Mochet Type K

1948 Mochet Type K

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1948 Mochet Type K

Photo – RM Auctions

This Mochet is a little sportier than the commercial Camionette we featured a month or two ago. It uses a single-cylinder engine of 125cc making a paltry 3.5 horsepower. The car is actually a little bigger than it looks, at almost eight feet long. This was the first Mochet cyclecar not to actually be fitted with pedals (what progress!). Everything else was still crude – no front suspension and an external handbrake to slow the rear wheels. And everything comes together at some kind of sharp angle. Only 650 were built. There are two in this sale, this being the nicer. It should sell for between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $35,650.

Bond Bug

1972 Bond Bug 700E

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1972 Bond Bug 700E

Photo – RM Auctions

The futuristic Bond Bug was exactly what a futurist would drive in 1972. It’s a three-wheeler with a pop-forward canopy for a door. The interior is now dated but was probably modern then. The engine is a 701cc straight-four making 30 horsepower. Bond had actually been acquired by Reliant in 1969 and you can see some of the Reliant Robin-type architecture in this car. Every one of the 2,276 cars built was painted in this god-awful 1970s orange color, which must have helped Bond reach their young consumer target market, or something. This one should sell for between $15,000-$20,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $17,250.

Peugeot VLV

1942 Peugeot VLV

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1942 Peugeot VLV

Photo – RM Auctions

You might be thinking “Just what in the hell did Peugeot think they were doing trying to build a production car in 1942, under German occupation.” While the first part of that sentence – right up to the qualifier of “trying to build a production car…” is fair game at any point in their history, Peugeot actually had an interesting idea with this car. Gasoline was forbidden once Germany took over unless you had a special permission slip to drive. Literal cyclecars (without engines) were popular. Peugeot went with electricity. They were the only one of France’s large automakers to take a shot with building electric cars. The VLV was interesting – there was a single brake drum for the two rear wheels and the batteries up front made up half the weight of the car. It had a top speed of 22 mph and a range of 50 miles. It got around the fuel-restrictions but was banned by the occupying government after 377 were built. It’s cool, it’s rare. It should sell for $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $20,125.

Voisin Biscooter Prototye

1949 Voisin Biscooter Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1949 Voisin Biscooter Prototype

Photo – RM Auctions

We’ve talked of Gabriel Voisin and his attempt to manufacture a microcar after World War II. When he designed the Biscooter, he built approximately 15 prototypes that he shopped around. Eventually, two of them were given to Voisin to take home. This is one of those two cars. It is completely original. The Biscuter was made in Spain, but this Biscooter was made by Voisin. It’s a pretty big deal. The engine is a six horsepower 125cc single-cylinder. It should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $66,125.

Burgfalke FB250

1958 Burgfalke FB250

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1958 Burgfalke FB250

Photo – RM Auctions

The Brütsch Spatz went into production in revised form as the Victoria 250. When production ceased on that car, the head of Burgfalke (an airplane and glider manufacturer in Germany) bought the rights to the car and put it into production as the Burgfalke FB250. They used a 248cc single-cylinder making 14 horsepower. In all, 60 were built and two of those were shipped to the U.S. This car is one of those two and it is completely original. It should sell for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $20,700.

Bonhams Paris 2013 Highlights

Bonhams’ sale held in Paris (in conjunction with the giant Rétromobile-fest also going down in that city) was a fascinating sale with a lot of interesting cars. Let’s get to it: the top sale was this 1929 Bentley 6.5-Litre Speed Six Tourer for $1,110,000. (Top sale that is, unless they later post that the Grand Prix Bugatti actually did sell).

1929 Bentley 6.5-Litre Speed Six Tourer photo 1929Bentley65-LitreSpeedSixTourer_zpsa18f6114.jpg

Among our feature cars, the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Coupe Special that was formerly owned by Ettore Bugatti himself sold for $924,600. Our featured Bugatti Type 54 Grand Prix failed to sell. As did the Brasier Berline. Another highlight was this 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet by Vanden Plas. It sold for a cheap $901,000.

1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet by Vanden Plas photo 1938Mercedes-Benz540KCabrioletbyVandenPlas_zps4d5236c5.jpg

Our next highest selling feature car was the beautiful Lancia Astura Cabriolet. It brought $893,700. Other interesting cars included this pair of Delahayes. First, this 1911 Type 48 Open Drive Opera Coupe (below) sold for $32,000. And then there was a 1902 Type O 6hp Vis-a-Vis (second below) that brought a more substantial $107,800.

1911 Delahaye Type 48 Open Drive Opera Coupe photo 1911DelahayeType48OpenDriveOperaCoupe_zpsca865141.jpg1902 Delahaye Type O 6hp Vis-a-Vis photo 1902DelahayeTypeO6hpVis-a-Vis_zpse6a679bc.jpg

This 1947 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet was one of three Talbot-Lagos that sold at this sale. It was the cheapest at $231,000.

1947 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet photo 1947Talbot-LagoT26RecordCabriolet_zps9667dc97.jpg

Some other French marques were represented here, including Mors and Renault. First, this 1922 Mors 30HP Torpedo (below) sold for $64,700. And the 1927 Renault Six-Cylinder Torpedo Double Phaeton by Kellner (second below) sold for $223,000.

1922 Mors 30HP Torpedo photo 1922Mors30HPTorpedo_zps4cba16b0.jpg

1928 Renault Six-Cylinder Torpedo Double Phaeton by Kellner photo 1927RenaultSix-CylinderTorpedoDoublePhaetonbyKellner_zpsb50d7ca5.jpg

The rest of our feature cars sold as follows: the 1957 Minerva C22 brought $55,500. The 1911 Marion Bobcat rightfully blew past its estimate and sold for $67,800. And the 1904 Pierce Motorette sold for $80,100. While not as old as the Pierce, this 1912 Benz 8/20HP Sports Wagen sold for $100,100.

1912 Benz 8/10HP Sports Wagen photo 1912Benz8-20SportsWagen_zps0960e103.jpg

And finally, this 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Playboy Roadster by Brewster – a bodystyle of Rolls-Royce I really like – sold for $385,000. You can check out complete results here.

1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Playboy Roadster by Brewster photo 1928Rolls-RoycePhantomIPlayboyRoadsterbyBrewster_zps986ae815.jpg

Talbot-Lago T150C

1936 Talbot-Lago T150C

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2013

1936 Talbot-Lago T150C

This Grand Prix car was built by Talbot-Lago to compete in the ACF Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only four were built for 1936 (and two in 1937). This car was first used by a privateer for a single race before being sold back to Talbot-Lago, who sold it to a more well-known driver: Luigi Chinetti.

It competed regularly until 1950 (14 years!) under the ownership if Chinetti, Pierre Levegh, and Louis Rosier. It was rebodied in 1947 .It was sold a few more times and restored in the U.K. in 1983, when the current “replica” Grand Prix body was rebuilt. It was restored again around 2000. It was active in historic motorsports in the 1980s and early-1990s.

The sporting history of this car is long, varied and complete. Here is a very brief version of this car’s competition history (including its first and last race and every appearance at Le Mans):

  • 1936 ACF Grand Prix (Montlhéry) – 31st, DNF (with Francique Cadot & Henry Stoffel)
  • 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans – 48th/last, DNF (with Luigi Chinetti & Louis Chiron)
  • 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans – 18th, DNF (with Pierre Levegh & Jean Trévoux)
  • 1938 24 Hours of Spa – 18th, DNF (with Levegh & Trévoux)
  • 1939 Grand Prix d’Anvers – 4th (with Levegh)
  • 1939 Grand Prix of Luxembourg – 3rd (with Levegh)
  • 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans – 28th, DNF (with Levegh & René Le Begue)
  • 1946 Nantes Grand Prix – 2nd (with Levegh)
  • 1947 Grand Prix de la Marne (Reims) – 5th (with Jose Scaron & Edmund Mouche)
  • 1948 Grand Prix di Pescara – 3rd (with Louis Rosier)
  • 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans – 44th, DNF (with Louis & Jean-Louis Rosier)
  • 1949 Grand Prix du Salon (Montlhéry) – 2nd (with Jean Estager)
  • 1950 Grand Prix de Rouen – 8th (with Estager)

The engine is a 4.0-liter straight-six making 170 horsepower. Top speed is about 130 mph.   It’s a Grand Prix car, so the performance is there. It should be eligible for just about every kind of historic racing event. Only six T150C GP cars were built and this one has a complete history. It should sell for between $1,600,000-$2,100,000. Click here for the complete racing history, historical photographs and more. And here for the rest of Artcurial’s auction lineup at Rètromobile.

Update: Sold $1,861,738.

Hispano-Suiza Coupe-Chauffeur

1931 Hispano-Suiza H6C Coupe-Chauffeur by Saoutchik

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 18, 2013

1931 Hispano-Suiza H6C Coupe-Chauffeur by Saoutchik

The Hispano-Suiza H6C was the final version of the great H6. Introduced in 1924, the model lasted into the early 1930s and was the most powerful variant of the H6. It also featured some of the most outlandish and stylish bodies by some of the world’s most prestigious coachbuilders.

Hispano-Suiza – which is roughly Spanish for “Spanish/Swiss” – was founded in Barcelona by a Spaniard and a Swiss engineer. They opened a factory in France and cars were produced in both countries. It was quite the international company. The H6C line was made in France.

This car uses a straight-eight of 8.0-liters making 160 horsepower. It was the most potent of H6s. The fact that the French factory rolled this car out is important because it allowed French coachbuilders – arguably the best of the best – to design beautiful bodies for the cars. Saoutchik is regarded as one of the most desirable coachbuilders and this Coupe-Chauffeur style is both reserved and opulent at the same time. Some of the exterior trim is silver-plated!

This car has known ownership history and has been owned by the same man since 1985, who had the car restored during his stewardship. Only about 250 H6Cs were built and they are highly prized today. This one should sell for between $400,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Sold $424,849.

C.G. 548

1971 C.G. 548 Prototype

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 18, 2013

1971 C.G. 548 Prototype

The cars badged as C.G. were built by Carrosserie Chappe Freres et Gessalin in France. They were based on Simca 1000s. C.G. was to Simca like Alpine were to Renault (sorry for the SAT flashback). Production began in 1967 and lasted through 1974. A coupe and roadster were offered.

The name refers to the weight of the car – a featherweight 548kg. In 2006 this car was acquired by an aspiring historic race car driver. He wanted something weird – mission accomplished. He had it completely restored, and in the process, converted to race specification. A roll bar was installed and the engine was upgraded. It’s a 1.3-liter Simca straight-four, supercharged, making 160 horsepower. The transmission and suspension were also modified making this a competent competition machine.

It was a $350,000 investment turning this car into a racer. The fun all the upgrades bring overshadows how rare this car is. The estimate at this sale is between $155,000-$185,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Fisson Tonneau

1898 Fisson 8HP 3-Litre Tonneau

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2013

1898 Fisson 8HP 3-Litre Tonneau

Louis Fisson founded his car company in Paris in 1896. While only in business for a few years, he managed to build an unknown number of cars before he gave up the venture in 1898. There were two types available – a rear-engined and a front-engined model. This is of the front-engined variety and it is the only one like it that survives. It uses a 3.0-liter straight-two (the cylinders are giant) making eight horsepower.

It spent a long time in a Long Island (New York) automobile museum and was sent back to Europe (the U.K.) in the 1980s. It was not restored until 1995 and it competed in the 1996 London-to-Brighton run. It is a very early, very rare motorcar that can be yours for an estimated $290,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial at Rètromobile.

Update: Sold $311,050.