Tag Archives: Bonhams

1904 Gladiator

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1904 Gladiator 14HP Demi-Limousine

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The history of Gladiator is interwoven with some of the great early French names: Clement, Darracq, and all of the companies that they begat. Gladiator was founded by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq in 1891 as a bicycle company. Motorcars followed in 1901 after Gladiator was taken over by Clement (in 1896).

Beginning in 1903, they split the branding for their cars, with shaft-driven cars being sold as Clement-Gladiator and chain-driven cars being offered as Gladiators. This chain-driven car is powered by a 3.2-liter inline-four rated at 14 horsepower.

The car wears demi-limousine bodywork by Leon Molon. It was brought to the U.S. from Argentina in the 1970s and then went to the U.K. in 1982. It has participated in over 35 London-to-Brighton runs and now has an estimate of $360,000-$485,000. Click here for more info.

1912 Lanchester

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1912 Lanchester Model 25 Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Lanchesters, especially early cars, bore some unconventional designs. Like someone smashed the front end in and pushed it back a couple of feet. The Lanchester 25 was produced between 1912 and 1914 and is one of those designs. Where is the engine at!?

Well, it’s in the cockpit, that’s where, stationed between the driver and passenger seat. It’s a front-mid-engined design, like a first-gen Ford Econoline. The engine is a 3.1-liter inline-four. It’s water cooled, with the radiator out front… but behind the front axle.

This is the only known example of this model that still exists. Restored in the 1980s and ’90s, the car has been in the same family for the last 40+ years. It’s a old car rally veteran and has an estimate of $175,000-$195,000. Click here for more info.

Auge Phaeton

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1900 Auge 8-9HP Dos-a-Dos Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Daniel Augé et Cie was a short-lived early French automobile manufacturer based in Levallois-Perret. In business from 1899 to just 1901, the company did not build many cars, and this is the only known survivor.

Power is from water-cooled flat-twin originally rated at five horsepower (though Bonhams lists this as 8-9 horsepower). The engine was dubbed “cyclops” and featured electric ignition. The engine is up front and is paired with a two-speed transmission and chain drive.

The car has known ownership back to 1910 and was restored in the 1980s. It’s a London-to-Brighton finisher and has an estimate of $170,000-$190,000. Click here for more info.

1903 Brown Tonneau

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1903 Brown 8HP Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 3, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Brown Brothers Ltd was a short-lived automaker out of London. They were around for a about decade, selling cars between 1901 and 1913. What’s interesting is that they company did not have a manufacturing facility. Instead, they had their stuff made elsewhere, including by Star.

This early example is powered by a two-cylinder engine that was rated at eight horsepower. The car is of decent size, sporting a large body for its day. This is said to be the 102nd car the company built. What’s fun is that Bonhams has two from this make in this same auction.

In 1904, the car went to New Zealand. A restoration was begun at some point, and, before it was finished, the car was sold to Brown Brothers back in the U.K. The restoration was obviously completed, and the car has been used in the London-to-Brighton run a number of times over the years. It now has an estimate of $160,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.

AMG GT Project One

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2022 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Project One Edition

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 8, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Mercedes-AMG Project One (or just the “ONE”) is a hypercar that has seemed to be in development forever. So while the lucky 275 folks who ordered one waited, Mercedes decided to try and keep them happy by offering them an excusive version of their getting-long-in-the-tooth AMG GT sports car.

But no base car here as the starting point was the top-tier Black Series. That means it is powered by a 720-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. It has all of the aero bits that set Black Series cars apart, and, in Project One Edition spec, has a pretty awesome painted three-star motif that is excusive to this car.

Only 275 of these were built, and they were only offered to Project One orderers. More than a few have hit the market, and this one has an estimate of $425,000-$640,000. Click here for more info.

Maserati Sebring

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1963 Maserati Sebring Series I Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 8, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Sebring replaced the 3500 GT as Maserati‘s 2+2 coupe in 1962, after debuting at that year’s Geneva International Motor Show. It featured muscular but sophisticated styling penned by Giovanni Michelotti at Vignale. Just 593 were produced, and all but one were coupes.

Of those, 350 or so were Series I cars, which were built until 1965. Most of those were powered by a fuel-injected 3.5-liter inline-six that was rated at 232 horsepower in 1963. Both 3.7- and 4.0-liter units would be offered later in the model’s run.

A restoration on this example was performed between 2018 and 2020. No estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Maserati Khamsin

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1976 Maserati Khamsin

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Maserati launched five new models under Citroen’s seven-year ownership. The four-seat Khamsin was among the last and went on sale in 1974 with styling by Marcello Gandini during his time at Bertone.

Power is from a front-mounted 4.9-liter V8, the same powerplant previously used in the Ghibli SS. Output was rated at 320 horsepower. It’s got all of the Citroen hydraulic goodies – for better or worse, and the car went on sale a year before Maserati ownership passed to De Tomaso.

By the time it exited production in 1982, just 435 examples of the Khamsin had been built. This right-hand-drive example was sold new in the U.K., and its restoration was completed in 2012. Now it has an estimate of $160,000-$190,000. Click here for more info.

Two-Door Lagonda

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1986 Aston Martin Virage Coupe Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin Virage debuted for 1989 and was produced in its boxy gloriousness through 2000. But it wasn’t this boxy. This prototype wasn’t meant to signal the design language of the company’s upcoming near-supercar, it was just convenient to use a shortened Lagonda as a test mule.

But it also allows us to see the answer to the question “What if they made a two-door Lagonda.” Well, it’s kinda neat. Sure, it definitely looks like its been chopped a bit, but you can also still kind of see the upcoming Virage in its shape and front end.

It was powered by a 5.3-liter V8 and, after testing duty, was parked in the service department, only to be spotted by an Aston customer who wanted to buy it. It was overhauled by the factory and fitted with a contemporary Virage engine in 1993. It’s a pretty neat, one-off thing, and it can be yours for between $315,000-$440,000. Click here for more info.

Delahaye Landaulette

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1912 Delahaye Type 43 Landaulette

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

This was a fancy car for some, presumably, Parisian back in the day. The Landaulette bodywork featured an exposed chauffeur’s compartment – well, it at least has a roof and a windscreen. Chances are they could’ve had side curtains for it too. But the passenger, and likely owner of the car, sat in back in an enclosed box.

The Type 43 was produced by Delahaye from 1911 through 1914. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 28 horsepower and paired with a four-speed manual transmission. As war approached, the Type 43 became the basis for some trucks as well.

This car was imported to the U.K. from France in 1991 and restored the following year. It’s been drained and sitting in storage since 2000. Recommissioning will be required. It has an estimate of $56,000-$69,000. Click here for more info.

Kougar Monza

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1980 Kougar Monza Roadster Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Kougar Cars had only been around about a year when they produced this sports racing prototype. It looks like an Italian racer from the 1950s but is actually based on Ford or Jaguar components. This was the factory prototype for the Monza model, which would end up being less popular than the company’s Sports model.

This example is powered by a 3.0-liter Ford Essex V6. You could fit a Rover V8 in there. Or, if you were insane, a Jaguar V12. The aluminum bodywork features a low-slung front end, a hood scoop, and a headrest fairing for the right-side driver.

It was restored in 2012 and 2013. Only about 40 Monzas were produced, and this one has an estimate of $37,000-$63,000. Click here for more info.