Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 25, 2023
Nissan‘s R35 GT-R has been on sale for what seems like forever. And the new ones look pretty much just like the examples produced back in 2009. Unless that is, your GT-R is one of the 18 “GT-R50” examples with bodywork by Italdesign.
And it’s not just the angular bodywork that is different. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 received better pistons and fuel injectors in addition to a fresh exhaust system for a rating of 710 horsepower.
This is the 11th car built (they wanted to make 50, but only 18 made it out). They cost over $1 million when new, and this one now has an estimate of $1,000,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.
The Aztec was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign as a celebration of the company’s 20th anniversary. It was shown as a prototype at the 1988 Turin Motor Show. Then the company decided to actually build road-going examples. They wanted to make 50 of them, but probably only 18 were actually completed.
It’s an almost-mythical car. They never come up for sale (at least publicly) and this is the first one to hit the auction block in more than a decade (though a quick search will show you zero auction results for the model at all). This one was once in the Shanghai Auto Museum, which seems like a place cars don’t escape from. But it was brought stateside by the Blackhawk Collection (who has a magical way to get some other classics out of China).
The Aztec is powered by a turbocharged 2.2-liter Audi inline-five that made 250 horsepower (if the stickers on the car are to be believed). That’s not exactly supercar territory, power-wise. But, those looks. That’s why this qualifies as a supercar. It looks like it drove off of a Star Wars set. It has a dual-canopy cockpit with gullwing and side-hinged doors. It’s straight out of bizarro land.
And it. Is. Amazing. This is a car I’ve wanted to see come to market for a long time (since I started this site almost a decade ago). And it’s the first one to hit the open market. What’s it worth? That’s the fun part. No one knows… there isn’t a big list of past sales to give us a clue. But if it isn’t a big money car, it deserves to be. Chances are you won’t see another one change hands for quite a while (unless the selling price here knocks it out of the park… then we’ll see a few of them).
Think about all of the wild stuff that came out of the 90s supercar madness. This is like the genesis of that. It’s a bummer this wasn’t a bigger success, then maybe they would’ve put the Nazca C2 into production as well. That could’ve led to even more fun in the 90s (Alfa Romeo Scighera anyone?).
The Aztec is among the wildest designs ever put into production, and it is the precursor to all of the low-run, high-end stuff we are awash in today. Check out more about this car here. But hurry, the auction ends Monday.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | April 12, 2019
Italdesign is a design company based in Moncalieri, Italy, near Turin. Co-founded by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1968, the company was mostly acquired by Lamborghini in 2010. In 2017, an offshoot was formed called Italdesign Automobili Speciali. Their mission is to actually build low-run supercars, instead of just designing them.
Their first car is this, the Zerouno, and it was launched in 2017. We’ll just say it’s related to the Lamborghini Huracan, as it is powered by a 5.2-liter V10 that makes 610 horsepower and has all-wheel drive. Top speed is 205 mph.
Only five units of the Zerouno were constructed, with this being the final one (an additional five examples of the Zerouno Duerta drop-top will also be made). It’s basically brand new with delivery mileage. This could very well be the last time you ever see one of these for sale, and it should bring between $1,050,000-$1,700,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Chantilly, France | September 5, 2015
Photo – Bonhams
This wild – and iconic – 1970s Italian concept car was designed by the master himself, Giorgetto Giugiaro. This is a concept car in the classic sense of concept cars – out there ideas that really don’t have a shot at production. But unlike many, this thing is not only fully functional, but road registered.
It’s powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 from a Bora making 310 horsepower. The engine is mounted in the rear and the driver sits in a sort of glass greenhouse. The front of the sharp wedge has a giant, (and we mean giant) Maserati trident slapped on there so there’s no mistaking what company this car represents. Remember, this is from 1972 – cars that actually looked like this (wedges sharp lines and creases… think Lotus Esprit) were on sale for decades after.
The Boomerang premiered at the 1971 Turin Motor Show and made its rounds across Europe in 1972: Geneva, Paris, London, Barcelona. It was sold after the Barcelona show to a Spanish resident until a German took it home with him in 1980. It was restored and appeared at shows as early as 1990. A few other owners have had the pleasure to be this car’s caretaker and it had another slight restoration in 2003. It’s been welcomed at car shows all over the world and will continue to be. This is a rare chance to own a true concept car from one of the greatest automotive designers of all time. No pre-sale estimate is available, but if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.