H.F.S. Morgan had his own automobile dealership and service center by 1904 and ended up building himself his own car five years later. The next year, he was producing them for sale, and the Morgan Motor Company was born.
He used his cars early on in competition settings, including the 1913 Cyclecar Grand Prix, in which a Morgan won. The car that won was the basis for the company’s Grand Prix model that followed, which is what is shown here. It has a Motosacoche Acacias Geneve engine of 1.1 liters in capacity (a V-twin). This car has one of two known remaining engines of the type.
The Grand Prix model was offered from 1913 through 1926. And the three-wheeled design it pioneered and started to perfect would be the basis for three-wheeled Morgans for decades to come. This TT model is pretty stripped down, and it has an estimate of $65,000-$100,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | November 26, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
NSU sold Fiats under license beginning in 1929 under the NSU-Fiat marque. NSU sold the Heilbronn, Germany-based factory to Fiat in 1932, and in 1957, then name Neckar replaced NSU-Fiat as the marque until it ceased existing in 1971.
All Neckars were just re-badged versions of something else, in this case the already-obscure OSI 1200, which was a Michelotti-styled variant of the Fiat 1200 Spider. It’s got a Fiat 1.2-liter inline-four.
Aguttes says 280 convertibles and 70 coupes were built, all of which apparently by OSI and then branded differently for various markets. The pre-sale estimate is $27,000-$38,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | June 25, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
This is an appropriate post, as it is being written a day after the conclusion of the 100-year anniversary of the first 24 Hours of Le Mans – which was won by a Chenard et Walcker. The French company existed from the late 1800s until 1946.
Their Aigle and Aiglon models were produced in the 1930s. In 1932, the company offered four models: two Aigles and two Aiglons, with the latter being offered in 8CV and 10CV models. No clue which one this is, but it’s powered by an inline-four engine.
This car has at least been cosmetically restored. It looks very much the part of a 1930s French Chrysler, though, as with all French cars of the era, is likely smaller than any potential American counterpart. Described by the catalog as “easy and interesting,” the car carries a pre-sale estimate of $13,000-$19,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | June 25, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
French manufacturer Unic set up shop in 1905 and continued producing passenger cars through 1938. They produced military vehicles during WWII and concentrated on trucks after the war, soldiering on independently until Fiat took them over in 1966. The brand was phased out after being merged into Iveco in 1975.
But this L2 from 1924 proves that Unic had a hold on commercial vehicles well before the end of WWII. It’s powered by an inline-four of unknown displacement but apparently rated at 10 (presumably taxable) horsepower.
The body style is listed as Boulangère, which is kind of a French huckster wagon. The driver’s compartment is quite nice, and the wagon has a fold-down tailgate for the cargo area, a solid roof, and roll-up side curtains. The estimate here is $10,000-$16,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | June 25, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
The initial Rosengarts were produced by Lucien Rosengart’s company in France in 1927. They were copies of the Austin Seven, produced under license. Eventually the company would move on to cars of its own design before fading away shortly after 1950.
The LR6 was a six-cylinder evolution of the original Seven-based LR2. The sub-model LR62 was produced between 1932 and 1935. The inline-six is of unknown displacement, and power output is… probably nothing to write home about.
Rosengarts are pretty rare, with non-LR2 models being very rare. This car, which is probably a lot smaller than it looks, does look quite nice. It has an estimate of $13,000-$19,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Champerret, France | June 25, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
Struggling Panhard decided that a great way to save their business was to launch a sports car. And then they decided to put a two-cylinder engine in their sports car. No wonder it didn’t work out for them.
Based on the Dyna X sedan, the Dyna Junior was offered in X86 and X87 form, the difference between them being the version of the Dyna X chassis they used. Later cars used the X87 chassis. This one is powered by a 851cc flat-twin rated at 41 horsepower.
This drop-top cabriolet version is a project in the midst of a restoration. Of all types, about 4,700 examples of the Dyna Junior were produced between 1952 and 1956. The pre-sale estimate here is $13,000-$19,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | April 27, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
This is a car with a great story. Alain de Cadenet was an English racing driver (and later pretty awesome TV presenter if you like old cars). He raced at Le Mans 15 times, including with cars of his own design. In 1971, he ran Le Mans in a Ferrari 512M. The next year he tried to buy a Ferrari 312 PB, which the company refused to sell to a privateer, as it was based on their F1 car and thus too extreme for an “amateur.”
