Tag Archives: 1938

540K Roadster by Lancefield

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1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Roadster by Lancefield

Offered by Bonhams | Stuttgart, Germany | March 19, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve seen a lot of 500K and 540K cars roll through here over the past few weeks. So to find something else to say about these cars is tough. The 540K was the pinnacle of Mercedes-Benz engineering when it debuted in 1936. There were 419 chassis built.

The engine is a 115 horsepower 5.4-liter straight-eight that could pump out 180 horses when you pushed the throttle pedal to the floor and engaged the supercharger. Most of the cars were bodied by Mercedes’ in-house coachbuilding division, Sindelfingen. Not nearly as many were bodied by an outside firm.

This is one of those cars. It is an attractive convertible roadster designed by Lancefield Coachworks Ltd. of London. This would’ve been a late body by the company as they switched to aircraft components during the war and maintained that production afterward. It’s a one-off body and it is quite elegant. Look for it to bring between $3,000,000-$3,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ all-Mercedes sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2022, $1,050,000.

S/N: 169317

Bentley High Vision Coupe

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1938 Bentley 4¼ Litre High Vision Coupe by H.J. Mulliner

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | December 10, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

For being the fans of coachbuilt cars that we are, we really don’t feature enough Rolls-Royces or Bentleys. The Bentley 4¼ Litre began life as the Bentley 3½ Litre in 1933. It was the first new Bentley introduced after Rolls-Royce had acquired the company. The engine enlargement occurred for the 1936 model year.

The engine, obviously, is a 4.25-liter straight-six making about 110 horsepower, even though the power was not advertised. All 4¼ Litre Bentleys were coachbuilt and this one features a two-door “high vision” body from H.J. Mulliner.

The original owner of this car also owned five other 4¼ Litre cars from new – the most of anyone. The current owner acquired the car in 1993 and it is not known when the car was last used, so it will require a little work to make it roadworthy, but it shows great. Total production of the “Derby” Bentleys (what the 3½ Litre and 4¼ Litre cars were referred to) measured 2,442 units – 1,234 of those had the larger engine. This one should bring between $91,000-$120,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $144,019.

Adler Trumpf Rennlimousine

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1938 Adler Trumpf Rennlimousine

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

There is so much to like about this car. The first thing that caught me eye was the car’s looks. With the silver, streamlined body and the dim headlights (not to mention that it’s photographed in an aircraft hangar) it looks like some top secret Nazi experiment.

But it isn’t. It is fascinating. This was the ultimate Adler Trumpf, which was a small family car built by Adler between 1932 and 1938. Trumpfs were powered by a 56 horsepower 1.9-liter straight-four. Most had upright grilles and traditional body work for the period. They were not fast.

Enter Paul Jaray, an aerodynamicist schooled in zeppelin design. He figured he could make a Trumpf faster by slimming it down. At least six Rennlimousines (“racing limousine”) were built and three of them were entered in the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans, including this one. It finished 9th (2nd in class) with Otto Löhr and Paul von Guilleaume. It was then wrecked at Spa, repaired, and used as a show car.

Somehow it survived the war and reappeared in Bavaria in 1955. It ended up in the U.S. shortly thereafter. It passed around before being purchased by the current owner from the Blackhawk Collection in 1994. It’s beautiful. The interior is fantastic if not sparse and roomy. It’s unlike anything else you’re likely to come across and it comes from a weird time time and place in history when things were inventive and little mysterious. I’m over the moon with this car.

Only three of these still exist, all slightly different. This is the best one. And it shouldn’t be cheap. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Removed from catalog.

A Supercharged Alta

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1938 Alta Supercharged Sports

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | June 27, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Alta Car and Engineering Company was founded by Geoffrey Taylor in 1929. Their goal was to build sports cars – and later, racing cars, having entered factory racers in the first three different Formula One seasons. They were – and remain – very rare cars.

This 2.0-liter straight-four powered car has the optional supercharger that allows it to push out 180 horsepower. It could do 120 mph – making it one of the fastest cars you could buy in 1938. It could hit 60 mph in 7 seconds – that’s quicker than the car I drive today!

