Tag Archives: auctions

Morris Ital Pickup

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1983 Morris Ital Pickup

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 27, 2019

Photo – Brightwells

Up until sometime in the 1990s, car companies would produce all sorts of body style variations of their cars. This was especially popular in Europe, where sedans could also be had in wagon, van, and even pickup forms. They would all wear the same model nameplate.

The Morris Ital was only built by British Leyland between 1980 and 1984. It was available as… well, a sedan, wagon, van, and pickup. This example is powered by a 1.3-liter inline-four good for 61 horsepower.

But what draws us to this example is the sheer rarity of it. The Ital was the final model to wear the Morris badge and only 37 are still registered in Britain, with another 145 or so extant but not roadworthy. Only six of that combined number are said to be pickups. And this one looks great. It should sell for between $3,800-$5,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Brightwells.

Update: Sold $5,496.

1902 Bartholomew

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1902 Bartholomew 3.5hp High-Wheeled Spindler

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 1, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

George Bartholomew of Russell, New York saw someone driving a car in a nearby town just after the turn of the century. So he went home and built himself one. This, the Bartholomew, is a one-off car that was built by George, who used it regularly for about four years.

Power is from a 3.5-horsepower single-cylinder two-stroke engine manufactured by Fairfield. It’s actually a stationary engine that Mr. Bartholomew adapted for use in his car. Features include a teeny-tiny steering wheel and seating for two.

The car remained in his family until 1949, when it went to a museum. It ended up in the U.K. by the late 1980s and has successfully completed the London-to-Brighton run twice. It should now bring between $35,000-$46,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,254.

Flipper

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1979 SEAB Flipper I

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 19, 2019

Photo – Osenat

The Flipper was built by SEAB (Societe d’Exploitation et d’Application des Brevet) between 1978 and 1984. The company gained exposure to building plastic-bodied cars by doing just that for the Citroen Mehari. Also, gotta love any company whose official name includes the word “exploitation.”

The Flipper was built as two different models (a third never entered production), all of which were “sans permis” – meaning they could be driven without a license. That is, they are small enough not to qualify as cars in France. Power is from a 47cc Sachs single-cylinder engine. Despite its looks, it is not amphibious.

And it was only available in beige or brown. The coolest part about it is that it doesn’t have a reverse gear. Instead, it has a front axle that pivots all the way around. So to go backward, just keep turning the steering wheel until you start going backward. The Flipper II went about things more traditionally. It’s kind of weird. Kind of French. Kind of cool. This “survivor-level” car should bring between $880-$1,700. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Marcos LM400

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1997 Marcos LM400 Roadster

Offered by Coys | Syon Park, U.K. | October 19, 2019

Photo – Coys

It’s too bad the photos of this car aren’t better, because it’s a wild thing. Marcos was founded in 1959, but by the 1990s they were on shaky ground and had been for quite a while. They were bankrupt (for the second time) in 2000. This was pretty much it for Marcos (though there was a brief revival). They went down swinging in the 90s with some outrageous stuff.

It started with the Mantis in 1968, and Marcos styling just sort of evolved from that point. In the 80s and early 90s, there were all sorts of takes on the Mantis: the Mantula, Martina, Mantara… and a fresh Mantis. Around 1993, Marcos wanted to get back into motorsport. In order to do so, they had to build road-going versions of whatever they wanted to race.

And the LM-series of cars were born. Built in 400, 500, and 600-spec, the LM was a limited-production series. Only 30 were built in total, 14 of which were LM400s. Power is from a 3.9-liter Rover V8 making 190 horsepower. It’s unclear how many of the 14 LM400s were convertibles.

This one should sell for $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Wiesmann GT

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2007 Wiesmann GT MF4

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann started a company in 1988 to build a classic-style roadster. That came to fruition in 1993, and from there, the company moved from neo-classic-esque open roadsters to something bordering on an insane supercar wrapped in a classically-styled package.

Their first closed car was the GT, which went on sale in MF4 guise in 2003. This two-seat coupe is powered by a 4.8-liter BMW V8 that puts out 367 horsepower. That’s enough power to propel this little thing to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds on the way to a top end of 180 mph. After 2010, the MF4 broke the 400 horsepower barrier. I saw one of these parked on the street in Switzerland. They are great-looking cars.

More extreme versions were offered, but this example represents the classic Wiesmann GT before they went power-crazy. Production lasted until 2013 when the company went bankrupt. They’ve since been purchased by a group of investors, but it is unclear if production will resume. Between 1988 and 2013, Wiesmann built about 1,600 cars. This one should bring between $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $103,257.

Simca Sport

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1950 Simca 8 Sport Cabriolet by Facel

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 27, 2019

Photo – Artcurial

Simca’s two-door model range is a bit confusing, especially cars built around 1950. The Simca 8 was new in 1937 and was re-introduced after the war, with production continuing through 1951. It was a rebadged Fiat 508C, and it was Simca’s bread and butter.

