Duesenberg J-189

Posted on August 3, 2022 by classiccarweekly

1929 Duesenberg Model J Brougham by LaGrande

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022

There are a fair number of Model Js up for grabs in Monterey this year. We’ve featured a few of them in the last few weeks, and there are still more that we’ve featured in years past. More recently we talked about how closed cars are usually on the cheaper end of the entry into Model J ownership. But once again, this car doesn’t quite fit that bill.

It was originally bodied as a Weymann sedan but was sent back to Duesenberg in 1933 to get a factory (LaGrande) “blind quarter brougham” body put on. Still a sedan with a cloth roof, but no rear 3/4 windows at the back. The engine is a 6.9-liter inline-eight that was rated at 265 horsepower when new.

This car has known ownership history back to new and was restored in 1994. It has been in German ownership since 2007 and is now up for auction in California. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $1,100,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Indianapolis 2023, high bid of $850,000.

166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans

Posted on August 2, 2022 by classiccarweekly

1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans by Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Ferrari’s first cars were the 125 S and 159 S. After that, on the racing side, there was the 166 S and 166 MM. That makes this a very early, very valuable Ferrari. The 166 MM was built between 1948 and 1953, and it was a fairly high-volume model. Well, relatively anyway: 47 were built.

Of those, just five of those were Touring-bodied Berlinettas, which were introduced in 1950. Power is provided by a 2.0-liter V12 rated at about 170 horsepower. This is a car from 1950 with a five-speed. It meant business.

This model’s racing success was also serious. It was the only model to have ever won Le Mans, the Targa Florio, and the Mille Miglia. This car, confusingly serialed as 0066 M, was the last of the five built. It never took part in any of Europe’s grand races, but did take part in hillclimbs and road races in Europe before being imported to the U.S. in 1958.

It’s been with its current California-based owner since 2008 and it’s back at auction with an estimate of $5,500,000-$6,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Dort Model 5

Posted on August 2, 2022 by classiccarweekly

1916 Dort Model 5 Touring

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Broadway, U.K. | August 5, 2022

Flint, Michigan’s Dort Motor Car Company was founded by Billy Durant and Dallas Dort in 1886. The company started out building carriages and at one point was the largest such builder in the country. Dort made a late switch to motorcars, and that’s mostly because Durant had founded General Motors in 1908 and remained as part owner of Dort until 1914.

Once he left Dort, the company was free to basically compete against him. So the first Dort cars rolled out for 1915. The first two years of production consisted of this: the Model 5 Touring. They sold 9,000 of them by the end of 1916. Power is from a 2.7-liter Lycoming inline-four rated at 17 horsepower.

The cars cost $695 when new, over $200 more than a Model T. The last Dorts were sold in 1924, and Dallas Dort died the following year. This car is one of two Dorts in the U.K. and has a pre-sale estimate of $12,000-$18,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $11,005.