Tag Archives: auctions

Corvette Super Sport

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1957 Chevrolet Corvette Super Sport

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 6-16, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Super Sport isn’t a name typically associated with Corvettes. But this Corvette was actually the first Chevy to wear that moniker. It’s a one-off show car that GM commissioned to showcase their new Rochester Ramjet fuel injection. It debuted in New York in January 1957 and was sold into private ownership after its tour of the show circuit was completed. The current owner acquired it in 1997.

The fuel-injected 283ci V8 was rated at 283 horsepower when new, and the car is claimed to have covered less than 5,000 miles since new. Styling alterations are obvious, including the dual concept-car-style windscreens, brushed aluminum coves, and a lot more bright interior trim.

This is one of those big-boy Corvettes that gets a lot of attention. It hasn’t traded hands in 25 years, so what to expect, price-wise, when it crosses the block next month is kind of a question mark. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Withdrawn from auction

Bedford Motor Coach

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1948 Bedford OB Coach by Plaxton

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Bedford Vehicles was founded in 1931 when General Motors shifted production of Chevrolet commercial vehicles to a Vauxhall plant. The Bedford marque was born and remained GM’s main British commercial vehicle manufacturer until 1986, at which time the heavy trucks were branded as Isuzus. Light Bedford vehicles carried on until 1991.

The OB was a single-door bus manufactured between 1939 and 1951. Most of them carried between 26 and 29 passengers, and this one is fitted with a Plaxton body. It’s got a great side profile and is powered by a 3.5-liter inline-six rated at 72 horsepower.

This one was restored between 2006 and 2008. In all, 12,766 examples of the OB were produced, with just 73 of those coming before the war. The pre-sale estimate is $51,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $51,308.

BMW 3/15 Sports

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1931 BMW 3/15 Ihle Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

So we’ve talked about Dixi before and how it was an Austin Seven built under license in Germany. BMW purchased Dixi in late 1928, and Dixis were re-branded as BMWs the following year. They still called them BMW Dixi, although they’d drop the Dixi name sometime around 1930.

This post-Dixi 3/15 was produced in 1931 and was actually coach-built by Gebruder Ihle Karrosseriebau of Bruschal, Germany. It’s a sporty, light two-seater with BMW’s signature twin (not-quite-kidney) grilles.

Power is from a 747cc inline-four, but the power rating is uncertain, as it is not clear if this coachbuilt example was based on a DA-2/4 chassis (15 horsepower) or DA-3 Wartburg chassis (17 horsepower). The DA-3 was the sports version of the 3/15, but a coachbuilt example could’ve come from any model. At any rate, this is a great little early BMW, and for $13,000-$20,000, it seems like a historic bargain. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $37,726.

Alfa 2600 SZ

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1966 Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | December 12, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Alfa Romeo’s 2600 is one of their best-looking cars, especially the Touring-bodied Spider and Bertone-styled Sprint. The 2600 was sold between 1962 and 1968, with body styles including coupes, convertibles, and sedans.

What we have here is the very rare Sprint Zagato. It honestly looks like someone grafted the front end of an alternate-reality 1990s Alfa Romeo onto a 1960s coupe body. But it’s not, it’s an original period Zagato creation. The engine is the same as other 2600s: a 2.6-liter twin-cam inline-six that was rated at 165 horsepower in SZ form with triple Solex carburetors. Top speed was 134 mph, thanks in part to the increased aerodynamics of that redesigned front end.

Only 105 examples of the SZ were ever produced, and this one has known ownership history since new. It was restored in 1992, and it is expected to fetch between $115,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $125,846.

TVR 350i

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1985 TVR 350i Convertible

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | December 4-9, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

In late 1983, the TVR Tasmin 280i was upgraded with a bigger engine and renamed the Tasmin 350i. In 1984, the Tasmin name was dropped and the model became known simply as the 350i. It was offered as a coupe and convertible.

The engine is a 3.5-liter Rover V8 that made 190 horsepower when new, enough to scoot this little wedge to 130 mph. Over 1,000 350is were built, so they aren’t incredibly rare, but the relatively low entry point (price-wise) hasn’t likely leant itself to a spectacular survival rate.

