HRG Le Mans Lightweight

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1947 HRG Le Mans Lightweight Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, England | March 21, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

HRG was founded by three men, none of whom you probably know personally, nor have ever even heard of. Actually, one of them – Ron Godfrey – worked at both Frazer Nash and GN, the cyclecar company prior to co-founding HRG. The first HRG was available in 1936.

They were a sports car company that enjoyed showcasing their products on the track, through their factory racing team, L’Écurie du Lapin Blanc. All HRGs were either 1100 or 1500 models, denoting engine size. This car uses a 1.5-liter straight-four making 60 horsepower and was originally built as an HRG Aerodynamic – one of only 35 built.

It had some early racing success and HRG decided it would be a good car to use to try out a new body. HRG converted three cars to a new style and they competed in the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans. This car DNF’d after 83 laps, finishing 36th with drivers Jack Scott-Douglas and Neville Gee.

After the race, all three cars were sold to the same guy. In 1953, the body was changed to what you see here. The wheelbase was also shortened, if you can believe it, as it already looks quite lengthy. The current owners have had the car for eight years and had it restored. It’s a lovely old race car welcome at many historic events – a place where HRGs excel. In fact, HRG only built 241 total cars and 225 are still around – many of them can still be seen on the track. This one should bring between $250,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $243,444.

February 2015 Auction Highlights Pt. II

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First up in this rundown is Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale where this 1993 Jaguar XJ220 was the to sale at $287,595.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Our feature car from this sale, the Alfa Romeo SZ, sold for a strong $130,805. Click here for full results.

Up next is H&H Auctions’ Pavilion Gardens sale. The top sale was this 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL for $84,950.

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

We didn’t get to feature a car from this sale, but this 1956 Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire 346 is kinda pretty. It sold for only $9,660. Check out full results here.

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

The next auction we’re covering is Mecum’s sale of the Rogers’ Classic Car Museum. The top sale here was this 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Mulliner Drophead Coupe for $320,000. Our featured Nash Special Six sold for $17,000. Click here for complete results of some very interesting and rare pre-and-post-war American convertibles.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Now we have something a little different. Bonhams held an auction in Oxford that consisted largely of Victorian carriages. It was all from a single private collection and the big seller was this c.1835 Traveling Landau by Adams & Hooper. It went for $376,416.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

There were three early motorized horseless carriages also on offer. The top seller among those was this 1911 Sears Model P for $31,431. Check out full results here.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Finally, Coys’ Spring Classics sale was held March 11th. The top sale was this 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. It sold for $236,800.

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Our featured Lotus 59 did not sell. Check out full results here.

Aryathis Concept

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1989 Aryathis

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 15, 2015

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Yes, that is the only photo supplied in the catalog that shows the entire car. Does this car look vaguely familiar? Like it might have once been something but it was reworked significantly and now it only barely resembles its IROC past?

That’s right, this is a redone Camaro. It’s a one-off concept car built by Automobiles High-Tech of Langres, France. They designed this car in 1994 and displayed it at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show. It’s based on an ’89 Camaro, hence the year listed above.

It’s powered by a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8. The company planned to build 19 more examples but this ended up being the only one constructed. On the plus side, this is a fully functional car and has a nice, 1990s luxury interior. You can read more here and see more from Osenat here.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 400 SA Cabriolet

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1960 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 14, 2015

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ferrari 400 Superamerica is a very underrated Ferrari. Maybe it’s not so much underrated as it is just unknown – only 47 were produced in total (compared to a similar vintage 250 California Spider, which is actually much more common, comparatively). A short-wheelbase cabriolet like this car is much, much rarer.

This beautiful machine is powered by a 4.0-liter V-12 making 340 horsepower. It has a smaller engine than the previous model (the 410 Superamerica) had and other upgrades. The first 400 Superamericas were all short-wheelbase cars – and only six of them were built.

The ownership history has this car bouncing between continents on either side of the Atlantic. More than half of the six SWB cars built were coupes, so this Pinin Farina Cabriolet, in wonderful Verde Bottiglia green paint – is pretty rare. The proceeds for this sale will benefit charity and it is expected to bring between $6,000,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s Amelia Island lineup.

Update: Sold $6,380,000.

1911 EMF Race Car

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1911 EMF Model 30 Two-Seat Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This is a race car that was built the same year the first Indianapolis 500 was held. It didn’t race there, but it looks just like the cars that did. These were stripped down versions of road cars with two seats and light body work.

EMF was the abbreviation of Everitt-Metzger-Flanders – three men who had been around the booming auto industry for years. They built cars together for a few years between 1908 and 1912. Studebaker acquired them and shut them down because their quality wasn’t exactly great.

This car was entered in the 1911 Tiedeman Trophy Race in Savannah, Georgia. It was a big event – bigger than that new event held way back in Indiana. EMF entered three cars in the race and they finished 1-2-3. This car was driven by Jack Tower, who would race at Indy twice (in 1911 and 1913).

It is powered by a straight-four that makes 30 horsepower. It was discovered by the current owned in the 1970s and was restored then and restored again in the 2000s. It is the only surviving EMF racing car and it is thought to be the only surviving car that competed in the Tiedeman Trophy Race.

Pre-WWI race cars are extremely rare but they are incredible machines. This car has never been offered for public sale before. Now’s your chance if you have between $150,000-$200,000. to spend. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup.

Update: Sold $242,000.

Frazer Nash Le Mans

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1955 Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Chicester, England | March 21, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Archibald Frazer-Nash built some really cool cars under his own name (he also imported and attached his name to some BMWs). One such car was the Frazer Nash Targia Florio, a sleek convertible built between 1952 and 1954. The company experimented with putting a hard top on one of the Targa Florios and the Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe was born (not to be confused with the Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica).

The Le Mans Coupe was built between 1953 and 1956. It was the first Frazer Nash closed-top car offered and it featured a 2.0-liter straight-six making 100 or 140 horsepower. This car was actually prepped for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed there in 1959. It was driven by William Wilks and John Dashwood, who crashed the car and they were a DNF in 47th place. It was the final race for Frazer Nash at Le Mans.

The car was repaired and has had a number of owners of the years. It is in great condition and is very rare in that only nine were built and this is one of three to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It should sell for between $850,000-$1,00,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $695,854.

French Front Oldsmobile

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1904 Oldsmobile Model N Touring Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This attractive Oldsmobile is a little different than the cars the company was famous for in its early years. The Curved Dash was Olds’ signature look in this era, but this Model N has what they called a “French Front” – a more traditional look styled after the cars coming out of France.

Available only in 1904 and 1905, the Touring Runabout was powered by a seven horsepower, single-cylinder engine of 1.9-liters. It was more upscale than the Curved Dash, featuring an Oldsmobile first: a steering wheel! It cost $100 more, too, at $750. It was available in either this green or a dark red.

Oldsmobile built 2,500 cars in 1904 between the Touring Runabout and a related model, the Light Tonneau. So rarity is guaranteed. This car was restored in the 1950s or 1960s by General Motors and remained in their Heritage Collection until 2011, so it has been well cared for. It’s a good-looking, early Oldsmobile. It should sell for between $65,000-$85,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $94,600.

1922 Wills Sainte Claire

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1922 Wills Sainte Claire Model A-68 Rumble-Seat Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Wills Sainte Claire is an interesting marque for a few reasons. One, it’s three separate words and I can’t think of another car that can say that. Secondly, its founder, C. Harold Wills, was a former Ford employee responsible for the Model T’s vanadium steel as well as the Ford script logo we all know today. So the first word of the car’s name comes from this last name, the other two come from the Saint Clair River in Marysville, Michigan, where the Wills Sainte Claire factory was located (the “e”s were for cachet).

Wills left Ford with a check of $1.5 million in his back pocket and ventured out on his own in 1921. 1922 was the first year for manufacture and the Model A-68 was the only model offered. It featured a 67 horsepower V-8 and was available in six body styles with this four-passenger Rumble Seat Roadster being the least expensive model at $2,875.

This is a well-optioned example that has an older restoration but it still shows very nicely. It runs well and can be fun for you for between $110,000-$114,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $151,250.

Lotus 59

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1970 Lotus 59

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | March 10, 2015

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The Lotus 59 was a successful Formula 2 racing car built by Lotus for the 1969 and 1970 seasons (although it was replaced mid-1970). The 59 chassis was actually used in Formula 3 as well as Formula B and Formula Ford in addition to F2. The only thing that changed on the car between the series was the engine.

This is an ex-Team Lotus car that competed in the European Formula 3 championship. It was a pay-to-drive ride for up-and-coming drivers looking to make an impression and attract a chance in a Formula One car. This car was raced by Bev Bond and was the winning car at the 1970 Oulton Park British Empire Trophy race.

Later, this car would be used in the Ron Howard movie Rush, where it stared as James Hunt’s F3 car. As an F3 car, this car would be powered by a 1.0-liter Cosworth straight-four making about 100-110 horsepower. You can read more here and see more from Coys here.

Update: Not sold.

Stutz Super Bearcat

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1932 Stutz DV32 Super Bearcat Convertible by Weymann

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

We recently featured another Stutz DV32, but this one is a little sportier. The Stutz Bearcat is legendary in the world of cars – being one of the first sports cars, introduced prior to WWI. When it was introduced in 1932, the Fred Duesenberg-designed DV32 engine was a monster. And Stutz was out to recapture their sporting glory.

They stuffed a 5.3-liter straight-eight engine putting out 156 horsepower into the tiniest of chassis (at just 116 inches, which is just shy of two feet longer than an MG TD, but with double the cylinders). Look how short this car is – and how much of it is just cowl. It’s the 1932 equivalent of strapping yourself to a rocket.

The body on this car is by Weymann and it’s actually fabric (so it’s pretty light). In fact, this car still has its original skin! This is in part thanks to the meticulous care it has been given most of its life, spending long periods of time in important collections, including that of Dr. Fred Simeone. But not only is this a piece of history – it’s a usable one, having been exercised regularly by its current owner, a Stutz expert.

It can now be yours for somewhere in the neighborhood of $850,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $1,012,000.