Four-Door Rolls-Royce Convertible

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1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Four-Door Cabriolet by Frua & Royle Cars

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 20-21, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

If the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI wasn’t rare enough (only 374 were built between 1968 and 1990 – an eternity as far as single model production goes), this Rolls-Royce is a one-off, four-door convertible.

The Phantom VI was the final version of the numerical Phantoms that began all the way back in 1925 with the Phantom I. A VI was actually Queen Elizabeth’s official state car until 2002. It’s powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 engine making 220 horsepower. VIs were sold as bare chassis and most were bodied by Mulliner Park Ward. This car was sold as a bare chassis to an Englishman who sent it to Frua in Italy for a Sedanca de Ville body to be fitted.

It never was and the chassis changed hands, this time to an American. It wasn’t until 1977 that the body you see here was designed. But it wouldn’t actually be completed until 1993 – after Pietro Frua had died and after the American owner’s collection had been sold. The new owner had Royle Cars Ltd. complete the Frua design and it was done just in time for the 1993 Geneva Auto Show, which makes this the final Phantom VI to be completed.

It also makes this practically a brand new car. It has covered only 72 miles in its life. It’s a Rolls-Royce, so the car’s interior is way off the end of the luxury scale, with a dizzying amount of details scattered throughout. It’s also one of the rarest bodystyles in the world: a four-door convertible. Not many people are crazy enough to build such a car. Only two Phantom VI convertibles were built, here is the other one. This one should bring between $800,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017, $385,000.

Cheetah GT

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1964 Cheetah GT Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monterey, California | August 19, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Shortly after the sporty Corvette went on sale, tuners got their hands on it and began modifying it for racing. Bill Thomas was one of those tuners and he began his career in 1956. GM was impressed and paid him to help with the Corvair and Chevy II.

Thomas also opened Bill Thomas Race Cars in 1960 in Southern California. When Ford partnered with Shelby, General Motors felt a little left out and went to Thomas to see what could be done about it. Thing was, GM had a ban on factory racing so they had to support the program covertly.

So Bill Thomas and Don Edmunds designed the Cheetah. Chevrolet supplied the 400+ horsepower 5.5-liter V-8 and a bunch of other parts. The first two cars were bodied in aluminium by California Metal Shaping. After GM gave the thumbs up, the rest of the cars were fiberglass, done by Contemporary Fiberglass. GM wanted 100 cars to homologate it for FIA competition but they cancelled their support after only 11 cars were made between 1963 and 1965.

This is the fourth fiberglass Cheetah built. It was one of three purchased by Alan Green Chevrolet in Seattle and the only one of those to see action on the track, competing in the SCCA. A subsequent owner converted it for street use, which included stamping his own serial number on the chassis and replacing the body. In 2012, the original body was put back on the car.

There were extra chassis and bodies completed, but only 11 actual cars were ever built, turn-key, by the factory. These are legendary American performance machines that are much rarer than Shelby’s counterpart (and also like the Cobra, originals are way outnumbered by replicas). They rarely change hands and this fully restored example should bring between $300,000-$500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari Daytona Wagon

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1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake by Panther Westwinds

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 20-21, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

We’ll start by urging you to go to Gooding & Company’s website to check out more pictures of this awesome car. Sure, it’s a Ferrari Daytona, but it has been turned into a shooting brake – a two-door wagon. The rear section features a lot of glass, including a huge rear window and gullwing-hinged side glass that fold up. It’s astonishing.

As a 365 GTB/4 this car is powered by a 4.4-liter V-12 making 352 horsepower. The design was actually done by Luigi Chinetti Jr. for a customer at his dealership. The body was built by Panther Westwinds, a manufacturer of sports cars in their own right.

The first owner was a Floridian who surely enjoyed driving this mobile, black, glass greenhouse. It would have a few other American owners (and one Belgian). The current owner acquired the car in 2013 and had it completely restored. It has only covered 4,500 miles in its life, which is incredible. This unique one-off is expected to bring between $700,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix

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1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix

Offered by Bonhams | Monterey, California | August 19, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Bugatti Type 35 (and ensuing series) is one of the most famous Grand Prix Bugattis, launching in 1924. For 1931, Bugatti upped the game, introducing the Type 51 (which to the untrained eye looks identical to the earlier cars). The Type 51 would give way to the Type 54 and later, Type 59.

