Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021
Photo – Mecum
If you’ve haven’t been following the drama of SSC’s current Tuatara supercar we’ll fill you in: there was a video online in 2020 of the car purportedly breaking the 300-mph barrier. People called it bogus, and very recently SSC admitted it did not actually happen. The company’s first model was the Aero, which debuted in 2004. We featured the second one of those that was built before it was withdrawn from a previous auction.
The upped the Aero to the Ultimate Aero in 2005 and continued piling power on with 2007’s Ultimate Aero TT. This is the first of those built. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.3-liter V8 that was rated at 1,183 horsepower. The top speed was 257 mph, which made it the fastest “production” car at the time.
Mecum notes that 24 were produced between 2006 and 2007. I’m not sure what model(s) that number covers, or even if it is true. Remember that they announced the Tuatara in 2011 but it is unclear if customer deliveries have begun as of 2021.
All that said, this is a pretty cool American supercar. It’s like a 21st Century Vector. It is expected to sell for between $600,000-$750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
The Ford GT40 is one of the coolest cars of all time, but it also has kind of a convoluted history. The first cars, the Mk I, were produced in England. The Mk II cars were built in California by Holman-Moody and featured a huge 7.0-liter V8. The Mk III was a road car only.
Then there was the Mk IV. It developed out of Ford’s J-car program, which saw the use of lightweight bonded aluminum honeycomb panels. They beefed the chassis up a bit when they officially made it into the Mk IV and added a heavy NASCAR-style roll cage. It featured the 7.0-liter V8 from the Mk II, which made about 485 horsepower in this car. The Mk IV was built in the U.S. by Kar Kraft, the same company that assembled Boss 429 Mustangs.
The body was redesigned to be longer, with a long low tail that made the car slippery through the air. At Le Mans in 1967, the Mk IV hit 212 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Ford used the Mk IV in only two races: the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring and the ’67 running of Le Mans. It won both.
Serial numbers for the Mk IV all started with J. There were 10 complete cars built in period, with this, J9, being the second-to-last. Two additional chassis were constructed, and they were later turned into complete cars down the road. J9 was at one point bodied as an open-cockpit Can-Am car in the spirit of a Chapparal. It was tested by Mario Andretti in period.
Ford eventually sold the car for $1 to ex-Shelby American team mechanics, who retained it in its Can-Am glory – stored away – until 2012. At that point, it was restored with a Mk IV body and sold to its current owner. It’s useful in historic events and is estimated to sell for between $3,000,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy
Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021
Photo – Gooding & Company
Here’s another Model J up for grabs in Monterey this year. This one is bodied by Murphy, the most prolific of all Model J coachbuilders. Their work resided on 140 of the ~481 Model Js built when new. Some of them have been rebodied or lost over the years, but this car retains its original body.
Only two Murphy Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupes features dual spare wheels mounted at the rear instead of on the front fenders. The car is powered by a 265-horsepower 6.9-liter inline-eight.
This car was delivered new to an heir of a department store fortune (were they all delivered to heirs of some fortune?) and remained with her until 1934. It was acquired by Duesenberg historian Randy Ema in 2016 and restored. No pre-sale estimate is available, but this is probably one of the more desirable Duesenberg body styles with one of the freshest restorations around. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
Ivanrey de Soriano and the San Carlos de Pedroso were two Spanish marquises who teamed up to build the Soriano-Pedroso automobile in France between 1919 and 1924. The first cars were produced out of Biarritz, while general production stemmed from Neuilly. Three models were offered over the five-year period, most of which were pretty sporty.
After production wound up, the two men each produced a lone car under their own name (both of which still exist). The Marquis de Pedroso wanted to go to Le Mans, and he designed a sophisticated supercharged 2.0-liter twin-cam straight-eight to power his cars. Two engines were built, one of which is in this car. de Pedroso never made it to Le Mans, but his son would race this car in vintage events in the 1960s on the east coast of the U.S.
Pedroso’s son Jose Luis gifted the car to the Petersen Automotive Museum upon his death, and it’s now offered for sale for the first time in its history. The pre-sale estimate is $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Going back 20 years, Ferrari has created limited-edition drop-top models of its front-engined V12 grand tourers. It started with the 550 Barchetta and progressed through the 575 Superamerica, 599 SA Aperta, and this, the F60 America.
It’s based upon the F12berlinetta, which went on sale in 2012. The F60 was introduced in late 2014 and was out of production by the end of F12 production in 2017. Only 10 examples were produced to pay homage to the 10 units of the US-only NART Spyder. The name F60 was chosen to celebrate 60 years of Ferrari in America. All 10 were sold before Ferrari even introduced it.
Power is from a 6.3-liter V12 rated at 730 horsepower. The F60 features a fabric soft top and a three-piece carbon-fiber hardtop, depending on what look you are going for. I’m sure this car was insanely expensive when new, and it’s likely still an easy seven-figure car today. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
With the Americans really stealing AC’s thunder, the company decided to launch a grand tourer model instead. They took an extended Cobra chassis and dropped a Pietro Frua-designed body over it in 1965. The body featured an aluminum trunk lid and hood.
For power, they turned to Ford. A 7.0-liter (428ci) FE V8 was chosen, and when fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, generated 345 horsepower. The big issue was two-fold. First, the cars were expensive to produce, as the chassis were built in England, shipped to Turin to get a body fitted, and then returned to England to be completed. Second, the big engine put off a lot of heat, a lot of which would end up in the cabin.
This Fastback is one of 51 produced and one of about 80 428s (or Fruas, as they are also known) produced in total. It is expected to sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $173,600.
