Author Archives: classiccarweekly

Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato

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2013 Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

There are a number of modified Ferraris wearing modern Zagato coachwork, but Lamborghini really isn’t a brand associated with that kind of custom coachbuilding. The car you see here exists due to a client request, and when rich people demand something, things like the 5-95 Zagato are born.

It debuted in 2014 at Villa d’Este and is based on the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera. It retains a 5.2-liter V10 that was rated at 562 horsepower in Superleggera spec. Top speed is 200 mph.

Just nine of these were built including one convertible. This is the first time one has come up for sale, and it has 1,100 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $400,000-$600,000. Click here for more info.

Another Chiron

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2023 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Third Tuesday in a row we’ve featured some late model Bugatti. The problem is there’s just so damned many of them, with all of their special editions and slightly more-powerful versions. The Chiron entered production in 2016 and wrapped in early 2024. Across all variants, 500 are said to have been built.

In 2019, the company launched the Chiron Super Sport 300+. They built 30 of those, and although speed limited, sans limiter they were supposedly capable of 300 mph. In 2021, Bugatti launched the not-all-that-dissimilar Chiron Super Sport. It was mechanically similar to the 300+ but had a better-trimmed interior and a painted exterior (instead of bare carbon fiber).

The engine is a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 rated at 1,580 horsepower. The top speed was limited to 273 mph. Something like 80 of these were made, and the very last Chiron built was of this spec. This one has an estimate of $3,750,000-$4,250,000. More info can be found here.

Chiron Sport Noire

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2021 Bugatti Chiron Sport Noire

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The “Sport” version of the Bugatti Chiron debuted in 2018, about two years after the base Chiron went on sale. The Sport shared the base car’s mechanicals: a 1,480-horsepower, quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter W16. What differentiated it was it’s “track focus.” It was about 40 pounds lighter… on a two-ton car. So a rounding error. But hey, they got to charge more.

The Noire was an available package that could be had on the Chiron or Chiron Sport. It specified either an exposed carbon-fiber body or a carbon fiber body with a matte black finish, which is what this car has. The edition was to celebrate the Bugatti Type 57SC Coupe Aero of 1936.

Only 20 cars would be built this way, split however they were sold between Chiron/Chiron Sport. This car now has an estimate of $3,300,000-$3,800,000. Click here for more info.

XK140 by Ghia

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1956 Jaguar XK140 SE Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The XK140 was the second in Jaguar’s line of post-war “XK” sports cars. It was sold between 1954 and 1957 and was offered from the factory as a two-door coupe, two-seat roadster, or two-seat drophead coupe. The factory coupe did not look like this.

There were a handful of coachbuilt XK140s, including potentially three in this style. In SE spec, power is provided by 3.4-liter inline-six with double SU carburetors and a “C-type” cylinder head that resulted in an output of 210 horsepower.

This car was ordered new by a Californian and another owner there before being purchased in 1967 by Ricardo Montalban. By the 1990s, it was in Japan, where it was restored to as you see it here. The car now has an estimate of $500,000-$650,000. Click here for more info.

Force India VJM01

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2008 Force India VJM01

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

The Midland F1 team was what Jordan Grand Prix became for the 2006 season. At the end of ’06, they sold out to Spyker, who produced one car for F1: the Spyker F8-VII. During the 2007 season, Spyker was bought by Vijay Mallya, who was going to rename it Force India for 2008.

The first Force India race car chassis were actually slightly updated Spykers from the year before. They built a couple of chassis on their own too, which is what this is, apparently (chassis VJM01-05). It would’ve been powered by a 2.4-liter Ferrari V8 making 750 horsepower. Now it’s just a rolling show car with a Dexter Brown “art car” livery that was created for a 2011 charity auction.

