Delahaye 235 Cabriolet

1951 Delahaye 235 Cabriolet by Chapron

Offered by Osenat | Paris, France | February 3, 2024

Photo – Osenat

Delahaye’s 135 model dated back to before the war. In 1951 the company introduced the 235, which didn’t outright replace the 135, but sort of complemented it as a more modern take on the car. Produced through the end of Delahaye in 1954, the 235 proved not enough to save the company.

Power is provided by a 3.6-liter inline-six that was rated at 152 horsepower. A top speed of over 100 mph was claimed, and body work was supplied by some great French coachbuilders, including Henri Chapron on this example.

Only 84 examples of the 235 were built. This was the third of those 84, and it was the first Chapron cabriolet. It was on the stand in Geneva and was first owned by Willy Breitling (and was later titled in his famed watch company’s name). It has not been restored and has an estimate of $142,000-$185,000. Click here for more info.

Alta F2

1951 Alta Formula 2

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 15, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Geoffrey Taylor’s Alta Car and Engineering Company was founded in 1929 and produced sports racing and a few road cars prior to WWII. In 1950, they built a Formula One car and entered five races as a constructor. But F1 was, as always, expensive. So Taylor turned his attentions to F2.

Their first Formula Two car was built in 1951, and this example is the second of five constructed. It competed in races in 1951 and 1952 and was purchased by its current owner in 1974.

It’s never been restored. The Alta F2 car was powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four that was rated at about 130 horsepower. The estimate is $76,000-$150,000, which is quite a range. More info can be found here.

Beutler-Bodied Bristol

1951 Bristol 401 by Beutler

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | April 8, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

The Bristol 401, which was the company’s second automobile, is rare enough as it is. Just 611 were produced between 1948 and 1953. Remarkably, this makes it the most common Bristol product. Most of them were bodied as two-door coupes by the factory.

This car, and one other, were shipped as bare chassis to Beutler in Switzerland to get custom coachbuilt bodies. The factory 2.0-liter inline-six remained unchanged and was rated at 85 horsepower.

After being bodied, it was sent to its first owner – who ordered it this way – in Sri Lanka, of all places. It returned to England with its second owner in 1960 and has resided there since. It was later restored and fitted with a later Bristol engine. No estimate is posted, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

’51 Mercury Woodie

1951 Mercury Station Wagon

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 12-20, 2023

Photo – Mecum

Mercury’s 1951 model line consisted of one model: their eight-cylinder car, the design of which was in its last year of a three-year run. Technically it was the Series 1CM in 1951, and the M-79 two-door station wagon was the only wagon variant they offered.

Just 3,812 were produced for the model year. All of them were powered by a 4.2-liter V8 that was rated at 112 horsepower. The car is finished in a wonderful shade of ’50s teal with real wood bodywork – from the last year for which Mercury used real wood on their wagons.

Obviously restored, the car also features three rows of seating and a three-on-the-tree transmission. Click here for more photos and info.

Update: Sold $53,900.

D.B. Barquette

1951 D.B. Barquette by Antem

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Deutsch-Bonnet, later D.B. after 1947, was a low-volume French sports car manufacturer that was perhaps best known for the Le Mans and the HBR models. Artcurial initially had this one tagged as an HBR5 but later changed the description, presumably because the HBR5 didn’t launch until 1955.

This is apparently one of about 20 “Antem” models designed by Antem, which was located near Paris. Only seven of those were “Barquette” racing cars with aluminum bodies. The non-race versions had steel bodies. Power is from a 747cc Panhard flat-twin. This one had early competition history in Portugal and Morocco.

It’s noted to require a few things to take it back to stock, but it still remains eligible for events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic. The estimate is $120,000-$165,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $116,986.

Riley RMC

1951 Riley RMC

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | November 30, 2022

Photo – H&H Classics

Riley’s RM series of cars picked up after WWII where the pre-war Kestrel had left off. What started as the RMA in 1945 would eventually progress through the RMF in 1953. The RMC was produced between 1948 and 1951 and was only available as a roadster.

