by Mike Gulett –
1967 OSI 20M TS
This lovely Italian car powered by Ford is up for auction during Monterey Car Week at the Bonhams auction at the Quail Lodge in Carmel.
I do not remember seeing one of these up for auction before. They are very rare probably because they rusted away and many were not saved like this one for auction and the one restored by a My Car Quest reader at this link.
Sergio Sartorelli was the designer of the beautiful Ford OSI 20m TS Coupe which is based on the German Ford Taunus 20m. Sartorelli also designed the Type 3 based Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Type 34.
OSI (Officine Stampaggi Industriali), in business from 1960 to 1967, was intended to be a design branch of Ghia and was founded by Luigi Segre (the former president of Ghia) and Arrigo Olivetti from the Fergat company.
Approximately 2,200 Ford OSI 20m TS Coupes were made with less than 10% of those surviving.
Bonhams writes,
Estimate: US$ 70,000 – 90,000 (£ 56,000 – 72,000)
To be sold without reserve
Chassis no. EX54GE01574
1,998cc V6 Engine
Solex 32 DDIST 2-Barrel Carburetor
90bhp at 5,000rpm
4-Speed Transmission
MacPherson Struts Front, Live Axle Rear
Disc Brakes Front, Drum Brakes Rear
Rare limited-production, hand built European coupe
1 of less than 200 examples believed to be in existence
Freshly restored to concourse standards
Styled by one of Italy’s best
The OSI with its Italian styling and Ford power is an interesting low performance alternative to an Iso Rivolta GT or even an Iso Grifo at a much lower price.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Photos compliments of Bonhams. Read the full description at this link.
RARE IS NOT THE WORD. I HAVE ONLY SEEN ONE, OTHER THAN THE ONE I HAD. THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO INFORMATION ON THESE CARS, IN ENGLISH AND I ONLY SAW ON WRITTEN IN GERMAN.
I WAS GONG TO PUT A MUSTANG HORSE ON THE GRILL, TAKE IT TO SOME CAR SHOWS, AND TELL PEOPLE, IT WAS A PROTOTYPE MUSTANG. AND WAIT FOR THE FOOL, WE SEE AT MOST CARS SHOWS, TO SAY; OH, YEAH, I USED TO OWN ONE OF THESE AND KNOW ALL ABOUT THEM.
NEAT CAR THOUGH. ALL LEATHER INTERIOR, STAINLESS BUMPERS, HEATED REAR WINDOW, WOOD DASH WITH LOTS OF GAUGES. THE BODY WAS MADE IN ITALY AND THEN SENT OT GERMANY TO BE FITTED WITH ALL GERMAN FORD CHASSIS, ENGINE AND DRIVE LINE.
To Mr. Hinojos;
Nice ride, but how about upkeep. How available are replacement parts, I mean locally.
Are you leery of wet weather, like Mike said or shall we say alluded to(rust), is it sensitive to very high humidity like rain and the ground puddles after such. How about cold weather starting?
Being Italian they can be a little temperamental at times.
Having a little fun at your expense. Does it have the typical handling of Italian sport machine? That’s the real reason “fun to drive” to own them.
With respect…….
THIS IS A COLLECTOR CAT , NOT A DAIILY DRIVER. UPKEEP ON THE MECHANICAL PARTS SHOULD BE FAIRLY EASY, BUT IN THAT IT IS VERY RARE, FORGET ABOUT BODY PARTS, I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE THIS WINDSHIELD WOULD FIT? MAYBE CAPRI OR OTHER GERMAN, OR ITALIAN CARS, OF THAT PERIOD. ON THE RUST ISSUE, I WOULD THINK ANYBODY OWNING ONE OF THEE WOULD NOT SUBJECT IT TO INCLEMENT WEATHER ON ANY BASIS? WHY WOULD, COLD WEATHER, BE ANY WORSE FOR THIS GERMAN FORD ENGINE, THAN ANY OTHER OF THAT TIME PERIOD? UPGRADING THE DISTRIBUTOR, TO ELECTRONIC, WOULD BE OF GREAT ADVANTAGE , COLD OR HOT.
“Being Italian they can be a little temperamental at times.
Having a little fun at your expense. Does it have the typical handling of Italian sport machine? That’s the real reason “fun to drive” to own them.” THE DRIVE LINE, BRAKE SYSTEM, AND SUSPENSION, IS ALL GERMAN, NOT ITALIAN !.
Mmmmmm. Nice car with gorgeous lines. I’m with Skip on this one, and easy to own and drive car.
IWS, you’re probably on the wrong track, it just being Italian bodywork and steel (undoubtedly cheap and Russian then) but will have the wiring loom et al from a Taunus. Bound to need attention for its age, but, its what we do with old ‘classics’; “grin and bear it”.
Yes, it’d be a great car to own. Spare parts?
1967 build year will be engine, driveline and brake/suspension parts as used for Cortina, Zephyr, Taunus range, so easily sourced in the UK and Europe. Bearings and bushes, seals etc all have numbers on and will be available form the usual bearing suppliers. Lovely car but might not reach the prices asked. Who knows, maybe a bargain to be had here, for its origin and rarity/
TonyO what do you think of my statement, “The OSI with its Italian styling and Ford power is an interesting low performance alternative to an Iso Rivolta GT or even an Iso Grifo at a much lower price.”?
I AGREE WITH TONY , ON ALL POINTS.
Absolutely Mike. But with less complexity or fishooks than either of those, being based around an existing mass produced chassis and drive train, where the Iso is a completely Italian hand-built car, with just a mass produced engine/gearbox.
I think this car is a gem I’d love to have in my garage.
It’s a Italian Mercury Capri. Built in Torino and it shares the same taillights as a Bizzarrini Strada. I have those available BTW. There were some spiders built too. ! Bumpers and grills have also been retooled and are available. A poor mans Iso, maybe that’s why its ISO spelled backwards. OSI