This car was extensively raced and has had many owners in the U.K., U.S., and Australia. The restoration was completed around 2000. Only 19 Alta cars were made prior to WWII. It’s been used a fair amount and well maintained. This car is ripe for historic racing. It should sell for between $300,000-$370,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $336,390.

Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Cabriolet

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1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi

Offered by RM Auctions | New York, New York | November 21, 2013

1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi

Talbot-Lago is one of those French marques that is widely associated with swoopy Art Deco coachwork from some of the most renown French coachbuilders of the pre-war era. The T-150C was introduced by Talbot-Lago in 1937. It had a competition chassis and the “SS” refers to it having a short wheelbase.

The engine is a 4.0-liter straight-six putting out 140 horsepower. Many of the cars were bodied by Figoni & Falaschi and the Teardrop bodystyle is their signature look. This Teardrop also happens to be a cabriolet. This is said to be the only short-wheelbase example with its original chassis, engine, and body.

Only 11 T-150C SS models were built and only two received Figoni Teardrop Cabriolet bodies (they did a third cabriolet on the longer wheelbase). This, the first one one has an interesting history: it was acquired by a merchant in Lille in 1941. He later moved to Paris and became a double agent under the Germans and had to flee to Brazil toward the end of the War.

It was confiscated and sold and by the mid-1950s, it found its way to Chicago. The current owner acquired it in 2008 and commissioned a stunning restoration that will easily win the car awards. These are truly amazing cars with flowing lines and a downright beautiful design. This is what RM is talking about when they call a sale “The Art of the Automobile.” It is art in motion. It will bring millions (between $8,000,000-$10,000,000). Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $7,150,000.

Delage Aerosport

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1938 Delage D8-120 Aerosport by LeTourneur & Marchand

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

1938 Delage D8-120 Aerosport by LeTourneur & Marchand

I’ve spoken before of the “French D’s” – highly-desirable pre-war French automobile marques that are all right next to each other alphabetically – but this is the first Delage we’ve featured. Delage was founded in 1905 by Louis Delage and it was acquired by rival Delahaye in 1935.

The D8-120 was the first Delage automobile designed and produced under Delahaye ownership. It was the only eight-cylinder car offered by either make. The engine is a 4.7-liter straight-eight making 115 horsepower. It was mounted on a Delahaye chassis and sent off to a French coachbuilder – in this case, LeTourneur & Marchand.

This body design ranks among the finest French designs of the 1930s and the most coveted among Delages. Only 12 were built (this is car #11) and only eight remain today. It has full ownership history – including wartime – and was in the same hands from 1957 until 2013. The most recent restoration was carried out in 1999. This is a million-dollar car. Click here for more info and photos and here for more from Mecum in Monterey.

Update: Not sold (high bid of $2,400,000)

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2014 high bid of $2,300,000.

Lancia Astura Cabriolet

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1938 Lancia Astura Series IV Cabriolet by Carrozzeria Boneschi

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 7, 2013

1938 Lancia Astura Series IV Cabriolet by Carrozzeria Boneschi

Many of the classic Lancias of the 1920s are boxy -like the Lambda and Dilambda and even the first generation of the Astura. But in the mid-to-late 1930s, Lancia’s vehicles began to become a little more shapely at the hands of coachbuilders. This Astura Cabriolet looks fantastic.

The Astura took the place of the Lambda in the Lancia lineup. It was introduced in 1931 and was still a rather boxy car. But by the time this Fourth Series car came around (it was the final Series and was introduced in 1937), these wonderful curves were available from such coachbuilders as Carrozzeria Boneschi – a Milan coachbuilder who had a long relationship with Lancia. It looks like something that could’ve come from the best of the French design houses of the period.

