Tag Archives: Bonhams

Queen Model E

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1905 Queen Model E Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

C.H. Blomstrom’s Queen was produced between 1904 and 1906 and was relatively successful. In all, about 1,500 cars were sold, but the company came under fire for being “defectively incorporated.” So Blomstrom merged his company with another, cashed out his stock, and opened another car company somewhere else in Detroit.

But the Queen’s legacy stood. Singles, twins, and four-cylinder cars were offered. The singles were among the most powerful of their kind, and the twins rivaled Packard with their output. The Model E was sold in 1905 and 1906 and features a 3.2-liter (presumably flat) twin that made approximately 16 horsepower. The E could only be had as a tourer like this.

This example was restored prior to being shown at Pebble Beach in 2005. It is the only Model E known to exist and is expected to sell for between $75,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $80,640.

1953 RGS Atalanta

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1953 RGS Atalanta

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Atalanta Motors Ltd was active in Middlesex, England, from 1937 through 1939. They built less than 20 cars in that time, but they were held in very high regard. After WWII, the company was purchased by Richard G. Shattock, a former army member and race car driver.

He built a run of specials – 11 apparently – using the Atalanta marque and his initials. They were raced, and some were sold as standalone bodies. This was the third example produced and features aluminum bodywork. The powerplant is a 3.4-liter Jaguar inline-six good for 160 horsepower.

Clues as to the car’s early history indicate that it was probably raced before it was registered for street use. It arrived in the U.S. in 1970 as a pure racing car and was purchased by the current owner in the late 1980s. The current restoration was performed thereafter, but it has been on static display for some time. No pre-sale estimate is available. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $285,500.

Duesenberg J-281

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1933 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LaGrande

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

There are quite a few striking Duesenberg Model J bodies that were offered by various coachbuilders. In fact, just about every one of them is pretty striking. But none more so than the in-house dual-cowl phaeton penned by Gordon Buehrig.

The LeBaron dual-cowl phaeton was one of the first body styles introduced on the Model J after its introduction. Buehrig improved it a bit for those produced by LaGrande, which was actually a pseudonym for the Union City Body Company – a Cord subsidiary. They called it LaGrande, I guess because it sounded fancier. The only thing that would make this car better is to change the red to green.

Like other Js, this car is powered by a 6.9-liter inline-eight capable of 265 horsepower. It’s one of 12 such examples built with this bodywork, all of which survive. However, this chassis was originally delivered with engine J-334 and a Murphy convertible sedan body. J-281 was from a Rollston town car and was swapped into this car during original ownership. This body was added later on but is the real deal.

You can read more about this car here and see more from Bonhams here.

Update: Sold $1,655,000.

Inter-State Indianapolis Re-Creation

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1911 Inter-State Fifty Race Car

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | May 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Thomas F. Hart founded the Inter-State Automobile Company in Muncie, Indiana, in 1908. Production of automobiles began the following year, and an Inter-State was on the grid at the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. The cars were pretty good, but financial problems led to the company being reorganized in 1914. They shifted to war production during WWI and never resumed making cars. The new owners sold the factory to General Motors after the war, and the Sheridan was later built there.

In 1911, Inter-State offered two models: the popular Forty and the Fifty, which was only available as a seven-passenger touring car. This is what this car started as, but it was later converted to a replica of the 1911 Inter-State Indianapolis race car.

It uses an Inter-State chassis and a Fifty engine – which was a 6.4-liter inline-four rated at 50 horsepower. It’s a pretty monstrous four-cylinder, and I have either seen this car in person or a very similar Inter-State. But the pistons are about the size of your thigh.

The original car must not exist anymore, as this one was used during the centennial celebration of the 500, where it was driven by Buddy Lazier for a lap around the track. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $184,800.

Fiat 500 Albarella

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1968 Fiat 500F Albarella by Savio

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

This car started life as a diminutive Fiat 500. It’s technically a 500F, which was an updated model sold from 1965 through 1973. Later in the run, it was considered the base model to the “luxury” 500L. But that doesn’t really matter here because Carrozzeria Savio chopped the roof off of it and redesigned the bodywork to turn it into a beach car.

Beach cars were all the rage in the 1950s and into the 60s. Savio was based near Turin and was one of many coachbuilders that modified Fiats for beach/resort use. It retains a rear-mounted 499cc inline-twin that was factory rated at 21 horsepower.

Only 20 of these were built, and this one has remained with the same family since new. Of course, it was kept at the family’s “holiday villa along the Adriatic Sea.” Must be nice. Unrestored, it should sell for between $18,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $38,829.

