HomeMediaBonhams lands Italian coachbuilt trio for Quail sale

Bonhams lands Italian coachbuilt trio for Quail sale

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Ghia-built Chrysler Special heading to sale at the Quail | Bonhams photos
Ghia-built Chrysler Special heading to sale at the Quail | Bonhams photos

Bonhams has consignment a trio of coachbuilt cars by Italian designers for its auction in August at the Quail on the Monterey Peninsula. They are:

  • A 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Gran Sport Spider by Frua.
  • A 1957 BMW 503 cabriolet by Bertone.
  • A 1953 Chrysler Special by Ghia.

Bonhams says the Maserati is the factory prototype and one of only nine such cars built. The car was restored by Adolfo Orsi and won its class at the Concourso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

The BMW has been owned by the same family throughout its existence, the auction company noted. The car is one of 13 delivered to the U.S. It was awarded best of show at the Santa Fe Concorso and has won its class at Pebble Beach, Amelia Island and Pinehurst.

The Chrysler was created under the direction of both Virgil Exner and Mario Boano and was unveiled at the 1952 Paris Motor Show. The French importer for Chrysler commissioned 18 cars, of which only eight are known to survive.

The Chrysler going to auction originally was delivered to industrialist Leon Coulibeuf, who was Jean Behra’s teammate at Le Mans the year he purchased the Special. Coulieauf’s widow continued to show the car at several concours after his death.

The auction house provided no pre-auction estimated values on the three coachbuilt vehicles. For more information on the auction, visit the Bonhams website.

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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