Marlboro Steam Car

Posted on by
Reply

1900 Marlboro Steam Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 6, 2014

1900 Marlboro Steam Runabout

Photo – Bonhams

The Marlboro Motor & Carriage Company began producing steam cars in Marlboro, Massachusetts in 1899. The company was founded by Orrin P. Walker and existed only through 1902.

The engine is a Mason steam engine and this car cost $700 when new. About 30 were sold in 1900 and production ramped up. But then sales quickly dropped off and the company had all of its capital invested in product that was sitting in showrooms. And that was it for the short-lived company – out of business it went.

It’s amazing that any of their cars survived for 114 years. This one was restored and the current owner acquired it in 2011. It was for sale in St. Louis for $79,500 but is expected to sell at this auction for between $68,000-$96,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s London 2017, $12,146.

Gordini Type 24 S

Posted on by
Reply

1953 Gordini Type 24 S

Offered by RM Auctions | Paris, France | February 5, 2014

1953 Gordini Type 24 S

This is the first car RM Auctions announced for their sale in Paris this February… and they announced it last fall. I’ve been waiting to feature it since the day I saw it because I knew it was awesome and I knew it was rare.

Much like Enzo Ferrari, Amédée Gordini tuned and raced cars in the 1930s. After the war ended, he also started producing race cars under his own name. Unlike Ferrari, he never really built purpose-built road cars and his little company shut down in 1957 and he later sold the rights to his name to Renault. Imagine “Ferrari”-trim level Fiat 500s. Not a pretty sight.

But what he did in his day holds up – like this Type 24 S. The engine is a powerful 265 horsepower 3.0-liter straight-eight underneath an aluminium body. This car was a Gordini-factory race car and its competition history includes the following:

  • 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans – DNS
  • 1953 Tour de France Automobile – 1st or 2nd (with Jean Behra)*
  • 1953 Carrera Panamericana – 76th, DNF (with Jean Behra)
  • 1954 12 Hours of Reims – 28th, DNF (with Behra and Franco Bordoni)
  • 1954 Tour de France Automobile – DQ (with Andre Guelfi and Julio Quinlin)
  • 1954 Coupe de Salon at Montlhery – 1st (with Behra)
  • 1955 1000km Buenos Aires – 5th (with Elie Bayol and Harry Schell)
  • 1955 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Bordoni)
  • 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans – DNS

So it never started at Le Mans, big deal. The bodywork that the car currently wears was added for the 1955 24 Hour race, but it had an accident in practice and didn’t get to race. This car was sold after 1955 and used by privateers in many events. It has had five owners in its life, all French.

Only 32 Gordinis of all types were built in their 11 years of construction. This is the only one like this and it is expected to sell for between $4,075,000-$5,435,000. You can read more here and see more from RM in Paris here.

*The auction catalog lists this car as the winner, but my other sources say it placed second. S/N #36.

Update: Failed to sell, high bid of $3,346,750.

Mecum Kissimmee 2014 Highlights

Posted on by
Reply

Mecum’s Kissimmee sale is so huge that it gets it’s own recap. That and because it is sandwiched between the Arizona and Retromobile sales. The top sale was the “Real McCoy” Corvette for $2,300,000. Our featured Duesenberg from this sale failed to sell (as did a previously featured Model J). The second top-seller was this unrestored all-original 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda for $560,000.

1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda

Corvettes accounted for five of the six biggest sales (the Cuda above being the odd man out). This 1968 Corvette L88 Coupe was the third top seller at $530,000.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

Some feature Corvettes that did not sell were the Sledgehammer Corvette, the Corvette Challenge race car, and the Corvette-related Callaway C7R. The ZR1 Convertible sold for $130,000. And now on to the interesting cars. This 1976 Trivette MC certainly qualifies as interesting. It sold for $9,000.

1976 Trivette MC

The Lincoln Quicksilver sold for $27,000. This 1915 White 5-Ton Stake Bed Truck sold for $27,000.

1915 White 5-Ton Stake Bed Truck

And our featured old truck, the FWD Model B, sold for $23,000. This 1963 Aquila is a Volkswagen-based kit car. It looks sportier than the Beetle it replaced. It brought $9,500.

1963 Aquila

There were a lot of cool cars in this sale, but this 1969 Subaru 360 is the last one I’ll show you. It sold for $11,000. Check out the rest of the results here.

