Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fangio’s Mille Miglia Ferrari

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1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Not sure how they do it, but RM Sotheby’s manages to bring some really rare Ferraris to market, including this ultra-rare Ferrari sports racing prototype. The 290 MM was built in 1956 only and competed in the World Sportscar Championship. It was driven by some of the biggest names in racing and in some of the biggest races. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1956 Mille Miglia – 4th (with Juan Manuel Fangio)
  • 1956 1000km Nurburgring – 3rd (with Phil Hill, Ken Wharton, Olivier Gendebien & Alfonso de Portago)
  • 1957 1000km Buenos Aires – 1st (with Masten Gregory, Luigi Musso & Eugenio Castellotti)

Those are three impressive results with some of the ’50s top drivers. The 290 MM is powered by a 320 horsepower 3.5-liter V-12 that was based on the engine from Ferrari’s Formula One cars.

This was a Scuderia Ferrari race car that finished 4th in the Mille Miglia with Juan Manuel Fangio – that alone is remarkable. That the car has never been crashed and is mostly unrestored (except for the repaint) is incredible. The team used the car in both the 1956 and 1957 World Sportscar Championship and in early 1957 the car was sold to someone in the U.S. It’s had a few owners worldwide since.

This car can be used and hopefully whatever well-heeled buyer walks away with it next month will use it at historic races. Only four 290 MMs were built. This one will bring millions. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,050,000.

Ferrari 500 Mondial

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1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari race cars from the 1950s – the sports racers, not the Formula cars – are just so sought after. After all these years, they remain some of the most authentic, primal, and fun to drive historic race cars. Their values have skyrocketed and to find one that begs to be raced and not pampered is a rare treat.

The 500 Mondial was the Scuderia’s racer for 1954. It used a 2.0-liter Lampedri straight-four making 170 horsepower (can we all stop and take a second to appreciate how awesome that output is for 1955!). The car was also light-as-air, as far as cars are concerned.

This car was sold new to a Frenchman and was painted in beautiful French Blu – the original paint is still on the car. It is a “Series II” car, hence its late, 1955 production year. The first Mondials were Scaglietti coupes, later cars were open cars from Pinin Farina and Scaglietti.

The original owner of this car took it racing and blew the engine. In 1955, after having it worked on at Ferrari, the owner didn’t pay his bill, so Ferrari kept the car for the next two decades, painting it red and displaying it in a museum. They sold it again in 1975 and it had a series of owners up until 2007, when its new Polish owner had the red paint removed to reveal the beautiful blue underneath. This is a factory-original car – never wrecked and ready to go. It’s a preservation class shoo-in. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Marion Roadster

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1911 Marion Model 30 A Roadster

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 25, 2015

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

Marion was a marque produced by a few different companies in the early days of the automobile. The company that produced this car in 1911 was the most prolific. Based in Indianapolis, Marion was one of the first companies to build a sports car: the Bobcat.

But their bread and butter were more standard cars in an array of body styles. The 1911 range included the Model 30 and 40. The 30 (seen here) uses a 30 horsepower, 3.7-liter straight-four. It was offered in four styles, with this Model A Roadster being the least expensive and smallest.

This car spent most of its life in the American Northeast before being exported to the U.K. in 1991. It was restored in the mid-1990s and has been used steadily since. It should sell for between $30,000-$46,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Brightwells’ lineup.

Update: Sold $30,211.

DB4GT Zagato

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1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This is one of the Holy Grail Aston Martins. The DB4GT itself is a rare, highly sought-after machine – but those handful of Zagato versions are really where it’s at. The DB4 was produced by Aston Martin between 1958 and 1963. The DB4GT came out in late 1959. It was a lightweight, high-performance version of the standard 2+2 road car.

The engine in the GT (including this car) is a 314 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-six. That’s actually serious horsepower – even today. About 75 standard GTs were built. But this is one of only 19 Zagato cars.

The car is instantly recognizable with that grille as an Aston. But the soft, sloping rear end makes it obviously a work of Zagato. This is car #14 and it was shipped new to Australia where it led a life as an independent racer. It went back to the U.K. in the 1990s, was restored in 2002 and has been shown all over the world. What’s truly impressive: not one of the 19 DB4GT Zagatos has traded hands in more than 10 years. This truly is a car that rarely comes up for sale. RM compares it to the 250 GTO and they aren’t wrong. While it won’t bring $30+ million dollars, it will definitely bring multiple millions. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,300,000.

Range Rover Convertible

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1973 Land Rover Range Rover Convertible Suffix B by SVC

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 14, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Nowadays, Range Rovers are synonymous with Rodeo Drive and uppity neighborhoods everywhere. While still the most capable vehicle on Earth, most are pampered and driven to Whole Foods and not the unknown expanses of the planet. When did that start? There’s an argument that it could’ve been with this car.

There’s also a new James Bond movie out and there’s been a lot of talk about the advertising power of Bond. Well, this vehicle speaks to that, too. In the film Octopussy, Roger Moore (as James Bond) drove a convertible Range Rover. After that, demand existed, so Special Vehicle Conversions Ltd. of Sussex offered such a vehicle.

