To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The
Petersen Automotive Museum Auction event, 8 December 2018.
Estimate:
$120,000 - $150,000
- Late-production example with electric windows, headrests, and
A/C
- Ford 351 Cleveland V-8 engine and four-speed transmission
- Beautifully restored by Italian car specialist Gary
Bobileff
- Only test miles since restoration
- Rare Italian-American hybrid; one of less than 400
produced
Please note that this lot is titled as an Italia.
Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica was founded in 1959 in
Italy's automobile manufacturing capital, Torino. The company's
founder, Frank Reisner, was an entrepreneur who would later move
the company to Canada. The first cars produced were Formula Junior
racers fitted with Peugeot engines, but Reisner had higher
aspirations and soon began importing American V-8 engines for
installation in his road-going chassis. These cars were the Apollo
GTs that would ultimately pave the way for their successor, the
Omega, and then the Italia.
The Italias were first imported to the U.S. in 1968 and were unlike
anything else on the market, quickly gaining the attention of
American sports car fans. The car's styling, which appears as
classic Italian with 1960s Ferrari influences, is strikingly
elegant. Its performance is equally impressive, as it can reach
0-60 in 6.2 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph, which is attained
through a powerful and proven Ford V-8 engine. The steel body was
hand-formed, and its chassis was made from tubular steel.
The splendid example offered here is a rare U.S.-specification car
and was delivered on 11 January 1972 to the U.S. distributer Joe
Vos in New York and then sold new to Larry Simon of
Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania. The car was originally finished
in Argento over a black vinyl interior with a matching black top
and fitted with a Ford 351 V-8, four-speed transmission, and 3.00:1
rear end. As a late-production example, the car was equipped with
the latest Intermeccanica front and rear suspension and was U.S.
DOT compliant. The car was also optioned with electric windows,
full headrests, and air conditioning.
Mr. Simon drove the car sparingly, accumulating just under 65,000
miles over the last four-and-a-half decades. Recently, Mr. Simon
commissioned Italian car specialist Gary Bobileff of Bobileff
Motorcars to perform a comprehensive restoration that included a
complete mechanical rebuild and stripping the body down to bare
metal. Only test miles have been put on the car since the
restoration was completed and acquired by the current consignor.
Finished in an elegant burgundy color complemented with a sumptuous
burgundy leather and tan suede interior, this Italia is simply
stunning.
With fewer than 400 of these models built during its production run
from 1967 to 1973, the Italia has since taken on an appealing
mystique as a rare automobile from one of the most exciting eras of
Italian car manufacturing. A powerful and dependable Ford 351
Cleveland V-8 engine, as well as being equipped with highly
desirable optional factory air conditioning, make this attractive
and potent Italian-American hybrid a pleasure to drive as well as
to admire.To view this car and others currently consigned to this
auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ca18.