But this one looks pretty nice and benefits from an engine rebuild about 2,000 miles ago. And, yes, it kind of looks like an FC RX-7. It now carries a pre-sale estimate of $12,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $10,089.

MG ZT

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2001 MG ZT160

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | December 4-9, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Is this allowed to be my favorite MG? MG was sort of at the end of its rope when it introduced three new cars in 2001 after years of only producing a single sports car. The ZT was the largest of the three new models and was based on the Rover 75 that went on sale a few years earlier.

There were a couple of different ZT levels and quite a few engine choices. The 160 was the most basic, and it’s powered by a 2.5-liter V6 that, when paired with a five-speed manual gearbox, was rated at 187 horsepower. There was also a ZT-T version of the these, and that was the wagon. The ZT disappeared when MG Rover started failing 2005.

This one is front-wheel drive, and rear-driver V8 versions were also produced. Those are the best of the bunch. This three-owner example has 47,000 miles and is expected to bring between $4,000-$5,300. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,541.

Yale Model G

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1905 Yale Model G

Offered by H&H | Buxton, U.K. | December 8, 2021

Photo – H&H

There were two different Yale-branded automobiles that came out of the Midwest U.S. before 1920. The first was the company that produced this car. The Kirk Manufacturing Company of Toledo, Ohio, built bicycles before turning to cars, for which they used the Yale name.

This car is from the marque’s final year of manufacture, 1905, in which three models were offered. The G was the mid-range model and was only available as a side-entrance, five-passenger tonneau. The engine is a flat-twin that was rated at 14/16 horsepower when new.

This car would’ve cost $1,100 in 1905, and it’s obviously been restored. It’s got an electric starter now and carries a pre-sale estimate of $40,000-$53,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Vanden Plas Princess

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1965 Vanden Plas Princess R

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Vanden Plas was actually a coachbuilder that was founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1870. A London branch opened in 1913. Multiple iterations of the company existed up after bankruptcies, etc., and eventually the name was bought by Austin in 1946.

Beginning in 1958, Vanden Plas marketed cars as a marque in their own right, and this continued on through about 1968. Later Jaguars used Vanden Plas as a model/trim name. The Princess R was the second-generation model of the Vanden Plas Princess, and it was built from 1964 through 1968.

Power is from a 3.9-liter Rolls-Royce inline-six that made 175 horsepower. Top speed was 112 mph. This badge-engineered Austin cost as much as a Jaguar Mk X when new. So, it didn’t fare all that well. Only 6,999 were built. Footnote: this was the only non-Rolls-Royce production car to use a RR engine. It now has a pre-sale estimate of $11,000-$16,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $16,599.

1923 Crossley

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1923 Crossley 19.6HP Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Crossley Motors was founded in Manchester, England, in 1906. Passenger car production lasted through 1938, while commercial vehicles (and military trucks) were produced through 1945. After the war, the company focused on buses before being bought by AEC and phased out.

This inter-war “two-seater’ (it has a dickey seat in the back as well) was returned to the U.K. from Australia in 1990 and restored. Power is from an inline-four rated at approximately 20 horsepower when new.

Crossleys are around, but they aren’t super common. This one has a sporty body style with a 30-year-old restoration. It should bring between $27,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Brightwells September 2022.

Update: Sold, Brightwells, December 2022, $23,573.

1937 Detroit Electric

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1937 Detroit Electric Model 99C Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Louis, Missouri | December 1-8, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Detroit Electric started selling electric cars in 1907. Most of them were fairly stodgy, upright boxes on wheels. They were marketed towards women, and the company was very successful while electric cars remained popular.

However, that popularity faded into the 1920s. As time wore on, sales plummeted while styling became more mainstream. Bankruptcy occurred in the early 1930s, and the last production Detroit Electrics were sold in 1935. After that, they were available on a per-order basis. Only a “handful” (as if they can fit in your hand) were sold between 1936 and 1939. The company advertised up until 1942.

This is one of the last examples produced, and by this point, the company wasn’t even producing its own bodies anymore. This is a Willys coupe with a Dodge front end. Yes, there is a grille and hood louvers… even though there is not an engine. Late Detroit Electrics were five-horsepower cars, and they even retained the very early cars’ tiller steering! Check out more about this one here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.