Tuesday, October 30, 2018

1969 Chevolet Corvette L88

One of 116 L88-powered Corvettes built in the final year of L88 production. The engine was a masterpiece of raw power, combining a reinforced cast-iron block with a forged rotating assembly, 12.5:1 compression and a free-breathing top end incorporating big-valve aluminum heads, a solid-lifter cam and a Holley 4-barrel carburetor on an aluminum intake manifold.
It was officially rated at 430 HP at 5,200 RPM, but was more like 560 HP at 6,400 RPM.

At a hefty additional price tag of $1,032.15, the L88 engine package weighed in at almost a quarter of the base Corvette price in 1969.
This example had an all-encompassing frame-off restoration totaling 5,100 hours. This spectacular machine was exactingly returned to its as-built state. It made $ 577k in 2016.

Monday, October 29, 2018

RM Sotheby's Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale

1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera. $ 151k.RM Sotheby's sale of uber porsche was the weekend of 27 October. Some 70 of the world's most important and sought-after collectible Porsche models were up for grabs.

RM Sotheby's has established itself as a market leader in the sale of significant Porsche cars at auction.

1996 Porsche 911 Carrera RS

1975 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0. $ 390k

1956 Porsche 356 A 1600 'Super' Speedster by Reutter $ 494k

1983 Porsche 956 Group C

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8. $ 2.4 to $ 2.8m

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder. $ 1.4m

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Prototype.
$ 1.3m.

1985 Porsche 959 Prototype. $ 1m

1958 Porsche 356 A. $ 307k

1980 Porsche 935 K4. $ 885k

Sunday, October 28, 2018

1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible at Mecum

One of 518 Shelby GT500KR convertibles produced, No. 2429, is one of 267 with factory 4-speed transmission. It is equipped with the 428 Cobra Jet big-block.
Hagerty suggests a concours quality 1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible trends around $ 260k.

This example made $ 165k in late 2018.

Top Japanese collector cars

Current record for a Japanese car at auction is held by a Mazda 767B racing car. $1.75m.Japanese cars don't do well at auction. The record price for an Italian car is $48.4m, for a German car $31.1m, $22.5m for a British car, $22m an American car, and $10.4m for a French car. The Japanese record is $1.75m.Only 500 Lexus LFA supercars were built, and only 50 of them had the Nurburgring package.
The highest price paid for a Series I Cosmo is $264,000. The Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R. $242,000. The record for a Fairlady Z 432 is $253,000

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Audi R8 GT3 Evo LMS racer

Audi pulled the covers off its 2019-spec R8 LMS GT3 racer at the Paris Motor Show. Power output figures remain unchanged from the car's naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V-10. It produces a healthy 580 horsepower. Pricing for the whole 2019 model year is around 398,000 euros ($460,000) plus taxes. The car will be offered both as a brand-new turn-key race car and Evo kit for existing customers worldwide.
The Evo kit is available for 28,000 Euros ($32,000).

Monday, October 22, 2018

1951 Pegaso Z-102

The Pegaso Z-102 was a Spanish sports car produced by Pegaso in both coupé and cabriolet form between 1951 and 1958. The Z-102 was the fastest production car in the world at the time, capable of 151 mph (243 km/h).

The car was powered by a 3.2-liter dry-sump four-cam all-alloy V8 engine making 170 hp @ 6300 rpm. Power went through a 5-speed non-synchromesh transaxle. The Z-102 had a pressed steel chassis with an alloy body.
Pegaso made a total of 84 cars. 28 were cabriolets.

1954 Pegaso Z-102
A concours quality Z-102 might be expected to sell for between $1.25m and $1.75m.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Fast, rare, and costly, the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sets it's own muscle car standards. The ZL1 was the ultimate muscle car of it’s time. 69 examples were made. The all-aluminum 1969 ZL1 engine was based on the legendary Corvette L88, but updated.

Chevrolet rated the ZL1 at 430 hp @ 5200 rpm and 450 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm. However, dyno tests of factory ZL1s revealed their output was more in the 550hp range.
COPO stood for Central Office Production Order and was used to produce vehicles in limited quantities that were deviations from regular production. The only requirement was that COPOs had to use production parts and be approved by Chevrolet Engineering. COPOs could be used to order anything from taxis to race cars.
The ZL1 was the first Chevrolet production use of the 850-cfm double-pumper Holley carburetor on an open plenum high-rise intake manifold.
The Hugger Orange example boasts 361 miles and both cars are all original.Mecum sold a pair of 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in January. The pair made $ 1.1m, a haircut from a $1.25m estimate.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage Convertible

James Bond’s DB5 was just an ordinary saloon model, one of nearly a thousand. For a rarer, higher-performance DB5, those who know Aston Martin look toward the DB5 Vantage convertible. Seven were assembled ... one of the rarest Aston Martins. The high-performance, Vantage-specification DB5 did not make its first appearance until September 1964.
The prototype came fitted with triple Weber twin-choke, side-draft carburetors and five-speed gearbox. Aston Martin quoted power output at 325 bhp at 5,750 rpm, some 40 bhp more than the standard engine.
This example was completed to concours standards in 2005.

$1.9m - $2.5m

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Steve McQueen's Jeep for Sale

Steve McQueen had a strong attachment to automotive history. A 1945 Willys Jeep MB, owned and driven by McQueen, is estimated to fetch £80k - £100k ($105k - $131k).
The Jeep is chassis MB452936, and has a two cylinder 2200c engine. It’s unknown when it entered McQueen’s ownership, but was sold by his estate at auction in November 1984 at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. The highest bidder put $6,000 on the table for the World War II Jeep.