Monthly Archives: October 2016

Ruf RGT

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2001 Ruf RGT

Offered by Auctions America | Hilton Head, South Carolina | November 5, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Ruf Automobile’s RGT is based, quite obviously, on the Porsche 911 and specifically for this first generation of the RGT, the 1998-2004 Porsche 996. This generation of the RGT was available from 2000-2004 and this example was specially ordered by its one-and-only owner and is one of just 14 built.

It’s powered by a 680 horsepower twin-turbo 3.6-liter flat-six. That is more than the standard RGT, but this one was outfitted to swing the balance of “road and track” heavily in “track’s” favor. For instance, it also has a 100 liter endurance fuel tank and a roll cage. The owner got rid of a Porsche Cup car to make room for this… so it had to fill some serious shoes.

So what you’re getting here is a super rare variant of a Porsche Turbo that is technically built by a different manufacturer. But it’s a turbo Porsche on steroids – built to run down pure-bred race cars on the track. You can get newer RGTs than this, but this is the original and one of Ruf’s best models. It should sell for between $80,000-$120,000 – less than a third of what has been invested into it. Click here for more info and here for more from Auctions America.

Update: Sold $73,700.

Vale Special

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1933 Vale Special

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | October 29, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

This is not an MG, nor is it a Morgan. It’s not even a one-off special, if you can believe it. The Vale Engineering Co. LTD. of London was in existence only briefly, from 1932 to 1936. It was founded by Pownoll Pellew who later in life became a Viscount.

The first cars were based around Triumph mechanicals and this car, like many, is powered by a Triumph-sourced 832cc straight-four which likely produced somewhere around eight taxable horsepower. Thing was, they weren’t powerful or quick enough (top speed was 65 mph) for sports car racing and didn’t offer enough ground clearance for trials racing – but they were good, sporty road cars that exhibited great handling.

Later cars could be had with larger engines, but by then it was too late. In total, 103 Vales were produced and less than 30 survive today. No estimate is provided, likely because they don’t trade hands often enough, but look for it to bring much more than its as-new price of £192. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $29,230.

Intermeccanica Indra

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1972 Intermeccanica Indra Coupe

Offered by Auctionata | Berlin, Germany | October 29, 2016

Photo - Auctionata

Photo – Auctionata

We’ve featured a couple of sports cars from Intermeccanica, a Turin-based automobile manufacturer whose badge included the Union Jack. The company still exists, building replica automobiles in Canada.

The Indra was available as a coupe and convertible between 1971 and 1975. The design and engineering work was done jointly by Bitter and Opel. This early example is powered by a 5.3-liter V-8 from General Motors that makes 230 horsepower.

Only 125 Indras were built and only 36 were of this body/engine combination (as GM stopped supplying engines in 1973). This one carries a relatively recent restoration and looks pretty good. The auction for this car starts at $60,000 and has an estimated sale price of $95,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $75,000.

1897 Daimler

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1897 Daimler Twin-Cylinder 4HP Rougemont Wagonette

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Daimler, which is technically a “dormant” brand as of 2008, was founded in Coventry in 1896 by Frederick Simms. He acquired the rights to build Gottlieb Daimler’s cars in the U.K. Eventually they’d move away from the German designs and by the time the end came, their cars were just badge-engineered Jaguars.

This car is powered by a 1.5-liter straight twin rated at four horsepower. Apparently, they were able to increase the power rating by two the following year. This car is a performer: it is described as a “reliable early finisher on the London-Brighton Run.” This is the sort of prototypical vehicle we imagine taking part in that event.

Ownership history is known back to 1905 (which is pretty incredible) and the current owner has had the car for nearly 20 years. This car has never been restored, but just repaired and redone as needed. It’s remarkable. As one of the earliest known surviving British Daimlers, it should sell for between $240,000-$270,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $295,661.

Graham Hollywood

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1941 Graham Hollywood Sedan

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | November 2-5, 2016

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

There are two separate automotive histories that converged in the late 1930s to allow this spectacular car to come to life. First, the story of Graham: brothers Joseph, Robert, and Ray Graham founded Graham Brothers in 1919 and began building trucks under that name. In 1925, they sold the company to Dodge and a year after Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the Graham Brothers brand was shut down.

In 1927, the brothers bought the company that built Paige and Jewett cars and in 1928 started building cars branded as Graham-Paige. Eventually, they dropped the “Paige” and just sold cars as Graham.

Now the other side of the story… E.L. Cord’s automotive empire failed in the 1930s and the brilliant Cord 810/812 “coffin nose” design of Gordon Buehrig was too good of a design to simply disappear. Enter Hupmobile, which by this point in the Depression was also failing. They bought the dies for the Cord but didn’t have any money to build the cars. So Graham stepped in and made a deal to build cars for Hupmobile if they were allowed to build some for themselves, too. In 1940 Graham started building the Graham Hollywood and its sister car, the 1940-only Hupmobile Skylark.

The Hollywood was available in 1940 and 1941 and this well restored example is powered by a 3.6-liter straight-six making 85 horsepower (a supercharged version could be had as well). Unlike the Cord, the Hollywood is rear-wheel drive. Production delays frustrated customers and, despite high initial public interest, the car was considered a flop. Only about 1,500 Hollywoods were ever built and this one is from Graham’s final year of automotive production. They remain a rarity today, but stand as one of America’s most stylishly advanced cars of the immediate pre-war period. This one should bring between $50,000-$65,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $47,000.

