Knox Touring

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1910 Knox Type O 5-Passenger Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Ever heard the saying “right place, right time?” Well Harry Knox lived it. He lived next door to automotive pioneer Frank Duryea who told him he should get into the auto business himself. So Knox set up the Knox Automobile Company in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1900.

When I think of Knox cars, this is what I picture. But what we have here is a large touring car. Knox started moving this direction around 1905, but their cars really started getting big in 1908. The Type O (which I show to be a 1909 model, though this one is listed as a 1910) was offered in two different wheelbases. This is the longer of the two.

It’s powered by a 45 horsepower, 6.1-liter straight-four. The Five-Passenger Touring body style was one of four offered in this chassis configuration and it cost $3,000 when new. The restoration of this example was completed in 2011. These later Knox cars don’t show up often, and the price of this one reflects that: it carries a pre-sale estimate between $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Scottsdale lineup.

Update: Sold $145,000.

Bristol 402

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1949 Bristol 402 Cabriolet

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2018

Photo – Gooding & Company

Unlike many of their peers, Bristol did not dabble in automobiles until after WWII. Known primarily for their airplanes, they produced their first car, the 400, in 1947. The followup to that car was the 401 Sedan in 1948.

The following year, Bristol decided to build a drop-top version of the 401 and they called it the 402 Cabriolet. Some Bristol models have a sort of ungainly appearance to them, but this car is downright pretty. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter straight-six that makes 80 horsepower. It’s not quick, but it should do 90 mph.

Sold new to a Thai Prince living in England, this 402 is one of just 26 built. It’s thought that as few as 13 are still around, which is pretty few… but then again Bristol has never been about building cars in any appreciable quantities. Restored just last year, this thing is fresh. It should bring between $425,000-$525,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Molzon Concept Corsa

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1968 Molzon Concept Corsa GT38

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

This aggressive-looking one-off was the pride and joy of former General Motors designer William Molzon. Molzon worked at GM under Larry Shinoda and wanted to create a sports car that was designed with both the design and engineering in mind from the get-go.

In 1963 he started his effort. The chassis is light, built using one-inch steel tubing. The engine is a race-modified 2.7-liter flat-six tuned to produce 200 horsepower. The body is fiberglass and it was hand-laid by Molzon over a Styrofoam base. The transmission is from a first-generation Porsche 911.

Weighing in at about 1,100 pounds, it’s about as nimble as things came in the 1960s. And it looks loud too, like it barks (in fact, it almost has a dog-like stance). But few people probably know just how loud it is – this car has only covered 959 since new. Molzon kept the car for 50 years, just recently departing with it earlier this year. Featured in Road & Track in 1970, the Molzon Concept Corsa GT38 should bring between $100,000-$125,000 in Scottsdale 2018. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $41,800.

Phantom III Pillarless Saloon

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1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Pillarless Saloon by Vesters & Neirinck

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

By definition, the Rolls-Royce Phantom III was not a sporty automobile. It was a huge car, introduced by Rolls in 1936 and it lasted through 1939. The bare chassis alone weighed in at just over two tons. It featured a big, 7.3-liter V-12 making about 160 horsepower, which was a decent amount of power, but not enough to scoot the pure massiveness of this car along at any decent clip.

But, I suppose, that has never been the point of a Rolls-Royce, V-12 or otherwise (the Phantom III was the first V-12 RR and the last one until 1998). Because these were sold as bare chassis, it was kind of up to the coachbuilder of your choice to make it seem sporty and that is where Vesters & Neirinck of Brussels succeeded wildly with this car. The low, extremely solid-looking roof, swoopy fenders and two-tone paint really do make this car look sporty. And the fact that it lacks B-pillars is icing on that design cake.

Now let’s talk about this car’s downright bizarre ownership history. It is said that during WWII this car was used by the King of Belgium and Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. In the late 1950s the car was in Germany and a decade later it was in the U.S. where it had a series of owners. Then, in the 1980s, it was purchased by G. Gordon Liddy (of Watergate infamy). He sold it to Charles Nelson Reilly, who, because he was way before my time, became known to me thanks to Alec Baldwin’s not-as-over-the-top-as-you-might-think impression of him on Saturday Night Live.

Restored between 1992 and 1994, this car won its class at Pebble Beach and has been in the same collection for nearly 20 years. Only 727 Phantom IIIs were built and this is, so far, the best-looking example I’ve seen (though we featured another wild one a few weeks ago). It should bring between $550,000-$750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $593,500.

