Lister Storm Road Car

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1994 Lister Storm

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 19, 2018

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

!!!! Let’s start at the beginning: Brian Lister founded Lister Cars in 1954 and they built sports racing cars for the duration of the decade. Later they acted as a factory race team for other manufacturers and have been a long-time Jaguar modifier. But in the early 1990s they went berserk and decided to build a monster race car to take on the McLaren F1, Jaguar XJ220, and Ferrari F40 LM at Le Mans.

And then they had to homologate this monster by building some road cars.

And that’s what we have here. One of just four Lister Storm V-12 Road Cars ever built (only three exist today). Honestly this is a vehicle I never thought I would see trade hands publicly at auction. The race cars competed from 1995 through 1999 as a works entry and for a few years after that in privateer hands.

The road cars were only built in 1993 and 1994 and they were expensive. They also had the largest V-12 engine anyone had stuffed into a production car since the end of WWII. It’s a 7.0-liter V-12 based on the engine from a Jaguar XJR-9 Le Mans car. Power is rated at 546 horsepower (pretty stout for 1993). It was a world class supercar in its day and was the fastest four-seater in the world for over a decade (that’s right, it had four seats!). Top speed: 211 mph.

This three-owner example has just under 31,000 miles on it. It’s a true rarity. It’s one of those cars that they claimed to have built but no one ever really sees (unless you go to Wilton House supercar shows or Goodwood or somewhere on the regular). I’m giddy just writing about it. Great job Historics… now if you could just manage to bring an Isdera Commendatore or Mega Monte Carlo to auction you’d really win my heart.

This car is expected to sell for between $200,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Australian Terraplane

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1937 Terraplane Series 71 DeLuxe Utility Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | May 11-12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Terraplane was a marque introduced by Hudson as a standalone brand in 1934 (in ’32 and ’33 they were called Essex-Terraplane). As an entry-level car on the pricing scale, for a brief period during the Depression, Terraplane outsold its parent, Hudson.

Unfortunately, the lifespan of Terraplane was short and 1937 was the final year the cars could be had. Two models were available for ’37: the Series 71 DeLuxe and the Series 72 Super. Both were virtually identical to the Hudsons of that year with just slight trim changes. The DeLuxe differed from the Super in that it only had one taillight and no vents on the front windows.

This well restored example (the restoration cost $263,000 – quite a bit for a car that cost about $600 when new) is likely powered by a 3.5-liter straight-six that makes 96 horsepower. What’s interesting about this particular car is that it is an Australian example, hence the “Utility” or pull-out pickup bed out back. Terraplanes were sold in Australia when new but were all bodied locally, hence the Aussie take on an American export.

A rare body style stateside, and one of only a few known to exist worldwide, this entry-level Hudson should bring between $80,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Auburn.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s, Auburn Fall 2018.

Gilco 1100 Zagato

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1949 Fiat-Gilco 1100 Zagato

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 12, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Gilberto Colombo began building lightweight automotive chassis right after WWII. It was an extension of his father’s tube-manufacturing company and eventually Gilco became a company in its own right. They were famous for building chassis for racing cars for the likes of Alfa Romeo and Ferrari.

In 1949, Gilco wanted to build a car to race in the famous Mille Miglia. They produced a chassis called the 205MM and before they ever went racing they changed their focus and decided to build a limited-edition roadster. Using a Fiat 1100 1.1-liter straight-four, Gilco reached out to Zagato to get a racing body designed.

And then it all stopped. Only this one prototype was ever built. It was restored in Germany within the last three years and is now a driveable footnote in Italian automotive history. Why the car is called a Fiat-Gilco 1100 Zagato and not a Gilco 205MM Zagato makes it kind of seem like Gilco is getting a little shortchanged. At any rate, it carries a pre-sale estimate of $245,000-$310,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Rolls-Royce Camargue

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1982 Rolls-Royce Camargue

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 19, 2018

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

There are Rolls-Royces from the 1980s that you can acquire for about $10,000. I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but it’s possible. Not so here. The Camargue was a luxury coupe built by Rolls-Royce that was even more unattainable than the Corniche. It was the most expensive car sold in the U.K. at the time of its launch.

