March 2015 Auction Highlights

Posted on March 28, 2015 by classiccarweekly

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance occurred in March, and with it, a slew of amazing sales, the first being Bonhams’ auction. The top sale was this much-ballyhooed (and rightfully so) 1930 Cord L-29 Town Car by Murphy for $1,760,000.

Photo – Bonhams

Of our feature cars, the top seller was the Stutz Super Bearcat for $1,012,000. The Templar Touring brought a more reasonable $60,500. Two cars failed to sell: the Thomas and the Wanderer.

The “French-Front” Oldsmobile sold for $94,600 and the 1911 EMF went for $242,000. And last but not least, the Wills Sainte Claire sold for $151,250. Click here for full results.

Next up is newly re-branded RM Sotheby’s and their Amelia Island sale, where the top seller was out featured Ferrari 400 Superamerica for $6,380,000. Other million dollar feature cars included the 427 S/C Cobra for $2,117,500, the Jaguar XJR-9 for $2,145,000, and a previously-featured Duesenberg that proves a paint job can go a long way. It sold for $1,155,000.

Another previously-featured car that showed up at this sale is the 1932 Marmon HCM Prototype. It brought $429,000. I’m going to call out this 1952 Kurtis 4000 that finished 5th at the 1952 Indy 500 as most-interesting non-feature car. It sold for $495,000.

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

On a related note, the Miller 91 brought $770,000. And the beautiful Stutz DV-32 sold for $522,500. Check out full results here.

The third Amelia Island sale (well, second if you’re going by the calendar… third in our rundown) is Gooding & Company’s sale. The top seller was a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that has been in the same family for 40 years. It brought $3,300,000.

Photo – Gooding & Company

The top seller of our feature cars would’ve been the Maserati 200 SI, but it failed to sell (as did the Duesenberg from this sale). Instead, it is the AAR-Toyota Eagle for $660,000. The March-Cosworth went for $231,000 and the first Lotus ever sold to a customer sold for $247,500. Check out full results here.

Bonhams had another sale in March, in Goodwood. The top sale was our featured Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe for $695,854. The other Frazer Nash failed to sell. Interesting cars included this 1961 Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero Record Monza by Zagato for $94,089.

Photo – Bonhams

The H.R.G. Le Mans sold for $243,444. And the Audi Quattro Rally car sold for $368,210. Click here for full results.

And finally, Osenat’s March sale, in which our featured Aryathis failed to sell. The top sale was this 1939 Citroen Traction Avant 15/6 Cabriolet for $661,435. Click here for full results.

Photo – Osenat

February 2015 Auction Highlights Pt. II

Posted on March 14, 2015 by classiccarweekly

First up in this rundown is Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale where this 1993 Jaguar XJ220 was the to sale at $287,595.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Our feature car from this sale, the Alfa Romeo SZ, sold for a strong $130,805. Click here for full results.

Up next is H&H Auctions’ Pavilion Gardens sale. The top sale was this 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL for $84,950.

Photo – H&H Auctions

We didn’t get to feature a car from this sale, but this 1956 Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire 346 is kinda pretty. It sold for only $9,660. Check out full results here.

Photo – H&H Auctions

The next auction we’re covering is Mecum’s sale of the Rogers’ Classic Car Museum. The top sale here was this 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Mulliner Drophead Coupe for $320,000. Our featured Nash Special Six sold for $17,000. Click here for complete results of some very interesting and rare pre-and-post-war American convertibles.

Photo – Mecum

Now we have something a little different. Bonhams held an auction in Oxford that consisted largely of Victorian carriages. It was all from a single private collection and the big seller was this c.1835 Traveling Landau by Adams & Hooper. It went for $376,416.

Photo – Bonhams

There were three early motorized horseless carriages also on offer. The top seller among those was this 1911 Sears Model P for $31,431. Check out full results here.

Photo – Bonhams

Finally, Coys’ Spring Classics sale was held March 11th. The top sale was this 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. It sold for $236,800.

Photo – Coys

Our featured Lotus 59 did not sell. Check out full results here.

February 2015 Auction Highlights

Posted on February 15, 2015 by classiccarweekly

The first auction we’re covering in our February rundown is actually Mecum’s Kissimmee sale held in January. Our featured 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona (with a Hemi) was the top sale for $900,000. On the other end of the spectrum, another of our feature cars, the International Scout, sold for $14,750. There were a lot of interesting cars, but we’ll call out this sweet 1971 Dodge Super Bee Hemi that brought $190,000.

