Welcome to Not Sold Here, the series where we look at interesting cars which were never sold in the United States market, but have made their way to American soil. Today’s feature car is a 1990 Toyota Sera, a sporty, compact car from Japan. About 15,941 vehicles were produced during the five year production run from 1990 through 1995. All models were equipped with a 1.5L engine producing 110 horsepower and 98 ft-lbs of torque, with either a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual available. The Sera is noted for its numerous unusual features and options.
The most prominent feature of the Sera is its butterfly hinge doors, which open outward and upward instead of in the conventional fashion. Gordon Murray, designer of the legendary McLaren F1, credited the Sera as his inspiration for the F1’s similar styled butterfly doors. The three-door hatchback has seating for four, though the backseat is quite small.
Another unusual feature of this particular Sera is its paint color. The car was offered in 11 different colors. There were of course standard colors such as black, gray, red, and blue, but there were also less traditional colors like turquoise blue, burnt orange, and greenish yellow, which is what this car has. I really couldn’t imagine a color like this selling well in the U.S. market.
When thinking about Italian cars, brands such as Ferrari and Lamborghini probably come to mind. But there are many, many others – Maserati, Fiat, Lancia, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, to name several. But there are also the lesser-known Italian marques like DeTomaso, Intermeccanica, and Iso.
Today’s post is about that last one – Iso. Founded in 1939, they made cars and motorcycles in Italy through 1974 when the company went bankrupt. I have previously written about the Iso Rivolta Fidia S4, which was briefly the world’s fastest 4-door car when it was introduced in the late 1960s. Around the same time, Iso was also manufacturing this car, the Lele. With its 2+2 layout, it would likely have been a competitor to the Lamborghini Espada, another Grand Tourer. The Lele was one of the last models that Iso made before shutting down production entirely.
I stumbled across this car at the Barrett-Jackson 2019 collector car auction in Scottsdale. Funny enough, the car was not part of the auction, but rather parked outside in the parking lot! It’s not often that I see a car I cannot identify, and I thought at first it might have been another Lamborghini Islero, as they have quite similar body lines. With no visible badging, I went in for a closer look. The only emblem was a small Iso Rivolta badge on the hood. These are extraordinarily rare cars, with only 285 produced during the five year production run. The chances of simply happening upon one in a random parking lot are unbelievable! After some research online, I learned that the cars came with either small block Chevy or Ford engines. I am not sure which engine this car has, though the split is pretty even with 125 of them being Chevy powered and 160 of them Ford powered.
The Hagerty price guide places the value on these cars at about $30,000 in Fair condition to $70,000 in Concours condition. For those who dream of owning an Italian sports car but with a Ford or Chevy budget, the Lele may be a great alternative to the more common Italian brands. I think it is a super neat car and would love to own one!
Update 1/24/2021: While attending the RM Sotheby’s Scottsdale 2021 auction, I met the owner of this car! He told me that it is a 1972 model, and that it is 1 of 3 equipped with a factory sunroof! I hope that I have the rest of the facts about this car correct!
The 48th Annual Barrett-Jackson collector car auction took place from January 12 through January 20th, 2019 at Westworld in Scottsdale, Arizona. The no-reserve auction featured a record number 1,818 collector cars for sale. Below is a listing of the top 10 most expensive car sales from the 2019 Scottsdale auction:
This 2019 McLaren Senna (Lot #1405) was the top seller at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale 2019 auction, where it sold for $1,457,500 (including buyer’s premium). The car features a 4.0L twin turbo V8 engine producing 789 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 2.8 seconds. The car is chassis #005 of 500 built, and is 1 of approximately 120 in the United States.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 (Lot #1410) is an ultra-rare vehicle, one of approximately 100 produced worldwide. The sport-utility truck is enormous in every measure and sold for $1,210,000.
This 2012 Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition (Lot #1412) is one of 500 cars produced, and 1 of 50 with the special Nurburgring package. It features a 4.8L V10 engine producing 562 horsepower with a 9,000 rpm redline. The car sold for a record-setting $918,500.
The 2005 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo (Lot #1415) is an extremely limited production supercar built in America by Saleen Automotive. Powered by a twin turbocharged 7.0L Ford V8 engine, this 750 hp car boasts world class acceleration, handling, and braking. This car is a rare low mileage example, with just 240 miles on the odometer. It sold for $550,000 ($687,500) including buyer’s premium.
In the list of top-selling cars for 2019, spots 5, 6, and 7 belong to these three Heritage Edition Ford GTs.
5. 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition – 3,092 actual miles (Lot #1313) – $533,500
6. 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition – 288 actual miles (Lot #1376) – $495,000
7. 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition – 77 actual miles (Lot #1406) – $462,000
Two cars tied for 8th place with the same hammer price of $385,000. They are:
8. 1967 Ford Mustang Custom Fastback “Gone In 60 Seconds” Eleanor (Lot #1437) $385,000
8. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-window Resto-Mod Coupe (Lot #1333) – $385,000
9th place was another tie, with these two cars selling for $363,000 each.
The 10th most expensive car sold at the 2019 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction was this 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT (Lot #1416). It wears a beautiful Monterey Blue over tan leather with Lamborghini’s signature 6.0L V12 engine providing ample power and performance.
Every year in January, I find myself wondering how Barrett-Jackson is going to top their recent Scottsdale collector car auction in the upcoming year. And somehow they do, time after time. The 2019 auction saw higher numbers across the board – more cars sold, more sales, and more money raised for charity than last year.
While most people think of Barrett-Jackson as a car auction, they also sell a lot of memorabilia – vintage gas pumps, signs, and various other items. This year, the Scottsdale auction brought in more than $118 million from auto sales, $4.05 million from automotive memorabilia, and more than $9.6 million in charity auctions, bringing the total auction sales to more than $131.6 million.
