The 1959 300E was powered by Chrysler’s “Golden Lion” wedge-head V8. It was 6.8-liters in capacity but still made about 380 horsepower. Production sank even further to just 647 cars – 522 coupes and 125 convertibles. Are you watching the styling evolve as you scroll down this post? I am. Estimate: $150,000-$200,000. Check out more on this car here.
Update: Sold $176,000.
In the 1950s, Siata was known for their little two-seat sports cars, namely the highly desirable 208S. Steve McQueen had one and he called it the “Little Ferrari.” They have that classic 1950s Italian sports car look. As you can see from the photo above, something changed.
The marque was relatively dormant from about 1958 until 1967 when Siata introduced the Spring, a car whose design and introduction was dictated by market research. It might look like an MG in kit-car form, but it isn’t. There were other cars at the time going for the retro-look, as cheap as it looks today.
The Spring is based around a Fiat 850 – so it is rear-engined. It’s a straight-four of 843cc making 46 horsepower. This unusual (and maybe a little under-powered for a “sports car”) rarity was restored in the 1990s, turning very few miles since. Spring’s were produced by Siata through 1970 when production was taken over by ORSA, who built them for another five years. Only a few thousand were built. It is expected to sell for between $10,500-$18,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Artcurial’s sale, click here.
Update: Sold $15,900.
Tracing the evolution of sports cars is fairly easy until you get back to about 1945. Cars of the Post-War sports car craze are easy to distinguish from more mundane automobiles. Trying to trace it back before the war gets a little trickier. Sure, there were race cars and specials and cars you could drive to Le Mans, race, and drive home. But as far as the earlier cars go, you’re looking at Genesis (or one of a few that qualify for that title).
The Mercer Raceabout and the Stutz Bearcat are two of America’s first sports cars. The Kissel 6-45 Speedster, nicknamed “Gold Bug” (due to it’s signature color) is the third. The Kissel Motor Car Company was founded by Louis Kissel in Hartford, Wisconsin in 1906. They built high-quality cars, trucks, and emergency vehicles. After WWI ended, they saw a market niche they could fill for the exciting decade to come. So in 1919 they introduced the Gold Bug Speedster and it was far and away their most popular model.
The low-slung two seater – with two additional seats that extend out of the body over the running boards for the crazy and/or brave – is powered by a 61 horsepower six-cylinder engine. Performance is sporty – thus it being known as an early sports car. Kissel closed shop in 1930 after producing some 35,000 vehicles. Only about 150 are known to exist today. This one can be yours for $159,500. For more information and photos, click here.
Here are some videos of a similar car:
Well there were a number of auctions in October and we’ve recapped only a couple of them. So here are the highlights from some of the others. First, we forgot to include Mecum’s Dallas sale from September in our September roundup. Top sale there went to this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible for $285,000. Complete results from that sale can be found here.
From there we move on to Auctions America’s Fall Carlisle sale. Our featured Dodge Phoenix failed to sell. Top sale went to this 1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible for $90,750.
Another interesting Mopar was this 1960 Dodge Polara 9-Passenger Wagon. I think wagons with tail fins are really weird but really cool looking. This one sold for $42,900.
But by far, the most interesting car from this sale goes to this 1920 Pan Touring. Pan was only around from 1918 until 1922 and they managed to build only 737 cars. Only a few are still around. It brought $23,100. Complete results from this sale are here.
French auction house Osenat held a sale during October as well – in Paris. We didn’t get to feature anything from this sale, but this 1982 Matra Murena is kind of interesting. It sold for $4,570.
Also cool was this 1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire sedan for $29,400.
The top sale from this auction was this 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 for $104,500. Complete results can be found here.
Next up was RM Auctions’ sale of the Charlie Thomas Collection. We featured a 1953 Mercury Monterey Wagon that sold for $44,000. The top sale was a 1946 Chrysler Town & Country Roadster for $143,000.
One car I liked was this 1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Business Coupe with all its chrome and pre-war style. It sold for a modest $21,450.
Another interesting car was this 1925 Star Model F-25 Five-Passenger Sedan. It sold for $19,800. Complete results can be found here.
H&H Auctions held a sale in Duxford, England on October 23rd and we weren’t able to feature anything from this sale either. The top sale went to this 1961 Bentley S2 Continental Saloon by H.J. Mulliner. It sold for $310,600.
The second-highest seller was this 1998 Proteus Jaguar C-Type Replica that brought $120,900. Not C-Type money, for sure, but a bargain for something that was factory built and looks quite like the real thing.
This awesome 1965 Jensen CV8 Mk II sold for $46,900. Complete results can be found here.
Mecum held a sale in St. Charles, Illinois toward the end of October. We featured a really rare All-Cars Charly that sold for $5,250. The top sale at this auction was actually a 2000 Prevost Country Coach Motorhome – exciting, right? Either way, to comprehend that a 12-year-old bus/RV is still worth $160,000 is pretty crazy. Then again, they’re expensive to begin with.
And from the interesting file from this sale was this 1942 Crosley Victory Sedan Convertible. Crosley was one of very few car companies building passenger cars in 1942. This was one of a handful of Crosleys at this sale and by far the most interesting/rare. It sold for $9,750. Complete results can be found here.
And finally, H&H’s October 31st sale at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, England. The top sale was this 1955 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe for $62,300.
The interesting sales portion of this sale more or less consisted of this pretty 1937 Humber 12 Foursome Drophead Coupe. It sold for $23,400. You can find complete results here.
RM Auctions’ 2012 London sale was held earlier this week. Our featured Ferrari 250 Tour de France was the top seller at $3.1 million. The Alloy Mercedes 300SL failed to sell, but was bid far beyond the Ferrari. As far as very early cars go, there was only one – this 1904 Cadillac Model F Four-Passenger Touring that sold for $90,000.
We featured a pair of supercars: a Maserati MC12 (that didn’t meet its reserve) and a Koenigsegg CCX that did, selling for $397,000. Other interesting cars included this 1970 Astra RNR2 FVC race car powered by a Ford-Cosworth engine that sold for $72,000.
How about these two little Italian cars, first a 1964 ASA 1000 GT (first below) sold for $58,702. The second car below is a 1963 OSCA 1600 GT. It sold for substantially more at $261,900.
And speaking of little, I really liked this 1974 DAF 33 Variomatic. And it was affordable too, coming in at an auction low of $11,750.
This sale had a couple of really awesome Alfa Romeo 6Cs. First, this 1930 6C 1750 GS Testa Fissa is gorgeous and sold for $1,265,000.
Then there is this 1934 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 that sold for $451,500.
And finally, this post-war Alfa 6C – a 1948 6C 2500 S Cabriolet by Pinin Farina. It sold for $298,000, which, for whatever reason, seems like a good deal.
Another Italian car (kind of a trend here) is this 1956 Fiat Abarth 750 GT Double Bubble coupe by Zagato. It sold for $126,000. A car along similar lines (that is: “tiny”) was our featured Ogle SX1000 GT. It sold for $23,400.
Two more cars to show you: first a 1937 Bentley 4.25-Litre Saloon by Mann Egerton sold for the “wow, that’s all it costs for a Bentley?” price of $36,000.
And finally, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio Cabriolet by Gangloff sold for the “yeah, Bugattis ain’t cheap” price of $993,000.
Our featured (and super awesome) Aston Martin DB6 Shooting Brake failed to sell. Complete results can be found here.
There are muscle cars that are desirable and then there are desirable cars that happen to be muscle cars. This is as close to the latter half of that sentence as you can get. This is the most desirable muscle car there is. It’s also just about the rarest – with only 11 built.
When people make “re-creation” or “clone” or “tribute” cars, they usually start with a run-of-the-mill car – a V6 or a base V8 engine and base or mid-level trim. Then they go to the Mopar catalog and order a Hemi crate engine and stuff it under the hood. It’s not desirable. It might be fun to drive or show your friends, but it just cheapens the real thing.
But this is the real thing and boy is it pretty. It’s the only Plum Crazy Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible (it is the original factory color and, in my opinion, the best). This is one of two that were built for Canadian export. And it’s got that magical 7.0-liter 427 Hemi under the shaker hood.
These don’t come up for sale very often – obviously, there’s only 11 of them. One sold for $2 million a few years ago and, while a little extreme, that was the going rate – a few years ago. This is not a $2 million car today – even though any Barrett-Jackson employee near a microphone during the car’s sale will surely be telling you otherwise. This will undoubtedly be one of the top sellers of the auction. Read more here and check out more from Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, here.
Update: Sold $1,320,000.
Isn’t that a beautiful machine? Delaugère & Clayette is one of, what I refer to, as the “French De’s” – a list of French automotive manufacturers including: De Dietrich, Decauville, De Dion-Bouton, Delahaye, Delage, Delaunay-Belleville and, of course, Delaugère & Clayette. Such an exotic-sounding list, isn’t it?
