Kiwi's home-built Maserati up for auction

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Before turning to furniture making, Kiwi engineer Ferris de Joux created his own breed of classic cars, one of which is up for auction in Sydney tomorrow.

Known mainly for his Mini Cooper conversions, a one-off "Maserati Special" finished by Mr de Joux only years before he died is expected to attract up to A$90,000 (NZ$115,000) at the Bonhams & Goodman auction.

Mr de Joux died last year aged 73, but Auckland Ferrari enthusiast Allan Cattle remembers the engine that started the project.

The 3.5-litre, six-cylinder Maserati engine had been sitting under a bench in Mr Cattle's workshop, after he found it in England beneath another car restorer's workshop bench and brought it home.

"Ferris was casting around looking for things and he saw this engine and just had to have it," Mr Cattle said.

Built in the style of a 1937-39 Maserati, the car was pieced together with spare parts from all corners over three years, and completed in 2002.

The Mini GT design, a race-style car built from a stripped-back Mini, was Mr De Joux's main legacy, of which he personally built six. Other enthusiasts used the same moulds, but there is no record of how many actual cars based on his design exist.

The de Joux Maserati Special is one of 39 cars in the auction, as well as eight motorbikes and three boats.

James Nicolls, head of collectors' cars at Bonhams & Goodman, said there had been some interest already from collectors in New Zealand and Australia. "Ferris de Joux is best known in New Zealand so it'd be really good if someone came over and bought it from there, because I think it is a key part of New Zealand heritage."

The estimated price of up to A$90,000 was based on the condition and specifications of the car, but also Mr de Joux's reputation.

"I don't think it would be that much if it was a Joe Bloggs Maserati Special," Mr Nicolls said.

NZX-listed stamp collectors and auctioneers Mowbray Collectables owns 20 percent of Bonhams & Goodman.

- © Fairfax NZ News