biggest competitor, the Porsche 911 GT1. This is the rarest supercar Porsche has ever made. And it is glorious.

The race version of the CLK GTR never won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Porsche, however, did – taking the top two spots on the podium in 1998. We actually featured a 911 GT1 Evo a few months ago when it came up for sale. But, in order to race these ridiculous “GT” cars, Porsche was required to build road-going examples, just as Mercedes and McLaren did.

The first road car was delivered in 1997. It featured a detuned version of the race car’s 3.2-liter twin-turbo flat-6, making 544 horsepower. The car could do 194 mph and hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. The base price was a very Porsche-sounding $912,000. This particular car is believed to be the only registered 911 GT1 road car in the United States. Approximately 25 were built in total (how no one knows the exact number is a little disheartening as Porsche is a reputable company and they are German, thus they are, stereotypically, supposed to be organized and on top of such things).

If you want to own the rarest of rare Porsches with performance and outrageous looks equaled by very few cars, then this one’s for you. Show up at any Porsche show with it and even people with 959s and Carrera GTs will be staring at their shoes in embarrassment of having “just another production Porsche.” The price is expected to be in the $1,250,000-$1,400,000 range. For more information, click here. And for more from RM in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $1,175,000.

Update II: Sold, Gooding & Company, Amelia Island 2017, $5,665,000.