Tag Archives: ss

Corvette XP-64

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1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS Project XP-64

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In 1956, legendary GM designer Harley Earl bought a Jaguar D-Type (after it finished 3rd at Sebring that year). He wanted to put a Chevy V8 in the car and put it back on track. Instead, Zora Arkus-Duntov imagined what a ground-up Corvette-based racer aimed at the D-Type could be.

The car features a tubular spaceframe wrapped in a one-off magnesium body that carries some of the period Corvette looks. It has independent front suspension, inboard rear brakes, and a 283ci (4.6-liter) V8 that was slightly tuned and fitted with Ramjet fuel injection. It made over 300 horsepower.

Dubbed the Super Sport, the car would go racing, including:

  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 59th, DNF (with John Fitch and Piero Taruffi)

And before they could swap a fiberglass body on it and take it to Le Mans, GM pulled out of factory racing. It was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1967, and they are now selling it. The estimate is $5,000,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info.

Ghia-Aigle Alfa 1900C SS

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1957 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Coupe Lugano by Ghia-Aigle

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Alfa’s 1900 was a small sedan that was offered between 1950 and 1959. Attractive in its own right, the car was designed by Alfa designer Orazio Satta. Sprint and convertible versions were also offered, as was a short-wheelbase Corto (1900C) variant.

In addition, you could get a hot SS version, of which 854 were built. They featured a 2.0-liter DOHC inline-four with twin Solex carburetors for a rating of 115 horsepower. Many of these received coachbuilt bodies, including a number of them by Ghia-Aigle (not to be confused with Carrozzeria Ghia of Italy). Ghia-Aigle was initially the Swiss subsidiary of Ghia and actually lasted until 1988.

It’s unknown how many Coupe Luganos were built, but four are known. It, as are many 1900Cs, is a very attractive car. And it is selling at no reserve with an estimate of $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info.

Ghibli SS

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1972 Maserati Ghibli SS Coupe

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | June 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Simply, this car exemplifies great, classic, Italian styling. It is among the handsomest grand tourers of the era, with styling penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia. The first Ghibli debuted at the 1966 Turin Motor Show with power from a 4.7-liter V8.

The SS variant arrived in 1969 with a 4.9-liter V8 rated at 330 horsepower. Convertibles also arrived in ’69. This coupe was originally a different color but was repainted blue in 2007. It also has a light beige interior and a modern stereo. It’s made to be used.

In all, 1,170 Ghibli coupes were produced through 1973. Just 425 of those were SS coupes powered by the 4.9-liter engine. This one has a few days left, and you can view more about it here.

Update: Sold $237,000.

SS1 Tourer

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1935 SS1 2.5-Litre Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 10, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Swallow Coachbuilding Company started building their own cars in 1932. The first model launched was the SS1. Bonhams quotes a total of 2,503 examples produced through 1936. SS, of course, would become Jaguar after WWII and the resulting new associated connotations with “SS”.

The SS1 was powered by a choice of inline-six engines, with this car being powered by the later, larger 2.6-liter unit. There was an SS2 that featured a four-cylinder powerplant. Output in this car was rated at 68 horsepower.

Five body styles were offered, including the tourer shown here. It remained with a single family for about 50 years, being restored early in their stewardship. Now it has a pre-sale estimate of $78,000-$105,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $73,188.

’96 Impala SS

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1996 Chevrolet Impala SS

Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | November 20-21, 2020

Photo – Mecum

This is one of my favorite cars. It will be a car I own in the near future. A little history: the Impala model is a classic dating back to 1958 when it was a sub-model of the Bel Air. It became its own line in 1959, and the glory years lasted through 1970. Things trended downhill beginning in ’71, and the 1977-1985 models killed the Impala nameplate for a decade (though I secretly like this generation).

Then, in 1994, GM revived the Impala SS as a standalone model (even though their VINs decode as a Caprice). It was essentially a Caprice cop car with a bunch of heavy-duty items (suspension, brakes, cooling system), in addition to a Corvette-based 5.7-liter LT1 V8. Power was rated at 260 horsepower.

It was produced only between 1994 and 1996, and 60,768 were built in total. Black was the best color, but Dark Cherry Metallic and Dark Grey Green were also available beginning in 1995. 1996 models are differentiated from earlier cars by having an analog speedometer and a floor shifter for the automatic transmission. They. Are. Awesome. And this one has 12,000 miles. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,800.

Arkley SS

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1966 Arkley SS

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | June 24-27, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

John Britten’s Arkley was a kit car launched in 1970. The SS was a fiberglass re-body for cars such as the MG Midget or Austin-Healey Sprite. This car is based on a 1966 Austin-Healey Sprite.