Photo – Mecum Auctions

Our featured highly-optioned ’71 Charger R/T Hemi failed to sell. Check out full results here.

And we’ll jump back to the first major sale of the year, Coys’ same-day doubleheader. We featured three cars from their sale in the Netherlands, with the 1956 Gaz 12 blowing it’s pre-sale estimate out of the water, more than quadrupling the low end of its estimate by selling for $107,890. The 1986 ZiL 115 brought $97,890. And the Cadillac Model B went for $54,440. Check out full results here.

Next up we have Bonhams’ sale in Paris where this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Cabriolet was the top sale at $2,172,068.

Photo – Bonhams

Of our feature cars, a few failed to sell: the Renault 40CV, Excelsior, Alfa Romeo RL, and the Alfa Romeo Pescara. The Borgward Rennsport brought $256,698 and the Isotta 8A SS sold for $1,066,288. Check out full results here.

Artcurial’s Paris sale featured the fascinating Baillon Collection of barn find French classics. There were some Italians in there too, and this buried-under-newspapers, garage fresh 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder sold for a world record $21,980,656.

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder

Photo – Artcurial

Of our feature cars, the Croizemarie and the Renault Coupe-Chauffeur failed to sell. The Gregoire brought $152,817 while the Fouillaron Type G brought $120,645. The Footwork F1 car sold for $209,119. And the Bugatti Profile Aerodynamique went for $450,409. This sale had some pretty incredible results for some of the barn find cars. Check out full results here.

And finally, from Paris, RM’s auction where one of the best Ferraris ever was the top sale. This 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso sold for $1,859,480.

Photo – RM Auctions

We featured a pair of cars that RM had left over (or, more appropriately, held onto until they had the perfect venue) from the John Moir collection: the Lancia Belna and Voisin C3. Strangely, they both brought the same amount: $243,656.

Another Lancia we featured, an 037 Stradale, sold for $384,720. The Honeymoon Express Bentley went for $769,440 and the Iso Grifo Stradale brought $1,186,220. Check out full results here.

Scottsdale 2015 Auction Highlights

Posted on January 24, 2015 by classiccarweekly

January is a big month for auctions, so let’s get right into it: Bonhams in Scottsdale. The top sale there was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C for $9,405,000.

Photo – Bonhams

Two of our feature cars didn’t sell, the Aston Martin DB5 and the Ferrari 250 Europa. Our featured Humber brought $148,500 and the Mazda Cosmo $110,000. Check out full results here.

Next up was Barrett-Jackson’s mega-sale where our featured 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake was the top sale, after it crossed the block for $5,115,000. The next two top sales were the GM Futurliner (which was actually sold for charity) for $4,000,000 and the Pontiac Bonneville Concept for $3,300,000. The Pininfarina X Sedan brought $330,000.

Since the top sale was one of our feature cars, we’ll go ahead and name this 1940 Cadillac Series 75 Towncar by Brunn as Most Interesting, among the seemingly infinite number of interesting cars offered this weekend. It was well-bought at $115,500.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Most of the cars at Barrett-Jackson are sold at no reserve, meaning the the highest prices takes it, no matter what. But once the “Salon Collection” of really nice classics rolled across the block, it became a parade of No Sales. Among them, our feature cars: 1953 NASCAR Corvette, a previously featured Duesenberg, the Chrysler ST Special, and the Lotus Turbine Indy Car.

The very interesting Packard Sightseeting Bus sold for $291,500. The Perana Z-One sold for $73,700 and the Caddy Northstart LMP brought $104,500. Check out full results here.

Next up is RM’s sale, which was technically in Phoenix. Their top sale was this 1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti which was sold for $9,625,000.

Photo – RM Auctions

Our three feature cars from this sale all sold, with the Miura SVJ bringing the biggest sum at $1,897,500. The Ghia L6.4 brought $412,500 and the Lightspeed Magenta sold for $16,500. Check out full results here.

The fourth auction of this rundown is Gooding & Company’s Scottsdale sale where – you guessed it – another Ferrari topped the sale. This time it’s a 1959 250 GT LWB California Spider for $7,700,000.

