Author Archives: classiccarweekly

Laurin & Klement Sportwagen

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1911 Laurin & Klement Type S2 Sportwagen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Flying Scooters is a type of amusement park ride where you sit in a suspended (usually two-person) car that spins in a big circle amongst other similar cars. Each car has a handheld rudder that can be swung side to side to change the angle of the car.

That’s what this reminds me of. An early Czech automotive manufacturer, Laurin & Klement existed from 1895 until 1925. Auto production began in 1905, and in 1925, it was purchased by conglomerate Skoda, who renamed it after themselves. That’s how it exists today.

This car features an early form of active aerodynamics. Turning the steering wheel turned the rudder at the rear (in addition to the front wheels), which produced side force, allowing the car to corner faster. Its first owner, racer, Baron Leo Haan, fitted the device as well as the wheel covers. It’s powered by a flat-twin.

The car was purchased by the Indianapolis Speedway Museum in 1964 out of 40 years of storage. About the only thing that has changed is the fact that it was repainted many decades ago. The estimate here is $100,000-$150,000. More info can be found here.

Morris Maruader

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1971 Morris Marauder-Ford Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

George Morris worked on the Shrike and Mongoose Indy car chassis before being the chief mechanic for George Walther’s team for 1971. For that season he built this, the Morris Marauder. He actually built three Marauder chassis, apparently.

This car retains its period Dayton Steel Foundry livery and a 2.6-liter Ford V8. It was driven in period by Jim McElreath, Salt Walther, George Snider, and John Martin. Those are all pretty familiar names to anyone who followed Indy car in the early 1970s.

The car also has electronic fuel injection and an onboard starter (which has been missing from Indy cars for a LONG time). You can read more about it here.

1911 Mercedes Double Phaeton

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1911 Mercedes 22/40HP Colonial Double Phaeton

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Daimler shifted to shaft drive in early 1908. The first such car was the 35hp, which was the successor to the chain-driven 35hp model before it. In 1909, the 35hp begat the 21/35hp, which in 1910 became the 22/40hp. Midway through 1913, it was renamed the 22/50hp. That car would be available through 1920.

Power is from a 5.6-liter inline-four rated at 40 horsepower. Mercedes would also offer a “Colonial” version that retained the dual chain drive of yore. That’s what this car has. It was probably necessary for the rough circa 1911 roads of Buenos Aires, where it was delivered new.

From Argentina, it entered the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection in 1971. It was restored thereafter, but that work is now showing its age. Some work is required, but that won’t stop RM from boasting about an estimate of $150,000-$250,000. More info can be found here.

Kurtis/Epperly Indy Car

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1959 Kurtis/Epperly-Offenhauser Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

This car was built as a Kurtis KK500 for the 1959 Indy Car season. After it ended, Quin Epperly modified it for use in 1960. What a combo of builders to have on one car. And it worked, as A.J. Foyt used it for 1960 to win the championship.

Power is provided by a 4.2-liter Offenhauser inline-four. The race history for this chassis includes:

  • 1959 Indianapolis 500 – 29th, DNF (with Jud Larson)

The car finished third at Milwaukee with Don Freeland in 1959 before Epperly got his hands on it. Foyt had podiums at Milwaukee and Trenton in 1960 in this car. It is very unclear from the catalog if it was at Indy in 1960 or not. This Bowes Seal Fast Special has a more recent restoration, and you can read more about it here.

Porsche 934

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1976 Porsche 934

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

The Porsche 934 was a racing version of the 930 Turbo built to FIA Group 4 specifications. Introduced for 1976, just 31 examples were produced over a two-year span. The cars remained competitive through the end of the decade.

Power is from a turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six that made somewhere around 480 horsepower, depending on setup, etc. This car was initially campaigned in the 1976 German National Championship by Porsche-Kremer Racing before receiving a replacement tub. It’s later career included:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 7th, 1st in class (with Bob Wolleck, Jean-Pierre Wielemans, & Philippe Gurdjian)

The car was restored by Kremer in the 2000s and sold for $1.55 million on Bring a Trailer in 2023. Read more about it on Mecum’s site here.

1907 Itala Race Car

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1907 Itala 120 HP Race Car

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Ceirano brothers founded many an Italian car company in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Matteo Ceirano founded Itala in 1904. Right out of the gate, the company was producing big-engined cars – and racing cars.

This car has a four-cylinder engine displacing more than 15 liters and making 120 horsepower. It has shaft drive and a four-speed transmission. This was big-deal stuff in 1907. The cars were successful in competition, but by 1908, Itala moved to a more mainstream design for their racing cars.

