Toyota Crown + Maserati Ghibli + Calais SV + Nissan GTI-R - Phil's Picks 454

By: Phil Walker

Date: 06.07.2021

Phil reckons a bit of clever shuffling could see a gap open up in his shed, so he has been rifling through the classifieds picking the cream of the crop to share with you

1964 Toyota Crown Deluxe Custom

I remember when AMI were assembling Standard Vanguards and Mercedes in the late 50s and 60s. Then Toyota breezed in with the Crown also screwed together by AMI and put the wind up the local luxo offerings from Holden, Ford, Chrylser and BMC.

A combination of different styling and that buyers didn’t need to dive into the expensive options list for the basics made the Crown an attractive alterantive. I recall seeing this one at Motorclassica in 2018 when it was a Concours de Elegance class finalist. With 59,000 original kays on the clock it’s a timepiece of Australian motoring history and one of very few left.

See more details on the Toyota Crown here

1969 Maserati Ghibli

$199,950

This Maserati is named after the high velocity desert winds from northern Africa and many reckon the Ghibli is one of the marque’s best efforts. There is something seductive about these 60s Italian supercars that has you opening your wallet and signing up for one in a blink of an eye. I almost did. This Ghibli claims a loving resto and its raucous 4.9lt V8 can be heard for miles, as it should be. Adding to the seduction is its gleaming red paintwork and biscuit coloured soft leather trim. Gorgeous.

See more details on the Ghibli here

1989 Holden Calais SV 150

$35,000

To bring in a few extra shekels early on in the days of wee Tom Walkinshaw’s hot Holden shop, his HSV mob created small-batch specials, like this SV 150 that’s Calais V8 based. This one claims a respray, seat retrim and a new transmission. At the asking price it won’t break the bank and it’s unlikely you’ll park next to another one, except at a cars and coffee event, where you will get asked loads of questions about it. It might turn out to be a fun place to park some money for a while.

See more details on the Calais here

1990 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

$26,950

Here is the son of Godzilla, a pocket rocket from Nissan back in the days when they built cars for people that enjoyed driving. Sadly Nissan Oz didn’t bring in the winged warrior, as they had their hands full with Godzilla but many washed up on our shores as grey imports. You don’t often see near-standard ones these days as most have been flung around race tracks or chucked down dusty rally roads. But if you want a relatively cheap thrills in a very capable set of wheels it’s worth having a look.

See more details on the GTI-R here

From Unique Cars #454, June 2021

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