Category: For Sale

Categories
For Sale Porsche

Available in the UK: John Surtees’ 4-Cam 356

John Surtees owned this car for 20 years, and I’m sure it provided plenty of smiles after his retirement (of sorts) from the track. But it isn’t the first Porsche 356 that has spent time in the Surtees stable. His first was a Super 90.

He wrote of it in his Supercars I Have Known:

“My father knew the Aldingtons at AFN, the Porsche agents, so I ended up with a 356 Super 90 that had been used as a demonstrator and had hardly any miles on the clock, It was a marvellous little car, but you had to be very wide awake to drive it, In those days we didn’t have such a variety of tyres, so we couldn’t change the handling characteristics of a car: today, people say cars of that period handle well and are fun after trying them on modern radial-ply tyres. You have to remember that our tyres were much more primitive.”

  • John Surtees’ 4-cam
  • John Surtees’ Carrera 2

It seems Surtees changed his opinion of the bathtub Porker in the years between these two experiences. Of course, perhaps the tires have something to do with it. Then again, perhaps there’s also an ocean of difference between a Super 90 and a Carrera 2. I’ve never driven either, but would love to know first-hand… invitations will be accepted 🙂
This car on offer (chassis YKE250A) is 1 of only 437 Carrera 2 variants produced. Which makes it a gem already, with the ownership history of the only Formula 1 AND motorcycle world champion, it’s quite a rare beast indeed. The car was restored in ’98 by Team Surtees themselves, which sweetens the deal in my eyes, with mechanical help from 4-cam maestro Robert Garretson (with parts supplied directly from Porsche).
Some look at the Carrera 2 and see nothing but a plain-jane 356 plus the added headache of 4-cam maintenance.

There’s something I find alluring, however, about the non-descript supercar. A bit of a wolf in—well, not a sheep—maybe a wolf in less-intimidating-wolf’s clothing aspect that feels right to me. Capable. Not flashy.

Today the car is available from the Coys showroom sales department. More info on their inventory details page.

Categories
Automotive Art For Sale Racing Ephemera

Gorgeously illustrated Muscle Cars Poster

Amilcar de Carvalho Fernandes’ beautiful poster of muscle cars from ’60—’74 is perfectly executed. Seeing the images close-up is what really sells it for me. Often these ‘lineup’ posters leave me lacking a bit, but the quality of the illustrations is so high that it feels so much better than other posters I’ve seen that use the same basic layout. Available from Amilcar de Carvalho Fernandes’ site. Looks like €20 well spent to me.

Those Mopar stripes get me every time.

via Ralf Becker

Categories
Ferrari For Sale

Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep. Yeah!

John Lennon didn’t pass his driving test until 1965, by which time The Beatles were already an international sensation. Reportedly, luxury and sporting dealers were literally lining up in front of Lennon’s house with examples of their models for his inspection. Maserati’s, Astons and Jags littered the road outside his Kenwood estate hoping to earn his business. After a stroll outside the gate, he chose this Ferrari 330GT 2+2 in an arresting shade of blue. That very car, the example pictured above, is coming available as part of Bonham’s Collectors’ Motor Cars, Motorcycles and Automobilia auction on February 5 in Paris.

Bonhams says, “The 330 GT had been completed at the factory to right hand drive specification and finished in Azzuro (light metallic blue) paint, with blue interior, as noted on the Factory records. Its specification is noted as having included matched blue carpets, light grey headlining, a Webasto sunroof and overdrive. The finished car was delivered to British Ferrari agents Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. of Egham on order number 192.”

Lennon only owned the car for a few months, before adopting his well-known Rolls Royce limousine with the psychedelic paint scheme.

Estimated to sell for €120,000 – 170,000, but only time will tell. More info on Bonham’s lot detail page.
via

Categories
Ferrari For Sale

Available in the UK: Fiat 682 Ferrari Factory Transporter

I bet you thought your toter-home tow rig was as good as it could get. You’ve got the tools, the clean floor, a lcd tv and comfortable bed. Compared to this open-air spartan antique, it’s a palace. Just look at this thing. No covered protection of your racing car. No kitchenette. No queen-sized bed. No Playstation. None of it.

But it’s not even worth comparing which is cooler. Not only is this transporter a living piece of history. It’ll attract more attention than 90% of the Ferraris that will park next to you at the next race weekend. Now that is saying something for a repurposed delivery truck.