The engine is an 82 horsepower, 3.0-liter V8. This car was purchased new by a “Belgian coal-mining magnate” and was kept in storage for a long time. It has been repainted (in its original color), but everything else is entirely original. This is one of 423 Series IV Asturas built before production ended in 1939. It is one of three bodied by Boneschi and the only one still in existence. It should bring between $520,000-$660,000. Read more here and check out more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $893,800.

Ettore’s Bugatti

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1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 7, 2013

1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupe

Photo – Bonhams

The Bugatti Type 57 was introduced in 1934 after having been designed by Jean Bugatti, founder Ettore’s son. It featured a 3.3-liter straight-eight. When the Type 57C came along in 1937, a Roots-type supercharger was added, bumping horsepower to 160. This particular 57C underwent continuous factory fiddling for an extra 20 years and is likely a little more powerful.

The special body was designed by Jean Bugatti himself. I can’t help but think how cool it would look if those rear wheels matched the green paint on the body instead of being black. When this car was finished, it was retained by the factory and given to Ettore Bugatti himself as a gift. It was then used as a demonstrator and loaned to the factory racing drivers.

It is one of ten Bugattis ever retained by the factory for such use and the fact it belonged to Ettore and had Jean’s custom bodywork means it is one of a kind. Many Bugattis have exceptional history… but this one was owned by the big boss man himself. It was hidden during the war and returned to the factory afterward. It wasn’t sold until the factory closed down. It passed between three owners before being acquired by John O’Quinn. The car has never been restored and is described as being as close as you can get to driving a 57C off the Bugatti factory floor. It should sell for between $1,000,000-$1,300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Paris.

Update: Sold $924,600.

Delahaye 135 MS by Figoni et Falaschi

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1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi

Guess what my favorite feature of this car is. It isn’t the beautiful Figoni & Falaschi-styled body. It’s that French flag on the grille. How cool. I almost didn’t feature this car, but that colorful grille alone sold me on it – that and I’ve yet to feature a Delahaye 135 MS – however I have done a 135 M.

So what’s the difference? More horsepower, of course. While the M lumbered around with up to 115 horsepower, the 3.6-liter straight six in the MS offered 160 horsepower. The “Teardrop” bodystyle is the most famous style from French coachbuilders Figoni & Falaschi. It’s also the one that it usually shown as the “typical” French coachbuilt body of the period. It is certainly nice.

This car was on the Figoni et Falaschi stand at the 1938 Paris Salon and disappeared shortly thereafter, being rediscovered in 1964. It was restored in the late 1980s and was acquired by John O’Quinn in 2006, who had it restored again. It is being offered with an invitation to the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, which it could win. It should sell for between $1,000,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s Arizona lineup.

Update: Sold $1,540,000.

A [Mostly] Original 540K Cabriolet A

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1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2013

1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A

Hmm, three maroon cars in a row. I didn’t plan that. We’ll need something more colorful for tomorrow. But color isn’t a big issue here because this is a Mercedes-Benz 540K. One of the most desirable cars on earth.

The 540K was, essentially, an updated 500K with a bigger engine. Introduced in 1936, the 540K used a supercharged 5.4-liter straight eight making 180 horsepower with the supercharger engaged. How it worked was, the engine made 115 horsepower as is, but when you floored the accelerator, the compressor kicked in and bumped the power up considerably – allowing the car to attain speeds up to 110 mph.

But what really catches everyone’s attention is that body by Sindelfingen, Mercedes’ in-house coachbuilder. Their cars are gorgeous, this Cabriolet A-style body being no exception. The 540K lasted until 1940, with a total of 83 Cabriolet As built. This car was originally delivered to Paris, but was brought home with a U.S. soldier after the war (what a war prize!). He kept it until 1970 when it was purchased by famed car rescuer Paul Karassik, who painted it the burgundy color you see, replaced the top, and refurbished the leather on the seats. Other than that, this car is original.

Mercedes 540K Cabriolet A’s have an average sale price over the past few years of about $2.5 million. The fact that this car is pretty much original is a wild card – but look for it to bring in the neighborhood of that amount, as Bonhams declined to publish an estimate. You can read more here and check out more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,312,500.