24HP Darracq

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1903 Darracq 24HP Model JJ Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 2, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

There seems to be a Darracq at Bonhams’ London-to-Brighton sale every year. And we never get to feature it. Not this year!. This 24HP Darracq was restored in the 1990s and is still winning awards. It successfully completed the 1903 Paris-Madrid race with its first owner, even though the race was halted due to fatalities.

Power is from a 4.7-liter straight-four good for 24 horsepower. Top speed is about 50 mph and this car is actually a little smaller than it looks. Most rear-entrance tonneaus are quite large, but just look at how compact the wheelbase looks for an estimate of this car’s size.

This is a high-quality car, as all big Darracqs of this vintage are. It is one of two in existence and should bring between $730,000-$860,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $779,115.

Comuta-Car

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1979 Comuta-Car

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 25-27, 2018

Photo – Mecum

The Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar was an electric microcar built between 1974 and 1977. This tiny wedged-shaped, bug-eyed thing was available in some very 1970s colors. About 2,300 were built. Hilariously, the company billed themselves as America’s sixth-largest automobile manufacturer, which was technically true.

The design was purchased by Commuter Vehicles Inc. in 1979. This new company built pretty much the same car, but badged as the Comuta-Car, with a Comuta-Van variant available as well (but mostly for the Postal Service). Production lasted through 1982 and some kits may have been sold after that. By then, 2,144 Comuta-Cars had been built.

This example is fitted with a 12 horsepower electric motor that runs on four batteries. It has a terrifying 50-mph speedometer and a plastic body. It will sell at no reserve, so go get it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Twin-Cylinder Star

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1904 Star 7HP Twin-Cylinder Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 2, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Star, like many early motor manufacturers, got their start as a cycle company. Edward Lisle’s company produced its first car in 1898, and by the time WWI broke out, the company was one of Britain’s largest automobile companies.

Introduced in 1900, the twin-cylinder Star was one of a few models the company was producing that were based on the pioneering designs of Panhard and Mercedes. It’s powered by a 1.4-liter straight-twin producing seven horsepower.

This car cost £320 when new and should bring between $110,000-$130,000 early next month. It has participated in the London-to-Brighton run multiple times and can be your ticket into that event too. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $113,559.

October 2018 Auction Highlights

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Before we hop into October, we’ll finish off September. First, with Silverstone Auctions’ aptly-named September Sale. We featured a special edition Lambo that brought $205,616. And guess what? It was the overall top sale. We’ll give Most Interesting to this 2000 Lotus 340R that brought $88,121. Click here for full results.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Next, Bonhams’ Zoute Sale where this 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage was the top sale at $1,290,110. The Derby we featured failed to sell and the early Elva brought $165,398. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Bonhams

We didn’t get to feature anything from Mecum’s Dallas sale, but this 2017 Ford GT was the top sale at $1,320,000. This was the second time this particular GT has sold publicly in the last three months. It brought less this time than last. Four of the top 10 cars were variations of the Ford GT. Other results can be found here.

Photo – Mecum

Onward to RM in Hershey where our featured Post War convertibles both sold with the Playboy bringing $132,000 and the Monarch $60,500. The overall top sale was $495,000 for this 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster by Fleetwood.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Electric car sales included the Milburn for $63,250 and the Baker at $192,500, while the touring cars both sold as well: the American Eagle went for $242,000 and the Everitt $55,000. The 1905 Northern sold for $52,250, the Buick truck $30,800, and a previously-featured Packard went for $71,500. A previously-featured Delahaye failed to sell. Complete results can be found here.

And finally, we backtrack to the final sale of September, Aguttes’ sale at Montlhery. The Matra we featured didn’t sell, but the 1959 AC Aceca Wide-Track Prototype we wanted to feature (but didn’t because, well, the photo below was the only one provided). It brought $252,689. Click here for all results.

Photo – Aguttes

Matra Murena

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1981 Talbot-Matra Murena

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 20, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Bagheera was a 2-door sports car produced by Matra (technically Matra-Simca, then Talbot-Matra once Chrysler Europe sold out to PSA). The successor to that car was this, the Murena, which was technically marketed as the Talbot-Matra Murena but is often referred to simply as the Matra Murena. It was available from 1980-1983.

Different specifications were available, and this example is a base trim car with a 1.6-liter straight-four capable of 88 horsepower. Top speed was 113 mph, so consider it more of a hot hatch than a die-hard sports car.