Sabra Sport

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1962 Sabra Sport Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

The Sabra was Israel’s first and only sports car. Built in limited numbers by Autocars Co. Ltd of Haifa, the Sabra Sport was built alongside a few Autocars-branded models that were a little more ordinary-looking. The design of the Sabra was accomplished by Autocars purchasing the rights to the Ashley kit car.

The body is fibgerlass and it was built by Reliant, who actually ended up building the first 122 cars in England. They themselves built a version of the Sabra as the “Sabre” under their own marque. This is one of those “Israel-by-way-of-Tamworth, England” cars. It was delivered new to a Sabra dealer in the U.S.

The engine here is a 1.7-liter Ford straight-four making 61 horsepower. You could buy these in Coupe form as well. Only 379 were built between 1961 and 1968, including both the drop-top and hard-top models. Autocars Ltd actually lasted into the 1980s.

This car was never sold by that Florida dealer and was instead put in storage. It was discovered in 2000 with just 40 miles on it (!). It Completely restored thereafter, it has covered just 650 miles since new. It’s incredible. This example should bring between $50,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $40,700.

Hitler’s Mercedes

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1939 Mercedes-Benz 770K Grosser Offener Tourenwagen

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2018

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Worldwide Auctioneers is calling this “the most historically significant automobile ever offered for public sale.” And they aren’t likely wrong. Yes, this is the touring limousine ordered by and built for Adolf Hitler. And while that may be an unpopular association to have with any item, let’s keep in mind that this is a piece of history – and one of the finest examples of pre-WWII automotive engineering extant.

The 770 was an extremely rare and expensive car when new. Introduced in 1930, it was built through 1943. In that span of time, only 205 examples left the factory in two different series. This is a Series II car, the series which was available beginning in 1938 and only 88 were built.

The 770K is powered by a 7.7-liter straight-eight engine fitted with a supercharger that, once engaged, produced 230 horsepower. Capable of speeds of 100 mph or more, the 770K was Germany’s answer to big American cars from Packard, Marmon, Cadillac, and Duesenberg as well as some of Europe’s finest from Hispano-Suiza, Bugatti, Horch, Maybach, and Isotta Fraschini. It was the best Mercedes had to offer.

This car sports an Open Tourer body by in-house coachbuilder Sindelfingen. It has bullet-resistant glass and the body is armor-plated. There’s seating for six (at least) and it was used by Hitler in various parades around Europe during the war.

In 1943 it was sent back to Mercedes for maintenance and it saw little use after that. The car was taken by the American military and was used by the military police in France. Because the car was so magnificent, several service members tried to export it back to the U.S. A Belgian owner succeeded in getting it to the U.S. in 1946 to its new owner in North Carolina.

That owner donated it to the local VFW and they used it in parades, too. It was discovered in storage in 1976, purchased, and restored. It was thought at that time to have been Himmler’s car, but research indicated that it was one of Hitler’s four cars. In the 1980s it became part of the Imperial Palace Collection in Las Vegas and, no doubt, became a tourist draw.

In 2004 it found its way back into Europe as part of a massive Mercedes-Benz collection. Only five 770K Offener Tourenwagens still exist and this is one of three in private hands. Add to it the infamy of its original owner and you have what I consider to be the first car truly worthy of the “Estimate Available Upon Request” tag so often seen with big money cars. It’s a real question what it will sell for. As a piece of automotive magnificance and as an historical artifact, its price could be monumental. But will its close association with Hitler and Nazi Germany hold it back? There’s only one way to find out: head to Worldwide’s sale in Scottsdale next month. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Update: Not sold, high bid of $7,000,000.

Kurtis Kraft 500G

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1957 Kurtis 500G

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2018

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Indy roadsters, as this style of race car is often called, are the coolest cars that ever raced at Indianapolis. These were driven by men who muscled them around the track, two hands on a steering wheel that looked like it came out of a bus. Frank Kurtis’ cars – when equipped with that Offy underhood – were unstoppable in the 500.

