Panther Kallista

1984 Panther Kallista Turbo

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | April 23, 2016

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Panther Westwinds was an English car company that built some strange cars during their existence. The Kallista was a retro-looking model that was very similar to the company’s earlier car, the Lima.

Panther actually built their cars, even though they were based around other models and some might mistake them for kit cars. The Kallista could be had with a variety of Ford engines. This car carries a 2.8-liter Ford V-6 that has apparently been turbocharged. Output is about 213 horsepower.

Panther built this model from 1982 through 1990 (but produced continued in South Korea by SsangYong from ’90-’93). We’re unsure on total production for this model, but it is said that this is the only such model in Switzerland. It should bring between $29,350-$33,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

190 Evo I

1989 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evo I

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | November 28, 2015

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Sports sedans don’t get much cooler than this. This was one of the first really serious performance sedans. And it remains, to this day, one of the best looking. The Mercedes-Benz 190 series was introduced in 1983 and lasted through 1993. There were a couple of different variations of the hot 190, with this being one of the best.

For starters, you can buy a 190 Cosworth for under $10,000. To rival the BMW M3 Evolution, Mercedes introduced the 190 E Evolution in 1989. It’s basically a homologation special for them to take the 190 DTM racing. There were two Evos, with the Evo II being even more extreme. The Evo I uses a tuned version of the 2.5-16 Cosworth’s engine. It’s a 2.5-liter straight-four making 195 horsepower.

Built in 1989 only, there were only 502 Evo I cars built. This one has had three owners and is “in need of a tune up.” It should bring between $36,000-$42,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this auction.

Excalibur 35X

1965 Excalibur 35X

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Zurich, Switzerland | June 13-14, 2015

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Excalibur is a name that shouldn’t be wholly unfamiliar to car guy types as it was the brand of car that sort of founded the Neoclassic movement. The original car was designed by Brooks Stevens and was a Mercedes SSK replica built for Studebaker. But Studebaker went under and Stevens set out on his own to build the Excalibur – for more than 10 years.

But this isn’t the SSK replica. It should look vaguely Bugatti-ish as it was designed by Stevens and Guy Storr to resemble the Bugatti Type 35. They built a handful (27 to be exact) of these based on Opel Commodore running gear. That means it has a 2.5-liter straight-six under the hood making somewhere from 113-148 horsepower. The cars were actually assembled by Michelotti in Turin.

The first Opel Commodore wasn’t introduced until 1967 and various sources list various dates for the limited production Excalibur 35X (ranging from the mid-1960s to the late-1970s but in all likelihood from 1965-1969). In any case, these Bugatti-esque Excaliburs are dwarfed in number by the SSK models – many more of those were built over a longer period of time. So it’s not hard to believe that there is very little info out there on these. At any rate, this is expected to bring between $65,000-$75,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Monteverdi Safari

1978 Monteverdi Safari 5700

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | November 29, 2014

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Peter Monteverdi founded one of Switzerland’s few automobile companies. He began it in 1967 and it went out of business in 1984. They built some serious luxury supercars in the early years but by 1976 the cars were history and the company looked way into the future: luxury SUVs.

The Monteverdi Safari was their second SUV, behind the Sahara. It was a re-styled International Scout designed by Carrozzeria Fissore. Three engines were offered: a 5.7-liter International V-8 (165hp) or the choice between two Chrysler V-8s, a 7.2-liter (305hp) or a 5.2-liter (152hp). This one has the 5.7-liter International engine with 165 horsepower.

The Safari was built between 1976 and 1982 and sold well in Europe and the Middle East. About 1,000 SUVs were built in total between the base Sahara and the upscale Safari. The price probably won’t be that outrageous compared to when it was new. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

BMW Hurrican

1964 BMW Hurrican Prototype

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Zurich, Switzerland | June 7-8, 2014

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

This is a strange one. It’s called a BMW Hurrican and I can’t tell you for sure whether or not this is actually a BMW. I mean, it certainly has BMW parts and a BMW badge – but there is little evidence anywhere that BMW had anything to do with its construction. As you can see in the photo, however, it is certainly welcome at the world’s greatest car shows, such as Villa d’Este.

It is said to be based on a BMW 1800ti, likely from 1964 – and a Ferrari 250 LM. Now, this car doesn’t have a pre-sale estimate listed, but rather “contact us” – but a Ferrari 250 LM is worth over $10 million. This car is not worth that. This is part of the reason it is interesting.

The story I’ve seen is that this car was built by a group of students (college, I believe) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The engine is a 1.8-liter straight-four making 120 horsepower. It also uses pieces from a Volvo, Fiat and Jaguar. While the build of the car began in 1967, it didn’t finish until 1975 and it’s been an attention-getter ever since. It definitely looks better than the 1800ti it is based on. You can read more here and see the rest of this auction lineup here. We have great readers at ClassicCarWeekly.net and I’m sure if any of you know more about this, you’ll let us know in the comments section.