It’s an interesting little car from a dying manufacturer. There was no successor to the Murena, as it was Matra’s final original road car. Only 5,640 of the 10,680 units produced had the 1.6-liter engine. This is a cheap way to buy an unusual classic sports car and get into the car collector world. It should bring between $9,000-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Alpine A110 1300 S

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1969 Alpine A110 1300 S

Offered by Leclere-MDV | Paris, France | October 21, 2018

Photo – Leclere-MDV

The Alpine A110 is perhaps the most well-known car the little French company ever produced. Now part of Renault, the once-independent Alpine always had strong ties to Renault, and they built the A110 in a few different forms for almost two decades, from 1961 through 1977.

This is how they mostly looked, and we’ve previously featured a 1600 S variant. The yellow example above is powered by a 1.3-liter Renault straight-four from a Gordini R8 that makes 120 horsepower. The 1300 S (which was for “Super”) was offered between 1966 and 1971 only.

This example was recently overhauled and is ready to run. These are great-looking, great-sounding little cars. Only 868 were built, and they’re one of the best sports cars that France ever offered. This one should bring between $57,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $105,158.

Frazer Nash Super Sports

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1930 Frazer Nash Super Sports

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | October 24, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

The first two models from Frazer Nash were the quite-similar Fast Tourer and Super Sports. This is a later example of this early model, which was available from 1925 through 1930.

This car is fitted with a replacement 1.5-liter Meadows straight-four that was installed in 1930 when this car was being used as a demonstrator. No gearbox or rear differential came with the car and they instead use a series of chains and sprockets connected to the rear axle. It’s strange, but these were very fast cars in their day.

Only 165 examples combined between the Fast Tourer and Super Sports were produced, making this car very rare. It’s usable (and has been used frequently) and was acquired by the current owner 55 years ago. It should bring between $195,000-$235,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $265,436.

1902 Liberia

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1902 Liberia 12HP Twin-Cylinder 2/4-Seater Detachable Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 2, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Gustave Dupont founded his car company in 1900 near Paris, in a commune of which he was the mayor. Dupont himself drove his cars in competitive events and rallies, never doing well, but always finishing. Liberias were on display at 1901 Paris Motor Show, but the company was bankrupt before the end of 1902.

All Liberia automobiles used one of two Aster engines. This car uses the larger, 12 horsepower Aster twin-cylinder unit. The body was built by the little-known Carrosserie L. Barjou. The catalog calls this a c.1902 Dupont-Liberia, but reference materials list it simply as “Liberia,” with Dupont being the man behind the curtain, as it were.

This example is one of two known examples of the marque to still exist, and as you can see it is in a condition that certainly looks original, even though it may have been repainted at some point in the past and wears replacement tires. As a rare survivor, it should bring between $160,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $149,420.

Horch 830 BL

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1939 Horch 830 BL Convertible

Offered by Bonhams | Padua, Italy | October 27, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Horch really hit their stride in the 1930s. The last cars they built were sold in 1940 and some of them were quite extravagant. The 830 BL, and 930V sister car, were sold between 1937 and 1940. The 830 BL was the long-wheelbase model.

While the grand 853 cars were powered by a straight-eight engine, the 830 BL was offered with a pair of V8s, with this later car carrying the larger 3.8-liter V8 that made 92 horsepower.

This example was sold new in Sweden and has known ownership history from new. The car was rebuilt over a 24 year period and it is considered to be largely original. This big convertible – seriously, look at that parachute-like folded soft top – is one of approximately 6,400 830 models produced by Horch in the 1930s. It should bring between $350,000-$460,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Retromobile 2019.

Borgward Isabella

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1960 Borgward Isabella Coupe

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | October 20, 2018

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

The Isabella was a car built by Carl F.W. Borgward GmbH between 1954 and 1962. It was the brand’s volume model and the one they are best remembered for. It was available as a two-door sedan, wagon, pickup, coupe, and convertible.

This car is powered by a 1.5-liter straight-four, as were all Isabellas. Power was rated at 75 horsepower and they were underpowered compared to their competition. The Coupe was not initially available and went on sale halfway through the production run.

Unfortunately, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1961 and various conspiracy theories persist to this day as to why, and Borgward himself died in 1963. It makes for an interesting read, but I don’t really want to go down that rabbit hole right now. This blue example should bring between $24,000-$26,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.