NSU Ro80 Concept

1971 NSU Ro80 2 Porte +2 by Pininfarina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Rotary-powered cars have not been built very often, and when they have, it was usually by Mazda. But in the late 1960s, NSU decided to get in the game and produce a sedan, the Ro 80, which would remain in production through 1977 – the year in which NSU was merged into Audi.

This is NOT what those cars looked like. It’s somewhat retro-futuristic vibe is thanks to Italian design house Pininfarina. It’s a four-seater and, despite the confusing name, retains four doors. However, the rear doors are flipped around and open “suicide-style.” The rest of the bodywork is pretty modified, and the interior is very 1970s. The engine is a 995cc twin-rotor Wankel that was rated for 113 horsepower.

This concept debuted at the 1972 Brussels Motor Show and would later find its way to California, where it was purchased by the late current owner. Instead of moving to his junkyard, this car, one of the last that he purchased, was instead put on long-term display in Audi’s museum, where it remained up until this sale. There is a pre-sale estimate of $60,000-$80,000, and more info can be found here.

McLaren M19A

1971 McLaren-Ford M19A

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

McLaren’s M19 was used in three different seasons of Formula One, with the A variant in use in 1971 and the C variant raced for ’72 and ’73. The team’s main drivers in 1971 were Denny Hulme and Peter Gethin, with Peter Revson taking Gethin’s place in 1972. Jody Scheckter would also debut for McLaren in 1972, and he currently owns this car.

Power is from a Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 that displaced 3.0 liters. McLaren built four M19 chassis, two of which were M19A spec. This car, chassis M19A-1, has the following competition history:

  • 1971 South African Grand Prix – 6th (with Denny Hulme)
  • 1971 Spanish Grand Prix – 5th (with Hulme)
  • 1971 Monaco Grand Prix – 4th (with Hulme)
  • 1971 Dutch Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Peter Gethin)
  • 1971 French Grand Prix – 9th (with Gethin)
  • 1971 British Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Gethin)
  • 1971 German Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Gethin)
  • 1971 Austrian Grand Prix – 9th (with Jackie Oliver)
  • 1971 Canadian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Mark Donohue)
  • 1971 United States Grand Prix – 10th (with David Hobbs)
  • 1972 South African Grand Prix – 3rd (with Peter Revson)
  • 1972 Spanish Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Hulme)
  • 1972 French Grand Prix – 9th (with Brian Redman)
  • 1972 British Grand Prix – 3rd (with Revson)
  • 1972 German Grand Prix – 5th (with Redman)
  • 1972 United States Grand Prix – 9th (with Jody Scheckter)

I mean. Look at those names. It’s no wonder there is an estimate of $800,000-$1,100,000. The car was also used in the 1974 F5000 championship, and in F1, it was a Team McLaren AND a Team Penske car at different points. Read more about it here.

280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

This is among the finest classic Mercedes-Benz products you can buy. It’s also among the classiest. The W111 chassis was designed by Friedrich Geiger and is among three generation of Benzes that fall under the “fintail” category, even though these late coupe/cabriolet variants don’t really have tail fins.

The two-doors came a few years after the sedans and initially launched as the 220SE in 1961. A displacement increase in 1965 brought the 250SE to market, followed by the 2.8-liter 280SE in 1967. All of these cars had straight-six engines. Then, in 1969, Mercedes launched the unnecessarily confusingly named 280SE 3.5, which had a 3.5-liter V8 that made 197 horsepower.

Coupes and convertibles were offered with the V8, and just 1,232 examples of the cabriolet were sold. They have been six-figure cars for some time and continue to creep up. This silver-over-blue example has a little time left to bid, and you can do so here.

Trident Venturer

1971 Trident Venturer Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 14, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Trident Cars Ltd was one of many low-volume sports car manufacturers that operated in the U.K. between the 1950s and 1970s. Their first car, the Clipper, was born out of a TVR prototype that TVR decided not to build. So one of their dealers, Bill Last, set up Trident cars to make it.

The Clipper was followed by the Venturer in 1969. Styling was similar, but instead of the Clipper’s V8, the Venturer received a 3.0-liter Ford V6 and a lengthened Triumph TR6 chassis. Production ceased in 1974, and an attempted restart in 1976 saw a few cars built before Trident closed for good in 1977.

About 84 Venturers were built, making it the most common of Trident’s models. This one was restored in the late 1990s and now has an estimate of $23,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,926.

Dino 246 GT

1971 Dino 246 GT

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

If I call this a Ferrari, I annoy purists who insist it was never sold as a Ferrari, which is true. If I don’t call it a Ferrari, I get eye rolls from everyone who agrees that, even though they were badged as “Dinos” in the 1970s, they are, for all intents and purposes, Ferraris. This is also true.

A third truth is that these are beautiful cars that were underappreciated for a long time. I think of it like 911 owners who look down upon Boxsters… presumably because they cost less yet are just as capable with, perhaps, a better overall balance.