Triumph Italia

1961 Triumph Italia 2000 Coupe

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Zurich, Switzerland | June 7-8, 2014

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

The Triumph Italia shares its model name with another car – from Hudson. What both have in common is that they were “foreign” cars with hand-built bodies from Italy. Both are very rare and pretty expensive when compared to other models from the same manufacturer (although the Hudson Italia is worth significantly more than this Triumph).

Each Triumph Italia began life as a Triumph TR3. It uses a 2.0-liter straight-four making 100 horsepower. The body was designed by Giovanni Michelotti and was built by Vignale. The rest of the car was supplied by Triumph and they were assembled in Turin.

The plan was to build a run of 1,000 cars but Triumph was taken over by Leyland in 1961 and they put a stop to the whole thing. In all, between 1959 and 1962, only 329 of these ended up being built, making it among the rarest of Triumphs. Right now, prices range from between $50,000-$85,000, but the pre-sale estimate is between $158,000-$170,400. You can check out more from this sale here.

Hansa Cabriolet

1937 Hansa 1100 Cabriolet

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | April 26, 2014

Photo - Oldtimergalerie

Photo – Oldtimergalerie

Hansa was a German car manufacturer and, in my mind, I consider it a sort of German version of one of those British manufacturers that went through so many owners and mergers over the years. The company started as Hansa in 1906 and in 1921, Hansa-Lloyd was formed by the amalgamation of Hansa and Lloyd. But Hansa remained as a stand-alone marque, producing cars up to 1939.

Carl Borgward took over after that and Borgward became the marque of note, with Hansa coming back around to supplement the Goliath range later on. Anyway, the auction catalog has this car listed as a Hansa-Lloyd – which is accurate insofar as it was produced by Hansa-Lloyd und Goliath-Werke Borgward & Tecklenborg. But the marque for the 1100 model was actually just Hansa.

The 1100 was introduced in 1934 and uses a 1.1-liter straight-four making 28 horsepower. The model was available as a two-door sedan or two-door cabriolet, as you see here. It will do 57 mph and about 20,000 were built before war broke out in 1939 and Hansa production ceased. This nice example should bring between $27,500-$29,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

1912 Diederichs

1912 Diederichs Type LC Series I

For Sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

1912 Diederichs Type LC Series I

This car is beautiful! It seems that whenever I come across really obscure old cars for sale, they’ve usually been restored by someone who has had the car in their family for 100 years. They don’t necessarily have the know-how to do it right and parts are usually impossible to find. But this thing looks brand new.

Societe des Automobiles Diederichs was founded by Charles Diederichs near Lyon, France. He built a steam tricycle in 1878 and, with his sons, experimented with gasoline automobiles in 1899 and 1900. The company was actually founded in 1912 to produce road cars. It folded two years later in 1914.

Their cars used 2.1-liter straight-fours making 10 to 12 horsepower. They also used round grilles and engine compartments, much like the Delaunay-Bellevilles of the time. Only about 60 cars were produced by this company before they folded. It is likely (although not certain) that this is the only one left. This one has been owned by the same person for 68 years! The price is listed as “upon request” – the most annoying of all prices. Click here for more info.

Venturi Transcup 260

1991 Venturi Transcup 260

For sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

1991 Venturi Transcup 260

MVS, or Manufacture de Voitures de Sport, was founded in 1984 by two former Heuliez engineers: Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy. The name was changed to Venturi at some point and the Transcup series was introduced in 1991. There were five different Transcup models, all with different power ratings. This is the top of the line Transcup 260 model.

It uses a 2.9-liter (or 2.85-liter) turbocharged V6 making 253 horsepower – yeah, apparently Venturi rounded up. The car is very sporty looking and doesn’t look as old as it is – even Venturi’s earlier cars looked sporty and semi-modern. They’re quick too.

The seller says there were 128 of these built, but the language is a little choppy and I don’t know if they mean 128 Transcup cars total, or the Transcup 260 in particular. There aren’t many of either, that’s for sure. This one is a 70,000 mile car, which is a little scary and high for a supercar. Then again, it’s over 20 years old and comes with a service booklet. The price is $51,890. Click here for more info.

1910 Le Zèbre

1910 Le Zèbre Type A

For sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

If this thing looks small, that’s because it is. It almost looks like one of those old cars they have at amusement parks – those kind of 2/3-scale Ford Model Ts. But this looks even smaller – you could fit at least five people in an antique car ride car. And this only has a single cylinder.

Le Zèbre started building cars in 1909 – and they started with single-cylinder engines making a whopping five horsepower. This one displaces 636cc and power reached the rear wheels via shaft drive and a two-speed (all forward) transmission. The cars were popular upon release.

In 1912, a four-cylinder model was added. In 1917, the two founders split up, with Jules Solomon, the driving force behind the company, leaving. In 1924 a new model was introduced, the Type Z. Perhaps this was not the best possible name, because it spelled the downfall of the firm. If you’re going to start it off with a “Type A,” then the “Type Z” seems like a logical conclusion to your business. Poor planning? Or just a shifting market toward bigger, more powerful cars? Probably the latter – Le Zebre closed up shop in 1932.

This car is currently for sale in Toffen, Switzerland, although I suspect it could appear at a forthcoming auction from the company. The price? $35,600. For more information, click here.