Monthly Archives: April 2021

Audi Front UW

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1933 Audi Front UW Prototype by Glaser

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot, U.K. | May 15, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Audi Front was the first front-wheel-drive European car with a six-cylinder engine. The “UW” part was a sort of German abbreviation denoting that this Audi used a Wanderer engine that was flipped 180 degrees to drive the front wheels. The cars were also built in a Horch plant, making it a real Auto Union effort. Two different engines were offered during a production run that lasted from 1933 to 1938.

This car was in Russia during WWII, and it’s owner kept it hidden in his basement to avoid it be confiscated by Soviet authorities. It was purchased by the current owner in 1984 and relocated to Armenia, where it sat in storage until a restoration began in 2012.

Of the two Wanderer engines offered in the Audi Front (220 or 225), this car has neither. It has a 3.0-liter inline-six and some one-off features that have led people to believe it was some kind of prototype fitted with a four-seat, two-door convertible body by Glaser. Historics hypothesize that it was ordered by a high-ranking German military official. The pre-sale estimate is $480,000-$520,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Historics Auctioneers, July 2021.

Rolls-Royce Silver Spectre

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2016 Rolls-Royce Silver Spectre Shooting Brake

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

The current generation of the Rolls-Royce Wraith went on sale for the 2014 model year. It is offered as a two-door hardtop only. No wagon from the factory. So what’s a rich guy to do when he wants a wagon, err, shooting brake, version of his $300,000 Roller coupe?

Well, in this case, you hire Carat Duchatelet, a Belgian coachbuilder and vehicle armorer. This one-off wagon was first owned by Rolls-Royce and used a demonstrator back in its coupe days. The current owner bought it later and paid for this custom conversion, which was carried out between 2018 and 2020. The name “Silver Spectre” was made up for this car. And it sounds kind of dark and mysterious.

The mechanicals remain stock, with the standard twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V12 pumping out 623 horsepower. I actually quite like it. When was the last time you saw a 600+ horsepower hatchback/wagon with suicide doors? The pre-sale estimate is $530,000-$770,000, which is probably a lot less than the cost of a new Wraith plus a custom wagon build. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Oh, and here’s what it looks like from the front.

Photo – Bonhams

Allard K1

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1947 Allard K1

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Many early Allard models look… similar. And by early, I mean those built after WWII. The K1 went on sale in 1946 and lasted until 1948/1949. It was intended to be a street car, and it kind of looked like a passenger-car version of the J1/J2. But the example we have here was modified as a vintage race car in the 1990s.

There were different engine options offered, and this car has a 4.5-liter Mercury V8 that’s been slightly modified and is said to make 200 horsepower. There was a long-wheelbase, four-seat version of the K1 also offered, and it was called the L-Type.

Only 151 examples of the K1 were produced. This one has been used pretty regularly for the last ~20 years, which is a pretty good sign. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $76,160.

Austin A90 Atlantic

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1952 Austin A90 Atlantic Sports Saloon

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | May 26, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Austin A90 Atlantic was sold in two forms between 1949 and 1952. Initially launched as a two-door, four-seat convertible, the Sports Saloon hardtop variant replaced it for 1951 and 1952. It was one of Austin’s first clean-sheet post-war designs, and it’s a pretty attractive sporty car.

Power comes from a 2.7-liter inline-four that was rated at 88 horsepower. This was the same engine later used in the Austin-Healey 100. Top speed was 91 mph, and 60 arrived in a spirited 16.6 seconds.

Between the two different body styles, there were 7,981 examples produced. A handful (350) were exported to the U.S. This one wears an older restoration and carries a pre-sale estimate of $16,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,513.

Nash Metropolitan

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1957 Nash Metropolitan

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 14-22, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Here is a car I adore. Partly because it is adorable, but also because it is affordable. The car was designed by Nash in the U.S. with the aim of offering a less expensive and economical alternative to the big behemoths rolling out of Detroit. But the cars were actually produced in England by Austin.

Series I examples were introduced in 1953, and this Series III hardtop would’ve sold for $1,527 when new. Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-four that was factory rated at 52 horsepower. Metropolitans were sold as Austins in the U.K. and under the Nash brand in the U.S. through 1957. Hudson-branded models were also offered until Nash and Hudson were phased out in ’57. From 1958 through 1962, Metropolitan was a standalone marque.

This restored example is finished in teal and white (excellent) and features houndstooth upholstery. Affordable when new, they remain an inexpensive way to get into 1950s American (or British, depending on your perspective) cars. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $17,600.