The KK 500G was an evolution of earlier Kurtis 500 cars but with upgraded aerodynamics. This particular chassis was at one point owned by Smokey Yunick – his first “major league” open-wheel race car. It’s competition history includes:

  • 1957 Indianapolis 500 – 5th (with Andy Linden)
  • 1958 Indianapolis 500 – 30th, DNF (with Paul Goldsmith)

After it’s brief history on the Championship circuit, it was used a supermodified car before being rescued by a major Indy roadster collector and restored to the condition you see here. It’s still powered by the legendary 4.2-liter Offenhauser straight-four. Only 14 Kurtis-Kraft 500Gs were built and they’re one of the best-looking of their type. This one should bring between $300,000-$375,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $308,000.

Alfa 1900C SS Speciale

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1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Speciale by Boano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was Alfa’s executive car introduced at the 1950 Paris Motor Show. Produced through 1959, it could be had as a four-door sedan, two-door coupe, or two-door convertible. This is not the standard coupe.

There were a few sub-models of the 1900, including the 1900 Super, 1900TI, and the 1900C – which was the short wheelbase version. This SS version is powered by a 115 horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-four.

Quite a few of these were coachbuilt specials and many of those were one-offs, including this Turin Motor Show car by Mario Boano. Sold after that show to a Milanese buyer, it remained in Italy for quite some time, finally finding a foreign owner in 2013. The restoration you see here wasn’t complete until 2017 – and it has been restored back to as it was on the Turin Motor Show stand.

The styling on this car is very Jet Age, carrying bodywork that fit right in with other coachbuilt specials from the era. When it crosses the block in January, it is expected to bring between $1,250,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,270,000.

November/December 2017 Auction Highlights

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We’re winding up 2017 and we’re starting with Historics at Brooklands at Mercedes-Benz World. Two cars here shared the “top sale” honors. They were this 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL:

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

And this 1994 Lamborghini Diablo VT. Both brought $182,216.

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The Peugeot van we featured failed to sell, but the Ligier microcar went for just $2,987 -a steal for a true oddity. Click here for complete results.

Brightwells sort of snuck a sale in under our radar in late November and we didn’t get to feature anything from it. The top sale was $89,965 for this 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Roadster. Click here for more results.

Photo – Brightwells

Next up, Bonhams’ first of two December sales held in London. This, the Bond Street Sale, appropriately saw this very Bond-esque ex-Paul McCartney 1964 Aston Martin DB5 bring the most money of any car in the sale: $1,811,994.

Photo – Bonhams

That means that the Ferrari 288 GTO (and the Bristol 411) failed to sell. Click here for more from this sale.

RM Sotheby’s held their “Icons” sale in New York City and this 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione blew everything else away, selling for $17,990,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The three cars we featured from this sale all sold, with the Pagani bringing the most at $1,850,000. The Marmon sold for $962,000 and the Chrysler Special $885,000. Click here for the rest of the big dollar cars (and they were all big dollar cars).

Finally, for 2017, Leclere auctioned off some of Citroen’s private reserve. The top sale was the Tubyk Concept we featured for $43,747. The 1980 Xenia Concept missed its estimate, bringing just $8,616. Most Interesting goes to this semi-bizarre 2007 Citroen Jumpy “Snow Atlantic” by Sbarro which sold for $21,210.

Photo – Leclere

The other Sbarro creation was the topless Berlingo and it sold for $12,593. The two Eco 2000 prototypes both sold with the 1983 version bringing $11,268, while the 1984  version brought $19,222. And the Citela Concept sold for $17,233. Click here for complete results.

Juan Peron’s Ferrari

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1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s weren’t always red. In fact, this yellow and black paint scheme with whitewalls and knock-off wire wheels is one of the most brilliant Ferrari road car liveries we’ve seen in a while.

The 212 Inter was introduced at the 1951 Brussels Motor Show and produced in either 73 or 82 examples through the following year. This particular chassis (#49) was on Ferrari’s stand at the 1952 Paris Salon where it was purchased by Juan Perón, President of Argentina. The car remained in his possession until he was forced out of Argentina in 1955. In 1987 it was sold to a European and the car was then restored. The current owner acquired it in 1999

The 212 Inter is powered by a 150 horsepower 2.6-liter V-12. Bodies were supplied by different coachbuilders including Vignale and Touring. This is a one-off body by Ghia and it is fantastic. The proportions are perfect and that understated from end with dim headlights just begs you to buy it. The livery it sports is what it looked like on the Paris stand in 1952.

Early Ferraris are some of the best looking Ferraris and this one has pretty impressive provenance. It is expected to bring between $1,600,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,187,500.