Photo – Gooding & Company

Our two feature cars both sold, with the DKW exceeding its estimate and selling for $132,000. The Ferrari 641 F1 car brought $990,000. See full results at Gooding’s website.

To round out our Scottsdale coverage, we have Russo & Steele and this 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster as their top sale for $1,430,000.

Photo – Russo & Steele

Our feature car from this sale, the 1959 Echidna, brought an impressive $162,800. Click here for full results.

December 2014 Auction Recap

Posted on December 20, 2014 by classiccarweekly

This first sale we’re covering here is H&H’s Chateau Impney sale. The top sale was actually a tie between two cars: this 1927 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model Tourer (below) and the 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 (second below) sold for $331,968 each.

Photo – H&H Auctions

Our featured 1911 Talbot Tourer sold for $88,583. Check out full results here. Next up, Bonhams in Oxford. Our featured Bristol 411 was withdrawn, but this 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50HP Silver Ghost Tourer was the top sale at $420,474.

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Albion Delivery Van sold for $55,919 and the Diatto brought $45,096. Click here for full results.

The top sale at Mecum’s Kansas City sale was this 2005 Ford GT for $290,000. Our featured Mauck MSV sold for $50,000. Click here for full results.

Photo – Mecum

Mecum’s Austin, Texas, sale also saw a Ford GT be the top sale, in this case it was a 2006 model that sold for $310,000.

Photo – Mecum

Our featured 427 Mercury Comet sold for $169,000. The three rare trucks we featured all sold as well with the Studebaker going for $72,000 while the Willys brought $40,000 and the Terraplane $45,000. Click here for full results.

Finally, our featured cars from Coys’ London sale. The March-Cosworth failed to sell but the Lancia brought $266,875. Click here for full results.

November 2014 Auction Recap, Pt. II

Posted on December 6, 2014 by classiccarweekly

First up here is Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show sale. Our featured Mercedes CLK DTM sold for $196,650. The top sale was this 1994 Jaguar XJ220 formerly owned by the royal family of Brunei. Check out full results here.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Osenat’s sale in Lyon had two cars that tied for the top sale – both at $120,280. First, this 1965 Alfa Romeo 1600 SS…

Photo – Osenat

…and the other was this 1972 Maserati Bora.

Photo – Osenat

Our featured Aries B4B sold for $14,880 while the Traction Avant Cabriolet failed to sell. Check out full results here. The third auction we’re covering in this rundown is RM’s sale of the Sam Pack Collection where this 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster was the top sale for $1,292,500.

Photo – RM Auctions

We featured six concept cars from the Ford Motor Company that were offered in this sale. The top seller was, surprisingly, the Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept which more than doubled the high end of its estimate, selling for $173,250. At the other end of things, the Ford Focus Kona Wagon brought $8,250. In the middle was the Lincoln MKS Concept for $27,500.

The two Thunderbird Prototypes sold – the Sports Roadster for $55,000 and the Supercharged for $57,750. The T-Bird-based Lincoln Mark X brought $129,250. Click here for full results. Next up, Mecum’s Anaheim sale. The #1 seller, far and away, was this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Short Nose that brought $2,150,000.

Photo – Mecum

Our featured Jowett Jupiter sold for $26,000. Check out full results here. Finally, Bonhams’ Bond Street sale where our featured Porsche 908/02 was the top sale at $3,437,744. Two of our feature cars failed to sell: the Mercedes-Simplex and the Benetton-Ford. Interesting sales were topped by the huge price ($495,645) paid for this spotless 1929 Brough Superior SS100.

Photo – Bonhams

The Fiat-Abarth racing prototype sold for $213,767 and the Talbot Alpine Racer brought an impressive $2,169,294. Click here for full results.

November Auction Highlights

Posted on November 22, 2014 by classiccarweekly

First up for November is one of our favorite annual sales, Bonhams London-to-Brighton sale where our featured Gardner-Serpollet was the top sale at $592,624. Quite a number of cars failed to sell including the Laperelle, the Panhard roadster, the Autocar, the Daimler, the CGV, and the Rochet. Our featured Malicet et Blin exceeded its estimate, selling for $163,366. The 1899 Peugeot sold for $115,075. Interesting non-feature cars (there weren’t many, non-feature cars, that is) were topped by this 1904 De Dion-Bouton 8HP Model V Coupe by Leon Molon. It sold for $141,904.

