Does Coys Really Sell Iso Grifo No. 001 – “A Very Important And Rare Car”

That is what Douglas Jamieson of Coys said at the auction in Essen, Germany on Saturday.

You be the judge. The photo on the left is a blue Grifo sold by Coys as the Grifo #001 prototype and the photo on the right is the Grifo that everyone else in the world believes to be the #001 prototype.

Read the story and see more photos here:

Coys Sells Iso Grifo No. 001 - "A Very Important And Rare Car" - Really?
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The Iso Grifo Sold By Coys Has Been Seized By The German Authorities
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IIRC, didn't you some time back find another....questionable....car for sale?

Are Isos particularly prone to misrepresentation?

Thanks.

 

Yes, a few - read at this link: Fake Cars

Iso cars are not particularly prone to misrepresentation. Most collector cars can be the victim of this type of activity. I became aware of a fake valuable Maserati recently.

 

Nice reporting Mike. Thanks!
Mark

 

You are welcome. I believe this type of activity hurts all of us who own collector cars. There is more of this type of unacceptable selling behavior than most buyers know.

 

Sad. The auction house and the seller should be held accountable by the authorities. I know honest mistakes happen sometimes. But this seems like flat out deception and negligence. Auction houses selling fine automobiles must be held to a higher standard when it comes to describing cars of questionable provenance and they should do their due diligence so as not to consign such a dubious example in the first place. Between this and the Bizzarrini, incident in 2011, I have lost confidence in Coys of London.

 

"Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

 

Not it appears that the engine is not original.

More On The Coys Iso Grifo Fiasco

 

As a consultant for Coys in Italy, Coys Manging director has asked me to post the following comment on the Iso Grifo in the Essen auction.

"
Regarding the details of the sale of an Iso Grifo which was described in its documentation and paperwork as being chassis 001, Coys confirm that despite incorrect comments being circulated by parties who were not in attendance at the event, the transaction for this car has not taken place and the matter of the car is now being handled in Germany where the event took place.

The case of historic motorcars due to the nature of their age where some confusion arises about their history is commonplace throughout the world and in this particular instance upon the acknowledgement of claims being made of an alternative car with the same chassis number the matter was handled in an entirely appropriate manner and the sale has not proceeded.

This situation, although unfortunate, is simply no more complicated than that.

C.Routledge
COYS"

 

Greats News,

 

Coys management provides a statement about the Iso Grifo seized by the German authorities at the Coys auction in Essen, Germany.

Coys Comments On Their Iso Grifo Problem In Germany

 

B.O.H.I.C.A.

 

+1 What a weak statement by COYS.

 

Mike, I find your behavior not fair at all.

Firstly, I find it unacceptable that you're using Ferrarichat great popularity in order to promote your personal website and you're redirecting the forum trafic toward your page. If you would like to discuss a car, why don't you do it here? Do you have anything against Ferrarichat?

About the Grifo, it was bougt more than 15 years ago by Egel in Germany from Mr. Garnerone somewhere just next to Pisa. Every expert know about that transation so I am a bit surprised by all the noise it 's making (and if any one would like some more details about it, he can send me a private message).

You and your friends have exported Bizzarrini P538 in the US with fake chassis number. Every knows this on FerrariChat as some previous posts are about it.
Therefore you are really not in position to lecture anyone.

 

As an Associate Sponsor of Ferrari Chat I pay for the privilege of promoting my business like all the other Associate Sponsors who are listed here promote their business: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sponsors.php

Who are you?

Why are you interested in this Coys Grifo that has been seized by the German authorities because it has an incorrect chassis number, and Coys promoted it as the Grifo prototype, which it is obviously not?

All of my articles on this subject are here: coysgrifo001

Hemmings wrote about this subject here: Sale of alleged prototype Iso Grifo halted amid questions of its authenticity | Hemmings Daily

 

I think there's a new sheriff in town

 

Starts with an O

 

Mike, if you're allowed to deviate Ferrarichat's traffic, then I apologize about that as I didn't know.

About Coys and the Grifo, I am one of their clients and I find them to be great and honest people. The boss, Douglas, is always ready to help and he sells thousands of cars.. So how can he be responsible for this mistake? He is just an intermediary. Your words show that you have something personal against Coys, as if they were responsible for all the problems on Earth. Experts know that that Grifo car was for sale in Italy more than 25 years ago, with that number. People talk about it on Italian websites and the car was imported by.. guess who!

However, when there is embezzlement by one of your friends, we don't hear you... Isn't that an evidence that your honesty is somehow flexible.
When your friend Ekstein imported a fake P538, with fake chassis number and fake statement, why don't you say anything?