The actual competition history for this chassis consists of:

  • 2008 Australian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Giancarlo Fisichella)
  • 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix – 12th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix – 12th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Spanish Grand Prix – 10th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Turkish Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 French Grand Prix – 18th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 British Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 German Grand Prix – 16th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix – 15th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 European Grand Prix – 14th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Belgian Grand Prix – 17th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Italian Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Singapore Grand Prix – 14th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Japanese Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Chinese Grand Prix – 17th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix – 18th (with Fisichella)

The estimate here is $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Veyron Soleil de Nuit

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2010 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Soleil de Nuit

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Tegernsee, Germany | July 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

I’m beginning to think that every Veyron was a “one-off.” Veyron owners must be like old Mustang owners who live and die by their Marti reports that boil down their car’s combination of colors and options to be “the only one like it made.” In this case, this Grand Sport (or targa version) is dubbed “Soleil de Nuit,” which is French for “night sun.” And it is a “one-off”… which I think comes to the fact that it has unique colors.

The car debuted at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show with polished aluminum lower panels and Black Blue Metallic uppers over Burnt Orange leather. It was originally owned by the Kuwaiti Royal Family and was purchased by its current German owner in 2016.

Power is provided by a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 that was rated at 987 horsepower. Even with the roof removed this car can do 229 mph. It now has an estimate of $1,650,000-$2,150,000. Click here for more info.

Aston V12 Speedster

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2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Aston Martin loves them some special editions of their popular cars. In this case, the base car was the current generation of the Vantage, but with the twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V12 from the DBS Superleggera stuffed under the front hood (this also necessitated the use of, basically, the DBS’s front clip to accommodate the engine). Remember, this car came out before the V12 Vantage debuted.

Output was rated at 690 horsepower, which is about 25 less than the DBS. The styling was inspired by the DBR1 that won Le Mans in 1959. It’s a two-seater with no windscreens or top, but it does have two little pods behind the headrests to store helmets.

Just 88 were built, and this car is #61. It has an estimate of $850,000-$1,150,000. More info can be found here.

British-Market Mercedes-Benz S-Type

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1928 Mercedes-Benz 36/220 S-Type Four-Seat Sports Tourer by Sindelfingen

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

The Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180 S-Type was produced between 1927 and 1928, with just 146 examples completed. It was a sporty car available in a variety of body styles, with the Sindelfingen-built sports four-seater being the only “factory” body style. We’ve featured one of these before.

But what makes this car different is that it is a right-hand-drive example built for the British market. And they measured things a bit differently there, so the “26/120/180” name was dropped in favor of “36/220,” which represents the RAC horsepower rating (36) and the brake horsepower output with the supercharger engaged on the 6.8-liter inline-six (220). Well, Mercedes rated it at 120 horsepower in standard tune, and 180 with the supercharger.

This car has a pretty well confirmed line of ownership back to new and has been with its current owner since 1991. It now has an estimate of $2,000,000-$3,200,000. More info can be found here.

Velie Touring

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1910 Velie Model D-40 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

Passenger cars and tractors have an intertwined history, especially during the dawn of the automotive industry. Velie was founded as a wagon maker in 1902 – kind of late to the game on that one. Just six years later they were ready for cars. So what’s the tie in with tractors? Well, company founder Will Velie was a grandson of John Deere himself.

Early cars were sold through John Deere dealerships, including this 1910 model. Velie offered three models in 1910, with the Model D being the touring car. It’s powered by a 40-horsepower Lycoming inline-four.

All 1910 models cost $1,800 new – which was not inexpensive. The company produced quite a few cars through 1929, but somehow this is the first we’ve managed to feature. Despite closing up shop in 1929, Velie was not a victim of the Depression but rather a victim of its two main company leaders dying within a few months of each other.

You can read more about this one here.

Pan Touring

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1919 Pan Model 250 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

The Pan Motor Company of St. Cloud, Minnesota, was founded in early 1917 by Samuel Conner Pandolfo. He started selling stock in the company to local businessmen and had a sweet deal for himself about the amount of cash he would take from the sale of stock.

Well, after 10 prototypes had been built in Indianapolis with Continental engines, the Pan factory in St. Cloud started construction. But before series production could begin, Pandolfo was indicted after some FTC complaints sprouted up against him. He ended up getting 10 years in prison after siphoning $7.5 million off from the $9.5 million in stock he sold to 70,000 people.

After he went to prison, they actually did start to build some cars. About 737 were completed before the company went bankrupt in 1921, and this one is powered by an inline-four that was built in-house. It has been in the same collection for over 75 years, and you can see more about it here.