Auctions

RUF, the mad scientists from Germany who take usual Porsches and make them bonafide supercar-killers, built two special RUF CTR2s to humiliate other mortals at Hillclimb and circuit events. With 702 horsepower on tap, these Sport Prototype examples were probably the fastest road legal Porsches in the world in the late ’90s and, now, one is up for grabs at the upcoming Bonhams Paris sale on February 7th.

As far as supercars go, the RUF CTR2 is an unsung hero. Every car nut has heard of the mad CTR and its 213 mph F40-crushing top speed. Everyone has seen it being thrashed around the Nurburgring-Nordschleife in that period VHS video that might as well be one of the first ’viral’ automotive videos on the world-wide-web. But not too many people know about the CTR’s replacement, the CTR2.

RUF again built very few of these around the chassis of a 993 Turbo, so it’s unlikely you’ll ever see one. However, if you do, allow yourself a few moments to just gaze upon it while trying to breathe normally because this is automotive royalty although the bulbous bodywork could mislead you into thinking this is yet another weird tuning job from the ’90s.

Let the brand-new 2019 Mustang Shelby GT500 take the back seat for a moment because this one-of-one 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Super Snake is far cooler. Why? Well, it just became the most expensive Mustang sold at auction ever, breaking its own record, and its spec sheet is ludicrous for a car built 52 years ago.

If you’re looking for the road-going Mustang to end all Mustangs, this might just be it, and it was built back in 1967. It is the one, and only Shelby GT500 Super Snake built back then, a name that might ring a bell to you since the moniker has been used by all the extreme Shelby GT500 versions since 2007. But this one is the first, the daddy, the one that was too expensive to be put into production.

A 1985 Dodge RamCharger Prospector is available at Barrett Jackson’s auction in Scottsdale, Arizona this weekend. Regarded as perhaps the best-kept secret in the world of vintage trucks and SUVs, the RamCharger Prospector’s status is expected to blow up as prices for old Broncos, Land Cruisers, and Wagoneers become unattainable. Fortunately, the RamCharger Prospector can be still had at affordable prices, including this fine 1985 model that only has 7,563 original miles under its belt. There’s no reserve price attached to this particular piece, so it’s going to be sold to the highest bidder regardless of the final price. If you can score this burgeoning collector’s item, you could be ahead of the game in the quest for 1985 RamCharger Prospectors that are still, at the very least, in good running condition.

What? You don’t remember seeing a Toyota with gullwing-style doors on the roads back in the ’90s? Well, that’s because this model, the Sera, was sold between 1990 and 1996 in Japan only as a rounder option to the MR2. It packed a 1.5-liter inline-four that was good enough for 110 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque.

Looking at this round example of ’90s automotive design you can’t help but ask yourself what were the people at Toyota thinking when this thing was given the green light for production. I mean, yes, gullwing doors are cool, but what are they doing here? Well, to be pedantic, these are a certain variety of gullwing doors where the doors are hinged to the A-pillar and not the roof itself, but we’re getting into useless technicalities here. Still, there’s no answer to that question: why does a 3-door hatchback coupe require such doors and, also, divided windows like you see on a Bugatti EB110?

The Chevrolet Camaro has been an integral part of the Transformers series from the very beginning. To date, we have seen four Camaros and one Camaro Concept in the five movies that have been made. The yellow Chevy Camaros have served as the vehicle mode of the Autobot Bumblebee. Now, all four Bumblebee Camaros that have starred in the movie franchise will be auctioned in Scottsdale, Arizona later this month.

Putting an unapologetically retro body on a new car that isn’t the same size or has the same proportions as the original can result in some pretty ghastly cars. That’s not the case here with this 2001 Corvette C5, however. It was worked over by none other than Advanced Automotive Technologies (or ATT), and some might find its aesthetic quite pleasing.

Over 50 years ago, Giorgio Pianta took on the grueling Monte-Carlo Rally not in a Mini, nor in a Citroen, not even in a Ford, but in a gorgeous, yellow Ferrari 275 GTB, with Maranello’s blessing. The car, looking the same as it did back in 1966 heads to the Gooding & Company’s Scottsdale auction that’s taking place between January 18th and 19th.

The 275 GTB was introduced in 1964 as a replacement to the aging 250 series. It was the first Ferrari to have a transaxle although the engine was still the venerable Colombo-designed 60-degree V-12. This particular example is one that has been used extensively for both show and go: it was showcased at motor shows, it was used as a mobile testbed, and it raced. Now, restored from end to end, it should fetch in excess of $8 million at auction, a price that’s not unheard of for a 275 GTB, especially since this one has a unique backstory and we all know that, many a time, the backstory is what sells a classic car.

The Vector Avtech WX-3 is the rightful successor of the ludicrous wedge-shaped W8, a car that should’ve built on the buzz created by what many consider to be the first American supercar. However, a hostile takeover prevented the car, in either coupe or roadster guise, from going into production and, now, the two prototypes are up for grabs, reportedly to fund the build of the next Vector.

By the time its production cycle had ended, in 1992, the F40 was officially the most successful car ever built by Ferrari with over 1,300 units sold in its five-year lifespan. It’s now an icon of the Prancing Horse and, while prices tip over $1 million, you can still find one quite easily, although U.S. spec examples are rarer. Still, the street-going F40 has nothing on one of these: the ultra-rare, ultra-insane, F40 LM that was built for that famous old race in France.

Ferrari released the outrageously under-equipped F40 in 1987 to mark the company’s 40th anniversary. It was the fastest road-going car at the moment of its debut with a top speed of 201 mph, breaking that much-lamented 200 mph mark, and the last Ferrari to be given the blessing ’The Drake’ himself.

With such extreme specs, it wasn’t long before the F40 would hit the track, although Ferrari didn’t originally intend for it to happen. It first raced Stateside in the IMSA GT series before also competing in the Italian GT Championship and, more prominently, in the BPR Global GT Series of the mid-’90s, by which time the production version was relaxing in retirement for a few years already.

The Pontiac GTO is widely regarded as one of the first muscle cars but, by 1970, even one of the stalwarts of the segment wasn’t able to sell as it once did. Still, The GTO of 1970 remains a cornerstone example of muscle cars at their absolute peak.

The Pontiac GTO was born as a sportier version of the Tempest, aimed at a younger clientele. The car debuted in 1964 and by-passed in the process GM’s policy that was limiting A-body intermediate models to a maximum engine capacity of 5.4-liters. As such, the original Tempest GTO came with the 6.4-liter V-8 that was also used by the larger Bonneville and Catalina models.

By 1970, the GTO had lost most of its chromed trim, instead sporting an Endura polyurethane nose and aggressively flared fenders. Of the 40,149, GTOs built in 1970, only 3,797 were ordered with the Judge trim level that had been introduced the year before. Sales kept plummeting from then on thanks to ever-increasing insurance costs, stringent pollution-related rules, and regulations and a general shift in the market’s interest from performance cars to economy cars just as the oil crisis hit.

Keep reading to learn more about the 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge

The Oldsmobile 442, or 4-4-2 as it was advertised and sold in period, was one of the first muscle cars to appear after Pontiac released the Tempest-based GTO. The 1967 model featured a 6.5-liter V-8 that pushed out 350 horsepower but lacked the styling to match its performance figures.

The 442 debuted in September of 1963 for the 1964 model year as the performance trim level of the Cutlass. As a consequence, it was equipped with the biggest engine that GM would allow on a mid-size car at the time, a 5.4-liter V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor that was rated at 310 horsepower. In fact, the 442 nameplate originally pointed out to the car’s setup: its quad-barrel carburetor, four-speed gearbox, and twin-pipe exhaust system.

Oldsmobile’s first muscle car was available as a two-door hardtop, a two-door convertible, and even a four-door sedan. Up until 1967, you could have the 442 trim level on either the F-85 or the Cutlass base. However, for the first generation’s final production year, the 442 was based on the ultimate version of the Cutlass Supreme, further proving the 442’s special status. It became a standalone model when the second generation debuted in 1968.

Keep reading to learn more about the 1967 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible

Excited about the first production Toyota Supra going up for auction soon? Well, you need to make room for another cool sports car in your garage, as Ford just announced plans to auction off the very first Shelby GT500.

A few weeks after the Toyota Supra makes its long-awaited debut at the 2019 North American International Auto Show, the first production version of the Japanese sports coupe will go under the hammer at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Toyota isn’t actually bringing the actual production model to the Barrett-Jackson auction, but, rather, a prototype model that’s representative of the actual production Supra. The first production model will be delivered to the winning bidder in the first half of 2019. Line up your checkbooks, folks. The Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona will take place on January 19, 2019.

What can your $10 get you? For some people, $10 equates to a few lottery tickets. For others, it’s a pack of cigarettes. That’s great, sure, but what if your $10 can get you a one-off Lamborghini Huracan that bares the signature of none other than His Holiness, Pope Francis? This isn’t a joke, folks. The one-off, white and gold Huracan that Lamborghini gave to Pope Francis back in November 2017 is now up-for-grabs at Omaze. The sweepstakes-slash-charity initiative requires at least a $10 donation to enter the sweepstakes. According to Omaze, proceeds from the contest will go to a “number of causes working to transform lives around the world.” The website is accepting donations ranging from $10 to $5,000. The amount donated correlates to the number of entries you get. Entries will be accepted until January 30, 2019.