A Very Original B.N.C.

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1930 B.N.C. Type 527 Voiturette

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

B.N.C. is not a household name when it comes to classic cars. They were only around from 1923 through 1935 and most of their cars were very sporty, competing in races at tracks such as Spa and Le Mans. The car you see here was actually raced during the very first race at Watkins Glen.

The Type 527 was a racing model that used a 927cc straight-four Ruby engine. This particular car had a Ford 2.2-liter V-8 dropped in it during the 1940s after it was purchased by an American in 1940. This car could be found at SCCA events throughout the East Coast in the immediate Post-War period and in 1948 it finished 8th overall in the inaugural Watkins Glen Grand Prix.

This car has been preserved and is pretty much all-original (except for the engine of course). And that’s pretty remarkable considering how much this thing has been raced in its life. It should sell for between $170,000-$220,000. You can check out more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $181,500.

Delahaye Torpedo Roadster

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1937 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

There are cars that serious collectors must have. This is one of those cars. Figoni et Falaschi-bodied cars are some of the most desirable coachbuilt cars in the world. And the Delahaye Torpedo Roadster is one of their most iconic designs. It’s the teardrop bodystyle combined with open air motoring. It is Paris in the 1930s.

The Delahaye 135 was introduced in 1935 and it uses a 3.6-liter straight-six making 95 horsepower. The Competition Court version of the 135 was the top-of-the-line model and this chassis was shipped to Figoni et Falaschi to receive this body for Delahaye, who showed the car at least once before selling it.

This car arrived in New York in 1939 and has been in American ownership since. The engine was actually replaced in 1939 and painted red at some point. In 1970 it was freshened and repainted its original colors – the ones you see here. It’s been with the same owner for 50 years so this is the first time this car has come up for public sale in a long time.

Only 13 streamlined Figoni et Falaschi bodies like this would be built and this is one of only two short-chassis Torpedo Roadsters that still exist. This is a multi-million dollar car with an “estimate available upon request.” Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Amelia Island. And look at these lines – tell me it isn’t worth it:

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Update: Sold $6,600,000.

Duesenberg SJ-494

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1934 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Another beautiful Duesenberg for sale at another top auction. This is a supercharged Model J (or “SJ”) and it is one done originally by Duesenberg – as many Model Js have been converted to this more desirable variant years later.

These cars would do speeds approaching 140 mph – which is insane considering it was 1934. Power was up to 320 with the supercharger attached to the 6.9-liter straight-eight engine. This car lost its supercharger at one point and has a dual-carb setup on it, good for almost 400 horsepower. Could you imagine doing 150 mph in this car!?

The car was owned by it’s first lady owner for about 10 years, appearing in a film during that time. It has had many owner since – including a former president of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club. The restoration is old but the car holds up incredibly well. This is the only LeBaron Convertible Sedan attached to an SJ – if you thought it wasn’t rare enough already.

Pre-sale estimate is $1,500,000-$1,750,000 and you can find out more here and see more form RM in Amelia Island here.

Update: Sold $1,567,500.

Artcurial Retromobile 2014 Highlights

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We featured quite a number of cars from Artcurial’s awesome Retromobile sale. The top sale there was this 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sportsman Coupe by Gurney-Nutting for $2,955,945.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Our top feature car was from the sale’s second day all-Alfa Romeo sale. The Giulia TZ brought $1,289,366. Our other Alfa Romeo’s all sold: the Quattroroute brought $75,604, the Alfetta Turbodelta sold for $49,867, the 75 Turbo Evoluzione $38,606, and the Alfetta Grand Prix Edition $14,477. Cool – or crazy – cars were topped by this 1994 Citroen ZX Rally Raid car for $209,199.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Another weird Citroen (aren’t they all?) was this 1982 ECO 2000 Prototype that sold for $17,220.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Both of our feature microcars sold. The Reyonnah Prototype sold for $168,903 and the Pierre Faure Electric brought an impressive. $69,170. Our featured Ferrari 166 failed to sell as did the Duesenberg and one of our featured Delages – the D6-70 Mylord.

