Shades of Cool
We’ve seen tones of green, purple and blues make triumphant surge in popularity among car buyers and collectors, and it seems off white and browns are set to be next to reach the limelight. Love it or loathe it, these subtle tones suit cars of the 1970s and 1980s perfectly, as demonstrated by this narrow-bodied Porsche 911 Speedster from 1989.
This colour, known as Apricot Beige, complements the mahogany leather seats and canvas roof perfectly, creating a truly unique look for one of Porsche’s most loved drop top models. The Speedster is one of the rarest iterations of 911s ever, made only for 1989, with production numbers around the 2,000 mark, of which only 161 were left hand drive and with the narrow, non-Turbo-look body. If rare-shaded Porsches are your passion, this Speedster would be right at home in your collection!
Rust meets Romance
If we were to take an undisturbed cruise along the rugged Italian coastline, there is only one brand of car we’d want to do it in – a classic Alfa Romeo. Bursting with charm and Italian style, Alfas of the 1960s have become real collector’s items and make regular appearances in local road rallies.
This example, however, will need some recommissioning before it enjoys those smooth coastal roads once more, for it has spent over 50 years buried among fast-growing trees and fences. Once rediscovered, this 1964 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider was carefully dragged into the sunshine, and now is ready for restoration. Once complete, you’ll have yourself one of Italy’s finest drop-tops to enjoy to the fullest!
Prancing Unicorn
We’ve seen our fair share of one-off, coachbuilt or tailormade Ferraris pass through our ever-changing inventory of cars in the Classic Driver Market, but sometimes, a car comes along that immediately catches our eye, which was the case with this seemingly unassuming F430 Coupé. Ordered new in June 2007, the 360 Modena’s replacement has met varying degrees of admiration, with many taking issue with the F1 transmission that left driver’s feeling like they couldn’t fully enjoy the glorious notes of that naturally-aspirated V8.
In some incredibly rare cases, such as this example heading to Aguttes’ upcoming auction, those issues are resolved, thanks to a factory-fitted 6-speed gated manual gearbox, giving this gracefully-ageing coupé an entirely different identity. If that grail-like option wasn’t enough, this example is finished in Rosso Barchetta and is believed to be the only coupé in existence in said hue, with only one matching Spider residing in the USA. This gorgeous colour, inspired by Ferrari’s 1950s single-seaters, combined with Crema interior makes for a remarkably unique chance to own Ferrari’s last manual-optioned V8 supercar!
British Bad Boy
Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a millennium-era Lotus Esprit? The answer, unless you have one tucked away in your garage, is most likely not recently. Built as Lotus’ flagship sportscar and the continuation of the iconic Esprit name, the model’s swansong came in 1999 with this example, the Esprit V8 Sport 350. A mere 50 examples were manufactured between 1999 and 2001. True to Chapman's lightweight engineering philosophy, the Sport 350 achieved impressive performance through significant weight reduction, being a whole 85 kilograms lighter than the V8 GT on which it was based, thanks to its lightweight bodyshell and special magnesium Crono OZ wheels.
Performance was further enhanced with larger AP Racing discs and four-piston callipers at the front, while handling benefited from Monroe 65 dampers, stiffer springs, and an uprated anti-roll bar. As the name may suggest, the Esprit boasted 350 horsepower, delivered by an unusual 3.5-litre flat-plane crank twin-turbo V8, and was capable of reaching 60mph from a standstill in just 4.3 seconds! Now this rare example is looking for a new home, and is an exclusive opportunity to acquire one of the coolest British sports cars of its era.
Senna’s Sinclair
Anything relating to the late and great Ayrton Senna is something to cherish, be it an original ‘Senninha’ T-shirt sporting a carbonised version of the Brazilian, or something entirely different, like this Sinclair C5.
Designed by the famed technology inventor Sir Clive Sinclair and sold in the United Kingdom from January of 1985, the C5 marketed itself as the new way to travel. Walking was so prehistoric, and gliding along the narrow London pavements on a pedal-powered tricycle, forcing mothers and pensioners onto the road, was the how the cool kids go from A to B. When your legs gave up, the C5 was assisted by a 250 W electric motor with handlebar controls. Sadly for Sinclair, the project was slow to get off the ground, but a certain Brazilian was spotted promoting a run of John Player Special-branded C5s, immediately making this unique creation a whole lot cooler. This truly unique piece of motorsport memorabilia would make for the ideal showpiece in a Formula 1 themed collection!
