Monthly Archives: January 2014

2014 Scottsdale Highlights III

Posted on by
Reply

Next up from Scottsdale is Gooding & Company’s results. The top sale was our featured Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet for $6,160,000. The second-biggest sale was our featured BMW F1 GTR Longtail for $5,280,000. Interesting sales were topped by this 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by Vignale for $1,787,500.

1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by VignaleAnother cool Ferrari was this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina for $2,365,000.

1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina

Our featured Siata Daina sold for $247,500. The Cunningham C-3 brought $550,000. This super cool 1972 Alpine A110 1800 slipped under my radar and I didn’t get to feature it. It brought $302,500 anyway.

1972 Alpine A110 1800

Other cool cars included this 1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet for $110,000.

1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet

This sale’s featured Duesenberg sold for $2,090,000. The Hispano-Suiza K6 sold for $621,500. And finally, this 1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe sold for $59,400. Check out full results here.

1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe

And our final bit of coverage from Scottsdale is Russo & Steele’s sale. Our featured McKee Mk IV brought $260,000. The top sale was this 1966 Lamborghini 350GT for $742,630.

1966 Lamborghini 350GT

Cool cars have to be topped by this 1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon that sold for a strong $65,000. You can check out full results here.

1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon

Lion-Peugeot

Posted on by
Reply

1913 Lion-Peugeot 10HP Type VD Torpedo

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 6, 2014

1913 Lion-Peugeot 10HP Type VD Torpedo

So what’s weird about the name of this car? It was established independently of the Peugeot we all know today. In fact, Lion-Peugeot was founded in 1906 by Robert Peugeot – a member of the same family who had founded Peugeot years earlier.

In 1910, the brothers agreed to combine companies and produce cars at the same factory and by 1916, Lion-Peugeot ceased to exist (although Peugeot’s logo to this day is a lion). This car is powered by 2.0-liter V-4 making 10 horsepower.

This car was restored in the 1970s and has been a part of the French classic car scene for a long time. Only about 800 Type VDs were built and not many survive today. This is a rare car tied to the early days of a major worldwide automobile manufacturer. It should sell for between $55,000-$68,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Paris.

Update: Not sold.

Callaway C7R GT1

Posted on by
1

1997 Callaway C7R GT1

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 24, 2014

1997 Callaway C7R GT1

In 1997 Reeves Callaway wanted to go racing. In order to enter the GT1 category (the top class at the time) – which was based on production sports cars – Callaway would have to have built road-going examples of whatever they wanted to race. Unfortunately, they never got around to the road car part.

But they did built two GT1 racing prototypes (both of which are said to be easily adaptable to a road car – it does have two seats, after all). They failed to qualify for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but did race in the 1997 24 Hours of Daytona – and managed to find themselves leading at the halfway point before the car broke. It’s lone competition outing was:

  • 1997 24 Hours of Daytona – 54th, DNF (with Boris Said, Johnny Unser, Ron Fellows, and Enrico Bertaggia)

The car uses a mid-mounted Corvette-based 6.3-liter V8 making 640 horsepower. The car is all-Callaway and not lifted from a Corvette as is the case with most other Callaways. This is an awesome performance car that was ultimately forced out of competition for lack of road cars. It is one of only two built and is seriously cool. It should sell for between $275,000-$350,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Kissimmee lineup.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $150,000.

Grégoire Phaeton

Posted on by
Reply

1908 Grégoire 70.4 Phaeton by Alin et Liautard

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1908 Gregoire 70.4 Phaeton by Alin et Liautard

Automobiles Grégoire was founded in 1902 by Pierre Joseph Grégoire in Poissy, France. Automobile manufacture commenced in 1904 and their signature look was a pear-shaped radiator.

For 1908, this was the most powerful Grégoire money could buy – the top-of-the-line four-cylinder model. This car carries sporty phaeton coachwork from French coachbuilder Alin & Liautard. It has known history only back to 1978, but has been restored to drivable condition. And that’s what is great about this car – it is perfect for old car rallies.

Grégoire closed its doors in 1924. The cars did not have a great survival rate. For example, the company built 20,000 cars in 1913 alone – yet only 60 or so Grégoire cars total are known to survive. This car should sell for between $47,500-$68,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $56,301.