Power is from a 1.1-liter inline-four from a Morris Minor, and the car features front cycle fenders with the headlights perched between them and the hood. You can still clearly see the Sprite underpinnings along the sides of the car near the doors.

About 1,000 Arkley kits were produced during the initial run. The rights were sold in the late 1980s and were available again for a short time thereafter. This one is offered at no reserve from RM’s “Essen” sale, which has been pushed back to June and is now online-only. You can read more about the car here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,357 (really?)

Mercedes-Benz SS

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1929 Mercedes-Benz SS 27/140/200 Sport Tourer by Fernandez & Darrin

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2020

Photo – Artcurial

Before there was the S-Class, there was the S-Series, which started with the Model S, which was a nice, big car introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1926. This line of cars was responsible for the best Mercedes cars before things like the 540K rolled out.

It was topped by the SS in 1928, as shown here. This car is believed to wear a body from Fernandez and Darrin and was sold new in New York. Three versions of the SS were offered between 1928 and 1934. This is an example of the early, entry-level model, which is powered by a supercharged 7.1-liter straight-six that made 140 horsepower in normal mode and 200 with the supercharger engaged. This power rating was only available through 1930.

Things got even more intense with the SSK, but that’s another story for another day. Only 111 examples of the SS were built, and this example should bring between $6,500,000-$8,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

SS Jaguar 1½-Litre

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1936 SS Jaguar 1½-Litre Coachbuilt Saloon

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 28, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

Time to indulge in my favorite thing: breaking down make and model histories. SS Cars Ltd. was the result of the Swallow Sidecar Company – founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley – turning to automobiles. This occurred in 1934 (even though cars had sort of been on the table since 1932). The company became Jaguar in 1945 – thanks a lot, Nazis (but seriously, even the SS Cars logo looked like it was ripped off of an SS officer’s uniform).

Prior to 1935, the company had a few products, namely the SS1 and SS2. Sports cars came next with the SS 90 and SS 100 (or SS Jaguar 90 and SS Jaguar 100). Jaguar was a model name with various trims and engines. The SS Jaguar sedans went on sale in 1935 as the SS Jaguar 1.5, Jaguar 2.5, and Jaguar 3.5. They would be produced until 1940 and would go on sale again in 1946 as the Jaguar 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 (without the SS).

And what we have here is an SS Jaguar 1.5. It was available as a sedan or 2-door drophead coupe. This sedan is called a “Coachbuilt Saloon” but there is little evidence it was coachbuilt in anything more than name. Power is from a replacement Ford Kent 1.6-liter straight-four, which is unfortunate.

The lot description says that this car is the oldest surviving Jaguar in the U.K. and one of just five 1936 Jaguars to exist worldwide (yes, there are older non-Jaguar SS cars). One of 10,980 made, it should bring between $26,000-$33,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $36,499.

Alfa 1900C SS Speciale

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1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Speciale by Boano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was Alfa’s executive car introduced at the 1950 Paris Motor Show. Produced through 1959, it could be had as a four-door sedan, two-door coupe, or two-door convertible. This is not the standard coupe.

There were a few sub-models of the 1900, including the 1900 Super, 1900TI, and the 1900C – which was the short wheelbase version. This SS version is powered by a 115 horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-four.

Quite a few of these were coachbuilt specials and many of those were one-offs, including this Turin Motor Show car by Mario Boano. Sold after that show to a Milanese buyer, it remained in Italy for quite some time, finally finding a foreign owner in 2013. The restoration you see here wasn’t complete until 2017 – and it has been restored back to as it was on the Turin Motor Show stand.

The styling on this car is very Jet Age, carrying bodywork that fit right in with other coachbuilt specials from the era. When it crosses the block in January, it is expected to bring between $1,250,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,270,000.

Maserati Ghibli SS

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1971 Maserati Ghibli SS Spider

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

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

There have been three Maserati Ghiblis: the current sedan, a largely forgotten coupe of the 1990s, and this, a beautiful Ghia-styled Grand Tourer from the 1960s and 70s. A Coupe and Spider were available and in 1969, to partner with the base Ghibli, an SS was released.

The difference was that the SS came with a 4.9-liter V-8 making 335 horsepower. Think of what was going on in America at the time – this engine put it smack dab in the middle of muscle car territory. The difference is in the gearing: this car tops out at 170 mph (while most muscle cars were geared for the ¼ mile). This example was restored in 2009 and is noted in the lot description as “the best Ghibli out there.”

Only 128 Ghibli Spiders were built and only 30 of those were of the 4.9-liter SS variety. The estimate on this car is between $1,750,000-$2,250,000. You get what you pay for. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,500,000.