To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Amelia
Island event, 6 - 7 March 2020.
Estimate:
$35,000 - $45,000
- Kindly offered from the collection of John and Aimee Oates
- Proceeds to benefit the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
Foundation
- In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Amelia Island
Concours d'Elegance
- Restored and race-prepared by Kevin Jeannette and Gunnar
Racing
Please note that this lot is offered on a Bill of Sale only.
In 2020 the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance will mark its 25th
year. As it turns out, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Oates and his
wife, Aimee, are also celebrating their silver anniversary. In
honor of the concours' 25 years of charitable giving and the
Oateses' 25 years together, John and Aimee have generously donated
their 1984 Tiga SC84, with all proceeds benefitting the Amelia
Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation.
"As Aimee and I approach our 25th anniversary, we are reminded of
how fortunate we are to have found each other. The holiday giving
season provides a chance to take stock of all that we have and give
back to the ones that we care about. Our hope is that the money
raised from the sale of our race car provides comfort and resources
for the individuals and families supported by the Amelia Island
Concours d'Elegance Foundation's charitable giving."
In 1974 Formula 1 drivers Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley founded
the race-car manufacturer Tiga, named after the first two letters
of their first and last names, respectively. Over the years Tiga
found its greatest success in the Sports 2000 series, creating
open-cockpit prototypes.
Developed by John Webb as an affordable form of sports-car racing,
in many ways the S2000 class is a sports-car version of Formula
Ford 2000. The key attributes of the class were a body design
reminiscent of two-liter Group 6 sports racing cars powered by an
inexpensive yet reliable drivetrain-namely, a two-liter "Pinto"
overhead-camshaft engine mated to a VW-based Hewland Mk 9
transaxle.
Tiga's SC84 Sports 2000 won four British, three European, and one
American championship. The Tiga also scored a win at Le Mans and
the Group C2 Teams award in the World Endurance Championship in
1985 and would go on to win at Daytona in 1987 and '88 as well as
the IMSA Camel Lights Championship in 1988.
This 1984 Tiga SC84 raced extensively in the SCCA from 1984 through
1989, finishing well and going to the SCCA Runoffs. From the fall
of 2017 into the spring of 2018, the car was restored, including an
engine rebuild, by Apex Vintage Sports and Racing Cars of New Hill,
North Carolina. John Oates subsequently acquired the SC84 and sent
it to Gunnar Racing in West Palm Beach, Florida, to be fully race
prepared for vintage racing. At Gunnar Racing a new gearbox,
clutch, and bearings were installed, and the brakes were gone
through. Additionally, the body was removed, repaired back to new,
and received a custom livery by Kevin Jeannette. The Tiga was
tested at Palm Beach International Raceway in December 2019. After
spending a day at the track with John Oates behind the wheel, the
SC84 is said to drive better than when delivered new in 1984. John
drove the car 15-20 laps at speed on the track that day.
John and Aimee would like to thank Kevin Jeannette and Gunnar
Racing for donating the body and paintwork as a gift to the Amelia
Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation.To view this car and others
currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am20.
