Northern Touring

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1907 Northern Type C Touring

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Northern Manufacturing Company was founded by Charles King and Jonathan Maxwell, both of whom had previously worked for Oldsmobile. Their first cars, powered by singles, were sold in 1902. Twins followed in 1904, and four-cylinder cars would join the lineup in 1906.

The Type C was offered in 1906 and 1907 as the two-cylinder offering. The flat-twin here made 20 horsepower when new. This is a fairly large car for just two cylinders. They also built a five-passenger limousine in this model range, in addition to a runabout and another touring car.

Northern merged with the Wayne Automobile Company in 1908, and the combined company was quickly acquired by E-M-F. Maxwell had left in 1903 (to form Maxwell, which would become Chrysler), and King left after the acquisition and would form his own eponymous company. Studebaker would purchase E-M-F a few years later.

We’ve featured a few single-cylinder Northern runabouts before, but this is the first “big” Northern on this site. It should sell for between $21,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $54,107.

Mosler MT900S

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2009 Mosler MT900S

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | November 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Mosler produced the Consulier GTP in the 1980s (it was also known as the Mosler Intruder and Raptor, which were actually around through the 1990s). A new prototype called the MT900 debuted in 2001. It was quite different and modern looking. It never really entered production, but the racing variant was on the track shortly thereafter.

From 2003 through 2010, the MT900S was offered in a limited-production form. Think of it as a competitor to the Saleen S7. A Photon variant would be produced in that time frame as well. The MT900S was available with a few different Corvette-sourced engines. This particular one, which has never been registered with a private owner, is powered by a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter LS7 V8 that is said to make about 750 horsepower.

This is a real-deal homegrown American supercar. They didn’t build many of them, and they don’t come up for sale often. The bidding on this one ends shortly. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $294,000.

An Early Lagonda

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1904 Lagonda 10HP Tricar

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

There’s nothing scarier on Halloween than being the front passenger in a tricar. You are the bumper and crumple zone.

Wilbur Gunn was actually born in the United States. He was an opera singer that became a British citizen in the 1890s and got his start in the automotive realm by building motorcycles in his backyard around 1904. He named them Lagonda, after a place in Ohio. Naturally.

The first four-wheeled cars arrived in 1907, meaning this tricar predates Lagonda “cars.” It’s thought to be the oldest known example of the marque and is powered by a 1.2-liter V-twin that was rated at 10 or 12 horsepower, depending on which rating system you subscribed to.

A Lagonda tricar was victorious in its class in a London-Edinburgh trial in 1906. This car is considered a prototype of its kind and is the only Lagonda eligible for the London-to-Brighton run. It was restored in 1936 and again in the 1990s (and in the ’90s it was Lagonda that did the work). It’s been under current ownership since 2004. The estimate is $85,000-$90,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Peugeot Type 15

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1898 Peugeot Type 15 Double Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Amazingly, the Type 15 was the 15th model introduced by Peugeot when it went on sale in 1897. It remained available through 1901, as it was fairly popular. Up to that point, it was the most mass-produced Peugeot model with 276 constructed.

It was also the company’s first car powered by a proprietary engine, as previous Peugeot engine’s were based on Daimler designs. It’s a 2.2-liter flat-twin that made about eight-horsepower and drove the rear wheels via a four-speed (plus reverse) gearbox.

This one was sold new in France and has known history back to the 1950s. Museum duty called from that point and for the next 30 years, and it’s current owner bought it some time after a restoration was completed in 1996. It’s a London-to-Brighton veteran and should bring between $310,000-$367,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $612,240.

Ferrari F2003-GA

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2003 Ferrari F2003-GA

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Geneva, Switzerland | November 9, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari was on fire in this era of F1. This, the F2003-GA (the GA standing for Gianni Agnelli, the previous head of Fiat), gave Michael Schumacher his sixth and penultimate world championship. Rubens Barrichello was the team’s other driver this season, and he won two races in his F2003-GA. Schumacher won five. And they didn’t even use the car for the first four races of the season.

This particular chassis, #229, has a competition history that includes:

  • 2003 Spanish Grand Prix – 1st (with Michael Schumacher)
  • 2003 Austrian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Monaco Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Canadian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 European Grand Prix – 5th (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 French Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Italian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 U.S. Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Japanese Grand Prix – 8th (with Schumacher)

Apparently there are only four Schumacher-era Ferrari F1 cars that won five or more races, and this is one of them. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter V10 that made 845 horsepower in race trim. It’s fully serviced and ready to go. It has an estimate of $7,500,000-$9,500,000. Click here for more info.

