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For Sale: Jay Leno’s 1969 Monteverdi High Speed 375S

This is one of just 10 examples of the Monteverdi 375S built by Italian coachbuilders Carrozzeria Frua, it was also the show car displayed at both the Geneva Auto Show and the New York Auto Show in 1969.

Much later in the car’s life in 2006 it was bought by Jay Leno and added to his collection for a number of years. Though best known for his work on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno is an avid car collector with an expansive collection.

Fast Facts – The Monteverdi 375S

The Monteverdi 375S is one of the better known low-volume production cars from Swiss automaker Monteverdi. The car was bodied by Italian coachbuilders, and power was provided by a Chrysler V8.
Monteverdi was founded by Peter Monteverdi in the 1960s, he was a former racing car driver and luxury sports car importer who set out to create his own line of luxury sporting vehicles.
Switzerland is not well known for automotive production, although a number of automakers have been based there, with Monteverdi being one of the better known examples.
The 1969 Monteverdi 375S has been previously restored and it formerly belonged to Jay Leno, it’s now due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams on the 3rd of July.

Monteverdi

Monteverdi was founded in 1965 in Binningen, Switzerland by a young Peter Monteverdi. His plan was to build and sell his own luxury sporting cars, and at that time he was probably one of the best suited people in Switzerland to take on the challenge.

This is a young Peter Monteverdi standing next to a Monteverdi 375S, it’s not clear why the cheetah is there but it was probably period advertising gimmick to showcase the speed of the car.

Monteverdi had inherited his father’s automotive garage business at the age of 22, he revolutionized the company and turned it into a dealership for some of the most desirable cars in the world, including Ferrari, BMW, Bentley, Lancia, and Jensen.

After enjoying an early career as a racing driver, in which he drove Ferraris, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, a Lotus Formula 2 car, and even a Renault Gordini, he decided to throw himself full-time into car production after serious accident at the Hockenheimring.

After establishing his namesake automaker, Monteverdi would release a number of production cars, he would pioneer the concept of the ultra-luxury 4×4 vehicle, and develop Switzerland’s first ever Formula 1 car.

The Monteverdi High Speed 375S

The Monteverdi High Speed 375S was released in 1967 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it would be the Swiss company’s first production car and the reception was overwhelmingly positive.

Above Video: This is an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage in which he talks about Monteverdi and the 375S. The car in this clip is a later 1970 model bodied by Fissore.

The 375S was based on a steel tubular spaceframe chassis developed by Stahlbau Muttenz GmbH, onto this a lightweight alloy body designed by Pietro Frua was fitted. The engine and gearbox was supplied but Chrysler, which resulted in plenty of power, easy spare part sourcing, and excellent reliability.

Carrozzeria Frua are believed to have built the bodies for the first 10 cars before production switched to Carrozzeria Fissore, also from Italy, from 1969 onwards. There were some differences to the bodies from the two coachbuilders however under the skin things remained much the same.

When ordering your new Monteverdi 375S in the 1960s you had a choice between the 7.0 liter V8 with 375 bhp or the 7.2 liter V8 with 450 bhp. Automatic transmissions were used as standard, and the car sits on double wishbone independent front suspension with a De Dion rear axle.

Ultimately just 16 examples of the High Speed 375S would be built, 10 by Frua and 6 by Fissore, they’re now much sought after and they make an excellent vintage GT car that can be owned without breaking the bank on maintenance.

The 1969 Monteverdi 375S Shown Here

The car you see here is the original show car from both the Geneva Auto Show and the New York Auto Show in 1969. It’s one of the earlier cars bodied by Frua and it was fitted with the 450 bhp 7.2 liter Chrysler V8 from the factory, coupled to an automatic transmission.

In classic European style, the interior is beautifully appointed and designed for high-speed journeys across the Continent.

The car was first delivered to Washington DC in the United States, and it was originally finished in yellow with a black leather interior.

