Italian-American: 1967 Meccanica Maniero 4700 GT

Sean Rooks | April 31, 2026

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Good Find Friday features interesting vehicles we’ve found for sale while conducting market analysis or appraisal research. They are not for sale by Wolf and Mare and we have no business relationship with the sellers. We just think they’re worth learning about and sharing with our readers!


I’m writing this post from a hotel room in downtown Phoenix where I’ll be attending the International Society of Appraiser’s annual conference. Gathered here are some of the finest appraisers of art, collectibles, and more to share knowledge and expertise that betters the entire profession. It kicks off tomorrow, and I’m pretty bushed from travel. As a result, today’s post will be a bit short. Today’s Good Find Friday feature vehicle is a 1967 Meccanica Maniero 4700 GT by Michelotti. It’s a car that ticks a lot of my favorite boxes, including extreme rarity, coachbuilt styling, American power, a great story and patina worth preserving.

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

Broad Arrow Auctions

One of the world’s most prestigious classic car events, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is held annually on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Dating back to 1929, it brings together rare vintage automobiles and concept cars, judged for their design, originality, and historical significance. The atmosphere is formal but relaxed, with limited tickets for the Villa d’Este event while the Parade of Historic Cars is open to the public.

Broad Arrow Auctions returns to the town of Cernobbio as exclusive auction partner for this event. Over 70 collector cars have been consigned and will cross the block on Sunday May 17, 2026.

Broad Arrow Auctions

This one-off coachbuilt car was created at the request of an Italian businessman dissatisfied with the usability of his Maserati 3500 GT. He commissioned Giovanni Michelotti to design a compact, assertive coupe that blended Italian styling with American V8 power. 

Owned for decades by the Maniero family before being purchased by the consignor, the car is now for sale at Broad Arrow’s Villa d’Este auction with an estimated hammer price of between $300,000 and $400,000.

Broad Arrow Auctions

The exterior reflects Michelotti’s restrained design language, with a short 2,400-mm wheelbase, clean proportions, and preserved original paint showing a charming variation in color from panel to panel. Inside, the cabin remains largely untouched, featuring tan upholstery and Jaeger instrumentation in a focused, driver-oriented layout.

Broad Arrow Auctions

Power comes from a 4.7-liter Ford HiPo V8 producing 285 horsepower, paired with a four-speed manual—the same basic setup as the Shelby Cobra. Given the car’s relatively light weight, one can expect pretty sprightly performance to complement the car’s good looks.

Broad Arrow Auctions

The underpinnings aren’t mentioned in the cataloging, but based on some other sources it appears that Michelotti took a shortcut by building this beautiful coupe body on Ford Mustang mechanicals.

Broad Arrow Auctions

When it debuted at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show, it attracted serious interest—including an unfulfilled order for 50 cars from Georges Filipinetti—but remained a singular creation, preserved by the Maniero family for decades before careful recommissioning.

Giovanni Michelotti has designed some of my favorite cars including the Triumph TR4 and Italia, not to mention the BMW 2002. This is a tremendous opportunity to own a singular design from this prolific artist, but it comes at a price, of course.

Finding comparables is not easy with such a unique specimen, but I would consider vehicles like the Ferrari 330 GT (also by Michelotti) and the Bizzarrini Strada to be fairly similar. The latter cars can trade for $750,000 or even over $1,000,000, so the estimate for the Maniero obviously takes the car’s preservation condition and relative obscurity of the commissioning family into account. In contrast, the 330 GT was commissioned by Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari’s North American importer and founder of NART.

Final Thoughts

Stylistically, I like this car a lot, though it can look a little too inspired by the Fiat Dino coupe from some angles. The interior is attractively arranged and seems like a sublime place to be while cruising the cliffside roads of southern Italy.

What do you think about these awesome little machines? Let me know in the comments, and have a great weekend, everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!

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