In the 1980s, the company converted some classic Range Rovers (Gen I went on sale in 1970) – so while this truck is a 1973, the conversion happened in the 80s. The engine is a 3.5-liter V-8 making 155 horsepower with fuel-injection and 130 without.

So what about that Rodeo Drive thing? Well, convertibles aren’t practical in any sense of the word, especially with “go anywhere” type trucks. It’s for fashion. But you know what, it looks great and is surely loads of fun. This example has been restored and should bring between $54,000-$61,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $51,250.

Lamborghini Concept S

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2006 Lamborghini Concept S

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This car is one of the stars of RM’s New York City “Driven by Disruption” sale. It’s very rare that a Lamborghini concept car comes up for sale. This concept debuted at the Geneva show in 2005 where it was a design study only. It was quite popular, which led Lamborghini to build a running example that was shown at the 2006 Concorso Italiano. This is that car.

It’s obviously based on the Gallardo and uses the donor car’s 513 horsepower 5.0-liter V-10. It was the only example built. And because it does have, just barely, a windshield, it is street legal. It has covered less than 200 kilometers in its life.

Shown twice at Pebble Beach already, this is a car that will always be valuable. It could bring up to $3 million and has had only one owner since it was bought off the display stand. It’s really cool and its cockpit is reminiscent of the Italdesign Aztec or even a Can-Am car. It is certainly cool. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017, $1,320,000.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi 2020.

Albany Convertible

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1974 Albany Convertible

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 25, 2015

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

Well what do we have here? This certainly doesn’t resemble your average automobile from 1974. It’s always interesting to see what cars people decide to build replicas of… but this car isn’t even a replica. It’s doesn’t look like any singular early 1900s car. It’s just a “modern” version of an old car.

Albany was founded by Bryan and David Shepherd and their little convertibles were available from 1971 through 1997. Over 110 were built by the end of the 1970s. This car is based on Triumph mechanicals and uses a donor 1.5-liter straight-four. It’s Edwardian motoring with modern convenience (well a 1970s Triumph is probably just as reliable as a car from the 1900s).

This car represents a very affordable way to get into old cars, with a pre-sale estimate of $10,500-$13,750. It’s simple to use and you’ll be the only one at your local show in one. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Berliet Torpedo

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1926 Berliet Type VI Torpedo

Offered by Osenat | Lyon, France | November 8, 2015

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Marius Berliet began selling cars in 1900 and his company’s range quickly expanded. In the 1920s, they were building cheap versions of the Dodge in France and it ran the company into the ground. Somehow, they emerged from bankruptcy in 1929 (of all years) and survived the 1930s, ceasing passenger car production in 1939. After the war, they continued to build commercial vehicles up through 1978, when new owner Renault phased out the marque.

The Type VI was offered in a couple of body styles, including this slab-sided torpedo. The engine is a 1.2-liter straight-four making seven to 10 horsepower. The model was new for 1924.

This car was acquired by its present owner in 1977 and stored. He restored it in the early 2000s. It’s got four new tires and is ready to run and should sell for between $12,000-$14,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $11,300.

Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta

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1954 Pegaso Z-102 3.2 Berlinetta by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Pegaso, the Spanish truck manufacturer, jumped into the sports car arena for a brief time in the 1950s. They did so by hiring an ex-Alfa Romeo engineer to come in and design and produce a world class sports car. While they certainly managed to do that, the overall project got out of control, expense-wise, and was shut down in 1958.

This car uses a 3.2-liter V-8 making 223 horsepower (upgraded from the car’s original 2.8-liter power plant). Pegasos used aluminium body work (a couple different coachbuilders were involved, this body is by Touring, as were most). They were light, powerful, and fast – with a top speed around 160 mph – faster than their Ferrari competitors of the day.

Because Pegaso was a state-owned company, budgets were everything. These cars spared no expense – at the expense of the whole project. Only 84 Pegaso sports cars would end up being built between 1951 and 1958. This car is all-original (sans glorious green paint, which was re-done in 1981). It has been in Spain its entire life, having had only four owners. It is an awesome car. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $742,500.

1920 Franklin Sedan

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1920 Franklin 9-B Sedan

Offered by Mecum | Anaheim, California | November 12-14, 2015

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The great air-cooled Franklin was one of those early automobile companies that lasted quite a number of years and built quite a number of automobiles – but did so on their own terms, like Stanley or Detroit Electric, to name a few. Air-cooled engines were simpler – less parts. And that’s what Franklin bet their company on. And it worked: they were in business for over 30 years.

The 1920 range consisted of two models: the 9 and 9-B. They both uses a six-cylinder engine making about 25 horsepower. The 9-B was slightly more upscale and expensive. This car is a rare “V-windshield” model, which is a pretty unusual feature. The body is also made out of aluminium.

Only six 9-Bs are known to have the V-windshield (the 9-B was built for three years: 1920-1922). Only 10,552 Franklins were built in 1920. This is a very nice example that was in a recent collection for 35 years. You can be next. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Sold $13,500.