1904 Siddeley

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1904 Siddeley 12hp Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Siddeley is a fairly well-known name in the historical British car world. However, most of the time it is connected to other names, like Deasy, Wolseley, or, most famously, Armstrong. But the first Siddeleys were built by John Davenport Siddeley’s Siddeley Autocar Company, which was founded in 1902. The cars were actually built by Vickers and were based on Peugeots.

In 1905, J.D. Siddeley became the manager of Wolseley and then added his name to that brand. In 1909, he left Wolseley (and so did his name) and took over Deasy, again appending his name to that marque’s as well. In 1919, Siddeley-Deasy was bought by Armstrong Whitworth. Armstrong-Siddeley cars remained in production until 1960. The Siddeley name stuck around on various aircraft companies through a few mergers, eventually winding up as part of BAE Systems.

So that’s the history. Here’s this car. It is said that 31 examples of the 12hp model were built, with this being the only survivor. It’s powered by a vertical twin that can push the car to 28 mph, never exceeding 1,800 rpm (and dropping as low as 80 rpm!). The rear-entrance tonneau body was fabricated in the ’90s to replace a replacement two-seater (previously added in lieu of the original tonneau body).

A former London-to-Brighton participant, this car should sell in the $125,000-$155,000 range. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $170,857.

XM Turnpike Cruiser Concept Car

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1956 Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser Concept Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 4-15, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This poorly photographed mid-century concept car is a pretty wild thing. First of all, it’s built on a 1954 Ford F-250 chassis, and it was designed by Mercury yet actually built by Ghia in Italy. Which seems backward of how it is supposed to have been done. Power is from a 4.8-liter V8.

But let’s talk styling. First off, we have split dual-Dagmar front bumpers. The exhaust has dual tips sticking through each quarter panel, and the fins have a weird rotated-3D look to them that are surrounded by a flat rear deck and vertical tail panel. The C-pillar buttresses are actually glass, and brake lights are also located at the rear top base of the roof. The four-seat interior is full-on jet age, too.

It toured around the show circuit in 1956 and was used as a pace car in Daytona in 1957. From there, it sat parked outside at Ford HQ, deteriorating. The owner restored it between 2017 and 2022. It’s as fresh now as it’s ever been.

It’s actually been a while since a good 1950s concept car came up for sale. And this is one that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

1897 Daimler Tonneau

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1897 Daimler Twin-Cylinder 4HP Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

We have featured a four-horsepower 1897 Daimler before, believe it or not, but that car was a wagonette. This is a more passenger-friendly tonneau. It was built by Daimler in England, which at the time was just a year-old company.

In fact, this car was just the second built by the British Daimler. It is powered by the oldest known Daimler engine, which is a 1.6-liter vertical twin that was rated at four horsepower. Its first owner is known, and it was demonstrated for the future King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace before taking part in the London-to-Bright Run. In 1897.

Updates were performed by Daimler in 1900, and some of them have been undone (for instance, someone backdated it to its original tiller steering configuration). It’s participated in more than 50 London-to-Brighton runs. It’s now got an estimate of $255,000-$310,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $427,144.

10HP MMC

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1902 MMC 10HP Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

MMC seemed to have been named in a hurry. The Motor Manufacturing Company didn’t get a fancy name, probably because company backer Harry J. Lawson was in a hurry. MMC was formed out of the remnants of the Great Horseless Carriage Company in 1898. The company went out of business in 1904 when Lawson was sent to prison for fraud. It reorganized twice before disappearing for good in 1908.

The 1902 model line included three front-engined options: a single, a twin, and a four-cylinder car. This car is the middle offering, powered by a 2.1-liter vertical twin rated at 10 horsepower.

This example has known history back to 1951, when it was found in a scrapyard. It took a while to get it back on the road, with the reconstructed body not being completed until the 1990s. It now carries an estimate of $195,000-$250,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $281,915.

S1 Elise

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1998 Lotus Elise

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | October 20, 2022

Photo – H&H Classics

The Elise is one of the most vaunted cars to be produced by Lotus… ever. The Series 1 launched in 1996 and remained in production until 2001. It was never sold in the United States (the Series 2 was). It was a light car – just under 1,600 pounds – with a fiberglass body and an aluminum chassis. It’s pretty much the direct descendent of the Lotus Seven.

The base model was powered by a mid-mounted 118-horsepower, 1.8-liter Rover inline-four. A five-speed manual was the only gearbox option, and all cars featured a targa roof. This car has small hidden upgrades, like S2 suspension and upholstery.

These cars are very active track day participants and are still used regularly. So whether or not they have officially become collectable is debatable, but I think these early cars are just on the cusp of it. This one has 28,000 miles, and that mileage is likely to be kept very low by future owners. It should sell for between $27,000-$29,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $30,642.