Aston DBR1

1956 Aston Martin DBR1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

On their home page, RM Sotheby’s describes the DBR1 as “the most important Aston Martin ever built.” Why’s that? Because David Brown bought Aston Martin in 1947 and set his sights on winning Le Mans. With the DBR1, he finally succeeded, putting his little car company in the spotlight and ensuring its survival for decades to come.

This car is not the Le Mans winning car, but the first of five DBR1s built (chassis #2 triumphed at Le Sarthe). This was built in 1956, there was one example in 1957, one in 1958, and two in 1959. If you’re a big fan of Astons, perhaps this car reminds you a little bit, styling-wise, of the DB3S.

This DBR1 is powered by a reproduction 3.0-liter straight-six developing 302 horsepower. The owner had the engine specially constructed for this car so it could be used in historic events without fear of damaging the original 3.0-liter unit (which peaked at 255 horsepower).

The competition history of this factory race car includes the following:

  • 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans – 14th, DNF (with Tony Brooks and Reg Parnell)
  • 1957 1000km Nurburgring – 6th (with Roy Salvadori and Les Leston)
  • 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Salvadori and Leston)
  • 1958 12 Hours of Sebring – 52nd, DNF (with Salvadori and Carroll Shelby)
  • 1958 1000km Nurburgring – DNF (with Salvadori and Shelby)
  • 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Salvadori and Stuart Lewis-Evans)
  • 1959 12 Hours of Sebring – 62nd, DNF (with Salvadori and Shelby)
  • 1959 1000km Nurburgring – 1st (with Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman)

What a race history! Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby, and Stirling Moss all drove this car in period. And it won the 1000km of the Nurburgring (with Moss at the wheel, no less). The current owner, a major Aston Martin collector, has owned this car since 2009. RM hasn’t published estimates at the time of this writing, but it’s possible this one gets tagged with the ubiquitous “Inquire.” Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $22,550,000.

June 2017 Auction Highlights, Pt. III

First up in the third auction rundown for June’s sales is Brightwells’ Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The top sale was this 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB that brought $110,000.

Photo – Brightwells

The Delage we featured didn’t meet its reserve but the Willys-Knight we featured a few months ago did, bringing $11,645 this time around. Check out more from Brightwells here.

The first of Bonhams’ two annual Goodwood sales was held at the end of June. Only one of our feature cars failed to sell (the Bugatti Brescia) while a previously-featured, post-war Talbot-Lago did sell: for $176,371. The other Bugatti we featured sold for $365,332. Top sale went to this 1957 Porsche 356A Carrera Speedster for $1,193,852.

Photo – Bonhams

The Hotchkiss sold for $212,710 while the 1911 Mercedes brought $467,080. Click here for more results from this sale.

Artcurial was the auction house that held this year’s Monaco sale, which had a rough sell-through rate, with three of our featured cars failing to meet their reserves: the Arrows F1 car, the Ruf CTR, and the Bentley Arnage wagon. The top sale was this 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR that brought $2,009,990.

Photo – Artcurial

The two cars from this sale that we featured that did sell were the Lombardi and the OSI Cabriolet. They brought $27,247 each. To see what else sold (or didn’t), click here.

Historics at Brooklands had their July sale and the AC Buckland we featured failed to sell. The top seller was this 1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary that brought $257,580 – almost three times what these cars were bringing 15 years ago.

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The three other cars we featured from this sale all sold with the Lotus Cortina bringing the most at $56,976. Next was the Jensen GT for $20,194 and the Lambretta Mink one-off prototype brought up the rear with a sale price of $15,866. Click here for complete results from this sale.

Finally, Mecum’s Denver sale, which was actually held in late July. The AMC Rebel Machine we featured brought $50,000 and the overall top seller was this 2016 Ferrari California T Convertible for $165,000. Everything else from this sale can be found here.

Photo – Mecum

Wolfe Touring Car

1907 Wolfe Four Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

Maurice Wolfe, a car dealer in Minneapolis, lent his name to this automobile, which was produced by the H.E. Wilcox Motor Car Company. The company was founded by Wolfe and brothers John F. and H.E. Wilcox. It built a few hundred cars between 1907 and 1909.

For the first two years of Wolfe production, their cars used a 24 horsepower straight-four engine from Continental. Only Five-Passenger Tourers were offered, though in 1909 you could get a four-passenger Roadster. When new, this car commanded a price of $1,800.

After 1909, the Wolfe became the Wilcox, which lasted through 1911. Maurice Wolfe moved to Indiana and built the Clark and Meteor automobiles. This car is one of about 30 built in 1907 (an additional ~170 cars would be built between 1908 and 1909). Restored in 2010, it is in running condition and is being sold to benefit a cancer research center in Seattle. It should sell for between $50,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $49,500.

Ferrari 330 GT Wagon

1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Shooting Brake by Vignale

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

I’m beginning to think Gooding & Company has a secret stash of one-off Ferrari wagons. It’s a great concept. Think about it: take a high-revving Italian exotic, add a big greenhouse out back and boom! Now you’ve got a grocery-getter that hauls the mail.

