Monthly Archives: July 2017

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

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1991 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 29-30, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

You’re looking at the coolest car to ever wear the Vauxhall badge. It began life as a Vauxhall Carlton (which was the British version of the Opel Omega). This generation of the European full-size sedan/wagon (or “executive car”) was built between 1986 and 1993.

The hotted up Lotus version was available only from 1990 through 1992. Lotus took the standard Opel 3.0-liter engine and massaged it into a 3.6-liter straight-six and then strapped two turbochargers on top for a final power rating of 377 horsepower. That’s still pretty serious today. Sixty arrived in five seconds and the top speed was listed at 176 mph, which is pretty crazy. It outperformed many cars that were much more expensive when new – and most of those had two fewer doors as well.

The Lotus Carlton could be had in one color: Imperial Green, which looks black from nearly every angle and in every photograph. They weren’t cheap when they went on sale and that is reflected in the low build count. Opel wanted to built 1,100 examples but they only ended up selling 950 – split between Opel and Vauxhall, with this version being much rarer. Only 320 Vauxhall Lotus Carltons were produced and this example has a remarkable 4,500 original miles on the odometer. It should bring between $77,500-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $94,557.

Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita

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2009 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 16-19, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Mecum is flexing their supercar muscle in Monterey this year. In addition to a LaFerrari and some Ford GTs (so far), they have this: a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. Swedish Koenigsegg introduced the CCX in 2006. Later on came the CCXR variant, which could run on E85. Rarer still is the Trevita model, which features diamond weave carbon fiber. What does that mean? It means Koenigsegg came up with a new way to make carbon fiber that lets it look really cool with a bare carbon fiber finish that isn’t black.

Powering the CCXR is a 4.8-liter, twin-supercharged V-8 that makes 1,018 horsepower on E85 (it also handles 98 octane pump gas just fine, but the power drops a bit). It has a removable top and is pretty decked out inside, outside, and underneath (as it has a hydraulic lifting system onboard).

Koenigsegg planned to produce three examples of the Trevita, but because making the diamond weave carbon fiber is so difficult, they only managed to complete two cars. Side note, if you are lucky enough to ever own one of these, don’t bump it into anything, as repairs, while no doubt costly, will probably take forever. This is the only U.S.-spec Trevita and it was formerly owned by Floyd Mayweather.

This is a big time supercar. Top speed is 249 mph, with 60 arriving in three seconds. Big time supercars demand big time prices. Mecum is hitting a home run bringing this to auction, now we wait and see what it brings. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,600,000.

Duesenberg J-417

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Fleetwood

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | September 2, 2017

Photo – Auctions America

Does this Duesenberg look a little like a… Cadillac? If you think so, there’s a good reason: this car was bodied by Fleetwood, as in the Fleetwood Metal Body Company. Founded in 1909, Fleetwood built bodies for many companies in its early days. But in 1925 it was acquired by Fisher and it became part of General Motors in 1931. A lot of Cadillacs bodied after 1931 wore Fleetwood bodies much like this one.

In fact, this is the second Fleetwood body that this car wore. The original owner swapped out the first body for this one, which he lifted from a Cadillac V-16. It wasn’t the only thing he changed, this chassis is currently on its third engine, J-417. The 265 horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight that originally powered this chassis racked up 200,000 miles before being replaced. A second engine came and went as well. This car was used and enjoyed and didn’t find its second owner until the late 1950s.

Since then it has had a few other owners and was restored about 30 years ago. It’s a unique Model J with known history from new (the first owner ordered the car from Fred Duesenberg on the New York Auto Show stand in 1929). It should bring between $950,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $990,000.

Renault 5 Turbo

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1981 Renault 5 Turbo

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 29-30, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Renault 5 was a hatchback built by the French company in two different series, the first lasting from 1972 through 1985 (though the early cars don’t resemble this one at all). A second generation was built between 1984 and 1996. There was nothing particularly sporty about the 5 – some used engines as small as 782cc.

Rallying was the place to be seen in 1980s Europe, and Renault wanted a part of the action. They developed the 5 Turbo as a rally car. It was essentially nothing like the front-engined, front-wheel drive 5 hatchback, as these are mid-engined, rear-wheel drive cars. The engine is a 1.4-liter turbocharged straight-four that made 158 horsepower. It was a serious hot hatch – one of the first such factory specials.

In order to take it rallying, Renault built some road-going models as well. This is one of 3,576 of the original 5 Turbos. This car was delivered new to Switzerland and sports a brilliant two-tone blue paint scheme (which is a respray) and awesome 1980s-style “Turbo” graphics. This 40,000 mile example should bring between $92,225-$105,400. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $97,512.

Adams Roadster

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1985 Adams Roadster

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | July 26, 2017

Photo – H&H Classics

Dennis Adams worked at Lister Cars and Marcos at different points in his career and also he built a few cars of his own. Perhaps the most famous is the Probe 16, also known as the Durango 95 from A Clockwork Orange. In the 1980s he designed this Jaguar-based Roadster with a very neoclassic-like look.

Originally powered by a 2.8-liter engine, this car now boasts a 4.2-liter Jaguar straight-six with three carburettors. Depending on which era the engine came from (it was around a while), this car probably makes somewhere between 168 and 265 horsepower. Top speed is claimed to be over 100 mph.

The Adams Roadster was built between 1985 and 1999 and only 17 were ever constructed. The green paint is somewhat striking and the interior looks like it’s definitely been used but still shows nice with no noticeable cracks or tears. This rare Jaguar-powered machine should bring between $25,500-$38,250. Click here for more info and here for more from H&H Classics.

Update: Sold $22,900.