Our other three featured Delages all sold. The D6-70 Coach Panoramique brought $101,342. The D8 Roadster by Chapron sold for $438,318. And the incredible D8 S by Pourtout brought $1,281,647. And our Gregoire Phaeton sold for $56,301. One final cool car is this 1952 Cooper-Bristol F2 Biplace Sport. it was originally an open-wheel race car that was converted into a sports car in 1953 and sold for $716,099. Check out full results here.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

AC 3000ME

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1982 AC 3000ME

Offered by H&H Auctions | Buxton, U.K. | February 26, 2014

1982 AC 3000ME

The AC 300ME was a mid-engined (hence the “ME” in the name) sports car unveiled by AC Cars in 1973. The British automobile industry was failing right and left during the 1970s and production didn’t actually begin until 1979. They wanted to build 250 a year.

The car used a 3.0-liter Ford Essex V-6 making 138 horsepower. In 1984, AC Cars was in financial ruin and they were re-organized as AC (Scotland) Plc. This company could only survive financially for about a year before it went under as well.

The car you see here is one of 71 cars built by AC Cars (the Scottish company built 30 for a total of about 101 cars – far short of the 250 per year they predicted). This car was actually used as a factory demonstrator and was later reworked to house an Alfa Romeo 2.5-liter (and finally) the 3.0-liter engine it has now. This is likely the only 3000ME with a 3.0-liter Alfa engine.

These cars are very rare but this is one of the nicest examples in existence as it was factory owned at birth and has had only two owners since they sold it. It was one of AC’s final “original” cars before they started recycling the Cobra. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from H&H’s sale.

Update: Sold $22,500.

Rolls-Royce Hyperion

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2008 Rolls-Royce Hyperion by Pininfarina

For Sale at Alain Class Motors | Dubai, U.A.E.

2008 Rolls-Royce Hyperion

The Rolls-Royce Hyperion was a one-off car designed and built by Pininfarina based around a contemporary Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. It was built for and at the request of Rolls-Royce collector Roland Hall.

The car debuted at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours and Hall decided to sell it the following year. He asked 4.5 million euros. A few years later, this car surfaced in Dubai at the dealer you see here. The asking price had dropped to about 3 million euros. The price today is undisclosed, but probably less than it was a year and a half ago.

The mechanicals are all Rolls-Royce. The engine is a 6.75-liter V-12 making 460 horsepower. There are no rear seats (they were removed). The body is a custom carbon fiber job and it actually looks pretty cool – especially from the back. You can buy it or see more pictures here.

Ex-Colin McRae Nissan 240RS Rally Car

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1984 Nissan 240RS Group B

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh, U.K. | February 22-23, 2014

1984 Nissan 240RS Group B

The Nissan Silvia began life in 1964 as the Datsun Coupe 1500. The third generation (code name: S110) was introduced in 1979. In the U.S. it was called the Datsun 200SX. It was sporty looking with only two doors but lacked any real performance cred.

When the FIA introduced Group B regulations in 1982, Nissan found the Silvia’s calling for performance. Group B had homologation rules – so Nissan had to build some for the road too. Those are rare. This is the Group B race version.

It is powered by a 2.4-liter straight-four making 237 horsepower. The car you see here was owned by the late rally legend Colin McRae. It was the only Group B car he ever raced during the Group B era – even though he used it in 1987 and Group B was dismantled after 1986.

This car has been extensively rebuilt and prepped for events and is used occasionally (like at Goodwood). Only about 200 of these cars were built between 1983 and 1985 and only about 30 of those were competition models, making this very rare. And having one of rally’s legends as a former owner and driver just makes it even better. It should sell for between $83,000-$100,000. Click here for a more detailed history of this car and here for more from this Silverstone sale.

Update: Failed to sell.