Of course, when Carrozzeria Bartoletti rebodied the Fiat sometime between 1957 and 1959, it’s status as an auto racing icon and object of desire saved it from the fate of the other Fiat trucks on the line that day. This transporter hauled a whole lot of Ferrari racing machines during it’s tenure as both Ferrari Factory transporter from 1959 to 1965, and later for the SEFAC Ferrari team from 1965 to 1970. 11 years of Ferrari’s gliding gingerly up and down those ramps. 11 years of schoolboys and their fathers pressing their noses against their car windows as they passed it on the highway; a GTO or Sharknose perched precariously on her roof. 11 years of dreams. 11 years of amazing.
More info—including complete ownership history from new—on Talacrest Ltd.’s Lot Detail Page.

Categories
Ferrari For Sale Racing Ephemera

For All Your Wooden Ferrari Performance Needs

This Australian ebay seller has a 1:1 scale wood Ferrari 365 V12 up on the auction block. Twin Barrel Webers included! Tifosi syndrome causes people to do some unusual things. “Buy it now” at AUD $6,000.

via

Categories
For Sale

Available in the UK: Nardi Danese

Master restorers Hall & Hall have this gem of an etceterini among their current stock. It’s a remarkable little machine. I’m particularly drawn to these early Italian sporting models that so wonderfully combine the best in American hot rod aesthetic with the small sporty stance and maneuverability of European racers. It’s a combination that has long been neglected, and deserves a reexamination. Somewhere along the way, American hot rodders decided that straight-line speed and horsepower was the goal, and the road-racing hot rod has virtually become a thing of the past.

The Danese was built around an Alfa-Romeo sourced 2500 6-cylinder. Nardi, as always, worked his engine tuning magic to up the 6C’s output to 150hp. Fitting the engine and transmission low in the frame rails, the car was a light handling, but relatively powerful little machine. The low mounting of the engine also allowed coachbuilder Rocco Motto to wrap the Danese in this lovely aluminum body that accentuates the low, lean silhouette of the bonnet despite the relative bulk and height of the engine.

This example, chassis 948-11 has race history on both sides of the Atlantic. Delivered to Count Felice Trossi, the car competed in the Mille Miglia piloted by Francesco Beneventano in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia in 1948 and 1949. The ’49 Mille had Nardi’s business partner—and the car’s namesake—Renato Danese in the passenger seat!

After some time spent in Argentina, the car found it’s way to California and into the hands of Gordon Cooper. Cooper bored out the engine, upping the horsepower to 200. Additional modifications, including these distinctive twin grilles for the oil cooler, made 948-11 a competitive machine on the West Coast. It was during Cooper’s time with the car that Motor Trend tested her. Shortly thereafter, the car made its way into Luigi Chinetti’s collection, who held the car for more than 20 years.

Today, Hall & Hall offers the car in remarkably good shape. The car has been restored it’s original configuration. Cooper himself provided the original grille, having swapped it for a more open grille to provide better breathing during his time with the car. More information on 948-11 on Hall&Hall’s stock detail page

The daughter of Gordon Cooper, Danese (named for the car!), has collected a selection of photos of her parents’ adventures with 948-11 during their time racing the car in the 50’s. Click on over to her Flickr for more. Outstanding!

More on Nardi at Etceterini.

Utimate Car Pages has a fairly well detailed history of 948-11, including a rumored Fangio test drive!

Categories
For Sale

Available in NY: Alfa Romeo TZ Zagato Coupe

I love when a basket case returns to such marvelous shape.

After a hectic racing season in 1964, this lovely machine was unceremoniously retired; boarded up in an Italian garage; and hibernated for 35 years. That story is nothing new; many of the cars we’ve showcased here have shared a similar fate. Thankfully, when the car was rediscovered in 2002, having been completely disassembled along the way, it was lovingly brought back to the condition you see her in today. Better yet, the restoration was almost entirely carried out using the original parts—miraculously not misplaced once removed from the car. And although the original engine was separated from the chassis, it was quickly found a reunited with the frame. The FIA has signed off on the authenticity of the bits and pieces when the car was stripped down a subsequent time for inventory and vintage racing preparation.

She’s presented today in the livery she wore in ’64. It was a busy year for the Zagato, with appearances at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the Nürburgring 1000km, the Tour de France, and other stops on the World Sportscar Manufacturer Championship. This green is so very out of the ordinary for Alfas, and it’s always refreshing to see an Italian in colors other than red. It makes a rare machine seem even more unique and precious. This flat tail era of sportscar design, particular in Italy, sits at the very pinnacle of sportscar design. Somehow it combined an attitude of brutish utilitarianism, but manages to remain elegant; even delicate.

She’s ready to race. The engine has been swapped for a vintage racing prepped motor (the original is crated and included in the sale). The running gear has been refurbished from nose to tail. Something I wasn’t familiar with, but is a fantastic setup for vintage racing, is the parallel exhaust system. Side pipes for unmuffled events, and a rear exit exhaust for sound limited races.

Alfa Romeo TZ Zagato Coupe

This jewel is surely eligible for some of the best events worldwide, and I hope that the new owner has the car out there competing with the GTOs, 904s, and the rest of her competition sisters on the vintage racing stage. More information on the dealer’s information page.

Categories
Classic Sportscar For Sale

Monterey Auction Preview: 1948 Fiat-Cisitalia Mystery Racer

I’m not saying that well documented cars are boring. Far from it—I love a 906 or GTO with a racing victory under her belt as much as the next sportscar nerd, but there’s something about the sheer mystery of this little racing car that stirs the soul and imagination. This 1948 Fiat-Cisitalia(?) racing car is coming available at the upcoming Mecum at Monterey auction and is sure to make some unfussy buyer very pleased indeed.

The Fiat 1100 has powered so many great little racing machines, and with the very rare Cisitalia head, it’s undoubtedly even better. It’s the Cisitalia head that has likely been the source of the head-scratching on this car. So the automotive archeology begins. The Fiat 1100 was a popular engine choice in the 50s. It is fitted with era appropriate Fiat truck brakes that have been modified to lighten them consistent with the technology of the era. The cockpit, from the gauges—one giant Jaeger tachometer surrounded by smaller Sacma pieces—to wooden steering wheel are period correct. Even minor details like the brake reservoir and wiring is all perfectly appropriate for a car of this age. It all gives every indication that the car was constructed in-period and is not a recent garage-built “barn find”.

For all this lovely period craftsmanship, there’s no in-period race history. It seems unlikely that anyone would go through the trouble of welding up this custom chassis and lightening the brakes and then not race it. That seems to be the case with this machine though. There’s no apparent record of the car before it surfaced at a Florida dealer’s lot in the 1990s. The Cisitalia head seems to have always been a source of confusion though as it had at various times been assigned a Cisitalia chassis number, and described in auction catalogs as a “Cisitalia D204”, although Cisitalia never produced a car under this name.

For me though, I’m less concerned with the car’s provenance and record books than I am with how much fun it looks to drive. It looks like the 1100 Fiat engine would surely push a lightweight such as this to a speed and acceleration well into the giddy zone. The stance would make any American hot rodder envious. The Bandini-inspired cycle fenders and headlamps tucked behind the grille might even afford you the opportunity to street it. The cockpit for two makes it a wonderful rally entrant—if the lack of history will get you past the scrutineers. The straight pipes are sure to provide a lovely concert hall for the tuned engine. Even better, it is certainly going to sell for considerably less than a documented Cisitalia would.

Complete details (what there are of them) are available on Mecum’s lot detail page.

Categories
For Sale Video

Checking in on F1-67

It’s been several months since we last wrote about the F1-67 project and their modern reproduction of a 1967 spec Formula 1 car (with cheap and plentiful smallblock Chevy power). I still love the idea, and hope that Stuart Taylor Motorsports sells the hell out of them. A spec series of these brilliant little machines would be endlessly entertaining—certainly more entertaining than modern Formula 1.

What I’ve missed in the interim are these videos that the development team have created during track days with the car. You can bet the other drivers on the track weren’t having as much fun as the driver of this wonderful car.

Categories
For Sale Porsche

Monterey Auction Preview: Which Plastic Porsche?

Bonhams upcoming Monterey spectacular, Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia auction at the Quail Lodge is selling off the Michael L. Amalfitano Collection of Porsches. There’s such a stunning array Porsches that I couldn’t decide between the two star attractions.

The 910 is a highly desirable ex-factory car that, despite lacking any serious World Sportscar Manufacturers Championship wins, led the 1967 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers race with Gerhard Mitter and Lucien Bianchi. They led the race right up until the last lap when an alternator failure kept the 910s to only a 1-2-3-4 finish.
Originally raced with an air-cooled 2.2 liter flat 8, the car is currently fitted with a 2 liter 6 cylinder from when Porsche sold the car to be raced by a customer. I adore the factory Porsche team liveries of this era. The Grand Prix White bodies with bold blocks of color on the bonnets is pure utilitarian delight. Complete details on Bonhams lot detail page.

The 917 is every bit as magnificent. Campaigned by David Hobbs and Motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood, this example debuted for the Gulf Wyer team in the 1970 LeMans. The car performed exceptionally well lapping with Hobbs at the wheel at an average lap time of 3 minutes 35 seconds. Hailwood proved he was as able on 4 wheels as 2 by keeping within 15 seconds of that time. Sadly, as the rain persisted Hailwood overran the pit entry, missing the opportunity to switch to rain tires. A hundred yards later, he slid off the Dunlop Curve and into a parked car. Complete history in the lot details.

What do you think? Which would you choose?

Update:

The 910 Sold for $799,000 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium.
The 917 Sold for $3,967,000 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium. Yowza!