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Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

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1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette
Photo – Osenat

André Marcadier built bicycles in France after World War II. In the early 1960s, he also began building go-kart chassis and shortly thereafter met Colin Chapman. He liked what Lotus was doing in the U.K. and wanted something similar in France. So he teamed up with Marcel Fournier and, in 1963, launched France’s first kit car.

The FM 01 Barquette, as it was first called, was offered in kit form from 1963. The engine is from a Renault 8 Gordini – it’s a 1.1-liter straight-four tuned to make 89 horsepower that sits behind the driver and passenger. The car was supposed to be the sort of French kit version of the Lotus 23. In all, about 60 kits were sold through 1966.

This car should sell for between $32,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,750.

One of the Earliest Sports Cars

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1908 Isotta Fraschini Tipo FENC Two-Seater

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

1908 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo FENC

Milan-based Isotta Fraschini began building cars of their own design in 1904. This car came not long after that. The Type FE was a race car built by Isotta to compete in the great European races of the day. Its predecessor, the Type D, used a 17.2-liter straight-four engine. That’s “train-size.”

Well that big engine didn’t fare so well in competition, detonating itself after one lap. So, for the 1908 races, Isotta tried something different. Instead of brute power via displacement, they went for the whole package. The cars were light and handled well – weight was only 1,342 pounds – which is probably close to what the 17.2-liter engine weighed. And then they fitted it with a light 1.2-liter straight-four.

They were more successful at the track and Isotta Fraschini built some for the road and dubbed them “FENC.” The engine was enlarged to 1.3-liters and makes about 17 horsepower. It is capable of 60 mph. You could call it a sports car. Only about 100 FENCs were built and only two are known to survive. This one was discovered in 1985 in bad shape and then thoroughly restored. It sold at auction in 2008 for $166,500. We’ll see how it goes this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Monterey.

Update: Sold $145,000.

S/N: 6023

B.N.C. Type 53

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1929 B.N.C. Type 53

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1929 BNC Type 53

B.N.C. was a French automobile company founded in 1923 by Lucien Bollack and René Netter (the “B” and the “N” – the “C” stands for “et Cie” or “and company”). They hired an engineer who had experience building cyclecars and a cyclecar was the basis for their first model. The cyclecars were successful in competition but sales were always slow.

In the late 1920s, the company shifted toward larger, more expensive cars – and sales grew dimmer. Even super sporty cars like this didn’t help and both founders were forced out in 1928. The company closed for good in 1935.

This car uses a 1.1-liter straight-four by Ruby and has been campaigned in the Le Mans Classic four times in the past 11 years (as B.N.C. raced at Le Mans in period, just not this car). It is said that this car has serious pace for its age. It is certainly rare and rather sporty looking. It is expected to sell for between $105,000-$160,000. Click here for more details and here for more from Osenat’s sale.

Update: Sold $104,800.

Tojeiro Barchetta

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1952 Tojeiro Barchetta

Offered by Russo & Steele | Newport Beach, California | June 20-21, 201

1952 Tojeiro Barchetta

John Tojeiro was born in Portugal but relocated to England when he was very young. That move was important because after World War II, in which John served, England would become a hotbed for race car building.

Tojeiro made his name as a chassis engineer and once he was established, customers were contacting him and commissioning him to build one-off race cars. Tojeiro’s first car was powered by a Bristol engine and the body was supposed to look like a Ferrari 166 MM. Shortly after that, Tojeiro built two or three MG powered cars with a similar body. This is one of those cars.

The engine is a 1.5-liter MG straight-four, power output unknown – but likely less than 125. One of the three cars like this was driven to the AC headquarters and AC repainted it blue, put one of their engines in it, and displayed it as the AC Ace. So this car (which was not used by AC) is sort of the prototypical AC Ace. Which is pretty cool if you think about it (and if you refuse to think about it, I’ll tell you: the Ace became the Cobra. Shelby Cobras can directly trace their origin to this car).

This car was raced on road courses by privateers until the end of the 1954 season. It finished every race. It has bounced between owners quite a bit since then (and even a fair amount in the past five years). This car sold in Monterey last year at a different auction for a touch more than $150,000 and it sold twice in 2011 for about the same price (a little less). We’ll see what it brings this time around as the market continues to improve. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Russo & Steele’s Newport Beach lineup.

Update: Sold $159,500.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s, Arizona 2021.

Javan R1

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2008 Javan R1 Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 15, 2013

2008 Javan R1

The Strathcarron SC-5A was a track-day sports car introduced in 1999. The company folded in 2001. Javan Smith set up Javan Sports Cars in 2002. In 2006, the company debuted the Javan R1 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – it’s an evolution of the Strathcarron that is aimed at the Ariel Atom, Lotus Elise and Caterham Seven replicas.

This is the second R1 built (which didn’t happen until 2008) and it was the company demonstrator. It uses a 2.0-liter straight-four Honda VTEC making 220 horsepower and screams to a 9000-rpm redline. Acceleration numbers are impressive as 62 mph comes in 3.6 seconds and the top speed is 140 mph.

This was their publicity car and it has only covered about 3,000 miles. It would be a fun track day car for a lot less money than an Elise or an Atom. I’m pretty sure the cars are still available for purchase but I think you have to order one to have it built – but only a handful have been built thus far, so it’s definitely rare. This one should sell for between $11,000-$15,000 – which is extremely affordable for a track day car. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonham’s auction lineup.

Update: Sold $17,068.

Phantom I Ascot Phaeton

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1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Phaeton

Offered by Coys | Athens, Greece | June 15, 2013

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Tourer

Rolls-Royce of Derby, England, set up a manufacturing arm in America which was referred to, surprisingly, as Rolls-Royce of America. They opened shop in 1921, constructing the already-old Silver Ghost. In 1925, Rolls introduced the follow-up model to the Silver Ghost – the Phantom. In 1929, the Phantom II was introduced and the Phantom’s name was changed to “Phantom I” and it stayed in production through 1931.

The car you see here was built by Rolls-Royce of America and they are often referred to as a “Springfield” (which refers to Springfield, Massachusetts – where the cars were built). As it is a Phantom I, it uses a 7.7-liter straight-six that made about 120 horsepower.

What is great about this car is the bodywork. As far as early Rolls’ go this is one of my favorite designs. The body is by Brewster – the Long Island coachbuilder contracted by RR of America to build many of their bodies. It is called an “Ascot Phaeton” to give the buyer an aura of Britishness. It’s a five-seater with sporty looks and I like it.

The car has known ownership history from new. It was restored first in 1970 in New Jersey and is being sold by a European collector who had more work done recently. The car comes without an estimate but is being sold at no reserve. It is one of 28 Springfield Ascot Phaetons built on the Phantom I chassis. RR of America built 1,240 Phantom Is total (of 3,512 built worldwide). I estimate this car at about $300,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ Greek lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Columbia Highwheeler

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1899 Columbia Motor Buggy

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 15, 2013

1899 Columbia Highwheeler

I’ll start by saying that this is listed as a “circa 1899” so I’m just going with 1899. The Columbia Automobile Company was founded as a joint venture between the Pope Manufacturing Company and the Electric Vehicle Company in 1899. They offered electric and gasoline powered cars. In 1904, Columbia offered 37 different electric cars and two gas-powered ones. By 1911, there were only two electrics while gasoline cars offered had risen to 10.

In 1911, Columbia came under the control of the United States Motor Company – one of the first major “automotive conglomerates.” It over-expanded and failed in 1912, taking Columbia, one of America’s first manufacturers, down with it.

This car is possibly from the launch-year of manufacture. It is powered by a 616cc two-stroke vertical twin-cylinder. It hasn’t run since 1986 but it’s still early and interesting. There aren’t many of them left and this is the only one in the U.K. It should sell for between $23,000-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ Banbury Run sale.

Update: Sold $17,966.

Vignale Samantha

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1968 Fiat 125 Samantha

Offered by Coys | Athens, Greece | June 15, 2013

1968 Fiat 125 Samantha

Photo – Coys

The Fiat 125 was Fiat’s large family car that replaced the 1500 and was introduced for 1967. It was available as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon. But some Italian coachbuilders got a hold of it and built some two-door variants as well.

Vignale built the “Samantha” – a sporty-looking two-door coupe. It is said that the car was designed for Alfredo Vignale himself – as he wanted a luxurious ride to drive around. Underneath, the engine has been upgraded from the 125’s original 1.6-liter: it’s a 2.0-liter straight-four making around 112 horsepower. Performance is described as “spritely.”

It comes with a set of spares, but it is in fantastic condition. Vignale ended up building a few more – 100 in total, making this a very rare coachbuilt Italian sports car. It is expected to sell for between $23,500-$32,500. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys in Greece.

Update: Sold for about $35,600.

ASA 411 GT

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1965 ASA 411 GT

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | June 10, 2013

1965 ASA 411 GT

We featured a different ASA earlier this week that was a factory race car and we mentioned ASA’s most popular model – the 1000 GT. Well there was also this which, unlike the RB 613, was a special version of the 1000 GT.

Engine capacity was increased to 1.1-liters (it was a straight-four) and power also increased – to 104 horsepower. The body was aluminium and built by Marazzi in contrast to the 1000 GTs all steel body. It’s a lightweight, hopped-up version of the 1000GT and it was intended for sport – as the plexiglass windows and Momo steering wheel can attest.

Only four 411 GTs were built and this one has been owned by the same family since 1971.  It’s a very rare version of an already very rare car. It is expected to sell for between $64,000-$103,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Artcurial’s interesting auction lineup.

Update: Sold $237,545

One of the last AC cars

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2003 AC Ace Brooklands

Offered by H&H Auctions | Rockingham Castle, U.K. | June 15, 2013

2003 AC Ace Brooklands

The original AC Ace is a legendary car. Introduced in 1953 with a six-cylinder engine, the Ace would later have a V8 stuffed underhood by an ambitious American and he would call it the “Cobra.” AC loitered around for decades, producing low-volume cars here and there (they still build versions of the Cobra) and in 1993, they revived the name “Ace.”

For the 1998 sales year, AC introduced a second-generation Ace Brooklands. They had just come under South African ownership and much of the car was built in South Africa before being sent back to the U.K. for final assembly. Only about 12 were built before production ran out in 2000.

But parts were still available after that and a handful of cars were assembled using factory spares. This is one of those cars (and it’s referred to as a “Series 3”). It uses a mixture of carbon fiber and aluminium for the body panels and has a 5.0-liter Ford V8 under the hood. Horsepower is around 260. It has 1,100 miles on the odometer and it is rumored that this is the last Ace Brooklands constructed. It can be yours for between $18,000-$22,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of H&H’s auction lineup.

Update: Sold $19,342.