Monthly Archives: April 2018

McLaren MP4/8A

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1993 McLaren-Cosworth MP4/8A

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

There aren’t a lot of McLaren Formula One cars in private hands. There are even fewer Monaco Grand Prix-winning, ex-Aryton Senna McLaren Formula One cars in private hands. And that’s exactly what we have here. This car, chassis MP4/8-6, was purchased by the current owner directly from McLaren in 2006.

It’s an MP4/8A (or just an MP4/8 as the “B” variant was a Lamborghini-powered test car), which was McLaren’s 1993 race car. The team’s drivers were Aryton Senna and Michael Andretti (who was replaced by Mika Hakkinen for the last three races of the season). The race history for this chassis includes:

  • 1993 Spanish Grand Prix – 2nd (with Senna)
  • 1993 Monaco Grand Prix – 1st (with Senna)
  • 1993 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Senna)
  • 1993 French Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 British Grand Prix –  5th (with Senna)
  • 1993 German Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 Belgian Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 Italian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Senna)

This was McLaren’s first season with Ford-Cosworth power after years with Honda. This car uses a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated Ford-Cosworth V-8. Power was about 680 horsepower, one of the lowest numbers on the grid. This chassis contains the exact same engine and transmission that was in the car when it won in Monaco.

It’s pretty amazing as a car and even more amazing that someone gets to actually own this and it isn’t a display piece in a museum. Think about it: you can own and drive a Monaco-winning McLaren that Ayrton Senna used. Sure, there are other Senna-driven cars out there, but would you rather have a Toleman or a McLaren? Exactly. This is the only car in Bonhams’ sale that doesn’t have a pre-sale estimate, which should give you a hint as to the expected price. You should check out more about this car here and you can see more from Bonhams in Monaco here.

Update: Sold $5,009,296.

April 2018 Auction Highlights

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We’re kicking off April with a sale from Artcurial. The top sale was this 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider for $337,628.

Photo – Artcurial

The Citroen DS 21 Cabriolet we featured sold for $156,745 and the Bristol brought $38,167. Click here for complete results.

Next up, Brightwells Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The De Dion-Bouton and Scripps-Booth both failed to sell, but the ultra-rare Palladium Sports brought $13,342. The overall top seller was $113,242 for this 1933 Alvis Speed 20 SA Vanden Plas Sports Tourer. Click here for everything else.

Photo – Brightwells

Onward to Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach. Both of our feature cars sold: the Kaiser Club Sedan brought $44,000 and the DeSoto Fireflite sold for $225,500. The top sale was this 2012 Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition for $770,000. With a price like that, expect to see more of these at auctions soon. More results can be found here.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Now we have Osenat and a small selection of modern cars. We didn’t feature anything, but this $177,745 2012 Ferrari FF was the top seller. See everything else here.

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Classics’ Pavilion Gardens sale. We didn’t feature anything here either but this 1960 Daimler SP250 Dart topped the charts at $60,282. Click here for other results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Bugatti Type 57 Galibier

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1939 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier Sedan

Offered by Osenat | Strasboug, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Type 57 was the last hurrah for the original Bugatti company. Designed by Ettore’s son Jean, they first went on sale in 1934 and were built up through the outbreak of WWII. There were many variants, including the much sought-after 57S and 57SC.

This is a standard Type 57, meaning it uses a 3.3-liter straight-eight engine borrowed from the Type 59 Grand Prix cars. Power is a healthy 135 horsepower. The aluminium body is the factory-offered Galibier four-door sedan – the only factory four-door for the Type 57.

This particular chassis was built near the end of the production run and was the second-to-last sedan assembled (this was June of 1939). Originally black, it was delivered new to Nantes, France. It has a known chain of owners and events since then.

Bugatti built 710 examples of the Type 57 (including all sub models). This restored “base model” sedan should bring between $430,000-$675,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $516,615.

Ferrari 625 TF

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1953 Ferrari 625 TF by Vignale

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

If you like ultra-rare early Ferrari factory race cars, then Bonhams has the car for you. This is a Ferrari 625 TF (for Targa Florio). Built in 1953 only, it was the first closed-wheel, four-cylinder race car from Ferrari.

A four-cylinder Ferrari? Of course! It’s the legendary 2.5-liter Lampredi straight-four and that Lampredi engine would go on to power Ferrari’s Monza line of racing cars. In this guise, it’s good for 220 horsepower… not a far cry from the 237 horsepower produced by the 250 MM’s V-12.

Only three examples of the 625 TF were built and each of them are markedly different, showing signs of evolution from chassis to chassis. This car features open body work from Vignale but in its earliest form carried a different body. Enzo didn’t like the original and so here we are.

This chassis spent its competitive days racing around Italy with the likes of Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli behind the wheel before being exported to a new owner in Argentina toward the end of 1953. It raced in Argentina and Brazil thereafter, competing into the early 1960s. In the mid-1970s it was discovered in a scrapyard in Naples, Italy, with a Lincoln V-12 stuffed under the hood. It was restored in the 1980s and again by its current owner in the 2000s.

Ferrari road racers from the golden era of sports car racing – and those that Enzo had a hand in – are just wonderful things. This sheer exclusivity of this the 625 TF makes it a great opportunity. It’ll be expensive though: this car carries an estimate of $5,500,000-$8,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Bedford JO Pickup

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1961 Bedford JO Pickup

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 19, 2018

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Bedford was, from its inception, a division of General Motors. The commercial companion to Vauxhall, Bedford’s light commercial vehicles were available from 1930 through 1991.

The Bedford TJ was a model sold as both a van and pickup truck from 1958 through 1967 (and through 1975 in other markets around the world). It was an updated version of the earlier TD. The JO (or J0), which was the ½-ton model, was the lightest of seven different TJs offered.

