Tag Archives: auctions

Metrocab

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2000 Metrocab TTT

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 5, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Metrocab was a brand name of taxi produced for the British market by Metro Cammell Weymann, a bus manufacturer. The MCW Metrocab went on sale in 1987 and was rebranded alongside some major updates in 2000 as the Metrocab TTT. This version remained in production through 2006.

Styling looks familiar because it used off-the-shelf parts from mainstream cars. I think it looks like an Austin hatchback, but there are a lot of Ford parts in there as well. Power is from a 2.5-liter diesel inline-four sourced from a Ford Transit. Most TTTs got Toyota diesels.

This car was a licensed taxi for its first 19,000 miles, and then it was put into storage for 18 years. It has to be one of the best ones left and is expected to sell for between $6,800-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1909 Packard Runabout

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1909 Packard Model 18 Runabout

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-4, 2021

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Packard’s Model 18 went on sale for 1909 and would remain in production through 1912. Launch-year body styles included a limousine, landaulet, touring, and demi limousine, in addition to the runabout. While Packard was known mostly as a luxury car manufacturer, this one has a twinge of sportiness.

It’s powered by a 5.3-liter inline-four rated at 18 horsepower. The two-seat body is finished in white, with a matching fuel tank, trunk, wheels, and tires. It’s a lot of white. I can’t imagine it was ever this clean back in the day.

Only 802 Packards were produced for 1909, and this is said to be one of a dozen Model 18s known to exist across all model years and body styles. It would’ve cost $3,200 when new and will sell at no reserve for much more next month. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $102,150.

Jowett Javelin

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1951 Jowett Javelin DeLuxe

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | September 16, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Jowett was founded in 1906 and made it through WWII. Unfortunately, a post-war boom for new cars in the U.K. saw Jowett’s body builder get bought out by Ford, leaving them without a source for car bodies. So they said “aw the hell with it” and closed up shop.

Despite its looks, the Jupiter was actually their large car, and it was offered between 1947 and 1953. The car is powered by a 1.5-liter flat-four mounted directly behind the grille in front of the radiator. It produced 52 horsepower in this car, which was enough to get it to 80 mph.

The weird engine location meant that this was a roomy six-seater car, and the DeLuxe trim added bigger bumpers, a fog light, leather seats, and a wooden dashboard. This four-owner example is one of 23,307 built and should sell for between $12,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $10,455.

Lorraine-Dietrich Race Car

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1905 Lorraine-Dietrich CR2 Two-Seat Sports Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 4, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Lorraine-Dietrich built cars and airplane engines after branching out from railway locomotives in the late-19th Century. Bollée-designed cars were first, beginning in 1896 under the De Dietrich marque. The brand become Lorraine-Dietrich in 1905, and automobile production lasted through 1935.

Racing had always been a part of the company. In fact, they won Le Mans twice in the early years. The company was involved in racing as early as about 1903. This car was built to replicate the period factory racers. It’s a true 1905 chassis, but the body was added in the 2000s. Power is from a 8.6-liter inline-four rated at 60 horsepower.

It certainly looks the part of an Edwardian race car, and it is apparently quite usable too. There are similar cars from this brand around, although I’m unsure of their provenance or originality. This seems like a good way to get pretty close to the real thing. The pre-sale estimate is $110,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $190,955.

Frazer Vagabond

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1951 Frazer Vagabond

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 21-23, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Frazer had a short existence as a marque: just five years from 1947 through 1951. The brand was supposed to be an upmarket Kaiser, with prices just a few hundred dollars more than their Kaiser counterparts. Joseph Frazer left the company in 1949, and Kaiser Motors didn’t find the marque to be all that profitable, so it was shuttered after 1951. The final model year consisted of leftover bodies from the ’49 and ’50 model years.

As sort of homely and 1950s-American-generic as this car may look, it is actually spectacular. The Vagabond is one of the coolest American cars of the 1950s. Why? Well it isn’t the 115-horsepower 3.7-liter inline-six. It’s the fact that it is five-door hatchback, or utility sedan, as it was called.

