Tag Archives: auctions

Gas-Powered 1902 Century

Posted on by
Reply

1902 Century Tourist Dos-A-Dos

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Century Motor Vehicle Company was founded in 1900 in Syracuse, New York. It’s founders are a list of names of people lost to history, including: Charles Saul, Charles Listman, Charles Bridgman, Hiram Plumb, and William Van Wagoner. Way to not be a Charles, Hiram and William.

They offered two different electric runabouts in 1901, while their 1902 and 1903 catalog consisted of electric cars, steam cars, and one lone gasoline-powered model. No matter how you wanted to move, Century had you covered. The Tourist was only sold as a runabout like this, and it has a rear seat.

It’s powered by a single-cylinder engine that made seven horsepower. The cost was $750, and this one was sold new in Newport, Rhode Island. Somehow, it remained undiscovered until about five years ago. Restored, it now carries and estimate of $55,000-$70,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $38,500.

1912 Marquette

Posted on by
Reply

1912 Marquette Model 25 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This was the first time the Marquette marque was introduced under General Motors. Billy Durant bought up Rainier and Welch-Detroit, both of which were making pretty nice cars. But both were losing money. He propped up the Marquette-Buick name to use on race cars before the Marquette road car debuted in 1911.

It was very closely related to the Rainier, making it a pretty nice car that would’ve retailed for about $3,000 in its day. A Model T was about $650. Around the time that this car got off the ground, Durant lost control of GM, and the new people in charge scuttled the marque. GM would bring the Marquette name back for 1930 as the one-year-only companion make for Buick.

This Model 25 Touring is powered by a 40-horsepower, 6.8-liter inline-four and is one of only a few known to exist. It has an estimate of $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $38,500.

Monterosa-Bodied Fiat 600

Posted on by
Reply

1958 Fiat 600 Coupe by Monterosa

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Moritz, Switzerland | September 15, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Fiat 600 was a small city car and was slightly larger than the classic Fiat 500, which actually came a little later. But it was also the basis for a number of coachbuilt specials and limited-run cars, including this, which is one of three like it.

Carrozzeria Monterosa was based in Turin and supplied special bodies for chassis from a number of mostly Italian manufacturers, including Maserati, Fiat, and Lancia. They were never a major player, but their designs fit in the time.

This 600 is powered by the standard inline-four and features a more conventional-looking berlinetta body than the stock rounded rear profile of the 600. It also has a very late-50s two-tone color scheme. This photo barely shows it, but the rear glass is the highlight here. Just hope you never have to replace it. The estimate is $56,000-$67,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $31,868.

Ferrari 330 LM

Posted on by
Reply

1962 Ferrari 330 LM/250 GTO

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | November 2023

Photo – ClassicCarWeekly.net

You know your car is a big deal when one of the biggest auction houses in the world devotes an entire sale solely unto it. Sorry about the photo, I had to use my own since the preview images from RM Sotheby’s are… not great. The entire subsection of the site dedicated to this car leaves a lot to be desired. No real photos. No real info. But who needs to know anything when you’re buying a car to be the guy who bought that car.

Where to start. Just 36 examples of the 250 GTO were produced between 1962 and 1964. They are the most valuable cars in the world. Three or four of those cars were modified by the factory into 330 LM (or LMB) spec, which included replacing the factory 3.0-liter V12 with a 4.0-liter unit. Output jumped from 296 horsepower to 390.

This is one of those cars. And it is apparently the only one with the 4-liter engine. It has factory Scuderia Ferrari racing history, including:

  • 1962 1,000km Nurburgring – 2nd (with Willy Mairesse and Mike Parkes)
  • 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans – 43rd, DNF (with Parkes and Lorenzo Bandini)
  • 1965 Targa Florio – DNF (with Ferdinando Latteri and Ignazio Capuano)

The car came to the U.S. in the late 1960s and was purchased by its current owner, the founder of Escort Radar, the radar detector people, in 1985. He’s had it since and has displayed the car all over. The last time it changed hands was for like $500,000. It’s going to be a little more than that now. Read more about it here (kind of).

Update: Sold $51,705,000.

1905 Maxwell

Posted on by
Reply

1905 Maxwell Model L Tourabout

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Jonathan Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe set up the Maxwell Motor Company – initially the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company – in New York in 1904. Production of automobiles started in 1905, with the Models L and H being available that year. The Model L was only available as a two-passenger Tourabout and carried over into 1906.

