Monthly Archives: February 2022

XK120 by Pinin Farina

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1955 Jaguar XK120 SE Coupe by Pinin Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

This is the third Jaguar XK120 we’ve featured, and all three have been coachbuilt cars with bodies that would not have come from the Jaguar factory. The XK120 launched in 1948 at the London Motor Show. Roadsters came first, and coupes and drophead coupes followed thereafter.

This coupe is the only XK120 bodied by Pinin Farina. It was at shows in 1955, which would’ve been after the XK140 entered production. It is an SE, or Special Equipment, model, meaning that the 3.4-liter inline-six was modified with higher-lift camshafts and a dual-exit exhaust for a horsepower bump to 180.

This car came to the U.S. via Max Hoffman, and a restoration was carried out in 2015. The result was a second-in-class at Pebble Beach in 2017. This one-off Jag has an estimate of $900,000-$1,300,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $940,000.

Bandini Siluro

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1953 Bandini 750 Sport Siluro

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

The Siluro: the most famous of all Bandini models. The cars were produced in 1100 and 750cc form, the former between 1947 and 1949, and the latter between 1950 and 1956. The 750cc Siluro won multiple SCCA championships and saw racing success on both sides of the Atlantic.

The 747cc inline-four was a modified Crosley unit capable of pushing out 71 horsepower. Bodywork varied car to car, but it followed general trends over the years. For example, 1953 cars received fenders that blended into the body in lieu of more cycle-style fenders or cars that were fender-less altogether.

This car arrived in the U.S. prior to 1957 after having raced in Italy. It later returned to Italy where it was acquired by the Bandini family and restored. It’s been a part of three historic Mille Miglias and now carries an estimate of $285,000-$400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Detroit Motor Wagon

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1912 Detroit Motor Wagon

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

I am ashamed of this photo, and I didn’t even take it. But there will never be another chance to feature one of these, so here we are. The Motor Wagon Company of Detroit was founded in 1912, and they initially sold light vans and trucks under the Motor Wagon marque before tacking “Detroit” on to the beginning shortly after getting launched.

Production only lasted through 1913. This one is powered by a 1.7-liter flat-twin rated at 16 horsepower. Four-cylinder trucklets were also offered. This one is bodied as the pre-WWI version of a light pickup truck.

It’s got chain drive and wood pretty much everything else. There can’t be many of these left, if any others. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $13,200.

Duesenberg J-394

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Victoria by Rollston

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Well this is awkward. We’ve already featured a Model J Duesenberg with an engine carrying number J-394. Apparently that J-394 featured a re-stamped engine, making this the actual J-394. Or who knows. All of these old cars are just a pile of parts put together over the last ~100 years.

J-394, of course, is a 265-horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight. And it’s fitted to a short-wheelbase Model J, which are not tiny by any means, but the Henry Ford Museum has one very similar to this parked next to a Bugatti Royale and it looks downright tiny.

The Rollston body was originally fitted to this chassis but was previously removed and mounted to a different chassis. The body itself was later restored before being reunited with this chassis in the 1970s. It’s been in the same family for 17 years and now has an estimate of $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,066,500.

1917 Kleiber Truck

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1917 Kleiber Model C 3.5-Ton Stake Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Here’s another impossible old truck out of the Hays Antique Truck Museum. And, amazingly, it’s another San Francisco-built truck. Kleiber & Company was founded in 1914 and remained in the Bay Area until wrapping up production in 1937. They built very few trucks in the 1930s, as their focus had shifted to being the San Francisco Studebaker franchise.

This Kleiber, which is described as both a 1917 and 1918 in the auction catalog, is a flatbed, stake-bed truck that comes with a trailer from 1924. Power is from a 5.7-liter Continental inline-four. It has a four-speed manual transmission and a top speed of 12 mph. That’s a lot of shifting to go nowhere fast.

This is believed to be the only Kleiber left in existence. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $19,800.

Guyot Grand Prix

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1925 Guyot Special GS25

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Albert Guyot was an early gearhead. By 1905 he ran a Gladiator and Delage garage in France and later turned to driving race cars. He competed in five Indianapolis 500s between 1913 and 1926, with four top 10 finishes, the highest being third in 1914.

He also ran races in European Grands Prix. He drove a Duesenberg in the 1921 French Grand Prix. Rolland-Pilain hired him the next year to design their Grand Prix car. After that, he started designing his own car, the GS25, seen here. It appeared for the 1925 season. It’s powered by a supercharged 2.0-liter inline-six that featured a valve-less aluminum design. Horsepower was rated at 125.

The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1925 Italian Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Guyot)

After that, it entered in Formula Libre events, remaining in competition until 1948. A restoration happened circa 1980, with mechanical freshening happening more recently. This one-off Grand Prix car carries an estimate of $420,000-$535,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Packet Pickup

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1916 Packet Open-Cab Express

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This is another truck from Mecum’s sale of vehicles from the Hays Antique Truck Museum. But it’s most more “light duty” than other trucks. Had the segment existed, this probably would’ve fallen into the “full-size pickup” category of the WWI era.

Frank Brasie founded the Brasie Motor Truck Company in Minneapolis in 1913. In 1916, he renamed the marque Packet, which produced trucks for another year before everything closed down. It’s powered by a 12-horsepower inline-four with a friction disc transmission and chain drive.

This is said to be the only Packet in existence, and it’s obviously had a decent restoration at some point in the past when compared to its museum siblings. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $9,900.

Bandini Veloce Zagato

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1955 Bandini 750 GT Veloce Zagato

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s another Bandini, one that seems somehow even smaller than the others. The 750 GT was not a model that ever entered “production” by Bandini and was instead a one-off. It features aluminum Zagato coachwork over a elliptical tube chassis that supposedly only weighs about 60 pounds.

Power is from a twin-cam 750cc inline-four rated at 67 horsepower when new. The car made its way to the U.S. by 1959, when it started upon a sports car racing career that included:

  • 1960 12 Hours of Sebring – DNF (with Victor Lukens)

There were a few class victories sprinkled in during the 1960 season as well. The car was purchased by Ilario Bandini’s nephew in 1998, returned to Italy, and restored. It’s now offered from his collection with an estimate of $450,000-$700,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Selden Truck

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1914 Selden Model J Covered Flair

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

George Selden invented the automobile. Or at least that’s what his patent lawyer would have you believe. A businessman, Selden was the first person to patent the automobile (in 1895), and he received royalties on every car sold in America until the whole patent ordeal was thrown out in 1911, thanks in no small part to Henry Ford.

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was not one of America’s largest at any point. Selden’s major income stream was patent royalties. Passenger cars were sold from 1909-1912, and trucks remained available through the early 1930s.

Not many still exist. This truck is powered by a Continental inline-four that drives the rear axle via dual chains. This is a big, heavy, slow truck typical of the era, including the solid rubber tires. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $38,500.

Davis Divan

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1948 Davis Divan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well it’s about time one of these comes up for public sale. I mean, there were only 13 built and only a dozen survive, but they are popular three-wheeled weirdos. The Davis Motorcar Company of Van Nuys, California, was founded by Glenn Davis and only existed for two years: 1947 and 1948.

Their product was the Divan, which was based on a Frank Kurtis-built custom that Davis purchased after WWII. This is the third Divan built, the first two being prototypes, making it the first “production” example. Power is provided by a Hercules inline-four good for 47 horsepower. Most of the other cars got 63-horsepower Continental fours.

It is a convertible with a removable hardtop. It also featured disc brakes and pop-up headlights. This car spent most of its life in Michigan, being restored in 2011. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $125,000.