Seeing a classic European sports car out on its own is usually enough to catch our attention. But at an event like Pebble Beach, it takes something a little more to stand out. Like unique bodywork from one of the Old World’s premier coachbuilders.
Fortunately Gooding & Company has a wide array of such classic custom creations in store for its upcoming auction in Monterey.
Arguably the most enticing of them is the 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider with bodywork by Bertone. Several years before the British automaker commissioned the DB4 GT and kicked off its long history of collaboration with Zagato, Aston’s US distributor bought six DB2/4 chassis and sent them to Bertone. Three were made into roadsters, with this being the only completed in Deluxe Competition spec. The curvaceous convertible featured at the 1954 New York Auto Show, and is anticipated to sell for between $3 and 4 million.
Joining it is a unique 1960 Abarth 1000 Bialbero record car, valued at $1-1.5 million. Dubbed “La Principessa,” it was developed by Pininfarina in the Turin Polytechnic University’s wind tunnel with streamlined bodywork that helped it set a record at 118.7 miles per hour. There’s also a Cisitalia 202 Coupe Mille Miglia bodied by Vignale (estimated at $2-3 million), a Ferrari 330 GTS ($2.7-3m) and 250 GT Series II Cabriolet ($1.5-2m), a ’37 Mercedes 540K ($1.2-1.4m), and a ’51 Alfa 6C ($700-850k).
The gavel is set to drop on these and other rare classics at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center on August 20 and 21.
Photos by Piotr Degler and Mike Maez courtesy of Gooding & Company.
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