Monthly Archives: May 2020

Cord 812 SC Sportsman

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1937 Cord 812 SC Sportsman

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is the ultimate iteration of the Cord 810/812. Introduced in 1936, the front-wheel-drive 810 was styled by Gordon Buehrig and featured an independent front suspension and a design like nothing else in the world at the time. The car was renamed the 812 for 1937, which was more-or-less an attempt to spruce up the fact that they had a lot of leftover 810s from the year before. Supercharging also became an option in 1937.

The supercharger bumped power from the 4.7-liter Lycoming V8 to 170 horsepower. Two different wheelbases were used in ’37, and four body styles were offered on the shorter of the two, including the $2,585 Sportsman two-door cabriolet. The supercharger bumped the price by another $2,000, which is insane. Imagine adding 77% of the car’s price back on as options. Oh wait, you can probably do that on a Porsche.

Reliability issues early in production really put a wet blanket over the initial enthusiasm for the model, which was originally envisioned as a “baby Duesenberg.” About 3,000 examples were built in total, only 64 of which were reportedly SC Sportsmans. This one is now going to sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $257,600.

’67 L88 Convertible

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1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 23-28, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The legendary L88 Corvette was available from 1967 through 1969. That spanned two different generations of the Corvette, which means that 1967 was the only year you could have Chevy’s monstrous V8 in a C2 Corvette. Only 20 were sold that year, and I have no idea about the breakdown between coupes and convertibles.

The high-compression, 7.0-liter V8 was rated at 430 horsepower, even though the actual output was probably over 550. Unfortunately, the car was very expensive and required 103-octane fuel, which wasn’t all that easy to come by at your local service station in 1967. Of the 20 built for the model year, quite a few went direct to racing teams. After all, the car was essentially a race car that happened to be street legal. This one was raced, including at the:

  • 1970 24 Hours of Daytona – 11th, 2nd in class (with Cliff Gottlob and Dave Dooley)

The car competed for eight years, apparently winning 150 races. It was purchased by Dana Mecum in 2013, and he’s now letting it go, assuming it hits what is sure to be a stratospheric reserve (c’mon Mecum, have a little faith in your own event and go no reserve!). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $3,200,000.

Shelby GT350 Convertible

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1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 23-28, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The first Shelby Mustang was the 1965 GT350. It was also the best Shelby Mustang. It has those classic first-gen looks and isn’t as bulky looking as later models. Plus, they had racing pedigree. But most of those cars were hardtops.

Not this one. Yes, they built convertibles, but just a few of them. Only four were produced for 1966, and this was the first one. It’s an ex-factory test car, and the other three were more-or-less prototypes as well. It was apparently the only first-gen GT350 with gold stripes that wasn’t a Hertz car.

The GT350 is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 rated at 271 horsepower. This one wears an older restoration and will be going under the hammer at Mecum’s Indy sale, which is currently scheduled for June. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,100,000.

Carrera RS Lightweight

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1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The classic longhood-style Porsche 911 was produced from 1965 until 1973. It reached its peak right at the end before the impact bumpers arrived. The Carrera RS (for Rennsport) debuted for 1973 and has become one of, if not the ultimate classic 911.

Available only in 1973, the Carrera RS 2.7 was powered by a 2.7-liter flat-six that was good for 207 horsepower. That might seem puny, but this is a driver’s car. In fact, it only exists because Porsche needed to homologate the 911 for racing. They ended up building 1,580 examples in 1973.

That number was split between Touring and Lightweight models, and a majority of them were Touring cars. Only 200 featured a lack of sound insulation, thinner glass, and thinner body panels. The Lightweight also lacked a radio, clock, glovebox, and more. This was the beginning of Porsche charging more for less.

Despite all of those missing items, this car was spec’d from the factory with an electric sunroof (one of only three Lightweights with that option). It’s finished in Light Yellow with the classic lower body graphics, and it will require quite the sum to take it home. Check out more about this car here.

Sadler-Meyer Special

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1959 Sadler-Meyer Special

For Sale by Fantasy Junction | Emeryville, California

Photo – Fantasy Junction

I thought we featured this car a long time ago, but apparently not. So here we are. The 1950s were the golden age of this sort of sports racing special. This particular car was named for two gentlemen: Bill Sadler and Van Meyer. The car started as Meyer’s own rail-frame special that he competed with for a number of years.

In 1958, he took that car to Bill Sadler, who ended up building a number of Sadler-branded race cars. He also heavily reworked Meyer’s special. It used a ladder frame and a Pontiac V8. The aluminum body is reminiscent of a period Maserati. Sadler was successful campaigning the car in hillclimb events before eventually selling it.

The car has changed hands a few times and has been restored twice, most recently in 2008. The engine was replaced over the years and is now a 5.6-liter Chevrolet V8 that makes 425 horsepower. Fantasy Junction sold this car once in 2015 (which is probably why I thought we featured it) and now they’ve got it back. It’ll run you $395,000. Click here for more info.