Ferrari 550 GTLM

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1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello GTLM

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Ferrari’s 550 Maranello was a front-engine V12-powered grand tourer. And its design has aged very well. These were pretty hot cars in the late 1990s. But Ferrari never took them racing. Not officially anyway.

That didn’t stop some privateer teams from seeing promise from the quick car. This car was built by a French team called Red Racing, with Ferrari’s approval. It was the first 550 race car built and was campaigned from 1999-2002 in the Spanish and French GT championships along with some races in Italy. It was purchased by XL Racing in 2003 and modified to ACO LMGT specifications. Its competition history includes:

  • 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Ange Barde, Michel Ferte, Gael Lasoudier)
  • 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans – Did not arrive

So it has Le Mans history, which is pretty cool. It’s had two owners since and retains a 600-horsepower, 5.5-liter V12. The estimate is $590,000-$830,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold for a shady and undisclosed amount.

Rolls-Royce Silver Spectre

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2016 Rolls-Royce Silver Spectre Shooting Brake

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

The current generation of the Rolls-Royce Wraith went on sale for the 2014 model year. It is offered as a two-door hardtop only. No wagon from the factory. So what’s a rich guy to do when he wants a wagon, err, shooting brake, version of his $300,000 Roller coupe?

Well, in this case, you hire Carat Duchatelet, a Belgian coachbuilder and vehicle armorer. This one-off wagon was first owned by Rolls-Royce and used a demonstrator back in its coupe days. The current owner bought it later and paid for this custom conversion, which was carried out between 2018 and 2020. The name “Silver Spectre” was made up for this car. And it sounds kind of dark and mysterious.

The mechanicals remain stock, with the standard twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V12 pumping out 623 horsepower. I actually quite like it. When was the last time you saw a 600+ horsepower hatchback/wagon with suicide doors? The pre-sale estimate is $530,000-$770,000, which is probably a lot less than the cost of a new Wraith plus a custom wagon build. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Oh, and here’s what it looks like from the front.

Photo – Bonhams

Cisitalia D46

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1947 Cisitalia D46 Monoposto

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | April 23, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Piero Dusio’s Cisitalia got its start by building tiny open-wheel race cars. In fact, the D46 was their first attempt at building a race car. And it was groundbreaking. It featured a tubular spaceframe chassis, which was something new in the open-wheel world.

The cars scored victories all over Europe in 1946 and 1947. Some of them continued racing into the 1950s season, even though Cisitalia had introduced other cars – and eventually road cars. Power is from a Fiat 1.1-liter inline-four. It’s a tiny engine, but with the chassis built the way it is, the car is light. It didn’t need a ton of power to be competitive.

This car is said to have been raced by Harry Schell back in its competition days and later spent time in Australia. In the 1960s, it returned to Europe, remaining with an owner for 40 years before the current owner bought it in 2003.

I’ve been waiting to feature one of these for some time, so it’s a treat that it has popped up. The pre-sale estimate is $180,000-$240,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $190,682.

McLaren Elva

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2020 McLaren Elva

Offered by Bonhams | Los Angeles, California | April 10, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

McLaren has gone on a spree of producing pretty out there cars of late. From the P1 to the Senna to the Speedtail and now this, the Elva. The name harkens back to the lightweight Elva racing cars of the 1950s and 60s. McLaren had a relationship with that company back in the day, too.

This new Elva features a carbon-fiber monocoque, a full carbon-fiber body, and no windshield. In place of the latter, the car has an air management system that directs air from the nose up and around the cockpit. It’s like a windshield made of air. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect James Dyson to produce. Lamely, U.S.-market cars will get a windshield and side windows.

The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 is rated at 804 horsepower. McLaren claims the Elva is the lightest car they’ve ever made. It’ll hit 60 in 2.8 seconds and tops out at 203 mph. McLaren was going to initially build 399 examples, and they later cut it back to 249. Bonhams claims this is car #45 of only 149 built. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $1,700,000-$2,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn.

ETV Coupe

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2008 ETV Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | March 20, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

ETV is an acronym for Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle, and this car was built by Mike Vetter of MTV Concepts in some altered state of mind, somewhere in the US. It looks like something from Minority Report.

It has batwing-style doors, two a 2+2 seating arrangement, and some wild styling. The big scoops behind the doors are a little misleading because this thing is front-engined. That’s right, a 1.6-liter inline-four from a Chevrolet Aveo is stuffed up front under the dashboard.

I have no idea what is in back or how you even get to the tiny rear seats. The photos aren’t much help. Apparently it has front and rear parking cameras and an air ride suspension – neither of which work because it’s been on museum display for some time.

A quick search will return a few photos of the ETV in different colors, which would lead you to believe there are a couple of them out there. This one is expected to sell for between $11,000-$17,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn.