Lozier Runabout

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1914 Lozier Model 84 Runabout

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Auburn, Indiana | August 31-September 2, 2023

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Lozier was one of America’s grand marques in the years leading up to the first world war. Many of their cars were very large tourers and even very large two seaters. This car, however, (and it may just be Worldwide’s photos where the car is a mere spec in an expansive background) looks to be about the smallest Lozier one can find.

The Model 84 was offered in 1914. It was powered by a 6.0-liter inline-four that was rated at just under 29 horsepower when new (but actually put out about 56 horsepower). Lozier built four-cylinder cars off and on, but this had the lowest rated output of any Lozier car.

Two body styles were offered: a seven-passenger tourer and a two-seat runabout. Both cost $2,100 when new. I love the bodywork on this car as there is so much extra chassis, as if they needed the spare tire to be mounted horizontally to look like a fifth-wheel hitch. Anyway, read more about this car here.

Update: Sold $81,200.

TVR Vixen

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1969 TVR Vixen S2

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Silverstone, U.K. | August 26, 2023

Photo – Iconic Auctioneers

Well look at that, Silverstone Auctions changed their name. Now they are “Iconic Auctioneers,” which is a tad self congratulatory. But anyway, they are still offering some pretty cool cars, including this TVR Vixen.

All early TVRs pretty much look the same, and the Vixen was the company’s four-cylinder (and later six-cylinder) car. It replaced the similar-looking Grantura in 1967 and was offered across four series and a few sub-models. V8-powered cars were called the Tuscan.

This S2 is one of 438 such cars built and is powered by a 1.6-liter Ford Kent crossflow inline-four. The body is fiberglass and the whole package is pretty light. They’re quick, but not quite as insane as a Tuscan. This one has been owned by the same guy for 50 years and should sell for between $22,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $20,144.

’35 Cadillac V8 Convertible Sedan

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1935 Cadillac V-8 Model 355-D Convertible Sedan by Fisher

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Cadillac’s 355 series of V8-powered automobiles was produced between 1931 and 1935. These were grand-looking cars with 2/3 or half of the cylinders of the very-similar-looking V12 and V16 cars also offered around this time. In 1934, the cars were restyled to look quite a bit more modern, and that’s what you’re seeing here.

There was an immense number of body styles offered by the factory, with the bodies either built by Fisher of Fleetwood. Two different Fisher-bodied convertible sedans were offered: the Series 10 (on a 128-inch wheelbase) or the Series 20 (on a 136-inch wheelbase). The catalog does not differentiate, but it looks long.

Power is from Cadillac’s 5.8-liter V8 that made 130 horsepower. This car was delivered new in Washington, D.C. It’s the rear wheel spats that make this such an eye catcher. It’s sleek and, for 1935, quite modern. Now it has an estimate of $125,000-$150,000. More info can be found here.

Ol’ Yaller Mk VII

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1961 Ol’ Yaller Mk VII

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Max Balchowsky was a race car driver (and stunt driver) who built a series of sports racing specials in the 1950s and ’60s. Nine cars were built – all called Old Yeller or Ol’ Yaller. This one was the 7th.

It was produced by Balchowsky in 1961, his most prolific year in which four Yallers were constructed. This one was sold new to Don Kirby in New York and subsequently raced in SCCA events. It was delivered new with a Devin body and was fitted with 327ci Chevy V8.

A restoration was carried out in 2009, and it retains that 5.4-liter motor. It’s one of three Yallers intended for Chevrolet power and is said to be one of just a few still set up for road use (though it has history on classic road rallies too). The pre-sale estimate here is $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $307,500.

1916 Hispano-Suiza Roadster

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1916 Hispano-Suiza Type 24 Roadster

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

This is a Spanish-built Hispano-Suiza. Their most popular models came from their French arm in the 1920s and ’30s. This is a much smaller car than those – and earlier. It’s a Type 24, the company’s 8/10HP model.

This model was available from 1914 through 1922 and features a 1.9-liter inline-four that was good for about 30 horsepower. This car was in a private Spanish collection as early as the 1960s and was moved to the U.K. by its current owner in the 2010s.

Gooding describes the car as “recommissioned” but it has clearly been restored at some point. Hispano-Suizas are not a car you can find on any old car lot, and early cars like this don’t come up for sale often, probably not even annually. The no-reserve estimate here is $175,000-$225,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $123,200.

Pope-Toledo Racer

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1904 Pope-Toledo Two-Seat Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 18, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Colonel Pope founded five different car companies, four of which had his name attached to them. The Pope-Toledo was built in Toledo, Ohio, from 1903 to 1909. After it closed, the factory was sold to Overland.

A Pope-Toledo competed in the first Vanderbilt Cup in 1904. Not this car, though. This is an assembled car that uses a 24-horsepower Pope-Toledo frame, a post-1904 3.4-liter inline-four, and a reconstructed body imitating that used by the Vanderbilt Cup car, which was driven by Herb Lytle. Lytle previously owned this engine, which is larger than a stock Pope-Toledo unit.

The car’s low bodywork implies sport, and the fact that it has dual chain drive implies some kind of speed. This may not look the part, but for 1904, it was a performance car. Then again, the car as we see it is not from 1904 but from many decades later. It has an estimate of $200,000-$300,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Stutz DV-32 by Rollston

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1933 Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria by Rollston

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 1930s we weird. Everyone was broke, yet American car companies turned out their very best work. Some of the top American cars built came from this era: Packard Twelve, Duesenberg Model J, Auburn Twelve, Pierce-Arrow V12, Lincoln K, Cadillac V16, Marmon Sixteen, and this, the Stutz DV-32.

It was produced between 1932 and the end of Stutz production in 1935. The engine was a 32-valve 5.3-liter inline-eight that made 156 horsepower. It wasn’t a V12… or even a V16. But it could still do 80 mph.

This car was bodied by Rollston of New York and has known history back to 1952. It was later in the Harrah collection for over 20 years. It now carries an estimate of $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,517,500.

Ferrari 412P

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1967 Ferrari 412P

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 18, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

This car is proof that, if you watch long enough, just about everything will come up for sale. Ferrari‘s “P”-line of sports prototype race cars are among the most valuable and sought after vehicles in the world. Only four 412Ps were built, and two of those were actually converted from P3s.

This car, chassis number 0854, is one of two factory-built 412Ps. But not much left on it is from the factory. The car was purchased by David Piper in 1968, and the original aluminum body had seen a few years of hard racing duty at that point. And instead of repair it, he replaced the body with a fiberglass one. Which was then destroyed in a fire in 1969. It was then rebuilt again, and this time as a spyder, before it was actually restored to how it looked when new. This was done by the current owner, famed Ferrari guy Jim Glickenhaus.

With these old racing cars, it’s sort of like the “idea” of them. Eventually every part will be replaced, but as long as you can link the chain back to when it was new, then you’ve got the real deal.

The engine is a 4.0-liter V12 that makes somewhere around 420 horsepower. The period racing history for this chassis includes:

  • 1967 1000km Spa – 3rd (with Richard Attwood and Lucien Bianchi)
  • 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans – 23rd (with Attwood and Piers Courage)

All of this is good and well, but there is still one more important detail (it’s not the price, which most cannot afford anyway and will be well into the eight figures). It’s this: this car has license plates. The late 1960s is when the end came for sports prototypes to also be made street legal. By the 1970s, the cars were too extreme. This is pretty extreme, but you can still take it to the grocery store. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $30,255,000.

Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S

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1999 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 18, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The insane front-engined Panoz Esperante GTR-1 put Panoz on the map, and once that class was eliminated from FIA GT competition, Panoz re-tooled and came up with the LMP-1 Roadster S. Then they also founded the ALMS so they had somewhere to race it in the U.S.

It looks like an open-cockpit GTR-1, and it kind of is. They were powered by a 6.0-liter Ford-based Elan V8 that made 620 horsepower. This particular car is without an engine. It is chassis #002, and its competition history includes:

  • 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans – 11th (with Johnny O’Connell, Jan Magnussen, and Max Angelelli)
  • 1999 Petit Le Mans – 5th (with O’Connell, Magnussen, and Memo Gidley)

Those are some grade A late-90s/early-00s endurance racing names. These Panoz prototypes are LOUD – you know, when they have an engine. And this one would be welcome at most historic racing events. It has an estimate of $350,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $428,500.

Mercer Raceabout

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1914 Mercer Type 35J Raceabout

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

Few cars are as truly fantastic for their era – or in general – as the Mercer Raceabout. The first Raceabouts appeared in 1911, and the sporty, low-slung model would continue to be available – in name at least – through the end of Mercer production in 1925.

But its these early ones that are really special. Later cars got more bodywork and appeared as two-seat sports cars for their day. But pre-1915, these cars were bare bones. In 1914, power was provided by 4.9-liter T-head inline-four that made 58 horsepower. This car could do 60 mph with ease in a time when most cars on the road couldn’t really crest half that. One finished second in the 1913 Indy 500.

They weren’t cheap, however. This Model J would’ve cost $2,600 in 1914. This one was restored in 1967 and has been with the same owner since 1971. Just look at it. It’s one of the best cars of all time.

You know how people say no one wants old cars, especially as the people who lusted after them when they were younger die off? Well, everyone who wanted one of these when they were new is long gone. Yet this one still has an estimate of $3,000,000-$4,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $4,790,000.