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Five Cool WWII Trucks

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Vehicles from The National Military History Center

All offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | December 8, 2012

                                                                                                                                                 

1942 Mercedes-Benz L3000S

Okay, I’ll be honest. I want this truck – or, rather “Box-Van Truck” – for one reason and one reason only (besides it being a valuable piece of history) and that is: to reenact my very own Raiders of the Lost Ark chase sequence. This truck has a 75 horsepower 4.8-liter four-cylinder diesel and a 6.75-ton load capacity. The box-van body is made of wood and pressed cardboard – for cost reasons, so it’s a miracle it has survived this long. About 7,400 of these were built. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000. More info can be had here.

Update: Sold $32,000.


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1940 Breda 40 4×4 Artillery Tractor

This relatively uninteresting-looking vehicle is an artillery tractor. It is pure function. Built in Italy, this little brute could pull 7.75-tons of artillery over all kinds of terrain, using huge tires and high ground clearance in place of tracks. It uses a 110 horsepower 9.4-liter six-cylinder diesel but it will only do a blistering 11 mph on the road. Talk about low gearing! It can be yours for $25,000-$35,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $37,000.


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1942 GMC DUKW-353

Ah, the good ol’ Duck. Wanna start a tour company near a body of water? Then this is the vehicle for you. Easily one of the most popular and recognizable vehicles from WWII, these things are still in use all over the country – a testament to how good of an amphibious vehicle they really were. About 21,000 were made from 1942 through 1945 and they were shipped all over the world. Designed to hold 25 troops or 2.5-tons of cargo. It will do 45 mph on the road or 6.3 mph (yes that’s a decimal) on the water – conditions permitting – thanks to its 94 horsepower 4.4-liter straight-six. It’s super, super cool. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $97,000.

Update II: Sold, Auctions America Auburn Spring 2017, $49,500.

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1940 Humber Hexonaut GS 6×6 Amphibious Prototype

Here’s another amphibious vehicle – although it’s much smaller than the Duck above. And it’s much rarer, being the only one in existence as the vehicle never entered production as it was “not fit for duty.” It could hold eight men or 1-ton of supplies and has two engines (of 14 horsepower each) and transmissions – one for each side/set of three wheels. This is also how it turned (operating them at different speeds), as you can see how close the wheels are to the body. Unpopular in 1940, this style would become more popular decades down the road on some ATVs. The estimate is $30,000-$50,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $47,500.

 

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1939 Latil M2TL6 4×4 Tractor

Latil was a French manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks and tractors. Yes, this is another artillery tractor and you might be wondering why – but hey, when’s the next time I’ll get to feature a vehicle built by Latil? This one is faster on road than the Breda above – it will do 45 mph and has a 68 horsepower 4.1-liter straight-four. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. More info here. And for the rest of the Auctions America lineup for this fantastically interesting sale, click here.

Update: Sold $10,000.

Mercedes-Benz WWII Truck

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1942 Mercedes-Benz L3000S

All offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | December 8, 2012

Photo – Auctions America

Okay, I’ll be honest. I want this truck – or, rather “Box-Van Truck” – for one reason and one reason only (besides it being a valuable piece of history) and that is: to reenact my very own Raiders of the Lost Ark chase sequence. This truck has a 75 horsepower 4.8-liter four-cylinder diesel and a 6.75-ton load capacity. The box-van body is made of wood and pressed cardboard – for cost reasons, so it’s a miracle it has survived this long. About 7,400 of these were built. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000. More info can be had here.

Update: Sold $32,000.

Breda Artillery Tractor

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1940 Breda 40 4×4 Artillery Tractor

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | December 8, 2012

Photo – Auctions America

This relatively uninteresting-looking vehicle is an artillery tractor. It is pure function. Built in Italy, this little brute could pull 7.75-tons of artillery over all kinds of terrain, using huge tires and high ground clearance in place of tracks. It uses a 110 horsepower 9.4-liter six-cylinder diesel but it will only do a blistering 11 mph on the road. Talk about low gearing! It can be yours for $25,000-$35,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $37,000.

Duck.

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1942 GMC DUKW-353

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | December 8, 2012

Ah, the good ol’ Duck. Wanna start a tour company near a body of water? Then this is the vehicle for you. Easily one of the most popular and recognizable vehicles from WWII, these things are still in use all over the country – a testament to how good of an amphibious vehicle they really were. About 21,000 were made from 1942 through 1945 and they were shipped all over the world. Designed to hold 25 troops or 2.5-tons of cargo. It will do 45 mph on the road or 6.3 mph (yes that’s a decimal) on the water – conditions permitting – thanks to its 94 horsepower 4.4-liter straight-six. It’s super, super cool. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $97,000.

Update II: Sold, Auctions America Auburn Spring 2017, $49,500.

WWII Latil

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1939 Latil M2TL6 4×4 Tractor

All offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | December 8, 2012

Photo – Auctions America

Latil was a French manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks and tractors. Yes, this is another artillery tractor and you might be wondering why – but hey, when’s the next time I’ll get to feature a vehicle built by Latil? This one is faster on road than the Breda above – it will do 45 mph and has a 68 horsepower 4.1-liter straight-four. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. More info here. And for the rest of the Auctions America lineup for this fantastically interesting sale, click here.

Update: Sold $10,000.

Allard Woodie Wagon

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1954 Allard P2 Safari

Offered by H&H Auctions | Newbury, U.K. | December 5, 2012

Allard built some sporty cars back in the day – the J2 being fairly well known. But the company also built some more practical vehicles, like the one you see here. And they are much rarer. The P2 was available as a Monte Carlo Saloon or as the Safari Estate. Both were two-doors.

