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WILD CARDS
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1971 Jensen FF MkII
The FF is a ground-breaking car. Not only was it the first non-all-terrain production model fitted with four-wheel drive, but it was also the first car to feature an antilock braking system. This example’s original owner was James Fattorini, vice chairman of Bradford’s Empire Stores. Footballer and dentist Lance Robson and his wife also had it, selling it in 2002. The current keeper acquired it in 2006, via eBay “after a few glasses of wine”. It had unfortunately been in a major accident – and fixing that, plus some earlier restoration woes, means it has only just emerged from being brought back to life.
1971 Monteverdi 375L High Speed Fissore
Swiss Ferrari importer Peter Monteverdi had fallen out with Enzo Ferrari over the need to buy 100 cars up front in 1965 – so he set out to build the reliable luxury GT his customers wanted. The result was the 375L High Speed, with its Fissore-built body clothing a 375bhp 7.2litre Chrysler V8. This particular car, number 54 of around 80 built, was sold new to the owner of a German TV and radio company. It spent some years in a Swiss collection before being acquired by a British ex-pat in Switzerland. It has now come to the UK, and still wears Hai 450 GTS-style red-over-black paint.
1993 BMW 850 CSi
BMW has never officially made an M8 other than a prototype, but the 850 CSi comes closest.
Its 375bhp 5.6-litre V12 carries the special ’S’ moniker usually reserved for M-developed engines. This 850 CSi is no. 16 of 160 right-hand-drive built, and is the only example to have BMW Individual paint and trim. It was ordered in Special Order Aqua Metallic with exclusive Special Upholstery – Ice Blue with Champagne leather. It has an Alcantara roof lining, and leather on the dash, centre console, parcel shelf and seats, along with a hide colour-matched phone and even a leather-lined ashtray. This interior option cost £13,000 extra, with the car’s total price being £96,000. It has done 39,000 miles.
1959 Chevrolet Corvette C1
The Corvette owes its birth to Harley Earl, GM’s styling boss. He’d noticed that GIs were returning from Europe with a yearning for roadsters from the likes of Jaguar, Alfa and MG – and he convinced his superiors that GM needed a car to compete. The Corvette was born. This C1 was built in St Louis, Missouri. All the major components are original, with the exception of the 283ci small-block engine which was replaced with a 327ci at some point. It’s now producing 300bhp.
The two previous owners lived in New Mexico. Since then it has received a respray and leather retrim, along with stainless-steel exhausts and radial tyres.
1975 Ferrari 365GT4 2+2
The 365GT4 2+2 may have been familiar on paper, with a V12 up front and Pininfarina on pen duty, but this elegant GT was a marked change from its curvy predecessors. The elegant, angular shape