Ford Thunderbird Concept

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1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

For Sale at Vintage Motors of Sarasota | Sarasota, Florida

1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

The Ford Thunderbird is one of America’s legendary sports cars. It started as a Corvette challenger that quickly grew soft while the Corvette stayed sporty. Ford tried to keep it relevant but by 1997 the model was killed off.

But only two years later Ford introduced a luxury roadster concept called the Thunderbird and it looked way better than the model it was going to replace. The car sported retro looks and would go on sale for the 2002 model year.

This is one of three concept Thunderbirds built by Ford. One of those was later re-bodied as a “Sports Roadster” (a sporty, topless version). One of the concepts is still owned by Ford. And this is the third – the only one in the wild. It was built around the chassis of a Lincoln LS and uses that donor car’s 3.9-liter V-8 (which is actually a Jaguar motor) making 252 horsepower. This car isn’t street legal – it doesn’t have windows or gauges and has a governor on the engine to keep speeds very low.

The return of the Thunderbird was short-lived. Between 2002 and 2005, only 67,518 were built. It was expensive and not sporty. It was a flop all around. But this is actually a really cool opportunity to obtain a piece of history related to one of America’s great cars. The price is $195,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn 2018, $25,300.

ERF D16

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1942 ERF D16

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

1942 ERF D16

I love that somebody took the time to restore this beautiful wartime truck. Most of these things were run into the ground and then parted out or left to rust. Instead, this example survived and was given a lot of love and care to make it truly fantastic.

Edwin Richard Foden designed an early steam truck in 1913 for his father’s company which had borne their family name since 1887 (the trucks (or “steam wagons”) are really cool looking and some still survive). Foden would continue building trucks through 2006. But Edwin, and his son Dennis, left the company in 1933 because they wanted to build diesel, not steam, powered trucks.

So Dennis founded E.R.F. (his father’s initials) in 1933 – an impressive feat given the economic depression that enveloped the world. The company would last through 2007 when corporate parent MAN AG shuttered the brand.

The model you see here was built during the war, making it even rarer – and even cooler as very few civilian (even though this is commercial) vehicles were constructed during that time. The engine is a 7.7-liter diesel straight-four that literally sits in the cabin between the two seats (albeit with a cover over it).

I’ve gotten the impression in the past that this dealership doesn’t like me posting their prices, so I’ll say the price is between $40,000 and $45,000. You can see more awesome pictures and more from Hyman Ltd. here.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Elkhart Collection, $20,160.

Retromobile 2014 Auction Highlights

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We covered three auctions from the fantastic Retromobile event in Paris this year. Two of them, Bonhams and RM Auctions, have their results posted. Artcurial had a second day of their sale and therefore do not have their results just yet. First up is RM’s sale. The top sale was this 1955 Jaguar D-Type for $4,947,835.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

We featured three cars from this sale. Of those, only the Gordini failed to sell. Cool cars included this 1982 Rondeau M482 GTP for $284,875.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Our featured Porsche Carrera GTS brought $1,724,246 and the Th. Schneider sold for $82,464. Another cool car was this 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet by Gebrüder Tüscher which sold for $397,326.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

And finally, this awesome barn find condition 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Six-Door Pullman Landaulet which was pulled from an African country (it was not said from which country but I think it’s safe to assume it has been dictator-owned). Anyway, these are extraordinarily rare. It brought an impressive $719,685. Check out full results here.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Now on to Bonhams’ sale. The top sale here was a 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 for $3,434,222.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Two of our featured cars from this sale failed to sell: the Marlboro Steam car and the Lion-Peugeot. The most interesting car award goes to this 1969 Mazda Cosmo L10B Coupe which sold for $74,928.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Metallurgique Berline brought $35,903. This 1957 Borgward Isabella sold for $39,025.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Attica 200 sold for $18,732. The awesome Hispano-Suiza Omnibus brought $234,151. This cool, ex-Maurice Trintignant 1947 Delage D6 3-Liter Grand Prix sold for $1,482,959. Check out full results here.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams