1970 Intermeccanica Spyder Has American Heart, Italian Soul

BOLD RIDE

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Posted by Jeff Perez

 

Way back when in 1966, Bob Cumberford went about and designed a coupe known as the Griffith. It had a chassis developed by former BRM chassis designer John Crosthwaite, and a big Plymouth V8 under the hood. Alas, only 14 vehicles were ever built.
 

Soon after, a man named Steve Wilder stepped in, changed the name of the car to Omega, and managed to eek out 33 vehicles under the new moniker. It was a relative success in comparison to the only 14 vehicle produced a few years earlier.

But in 1970, Intermeccanica pulled up its bootstraps and got to work. New funding from Credito Italiano allowed the company to build over 100+ cars per year. Gone was the Plymouth engine and drivetrain, in its place was a new Ford V8 and transmission. Not to mention the name of the vehicle had changed again, this time simply to Italia.

It was one of the last and only original vehicles Intermeccanica ever built before shifting its focus to coachbuilding. But the Italia Spyder in question is heading up for auction in original, unrestored condition.

Under the hood is a 5.75-liter Ford Shelby Cobra Windsor V8 paired with a 4-speed manual gearbox and a completely original interior. The great thing about this classic is that with all the American parts fitted, it’s relatively cheap to maintain.
The vehicle is estimated to fetch somewhere between $100,000 to $125,000 at Auctions America on October 31 at the Hilton Head Island Auction.

Via: Silodrome