After a restoration in the early 2000s the car was exhibited at the 17th Concorso Italiano at the Black Horse Golf Club, Seaside, California in August 2003. Further restoration work was completed in 2006, shortly after this the car was bought by Jay Leno who had it in his personal collection for a few years.

The car is now due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams on the 3rd of July in Gstaad, Switzerland with a price guide of CHF 70,000 – CHF 110,000, which works out to approximately $72,000 – $113,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

The post For Sale: Jay Leno’s 1969 Monteverdi High Speed 375S appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/monteverdi-high-speed-375s/
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Futuristic Project Vehicle: An Original Sinclair C5 From 1985

The Sinclair C5 is a 100% electric vehicle that was released in Britain in 1985. At the time the company behind it believed that it was the future of personal transportation and that they would sell 200,000 to 500,000 of them annually.

Despite these projections just 14,000 Sinclair C5s would be manufactured. Today the C5 is remembered as a famous example of failure, however there are many enthusiasts in the UK and around the world keeping them running and on the road.

Fast Facts – The Sinclair C5

Sinclair Vehicles Ltd was founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in 1983 specifically to design and build electric vehicles. The managing director was Barrie Wills, formerly of the DeLorean Motor Company.
Sir Clive Sinclair is a famous computing pioneer in the UK who had amassed a fortune developing and selling pocket calculators, followed by home computers in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Sinclair C5 was to be his next big thing, an unusual battery-powered electric recumbent tricycle with seating for one, and some trunk space in the rear.
With a range of 20 miles (32 kms) a curb weight of 45 kgs (99 lbs) and a top speed of 15 mph (24 km/h), many considered the C5 too limited for regular daily use.

Britain’s “Next Big Thing”

There are many who believe that the Sinclair C5 was simply released into the world thirty years too early, and that a similar vehicle today would likely fair much better.

Above Image: This is an early infomercial about the Sinclair C5 from early in the company’s history, when it still seemed (to them) as though their new electric vehicle was set to take over the world.

There’s a lot to support the argument that the C5 appeared too soon, it’s now almost 40 years since the vehicle was introduced and the world is now awash with electric vehicles – including cars, SUVs, scooters, and bicycles.

It’s entirely likely that a modern C5 with improved range and speed would fair much better than its forebear from 1985.

In the early 1980s the executives at Sinclair Vehicles Ltd had projections of selling up to half a million C5s per year, of course this proved to be wildly optimistic.

Today the Sinclair C5 is often used as a metaphor for failure but against the odds there are thousands of them still in use by owners, and they’re increasingly seen as cult classics.

The C5 is a battery-powered electric recumbent tricycle with pedals allowing the driver/rider to add additional leg power when required.

Interestingly the C5 has had many celebrity owners over the years including Sir Elton John, who had two, Princes William and Harry had one each for getting around the Kensington Palace estate before they were old enough to drive, and Sir Arthur C. Clarke had one sent to his home in Sri Lanka.

Some modern owners have modified their C5s with more modern lithium-ion batteries, more powerful electric motors, and at least one has added a jet engine. The fastest C5 in the world has been clocked at 150 miles per hour (240 km/h).

The Sinclair C5 Project Vehicle Seen Here

The C5 you see here is listed as having had just one owner from new. It’s been in long term storage and it only ever had light use.

The listing notes that it’s believed to be nearly complete, but that it will require a new battery and some mechanical attention before any driving is attempted.

The price guide is £500 – £1,000, and if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

The Sinclair C5 shown here is being sold by its original owner and it comes with a trove of fascinating original documents.

Images courtesy of Bonhams + Sinclair Vehicles

The post Futuristic Project Vehicle: An Original Sinclair C5 From 1985 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/project-vehicle-sinclair-c5/
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For Sale: A Bitter SC – The Rare German 1980s GT – $5,000+ USD

The Bitter SC was just the second production car from German automaker Erich Bitter Automobil GmbH, better known simply as “Bitter.” The SC was based on the Opel Senator, with bodies made in Italy then assembled by Bitter in Germany.

