Duesenberg J-530

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1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Coupe by Walker-LaGrande

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1935 Duesenberg Model SJ 530 Convertible Coupe by Walker LaGrande

This awesome – and awesome is the correct word – Duesenberg Model J is actually an SJ – it has a factory supercharged engine. But it is not the original engine for this car. Let me try and trace this out…

Engine J-530 has an origin I am unfamiliar with. This car is on chassis 2405, which originally had a very cool Rollston Town Car body on it. This incredible Walker-LaGrande Convertible Coupe body was originally on chassis 2563. The bell housing is from engine J-515, the engine that was originally with this body on 2563. So at some point in time, the Rollston Town Car body disappeared and this body was separated from its original chassis. The body and bell housing came with it and was put on chassis 2405. Engine J-530 was brought in to get the thing running. And remember: this is the supercharged 320 horsepower version.

The Walker-LaGrande body is one of three like it built and the only one with a supercharger on it. It’s actually one of only seven bodies built for Duesenbergs by Walker-LaGrande in total. This car was delivered new to a banker in Chicago before going through the hands of several well-known collectors. Among Model Js, this is one of the big ones. It should sell for between $3,500,000-$5,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,510,000.

Duesenberg J-255

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton by Fran Roxas

Offered by Bonhams | Boca Raton, Florida | February 23, 2013

1930 Duesenberg Model J255 Torpedo Phaeton by Fran Roxas

Photo – Bonhams

Back-to-back Dueseys. This Model J has the special distinction of being used by the wife of Duesenberg owner E.L. Cord. The car was delivered to a customer in 1930, but was returned for whatever reason and used by Mrs. Cord. She used it for two years before it went to Hollywood.

That’s right, this car – which is the original chassis/engine combination, although not the original body – was in some movies. It was part of the Pacific Auto Rental fleet (which loaned cars to movie studios) for 48 years and appeared in numerous films.

The body was originally a Judkins Limousine. When Pacific Auto Rental closed up and sold off their cars, this one went to a new home in St. Louis. The new owners removed the original body (the horror!) and sent the chassis and 265 horsepower engine to Fran Roxas in Chicago and asked him to build this stunning Torpedo Phaeton body in the style of Walker LaGrande. The Judkins body also found a new home on a different chassis. This car spent time in the Blackhawk Collection on its way to being sold at a Bonhams auction in 2010. The sale price is unlisted for that sale, as I guess it didn’t meet its $800,000 reserve. The market has improved since then and it should do okay this time around.

Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Boca.

Update: Sold $698,500.

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Monterey 2013 (high bid of $800,000).

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Dallas 2013 (high bid of $950,000).

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Kissimmee 2014 (high bid of $1,100,000).

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2016, high bid of $800,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2018, high bid of $900,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kissimmee 2019, $935,000.

Duesenberg J-444

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1931 Duesenberg Model J-444 Tourster by Derham

This is the second Derham Tourster (of the eight originally built) to be offered at an RM auction in 2013. The other one, J-423, sold for $1.32 million. That one had kind of an interesting history, being owned by an Italian Count and all. This one is slightly more interesting.

J-444 was delivered new to film comedian Joe E. Brown, who was known for his comedic roles in the 1930s-1950s (and he was the rich gentleman who hilariously courted Jack Lemmon (in drag) in the near-perfect film Some Like It Hot. He delivered the classic line “Well, nobody’s perfect”). By the time World War II came around, the car was passed around before it came into the hands of a Mr. Howard Hughes.

Hughes liked powerful things and the Duesenberg Model J fit that bill. A 265 horsepower straight-eight engine was about as good as you were going to do in the day. He, apparently, wasn’t so concerned with the gorgeous Derham Tourster body on the car – as he cut the rear half of the car off and used the car to tow gliders up and down a runway – aircraft, after all, were his business.

The car was later in the Otis Chandler collection and then the John McMullen collection and a replica of its original body was fitted at some point. This is a real Derham Tourster, but it just doesn’t have the original Derham Tourster body it came with. It is remarkable to look at nonetheless. John O’Quinn acquired it after that.

This car has been in the hands of some seriously famous people and well-respected car collectors who obviously didn’t let its “replica” body scare them (as it shouldn’t). This car sold in 2007 for $1.35 million. It won’t bring less than that this time around but that is, apparently, the going rate for a Derham Tourster today. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Amelia Island.