Based on the lot description, it appears this truck uses a 2.6-liter straight-six. The styling on this thing is kind of wild, with a lot going on up front and a very plan looking box out back. It’s like the automotive equivalent of the reverse mullet. About 5,000 JOs were manufactured and only 20 are known to exist in the U.K. This one has been restored to what appears to be better-than-new condition. It was the 10th JO built and should bring between $60,000-$65,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Historics Auctioneers, Ascot, April 2021, $40,693.

Porsche 914/6 Murene Prototype

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1969 Porsche 914/6 Murene by Heuliez

Offered by Osenat | Strasbourg, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Porsche 914 was a sports car designed in collaboration with Volkswagen. It went on sale in 1969 and was built through 1976. It’s mid-engined and came with a flat-four or a flat-six in 914/6 configuration.

This car is unlike any other 914. First of all, it’s a closed coupe and not a targa, as the 914 was from the factory. It was designed by Jacques Cooper (who also designed the original French TGV high-speed train) and he took the design to Heuliez who had a car mocked up and then built.

It debuted at the 1970 Paris Motor Show and still used a 2.0-liter flat-six that makes 109 horsepower. Porsche was working with Karmann to build the cars and didn’t want to split the duties between two coachbuilders. Heuliez bought the car from the firm that Cooper was working for when he designed it and kept it until 2012 when they liquidated most of their collection. Since its recent acquisition, the new owner went through the car mechanically and made it fit to drive. It’s a one-off, coachbuilt Porsche Prototype and it should bring between $225,000-$275,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Jordan 199

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1999 Jordan-Honda 199

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Eddie Jordan’s Formula One team got its start in 1991 and lasted through the 2005 season (before it became Midland F1). The team is now operating as Force India. The Jordan 199 – which was their car for the 1999 season – was their most successful. The original engine used during the season was a naturally-aspirated, 3.0-liter Honda V-10. One of those engines is still in this car.

The team’s drivers that year included former champion Damon Hill and team-newcomer Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Frentzen won two races in 1999 competing for Jordan. This chassis, #003, includes the following race history:

  • 1999 Australian Grand Prix – 2nd (with Frentzen)
  • 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Frentzen)

And that was it. It was the team’s spare car for the remainder of the season but was not needed and never saw competitive action in F1 again. This is a fairly modern F1 car. Sure, it doesn’t have the complicated powerplants today’s cars have, but it is a serious machine capable of incredible performance. Novices need not apply. F1 cars of this recent vintage are pretty hard to come by and since it’s usable, it’ll attract a good price. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $284,447.

Bugatti Petit Royale

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1930 Bugatti Type 46 Coupe de Ville

Offered by Osenat | Strasbourg, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

This car might look like one of the ultra-rare, ultra-pricey, ultra-huge Bugatti Type 41 Royales – but it isn’t. But it is supposed to look like one. There are only six Royales around but there were about 400 Type 46s built. And this one was constructed to look just like it’s much larger brother.

The Type 46 was built between 1929 and 1936 (which includes the supercharged Type 46S variant). The engine is a 5.4-liter straight-eight good for 140 horsepower in naturally-aspirated form. This particular car was discovered in France in the 1970s and all that was salvageable was the engine and some parts. Replica isn’t quite the right word, but the owners decided to take what they’d found and build to-scale version of their favorite Royale.

Built to exacting 0.87 scale, the new body is fantastic. The project was completed in 1986 but records have been identified that trace the history of at least the engine back to new. You’re never going to get the opportunity to acquire a true Royale, so you might as well buy a car that looks just like it from the same manufacturer. It is expected that $430,000-$550,000 will be needed to take this home. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $459,937.

Ferrari Sergio

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2015 Ferrari Sergio by Pininfarina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In the past five-ish years, companies like Lamborghini and Ferrari have created some ludicrously rare cars for select customers. Cars so rare most mere mortals aren’t even sure they were ever actually produced at all. We don’t get to see them. They are shown at car shows that have capacity limits and talked about in hushed tones. And these are exactly the types of cars we all expect to see at an auction in Monaco.

The Sergio was initially shown as a concept car by Pininfarina in 2013. A positive reaction (and likely a lot of cash) persuaded Ferrari to build six examples in 2015 for select customers at a cost of about $3,000,000 each. The “production” car isn’t quite as out there as the concept, but it’s still significantly different from the Ferrari 458 Spider it is based on.

The engine is the same 597 horsepower, 4.5-liter V-8 from the 458 Speciale. Performance stats pretty much line up with the Speciale. There is a removable hard top in case you feel the need to take it out in the rain. This Sergio was the first production example built and it was displayed at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show before relocating to the private collection of its current Swiss owner. It’s covered less than 200km since new. It’s one of the rarest modern Ferraris and it’ll be pricey. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Peugeot Quadrilette

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1922 Peugeot Quadrilette Type 161

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | April 21, 2018

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Peugeot has been producing cars for a long time – longer than just about anyone else. Their cars have progressed through the years from early, simple cars to the most modern and sophisticated on the planet. The Quadrilette was a light car introduced after WWI as a small economy car.

This was an important step because Peugeot needed a success. This car was cheap and easy to produce at a time when people needed new cars. Two different models were offered, with the first, the Type 161, built in 1921 and 1922 only. The later Type 172 would be offered in 1923 and 1924.

The auction catalog lists this as a 1922 Type 172. But, there are some differences (aside from the listed model year) that clearly identify this as a Type 161. First, it features a 667cc straight-four that makes 9.5 horsepower (later cars had larger engines). This car also has offset seating – the Type 172 had two seats side-by-side up front.

The Type 161 is the rarer of the two, with only about 3,500 produced. This should bring between $10,000-$15,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.