Monthly Archives: June 2019

May 2019 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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We’ll start with Historics at Brooklands, who originally had an old Maxim fire truck in their catalog that mysteriously disappeared (from the catalog). The top sale was this 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that brought $787,534.

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The awesome (and purple) TVR Cerbera we featured sold for $20,648. Mark my words: when these are eligible for U.S. importation, these prices are going to go way up. Click here for more results from this sale.

Next up is Aste Bolaffi’s sale in Milan. If you ever wanted to own a Siata (that isn’t a Spring) but didn’t want to spend a ton of money, this was the place to be. The 1500 TS we featured sold for $25,774. The biggest money was paid for this 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT. It sold for $369,814. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Aste Bolaffi

We move to RM Sotheby’s in Auburn, Indiana for their spring sale at that location. The top automotive lot was this 1930 Cord L-29 Convertible Phaeton Sedan for $157,300.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Hupmobile Skylark we featured sold for $15,400 and the Haynes Touring went for only $10,560, a figure that made me nauseous, as do most of the results, as there were quite a few I would’ve stepped up to buy had I been there.

Onward to Bonhams in Greenwich. The top sale was $417,500 paid for this 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet by Pinin Farina.

Photo – Bonhams

The Dodge Brothers touring car we featured failed to sell, but the Arnolt-MG managed to bring $64,960, and the Stutz Roadster $44,800. Full results can be found here.

Finally, we move to Artcurial’s sale on June 17. Amid a pretty tough sell-through rate, this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB stole the show at $2,175,046.

Photo – Artcurial

Speaking of a tough sell-through rate, the Alpine A310 we featured, along with a previously-featured Hommell coupe, failed to find new owners. The good news is that the CG 1300 sold for $64,454, and the BMW Z1 brought $41,626. The rest of the results can be found here.

2004 Toyota F1 Roller

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2004 Toyota TF104B

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 5, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Toyota leaped into the wild world of Formula One in 2002. After untold millions were spent – and without a single victory to show for it – the company bolted after the 2009 season. They didn’t even really sell the team to anyone else as is F1 fashion. They just left.

The TF104 was campaigned during the 2004 season, and an updated “B” variant was introduced mid-season. The team’s lineup started with Christiano da Matta and Olivier Panis – neither of which finished the season with the team. Instead, Ricardo Zonta and Jarno Trulli rounded out the last few races.

In all, 11 chassis were built for the 2004 season, two of which were used solely as test cars, including this one. Normally powered by a 3.0-liter Toyota V10, this car had its mechanicals removed before it was purchased by its current, private owner. Still, it should sell for between $75,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $86,416.

HRG Aerodynamic

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1947 H.R.G. Aerodynamic by Fox & Nicholl

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Alcacer do Sal, Portugal | September 20-21, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

HRG Engineering was founded in 1936 by Edward Halford, Guy Robins, and Henry Ronald Godfrey, whose initials comprise the company’s name. Godfrey’s experience included stints at GN and Frazer Nash.

HRG‘s output was low – only 241 cars produced between 1935 and 1956. Six models were offered, including the 1945-1949 Aerodynamic as seen here. It’s powered by a 1.5-liter inline-four from Singer and wears bodywork from Fox & Nicholls.

The car was discovered by the current owner in 1989 and restored. Prior to that, it had Portuguese race history in the 1940s and 50s. Only 45 examples of the Aerodynamic were produced, and with an active HRG owners group, they don’t change hands that often. Click here for more info and here for more from this collection.

Update: Sold $181,745.

Lister Storm GT1

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2001 Lister Storm GT1

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 5, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Here we go! I’m an unabashed fan of the Lister Storm road car, which only exists because Lister wanted to go racing in the top GT classes at Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship. It competed against truly ludicrous competitors like the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, and McLaren F1 GTR.

Only three road cars still exist, and only six racing cars (or GTMs) were built to varying specifications depending on what class they were being entered in. Power is from a 7.0-liter Jaguar V12 good for 546 horsepower. The competition history for this car (#005) includes:

  • 2002 24 Hours of Spa – 2nd (with Bobby Verdon-Roe, Miguel de Castro, David Sterckx, and Justin Law)
  • 2002 FIA GT Championship – 2nd

The car entered privateer hands after that, competing in the French GT Championship, where it was crashed and rebuilt with the chassis from car #001. The damaged chassis is included in this sale.

This rare GT1 racer is a brute and should sell for between $570,000-$690,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $583,311.

Duesenberg J-287

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Sport Berline by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 16-17, 2019

Photo – Gooding & Company

To be a Duesenberg customer during the age of the Model J, you had to be wealthy. A bare chassis, engine, and firewall would run you about $9,500 at the dawn of the Great Depression. Then you had to go have a body built by one of the world’s leading coachbuilders. And they didn’t come cheap, either.

But to purchase seven such cars requires a certain kind of wealth that only someone like, oh say the son of the founder of Pacific Gas & Electric could possess. Enter George Whittell Jr. He had $50 million in the stock market and liquidated all of it just weeks before it crashed. So yeah, he could afford the seven Dueseys.

Powered by a 265 horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight, this car wears “Sport Berline” coachwork by Murphy. I would agree with their marketing lingo that the car is indeed sportier than the average sedan from 1930. It was previously owned by J.B. Nethercutt and Bill Harrah. It’ll be one of many special cars to cross the block in Monterey later this year. Check out more here and see more from Gooding’s sale here.