When that same friend insults the two ISO bo201 and bo202 saying that, according to experts (you and him?), they are continuations cars because there is nothing original left, again, you say nothing.
But on the side, you promote fake cars, that are made by your friend Negri...
Bo 201 and Bo202 are two amazing race cars, GTO's and just like any race cars, they can be damaged but they remain really rare cars, and with hit lists!

Throwing dirt at authentic cars that are worth millions while promoting fake cars.. I am chocked (and I am not the only one) and I wonder why anyone would do that.

Why don't you answer those questions that you're carefully avoiding?

 

At first, it appeared that the 1966 Iso Grifo Lusso that Coys offered at last weekend’s Techno Classica auction in Essen, Germany, sold for a respectable $332,000, but after Iso enthusiasts cried foul over the car’s chassis number, the sale was canceled and questions now linger over the car’s true provenance.

Described by Coys as an original-condition car with its original Chevrolet small-block V-8 engine and four-speed manual transmission, Coys didn’t belabor its provenance, noting only that it came from “an important Italian collection of historic vehicles, where it has resided for many years,” that it only came available after the death of the owner of the collection, and that it came with German historic registration documents. Designed by Giugiaro with a chassis by Bizzarrini, the Grifo debuted in 1963, powered by the Corvette 327, and over the next decade or so, Iso went on to build more than 400 Grifos, including the dark blue over tan leather interior example that Coys listed.



What caught the eye of a number of Iso experts and enthusiasts before the auction, however, was the chassis number listed for the Grifo, B740001, displayed on a number plate riveted to the passenger-side upright in the engine bay, which was also stamped with the number. However, according to Mike Gulett, the director of marketing and media for the Iso and Bizzarrini Owners Club, and the experts he has quoted at My Car Quest, chassis numbers are typically stamped on metal plates welded to the upright. And what’s more, the chassis number belongs to an early Iso S4 – the four-door sedan later known as the Iso Fidia – according to those experts. Further investigation into the stamping numbers on the engine in the Grifo revealed that it was a 350 built in 1974 for non-Corvette applications.

As Gulett related the story, Iso club members approached Coys with the discrepancies, but in response, Coys officials claimed that they had not only confirmed with the club that the chassis number was authentic, but that it was the chassis number for the Iso Grifo prototype. Except, as it turns out, the actual 1963 Iso Grifo prototype – chassis number 420001, which has appeared at Pebble Beach twice and features a number of variations from the production Grifos – currently resides in Don Williams’s Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California.

“If (Coys) is calling theirs a ’66, then it’s obviously not the prototype,” Williams said. “Everybody makes mistakes – it could be a misunderstanding – but don’t try to defend a car that’s undefendable.”

No mention was made in the Coys auction description of the Grifo being the 1963 prototype. Nor has Coys yet released the complete results from the auction.



Gulett reported that the Grifo sold this past Saturday for €220,000 (about $332,000), right in the middle of its €200,000 to €250,000 pre-auction estimate, and then, citing a single anonymous source, that the Grifo was then seized by German authorities. Ben Willis, a salesman at Coys, confirmed that the Grifo’s sale was not completed, attributing it to “a description error.” In a followup to Gulett, Chris Routledge, another salesman at Coys, said that the car’s transaction did not take place and that the matter is being handled in Germany.

“The case of historic motorcars due to the nature of their age where some confusion arises about their history is unfortunately commonplace throughout the world and in this particular instance upon the acknowledgement of claims being made of an alternative car with the same chassis number the matter was handled in an entirely appropriate manner and the sale has not proceeded,” Routledge wrote to Gulett. “This situation, although unfortunate, is simply no more complicated than that.”

The situation, for what it’s worth, comes less than a month after another Iso Grifo , claimed to be the last Iso Grifo built – sold for $440,000, a world record for an Iso Grifo at public auction, at the recent RM sale at Amelia Island.

In the meantime, Iso enthusiasts are left wondering what lies behind the Grifo’s incorrect chassis number and incorrect engine. Some have speculated that its actual chassis number was appropriated for use in another Grifo, while another theory posits that it could be one of two cars stolen in Italy. No theory has yet been proposed for how it ended up with the chassis number of the first S4, however.

- See more at: Sale of alleged prototype Iso Grifo halted amid questions of its authenticity | Hemmings Daily

 

Who are you?

 

lol...someone is avoiding answering direct questions...

 

Why don't you answer those questions that you're carefully avoiding?

 

Or maybe I could explain why you're not answering...

 

This is great! Anonymous posting and avoidance in response! Gotta love the interwebs