These cars always struck me as a little awkwardly proportioned. The wheelbase just looks too long. But otherwise it’s an attractive post-war sporting body with suicide doors. Power is from a 2.5-liter inline-four that made 100 horsepower. It was enough to push the car to 100 mph. Sixty took an agonizing 16.5 seconds.

Over four years of production, just over 500 of these (507 to be exact) were built. This one is finished in good colors and is described in the catalog as “self-maintained” – which I think means it maintains itself? It has an estimate of $33,000-$38,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, H&H Classics, Duxford March 2023.

1951 Kenworth

1951 Kenworth BC 825-C Conventional

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | November 11, 2021

Photo – Mecum

This is a pretty awesome-looking semi. And it’s from 70 years ago, yet it doesn’t look that much different from today’s semis. It’s pretty crazy actually, not to mention the fact that it survived this long, although the restoration certainly helped.

Kirkland, Washington’s Kenworth traces its roots back to a dealership owned by the Gerlinger brothers. They started producing their own truck called the Gersix in 1914. Bankruptcy followed in 1917, and the company’s assets were acquired by E.K. Worthington and Frederick Kent. They combined their last names to form “Kenworth” in 1923.

This truck is powered by a 262-horsepower Cummins diesel. The auction catalog is light on info, but the truck looks pretty sharp and is probably still fairly usable. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $46,200.

Allard K2

1951 Allard K2

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In 1946, Sydney Allard’s company introduced two lines of cars, both of which would spawn follow-up models. Those would have been the J1 and K1. Following up the K1 in 1950 was the K2. It was produced through 1952.

This British roadster featured American power – a 5.4-liter Cadillac V8. It was as at home on the track as much as it was on the street, but the K models were more street cars than the J cars. This one was sold new out of New York City.

Only 119 K2s were built. And they are rarely seen. The pre-sale estimate here is $60,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $66,000.

Jowett Javelin

1951 Jowett Javelin DeLuxe

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | September 16, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Jowett was founded in 1906 and made it through WWII. Unfortunately, a post-war boom for new cars in the U.K. saw Jowett’s body builder get bought out by Ford, leaving them without a source for car bodies. So they said “aw the hell with it” and closed up shop.

Despite its looks, the Jupiter was actually their large car, and it was offered between 1947 and 1953. The car is powered by a 1.5-liter flat-four mounted directly behind the grille in front of the radiator. It produced 52 horsepower in this car, which was enough to get it to 80 mph.

The weird engine location meant that this was a roomy six-seater car, and the DeLuxe trim added bigger bumpers, a fog light, leather seats, and a wooden dashboard. This four-owner example is one of 23,307 built and should sell for between $12,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $10,455.

Frazer Vagabond

1951 Frazer Vagabond

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 21-23, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Frazer had a short existence as a marque: just five years from 1947 through 1951. The brand was supposed to be an upmarket Kaiser, with prices just a few hundred dollars more than their Kaiser counterparts. Joseph Frazer left the company in 1949, and Kaiser Motors didn’t find the marque to be all that profitable, so it was shuttered after 1951. The final model year consisted of leftover bodies from the ’49 and ’50 model years.

As sort of homely and 1950s-American-generic as this car may look, it is actually spectacular. The Vagabond is one of the coolest American cars of the 1950s. Why? Well it isn’t the 115-horsepower 3.7-liter inline-six. It’s the fact that it is five-door hatchback, or utility sedan, as it was called.

Photo – Mecum

Look at that. The Vagabond (Kaiser made one too) featured two rows of bench seating. The rear folded flat and was lined with wood slats on the rear to match the cargo area floor, which is accessed via a folding tailgate and an upper rear hatch. The left-rear door is blocked by the spare tire. Funky.

Only 2,951 Vagabonds were built by Frazer for 1951. And this one looks great. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $40,700.