Photo – Mecum

Look at that. The Vagabond (Kaiser made one too) featured two rows of bench seating. The rear folded flat and was lined with wood slats on the rear to match the cargo area floor, which is accessed via a folding tailgate and an upper rear hatch. The left-rear door is blocked by the spare tire. Funky.

Only 2,951 Vagabonds were built by Frazer for 1951. And this one looks great. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $40,700.

Packard Box Truck

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1916 Packard Model E 2.5-Ton C-Cab Box Truck

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Auburn, Indiana | September 3, 2021

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Packard was one of America’s grandest automobiles around the start of WWI. But they were also producing some pretty heavy-duty commercial vehicles at that time as well. We’ve actually featured a 3-ton variant of the Model E in the past, but this earlier 2.5-ton variant features a C-cab design.

Power is from an 8.6-liter inline-six good for about 60 horsepower. This truck was built in 1916 – the first year for shaft drive after Packard ditched its drive chains. This thing is pretty massive and sports a cool period-style corn starch livery.

Old commercial vehicles are always a treat as their survival rates are dismal at best. This one is coming out of a Packard-focused museum and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $30,800.

Alvis TA21

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1953 Alvis TA21 Drophead Coupe

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

We’ve featured a good number of post-war Alvis sports cars. Okay, so they aren’t that sporty. But they were two-door coupes or drophead coupes, which are inherently sportier than sedans. The TA21 was the first of the “21”-suffix cars and was Alvis’s first new post-war car.

The TA21 was produced from 1950 through 1953. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six fitted with a single Solex carburetor for a factory rating of 83 horsepower. Top speed was 88 mph. Two body styles were offered: a sedan and a rarer drophead coupe, the latter of which carried a body by Tickford.

This particular car carries a later engine from a TC21. There were 1,316 TA21s produced, only 302 of which were convertibles. This one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $38,641.

Cadillac Model F

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1905 Cadillac Model F Four-Passenger Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 2-5, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The earliest Cadillacs were single-cylinder cars. The first multi-cylinder cars appeared in 1905, the same year in which the single-cylinder Model F was built. It was their most expensive of four single-powered models that year.

The F was identical to the Model E save for a two-inch-longer wheelbase. It was also available as a touring car with a non-detachable tonneau and two side doors – a first for a single-cylinder Cadillac. That single displaces 1.6 liters and made nine horsepower. The front hood is just for show – the engine is mounted under the seats.

Cadillac sold 4,029 cars of all types in 1905. The touring car variant oft he F (a delivery van was also available) retailed for $950 new. You can read more about this one here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $51,700.

Daimler DB18

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1951 Daimler DB18 Special Sports

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Daimler’s DB18 was introduced just prior to the start of WWII in 1939. Production obviously halted while the fighting raged, but Daimler popped it right back into production after the war. The car was sold as the “Consort” in export markets, where it proved very popular in India.

The DB18 was based on the pre-war New Fifteen model, but instead of that car’s 2.1-liter engine, the DB18 received a new 2.5-liter inline-six rated at 70 horsepower with a single Solex carburetor. Top speed in 1951 was 82 mph.

The first cars were all coachbuilt, but Daimler ended up selling a popular sedan that was bodied in-house. Only 608 Special Sport models were produced between 1946 and 1953, making this car pretty rare. It carries drophead coupe by by Barker as well as a pre-sale estimate of $48,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $44,823.

Porsche Indy Car

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1990 March-Porsche 90P

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

Porsche North America contested three Indy Car seasons: 1988, 1989, and 1990. The company used specially built March chassis and then stuck their own powerplant behind the driver. For 1990, they had a brand new chassis designed, dubbed the 90P.

Power is provided by a turbocharged 2.6-liter Porsche V8 capable of 725 horsepower. Porsche’s two drivers in 1990 were Teo Fabi and John Andretti, the latter of which piloted this chassis, #5. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1990 Indianapolis 500 – 21st, DNF (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland – 5th (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Molson Indy Vancouver – 5th (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver – 6th (with Andretti)

Actually, John Andretti drove this car in all but two of the 1990 points races. He finished 10th in the championship. The car was sold by Porsche to a collector in 2017, and then this car passed to the current owner the following year. It’s a ready-to-go historic open-wheel car with a pre-sale estimate of $350,000-$500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $346,000.