We know this 1962 OSCA 1600 GT Zagato Double Bubble isn’t a barn find, but boy would we love to stumble across one of these rare beauties in an old barn. We won’t hold our breath though, but then again there are a few of these cars still unaccounted for. This one has a well-documented history, including several racing stints in Europe. In 2008 it was imported to the States and then meticulously restored back to factory condition and includes 18 pages of documentation and over 200 photos of the restoration process. The seller has decided to let this gorgeous machine find a new home and has listed it here on eBay
OSCA, which is short for the Italian tongue twister Officina Specializzata Costruzione Automobili, was founded by the Maserati brothers in 1947 to pursue their goals in the racing world. In 1937 the brothers sold their original company Maserati to an Italian Industrialist, so they had to come up with a new name for their company. While Maserati went on to become very successful after being bought by Ferrari, OSCA never achieved much success off the race track. Only 128 1600 GTs were ever built, with around 98 of those being bodied by Zagato. Currently only 20 of these beautiful Zagato bodied cars are accounted for, so perhaps there is still hope of discovering one tucked away somewhere…
The 1600 GT has all the wonderful Italian flare, both inside and out, as many of its much more expensive cousins. This one’s interior is complete with all of its original gauges and switches intact and working. It has been restored to pristine condition and might even look better than the day it left the factory. The owner added the diamond stitched leather during the restoration, and while not original, we think it’s a nice touch.
When most of us think of Italian sports cars, we think of high strung and fragile V12s, but this car is powered by a brilliant 4 cylinder. After several failed attempts with V12 engines in their race cars, the Maserati brothers decided to build a lightweight race car and power it with a well-built twin-cam four cylinder. This setup really shined and drivers such as Stirling Moss, Prince Behra, and Luigi Villoresi had great success with them. This OSCA is powered by the original 125 hp version of the 1568 cc engine and has been thoroughly rebuilt. Nearly every component in this engine bay has been refurbished and everything should work as good as new.
We absolutely love this car, from its amazing Zagato styling to its fantastic 4 cylinder. There is however one problem with it, the price. The seller has started the auction at $199,000 which puts this machine way out of our budget. This might seem high, but considering how rare this car is, the condition it’s in, and all the extra parts that are included, we think it’s priced about right. The question really is if they will be able to find a buyer for it.
nice car…
Zagato, I knew it rang a bell. As in Aston Martin, these guys got around. Great designers. The roof scoops/vents are cool/unique.
A quick check of the auction shows a starting bid of $199,000, the reserve has not been met, and their are 0 bids. I often wonder why someone puts so much money into a restoration then attempts to sell the finished result…
This is the 2nd go around on the Bay.I think it died a lot earlier last month.
The rounded front fenders to headlights and grill, rear tailights remind me of my mothers Vauxhall in the 60’s.
A Beauty.
We had one of these in the early 80’s. It was silver-gray and we called it “The Bubble” . The rumor was that the “Prince of Wales” (Prince Charles, I think…) owned it at one time. My dad had a small collection of OSCA’s. This was in Long Beach, CA. Can anyone tell me what happened to this car in particular? They were all sold when he passed away in 1986. If there are only 20 accounted for, someone may well know. Thanks!