The Dino 246 was sold between 1969 and 1974, available in closed-coupe GT form or targa-top GTS form. There were 2,295 closed coupes built, which outnumbered the open cars by about a thousand. Power is from a 2.4-liter V6 rated at 192 horsepower.

This was a British-market example when delivered new in Rosso Chiaro over black. It was restored in the 2000s and now has an estimate of $305,000-$370,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $329,154.

AC 428 Coupe/Convertible

1971 AC 428 Fastback

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

With the Americans really stealing AC’s thunder, the company decided to launch a grand tourer model instead. They took an extended Cobra chassis and dropped a Pietro Frua-designed body over it in 1965. The body featured an aluminum trunk lid and hood.

For power, they turned to Ford. A 7.0-liter (428ci) FE V8 was chosen, and when fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, generated 345 horsepower. The big issue was two-fold. First, the cars were expensive to produce, as the chassis were built in England, shipped to Turin to get a body fitted, and then returned to England to be completed. Second, the big engine put off a lot of heat, a lot of which would end up in the cabin.

This Fastback is one of 51 produced and one of about 80 428s (or Fruas, as they are also known) produced in total. It is expected to sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,600.


1968 AC 428 Spider

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

And here we have the drop-top version of the AC 428/Frua. It features essentially the same Frua styling but with a retractable cloth roof. Power was also provided by a 345 horsepower, 7.0-liter Ford V8.

The Spider variant is even rarer than the already-scarce Fastback. Just 30 were built out of the total run of 81 cars. This is sort of the peak example of the last true, stylish AC car. Sure, the company is still around, but everything after this really lacked the same sense of style. Not to mention that, once the 428 went out of production in 1973, AC didn’t offer another car until the 3000ME came along in 1979.

No pre-sale estimate is available at this time, but it is worth more than the coupe. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $302,000.

AC 428 Fastback

1971 AC 428 Fastback

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

With the Americans really stealing AC’s thunder, the company decided to launch a grand tourer model instead. They took an extended Cobra chassis and dropped a Pietro Frua-designed body over it in 1965. The body featured an aluminum trunk lid and hood.

For power, they turned to Ford. A 7.0-liter (428ci) FE V8 was chosen, and when fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, generated 345 horsepower. The big issue was two-fold. First, the cars were expensive to produce, as the chassis were built in England, shipped to Turin to get a body fitted, and then returned to England to be completed. Second, the big engine put off a lot of heat, a lot of which would end up in the cabin.

This Fastback is one of 51 produced and one of about 80 428s (or Fruas, as they are also known) produced in total. It is expected to sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,600.

Richard Petty’s ’71 NASCAR

1971 Plymouth Road Runner NASCAR

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020

Photo – Mecum

Richard Petty drove a Ford in 1969 and was lured back into a Chrysler product in 1970 with the fantastic Plymouth Superbird. After it dominated the 1970 season, NASCAR tweaked the rules out of the be-winged cars’ favor, so Chrysler decided to put Petty in a redesigned 1971 Road Runner for the next season.

The second-generation Road Runner debuted in 1971, which was also the final season that a car won the Cup championship “using a production-based body and engine” per Mecum’s lot description. It’s powered by a 426ci Hemi V8.

Petty won his third championship in this car (and 21 races that year). The following season would begin NASCAR’s “modern era,” making this car the last of its kind. It was also the final season for the all-Petty Blue livery. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $450,000.

Hemi GTX

1971 Plymouth GTX Hemi

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The GTX was a model produced by Plymouth for only a few years. It debuted in 1967 as a trim level on the Belvedere. It was redesigned for 1968, when it broke out as its own model, even though it remained more or less identical to the Belvedere/Road Runner/Satellite. It was just more upscale than those models.

That continued on for 1969, but in 1970 it became a sub-model of the Satellite. For 1971, the cars were restyled again (and the Belvedere was dropped). This was the final year for the GTX, and it looked just like the Road Runner and Satellite, again, but was a stand-alone model. You could get it with a 440 or a 426 Hemi. Plymouth moved just 2,942 GTXs in 1971, only 30 of which were powered by the 426ci (7.0-liter), 425-horsepower Hemi V8.

This is supposedly the only such Hemi GTX in Violet Metallic, and it’s coming out of a muscle car collection that Mecum is planning on selling in July. We’ll see. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $250,000.

Lawil S3 Varzina

1971 Lawil S3

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 11-19, 2020

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Lawil S.p.A. was founded by Henri Willame and Carlo Lavezzari in Pavia, Italy, in 1967. The company actually stuck around through 1988, building a range of microcars over the years. Their early cars were based on Lambrettas.

The S3, also known by its nickname Varzina, was introduced in 1968 and remained in production through 1980. It is powered by a 246cc twin from a Lambretta that makes 12 horsepower. Top speed was about 40 mph.

The S3 wasn’t very popular in Italy but sold okay in other markets (or okay enough to keep it around for a dozen years). They’re a rare sight today, and this one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,100.