Update: Sold $2,040,000.

Williams FW14B

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1992 Williams-Renault FW14B

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 5, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Williams was a star in F1 in the early 1990s. Part of that had to do with the fact that Adrian Newey was designing their cars. The Williams FW14 was for 1991 season and was updated to FW14B-spec for 1992. And it was a beast.

Team drivers Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell managed to win the constructors championship while utilizing the six “B” chassis built for the season. This was the first car designed by Newey and it rocked. It’s probably the best car Williams has ever fielded.

Power is from a 3.5-liter V10 capable of 760 horsepower – at 14,500 rpm! Usually publicly-owned F1 cars have replacement engines, but this one is the real deal, carrying the motor Mansell used to win the opening round of the championship. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1992 South African Grand Prix – 1st (with Nigel Mansell)
  • 1992 Mexican Grand Prix – 1st (with Mansell)
  • 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix – 1st (with Mansell)
  • 1992 Spanish Grand Prix – 1st (with Mansell)
  • 1992 San Marino Grand Prix – 1st (with Mansell)
  • 1992 Monaco Grand Prix – 2nd (with Mansell)
  • 1992 Canadian Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with Mansell)
  • 1992 British Grand Prix – 2nd (with Riccardo Patrese)
  • 1992 German Grand Prix – 8th (with Patrese)
  • 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Patrese)
  • 1992 Belgian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Patrese)
  • 1992 Italian Grand Prix – 5th (with Patrese)
  • 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix – 19th, DNF (with Patrese)

The car was then mostly destroyed in an airborne accident at Estoril when Patrese hit Gerhard Berger wheel-to-wheel at speed. Mansell went on to be World Champion later that year.

It’s obviously since been restored. Championship-winning F1 cars don’t trade hands publicly often, and Bonhams is mum on a reserve. Check back in a few weeks to see if it sold – and for how much. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $3,385,271

De Tamble Roadster

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1911 De Tamble Model G Roadster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Alacer do Sal, Portugal | September 20-21, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The De Tamble Motor Company got its start in Indianapolis in 1908 when Edward De Tamble began building cars. They moved to Anderson, Indiana the following year and the company went through many rounds of managerial and ownership changes in its short life. By 1913 the company was bankrupt and the president, Charles H. Walters, was in jail.

The 1911 model year offered five models, including a two-cylinder roadster, which was the company’s initial offering. The sporty Model G Runabout (yes, De Tamble did have a little competition history in their blood) was only sold in this year and is powered by a 36 horsepower inline-four. It cost $1,000 when new, the second cheapest car the company sold after the twin.

Only about 2,000 De Tamble automobiles were built in six years of production, and this is the first one I can recall coming up for sale in the last nine or so years. And it’s in Portugal of all places. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $82,037.

Mitsuoka Himiko

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2016 Mitsuoka Roadster

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | July 10, 2019

Photo – Brightwells

We’re breaking one of our own rules on this one: never feature a car that is still in production. But because Mitsuoka is such a low-volume automobile manufacturer that is practically unknown in the west, I thought we’d feature this rare sighting of one of their cars.

The Himiko (which is what it is known as in Japan) went on sale in 2010 and is sold in the U.K. as the Mitsuoka Roadster. It carries classic-style looks and I can kind of see some Morgan up front, some BMW Z4 in the sides, and some Plymouth Prowler around the cabin. Power is actually from a 160 horsepower, 2.0-liter Mazda inline-four.

These are hand-built fiberglass cars based on Mazda Miata mechanicals. So they should be relatively reliable and will get you looks everywhere you go. This one has covered less than 10,000 miles and should bring between $30,000-$35,000. Click here for more from Brightwells.

Update: Sold $26,130.

Figoni et Falaschi Narval

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1947 Delahaye 135MS Narval Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2019

Photo – Mecum

If this car were to be built today, it would ride about four inches lower. At least. That upside-down bathtub styling just looks right at home sucking on the ground. But the roads were different in 1947. Especially in France. And who am I to nitpick a Figoni et Falaschi design?

The Delahaye 135MS is powered by a 3.6-liter inline-six probably making about 145 horsepower. These cars were produced both before and after the war, technically from about 1938 through the end of Delahaye production in 1954.

The “Narval” name, if you haven’t figured it out, alludes to the car’s somewhat narwhal-like appearance. Only seven such Delahayes were bodied like this, and this one has been in the same hands for the last 50 years. It’s a million-dollar car, no doubt. You can see more about it here and more from Mecum’s Monterey sale here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $2,600,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Chicago 2019.

Maudslay 17

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1908 Maudslay 17HP Open Tourer

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | July 10, 2019

Photo – Brightwells

Cyril Charles Maudslay founded his company to build marine engines. But when they didn’t sell, his cousin Reginald joined him and together they turned out the first Maudslay road car in 1902. Reginald soon jumped ship to form Standard.

Sources vary when Maudslay introduced their 17HP model, with texts stating 1910, though this car is listed as a 1908. Either way, the cars were rated at 17 horsepower and powered by a 3.3-liter inline-four.

After WWI, Maudslay focused entirely on commercial vehicles and remained independent until they merged with AEC and Crossley in 1948. This pre-World War I example should bring between $44,000-$57,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $74,264.