Delaugère began as a carriage maker in the mid-1800s. Around 1898, they built their first powered three-wheeler and come 1901 they were an established automotive manufacturer. In 1904, Maurice Clayette joined the company named after Jean-Pierre Delaugère, the original founder, and the automotive concern was renamed Delaugère & Clayette. The 1920s were a struggle for the company and their factory was purchased by Panhard, with production ceasing in 1926.
This is a model 4A. It uses a 6.3-liter four-cylinder F-head engine making 24 horsepower (Delaugère & Clayette produced another model using a 15.0-liter four-cylinder!). Double chains drive the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission. This car was completely restored about a year ago and it is stunning. The body is not original – it’s a period-correct replacement that replaced another non-original body that was on the car previously. This one looks better in black with brass trim. Look at where the engine resides – underneath that big, square black box with those big radiators out front held on with brass bars. It’s amazing to look at.
This car is expected to sell for between $350,000-$420,000. For more information, click here. And for the rest of Bonhams’ Veteran Car Sale lineup, click here.
Update: Sold $360,500.
Gaston Barré, like many early automobile producers, started with a bicycle shop. He opened his in 1894 but by 1899 realized what the new wave was going to be and started constructing quadricycles. Later that year he received some backing from a wealthy local in Niort and moved to a larger facility. Automobile production started in 1900 and Barré quickly became one of the many French automobile companies that rallied a strong following and had a steady output of cars for a number of years.
What helped Barré become a fairly large regional manufacturer was that he came up with the idea of post-sale service. Barré would support his cars in private hands when they entered them in events. He expanded with a Parisian office and during the first World War he built military vehicles. After the war, the pre-war models remained with little changes and the company had to be reorganized in 1927 but it could never get past its out-of-date designs. Production stopped in 1930 and the firm was liquidated in 1933. About 2,500-3,000 Barré’s were produced over the years.
This twin-cylinder Barré has four-seat tonneau coachwork from Henri Labourdette of Paris. Barré’s are known for their dependability and build-quality and this car, at almost 110 years old, is no exception. It is expected to sell for between $190,000-$240,000. For more information click here. And for more from Bonhams in London, click here.
Update: Sold $214,000.
I suppose this is what James Bond drove to the supermarket. Or the hardware store. Or when he wanted to take his dogs out to the countryside… you get the idea. It’s what happens when you take one of the great GT cars of all time and make it super-functional.
This car was purchased new by famed racing driver Innes Ireland in 1967. Two years later, he took the car to FLM Panelcraft in London to have it converted to a shooting brake – aka: a two-door wagon. FLM Panelcraft also did the conversion on the other Aston Martin estate we’ve featured, the ’71 DBS Wagon. This is one of two (according to RM) DB6 Shooting Brakes built by FLM.
Everything under hood is the same, the 4.0-liter straight-six making 282 horsepower is unchanged. And it’s still a quick car – there is a quote from Ireland in the lot description (here) that says he had the car humming along at 120 mph with three passengers and their luggage. Functional indeed!
The car was restored by Aston Martin Works Service and this is the first time it has been seen since 1995. The sale price should range between $525,000-$600,000. For the rest of RM’s London lineup, click here.
Update: Not sold.
Give me this beautiful Italian beast any day over the Ferrari Enzo, the car upon which it is based. Okay, so the only things these two cars have in common, besides a corporate overlord, is their chassis and engine. The purpose of this car, unlike the Enzo, was to go racing – specifically in the FIA GT Championship, winning it in 2005. Although introduced in 2004, MC12s could still be seen on the circuit through 2010. They also competed in the FIA GT1 Champhionship, Italian GT and the American Le Mans Series.
The engine is a Ferrari-sourced 6.0-liter V12 making 620 horsepower. It’s slower than an Enzo, hitting 62 mph in 3.8 seconds on the way to its 205 mph top speed. The Ferrari has a higher top speed and also brakes better. But this car has style and soul. It’s sleeker, longer, taller and wider than the Enzo (and wider than just about everything else on the road) and somehow it has a lower coefficient of drag. It’s much, much prettier and the top is removable, which could prove useful should you try and use reverse – as there is no rear window. This is the only color combination in which they were offered from the factory.
As a homologation special (something we don’t see too much of nowadays), the MC12 was offered in limited numbers – only 50 road cars were built in total, 30 in 2004 and 25 in 2005. So it is very rare. They cost $800,000 when new and they have already appreciated in price. This one is expected to sell for between $1,000,000-$1,250,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM in London, click here.
Update: Did not sell.
Here’s some video of a similar car: