Gather Up Your Droog Friends and Buy the ‘Durango 95’ Made Famous By A Clockwork Orange
Only three Probe 16s were ever made. This isn’t the car from the iconic movie, but it is in excellent condition.
Nobody will blame you for feeling a bit bummed after watching A Clockwork Orange. There’s not much in the way of uplifting imagery, that’s for sure, but at least the film featured a cool car. The protagonist Alex DeLarge drove a 1969 M-505 Adams Brothers Probe 16 just like the car you see here, and as luck would have it, it's headed to auction.
From a performance standpoint, there’s nothing to get extremely excited about. The Probe 16 has a 1.9-liter, JanSpeed-tuned four-cylinder, a twin-choke Weber carb and a four-speed manual gearbox. That engine is estimated to make just 100 horsepower, so the thrill here is really about style and provenance. While this isn't the car from the movie, it's one of just two survivors.
In the film, the Durango 95, as it was called, was used as transportation for the main character Alex and his band of droogs. This one, chassis number AB/3, was originally sold to Cream bassist Jack Bruce before making its way through the hands of several Canadian car collectors, one of whom still owns it.
Of the three Probe 16s made, this one is believed to be the most original and complete as it has not been restored or rebuilt. One of the other cars was said to have burned thought that's since been disproved, and the third is somewhere in the U.K. after living as a museum car for several years. This one was recently invited to form part of the "Hollywood Dream Machines - Vehicles of Science, Fiction, and Fantasy" exhibit at the Peterson Automotive Museum. If you find yourself feeling particularly nostalgic about A Clockwork Orange and have some money to spare, the car will hit the auction block at 11 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 as part of Petersen Car Week.
As these things usually go, it won’t be cheap. Bonhams estimates the M-505 Probe 16 will draw between $150,000 and $250,000 when the gavel finally drops.
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