Early Four-Wheel-Drive Truck

Posted on by
Reply

1918 FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 22, 2014

FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

In 1908, Otto Zachow and William Besserdich built a four-wheel drive car they called the “Battleship.” This led to the more-or-less immediate founding of their Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company. In 1909 they began producing cars under the FWD (for “Four-Wheel Drive”) marque. They dropped “Badger” from the company name in 1910.

The military loved four-wheel drive trucks so the company, sensing a huge opportunity (and perhaps an oncoming war) switched to just truck manufacture. They introduced two prototypes as war started raging in Europe. The U.S. didn’t place any orders, so FWD demo’d the truck for the U.K. where they did get an order. By 1916 the U.S. had come around and placed huge orders for a company that, up to this point, had only built about two dozen vehicles.

The Model B was one of the workhorses of the Allied powers during WWI. Production was about 3,000 for the U.K., 82 for Russia, and 14,473 for the U.S. They are powered by a 36 horsepower, straight-four engine. On the correct solid rubber tires on which this example rides, the truck could reach speeds of 16 mph.

After the war, many of these trucks were sold as surplus and entered service doing just about everything else in the civilian realm. That’s how awesome examples like this managed to survive. You can read more here and check out more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $23,000.

Duesenberg J-148

Posted on by
Reply

1929 Duesenberg Model J Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1929 Duesenberg Model J (148) Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

It’s kind of odd seeing a Duesenberg Model J in a European auction from a European auction house. This is America’s great coachbuilt wonder and European auctions are usually full of European cars. North American auction houses tend to save Model J’s for American auctions where they have the biggest following.

But the thing with this Model J is that it seems very European. I think it’s the separate convertible portions of the car on this very European body. The rear top will pop up and enclose the passengers while the driver is left to withstand the elements (although a more temporary top is available for him or her).

This car uses the 49th Model J chassis built and maintains its original engine (J-148). The body has undergone significant transformations since new, having initially been fitted with a LeBaron Torpedo. That body was swapped out in the mid-1930s for a Graber Cabriolet (which the auction catalog describes as “not particularly elegant”). In 1959, this car was acquired by the president of the Duesenberg Club in the U.S. and he found this authentic Kellner Torpedo Scaphandrier body and had it fitted to J-148.

It passed through a few owners before being imported to Belgium in 1980. The car was restored, keeping this fantastic Kellner body, later that year. This is the only known Kellner Scaphandrier body in existence (on any type of car) and the entire package is estimated to bring between $815,000-$1,080,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

2014 Scottsdale Highlights II

Posted on by
Reply

The next auction we’ve got results on is RM’s annual Arizona sale. The big winner there was, no surprise, a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider for $8,800,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Our featured Chaparral did not sell while our featured, all-original, Duesenberg brought $2,200,000. Our other featured top-seller was the Porsche RS 61 for $2,750,000. The only other feature car that cracked the million dollar mark was the Hispano-Suiza J12 and it only hit $1 million with the buyer’s premium added on: $1,045,000. Interesting cars were topped by this 1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen for $60,500.

1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen

Another cool car was this 1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau that also sold for $60,500.

1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau

I really liked this 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward. It looks awfully regal and makes me want to hire a chauffeur (even if it’s for my Honda daily driver). It sold for $440,000.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward

A previously-featured Abarth race car brought $46,750. The OSCA 750S sold for $660,000. This 1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron looks like a lot of fun. It brought $242,000.

1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron

And finally, our featured Fiat 8V by Ghia sold for $946,000. Check out full results here. Next up is “Super Saturday” at Barrett-Jackson (and also, Sunday – which is still going on as I write this). The top sale of Barrett-Jackson’s entire sale was our featured 1967 Chevy L88 Corvette Coupe for $3,850,000. Another top seller was this 1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra which went for $1,650,000.

1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra

The featured Duesenberg from this sale sold for $1,430,000. Another mega-bucks Corvette was the ultra-rare ZR2 we featured. It crossed the block for $495,000. For the same price, you could’ve bought this 1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport (which I think I’d much rather have).

1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport

One car that didn’t stand out to me until I read the lot description (and saw it cross the block on live TV) was this 1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy that was customized at the request of its original owner, Rudolph Valentino. It sold for $264,000.