It is powered by a supercharged 2.3-liter straight-eight that makes 160 horsepower and 180 with the supercharger engaged. It was a true race car, and the competition history of this example includes:

  • 1931 Monaco Grand Prix – 11th, DNF (with Earl Howe)
  • 1932 Monaco Grand Prix – 4th (with Howe)
  • 1933 Monaco Grand Prix – 12th, DNF (with Howe)
  • 1933 French Grand Prix – 9th, DNF (with Howe)

It raced through 1937 before being damaged and sidelined. Years later, the current owner acquired it (in 1983). It has been relatively hidden since then – but has recently been freshened so it does run and drive. It is one of the first of 40 built and was raced competitively in period by Earl Howe (and was driven by Tazio Nuvolari at some point, too). The fantastic history of this car leads it to be one of those “inquire for the pre-sale estimate” types. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $4,000,000.

1950s Mercedes-Benz Station Wagon

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1951 Mercedes-Benz 170 Da Kombi

Offered by Coys | Jüchen, Germany | August 6, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The station wagon boomed in the 1950s – but not just in the United States. While Germany may have produced some wagons, they didn’t build a whole lot of them. Here’s some model history: the 170 DA was an evolution of the W136 Mercedes-Benz that was first introduced in 1935. Production stopped due to the war in 1942 with just over 75,000 built.

After the war ended, W136 production resumed in 1947, thanks to its pre-war popularity. There were two models, the 170 V and the 170 D and in 1950 both were upgraded to the 170 Va and 170 Da respectively – with the 170 Da being the car you see here. The engine is a 1.8-liter straight-four.

The 170 Da was produced between 1950 and 1952 and the Kombi wagon variant is quite rare. This example has been completely restored and looks like it belongs in a museum. It should bring between $66,000-$88,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys.

Update: Sold about $71,000.

Purple Rolls-Royce

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1947 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Convertible by J.S. Inskip

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 20-21, 2016

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith was Rolls’ middle-of-the-line model and it was produced between 1946 and 1958. In 12 years, only 1,883 were produced, keeping with Rolls-Royce’s exclusivity pattern.

But, as you can see, this is no ordinary Silver Wraith. It was ordered new by a wealthy New Yorker and first displayed at the 1949 New York International Motor Show. It is powered by a 4.3-liter straight-six making 126 horsepower (aka “Adequate”). The body, which was originally black, was bodied by J.S. Inskip, who was the Rolls-Royce importer in New York.

Not to oversell it, but this is one of the most stylish cars ever bodied by an American coachbuilder – especially after the war. The original owner put it up for sale in 1952 for $12,500. A couple of owners later, in the 1980s, the car was redone to it’s current, striking, purple. This five owner car will draw a crowd wherever it goes and is expected to bring between $1,250,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2019, high bid of $500,000.

Maybach SW38

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1938 Maybach SW38 Roadster by Spohn

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 19-20, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Want to know how you can tell that Maybachs are great cars? They never come up for sale – that’s how you know. If you’re lucky enough to snag one, you keep it. In the five years or so since this site has been live, I can only recall three of them coming up for auction, this car included. We featured one of them and the car you see here had been on sale at Fantasy Junction in California for at least a few years with a price tag of $3,300,000.

Wilhelm Maybach’s company and its success up to the outbreak of WWII are a direct result of flawless engineering. These were some of the best-built cars money could buy in the 1930s. The competitors for the SW38 included the Mercedes-Benz 540K and the Horch 853A. The SW38 was the short-wheelbase Maybach and it made more power than the other two cars (you know, until you matted the accelerator in the 540K and the supercharger kicked in). This is powered by a 140 horsepower, 3.8-liter straight-six.