While 11 of the Saloons were built, only 10 Estates were made. This one has a 3.6-liter Ford V8 underhood making about 85 horsepower. It spent its first few years doing duty on a sheep farm – so you know the utility side of things is pretty good. The restoration was completed in 1992 and it has covered 22,000 miles since – a good number of those in classic car rallies and events. It’s even been invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This is a very rare car (with only 10 built, less are likely to have survived) and a very interesting one. The woodwork is exceptionally British – the rear tailgate is a three-piece setup that reminds you of opening a hand-made cabinet. A woodie wagon from the U.S. would be more about style and less about function. I like how this car blends both seamlessly. It is expected to sell for between $72,000-$88,000. For more information, click here. And for the rest of H&H’s lineup at Newbury Racecourse click here.

Update: Not sold.

Talbot-Darracq Tourer

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1922 Talbot-Darracq 8HP Open Tourer

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | December 4, 2012

We’ve gone over the story of Alexandre Darracq and Charles Chetwynd-Talbot on multiple occasions on this site, so I won’t go into the specifics here again, but suffice to say that at one point in time, there were two separate Talbots in manufacture – one in England and one in France. In 1919, French automobile firm Darracq acquired the French company called Talbot. Henceforth (or until 1935), French-built Talbots were badged and marketed as Talbot-Darracqs. Which is what this car is.

This 8 horsepower model has known ownership history from new. For the last 60 years, it has been in the family of Bill Boddy, founding editor of Motorsport magazine. This four-cylinder model was introduced in 1921 and this one was driven often in its first few years, before being parked in 1938. It was restored in 1973 and has been maintained since.

It’s an attractive light car with a history of being driven and enjoyed. The estimate is $22,000-$28,500. You can read more here and see the rest of Coys lineup here.

Jensen 541

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1956 Jensen 541

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | December 4, 2012

The Jensen 541 is a rare four-seat coupe from Jensen Motors Ltd of West Bromwich, England. It was the first of a series of three different 541 models, which would go on to include the R and the S. It is also the most common – if you can call anything where only 226 were built “common.”

Introduced in 1954, the 541 was a sporty car with a 4.0-liter straight-six making 135 horsepower. Performance was gauged at 0-60 mph in 10.8 seconds (which doesn’t seem so sporty today) and a top speed of 115 mph. This car is painted in “Deep Green” and it’s fabulous inside and out – truly one of the best in existence.

The 541R came along in 1957 and the 541S in 1960, each with horsepower increases and the latter with an available V8. The original 541 lasted through 1959 and a limited-edition convertible was also available. It’s a very attractive and little known British sports car from the 1960s that happens to be a little larger and more practical than a period MG. The estimate is $55,000-$63,000. For more information, click here. And for more from this sale, click here.

A One-of-a-Kind Pagani Zonda

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2003 Pagani Zonda C12 7.3 S/F

Offered by Bonhams | Brooklands, U.K. | December 3, 2012

The Pagani Zonda began like so many ill-fated attempts at supercar production – as a dream and sketch by its designer, Horacio Pagani. The company was founded seven years prior to production beginning. But that time wasn’t wasted and Pagani wasn’t just any junior high kid wanting to go fast. He was already rich and had a lot of techncial know-how, having worked at Lamborghini and owning his own composite research company that made him a lot of money. The Zonda is a legitimate supercar – and a legitimate car.

The Zonda was well-designed and it is supercar pretty and supercar fast. This one owner car was built in 2003 as a Zonda S 7.3, which used a 7.3-liter AMG-built V12 making 547 horsepower. It could do 208 mph and cost around $500,000. This was the bread and butter Zonda variant. However, in 2009 this car was involved in an accident and sent back to Pagani for repairs. While being repaired, it was also updated/upgraded to Zonda F specification (it is listed as a 2003/2010). Other limited-edition Zonda models were also in production and bits and pieces of some of them were included on this car, including pieces from the Zonda Cinque and Tricolore.

Power is now at 594 horsepower and the upgrades cost a whopping 77% of the original purchase price! It is truly a one-of-a-kind Zonda, a model that is now out of production. The pre-sale estimate is $800,000-$950,000. For more information and photos, click here. And for the rest of Bonham’s auction lineup, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

1904 Winton

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1904 Winton 4.25-Litre 20hp Detachable Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Brooklands, U.K. | December 3, 2012

Alexander Winton is one of my favorite automotive pioneers. He was also one of the first. By 1899, he was the largest automotive manufacturer in the United States. He sold early cars to prominent Americans and by 1903 a Winton became the first car to drive across the U.S. Winton automobiles had also thrown fuel on the entrepreneurial fires of Henry Ford and James Ward Packard.

This Five-Passenger Touring model uses the 20 horsepower twin-cylinder engine (a 24 horsepower twin-cylinder was also available). It was the last year for two-cylinder engines at Winton. The engine (a straight-two) is mounted flat and between the two axles.

It was purchased in the 1930s by a young man who found the car abandoned (in an old building owned by his father). He restored it as a teenager and was one of the first members of the Antique Automobile Club of America, which was founded in 1935. He sold the car in 2006 when the current owner bought it. It is believe to be one of seven 1904 Wintons in existence (of about 600 built that year). It has been refreshed in the past five years or so and is ready to go. The estimate is between $210,000-$240,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Bonhams’ sale at Mercedes-Benz World, click here.

Update: Sold $218,800.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams, London-to-Brighton 2015 $199,416.