Cisitalia D46

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1947 Cisitalia D46 Monoposto

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Piero Dusio’s Cisitalia got its start by building tiny open-wheel race cars. In fact, the D46 was their first attempt at building a race car. And it was groundbreaking. It featured a tubular spaceframe chassis, which was something new in the open-wheel world.

The cars scored victories all over Europe in 1946 and 1947. Some of them continued racing into the 1950s season, even though Cisitalia had introduced other cars – and eventually road cars. Power is from a Fiat 1.1-liter inline-four. It’s a tiny engine, but with the chassis built the way it is, the car is light. It didn’t need a ton of power to be competitive.

This car is said to have been raced by Harry Schell back in its competition days and later spent time in Australia. In the 1960s, it returned to Europe, remaining with an owner for 40 years before the current owner bought it in 2003.

I’ve been waiting to feature one of these for some time, so it’s a treat that it has popped up. The pre-sale estimate is $180,000-$240,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $190,682.

McLaren Elva

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2020 McLaren Elva

Offered by Bonhams | Los Angeles, California | April 10, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

McLaren has gone on a spree of producing pretty out there cars of late. From the P1 to the Senna to the Speedtail and now this, the Elva. The name harkens back to the lightweight Elva racing cars of the 1950s and 60s. McLaren had a relationship with that company back in the day, too.

This new Elva features a carbon-fiber monocoque, a full carbon-fiber body, and no windshield. In place of the latter, the car has an air management system that directs air from the nose up and around the cockpit. It’s like a windshield made of air. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect James Dyson to produce. Lamely, U.S.-market cars will get a windshield and side windows.

The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 is rated at 804 horsepower. McLaren claims the Elva is the lightest car they’ve ever made. It’ll hit 60 in 2.8 seconds and tops out at 203 mph. McLaren was going to initially build 399 examples, and they later cut it back to 249. Bonhams claims this is car #45 of only 149 built. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $1,700,000-$2,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn.

1936 Albion Van

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1936 Albion SPL 126 Van

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | April 14, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Glasgow, Scotland-based Albion produced passenger cars for a short time until 1915 and, afterward, concentrated exclusively on commercial vehicles. This would be what the company is remembered for, and production of these continued until 1972.

We’ve featured a few Albion commercial vehicles in the past, including a truck from about this era. This delivery van carries a livery for a producer of Swiss Rolls and was apparently delivered new to this company. It was restored between 2005 and 2008 and has been fitted with overdrive, allowing it to hit about 55 mph. This makes it somewhat usable, especially if you’re a business owner looking to advertise (though it would be a shame to lose this livery). Power is from an inline-four of unknown displacement or output.

Bonhams sold this truck in 2013 for $26,000, and it now carries an estimate of $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $29,469.

Duesenberg J-586

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1936 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Berline by Rollston

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 14-22, 2021

Photo – Mecum

The 6.9-liter Lycoming straight-eight that powers this Model J Duesenberg is the third-to-last “J” engine by number. Only J-587 and J-588 are later. This is the final Rollston-bodied Model J, and Mecum states that it was the last completed car to leave the Duesenberg showroom. It was shown at the 1936 New York Auto Show with a price tag of $17,000.

The 265-horsepower car rides on a long-wheelbase chassis and was purchased new by the then-president of Coca-Cola. It was later owned by jazz musician Charles Kyner for 46 years. The restoration was completed in 1990.

These later Model Js have such different bodywork than the earlier cars. It seemed like there was more “freedom” for the designers to rework the area forward of the cowl. This one is striking from the head-on view, and the interior looks like a nice place to be. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $2,800,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Monterey 2022, $2,695,000.

Canda Auto-Quadricycle

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1900 Canda Auto-Quadricycle

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | April 2021

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

The Canda Manufacturing Company was based in Cartaret, New Jersey, and they produced railroad hand carts. In 1896 they acquired the rights to the Duryea Brothers gasoline engine. But Charles Duryea bailed on the partnership shortly thereafter, so Canda decided to go it alone.

Their first car was produced in 1900, and it looked like this. The Auto-Quadricycle was a four-wheeled forecar with a single-cylinder engine. Production continued through 1902, but they offered a more traditional “Spider” runabout in 1901, which probably meant that the Quadricycle was phased out before 1902, when Canda folded.

This car features a De Dion-Bouton single-cylinder engine rated at 1¾ horsepower when new. It’s been part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum since 1957. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $56,000.