The Asteroid

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1951 Tojeiro-JAP

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 27, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

We’ve featured a number of Portugal-born John Tojeiro’s cars over the years. No two are quite alike, and this little race car is different from all of them. This is also the earliest Tojeiro we featured, as it was the second car to ever bear his name.

The other person’s name associated with this car is that of Brian Lister. It was the first chassis he ever built (he wouldn’t found his own company until 1954). The wild design was inspired by a magazine article that Lister read about attaching a JAP engine to a Jowett Jupiter chassis. (JAP = JA Prestwich Industries, a British company that built a ton of small engines from around 1910 through the 1950s).

So Lister and Tojeiro took a 1.1-liter JAP V-Twin and stuck it in this custom chassis. It’s technically mid-engined, I guess, since you can see the engine sticking through the hood behind the front wheels. It was nicknamed “The Asteroid” and was very successful on track in its day.

This car was discovered in a barn, its body having been modified over the years. Silverstone’s catalog has pictures of it when it was new and it does look a little different. It was completely restored and is road registered in the U.K. The pre-sale estimate is between $117,000-$143,000 for this piece of racing history. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

The Machine

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1970 AMC Rebel Machine

Offered by Mecum | Denver, Colorado | July 20-22, 2017

Photo – Mecum

AMC, whose history is long, tangled, and very interesting (but we won’t go into it here), seemed to build two kinds of cars during the course of their existence: 1. absolute garbage or 2. kind of cool, fast, sporty muscle cars. Even within the Rebel line, which was built between 1967 and 1970, it was a 50/50 split (though in 1967 it was technically not an AMC, but a Rambler… before that marque was merged back into the AMC line).

1970 was the final year for the Rebel and it could be had as a sedan or a two-door hardtop coupe. The base engine was a straight-six and a range of V-8s were offered as well. They also built a top-of-the-line muscle car and they called it “The Machine,” which is a pretty badass, if not lofty, name for a car.

The Machine is powered by a 6.4-liter V-8 making 340 horsepower. That was a decent enough rating, but it was still well short of what the big motors from Ford, GM, and Chrysler were making in 1970. This example is well-optioned and looks very nice. It’s one of 1,000 painted in the iconic red, white, and blue paint scheme – out of a total of 2,326 Rebel Machines built. This is one of the coolest cars AMC ever built and it can be yours! Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Denver.

Update: Sold $50,000.

AC Buckland

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1953 AC Buckland

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | July 8, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Auto Carriers Ltd., later known as AC Cars, started building vehicles in 1901. They’re still around, though they are mostly building Cobra replicas and random attempts at sports cars. The 1950s were their sweet years, introducing or selling five different models during the decade.

The first of these was the 2-Litre, a car AC introduced in 1947. It was available as a two-or-four-door sedan and they also built a few Drophead Coupes. And then there was this, the Buckland tourer. The 2-Litre had the highest production total of any four-wheeled AC vehicle by the time it was out of production in 1956.

They are powered by a 74 horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-six. Only 60 Buckland tourers were built and this car has period racing history. It raced at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, and was the first AC car to race at Goodwood. It’s been completely restored and retains its original chassis and body. This particular Buckland was a no-sale at Historics’ most recent sale, so we’ll see if they can find it a new home this time around with an estimate of $47,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Historics at Brooklands, November 2019 – $55,555.

Voisin C28 Cabriolet

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1938 Voisin C28 Cabriolet

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

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

It seems like there is maybe one of Gabriel Voisin’s automobiles that trade hands each year. This year, it looks like this beautiful, windswept C28 Cabriolet is the one you can get your hands on. The C28 was introduced in 1936 and we featured a relative of this car previously.

Voisin used sleeve-valve engines in his cars. This car is likely powered by a 3.3-liter straight-six with a power rating of 102 horsepower. Racing cars they were not. Instead, these were mechanical marvels with beautiful coachwork and sometimes wild interiors. This is one of the more restrained Voisins I’ve seen come up for sale. Part of the reason is that the coachwork was done outside of the factory, something that, while common in its day for cars of this stature, was quite uncommon for Voisin.

The body was designed by R. Saliot, a Voisin service center. They didn’t have the ability to actually build the body, so they outsourced their design elsewhere. This car is one of two with coachwork known to have been designed by Saliot (the other one won Pebble Beach). It was actually applied to this chassis when it was about 10 years old, which is why it looks a little post-war.

It is known that a monk acquired this car before selling it at auction in the late 1960s. Restored in the early 2000s, it comes from a “prominent” collection. Only about 60 C28 Voisins were built and this one is the only one quite like it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ford Cortina Lotus Mk I

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1966 Ford Cortina Lotus Mk I

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | July 8, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

This one’s a classic – and in a classic livery. The Ford Cortina was a large (for England) family car offered as a two or four-door sedan (or wagon). Built by Ford UK, the first generation was available between 1962 and 1966. The nameplate continued on European Ford vehicles through 1986.

This hot Lotus version of the Cortina came about after Colin Chapman had someone build a twin-cam version of the Kent engine that normally powered the Cortina. Ford must’ve liked it so much that they asked Chapman to fit the engine to some Cortinas so they could homologate it for racing. They were assembled and tuned by Lotus, but sold through Ford dealers in the U.K. It was a factory two-door hot rod that predated the muscle car era, with the first generation of the Lotus Cortina having been sold between 1963 and 1966.

That Lotus-tuned engine is a 1.6-liter twin-cam straight-four that puts out 105 horsepower. There are a bunch of lightweight, go-fast parts attached too, and just about all of the 1,000 examples constructed were painted white with the green stripes. This car was made roadworthy in 2014. It’s a great example of a sought after car that has gained credibility in collector circles on both sides of the Atlantic. It should bring between $45,000-$52,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $56,976.