RM Auctions Selling Third Chaparral Ever Made at January Auction

ChaparralChaparralUnited States of America, 1966 > 19809 models
24 photos
Cars forged its name as one of the premiere sports car racing builders and teams of the 60s. RM Auctions will sell the third car that the company ever built at its Arizona auction on January 16 and 17. 

Jim Hall took the fortune that he made in the Texas oil boom, and instead of living a life of luxury, he went racing. Hall started as a successful club racer and decided that he wanted to build cars of his own. He founded Chaparral Cars in 1960.

Hall hired two sportscar builders that had just gone out of business to create the Chaparral 1Chaparral 1United States of America, 1961 > present1 photo
. It used a 5.2-liter ChevroletChevroletUnited States of America, 1911 > present82 models
3556 photos
7 videos
V8 with six carburetors to produce 375hp through a CorvetteChevrolet Corvette Gen.1United States of America, 1953 > 196218 versions
74 photos
four-speed transmission. Five of the cars were built, including one prototype that was never raced.

The car on sale is car number 3, and Hall himself drove it with three other drivers to take a class win and sixth-place overall finish in the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring.

By 1964, the Chaparral 1 was already outclassed, and Hall sold the both of the cars he owned to finance development of the Chaparral 2AChaparral 2 ChevroletUnited States of America, 1963 > present, which truly launched the company’s success by winning major races in Europe and the US.

RM’s car was last sold in August 2004 for $1,111,000. It is predicting the price to between $2,250,000 and $2,750,000 when it goes on sale in January.

Source: Hemmings