Panhard Tigre

1963 Panhard PL 17 Tigre Cabriolet

Offered by Aguttes | Lyon, France | November 9, 2019

Photo – Aguttes

The PL 17 was Panhard’s follow-up to the Dyna Z, a mid-size front-wheel-drive car that was sold between 1954 and 1959. The PL 17 was offered between 1959 and 1965 and could’ve been had as a sedan, wagon, or cabriolet.

The “Tigre” represented the more powerful of the two engine options. It was a 50 horsepower, 851cc flat-twin. The engine was mounted up front and drove the front wheels. This 1963 model received some of the revisions brought by Panhard for 1962, including a padded dashboard and more comfortable seats.

The cabriolet was cut from the lineup in June 1963, and only about 400 had been produced up to that point. This car is one of just 125 built for the model year. Restored in 2016, the car is expected to bring a healthy $67,000-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Fordson Truck

1926 Fordson Prototype

Offered by Mecum | Davenport, Iowa | November 7, 2019

Photo – Mecum

Early Ford trucks were based on the Model T. They usually had a dually rear axle and some other changes, but the relation to the T was pretty obvious. They were even called the TT. The vehicle you see here was the first Ford heavy-duty truck. It’s a two-ton chassis, and it was built under the Fordson brand.

Fordson was a brand of tractors marketed by the Ford Motor Company between 1917 and 1964. The name also appeared on some light commercial vehicles in the U.K. The truck is powered by a Fordson tractor engine and transmission. The way it is packaged makes it looks like it completely lacks an engine, with the radiator mounted behind the front axle.

This was the only example of the Fordson two-ton truck that was actually delivered to a customer. It eventually made its way to the Harrah Collection and has been privately owned since 1983. Mecum has been making a big deal of it, which is the star of the show at this sale. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $90,750.

Ballot Sedan

1929 Ballot RH3 Sedan

Offered by Osenat | Chassieu, France | November 10, 2019

Photo – Osenat

Edouard Ballot got his start building engines. He even worked with Ettore Bugatti early in Bugatti’s career. Maurice Ballot later joined his brother, and Etablissements Ballot SA was formed in 1910. Engines were their main business until 1919 when they started building cars.

The company went racing right off the bat, competing in the 1919 Indy 500, as well as the Targa Florio, French Grand Prix, and more. More luxury-oriented cars followed, including the 1927 Type RH, which became the RH3 in 1929. The engine is a 3.0-liter inline-eight. This one was sold new in Marseilles and carries a fabric sedan body, which may be from Weymann.

Ballots are around but aren’t very common – especially those with big engines and nice coachwork. This example should sell for between $70,000-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $79,374.

1938 Bedford Pickup

1938 Bedford BYC Pickup

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 27, 2019

Photo – Brightwells

Bedford wasn’t founded until 1931. And it only exists because GM needed a local brand for their commercial vehicles and light trucks. They were previously sold as Chevrolets, but after GM purchased Vauxhall in 1925, they introduced Bedford as a division of Vauxhall for the U.K.

The BYC was introduced in 1935 after the company changed the name of the earlier VYC model, which was a 12 cwt light delivery vehicle that debuted in 1932. The engine in this truck is a 3.2-liter inline-six.

This is a pretty rare truck today, as the model didn’t survive the war. It was restored 10 years ago and has spent time in New Zealand. It should now sell for between $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $13,018.

October 2019 Auction Highlights

We start in October with Worldwide Auctioneers’ liquidation of the Corpus Christi Old Car Museum. The overall top sale was the Apollo 3500 GT Spider we featured for $506,000. We will award Most Interesting to this heavy-duty 1972 Chevrolet C50 Pickup that brought $23,100. Full results can be found here.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Next up, Bonhams’ sale at the Simeone Foundation in Philadelphia, where this 1941 Chrysler Town & Country Nine-Passenger Barrelback Station Wagon sold for $277,760 – more than any other car at the sale.

Photo – Bonhams

Other sales included the Fiat-Daniela for $106,400, the Gwynne Eight for $8,680, and a previously-featured Pope-Toledo for $100,800. The A.B.F. prototype failed to sell, and complete results can be found here.

We featured quite a few cars from RM’s Hershey sale, mostly because they were selling off an amazing collection of weird old cars. Here’s a list of results:

The top sale was the 1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton by Fleetwood pictured below. It sold for $1,221,000. More results can be found here.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Bonhams’ Zoute sale always has a decent collection of European classics, which were led by this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy for $3,203,900. The F40 we featured sold for $1,025,248. Final results are available here.

Photo – Bonhams

And we’ll go back to RM Sotheby’s for their London sale. A pair of our feature cars didn’t sell, including the Ferrari 412 T1 and the Noble M600. This 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S was the overall top sale at $1,600,969.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Arrows A21 we featured (there were two in this sale) brought $92,194, which was just slightly less than the other one. And the Wiesmann brought $103,257. More results are available here.

Rover Scout Concept

1991 Rover Scout Concept

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 27, 2019

Photo – Brightwells

This Rover concept car was a little ahead of its time. Where it to be introduced today, they would sell quite a lot of them. It’s basically a Rover Metro five-door hatchback with some lower body cladding, headlight guards, roof rails, and sporty graphics. In today’s word, that means it is a crossover. It’s off-road-ready!*

Power is from a 1.4-liter inline-four. The Scout was one of six “lifestyle” concepts based on the Metro that were built around this time. Land Rover would ultimately enter the space that this was intended to fill with the Rover 200-based Freelander.

This car has covered just over 1,000 miles since new and is coming from a private collection without a pre-sale estimate or a reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

*Not really.

Update: Sold $3,307.

De Dion Model Y

1904 De Dion-Bouton Model Y 6hp Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

De Dion-Bouton was the first automotive giant. Founded in 1883, the company actually lasted until 1953, though automobile production ceased in 1932. This 1904 Model Y was from their heyday.

The Type Y is powered by a 700cc single-cylinder engine making six horsepower. De Dion was selling six-cylinder cars at this time, so this would’ve been their bargain-basement model.

It’s a London-to-Brighton veteran that was sold new in the U.K. and was discovered on a sheep farm in New Zealand in 1967. Of course it was a sheep farm. Today, it should bring between $71,000-$84,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $74,468.

Bullitt

1968 Ford Mustang GT

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2-12, 2020

Photo – Mecum

Okay, so this isn’t just any old 1968 Mustang GT. This is the actual car driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film Bullitt. It’s the car that was primarily used in the legendary chase scenes around San Francisco. It’s one of the most famous film cars of all time and is one of two Highland Green ’68 Fastbacks used during the film.

Modifications performed by McQueen at the time of filming included the addition of gray Torq Thrust wheels, removal of the emblems and backup lights, and finishing the front grille in black. The look became so iconic that Ford has sold “Bullitt” edition Mustangs since that mimic this very look.

After filming, the car was sold to a Warner Brothers employee, who used it daily. It was later purchased by someone in New Jersey. In 1974, it was purchased by Robert Kiernan, whose wife used it as a daily driver until the clutch went out in 1980. The car was parked with 65,000 miles on it. McQueen tried to buy it back, multiple times, but Kiernan refused. The car bounced around the garages of friends until 2001.

That’s when Ford introduced the Bullitt Edition Mustang. Kiernan and his son decided to get this car running again. It was unveiled to the public again in 2018. A few bits have been replaced, and the 325 horsepower, 6.4-liter V8 has been rebuilt. Otherwise, the car is all original.

This car has the potential to bring a pretty incredible amount of money. Short of James Dean’s “Little Bastard” showing up for sale, it’s hard to imagine a more valuable “pop culture” car. You can check out more about it here and see more from Mecum in Kissimmee here.

Update: Sold $3,740,000.

Peugeot Bebe

1902 Peugeot Bebe 5.5hp Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

The Bebe was a car produced by Peugeot in the early 1900s. The name was used again prior to WWI, on an Ettore Bugatti-designed Peugeot as well. This earlier Bebe was purchased new off of the Paris Motor Show stand in 1902.

It has known ownership history from new and has never been restored. The “Bebe” name may or may not be accurate here, but many old, light Peugeots are referred to by that name. If it’s truly a car from 1902, it is likely a Type 37, which would’ve had a five horsepower, 652cc single-cylinder engine. Only about 100 of those were built. This lot doesn’t have enough photos or details to confirm this, however.

In any case, this London-to-Brighton veteran is expected to bring between $77,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Range Rover Limo

1994 Land Rover Range Rover LSE Limousine

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Birmingham, U.K. | November 9, 2019

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The first-generation Range Rover was in production from 1970 through 1994. An eternity, in other words. This example is from the last year of Range Rover Classic production, and it was purchased new by the Sultan of Brunei, who commissioned Townley Cross Country Vehicles Ltd. to convert it into a limousine for his brother, Prince Jefri.

The conversion cost a lot of money and took nine months to complete. Townley Cross Country Vehicles did a number of these – several hundred perhaps – for wealthy Middle Eastern clients. This thing is tricked out. It has what I’ll call a “red-ass interior” with two seats up front, and three captain’s chairs in the rear, one of which is facing sideways. It also has an entertainment center of sorts with two TVs with VCRs. Break out the VHS tapes!

Power is from a 4.3-liter V8 making 200 horsepower… which probably is not enough grunt to get this huge thing moving all that quickly. It is pretty cool, though, and has fairly low mileage. It is expected to bring between $23,000-$31,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $42,903.