In the memorabilia category, more than 1,500 lots were sold, with the top seller (Lot #9499) a full size carousel from 1962 fetching $506,000.
In the automotive category, the auction sold 1,817 of their 1,818 lots for a 99.74% sell-through rate. The average sale price of all automotive lots was $69,571. The top 10 lots were as follows:
But it’s not just about big sales for supercars and resto-mods. Barrett-Jackson does a lot for charitable causes as well. The 2019 Scottsdale auction featured 16 special charity auctions which raised $9.6 million – more than any single year in the company’s 48 year history.
Top charitable auctions included:
2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition VIN 001 (Lot #3012) – $2,500,000 benefiting United Way for Southeastern Michigan
2018 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet (Lot #3011) – $200,000 benefiting Fighter Country Foundation at Luke Force Air Force Base
2020 Toyota Supra – First Production VIN 20201 (Lot #3010) – $2,100,000 benefiting the American Heart Association and The Bob Woodruff Foundation
Jeff Gordon’s 2016 Corvette C7.R (Lot #3007) – $600,000 benefiting the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation
2015 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R (Lot #3006) – $500,000 benefiting the Petersen Automotive and Henry Ford Museums
1981 Jeep CJ7 Custom SUV (Lot #3005) – $1,310,000 benefiting the Gary Sinise Foundation
1967 Chevrolet Camaro Custom Coupe (Lot 3004) – $165,000 benefiting Childhelp Through SEMA Cares purchased by singer/songwriter Ray J
2018 Ford Fusion NASCAR Race Car (Lot #3003) – $300,000 benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children
2019 Auction Trends
As you can see from the top sales, supercars and other limited-production vehicles remain in high demand. The market for the 2004-2006 Ford GT vehicles is red hot, with eight of the 4,038 cars built sold at the Scottsdale auction. Low-mileage examples and special options like the Heritage Edition package set record-breaking prices, with the top car (Lot #1313) selling for more than half a million dollars.
To no one’s surprise, Chevrolet Corvettes continue to dominate the auction catalog, with more than 100 different vehicles from all eras offered for sale. Early Corvettes (1953-1962) fetched the highest prices, with numerous examples selling in the high $200,000s and two cars (Lot #1451.1 and Lot #1440) both selling for $330,000.
One thing that surprised me about the Scottsdale 2019 auction was the vast number of 2003 and up Bentley Continental GT models for sale. I’ve been attending the Barrett-Jackson auction for well over a decade and have never seen so many Bentleys as I did at the 2019 auction. For some reason, Bentley owners all decided to part with their cars this year, creating a real buyer’s market for these cars.
In fact, I actually researched Barrett-Jackson’s auction catalog going back 10 years and created this chart of 2003+ Bentley models offered for sale by year. 2019 was the highest ever, with 24 vehicles offered for sale. The average sale price for an 03+ Continental GT was $73,327, while the cheapest example (Lot #1552.1) went for just $33,000.
2019 was another record-breaking year for Barrett-Jackson, and I cannot wait to see how they top this year’s excitement again next year. I am confident that they will continue to do so as they approach their milestone 50th year in 2021.
There is no shortage of Special Edition Corvettes out there in the world. Everything from Anniversary editions to special trim packages, paint colors, and more means that there are lots of desirable combinations for car collectors. At the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2019 auction, I happened across a Special Edition Corvette that I had not heard of before. The GT1 Championship Edition Corvette was a special option package offered in 2009.
The GT1 Corvette started with a C6 Corvette 4LT, a fully optioned model with all the amenities such as Premium Stereo, Memory Seats, and a Heads Up Display. In addition, the GT1 package added the following special items:
Forged Chrome Aluminum Wheels
Z51 Performance Package (Large cross-drilled brake rotors, performance tires, stabilizer bars, springs, shocks, and gear ratios)
Dual-mode performance exhaust
ZR1 body-colored spoiler
Graphics inspired by C6.R Racing Livery
Driver Flags on Roof
Ebony Custom Leather Trim
Exclusive Yellow Stitching on Seats and Interior
GT1 Embroidery on Seats, Center Console, and Instrument Panel
Lower Door Script with GT1 Championships
Black Headlamps
Carbon Pattern Engine Cover
Specific VIN Sequence
The cost of the GT1 package added nearly $8,000 to the price of the car, making this a premium car aimed at collectors and true enthusiasts. The car could be ordered as a Coupe, Convertible, or Z06 model with black or velocity yellow as the only color choices available. A total of 600 GT1 Corvettes were produced in 2009 – that is 100 of each body style and color combination.
The car I saw at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale 2019 auction was a black coupe, and is the first of only 24 black coupes produced with the GT1 package.
Ten years ago, the car’s MSRP was $64,460 and this one had another $3,000 worth of options including the Navigation system and 6-speed paddle shift automatic transmission, pushing the final price to $68,310. During the past decade, the car has accumulated just 3,851 actual miles – a real low mileage gem!
The car sold at the auction for $34,100 (including the buyer’s premium). For reference, the Kelly Blue Book value of a similar car with the same options and mileage is valued at $25 to $28,000. While it may seem high compared to private party, I bet that the value on a regular Corvette will continue to depreciate, while this one will be an investment. With such limited production, I believe these cars will be much more desirable in the future. Whoever bought this one for $34k got a great deal, in my opinion.
Another unusual feature of this particular Sera is its paint color. The car was offered in 11 different colors. There were of course standard colors such as black, gray, red, and blue, but there were also less traditional colors like turquoise blue, burnt orange, and greenish yellow, which is what this car has. I really couldn’t imagine a color like this selling well in the U.S. market.