Power is provided by a flat-twin that put out about eight horsepower. The cars retailed for $750 in their inaugural year before undergoing a $30 price hike the following year. Just 833 Model Ls were built over the two-year run.

This car was restored about 13 years ago and was purchased by its current owner in 2015. Maxwell was an important early car company, and this is about as early as an example as you are likely to find. It has an estimate of $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $34,100.

Sidea Tourer

Posted on by
Reply

1922 Sidea-Jouffret 4CS

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

Ardennes-based Ste Industrielle des Automobiles Sidea was only around for a short time and is long-forgotten by most of the people who knew it ever existed. A few of their cars survive, the last of which were actually marketed under the Sidea-Jouffret name.

The company existed from 1912 through 1924. They produced assembled cars, meaning they bought engines, etc. from other manufacturers. After WWI, production didn’t pick back up again until 1922, meaning they were really only in existence from about 1912 through 1914 and 1922 to 1924.

This car is powered by an inline-four engine of about 2.2-liters capacity. It’s got four-wheel brakes, a four-speed transmission, and apparently its original paintwork, which is mostly gone. It has an estimate of $19,000-$23,000. Click here for more info.

Maserati Khamsin

Posted on by
Reply

1976 Maserati Khamsin

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Maserati launched five new models under Citroen’s seven-year ownership. The four-seat Khamsin was among the last and went on sale in 1974 with styling by Marcello Gandini during his time at Bertone.

Power is from a front-mounted 4.9-liter V8, the same powerplant previously used in the Ghibli SS. Output was rated at 320 horsepower. It’s got all of the Citroen hydraulic goodies – for better or worse, and the car went on sale a year before Maserati ownership passed to De Tomaso.

By the time it exited production in 1982, just 435 examples of the Khamsin had been built. This right-hand-drive example was sold new in the U.K., and its restoration was completed in 2012. Now it has an estimate of $160,000-$190,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $186,062.

Two-Door Lagonda

Posted on by
Reply

1986 Aston Martin Virage Coupe Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin Virage debuted for 1989 and was produced in its boxy gloriousness through 2000. But it wasn’t this boxy. This prototype wasn’t meant to signal the design language of the company’s upcoming near-supercar, it was just convenient to use a shortened Lagonda as a test mule.

But it also allows us to see the answer to the question “What if they made a two-door Lagonda.” Well, it’s kinda neat. Sure, it definitely looks like its been chopped a bit, but you can also still kind of see the upcoming Virage in its shape and front end.

It was powered by a 5.3-liter V8 and, after testing duty, was parked in the service department, only to be spotted by an Aston customer who wanted to buy it. It was overhauled by the factory and fitted with a contemporary Virage engine in 1993. It’s a pretty neat, one-off thing, and it can be yours for between $315,000-$440,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $372,125.

Delahaye Landaulette

Posted on by
Reply

1912 Delahaye Type 43 Landaulette

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

This was a fancy car for some, presumably, Parisian back in the day. The Landaulette bodywork featured an exposed chauffeur’s compartment – well, it at least has a roof and a windscreen. Chances are they could’ve had side curtains for it too. But the passenger, and likely owner of the car, sat in back in an enclosed box.

The Type 43 was produced by Delahaye from 1911 through 1914. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 28 horsepower and paired with a four-speed manual transmission. As war approached, the Type 43 became the basis for some trucks as well.

This car was imported to the U.K. from France in 1991 and restored the following year. It’s been drained and sitting in storage since 2000. Recommissioning will be required. It has an estimate of $56,000-$69,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Kougar Monza

Posted on by
Reply

1980 Kougar Monza Roadster Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Kougar Cars had only been around about a year when they produced this sports racing prototype. It looks like an Italian racer from the 1950s but is actually based on Ford or Jaguar components. This was the factory prototype for the Monza model, which would end up being less popular than the company’s Sports model.

This example is powered by a 3.0-liter Ford Essex V6. You could fit a Rover V8 in there. Or, if you were insane, a Jaguar V12. The aluminum bodywork features a low-slung front end, a hood scoop, and a headrest fairing for the right-side driver.

It was restored in 2012 and 2013. Only about 40 Monzas were produced, and this one has an estimate of $37,000-$63,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $32,747.