And that didn’t really help its cause. While certainly a statement on wheels, the Camargue was outsold by the Corniche (which could also be had as a convertible). Built between 1975 and 1986, Rolls managed to sell just 531 examples of this monstrous coupe.

This one-owner Camargue is powered by a 6.75-liter V-8 that made somewhere between 220 and 250 horsepower. RR wasn’t big on quoting actual figures at the time. This chassis was originally sold to a Middle Eastern royal family and has covered less than 5,000 miles since new. It’s likely the nicest example extant and can be yours for between $84,000-$105,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $99,318.

McLaren MP4/8A

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1993 McLaren-Cosworth MP4/8A

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

There aren’t a lot of McLaren Formula One cars in private hands. There are even fewer Monaco Grand Prix-winning, ex-Aryton Senna McLaren Formula One cars in private hands. And that’s exactly what we have here. This car, chassis MP4/8-6, was purchased by the current owner directly from McLaren in 2006.

It’s an MP4/8A (or just an MP4/8 as the “B” variant was a Lamborghini-powered test car), which was McLaren’s 1993 race car. The team’s drivers were Aryton Senna and Michael Andretti (who was replaced by Mika Hakkinen for the last three races of the season). The race history for this chassis includes:

  • 1993 Spanish Grand Prix – 2nd (with Senna)
  • 1993 Monaco Grand Prix – 1st (with Senna)
  • 1993 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Senna)
  • 1993 French Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 British Grand Prix –  5th (with Senna)
  • 1993 German Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 Belgian Grand Prix – 4th (with Senna)
  • 1993 Italian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Senna)

This was McLaren’s first season with Ford-Cosworth power after years with Honda. This car uses a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated Ford-Cosworth V-8. Power was about 680 horsepower, one of the lowest numbers on the grid. This chassis contains the exact same engine and transmission that was in the car when it won in Monaco.

It’s pretty amazing as a car and even more amazing that someone gets to actually own this and it isn’t a display piece in a museum. Think about it: you can own and drive a Monaco-winning McLaren that Ayrton Senna used. Sure, there are other Senna-driven cars out there, but would you rather have a Toleman or a McLaren? Exactly. This is the only car in Bonhams’ sale that doesn’t have a pre-sale estimate, which should give you a hint as to the expected price. You should check out more about this car here and you can see more from Bonhams in Monaco here.

Update: Sold $5,009,296.

April 2018 Auction Highlights

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We’re kicking off April with a sale from Artcurial. The top sale was this 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider for $337,628.

Photo – Artcurial

The Citroen DS 21 Cabriolet we featured sold for $156,745 and the Bristol brought $38,167. Click here for complete results.

Next up, Brightwells Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The De Dion-Bouton and Scripps-Booth both failed to sell, but the ultra-rare Palladium Sports brought $13,342. The overall top seller was $113,242 for this 1933 Alvis Speed 20 SA Vanden Plas Sports Tourer. Click here for everything else.

Photo – Brightwells

Onward to Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach. Both of our feature cars sold: the Kaiser Club Sedan brought $44,000 and the DeSoto Fireflite sold for $225,500. The top sale was this 2012 Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition for $770,000. With a price like that, expect to see more of these at auctions soon. More results can be found here.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Now we have Osenat and a small selection of modern cars. We didn’t feature anything, but this $177,745 2012 Ferrari FF was the top seller. See everything else here.

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Classics’ Pavilion Gardens sale. We didn’t feature anything here either but this 1960 Daimler SP250 Dart topped the charts at $60,282. Click here for other results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Bugatti Type 57 Galibier

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1939 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier Sedan

Offered by Osenat | Strasboug, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Type 57 was the last hurrah for the original Bugatti company. Designed by Ettore’s son Jean, they first went on sale in 1934 and were built up through the outbreak of WWII. There were many variants, including the much sought-after 57S and 57SC.