1969 Subaru 360

2014 Scottsdale Highlights III

Posted on by
Reply

Next up from Scottsdale is Gooding & Company’s results. The top sale was our featured Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet for $6,160,000. The second-biggest sale was our featured BMW F1 GTR Longtail for $5,280,000. Interesting sales were topped by this 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by Vignale for $1,787,500.

1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by VignaleAnother cool Ferrari was this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina for $2,365,000.

1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina

Our featured Siata Daina sold for $247,500. The Cunningham C-3 brought $550,000. This super cool 1972 Alpine A110 1800 slipped under my radar and I didn’t get to feature it. It brought $302,500 anyway.

1972 Alpine A110 1800

Other cool cars included this 1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet for $110,000.

1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet

This sale’s featured Duesenberg sold for $2,090,000. The Hispano-Suiza K6 sold for $621,500. And finally, this 1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe sold for $59,400. Check out full results here.

1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe

And our final bit of coverage from Scottsdale is Russo & Steele’s sale. Our featured McKee Mk IV brought $260,000. The top sale was this 1966 Lamborghini 350GT for $742,630.

1966 Lamborghini 350GT

Cool cars have to be topped by this 1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon that sold for a strong $65,000. You can check out full results here.

1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon

Lion-Peugeot

Posted on by
Reply

1913 Lion-Peugeot 10HP Type VD Torpedo

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 6, 2014

1913 Lion-Peugeot 10HP Type VD Torpedo

So what’s weird about the name of this car? It was established independently of the Peugeot we all know today. In fact, Lion-Peugeot was founded in 1906 by Robert Peugeot – a member of the same family who had founded Peugeot years earlier.

In 1910, the brothers agreed to combine companies and produce cars at the same factory and by 1916, Lion-Peugeot ceased to exist (although Peugeot’s logo to this day is a lion). This car is powered by 2.0-liter V-4 making 10 horsepower.

This car was restored in the 1970s and has been a part of the French classic car scene for a long time. Only about 800 Type VDs were built and not many survive today. This is a rare car tied to the early days of a major worldwide automobile manufacturer. It should sell for between $55,000-$68,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Paris.

Update: Not sold.

Callaway C7R GT1

Posted on by
1

1997 Callaway C7R GT1

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 24, 2014

1997 Callaway C7R GT1

In 1997 Reeves Callaway wanted to go racing. In order to enter the GT1 category (the top class at the time) – which was based on production sports cars – Callaway would have to have built road-going examples of whatever they wanted to race. Unfortunately, they never got around to the road car part.

But they did built two GT1 racing prototypes (both of which are said to be easily adaptable to a road car – it does have two seats, after all). They failed to qualify for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but did race in the 1997 24 Hours of Daytona – and managed to find themselves leading at the halfway point before the car broke. It’s lone competition outing was:

  • 1997 24 Hours of Daytona – 54th, DNF (with Boris Said, Johnny Unser, Ron Fellows, and Enrico Bertaggia)

The car uses a mid-mounted Corvette-based 6.3-liter V8 making 640 horsepower. The car is all-Callaway and not lifted from a Corvette as is the case with most other Callaways. This is an awesome performance car that was ultimately forced out of competition for lack of road cars. It is one of only two built and is seriously cool. It should sell for between $275,000-$350,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Kissimmee lineup.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $150,000.

Grégoire Phaeton

Posted on by
Reply

1908 Grégoire 70.4 Phaeton by Alin et Liautard

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1908 Gregoire 70.4 Phaeton by Alin et Liautard

Automobiles Grégoire was founded in 1902 by Pierre Joseph Grégoire in Poissy, France. Automobile manufacture commenced in 1904 and their signature look was a pear-shaped radiator.

For 1908, this was the most powerful Grégoire money could buy – the top-of-the-line four-cylinder model. This car carries sporty phaeton coachwork from French coachbuilder Alin & Liautard. It has known history only back to 1978, but has been restored to drivable condition. And that’s what is great about this car – it is perfect for old car rallies.

Grégoire closed its doors in 1924. The cars did not have a great survival rate. For example, the company built 20,000 cars in 1913 alone – yet only 60 or so Grégoire cars total are known to survive. This car should sell for between $47,500-$68,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $56,301.