Carrera GT

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2004 Porsche Carrera GT

Offered by Auctions America | Hilton Head, South Carolina | November 5, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Porsche Carrera GT was introduced at the 2000 Paris Motor Show (here’s the Prototype) and it went on sale in 2003 for the 2004 model year. It was the first true production Porsche supercar since the 959 (we don’t count the 911 GT1 as a “production” supercar). The run of 1,270 cars ended in 2007.

This car is powered by a 605 horsepower 5.7-liter V-10 engine – an odd choice for a Porsche automobile, a company that usually uses flat-style powerplants. Top speed is a supercar worthy 205 mph but even with that performance, these were built specifically for the street – no race variant was ever built. The Carrera GT was followed in the Porsche supercar line by the 918 Spyder.

Only 24 miles are on this car, making it, likely, the lowest-mileage Carrera GT in private hands. Delivered new to Ohio, it is still in delivery condition. It’s basically your last chance to buy a brand-new Carrera GT. It should sell for between $850,000-$950,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $800,000.

October 2016 Auction Highlights

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We’ll pick up in October where we left off in September: with Bonhams and their Zoute sale in Belgium. The top sale was this 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A 1600 Speedster that brought $653,361.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Porsche 911R we featured broke the bank, too, bringing $538,062. Complete results can be found here.

Now onto the biggest sale of the month: RM Sotheby’s in Hershey, where one of the Duesenberg‘s we featured came away as the top sale at $2,090,000. The other Duesey, the Prototype Model J, brought $340,000. The Regal was the only no-sale among our feature cars and our Most Interesting award (not to mention well bought) goes to this 1929 Lincoln Model L Five-Passenger Brougham by Brunn that was bought new by gangster Legs Diamond. It sold for $38,500.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Other well-bought cars included this Oakland Touring for $44,000 and this Pullman Touring for $51,700. The other Pullman brought $66,000 while a previously-featured White Yellowstone Park Bus sold for $88,000. And finally, the Chalmers sold for $71,500 and the Winton $160,000. Full results can be found here.

Mecum’s Chicago sale ended on October 8th and this 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback was the top sale at $245,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The Reo The Fifth Touring car we featured failed to sell, having been bid to only $9,000. Click here for complete results.

Artcurial liquidated a collection in France that featured a variety of American vehicles, where the top seller was this 1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Model 904 Convertible Victoria in the style of Rollston for $58,696.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

The Matford we featured brought $20,010 and the Meteor $8,004. Click here for more results.

Silverstone Auctions held an all-Porsche sale in October and this 1972 911 S 2.4 Coupe was the top sale at $243,925. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

1904 Renault

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1904 Renault Type N-B 14/20HP Four-Cylinder Swing-Seat Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Every year there are a number of pre-1910 Renaults that come up for sale. Bonhams almost always has at least one at their London-to-Brighton sale and we never get to feature them. That changes this year, as Bonhams has multiple Renaults and we’ve selected this one – the earliest Renault we’ve yet featured.

The first of Louis Renault’s cars were single-cylinder De Dion-powered. Four-cylinders came in 1904 – this one is 3.0-liters in capacity and makes 14/20 horsepower. The body on this car looks remarkably like the Aster that is also offered at this sale.

The history of this car is that one family owned it from the 1920s through the 1980s when it was bought by the present owner, who restored it completely. It’s been upgraded slightly to run more reliably and has nice weather protection for a car its age. This, one of the first four-cylinder Renaults, should bring between $310,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $340,429.

Facel Vega Excellence

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1960 Facel Vega Excellence

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 30, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Facel S.A. was founded in 1939 in Paris (great timing!) to make aircraft components. In 1948, they started an automotive division and their first production cars appeared in 1954. The early two-door cars were sporty, stylish and the epitome of French style in the 1950s.

What’s usually forgotten is that Facel Vega produced a sedan. Between 1958 and 1964, they built the Excellence – a model with a name that leaves a lot to live up to. Built in three series, each had slight styling changes and a different engine. This is the most common of the three, the second series, which was built from late 1958 through the middle of 1961. It is powered by a 360 horsepower 5.9-liter Chrysler V-8.

Only 137 of the series two cars were built with only 156 examples of the Excellence produced in total before Facel Vega production ceased in 1964. This highly original example has been owned by the same guy since 1979. The Excellence is a full on powerful luxury sedan right there with the Bentleys, Lagondas, Rolls-Royces, and Maseratis of the day. Exceedingly rare, this one should bring between $90,000-$135,000. Click here for  more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

A French Aster

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1904 Aster 16/20HP Four-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Aster was a French marque that built motorized vehicles between 1900 and 1910. They were also a major engine manufacturer – at one point they claimed to be the provider of engines for over 130 other companies. They should not be confused with the British Aster marque of the 1920s (though the British company started out building engines under license from this one).

This car is powered by a 2.7-liter straight-four making 16/20 horsepower. It’s well-appointed and Bonhams makes the case that it’s about as perfect a car for entrance in the London-to-Brighton run as you can get. The body that is on this car is not original to the chassis, but is period correct and was applied during a restoration.

What you see here is a runner – this is a veteran car that you can drive considerable distance with a fair amount of confidence, because, as the lot description says, it is a practical old car. Or as practical as a 112 year old car can be. It should sell for between $290,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $263,484.