The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 was a grand tourer built between 1964 and 1967. It was far and away the most common of the Ferrari 330 series, with 1,099 produced. But this does not look like the rest of them. It was sold new as a normal 330 GT 2+2 but when it came back to Chinetti Motors in 1967, Chinetti Jr. co-designed this “Shooting Brake” and had it built by Vignale. This is believed to be the final Ferrari bodied by the Carrozzeria.

It’s powered by a 4.0-liter V-12 making 300 horsepower. Chinetti sold the car in the 1970s and it was restored in the 1990s. At one point it was owned by Jamiroquai front man Jay Kay. It’s one-of-one and should bring between $700,000-$900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Los Angeles 2018, $313,000.

Gulf 917K

1970 Porsche 917K

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well here is the star of the Pebble Beach auctions this year (Gooding & Company actually lists a different car, a Ferrari, as their star… but that car is comparatively boring). It’s a Porsche 917K… one of the most legendary of all racing cars. I believe Gooding & Company teased this very car last year and it was eventually pulled from their show.

Anyway, it’s back. The original 917 debuted at the 1969 Geneva Auto Show. That car was apparently a beast (if Vic Elford tells you your car is unmanageable at speed, it probably needs some refinement). So Porsche refined it, shortened the car a bit, and christened it the 917K. And it was a beast.

It won Le Mans in 1970 and 1971, a few World Manufacturer’s Championships and just about dominated every race it entered. The 917K is powered by a 5.0-liter flat-12 that makes 630 horsepower. This car was originally built as a normal 917 in 1969 but it was more or less destroyed in an accident.

When they were working on the 917K, it is believed that Porsche took the frame from the first 917 built and constructed this car. It was painted white and used by Brian Redman and Mike Hailwood as a Le Mans and Nurburgring test car. Jo Siffert bought it from Porsche in June of 1970.

And it’s what Siffert did with it that is going to require the next owner to shell out nearly $15 million for it: He loaned the car to Steve McQueen when he was shooting the movie Le Mans. This was one of the camera cars used during that shoot. McQueen would have almost certainly driven this car during the production of the film and the car still has camera mounting points on the frame. It was under Siffert’s ownership that this car, 917-024, was painted in the iconic Gulf livery and it used by Siffert in Switzerland on the street on at least one occasion!

After Siffert’s death, this car was eventually purchased by a French collector and it quietly disappeared. In 2001 it was discovered parked in a Parisian warehouse. Someone managed to buy it and they had it restored. And now, one of the most famous of all Porsches, comes up for public sale. The estimate is a steep $13,000,000-$16,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,080,000.

McLaren F1

1995 McLaren F1

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

We’ll remind you that Bonhams holds the all-time Monterey Peninsula auction record (which is also the all-time auction record) for cars. This year they are giving it their all to bring in the most money on a single car – battling Gooding & Company who have a high-estimate-$16 million Porsche 917K. This car is the only other car (currently listed) that has a chance to beat that. Bonhams isn’t publicizing an estimate, but two years ago RM sold this F1 for over $13 million.

So what is it? It’s a McLaren F1 – the holy grail of supercars. The first car was delivered in 1992 – 25 years ago, which qualifies a ’92 for historic plates. The best part is this car still holds its own against every modern supercar, including McLaren’s own P1. And it does it with the basics. It’s simply the greatest.

Designed by Gordon Murray and Peter Stevens, the F1 was built by the newly-founded road car division of the McLaren Formula One Team. It’s a three seater – the driver is in the middle – and it has bufferfly doors. All modern supercars are either turbocharged, supercharged, or fitted with some crazy electric hybrid system to boost power. The F1 does it old school: it is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.1-liter BMW V-12 that makes 627 horsepower. For years after its introduction it was the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 240 mph. It remains the fastest naturally aspirated car in the world.

There were different versions of the F1, including LM, GTR, and racecars. In total, 106 cars were built, 64 of which were road cars. This 1995 model was the first to be imported into the U.S. The F1 wasn’t quite road legal in base form, so a company called Ameritech swapped out some parts to make it fully federalized for U.S. road use. Only seven such cars were converted.

This chassis (#044) is all-original and is still in the possession of its first owner. McLaren F1s do not change hands often and they have gone way up in value in the last 10 years (I remember when they were selling for $700,000 in the late 1990s). A price of $10+ million is not out of the question for one of the greatest road cars ever built. This is an opportunity to acquire one of the best F1s in existence. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $15,620,000.

Alfa Tipo 33 TT 12

1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a series of awesome prototype racing cars built by Alfa between 1966 and 1977. We’ve previously featured the Tipo 33/2 and 33/3, which were two of the earlier designs. The TT 12 was the second-to-last version and it was built between 1973 and 1976.

Prior to this car, the Tipo 33s were V-8 powered. For 1973, they opted to install a 3.0-liter flat-12 that puts out 500 horsepower. The “TT” does not stand for “twin turbocharged” but instead references the car’s tubular chassis. This was a factory race car, owned and operated by Autodelta S.p.A. and under their direction, it competed in the following races:

  • 1975 1000km Monza – DNF (with Henri Pescarolo and Derek Bell)
  • 1975 1000km Spa – 1st (with Pescarolo and Bell)
  • 1975 1000km Nurburgring – DNF (with Pescarolo and Bell)
  • 1975 6 Hours of Watkins Glen – 1st (with Pescarolo and Bell)

That’s just a few of the big races it competed in, as it ended up winning at least one more. For 1976, Alfa replaced the 33 TT 12s with the next generation car and this example was parked. In 1980, Autodelta dealt this car to a collector in California who has owned it since. It’s shown up at the Monterey Historics six times over the years and you can take it there next year. Only six of these were built and this one should bring between $2,400,000-$2,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

The First DB4GT

1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Asrton Martin DB4, DB5, and DB6 are the best looking of all the classic Astons (though I will forever maintain that the DB7 is the best looking period, especially the convertible). The DB4 was built between 1958 and 1963 until the DB5 took its place.

Among the most sought-after DB4s were the DB4GTs. These were lightweight, short-wheelbase, near-racing spec cars. Nineteen of them sported bodies by Zagato. One of them received a Jet Age body from Bertone. In all, 75 DB4GTs were built – but this is the first.

The GT came with an upgraded engine, a 302 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-six to be exact. Top speed was 151 mph – pretty stout for something pre-1960. The story of this car is that program manager John Wyer took an early DB4 chassis, shortened it, and wrapped it in aluminium to save weight. They tested it at Le Mans and actually entered in the 1959 race. Here’s how it fared:

  • 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans – 52nd (of 53), DNF (with Hubert Patthey and Renaud Calderari)

So maybe that race entrance was a little premature. After Le Mans, Aston converted this car to road spec and pushed it into service as a press car. The first real owner came in 1961 and it turned out to be a relative of the Royal family. The current owner acquired the car in 1986 and had the factory restore it in 1989. Between their original acquisition and now, the car was at one point owned by actor Rowan Atkinson.

At the time of writing, RM has not yet published an estimate for this car. It won’t come cheap, and rightly so. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $6,765,000.

L’Uovo

1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export by Fontana

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This early Ferrari is certainly a unique design. Check out how short that windshield is. Driving it has to feel as if you are just strapping yourself to an engine and hanging on for dear life. It sort of has a proto-pontoon fender look to it, but it all curves inward at the passenger compartment before the bobbed rear end. It’s aggressive, racy, and screams “competition Ferrari.”

This car was purchased new by the Marzotto brothers in Italy in 1950. It has serious competition history in period, including:

  • 1950 Targa Florio – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto)
  • 1950 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto and Franco Cristaldi)
  • 1951 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara)
  • 1952 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Guido Mancini and Adriano Ercolani)

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t super successful in it’s day, but it still ran at the biggest races in the world. After the 1950 racing season the car was rebuilt by Carrozzeria Fontana, with the body you see here having been constructed at that time. Dubbed “L’uovo,” or the egg, it was designed to be aerodynamic and light.

After the 1952 season, the original 166 MM engine was replaced by an engine from Ferrari’s newer 212 Export model, which would mean that it carries a 2.6-liter V-12, which makes 175 horsepower (though this is unclear from the catalog description). In 1953 the car made it’s way into Californian ownership. In 1986, an Italian buyer brought the car home from the U.S. and had it restored. Displayed infrequently, the car has competed in the modern Mille Miglia a few times in the last 20 years.

This one-off, big money Ferrari will go under the hammer next month. For more information, check out RM Sotheby’s site here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $4,500,000.

GT350H

1966 Shelby GT350H Fastback

Offered by Mecum | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | August 3-5, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Hertz is a company that has been involved with automobiles since 1923. At one point they were part of the Yellow Coach company, a manufacturer of buses that eventually became part of GM. In the 1960s, Shelby built a run of special cars for the rental car agency: the GT350H.

The GT350 is powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 that was modified by Shelby to put out 306 horsepower. The Hertz cars were almost all painted black with gold stripes. Dubbed “Rent-a-Racer,” the GT350H could be picked up at your local Hertz counter – if you were a member of their Sports Car Club.

Back in the day, people rented these and entered them in SCCA events. The fun legend is that some would be returned to Hertz with remnants of a welded-in roll cage. There were 999 of these built – and those that hadn’t been totaled in racing accidents (it had to have happened at least once) were returned to Ford after a specified amount of time. Ford removed any go-fast parts aspiring race car drivers may have installed and then flipped the cars onto the public market.

Imagine something like this today. It would never happen. It’s like if you could roll up to Avis and request a new Dodge Demon to take to the drag strip. Society, as litigious as it has become, would never allow for it. This is a piece of motoring history because it is a product of its time. And because of that, it is really, really cool. This well documented, well presented example can be yours. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $120,000.