Early Four-Wheel-Drive Truck

Posted on by
Reply

1918 FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 22, 2014

FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

In 1908, Otto Zachow and William Besserdich built a four-wheel drive car they called the “Battleship.” This led to the more-or-less immediate founding of their Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company. In 1909 they began producing cars under the FWD (for “Four-Wheel Drive”) marque. They dropped “Badger” from the company name in 1910.

The military loved four-wheel drive trucks so the company, sensing a huge opportunity (and perhaps an oncoming war) switched to just truck manufacture. They introduced two prototypes as war started raging in Europe. The U.S. didn’t place any orders, so FWD demo’d the truck for the U.K. where they did get an order. By 1916 the U.S. had come around and placed huge orders for a company that, up to this point, had only built about two dozen vehicles.

The Model B was one of the workhorses of the Allied powers during WWI. Production was about 3,000 for the U.K., 82 for Russia, and 14,473 for the U.S. They are powered by a 36 horsepower, straight-four engine. On the correct solid rubber tires on which this example rides, the truck could reach speeds of 16 mph.

After the war, many of these trucks were sold as surplus and entered service doing just about everything else in the civilian realm. That’s how awesome examples like this managed to survive. You can read more here and check out more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $23,000.

Duesenberg J-148

Posted on by
Reply

1929 Duesenberg Model J Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1929 Duesenberg Model J (148) Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

It’s kind of odd seeing a Duesenberg Model J in a European auction from a European auction house. This is America’s great coachbuilt wonder and European auctions are usually full of European cars. North American auction houses tend to save Model J’s for American auctions where they have the biggest following.

But the thing with this Model J is that it seems very European. I think it’s the separate convertible portions of the car on this very European body. The rear top will pop up and enclose the passengers while the driver is left to withstand the elements (although a more temporary top is available for him or her).

This car uses the 49th Model J chassis built and maintains its original engine (J-148). The body has undergone significant transformations since new, having initially been fitted with a LeBaron Torpedo. That body was swapped out in the mid-1930s for a Graber Cabriolet (which the auction catalog describes as “not particularly elegant”). In 1959, this car was acquired by the president of the Duesenberg Club in the U.S. and he found this authentic Kellner Torpedo Scaphandrier body and had it fitted to J-148.

It passed through a few owners before being imported to Belgium in 1980. The car was restored, keeping this fantastic Kellner body, later that year. This is the only known Kellner Scaphandrier body in existence (on any type of car) and the entire package is estimated to bring between $815,000-$1,080,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

2014 Scottsdale Highlights II

Posted on by
Reply

The next auction we’ve got results on is RM’s annual Arizona sale. The big winner there was, no surprise, a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider for $8,800,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Our featured Chaparral did not sell while our featured, all-original, Duesenberg brought $2,200,000. Our other featured top-seller was the Porsche RS 61 for $2,750,000. The only other feature car that cracked the million dollar mark was the Hispano-Suiza J12 and it only hit $1 million with the buyer’s premium added on: $1,045,000. Interesting cars were topped by this 1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen for $60,500.

1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen

Another cool car was this 1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau that also sold for $60,500.

1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau

I really liked this 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward. It looks awfully regal and makes me want to hire a chauffeur (even if it’s for my Honda daily driver). It sold for $440,000.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward

A previously-featured Abarth race car brought $46,750. The OSCA 750S sold for $660,000. This 1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron looks like a lot of fun. It brought $242,000.

1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron

And finally, our featured Fiat 8V by Ghia sold for $946,000. Check out full results here. Next up is “Super Saturday” at Barrett-Jackson (and also, Sunday – which is still going on as I write this). The top sale of Barrett-Jackson’s entire sale was our featured 1967 Chevy L88 Corvette Coupe for $3,850,000. Another top seller was this 1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra which went for $1,650,000.

1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra

The featured Duesenberg from this sale sold for $1,430,000. Another mega-bucks Corvette was the ultra-rare ZR2 we featured. It crossed the block for $495,000. For the same price, you could’ve bought this 1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport (which I think I’d much rather have).

1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport

One car that didn’t stand out to me until I read the lot description (and saw it cross the block on live TV) was this 1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy that was customized at the request of its original owner, Rudolph Valentino. It sold for $264,000.

1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy

The featured Plymouth Belmont Concept car failed to meet its reserve and thus did not sell. You can check out full results here.