Just 461 examples of the Bitter SC would be built during the 1979 to 1989 production run, today they’re considered highly collectible as an unusual 80s-era GT car, and they’re often mistaken for the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 and 400 series.

Fast Facts – The Bitter SC

The design for the Bitter SC is said to have first been sketched in the late 1960s, just as the automotive wedge revolution was beginning to take off. It was later refined by Opel stylists Henry Haga and George Gallion, before finally being prepared for production by Giovanni Michelotti.
The Bitter SC shares the underpinnings of the Opel Senator, a four-door sedan that was also sold in overseas markets as the Holden Commodore, Chevrolet Senator, or Daewoo Imperial.
Three primary versions of the Bitter SC were built, the Coupe, Convertible, and Sedan. The vast majority were the two-door coupe, just 22 convertibles and 5 sedans were made.
The styling has been compared with the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 and the later 400 series, there’s a definite similarity and the Bitter is sometimes mistaken for the Ferrari at shows.

Erich Bitter

Erich Bitter spent much of his childhood in the bicycle shop that was owned and operated by his parents. The cycling world consumed much of his young life – by the time of early adulthood he was one of the best professional cyclists in Germany and he competed in the Tour de France.

This is a more recent image of Erich Bitter, he started out as a professional cyclist before becoming a professional racing driver, then he established his own automobile company.

During his time as a cyclist Bitter developed a strong relationship with German automaker NSU, as they also produced bicycles at the time. By his mid-20s when he left the world of professional cycling he began racing cars for NSU, quickly becoming a rising star in the German motorsports scene.

Over the course of his 11 year racing career he competed in NSUs, Porsches, Ferraris, Mercedes 300SLs, Opels, and Abarths.

Bitter retired from professional racing in 1969, he had launched his own company in the early 1960s called Rallye-Bitter that sold tuning kits, car accessories, and protective Nomex racing suits.

In 1969 he began importing Abarth cars into Germany, followed by the cars from Italian-American company Intermeccanica. Quality control issues with Intermeccanica spurred Bitter on to develop his own cars and sell them under his own name.

Bitter Automobiles

The first production car from Bitter was the Bitter CD, a sleek, elegant two-door sporting grand tourer powered by a 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8. The car was successful however the 1973 Oil Crisis caused sales to slump and by the end of the 1973 to 1979 production run just 395 of them had been made.

The interior of the Bitter SC is opulently upholstered in gold leather, it would have been the height of luxury in 1982.

In 1979 the new Bitter SC was released, it would remain in production until 1989 and it would outsell its forebear though only slightly, with 461 sold. The SC would be followed by the CDII, the Vero, Vero Sport, and the Insignia.

The company is still in business today creating luxury versions of a number of Opel production cars.

The Bitter SC

The Bitter SC was released in 1979 as a direct replacement for the Bitter CD, the first cars on offer were the hardtop coupes, with the convertibles arriving in 1981 along with an optional four-wheel drive version of the coupe.

The SC shares much of its running gear with the Opel Senator, a four-door sedan that was sold in Australia as the Holden Commodore and in the UK as the Vauxhall Senator.

The two-door versions of the Bitter SC have been compared to the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 and the similarity is plain to see, though of course they share no parts in common. When ordering your new SC in the 1980s you had the option of either the fuel-injected Opel 3.0 liter inline 6-cylinder engine with 177 bhp, or a stroked 3.9 liter version with 207 bhp.

The styling of the car is somewhat similar to the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 series, and they’re often mistaken for the Ferrari model at shows.

The car was briefly sold in the USA after an agreement was reached with General Motors to sell the car through Buick dealerships. The hope was that it would claw back some of the sales GM was losing to the increasingly popular German cars from the likes of BMW and Mercedes.

Only a small number of Buick dealers signed on for the new car and sales weren’t particularly strong, likely due to the limited brand awareness of Bitter in the United States.

The surviving examples of the Bitter SC are now sought after by collectors who love them for their eccentric nature and the fact that it’s easy to source inexpensive spare parts for them from the Opel parts catalogue.

The 1982 Bitter SC Shown Here

The car you see here is a Bitter SC coupe from 1982. It’s fitted with a manual gearbox and the 3.0 liter inline-six cylinder engine producing 177 bhp.

It’s finished in a metallic brown with a gold leather interior, and the listing notes that the paint is showing some signs of corrosion and bubbling, meaning it’ll likely need professional rust repair and respray relatively soon.

If you’d like to read more about this SC or register to bid you can visit the listing here on The Market by Bonhams. The price guide is a rather reasonable $5,000 – $10,000 USD and it’s being sold out of Los Angeles, California.

Images courtesy of The Market by Bonhams

The post For Sale: A Bitter SC – The Rare German 1980s GT – $5,000+ USD appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bitter-sc-car/
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The New 1:10th Scale Ford Bronco R/C Car From Tamiya

This is the new R/C Ford Bronco from famed automotive model company Tamiya, it’s a large 1/10th scale kit that builds a complete four-wheel drive Bronco modeled on the special “First Edition” version from 2021.

The New Ford Bronco

When the all-new Ford Bronco was released for the 2021 model year it lit up the motoring corner of the internet like burning thermite. The retro design was widely loved, it was clearly going to have excellent chops off road, and the price made it just as affordable as a Jeep Wrangler – its key competitor.

Since its release the new Bronco has been selling well, it’s becoming a more common sight on the road, and perhaps most interestingly it seems to be a popular personal car purchase for a number of motoring journalists.

The attention to detail on the model is fantastic, with many small parts being individually moulded and painted in the interest of realism.

Among the many versions of the Bronco on offer in the first year, the most desirable for many people was the “First Edition” version. Just 7,000 were made so numbers were limited, and the Ford Edition Bronco sold out relatively quickly.

The reason the First Edition was so in-demand was that it essentially rolled together many of the most desirable features of the various packages on offer. It came with the mechanicals of a Badlands, the interior of an Outer Banks, and the exterior of a Wildtrak to create what many consider to be the ultimate modern Bronco.

The 1/10th Scale Tamiya R/C 4×4 Bronco

After the release of the new Ford Bronco is was only a matter of time before legendary Japanese model and R/C car manufacturer created their own scale version of it, and they certainly haven’t disappointed.

Above Video: This short film from Tamiya shows the R/C Bronco being driven off-road, it also includes some highlights of its various features.

Thanks to the 1/10th scale it measures in at a hefty 447mm long, 204mm wide, and 233mm high, with a 252mm wheelbase. That works out to a length/width/height of 17.6″/8.0″/9.17″ in the old numbers.

The Tamiya Bronco is based on the popular CC-02 4×4 chassis, it has a ladder frame design, much like the full sized vehicles it emulates, with live axles front and rear, an electric motor mounted behind the front axle, and a central transmission that sends power to the front and rear differentials.

The body is made from 1.2mm thick polycarbonate and it comes with a slew of carefully designed parts to further increase realism, like grilles, mirrors, the spare tire cover, door handles, 12 spoke black wheels, chunky semi-pneumatic rubber tires, and a removable roof rack.

At 1/10th scale, the Tamiya Ford Bronco measures in at 455 mm long, that’s almost 18 inches.

A with almost all Tamiya R/C vehicles, this one comes in kit form with the buyer doing the assembly at home. For most people this building process is the most rewarding part of the experience.

It does require few additional parts if you want to drive it, things like the two-channel radio, steering servo, 7.2 volt battery with a compatible charger, and the Tamiya PS polycarbonate paint, however all of this is available to buy from Tamiya.

The good news is that the model looks fantastic, the bad news is that it’s so new you still can’t actually buy it – but you can sign up for a notification from Tamiya when it’s ready.