Only about four of these are thought to have been built, with this being one of two survivors. It raced in European events before (maybe) coming to the U.S. for a race in 1908. Later it was bodied for road use and was purchased by land-speed racer Henry Segrave in 1916. From 1917 through 1960 it remained with one family in Australia. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum acquired it in 1965, and a restoration followed.

This is a pretty remarkable car, and one that is sort of unfathomable for a museum to part with. But if it brings $2,000,000-$3,000,000, then it should raise some good money for whatever they plan to spend nearly $100,000,000 on after selling their most valuable assets. Click here for more info.

Le Mans-Winning Ferrari

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1964 Ferrari 250 LM

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

We have featured a 250 LM in the past, but any car that has an estimate of “over $26,500,000” typically is something worth peeking at. This car was, until recently, on display in the basement of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum right next to the W196R streamliner. Quite a pairing.

Ferrari only built 32 of these. All but one had power from a 3.3-liter V12 that was rated at 320 horsepower. This car was the 6th example produced and was sold new by Luigi Chinetti. The car was soon after traded back in and thereafter put into the N.A.R.T. stable. It’s subsequent racing history includes:

  • 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1st (with Masten Gregory, Jochen Rindt, and Ed Hugus)
  • 1966 24 Hours of Daytona – 9th (with Rindt and Bob Bondurant)
  • 1968 24 Hours of Daytona – 48th, DNF (with Gregory and David Piper)
  • 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans – 24th, DNF (with Gregory and Charlie Kolb)
  • 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans – 8th (with Sam Posey and Teodoro Zeccoli)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Daytona – 7th (with Luigi Chinetti Jr. and Gregg Young)

It’s pretty amazing that it could place in the top 10 in a 24-hour race five years after it was built. And that it only competed in 24-hour events. Later in 1970, the car was purchased by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Until 2023, it was the last Ferrari to win outright at Le Mans. You can read more about it here.

Mercedes 17-Liter Rennwagen

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1908 Mercedes 150 HP Semmering Rennwagen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February, 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The famous Brooklands circuit in England held some… Formula Libre-style races back in its heyday. This meant that the cars were not required to meet Grand Prix regulations. So Paul Daimler built a monster 15.4-liter inline-four. The entered one of these cars at the Semmering hill climb in Austria, winning it with driver Otto Salzer

The next year they updated the two “Semmering” cars built with that engine to a displacement of 17.3 liters. Output was rated at 150 horsepower, a monster sum for the time. Salzer won at Semmering again in 1909, setting a time that wouldn’t be bested again until 1934.

The car later made its way to Australia before heading to California in the 1950s. It was sold to the pre-Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for $30,000 in 1964. It’s now offered from the museum with an estimate of $7,000,000-$9,000,000. RM says the car is a one-off, Mercedes own website says two were built. Click here for more info.

Huayra R

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2022 Pagani Huayra R

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Pagani launched the Huayra in 2011. And since that time they’ve continued to drum up slightly altered versions. Ten years in, they debuted the Huayra R, which is a track-focused version that is not street legal.

They intend to build 30 of them, and this is number five. Production is ongoing. We’ll see how long it takes them to get to 30… or if they throw in the towel and debut a different track version instead.

Power is provided by a 6.0-liter V12 that makes 850 horsepower. It has exposed carbon-fiber bodywork and weighs just 2,300 pounds. This car has had one owner and has been used for just 121 miles. It has an estimate of $2,950,000-$3,400,000. More info can be found here.

Corvette XP-64

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1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS Project XP-64

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In 1956, legendary GM designer Harley Earl bought a Jaguar D-Type (after it finished 3rd at Sebring that year). He wanted to put a Chevy V8 in the car and put it back on track. Instead, Zora Arkus-Duntov imagined what a ground-up Corvette-based racer aimed at the D-Type could be.

The car features a tubular spaceframe wrapped in a one-off magnesium body that carries some of the period Corvette looks. It has independent front suspension, inboard rear brakes, and a 283ci (4.6-liter) V8 that was slightly tuned and fitted with Ramjet fuel injection. It made over 300 horsepower.

Dubbed the Super Sport, the car would go racing, including:

  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 59th, DNF (with John Fitch and Piero Taruffi)

And before they could swap a fiberglass body on it and take it to Le Mans, GM pulled out of factory racing. It was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1967, and they are now selling it. The estimate is $5,000,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info.