Photo – Bonhams

The Phoenix Tricar sold for $36,729. The Cleveland Sperry Electric brought $88,151. And the Panhard Tonneau sold for $413,767. Click here for full results.

Artcurial’s November sale featured this 1989 Ferrari F40 as the top sale for $1,151,285.

Photo – Artcurial

Our featured EJS Special failed to sell, but the Porsche 911 RS sold for $341,024. Check out full results here. Next up is Bonhams’ Harrogate sale where this 2001 Bentley Continental R Le Mans Coupe topped the sales at $160,146.

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Delahaye Estate Car failed to sell. Check out full results here. Now we’ll jump back to October for Osenat’s Fontainebleau sale. The top sale was this 1970 Porsche 911 T Targa for $41,250. Check out full results here.

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Auctions’ Pavilion Gardens sale. Our featured Foers Ibex failed to sell. The top sale was this 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 Coupe for $109,000. Click here for full results.

Photo – H&H Auctions

October 2014 Auction Highlights

Posted on October 25, 2014 by classiccarweekly

First up in October is Bonhams’ always interesting Preserving the Automobile sale in Philadelphia. The top sale was this 1907 American Underslung 50HP Roadster for $1,430,000.

Photo – Bonhams

We featured three cars from this sale, and the Stanley failed to sell. The Cunningham brought $162,250 and the National $28,050. Check out full results here. Next up is H&H Auctions’ Imperial War Museum Sale. A previously feature Puritan Steam Car showed up here, but failed to sell. The top sale was this 1923 Bentley 3-Litre Tourer for $252,500.

Photo – H&H Auctions

Our featured Regal Underslung sold for $39,477. Check our full results here. Next up in October was RM’s Hershey sale where this 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster by Fleetwood with single-family ownership since 1933 sold for $1,100,000.

Photo – RM Auctions

We featured a bunch of cars from this sale, so here’s the rundown: the Dodge Royal Pace Car brought $49,500; the Zoe Zipper $13,200; the 1923 Yellow Cab $33,000; the G.N. Cyclecar $110,000.

A previously featured 1905 Fiat that failed to sell in 2013 finally sold here for $825,000. The International Charette sold for $77,000 and the Spacke Cyclecar $38,500. The Staver Roadster blew away its estimate, selling for $132,000. The Queen sold for $52,250, the Orient Buckboard $30,250, and the 1902 Covert $44,000. The Armstrong Phaeton failed to sell. Check out full results here.

The fourth auction of this round-up is Bonhams’ Zoute sale where this 1989 Ferrari F40 (which was formerly owned by Nigel Mansell) sold for $881,337. A previously featured Jaguar Bertone Prototype sold for $76,382. Check out full results here.

Photo – Bonhams

Finally, Mecum’s Chicago sale. There was a litter of low-mileage Ford GTs and this 2006 Heritage Edition was the top sale at $475,000. Our featured Buick GNX sold for $97,500. Click here for full results.

Photo – Mecum

September 2014 Auction Highlights

Posted on September 13, 2014 by classiccarweekly

We’ll start with a few leftovers from August. First, Rick Cole Auctions’ Monterey results, where the better-late-than-never top sale went to this $23,000,000 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport. The auction brought some crazy results and you can see them all here.

Photo – Rick Cole Auctions

Moving on, we have Auctions America’s fall Auburn sale, where our featured SJ Duesenberg topped the sales at $1,265,000. The Duesenberg II failed to sell. Most interesting goes to this 1920 Packard 3-Ton Grocer’s Truck for $47,300.

Photo – Auctions America

Both of our featured concept cars sold, the wild Ford EX for $96,250 and the Explorer Sportsman for $15,675. And the Star Sedan was stolen for $8,250. Check out full results here.

On to Silverstone’s Salon Prive sale where our featured Ferrari Daytona Spyder came out on top at $3,711,510. My pick of the show would be this 1956 Austin-Healey 100M Le Mans Roadster for $243,685. Check out full results here.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Now we move to RM’s London sale where our featured “Tour de France” Ferrari 250 GT was the top sale at $8,119,188. The Bentley Continental GTZ sold for under its estimate at $391,961. Most interesting goes to this 1937 BMW 319 for $233,310.

Photo – RM Auctions

Our featured 1909 Hotchkiss sold for waaaay below its estimate for only $65,327. And the awesome Jaguar XJR-15 brought $363,964 – outselling an XJ220 offered at this same sale. Check out full results here.

