Can Am Cannon
Porsche's ambitions with the 917 were not limited to Le Mans. From the very beginning, the motorsport department also had its sights set on the Can-Am racing series, which was extremely popular with the American public. After all, the US market already accounted for around half of all Porsche sales in 1969. In 1971, Porsche seriously entered the series for the first time with a specially developed race car, the 917/10, even if initially not as a full factory effort. Right from the start, the Swiss Porsche works driver and Formula 1 pilot Jo Siffert was involved. He was a close friend of Steve McQueen and sat behind the wheel of his Gulf 917 as a stunt double in the film classic Le Mans. For the season, the prominent driver was provided with a 917/10 Spyder, powered by a 4.5-liter twelve-cylinder engine and tipping the scales at just 733 kilograms. When the race car landed in the US, its very first order of business was to receive a completely new look, as Siffert had secured sponsorship from the additive manufacturer STP. At the end of the season, the Swiss driver and his red beast, which is now being offered by Mechatronik, finished fourth overall despite having only competed in six out of ten races.
Smart's Apple Car
The Smart Roadster is arguably one of the most underrated driver's cars of the early noughties. Thanks to its mid-engine layout and a curb weight of only around 800 kilograms, the dynamic brother of the Smart fortwo offers a genuine go-kart feeling on a budget. Exclusively for the German market, the Mercedes subsidiary offered a special model towards the end of the production run that perfectly embodies the techy Y2K vibe of its era. The MTV Edition, limited to 200 units, not only features several logos of the legendary music channel, a sports package with a three-spoke leather steering wheel and 16-inch alloy wheels, but also the so-called iPod Car Kit. An Apple iPod 20 GB was included as standard, which in the case of the car on offer is still in its original packaging. With a mileage of just 323 kilometers and a corresponding mint condition, the tiny three-cylinder car offered by HK Engineering becomes a true time capsule.
The last of its kind
For 25 years, the Lotus Elise was one of the most engaging driver's cars on the market and represented the perfect modern interpretation of Colin Chapman's lightweight mantra. However, under the aegis of the Chinese Geely group, this philosophy has apparently come to an end. Instead of purist sports cars, the brand has primarily aimed to boost sales in recent years with overweight electric cars, which naturally upset the fans. This makes the Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, which provides the series with a glorious finale, all the more desirable. The example in Azure Blue currently offered by Joe Macari deserves a place in the company's history for another reason, as it served as the official Lotus press car in the United Kingdom. With 240 supercharged horsepower, the highly sought-after Touring Pack and just 15,360 miles on the clock, the fully equipped Brit offers one of the last opportunities to experience an old-school Lotus and thus unfiltered driving pleasure.
Sky is the limit
If there is one mass manufacturer that has recognized the value of limited-edition production models in small numbers, it is probably BMW. After the Munich-based company reinterpreted the legendary 3.0 CSL Batmobile in a run of 50 units in 2022, they presented a concept car of the luxurious Skytop roadster about two years later at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, which shortly afterwards became a low-volume production model produced in the exact same numbers. This was based on the then-current BMW 8 Series generation G15 and was intended as a tribute to BMW's previous open-top icons such as the 503 or Z8. Under the long hood sits the 625-horsepower 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 from the M8 Competition, which catapults the two-seater to one hundred kilometers per hour in just 3.3 seconds. Given the tiny production numbers, it is hardly surprising that Skytops rarely come onto the market, but there is currently one for sale at BUGATTI MUNICH Dörr Automotive GmbH.
Michelotti masterclass
As one of the most popular Italian mass-market cars of the 1950s, the Fiat 1100 often served as a canvas for domestic coachbuilders, essentially haute couture made from affordable fabric. A prime example of this is the Fiat 1100 TV Printemps, which Broad Arrow will auction at its Zoute Concours sale in October. The rare Vignale coupe was designed by none other than Giovanni Michelotti. One of the grandmasters of Italian automotive design, who later created icons such as the BMW 2002 or the Triumph TR4 and was responsible for the design scheme of the early Alpine sports cars, demonstrated his impeccable feel for elegant proportions here. The bodywork, handcrafted at Carrozzeria Vignale, features a characteristic panoramic rear window, tiny tail fins and a low coupe roofline that provides the necessary touch of extravagance. Following its debut in Rome in 1956, the car remained in Italian ownership for decades and presents itself today in an elegant two-tone paint finish of ivory and dark blue, thanks to a spare-no-expense restoration carried out prior to the 2006 Villa d'Este.