With an unparalleled body by Spohn, this car was sold new in Germany and came stateside in 1961. It’s had a number of interesting American owners since and has been restored. The current owner acquired the car in 1999. Only 520 SW38s were built and 152 still exist – only a few are this sporty (in fact, this is one of two SW38 Disappearing Top Roadsters by Spohn). It’s a big money car, and deservedly so. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s.

Update: Sold $1,072,500.

Tojeiro California

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1959 Tojeiro California

Offered by Russo & Steele | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2016

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

John Tojeiro was born in Portugal but lived in England for most of his life. He began designing the racing cars that bore his name in the 1950s. They often used the best engines of the day, be they from Jaguar, MG or whatever.

But in the late 1950s and into the 1960s the mid-engined race car revolution was well under way and Tojeiro knew it. By the early 60s he was building mid-engined cars. This California Barchetta is one of the last front-engined Tojeiro race cars. The engine in this case is a 5.0-liter straight-six from GMC.

The body on this car was designed by Cavendish Morton and was set in the style of the Ferrari California Spyder (hence the car’s name). But it was never completed in the day and was put aside. Much, much later, the head of the Tojeiro Registry acquired the car and had the body completed to original specifications. So what we end up with is a very pretty and functional vintage racer that has never really been raced. It’s fresh and clean and can be yours at Russo & Steele in Monterey this August.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 268 SP

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1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 19-20, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s a car you aren’t likely to get another shot at purchasing. With only two examples produced (of this chassis/engine combo), the 268 SP hails from an era of dramatic change in the racing world. Right about 1960, there was a drastic shift in thought: if we mount the engine behind the driver, maybe these things will handle better.

So Ferrari, and their sports prototype cars, adopted this new philosophy. The SP line of cars debuted in 1961 and only six of this lineage would be built. Only two of them were fitted with this 265 horsepower, 2.6-liter V-8. The awesome body by Fantuzzi is similar to other Ferrari racers of the day, namely the 250 TR 61.

This, car #3 or chassis #0798, has a factory competition history consisting of:

  • 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans – 19th, DNF (with Giancarlo Baghetti and Ludovico Scarfiotti)

After Le Mans, the car came to America to race as part of Luigi Chinetti’s NART team. As part of this team, its competition history includes:

  • 1962 Bahamas Speed Weeks, Nassau Trophy Race – 8th (with Lorenzo Bandini)
  • 1963 12 Hours of Sebring – 34th (with John Fulp and Harry Heuer)
  • 1963 Bahamas Speed Weeks, Nassau Trophy Race – 5th (with Fulp)

It ran a few more races through 1966 and then sat until 1969 when it went to a collector in France. It was restored during his ownership and the current owner acquired the car approximately 20 years ago. It’s a fairly famous car that has been shown at the most exclusive events worldwide. With only six built – and being one of only two built with this engine – this Ferrari is one those seriously collectible 1960s racers. Huge money is one the table here. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2021, $7,705,000.

July 2016 Auction Highlights

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First up, from June, Auctions America’s Santa Monica sale. Our featured Clenet Series II sold for $28,000. The top sale was one of the 1990s best supercars, a 1995 Ferrari F50 that went for $1,952,500. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Next we move on to Mecum in Denver where this 1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL R-Code was the top sale at $155,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

We featured an Oldsmobile Bravada from this sale and it failed to sell with a high bid of $11,000. Click here for complete results.

Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic sale was this month and because of poor time management on our part, we were only able to feature one car, a Delahaye 148L, that sold for $276,265. The top seller was this bewinged 1977 Porsche 935 Group 5 race car for $1,436,510. Full results can be found here.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

H&H Classics were at Chateau Impney in July. We featured three cars from this sale and the top seller among them was the Costin-Nathan for $105,855, blowing its estimate out of the water. The top seller overall was this 1990 Ferrari Testarossa for $140,384.

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

Our other feature cars both sold, with the Connaught bringing $104,397 and the Saxon $14,953. Click here for more.

And finally, Brightwells’ July sale. This 1966 Citroen DS 21 Chapron Decapotable was the top seller at $73,886.

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

The one-off Silurian Tourer that we featured sold for $29,026 and the older of the two Albion trucks sold, bringing $27,707 (the other failed to meet its reserve). Click here for complete results.