This is a standard Type 57, meaning it uses a 3.3-liter straight-eight engine borrowed from the Type 59 Grand Prix cars. Power is a healthy 135 horsepower. The aluminium body is the factory-offered Galibier four-door sedan – the only factory four-door for the Type 57.

This particular chassis was built near the end of the production run and was the second-to-last sedan assembled (this was June of 1939). Originally black, it was delivered new to Nantes, France. It has a known chain of owners and events since then.

Bugatti built 710 examples of the Type 57 (including all sub models). This restored “base model” sedan should bring between $430,000-$675,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $516,615.

Ferrari 625 TF

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1953 Ferrari 625 TF by Vignale

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

If you like ultra-rare early Ferrari factory race cars, then Bonhams has the car for you. This is a Ferrari 625 TF (for Targa Florio). Built in 1953 only, it was the first closed-wheel, four-cylinder race car from Ferrari.

A four-cylinder Ferrari? Of course! It’s the legendary 2.5-liter Lampredi straight-four and that Lampredi engine would go on to power Ferrari’s Monza line of racing cars. In this guise, it’s good for 220 horsepower… not a far cry from the 237 horsepower produced by the 250 MM’s V-12.

Only three examples of the 625 TF were built and each of them are markedly different, showing signs of evolution from chassis to chassis. This car features open body work from Vignale but in its earliest form carried a different body. Enzo didn’t like the original and so here we are.

This chassis spent its competitive days racing around Italy with the likes of Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli behind the wheel before being exported to a new owner in Argentina toward the end of 1953. It raced in Argentina and Brazil thereafter, competing into the early 1960s. In the mid-1970s it was discovered in a scrapyard in Naples, Italy, with a Lincoln V-12 stuffed under the hood. It was restored in the 1980s and again by its current owner in the 2000s.

Ferrari road racers from the golden era of sports car racing – and those that Enzo had a hand in – are just wonderful things. This sheer exclusivity of this the 625 TF makes it a great opportunity. It’ll be expensive though: this car carries an estimate of $5,500,000-$8,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Bedford JO Pickup

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1961 Bedford JO Pickup

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 19, 2018

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

Bedford was, from its inception, a division of General Motors. The commercial companion to Vauxhall, Bedford’s light commercial vehicles were available from 1930 through 1991.

The Bedford TJ was a model sold as both a van and pickup truck from 1958 through 1967 (and through 1975 in other markets around the world). It was an updated version of the earlier TD. The JO (or J0), which was the ½-ton model, was the lightest of seven different TJs offered.

Based on the lot description, it appears this truck uses a 2.6-liter straight-six. The styling on this thing is kind of wild, with a lot going on up front and a very plan looking box out back. It’s like the automotive equivalent of the reverse mullet. About 5,000 JOs were manufactured and only 20 are known to exist in the U.K. This one has been restored to what appears to be better-than-new condition. It was the 10th JO built and should bring between $60,000-$65,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Historics Auctioneers, Ascot, April 2021, $40,693.

Porsche 914/6 Murene Prototype

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1969 Porsche 914/6 Murene by Heuliez

Offered by Osenat | Strasbourg, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Porsche 914 was a sports car designed in collaboration with Volkswagen. It went on sale in 1969 and was built through 1976. It’s mid-engined and came with a flat-four or a flat-six in 914/6 configuration.

This car is unlike any other 914. First of all, it’s a closed coupe and not a targa, as the 914 was from the factory. It was designed by Jacques Cooper (who also designed the original French TGV high-speed train) and he took the design to Heuliez who had a car mocked up and then built.

It debuted at the 1970 Paris Motor Show and still used a 2.0-liter flat-six that makes 109 horsepower. Porsche was working with Karmann to build the cars and didn’t want to split the duties between two coachbuilders. Heuliez bought the car from the firm that Cooper was working for when he designed it and kept it until 2012 when they liquidated most of their collection. Since its recent acquisition, the new owner went through the car mechanically and made it fit to drive. It’s a one-off, coachbuilt Porsche Prototype and it should bring between $225,000-$275,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.