So he thought of something else. De Cadenet owned a Brabham BT33 F1 car himself, a car which he entered in two 1971 F1 races for his friend and endurance racing co-driver, Chris Craft. So he asked Brabham if they could turn it into a full-bodied sports racing prototype. Bernie Ecclestone, who had just bought Brabham, pointed de Cadenet to a young designer named Gordon Murray.
Over the course of six weeks, Murray designed this. But it needed a new engine – so de Cadenet went to McLaren and bought Bruce McLaren‘s 1968 Belgian Grand Prix-winning Cosworth DFV (as one does). Then he convinced lubricant manufacturer Duckhams to sponsor the whole ordeal. And by June, they were on the grid at Le Sarthe. The competition history includes:
1972 24 Hours of Le Mans – 12th (with Alain de Cadenet and Chris Craft)
1973 24 Hours of Le Mans – 45th, DNF (with de Cadenet and Craft)
1974 24 Hours of Le Mans – 26th, DNF (with Craft and John Nicholson)
For the ’73 race the car received longtail bodywork by Murray, and in 1974, with de Cadenet sidelined with an injury and the Duckhams sponsorship deal over, the car raced as a de Cadenet LM72. Which is pretty awesome, even if he didn’t get to drive it.
The car was restored in 2002 to how it competed in 1972, including with a 3.0-liter Cosworth V8. In period, it also competed in Interserie and Can-Am events. More recently, it’s been active at the Le Mans Classic. The estimate now is $1,600,000-$2,750,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | April 27, 2023
Photo – Aguttes
Henri Pescarolo ran 57 Formula One races and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a driver four times for Matra-Simca and Porsche. He founded Pescarolo Sport in 2000 to race (and later build) Le Mans prototype racers. And for a while, their Courage chassis were the second-best LMP1 cars on the grid after the all-too-dominant Audis.
For 2007, the team decided to try their hand with a machine of their own design. The Pescarolo 01 was built for use in both LMP1 and LMP2 categories. This particular chassis, 013, features a 3.6-liter Judd V8 that made about 510 horsepower. Outfitted in LMP2 spec, this car was used by the OAK Racing team and carries Gulf colors. It’s competition history includes:
2011 24 Hours of Le Mans – 25th (with Frederic Da Rocha, Patrice Lafargue, and Andrea Barlesi)
The car has since been overhauled and now carries an estimate of $440,000-$660,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | December 14, 2022
Photo – Aguttes
Dream spec. Fact: the Aston Martin DB7 is one of the best-looking cars of all time. And when they dropped a V12 under the hood and tweaked the styling a bit, they really ended up with a winner. Add on top of that the fact that this one is a drop top finished in Almond Green with over a beige and green interior… perfection.
The Vantage-specification DB7 went on sale in 1999 and featured a 5.9-liter V12 (as opposed to the earlier DB7’s straight-six) that made 420 horsepower. This manual-transmission car was capable of 60 mph in five seconds when new.
Having covered less than 10,000 miles since new, this Volante is a keeper. It has a pre-sale estimate of $73,000-$94,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Aguttes | Sochaux, France | October 23, 2022
Photo – Aguttes
McLaren’s MP4/9 was used for the 1994 season, which was the only season that McLaren partnered with Peugeot as their engine supplier. This was Peugeot’s first season as an F1 engine supplier, and things did not start out well.
Their 3.5-liter A4 V10 was unreliable. Both McLarens failed to finish the first two races. For race number three at San Marino, they upgraded to their “A6” spec V10, which was also a 3.5-liter unit. It made about 740 horsepower, and this chassis, number seven, still has it in there. The competition history for this chassis is confusingly listed, but it was driven in races and as a reserve car during the 1994 season by Mika Hakkinen and Martin Brundle.
It was later stored at McLaren for 26 years and is being sold from Peugeot-Citroen’s collection. The pre-sale estimate is $1,165,000-$1,450,000. Click here for more info.