Company president Henri Pigozzi had Pininfarina mock up a coupe version of the 8, which was popular. It went on sale as the Simca Sport in 1950. Later, in 1952, an updated version called the Simca 9 Sport went on sale and was built alongside the Sport, which was also referred to as the 8 Sport. Right.

This Facel-bodied cabriolet is powered by a 1.2-liter inline-four capable of 50 horsepower. The car had a single owner from new until the early 2000s. It should now bring between $38,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,210.

Arrows A21

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2000 Arrows A21

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Arrows Grand Prix International was an active F1 team between 1978 and 2002. They never won a race, and by 2000 they weren’t in the best position on the grid, literally and figuratively. Drivers Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa managed a best result of 4th all season.

The A21 was their car for 2000. Originally, it was powered by a 3.0-liter V10 from Supertec. Now it has a 3.0-liter Cosworth AC V8, which is probably much more reliable, even if it was built 25 years ago. The AC carried a rating of about 500 horsepower when new. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 2000 Belgian Grand Prix – 16th (with Pedro de la Rosa)
  • 2000 Italian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with de la Rosa)

And that was it for A21 chassis no. 05. It was later rebuilt after the accident at Monza and is now being offered alongside another A21 at RM’s sale. It’s like a turn-key F1 team from 20 years ago. Get after it! Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $92,194.

September 2019 Auction Highlights

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We’ll start this rundown with Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival sale, where the top sale during the auction was this 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Faux Cabriolet for $1,848,225.

Photo – Bonhams

The Wolverine Can-Am car we featured sold for $99,254, and the Rochdale brought $31,194. Click here for more results.

Up next we have RM’s Saragga Collection sale in Portugal. All of our feature cars sold, led by the Denzel and the HRG, which sold for $345,025 and $181,745 respectively. The overall top sale was $746,297 paid for this 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Tourer.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Other feature car sales included the Sado ($7,572), the De Tamble Roadster ($82,037), and the Willys Interlagos ($39,125). Click here for complete results.

Back to Bonhams for their inaugural “MPH” sale, which I think was a one-day online-only auction. Not really sure, as it wasn’t explained clearly on their website. The Brooke ME190 failed to sell, while the overall top sale was a tie. Both this 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth (below) and this 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 K13 SOV Prototype (second below) sold for $61,032 each. Full results can be found here.

Photo – Bonhams
Photo – Bonhams

The top seller at Mecum’s Louisville sale was this 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight that brought $121,000.

Photo – Mecum

The Chrysler New Yorker we featured was withdrawn from the sale, but you can look through the rest of the results here.

Finally, we have one more from Bonhams: their Swiss supercar sale, including a bunch of cars confiscated from the son of an African dictator. Fun! Our feature feature car was the overall top sale: the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, which sold for $8,330,076. The Lagonda Taraf failed to sell. In the spirit of over-the-top supercars, Most Interesting goes to this 2010 Lamborghini Reventon Roadster that found a new home for $1,966,823.

Photo – Bonhams

The Koenigsegg One:1 brought $4,627,820, and full results are available here.

Monteverdi Sahara

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1979 Monteverdi Sahara

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | October 19, 2019

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Peter Monteverdi’s Swiss car company produced some wild supercars, some Chrysler-based sedans, and some luxury off-roaders based on the very humble International Scout. Two such SUVs were produced: the Safari and the Sahara. Production began in 1977 and lasted through 1982, when IHC killed off the Scout.

Luxury SUVs were fairly rare in the late 1970s, and the Swiss market was pretty much limited to the Range Rover. Which is why Monteverdi pounced on the opportunity to offer a competitor. The Safari was bodied by Fissore, whereas the cheaper Sahara pretty much just used the Scout’s bodywork as-is.

This restored example is powered by a 5.7-liter IHC V8 good for 165 horsepower. The Sahara didn’t sell as well as the Safari, with as few as 30 examples having been built. This one is expected to bring between $30,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Noble M600

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2016 Noble M600 CarbonSport

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Noble M600 breaks the rule of not featuring any cars on this site that are still in production. The M600 went on sale in 2010 and is technically still available, although the company has only sold about 30 examples thus far. But because they’re so rare, and only God knows when they’ll actually stop making it, I decided to feature it anyway.

Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 from Yamaha that is actually based on a road-going Volvo V8. It’s capable of 650 horsepower, depending on which mode you’ve selected from the dash-operated Road/Track/Race settings menu. All that power can push the car to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds on the way to a 215 mph top speed. It’s a legitimate supercar.

The CarbonSport edition you see here features an exposed carbon fiber body that is colored maroon. This car has only delivery mileage on it and is the ninth CarbonSport car produced. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.