1968 AC 428 Spider
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
And here we have the drop-top version of the AC 428/Frua. It features essentially the same Frua styling but with a retractable cloth roof. Power was also provided by a 345 horsepower, 7.0-liter Ford V8.
The Spider variant is even rarer than the already-scarce Fastback. Just 30 were built out of the total run of 81 cars. This is sort of the peak example of the last true, stylish AC car. Sure, the company is still around, but everything after this really lacked the same sense of style. Not to mention that, once the 428 went out of production in 1973, AC didn’t offer another car until the 3000ME came along in 1979.
No pre-sale estimate is available at this time, but it is worth more than the coupe. You can read more about it here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
And here we have the drop-top version of the AC 428/Frua. It features essentially the same Frua styling but with a retractable cloth roof. Power was also provided by a 345 horsepower, 7.0-liter Ford V8.
The Spider variant is even rarer than the already-scarce Fastback. Just 30 were built out of the total run of 81 cars. This is sort of the peak example of the last true, stylish AC car. Sure, the company is still around, but everything after this really lacked the same sense of style. Not to mention that, once the 428 went out of production in 1973, AC didn’t offer another car until the 3000ME came along in 1979.
No pre-sale estimate is available at this time, but it is worth more than the coupe. You can read more about it here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Wayne Ewing worked for A.J. Watson in the body department, and in 1960 he designed and built his own Indy Roadster. The car would be sponsored by long-time open-wheel team owner Al Dean, owner of moving company Dean Van Lines. His race cars were dubbed “Dean Van Lines Specials” and driven by some pretty big names, including A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.
This car was similar to the dominating Watsons of the era, but had some slight differences. It featured a 4.1-liter (252ci) Offenhauser inline-four mounted ahead of the driver. This car went out and won the pole for the 1960 Indy 500 in its first try. Its competition history includes:
1960 Indianapolis 500 – 21st, DNF (with Eddie Sachs)
1961 Indianapolis 500 – 2nd (with Sachs)
1962 Indianapolis 500 – 3rd (with Sachs)
1963 Indianapolis 500 – 8th (with Chuck Hulse)
That’s a pretty impressive Brickyard resume, especially considering it won the pole in ’61 as well. After 1963, the car remained in the Midwest, where it was modified into a super modified. It wasn’t until nearly 1980 that a future owner realized what the car actually was and set out to restore it. The engine is now a 4.4-liter (270ci) Offy.
This car has participated in many shows and events and has had two long-term owners since 1982. The auction catalog lists this as a “1961” – it was apparently restored to its 1961 spec. Anyway, you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
1935 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LaGrande
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Well, this is the best body style on a Model J. LeBaron debuted the Dual Cowl Phaeton on the Model J, but Duesenberg’s in-house designer, Gordon Buehrig, tweaked the design a bit, and the “Sweep Panel” dual-cowl phaeton was born. The bodies were produced by “LaGrande,” which was the sort of pen name of the Union City Body Company, a Cord subsidiary.
It’s thought that just 15 of these were built by LaGrande, with this being the last. Power is from a 6.9-liter inline-eight rated at 265 horsepower. This car was used as a factory demonstrator in New York before being purchased by its first owner in 1936. That person was a 26-year-old heir to the Dow Jones publishing fortune. Must be nice.
It was restored for the first time circa 1970 and again around 2000. The car retains its original engine, body, and firewall. Model J-wise, this is about as good as they come (although I prefer more dramatic two-tone paint schemes). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1930 Bucciali TAV-30 La Marie Torpedo Type Cannes by Saoutchik
Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
The Bucciali brothers, Angelo and Paul-Albert, were two engineers who set up shop in Courbevoie in France in the mid-1920s. Their first prototype, the TAV-6, debuted in 1926 and two would end up being built. Both were deconstructed in 1929. But the car was merely a demonstration of their front-wheel-drive design. The TAV-8 followed in 1929, and in 1930, the company showed the TAV-30 at the New York Auto Show.
Their presence in New York was really to show other manufacturers their unique designs and to try and license their many patents. The chassis underneath this very car was dubbed “La Marie” and initially served as the chassis for the TAV-3 prototype. It was under this guise that the car was shown to many American automotive manufacturers to try and get some of that sweet license money. It didn’t really work.
So the car returned to France where it was upgraded to TAV-30 spec. It’s fitted with a 5.3-liter Continental inline-eight rated at 114 horsepower. It has a transverse four-speed manual transaxle mounted ahead of the front axle. It also features a four-wheel independent suspension. This thing was way ahead of its time, and its existence is still felt in cars we drive today. For example, Paul-Albert Bucciali showed this car to engineers at Willys, who passed on licensing the patent. After WWII, Bucciali sued, claiming that Willys had essentially stolen his designs, which they pretty much did. But it was all brushed under the rug by the French government and he didn’t get a dime.
Only about eight Bucciali cars were ever built, but they did reuse chassis from earlier models. So maybe five true examples by the time it was all said and done? Only three TAV-30s were made, and this is said to by the only original surviving chassis. A few other Buccialis do still exist, and they are pretty much the holy grail of exotic pre-war French cars. This particular one carries a Saoutchik body that had previously been fitted to a Mercedes 680S. It was mounted during a restoration in the 1970s.
This car famously spent time in the Blackhawk Collection beginning in 1985. Bonhams is expecting big results from this car while at the same time having no idea what to expect. The market is red hot right now, fueled in part by recent inflation. But I’m also pretty sure none of these have ever changed hands publicly. Let’s see what happens… Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
