Tag Archives: 1955

Aston Martin DB3S

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1955 Aston Martin DB3S

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

The Aston Martin DB3S was introduced in 1953 and produced through 1955. It was developed from the DB3 – a race car in its own right, although less successful on track than the DB3S would turn out to be. Eleven “Works” examples were built (factory raced by Aston Martin). In 1955, the company introduced a customer version.

Twenty of these customer cars were built and they used an updated version of the DB3S’ 3.0-liter straight-six, making 210 horsepower. This is car #118 (the 18th of the customer cars) and it is finished in a vibrant shade of orange, as it was originally delivered to a a Dutch racing driver named Hans Davids. The Dutch love their orange.

The car spent its life in privateer hands (with gentlemen drivers), but it did compete – and it did so against the likes of Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Jo Bonnier, and Mike Hawthorn. The competition history of this car is as follows:

  • 1956 Goodwood (4/14) – 3rd (with Hans Davids)
  • 1956 Silverstone Daily Express – 17th (with Davids)
  • 1956 Grand Prix of Spa – 4th (with Davids)
  • 1956 Zandvoort – 1st (with Davids)
  • 1956 Opatija – DNF (with Davids)
  • 1957 Zandvoort – 1st (with Davids)
  • 1958 SCCA Nationals at Bridgehampton – 1st in class (with Fred Windridge)
  • 1958 Lime Rock National Championship Races – 10th, 1st in class (with Alan Markelson)
  • 1959 USAC Road Racing Championship Ponoma – DNF (with Bob Oker)

The car was restored and returned to its original color in the 1980s. Since then it has been well-maintained in ready-to-race condition. This car has known ownership history from new and no stories. Many people like their Astons in green, but I have to say that this looks really good in Dutch Racing Orange. I’d like to see more like it. The pre-sale estimate is $3,500,000-$4,000,000. For the complete lot description, click here. And for more from RM in during the Pebble Beach week, click here.

Update: Sold $3,685,000.

Porsche 550 Spyder

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1955 Porsche 550/1500 RS Spyder

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2012

Photo – Gooding & Company

Shelby Cobras, Ford GT40s, Lotus Sevens and the Porsche 550. These are cars of which replicas far outnumber the real thing. But this is a real Porsche 550 Spyder. Only about 90 550s were built and this one retains everything it originally came with.

The Porsche 550 was a great track-day car back in the mid-1950s (it still is, but they don’t come quite as cheap as they used to). Many of them were used and abused on weekend jaunts to the nearest road course or former air base. The most famous of these cars was James Dean’s “Little Bastard” that he was tragically killed in on his way to a race.

To have an original, unrestored engine in one of these cars is amazing. Nor does it have any replacement bodywork. It was a street car for most of its life, serving as daily transportation at one point (sunny days only, I presume).

And what fun that would be. The 1.5 liter flat-4 makes 125 horsepower, which may not sound like much but consider how much a tiny car like this weighs with all aluminum bodywork. Aluminum bodywork and a lack of interior.

Luxurious comfort is a small thing to sacrifice for a car this amazing. They do not come up for sale often and by “not often” I mean “almost never.” There are few Porsche models that are more collectible, desirable or iconic than this. The price reflects that, estimated between $2,200,000 and $2,600,000. The buyer may adopt the name of James Dean’s infamous car for themselves, but only if they add “lucky” to the beginning of it.

For the complete catalog description, click here and to see the entire lot list, click here.

Update: Sold $3,685,000.

Here’s video of a similar car:

1955 Flajole Forerunner

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1955 Flajole Forerunner

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 15-22, 2012

Designed by American Bill Flajole, this interesting concept car is one of one. It has a 180 horsepower Jaguar engine from an XK120. The curvy Fiberglas body has sparkly purple paint and curves all over the place.

The car has some unique design features – check out the chrome bumper way out there in front. You’d better be careful not to knick that chrome. And then there’s the rear-view mirror, located above the windshield and above the roof, outside of the car. It might seem strange until you realize there is zero visibility out the rear.

That nice sloping fastback – no pesky window seals to disrupt the airflow back to the rear tire sticking up like a spoiler in the back. The car is definitely interesting and it’s one of a kind. So if you want a car no one else has, this one’s for you.

This car sat at Hyman Ltd in St. Louis for quite a while with a $275,000 price tag. You can read the full catalog description here and check out more from Barrett-Jackson here.

Update: Not Sold. Currently for sale at Hyman Ltd in St. Louis for $295,000.

Bonhams Mercedes-Benz World Highlights

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Bonhams recently held sale at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey (on the 1st of December, 2011), featured a few interesting sales. Foremost among them was the 1953 Austin-Healey 100S Prototype that was involved in the infamous wreck at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was being driven by Lance Macklin who swerved to avoid a Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar D-Type that was entering the pits. Pierre Levegh in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR struck the rear of this Healey and was launched into the crowd, killing 83, including Levegh. The car’s infamy definitely played a part in it reaching a hammer price of $1.3 million – especially as it was sold in “barn find” condition seen here:

Other highlights include the red Maserati Quattroporte we featured a few weeks ago, selling for $80,000, falling right in the middle of the pre-sale estimate. Also sold was this super unusual 1912 Lanchester 38hp Detachable Open Drive Limousine for just over $130,000.

The car was owned by a Maharajah – as it seems more and more early British motorcars are – especially those with outlandish or highly unusual bodywork. The fixed roof over the rear passengers is completely removable on this car. The wheelbase is ridiculous and the whole front of the car looks like it was smashed backwards by about five feet. Unusual indeed.

I’ve decided that we’re going to give special mention to the final lot in every sale, as that lot usually tends to not be the most valuable or unusual car sold. It’s kind of overlooked. Like Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick in the annual NFL draft). For this sale it was a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante very similar (but not exact) to the one below.

As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the most beautiful cars of all time. It’s an extraordinarily pretty car and this one was dark blue with tan interior and had 63,000 miles on the odometer. It sold for almost $47,000 with buyer’s premium.

For complete results, check Bonhams’ website here.