Archive for the ‘For Sale’ Category
May 20th, 2011 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
Race history at the Targa Florio? Check. Le Mans? Yup. Tour de France? Uh-huh. Monza 1000KM? You bet.
Say any one of these things about any single example of a car and you’ll have my attention. Say all of them about a single car and you’ll have a lot of people’s attention. When the car you’re talking about is an exquisite 1964 Alfa TZ Coupé, you’ll have everyone’s attention.
There’s no question that the TZ is a striking machine. One of only 112 made, any Tubulare Zagato is a rare beast. One of the very few early Audodelta prepped machines (those made before the wider homologation production) and with well documented race history. Hell, it’s damn near unique.
This Alfa-Romeo TZ #750006 is crossing the block this weekend as part of RM’s Ville d’Este auction. And it says something about the caliber of machine that they’re presenting this weekend that the TZ isn’t even one of their featured lots. But if you look a bit beyond the sea of vintage Ferraris on offer (a 275GTB, a Scaglietti 500 TRC Spider, a 375MM Berlinetta) you’ll come to lot 126.
Restored to her 1964 LeMans livery by Piet Roelofs Engineering, she looks aggressive, mean even. Despite the relatively light 150 horsepower that the 1.5liter DOHC straight 4 was pulling, Giampiero Biscaldi and Giancarlo Sala managed 15th overall in the 24 Hours (10th in GT). In a field of Ferrari 330s and GTOs and Porsche 904s, that’s a wonderful result that Scuderia St. Ambroeus must have been pleased with (with her sister car finishing 13th for the team).
A truly stunning example of a remarkable car and a masterpiece of design for Zagato—I do so miss that flat-back era of design. I’d say there’s little doubt she’ll reach her estimate of €475.000-€575.000.
More at RM’s catalog. Previously.
Update: Well, the TZ sure met it’s reserve alright, selling for €627,200.
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February 24th, 2011 | Published by Harlo in For Sale, Porsche
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.”
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.
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February 4th, 2011 | Published by Harlo in For Sale, Racing Ephemera
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
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January 13th, 2011 | Published by Harlo in Ferrari, For Sale
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
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November 4th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Ferrari, For Sale
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.
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October 26th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Ferrari, For Sale, Racing Ephemera
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
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October 19th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
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!
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September 14th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
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.
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.
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August 11th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Classic Sportscar, For Sale
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.
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There’s no question that the TZ is a striking machine. One of only 112 made, any Tubulare Zagato is a rare beast. One of the very few early Audodelta prepped machines (those made before the wider homologation production) and with well documented race history. Hell, it’s damn near unique.
A truly stunning example of a remarkable car and a masterpiece of design for Zagato—I do so miss that flat-back era of design. I’d say there’s little doubt she’ll reach her estimate of €475.000-€575.000.
