1937 Autovia Saloon by Mulliner

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | October 25, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

It took me a while to figure out it, but no, the picture is not blurry – it’s the paint on the car. It’s not a bad thing, this car has serious patina. And you won’t find a better one anywhere on the market, because this is the only Autovia on the market. It’s only the second one to come up for sale since 2013.

Autovia was founded in 1935 as a subsidiary of Riley. It was created to build fancy cars to compete with the other big British names of the day. This car sports a four-door body from Mulliner, one of the preferred coachbuilders for Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much room for another luxury marque in Britain during the 1930s. Riley went bankrupt and was absorbed by another company and Autovia was dissolved in 1938, after barely a year of production.

Autovias are powered by a 99 horsepower, 2.9-liter V-8. This example cost £975 when new and Autovia only built 44 cars in total. Only 11 still survive today. This one is all-original and has only covered 1,000 miles since the end of WWII. It should bring between $110,000-$135,000. Click here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $98,463.

1939 Autovia 3-Litre

Offered by Coys | Graz, Austria | October 12-13, 2013

There are sporty cars from the U.K. from the 1930s that everyone knows about, like the SS100 and Invictas. Then there are the lesser known ones like Arabs and this beautiful Autovia.

Like Arab, Autovia was a very short-lived marque. Founded in Coventry in 1937 as a subsidiary of well-known Riley. The cars were expensive, luxurious and sporty. It was a market that was already full of more prominent manufacturers. Two different sedan bodstyles were offered, as well as a limousine. In total, only 38 four-door cars were built. There were also six bare chassis sold – this is one of those cars. The Autovia proved an expensive experiment that ultimately bankrupted Riley, which was acquired by the Nuffield Organization in 1938. Autovia disappeared forever after that.

This car is the only Autovia to receive two-door aluminium roadster bodywork. What sets this roadster apart from many other British sports cars of the day is the engine. It’s a 3.0-liter V-8 making 125 horsepower. That’s a lot more than most of its competition – it’s Bugatti territory. This is a very quick car.

And very desirable too. Only eight Autovias are thought to survive, with this one having the most desirable coachwork (by far). This is definitely one of the stars of this auction. You can read more here and find out what other cars will be crossing the block here.

Update: Sold for about $110,000.