D-Type Continuation

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1955 Jaguar D-Type Continuation

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This time last week we were talking about Jaguar’s XKSS continuation series of cars. This week, it’s time to talk D-Types. This is, perhaps, the most legendary Jag. The D-Type won Le Mans three straight years: 1955, 1956, and 1957. The company managed to get 71 built, though they planned on building 100.

Which leads us to this. A couple of years ago Jaguar announced that they would finish off the 25 cars to get them to the 100 they initially wanted (though the 25 they didn’t build were intended to be XKSS examples, and nine of those never got built due to a fire… the math works, trust me).

These continuation cars were built by Jaguar using the same processes they used in 1955. Power is from a 3.4-liter inline-six. You could get them in short or long-nose form, and this is an example of the former. It’s covered less than 200 miles with its first owner.

The D-Type we featured in 2013 failed to sell with a high bid of $6.2 million. This one, supposedly built the same way, should bring significantly less. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,325,000.

Ferrari Police Car

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1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Polizia

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The 250 GTE 2+2 was the first four-seat production car from Ferrari. The 250 road car line dated back to 1953, and the GTE was introduced in 1959. About 1,000 were built through 1963, and it remains one of the most affordable entry points into a Ferrari 250 GT today.

A 237 horsepower, 3.0-liter V12 drives this long-wheelbase car. But none of this is the story here. It’s the fact that this is a police car. And was when it was new. But how? Well, the story is that Armando Spatafora (an Italian cop) was dispatched to a high-performance driving program alongside three other officers.

After he completed the course, he was given this car, siren and all. Ferrari actually built a second example, but it was destroyed after only a few weeks on the job. This one remained with the Polizia for six years. It’s never been restored, just preserved by a series of owners. It’s possibly the coolest 250 GTE there is. You can read more about it here.

Lancia Delta S4 Group B

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1985 Lancia Delta S4 Corsa Group B

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

Photo – Girardo & Co.

The Lancia Delta is a car closely associated with rallying. The first-generation of the Delta was built from 1979 through 1994, and there were a number of variants of this five-door hatchback, including sporty ones.

The Delta S4 is related to the standard Delta hatchback mostly in name only. It was a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive near-supercar designed with one purpose in mind: to win in Group B rallying, which of course was the pinnacle of rallying when it was introduced in 1982. Group B was a little too extreme, and the FIA dialed back the regulations after 1986.

Power is from a supercharged and turbocharged 1.8-liter inline-four good for 550 horsepower. Sixty arrived in 2.5 seconds. This thing is a beast, even by today’s standards. And don’t forget: they built 200 road-going versions.

This car is chassis #208 and was a works Lancia Martini test car before being sold to a partner team. The car actually wears the Jolly Club team’s ToTip livery and is wrapped in a Martini livery. This is one of the most serious Group B cars, and it can now be yours. Click here for more info.

McLaren F1 GTR Road Car

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1996 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail

For Sale by Tom Hartley Jnr | Ashby-de-la-Zouch, U.K.

Photo – Tom Hartley Jnr

There was a time when anyone who could afford to do so could rush out and buy a McLaren F1. Now it’s kind of big news if one hits the market. After all, they only built 106 of them between road cars, race cars, and prototypes. The racing variant was the GTR, and 28 were built between 1995 and 1998. Their competition life lasted until 2005. They were that good.

What’s special about this car is that it was converted to a road car. Yes, the interior is a little sparse, but it does have the classic three-seat layout. That rear-mounted 6.0-liter BMW V12 is still there too.

This car is chassis #19R, and it was the first 1997-spec car (which technically makes it a prototype). The Longtails were only built in 1997, so this is one of 10. It was initially used as a development car, before shifting to the race track. It competed at the FIA GT race at Suzuka in 1997 before contending the 1999 JGTC season. It continued to race until 2002.

It was the first Longtail converted to a road car, which was actually done by Gordon Murray Design. It is being sold with the parts to return it to race specification, should the next owner want to. The asking price is not public, but you can be sure it’s well into the eight figures. Click here for more info.

Dyna Junior X86

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1952 Panhard Dyna Junior X86

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | TBD…

Photo – Osenat

Business can be a fickle thing. Panhard et Levassor was one of the first automotive giants and is one of the most important car companies from the early days of the industry. Panhard’s post-war fortunes weren’t great. Their later years found them grasping at straws, unable to compete with Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot.

The Dyna Junior was a small sports car introduced in 1952. It borrowed the chassis and drivetrain from the larger Dyna X. It’s a front-wheel-drive little drop-top, and in X86 form it was powered by a 745cc flat-twin rated at 32 horsepower. This was the least-powerful variant built.

But it’s an early car. The factory prototypes were built by a coachbuilder called Di Rosa, who would eventually go out of business after Panhard yanked production duties away from them. The very early Dyna Juniors were built there. Including this one. And it has some unique features not found on other cars, like a unique windshield and trunk.

Only 4,707 examples of the Dyna Junior were built between 1952 and 1956. In 1953, it was Panhard’s biggest-seller, having moved less than 3,000 of them. That’s how far their fortunes had fallen. This seemingly one-off X86 Junior should bring between $21,750-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.