The last Alfa Romeo to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a 1972 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT3, will be among the highlights of the Bonhams collector car auction held July 9 during the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, UK.
The Tipo 33 was one of three Alfa Romeos run by the Autodelta team and, driven by Andrea De Adamich and Nino Vaccarella, finished fourth overall in the 1972 endurance race.
The Alfa is one of the premium selections among Bonhams’ auction docket of historic racers, ranging back to the 1920s, and high-performance sports and GT cars.
The Alfa Tipo 33 was built from a new all-steel spaceframe tubular chassis, according to Bonhams, with a potent quad-cam, 36-valve V8 engine producing 440 horsepower, a new five-speed gearbox and newly minted safety fuel tanks. Its estimated value is £1.8 million to £2.2 million ($2.48 million $3.03 million).
“The Alfa duo (De Adamich and Vaccarella) in car number 18 overcame various incidents over the 307 laps, including a clutch issue and a spin which required the fitting of a new nose cone,” Bonhams says in a news release.
“Although Alfa Romeo retired from Le Mans, this car campaigned selected events with subsequent private owners, who included Steven O’Rourke, manager of British rock band Pink Floyd, himself a Le Mans racer, and three important Japanese collections: Hayashi Collection, Yamaguchi and finally Takeshi Fujita.
“Continually maintained and restored by Tipo 33/3 specialists, this Tipo is eligible for the world’s greatest historic races and concours events, including the Le Mans Classic race which it last contested in 2018.”
Another “Tipo” from an earlier era is also on the Bonhams auction docket, a 1928 Maserati Tipo 26B 2.1-litre Sports, Gran Premio and Formule Libre racing two-seater, with an estimated value of £900,000 to £1.3 million ($1.234 million to $1.79 million).
“This example’s bright red livery and 150bhp performance is matched by its exotic provenance,” Bonhams said. “It was the first Maserati to be imported into Argentina by its first owner, rancher and weekend racing driver Juan Augusto (John) Malcolm, an Argentinian of Scottish descent, whose career overlapped with the great Juan Manuel Fangio.
“Malcolm ordered number 35, while racing in northern Italy, and the car was originally finished in blue and white – Scotland’s sporting colors – rather than the blue and yellow Argentine racing livery. Campaigned by Malcolm for the next decade, it was later converted for more comfortable road use and was kept by the family until the late 1980s.”
The third Italian motorsports brand at Bonhams is represented by a 1957-type Ferrari Dino 246/60 Historic Racing Formula 1 single-seater with an estimated value of £900,000 to £1.3 million ($1.234 million to $1.79 million).
“This well-presented front-engine 2.4-litre V6 Dino was campaigned in historic racing, including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, during the 1980s by leading Italian classic car dealer Corrado Cupellini,” Bonhams states.
Among the sports and GT cars consigned for the Bonhams sale are a pair of Aston Martins, including a 1964 DB4 convertible that counts among its past owners Peter Sellers, The Earl of Snowdon and HRH Princess Margaret, and has an estimated value of £1.3 million to £1.7 million ($1.79 million to $2.34 million).
The other Aston Martin is a 1966 DB5 Sport Saloon, restored in the 1980s and driven just 6,700 miles since, with an estimated value of £500,000 to £600,000 ($688,000 to $825,000).
Road-going Ferraris on the Bonhams docket include a 1990 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta, with an estimated value of £800,000 £1.2 million ($1.1 million to $1.65 million).
“Ferrari’s 40th birthday gift to itself was the last motor car to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and the first production passenger car with a top speed of more than 200 mph,” Bonhams notes in its release. “The Pininfarina-penned mid-engine sports car was also one of the last ‘analogue’ supercars, devoid of electronic aids such as paddle-shift automatic transmission.
“This example was first owned by gentleman racer Sir Paul Vestey, who travelled to Italy to collect it.”
Also among the Ferraris is a 1958 250 GT Berlinetta with coachwork by Carrozzeria Ellena. It’s one of just 50 examples built by the Turin, Italy, coachbuilder. Estimated value for this restored coupe is £700,000 to £900,000 ($963,000 to $1.238 million).
For more information about the Goodwood auction, visit the Bonhams website.
36 valves, eh? Wowie zowie! I think there’s a typo…? It’s a V9 for cryin out loud!