Monthly Archives: April 2013

1912 Diederichs

Posted on by
1

1912 Diederichs Type LC Series I

For Sale at Oldtimer Galerie International | Toffen, Switzerland

1912 Diederichs Type LC Series I

This car is beautiful! It seems that whenever I come across really obscure old cars for sale, they’ve usually been restored by someone who has had the car in their family for 100 years. They don’t necessarily have the know-how to do it right and parts are usually impossible to find. But this thing looks brand new.

Societe des Automobiles Diederichs was founded by Charles Diederichs near Lyon, France. He built a steam tricycle in 1878 and, with his sons, experimented with gasoline automobiles in 1899 and 1900. The company was actually founded in 1912 to produce road cars. It folded two years later in 1914.

Their cars used 2.1-liter straight-fours making 10 to 12 horsepower. They also used round grilles and engine compartments, much like the Delaunay-Bellevilles of the time. Only about 60 cars were produced by this company before they folded. It is likely (although not certain) that this is the only one left. This one has been owned by the same person for 68 years! The price is listed as “upon request” – the most annoying of all prices. Click here for more info.

Draz-bodied 356A

Posted on by
2

1959 Porsche 356A 1600 Super Convertible D by Drauz

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | April 27, 2013

1959 Porsche 356A 1600 Super Convertible D by Drauz

The Porsche 356 is an extremely important car as it was Porsche’s first production car. It was in production from 1948 through 1965 – an eternity in sports car terms. The 356A was the second iteration of the model and it bowed in 1955, with production lasting through 1959.

The Convertible D was produced in 1958 and 1959 only, with the “D” standing for Drauz – that’s Drauz Karrosseriewerke, a German coachbuilder that had been around since 1900. The trim level was very similar to the much-loved Speedster, with the exception that the D had roll-up windows, a taller windshield and a nicer interior.

The car was sold new to Cincinnati, where it had spent much of its life until being acquired by Don Davis (presumably sometime after 2006). It was restored in 1988 and 2003. This car has the 1600 Super motor in it – a 1.6-liter flat-four making 75 horsepower. This particular car has covered over 200,000 miles in its life. Incredible.

Only 1,330 Convertible Ds were built by Porsche and bodied by Drauz. They are highly sought after. This one is expected to bring between $125,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the cars coming from the Don Davis collection.

Update: Sold $137,500.

1937 Mercedes 230 Roadster

Posted on by
1

1937 Mercedes-Benz 230 Cabriolet B

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 13, 2013

1937 Mercedes-Benz 230 Roadster

If you linked here from Twitter, first, thank you for the follow. Second, yes, this car is actually rarer than a Mercedes-Benz 540K – which costs at least 10 times as much as this car is expected to go for. You’re welcome for finding you the best deals on 1930s Mercedes’!

The 230 – which, in MB code is “W143” – was introduced as the 230n in 1937. It was a short-wheelbase car using a a 2.3-liter straight-six making 55 horsepower. Later that year, Mercedes switched to a long-wheelbase chassis and called the car the 230. Production lasted through 1941 and the engine continued on unchanged.

The body on this car is by Sindelfingen. It is a Cabriolet B (a four-seater with two doors). There were other convertible models available as well. Only 38 of these were built, making it far rarer than any of the 500K/540K Cabriolets. Only a handful of these are still around. This one has never been restored and shows fantastic. The pre-sale estimate is $125,000-$165,000 – a mere fraction of what you would pay for an, albeit grander, 540K. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys Essen lineup.

Update: Sold $158,500.

One of 12 Cisitalia 303s

Posted on by
Reply

1952 Cisitalia 303 F

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 13, 2013

1952 Cisitalia 303 F

The Cisitalia 202 is a well-known, sought after Italian sports car from the 1950s. Cisitalia only built cars from 1946 into the 1950s. They also built single seat race cars for use in a one-make series as well as various Formula series around Europe.

In the early 1950s, Cisitalia was losing money faster than they could make it back. The 202, while beautiful and renowned, was very costly to produce and company founder Piero Dusio was trying to field a mid-engined Formula One car at the same time – which has always been an inherent money loser. Cisitalia wanted to keep the 202 around, but they had to make some concessions. They moved the chassis to that of a Fiat 1100 and renamed it the 303 F (with the F standing for “Fiat”).

The bodies weren’t as fantastic as the 202 and the engine was the 1.1-liter straight-four making about 51 horsepower. These were the last of the Cisitalias (Dusio had to flee Italy due to tax issues) and only 12 were built with only eight or nine still around. This one has had three owners from new. Good luck finding another one – either for sale or at auction. It should bring between $95,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Aston Martin Mk II

Posted on by
1

1935 Aston Martin 1.5-Litre Mk II

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 13, 2013

1935 Aston Martin 1.5-Litre Mk II

Aston Martin built their first car in 1915 but production didn’t start until the 1920s. Early Astons are very rare and you don’t see many from prior to WWII. As far as what early Astons looked like – they all sort of resembled the car you see here.

The Mk II was introduced in 1934 and built through 1936 (yeah, they’re rare: only 148 were built). The company didn’t take off until the David Brown era, but it was models like this that allowed it to survive until Brown came along. Aston’s 1.5-liter engine was first bolted to a car in 1926 and lasted through 1935, with this being among the final Astons to use the 73 horsepower straight-four.

The body is a four-seat tourer by A. C. Bertelli and it’s very sporty, even with its long-ish looking wheelbase – they handled well and could do 80 mph. While the lot description doesn’t explicitly say so, it makes it sound like this car is in original condition – which would be incredible because this car looks like it was just restored. But it does come from long-term (50+ years) ownership where it was in a private museum (read: “collection”). It should bring a strong $150,000-$195,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys.

Update: Sold $158,100.

Chrysler GS-1

Posted on by
1

1954 Chrysler GS-1 Special by Ghia

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | April 27, 2013

1954 Chrysler GS-1 Special by Ghia

In the 1950s, Italian style caused quite a stir among American automotive executives. There were a number of “Italian-bodied” cars that sold on American shores with Detroit power. Quite a few Chryslers actually (unfortunately, they’d try this again in the early 1990s, to terrible results).

Those Detroit powerplants were impressive, too. This one has a 5.4-liter Hemi V-8 making 235 horsepower. What started all of this Italian body-building was a one-off show car built by Ghia for Chrysler export executive C.B. Thomas. The car was very well received on the European auto show circuit and Ghia ended up building about 40 specials based on Chryslers.

Only two of them were GS-1 Specials. The cars were based on the New Yorker Deluxe chassis and engine. How they differed from the rest of the Specials is what sets them apart. They were four-passenger cars with flat exhaust tips and special bits of Chrysler trim. They were to be used on the European auto show tour – including the 1954 Turin Auto Show. But this one was apparently never shown.

When Chrysler was “done with it” (they never actually did anything with it), they sold it into private hands. It passed to the daughter of the man who bought it directly from Chrysler and she used it for a few years until it was parked in the 1960s. It remained parked until 1999, when it was restored and sold to the current owner. It should sell for between $700,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $616,000.

Tatra T52 Limousine

Posted on by
Reply

1934 Tatra T52 Limousine

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 13, 2013

1934 Tatra T52 Limousine

Tatra is one of the oldest automobile manufacturers in the world. They stopped making cars in 1999 and now concentrate solely on trucks, most of which are huge and solid-looking. The Tatra T52 was an upmarket version of the T54 (and later, the T75).

While later Tatras are known for being rear-engined and air-cooled, this car is front-engined (and rear-wheel drive). But it still has an air-cooled engine (if you’ve looked at a lot of air-cooled cars, you’ll notice they lack a traditional grille in front of the engine, as this car does). It is powered by a 1.9-liter flat-four making about 29 horsepower.

The body is a rare limousine body. Most Tatras are among the coolest-looking cars on the planet and this is among the coolest designs they had (the less traditional the better). The body is all original. The engine has been gone through recently as well as the clutch, brakes and axle. Basically, the mechanicals have been sorted, making this a driver with one hell of a cool, old body. Only about 950 T52s were built. This is one of very few cars in this sale without an estimate (what are they going to compare it to?). Click here for more info and here for more from Coys Techno Classica sale.

Update: Sold $1,600.

3000GT Convertible

Posted on by
1

1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Convertible Conversion

Offered by Mecum | Kansas City, Missouri | April 26, 2013

1992 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4 Convertible Conversion

The 3000GT was the coolest car Mitsubishi ever built – and yes, that includes the Evos. They were built from 1990 through 2001 and the competitive set through those years included the Toyota Supra, Nissan 300ZX and Mazda RX-7.

But there was never a factory convertible offered on the 3000GT. There were, however, conversions available from convertible masters ASC (American Sunroof Corporation), whose name was a little misleading as they tended to chop the entire roof off instead of just making sunroofs. Anyway, the ASC convertibles were only available for the 1995 and 1996 model years. And they were retractable hardtops.

So what gives here with this rag top car? Well let’s start with the fact that it is a VR-4 – the king hell version of the 3000GT. What the VR-4 model got you was 4-wheel-drive with a 296 horsepower 3.0-liter twin turbo V-6. Pretty desirable among these cars. But someone (Mecum’s description says “Californian R. Strahan” but I have no idea what that refers to) lopped the roof off and installed a soft top. And it looks well done. It looks so good, that I’m pretty bummed Mitsubishi never offered the option from the factory.

This is a 23,000 mile original car. 3000GTs have not held their price as well as Supras and RX-7s. They, with the 300ZX, have fallen off a bit, but the nice ones can still command a premium. And this is a nice one. $15,000 or slightly more doesn’t sound unreasonable at all. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,500.

Moretti 750 Gran Sport

Posted on by
1

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

Offered by RM Auctions | Lake Como, Italy | May 25, 2013

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

Photo – RM Auctions

Turn-based Moretti built sports cars of their own design in the 1950s before moving on to becoming a specialist at re-bodying Fiats in the 60s, 70s and 80s before calling it quits in 1989.

The 750 was introduced for 1953. Giovanni Moretti wanted to build serious sports cars for competition and the 750cc straight-four in this car was the company’s ticket to its cars winning races in the hands of its customers. The 750 Sport was the base model of the 750 line, the Gran Sport being a lightweight version and they only ended up building a handful of Grand Sports between 1953 and 1954 – less than 25.

The body is by Michelotti. The other thing the Gran Sport (sometimes written as “Grand Sport”) has over its sibling other than lightness, is a little more power – a total of about 65 horsepower. It’ll do about 100 mph too. It’s tiny and it’s quick. And it’s apparently also sporting near-bicycle-like tires.

RM Auctions actually sold this exact car at their Monaco sale back in 2010, where it brought $151,200. The market is stronger now than it was then, so we’ll see what it brings this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Villa Erba.

Update: Sold $174,720.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2016, $132,000.

F-Code T-Bird

Posted on by
2

1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code Convertible

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | April 27, 2013

1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code Convertible

The Ford Thunderbird was the supposed answer to the Chevrolet Corvette (I say “supposed” because the Thunderbird diluted its image every possible chance it got after 1957 while the Corvette got more and more intense). The first two years of Corvette production saw the car saddled with a straight-six. Chevy upped the ante for 1955 with a V-8. Ford introduced the Thunderbird as an all-new model for 1955 and a V-8 as the only power choice.

Both cars were absolute stunners in the looks department. Thunderbirds were offered in a sea of colors – pastels and the like. If you wanted to collect the entire rainbow, you probably could. This one is black with black wheels – and it looks rather menacing.

And it should. This is an “F-Code” car – which means it has the 5.1-liter V-8 that has been supercharged to make 300 horsepower. The most powerful Corvette you could buy in 1957 only made 283 ponies. And this wasn’t even the king of the Thunderbirds. There was one more step up – but only 12 of those were made.

As I’ve been writing these posts for cars from this sale prior to the release of the lot description from RM, I had to do a little research to find out how many F-Code Thunderbirds were actually built. On Barrett-Jackson’s website, I did a search for them and every result had a different total for the number built. An older RM post has the number at 205, which is what I’ll go with.

Thunderbirds are thought as cruisers today but this one will get your attention off the line. It’s a really awesome car and the fact that it looks the part is even better. It should bring a massive $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold for $198,000.