Monthly Archives: September 2018

Breese Teardrop Roadster

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1911 Breese Paris Teardrop Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Robert Breese worked at De Dion-Bouton and Renault, among others, before deciding he wanted to build his own cars. He wanted to produce them in America, and he managed to make a few prototypes while still in Paris that he was going to take home with him to begin production.

It’s thought that he managed to produce three examples, two of which survive (and they’re both in this sale). Breese would produce other cars in the U.S. later, but this was his start. While this example is powered by a lowly 7.5 horsepower straight-four, this car can hit 70 mph. It’s that light.

This example has known history back to 1927 and was restored in the early 1960s. It shows pretty well for a 55-year-old restoration, signs of care by the family that has owned it since the work was completed. This car is expected to bring between $100,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $78,400.

Monarch Convertible

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1951 Monarch Convertible

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s a marque produced by the Ford Motor Company that you probably aren’t familiar with. In Canada, GM and Ford have a history of needing to change the names of cars to get them to sell. GM did it with Beaumont and Acadian (and later, others), and Ford would do it with Meteor and Monarch.

Monarch was essentially a Canadian-market Mercury aimed at Oldsmobile. It was sold between 1946 and 1957, and then again from 1959 through 1961. Canadians had a lot more choice, brand-wise, than Americans because they got Mercury, Ford, and Lincoln too.

This car is powered by a V8 and was restored in 1995. In all, Ford sold just over 95,000 Monarchs over about a decade and a half. Only four 1951 Convertibles are still known to exist. And when was the last time you saw a Monarch? It’s a Canadian rarity. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Hershey.

Update: Sold $60,500.

Derby K4

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1930 Derby K4 1.8-Litre Course

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 5, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Derby was a French automobile manufacturer and, as this car shows, they built some pretty sporty-looking pre-war cars. Founded by Bertrand Montet in 1921, the company only lasted a short time, closing their doors in 1936 (blame British management that took over in 1928).

The K4 was built during their good years, before financial strain took hold. Power comes from a 1.8-liter straight-six CIME engine. Many of their cars were four-cylinder models and an overly-ambitious V8 would ultimately prove their undoing.

This two-seater example was believed to have been delivered new to Italy, where Derby cars were built under license as the made-up-sounding Fandini between 1924 and 1926. It returned to France in 2015 and has been mostly restored. Derby never built many cars – a few hundred a year – but they look great and are a much cheaper alternative to some other sporty French cars of the era. It should bring between $130,000-$160,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

American Eagle Touring

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1911 American Eagle Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There were a lot of car companies before 1920 that had the word “American” as part of their name. There was American, who was famous for their Underslung models, and then there were European marques like Austin, Fiat, and De Dion-Bouton, who all had American arms and thus named them separately.

What we have here is a one-off car built in 1911 by Martin Burzynski of Detroit, Michigan. He never wanted to produce cars and never even bothered setting up a company to do so. Instead, Burzynski had a patent on an aluminum-sidewalled tire with spring-loaded canvas and rubber treads. This car was built as a test vehicle for those tires.

Ultimately unsuccessful, this car only saw about 200 miles through the mid-1940s. It features a 60hp Wisconsin straight-six and a bunch of other off-the-shelf parts from other manufacturers. Perhaps the most interesting bit is that three of the original aluminum tires are included. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $242,000.

Elva Mk I/B

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1956 Elva Mk I/B

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 5, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Elva Engineering Co. Ltd. was founded by Frank Nichols in 1955. The first series of cars, the Mk I, were based on a previous Nichols creation, the CSM, and were sold as bare rigid tubular chassis with a live rear axle. Some assembly required.

In 1956 the Mk I/B was introduced and it came with an engine – a 1.1-liter Coventry  Climax straight-four. The streamlined fiberglass body was actually built by Falcon Shells and it’s estimated that only 14 were built. This example was road raced around the Midwest its first owner, seeing track time at the likes of Road America and more.

This car was expertly restored in the early 2000s and still shows very well. It is thought to be the final Mk I/B built and is expected to bring between $160,000-$260,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $165,398.

Soviet Microcars

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Three Soviet Microcars

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | September 26, 2018

1969 ZAZ-965A

Photo – Brightwells

The Zaporizhia Automobile Plant in Ukraine has been producing cars under the ZAZ brand since 1960. They’ve also built cars from other manufacturers for local sale and built some heavy trucks and buses as well.

Zaporozhets were a series of microcars produced between 1960 and 1994, with the ZAZ-965 built in two series between 1960 and 1969. This car is listed in the catalog as a 1969 965. But the 1969 model was actually the ZAZ-965A. It’s powered by a rear-mounted 887cc V-4 capable of 27 horsepower.

When production ended in 1969, 322,116 examples of all types had been built. This car was imported to the U.K. from Lithuania and is all-original. You can read more here.

Update: Sold $475.

1987 SMZ S-3d

Photo – Brightwells

The SMZ was a microcar built in Russia and between 1970 and 1997 they built a car called the S-3d – this. Based on the ZAZ 695, it features a 346cc single-cylinder engine from an earlier model. Designed as a car for invalids, this car was technically classified as a motorcycle in Russia.

They built 223,051 of these – quite a lot – but they still aren’t that common. This original example was imported into the U.K. from Lithuania in 2016 and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more from Brightwells.

Update: Sold $719.

1967 ZAZ-968A

Photo – Brightwells

Here’s another Lithuanian import into the U.K. from the same collection. It’s another Zaporozhets, but slightly larger than the ZAZ-965. The “second generation” of these cars were introduced in 1966 as the ZAZ-966. It would evolve into the ZAZ-968 in 1971 and this model would last through 1980, while the later 968M would last through 1994.

Power here is from a 1.2-liter V4 capable of 30 horsepower. The 968A was actually built between 1973 and 1980 and had some safety improvements, like a plastic dashboard instead of a metal one designed for maximum carnage. This one is also no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $719.

Matra Jet Prototype

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1967 Matra Jet 6 Prototype

Offered by Aguttes | Linas, France | September 30, 2018

Photo – Aguttes

The Djet was a product of the Rene Bonnet company but when they went bankrupt in 1964, Matra bought it out and continued production of the little sports car. They iterated on the cars, selling the Djet 5 and 5S. Eventually they dropped the “D” and the car became the Jet 5S.

And then came version 6. What we have here is a prototype that used a Jet 6 as the starting point and is now a purpose-built race car. It’s powered by a bored-out 2.0-liter Gordini straight-four from an Alpine.

It was raced by its original builder, Marcel Moissonnier, in hill climbs around France. The current owner acquired it in 2015 and has used it on closed-circuit tracks. One-of-a-kind, it should bring between $17,000-$23,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ruf BTR2

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1998 Ruf BTR2

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Southam, U.K. | September 28, 2018

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The original Ruf BTR was produced in the 1980s and was based on the legendary 930 Turbo. They were available through 1989, but Ruf wouldn’t build the successor until 1993. Maybe they were waiting on the next generation of turbocharged 911s. If they were, they got impatient.

The BTR2 is powered by a turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six that made 420 horsepower. It was the first 933 Turbo offered to the public, beating Porsche to the punch by a few years. Porsche would use two turbos in their car and it ended up making less power. This car had a top speed of 191 mph.

Only 18 examples of the BTR2 would be produced through 1998. Fifteen of those were coupes like this one, but only five of those were right-hand drive as this one is. It’s got a built-in roll cage if you want a track toy. And even if you don’t, it would still be an awesome weekend rocket. It should bring between $195,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1917 Milburn Electric

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1917 Milburn Electric Model 27 Brougham

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Milburn Wagon Company had been around in Toledo since 1848. In 1914 they decided to start building electric cars. Over a thousand were built in 1915 but the factory suffered heavy losses in a fire in 1919. By 1921, 75% of the employees were building bodies for GM cars while only 25% were building electric cars. General Motors bought the plant outright in 1923 and this early electric car manufacturer was gone.

This car featured a 60 mile range when it went on sale, with a top speed of 19 mph. It was one of many such cars with stodgy, upright bodies, but they sold relatively well while electric cars were hot. They were lightweight and this one has been well restored and converted to run on 12-volt batteries.

Milburn built over 4,000 cars in their short lifespan. Survivors are sought after and don’t change hands often. This one should bring between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $63,250.

Rinspeed R39

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1983 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet R39 by Rinspeed

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | September 22, 2018

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

There is more than one way to skin a cat, which is a disturbing send-your-child-to-a-psychologist-because-they-might-be-a-sociopath sort of way to say there are multiple ways to solve a problem. And the problem Rinspeed set out to solve in the early 80s was this: Porsche didn’t sell a Turbo Cabriolet (they wouldn’t until 1986). Also, it didn’t have enough side strakes.

So what do you think they did? A) take a Turbo and cut the roof off or B) take a Cabriolet and shove a turbo engine in the back of it? Sorry ASC fans, the answer is B. Other modifications included a 928-style front and rear end and, of course, side strakes (which would only magnify in intensity as the decade wore on).

The 930 Turbo engine – a 3.3-liter turbocharged flat-six – is largely unmodified so it still puts out about 296 horsepower. The chassis was reinforced to handle this uptick in power. And about the R39 name: it was originally “939” but Porsche owned that for some reason, so they lopped off the first 9 and added an R for Rinspeed. 939 was decided upon because 11 + 28 = 39 (get it? like 911 + 928 = 939).

Anyway, these are super rare examples of 80s decadence and questionable taste. And I love it. It should bring between $90,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.