Update: Sold $825,000.

1953 Connaught Formula One Car

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1953 Connaught Type A

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 23, 2013

1953 Connaught Type A

Old race cars can be quite interesting. Especially when they competed at the highest level of motorsport and in the “heyday,” as it were – Formula One in the 1950s. Connaught Engineering was founded by Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver in Send, England, in 1950.

They made their debut at the 1952 British Grand Prix with a four car effort. In total, the team competed in 18 races over eight seasons, contesting every British Grand Prix and other assorted races. 1953 was their hallmark season, the one where they entered the most races (4).

The Type A was run for four seasons (1950-1954). The cars used a 2.0-liter Lea Francis straight-four making 145 horsepower. With the right gearing, it could do 160 mph. I’ve really tried to do some research to find out who drove this car and in what races, but I’m just not finding what I want. Silverstone lists it as having been driven by Roy Salvadori, John Coombs, Kenneth McAlpine, Ron Flockhart and Bill Whitehouse, with Whitehouse having the most success as a privateer. It has been active in historic racing for some time.

Packaged with a bunch of spares, this historic race car is expected to sell for between $315,000-$395,000. It is one of nine built. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Silverstone’s lineup.

Update: Sold $296,400.

Artcurial Retromobile 2013 Highlights

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Artcurial’s sale at Retromobile in Paris had way too many interesting cars to be able to feature them all here on this site. We covered some of them – the Talbot-Lago T150C we featured was the stop sale at $1,861,738. The second-highest selling car was the Duesenberg we featured from this sale at $1,319,888. The oldest car in the sale, our featured 1898 Fisson, sold for $311,050. The second-oldest car in the sale was this 1908 Hispano-Suiza 12/15HP Double Phaeton for $72,831.

The other Hispano-Suiza in the sale, our featured H6C by Saoutchik, sold for $424,849. The only other million-dollar car was this 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet for $1,077,481.

One exceptionally rare car was this 1975 Bentley Corniche Convertible. While the Rolls-Royce Corniche is well-known, the sister Bentley version is very rare, with only 77 convertibles built. It sold for $133,524.

Other interesting cars included two wonderful French cars from the 1940s. First, a 1949 Citroen 15-Six Traction Avant Cabriolet by Worblaufen (below). It sold for $242,771. Then there was the 1946 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet (second below) for $455,195.

The coolest American car in this sale (of the few that were offered) was a 1955 Chrysler ST Special Coupe by Ghia. It sold for $273,117.

The rest of our highlights are French cars (French auction house + French auction location = lots of French rarity). Our feature C.G. 548 failed to sell. This 1928 Voisin  C11 (below) did sell – for $103,177. And finally, this 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Vanvooren (second below) brought $746,472. Check out complete results here.

Tribelhorn Electric

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1905 Tribelhorn Electric Brougham

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1905 Tribelhorn Electric Brougham

Sometimes, with electric cars, it can be difficult to extract horsepower and performance figures. This is even more difficult when the car is almost 110 years old. It is an electric car, built by A. Tribelhorn & Cie AG, in Feldbach, Switzerland. And I have no idea what kind of power it makes. Probably not a lot.

The company was founded by Johann Albert Tribelhorn in 1899. The company built electric cars exclusively up until they were acquired by a rival in 1919. For another year or so after that they built a few electric commercial vehicles. This is a passenger vehicle with wood bodywork and tiller steering.

It was offered by RM at Hershey in the fall of 2011 fresh from the estate of John O’Quinn. It sold there for $35,000. Now it is being offered for sale again, less than two years later. It makes you wonder why – did the new owner run out of money? Hate the car? Did it not work? In any case, this is a good chance to grab up a rare Swiss electric vehicle. And you know what was paid for it a year and a half ago, so they can’t exactly be asking for the moon this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $77,000.

Tri-Power Catalina Convertible

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1959 Pontiac Catalina Tri-Power Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Boynton Beach, Florida | February 23, 2013

1959 Pontiac Catalina Convertible

For 1959, Pontiac dropped the Chieftain name and started using “Catalina” instead, which sounds 1. more politically correct (in today’s insane terms) and 2. way cooler – especially for a convertible as the word “Catalina” has a two semi-exotic connotations in my mind (a flying boat and an island). Although, if your first thought when you hear “Catalina” is salad dressing, you have my deepest sympathy (and absolute understanding).

This bodystyle for the first generation of the Catalina was available for 1959 and 1960 only. This particular car is gorgeous. I’ve never looked at late-1950s Pontiacs in the same light as I do Chryslers (300 Letter Series) and Cadillacs. But I do now. Part of it is the whitewalls and chrome wire wheels. The engine is a 6.4-liter V8 (the only option available, although varying compression ratios and carburetor setups allowed for different power outputs). This is a Tri-Power car, using three Rochester 2-barrel carbs making 318 horsepower.

You don’t see many of these – especially in this condition with “all the goodies.” It comes from Fran & Ron Green’s Verde Classics Museum in Boynton Beach, Florida. The whole museum is going under the hammer. I don’t see why this isn’t a $100,000 car. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the collection on offer.

Update: Sold $58,000.

Marmon Two-Door Prototype

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1932 Marmon HCM V-12 2-Door Sedan Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1932 Marmon HCM V-12 2-Door Sedan Prototype

Remember: this car is from 1932. It’s a full-bodied car – there aren’t any running boards and yeah, the front wheels kind of have their own fenders – but for the most part, this thing looks way ahead of its time. But it’s pretty advanced under that strange, tan bodywork too.

The engine is a 151 horsepower 6.0-liter V-12 (Marmon had just started production on their V-16 powered car. This was essentially a V-16 minus four of the cylinders). The suspension set-up was different from most production cars of the day, ending in low un-sprung weight. The body was designed by an M.I.T. student and the car cost Howard Marmon about $160,000 of his personal fortune to build. His company went bankrupt the following year.

So Marmon shopped the prototype around, hoping someone else would put it into production, but no one took the bait. So he brought it home and packed it away. Marmon died in 1943. It passed through a few hands before it was given to Brooks Stevens, who painted it blue. It was purchased (with money, for the first time in the car’s history) in 1999 and completely restored in 2001. This car is one of one and failed to sell at an RM Auction in 2011 for $475,000. I guess the owner wants more than that if it is to sell this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Amelia Island.

Update: Sold $407,000.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island 2015, $429,000.

Classic London Double Decker

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1962 AEC Routemaster

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 23, 2013

1962 Leyland Routemaster

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

There is something iconic about almost everything in London. The Taxis are like nowhere else in the world. The phone booths. And these wonderful, old double-decker buses. London Transport actually had a say in their design and they’ve become one of the many symbols of a great city.

These are big – it has seating for 57 passengers (25 downstairs and 32 up top). It’s powered by a 115 horsepower 6.9-liter diesel (though the catalog description lists it as a 9.8-liter as well). I was once standing near the exit of the All England Club in Wimbledon and a double-decker bus was coming up a short hill on the way out. A police officer told everyone to get out of the way because the under-powered bus could not stop once it started up the hill or it wouldn’t make it. Perhaps 115 horsepower isn’t quite enough for a 57-passenger bus – even if it is made of aluminium.

Of the 2,876 Routemasters built, about 1,280 still exist – which is a good survival rate for a vehicle that was meant to be used until there was nothing left. This bus was in service from 1962 until 2004 (which is crazy). This is a chance to own one of the most iconic vehicles of the U.K. It is expected to sell for between $31,000-$44,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Silverstone’s Race Retro & Classic Car Sale.

Update: Sold $31,460.

Crosley Farm-O-Road

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1949 Crosley Farm-O-Road Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

1949 Crosley Farm-O-Road Prototype

Photo – RM Auctions

Powell Crosley’s cars are all really tiny and all really cool. The Farm-O-Road is one of the stranger cars the he built. It looks like a miniature version of the Jeep that helped America win the war that had just ended. But its purpose was that of a utility tractor, as Crosley “had an interest in farming.” There were all sorts of attachments for this thing: plows, mowers, skis. It was also intended for road use. They were available for three model years: 1950-1952. About 600 were made. This is one of two factory prototypes and the one that was used in factory sales literature. It uses the 724cc COBRA straight-four making 26.5 horsepower. It should sell for between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $32,775.