1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy

The featured Plymouth Belmont Concept car failed to meet its reserve and thus did not sell. You can check out full results here.

2014 Scottsdale Auction Highlights Pt I

Posted on by
Reply

Well I’ll start by saying I missed one auction in December. It was Osenat’s sale that closed out the 2013 auction calendar. The top sale there was this 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by Hooper. It went for $68,500.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by HooperThe coolest car from this sale was this cheap 1932 Peugeot 201C that sold for a paltry $8,905. You can check out full results here.

1932 Peugeot 201C

Because they’re already done and posted, I’ll go ahead and cover the first few days (Tuesday-Friday) of Barrett-Jackson. Also – a big thank you to Barrett-Jackson for posting your results as you go. It’s awesome. The top sale over these first few days was actually a charity car – this 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Copo Coupe for $700,000. It is serial #1 of 69.

2014 Chevrolet Camaro COPO

Of non-charity cars, the top sale was this 1957 Ford Thunderbird “E” Convertible for $330,000.

1957 Ford Thunderbird E Convertible

As far as interesting cars, I’m always a fan of Plum Crazy Mopars and this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible fits the bill. It brought $104,500.

1970 Dodge Challenger RT Convertible

Also cool, this 1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth sold for $16,500. The rest of the good stuff all crosses the block tonight. You can check up-to-the-minute results here.

1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth

And the other part of our Part I coverage will be Bonhams Scottsdale sale. The #1 seller there was this 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta for $3,190,000.

1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta

Our featured Simplex failed to sell. The Figoni et Falaschi Bentley brought $605,000. Cool cars included this amazing all-original 1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring for $144,100.

1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring

I like the low, mean look of this 1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann. It sold for $264,000. Our featured Thomas Flyer sold for $275,000.

1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann

Our featured Intermeccanica Omega brought $73,700. And finally, the how-could-you-not-show-it, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton that sold for a seemingly reasonable $1,430,000. You can check out full results here.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton

1970 Corvette ZR1 Convertible

Posted on by
Reply

1970 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 25, 2014

1970 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Convertible

We featured an ultra-rare ZR2 Corvette a few weeks ago and here we have its cousin, the ZR1. The ZR1 name is common today as two more ZR1 models have been produced since (in the early 90s and late 2000s). The original ZR1 is the most valuable as very few were made.

The ZR1 option package was available for 1970, 1971, and 1972 only. It was essentially a small block version of the L88. The engine is a 5.7-liter V-8 rated at 370 horsepower (the most powerful small block Corvette you could buy in those years). It also came with heavy duty brakes, transmission, and suspension. Because the car was sold as “race ready,” you could not get air conditioning, power windows, power steering or a radio (among other things).

Restored in 2011, this ZR1 is one of those very rare muscle cars that bring so much money. Only 53 ZR1s were built in total, 25 of them in 1970. And only a mere handful were drop-tops. This is an easy $100,000-$125,000 car. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Kissimmee lineup.

Update: Sold $130,000.

Siata Daina

Posted on by
Reply

1951 Siata Daina 1400 Gran Sport

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2014

1951 Siata Daina 1400 Gran Sport

The Daina was Siata’s third road car, having been introduced in 1950. Production would run through about 1958. Siata is one of those smaller sports car companies where record keeping came second to building cars and many figures contain qualifiers like “about” or “estimated.”

The Gran Sport bodystyle (by Stabilimenti Farina) that you see here was the most successful Daina model and the one that is best remembered. Depending on who you ask, between 50 and 100 Gran Sports were built. The chassis is a modified version of the Fiat 1400 and it also uses a modified version of that cars engine: a 1.4-liter straight-four making about 65 horsepower.

These were popular in SCCA events in the 1950s having been cut out of the rule books in Europe shortly after their introduction. The history of this car really isn’t known prior to the last 25 years, when all that is known is that it was a restoration project that never got started. An actual restoration was completed in 2012 and it looks spectacular. This is a rare car that is fresh as if it just left the factory. It is the earliest Daina Gran Sport known and should sell for between $250,000-$325,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Gooding & Company’s Arizona lineup.

Update: Sold $247,500.