Category: Highlight

  • Aston Martin DB5 stored since 1980 wedding emerges for Monaco auction

    Imagine it’s 1980 and you’ve just used your 1965 Aston Martin DB5 for the drive away from your wedding ceremony. What do you do next with such a car?

    In this case, the owner – the second person to own this Bondmobile in Silver Birch Metallic paint – put the car in the garage, where it has remained for decades.

    But the car will emerge from hiding July 19 to cross the block at Artcurial Motorcars Monaco 2021 summer sale, scheduled to take place at the Hotel Hermitage de Monaco.

    Paris-based Artcurial notes that the DB5 is one of the few equipped with its straight-6 engine linked to an automatic transmission, and it is being offered in what it calls “highly original condition.” Artcurial expects the car to sell for €400,000 to €600,000 ($487,630 to $731,440).

    Lamborghini Miura (white) is coming out of a collection

    Lamborghini Miura (white) is coming out of a collection

    Another star of the sale figures to be a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 purchased in 1969 by Paul Bouvot, who at the time was the head of design for Peugeot. The Miura is white with a black interior and obviously stood out parked among the Peugeots driven by others working in the French automaker’s design studios.

    The car eventually was acquired by an Italian-born collector living in the Burgundy region of France. The owner has consigned the car to the Monaco auction along with several others, including a Lamborghini Islero S, a Maserati Bora and a Ferrari 512 BB.

    The pre-auction estimate for the Miura is €850,000 to €1.2 million ($1.036 million to $1.46 million).

    Pioneer was a major sponsor of Peugeot race and rally cars

    Pioneer was a major sponsor of Peugeot race and rally cars

    Also on the docket is a 1984 Peugeot 205 T16, the only such car done in blue and white Pioneer livery and formerly owned by Jacky Setton, chief executive of Pioneer-France, which sponsored the Osella Squadra Corse Formula 1 and Peugeot rally teams.

    The car was the last of the 200 T16 produced under FIA homologation regulations. Artcurial expects the car to bring €240,000 to €300,000 ($292,575 to $365,720).

    This article, written by Larry Edsall, was originally published on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.

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  • Ford trademarked the Splash name, again

    Ford has once again filed a trademark application for the Splash name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Splash name was previously used on a special version of the Ranger pickup truck in the 1990s. Like all trademark applications, though, this doesn’t mean Ford has immediate plans to use the name on a production vehicle.

    First spotted by members of the Ford Maverick Forum, the application covers “motor vehicles, namely, automobiles, pickup trucks, electric vehicles, sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, and their structural parts.” It also mentions “vehicle equipment package consisting of wheels, exterior body parts, and seats,” which is effectively what the original Ranger Splash was.

    If that seems a little vague, it’s because automakers often file trademark applications to protect names for possible future use, without having specific short-term plans for those names. That seems to be the case here.

    1997 Ford Ranger SPLASH

    1997 Ford Ranger SPLASH

    “Trademark applications are intended to protect new phrases, designs or symbols but aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans,” Ford spokesperson Dawn McKenzie told Motor Authority when asked about the filing.

    Application filings like this are fairly common. Ford recently filed a new trademark application for the Thunderbird name, while General Motors and Toyota have sought to renew trademarks on the Cheyenne and Celica names, respectively.

    So it’s unclear if the Splash name will actually return on a new Ford vehicle. It would be interesting to see Ford exploit 1990s nostalgia and launch a new Ranger Splash, though, or perhaps even a Splash version of the recently-unveiled Maverick pickup.

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  • Comedian Kevin Hart’s custom 1977 Ford Bronco heads to auction

    A 1977 Ford Bronco restomod owned by comedian and actor Kevin Hart will cross the block at the 2021 Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction, scheduled for June 17-19.

    The Bronco boasts numerous upgrades, starting under the hood. It’s powered by a 5.0-liter V-8, coupled to a 3-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive system with a Dana twin-stick transfer case. The V-8 features Crane electronic ignition, and breathes through an Ardent Performance custom exhaust system with MagnaFlow mufflers.

    For better off-road performance, the Bronco sports a lift kit, King coilover shocks (teamed with red springs, to match the exterior), and 35-inch Nitto Trail Grappler M/T tires mounted on 17-inch Fuel wheels, with a spare tire on a custom swing-away carrier. Other additions include a 9,500-pound Warn winch, aftermarket bumpers, and Rigid LED light pods.

    1977 Ford Bronco owned by Kevin Hart (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)

    1977 Ford Bronco owned by Kevin Hart (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)

    Power disc brakes and power steering were added to make the Bronco a little easier to drive than stock.

    The interior features a number of modern upgrades, including a new audio system with a Bluetooth/USB/Pandora head unit, four speakers, and a 10-inch subwoofer. The dashboard also features new gauges from AutoMeter, including an LED speedometer. Most of the trim is blacked out to match the exterior color scheme.

    Hart is a big fan of restomods. He recently paid $825,000 for a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette at another Barrett-Jackson auction, and also took delivery of a 1970 Dodge Charger from Wisconsin’s SpeedKore Performance Group, sporting a carbon-fiber body Hellephant V-8. The Charger replaced a SpeedKore-modified 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that was destroyed in a crash, in which Hart was a passenger.

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