It’s been decided that all auction highlight posts from here forward will only run down five auctions at a time. So Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale will be the final sale for this post. For more auction results, stay tuned!

The top sale here was this 1920 Vauxhall E-Type 30-98 Two-Seater by Grosvenor Carriage Co. for $390,976.

Photo – Bonhams

As far as our feature cars, the Minerva came out on top selling for $66,726. The Unic Taxi brought $44,484 and the Swift Cyclecar $33,826. Interesting cars were easily topped by this 1986 Interstyl Hustler Huntsman 6 for $18,556. Check out full results here, but don’t expect to find anything nearly as weird as this.

Photo – Bonhams

August 2014 Auction Recap

Posted on August 23, 2014 by classiccarweekly

August was a record-setting month for the classic car industry. The first sale of the month was Auctions America’s California sale where this 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster topped the numbers at $1,155,000.

Photo – Auctions America

Our featured Chrysler Plainsman sold for an impressive $176,000. You can check out full results here.

We didn’t feature anything from Barrett-Jackson’s Reno sale, and frankly I don’t have the time to sift through their site looking for highlights as the process there is just too clunky. So we’ll move on.

Auctions in August of course means Monterey and Pebble Beach. We’ll start with the star of the weekend: Bonhams and their Ferrari 250 GTO which ended up bringing $38,115,000, an all-time record price for any car at auction. It’s an appropriate price for the car, and not the stratospheric number many predicted. It’s a good sign. We featured a number of cars from Bonhams, including this Kissel Kar, which sold for $140,800. The other Ferrari we featured, the 1978 321 T3 F1 car sold for $2,310,000. And the other F1 car, the Brabham-Cosworth, sold for $1,034,000.

Our featured Porsche 908/03 failed to sell. Our pick for the most interesting non-feature car that sold goes to this 1913 Pope-Hartford Model 31 Portola Roadster for $192,500.

Photo – Bonhams

Our other feature cars both sold: the Speedwell brought $869,000 and the 1908 Napier $1,034,000. Check out full results here. Next up, Mecum in Monterey, where this 1961 Ferrari 250 Series II Cabriolet was the top seller for $2,250,000.

Photo – Mecum

None of our feature cars broke the million dollar mark, although the Kremer-Porsche was close at $930,000. A Duesenberg we featured a long time ago and failed to sell a couple of times before, finally sold here for $1,425,000. The Shelby Turbine car failed to sell, as did the Lester-MG.

Two cars we featured a long time ago that failed to sell also turned up at this sale and failed to sell again. They were the Delage Aerosport and a 1910 Locomobile. The Avia III race car we featured from a dealership was offered here, but it too failed to meet its reserve. The one-off Lazzarrino did sell, for $135,000. Check out full results here.

RM’s Monterey sale was just as impressive as Bonhams. The top seller was the #2 of the weekend, the 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale, at $26,400,000. The Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider brought $1,017,500. The Ferrari F1-2000 sold for $1,804,000. But the Ferrari 333 failed to sell, as did the March-Cosworth. The AAR Eagle-Santa Ana sold for $104,500. What a choppy paragraph.

Cool, non-feature cars were topped by this 1962 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Vignale for $764,500. RM also sold the prototype of this model for considerably more, making this seem like a deal.

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype brought $6,930,000 and the Lancia PF200 C sold for $1,100,000. This 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 Paxton Prototype was a car I wanted to feature but didn’t get a chance to. It sold for $572,000.

Photo – RM Auctions

Our other three feature cars were all much older. The amazing 1926 Rickenbacker sold for $946,000. The Stevens-Duryea went for $302,500 and the 1911 Mercer Raceabout, $2,530,000. Check out full results here.

Next up, Gooding & Company: $15,180,000 took home this top-selling 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider.

Photo – Gooding & Company

Our top feature car was the Maserati 250F for $4,620,000 and the Alfa Tipo 256 was right behind it at an even $4,000,000. Our featured Duesenberg and Ferrari 330 GT Speciale both failed to meet their reserves. The AAR-Toyota Eagle GTP brought $1,045,000. Check out full results here.

Last but not least on the Monterey peninsula, Russo & Steele. Our only feature car was the Lola-Mazda from the 80s – it brought $132,000. The top sale was this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL for $1,320,000. Check out full results here.