Tag Archives: Bonhams

September Results II

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Our second post covering auctions for September starts with RM’s big London sale. They had a huge collection of Mercedes-Benzes cross the block, but the top sale actually went to our featured Maserati 250S for $3,340,000. Our featured Jaguar D-Type failed to sell. As did our featured Mercedes 500K Cabriolet C. The top-selling Benz was this 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet B for $1,287,400.

1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet B

Our featured 1932 Mercedes-Benz 370 S sold for $1,208,900. On top of the “interesting cars pile” was the Lotus Esprit Submarine from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. It sold for $967,000.

1977 Lotus Esprit Submarine

Another cool car was this 1975 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12 which brought $527,000.

1975 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12

Our featured Mercedes 290 Cabriolet A brought $435,000. And our featured Benz Doctor’s Cabriolet sold for $83,500. Other interesting cars include this 1948 Austin VM 30 Cabriolet for only $12,300.

1948 Austin VM 30 Cabriolet

I can’t pick just two or three cool Mercedes’ from this sale to highlight because so many of them are the more mundane road cars that you just don’t see anymore (which I find fascinating). These are restored examples of cars that they built a ton of, but it would probably be easier to find a 540K today. You really have to check out the full results here, but I’ll tease you with this 1952 Mercedes-Benz 170 Da Pick Up. It sold for $77,300.

1952 Mercedes-Benz 170 Da Pick Up

Bonhams held a sale during the Goodwood Revival. The top sale here was our featured Alfa Romeo 8C-35 Grand Prix car for $9,511,542. It was kind of a no-brainer that this would be the top sale, as Bonhams has been killing it lately with competition cars bringing huge sums. Apparently they currently hold world records for 11 different marques at auction, which is pretty impressive (they probably hold more, but don’t want to look up all of the smaller marques over the years).

Cool cars start with this 1936 Invicta 4.5-Litre S-Type Low-Chassis Tourer which sold for $307,413. Our featured Invicta did not sell.

1936 Invicta 4.5-Litre S-Type 'Low Chassis' Tourer

Our featured Connaught did not sell either. But this 1934 Singer 1.5-Litre Le Mans did. It actually raced in the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans. It sold for $136,966.

1934 Singer 1.5-Litre Le Mans

Two other interesting cars: first this 1951 Jaguar XK120 Competition Roadster which brought a big $228,277.

1951 Jaguar XK120 3.8-Litre Competition Roadster

And this super-cool 1985 Audi Quattro SWB Coupe. A very rare rally car for the road, it brought $185,409.

1985 Audi Quattro Sport SWB Coupe

And finally, let’s go to our featured Jaguar XJR-8 race car. It sold – but that’s all the information that was provided. Bonhams didn’t provide a final amount – but I will refer to it as a “mysterious sum in the neighborhood of $1.4 million.” Anyway, you can check out the full results here.

Jewel Runabout

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1907 Jewel Model B 8hp Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2013

1907 Jewel Model B 8hp Runabout

Jewel was originally known as Jewell – for 1906 only when the car was built in Cleveland, Ohio by the Forest City Motor Co. before they moved to Massillon, Ohio, to secure more funding. When production resumed in 1907, the name was changed to Jewel (with one “L”).

This car is an 8 horsepower model using a two-stroke engine (a 2.1-liter two-cylinder) that was touted as being extremely easy to use and maintain. It cost $400 when new and was well-engineered. Apparently, this little engine is torque-y enough to pop the front wheels off the ground if you launch it hard!

This particular example was in single family ownership for 50 years before Bonhams sold it in 2009. Jewel only built about 1,000 cars before going out of business in 1909 and being reorganized as Croxton-Keeton. This car should sell for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $25,300.

Courier Roadster

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1911 Courier 20 Commercial Wagon

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2013

1911 Courier 20 Commercial Wagon

The auction catalog lists this car as a Courier Stoddard, but according to other sources, the cars were only called Courier – even though Courier was a subsidiary of Stoddard-Dayton (perhaps the “Stoddard is the model name, but it’s rather confusing so I omitted it from the title above). Courier was introduced in 1909 and lasted through 1912 (for the final year they were known as Courier-Clermont once they had been acquired by the U.S. Motor Company – which promptly failed).

This was a lower-priced car than the Stoddard-Dayton. They were targeted at Ford buyers who wanted more performance for a similar price. Performance was likely: this car is powered by a 22 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-four. They were also durable as Courier built their cars like a light truck but with roadster bodywork.

This particular car spent a long time in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The workers there did a light restoration on it years ago, although the car was mostly original when it was performed. Everything is either correct or period-correct and in working order and it has been in a private collection since 2008. Courier was a very short-lived automobile, making this very rare. It should sell for between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ awesome Preserving the Automobile sale.

Update: Sold $20,900.

September Results I

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Before we get to some September auction results, there was one more sale from late August I’d like to cover. It was Silverstone’s CarFest South sale and the top sale was this 1952 Bentley Mk VI Special for $82,520. It might look like a Volkswagen Bugatti replica kit car, but it’s a Bentley. You can check out full results here.

1952 Bentley Mk VI Special

Next up, Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale. The top sale there was this 1926 Sunbeam 3-Litre Super Sports Twin Cam Tourer for $246,605.

1926 Sunbeam 3-Litre Super Sports Twin Cam Tourer

Our featured Chicago Motor Buggy failed to sell. Interesting cars were topped off by this 1913 De Dion-Bouton Type DX Touring. It’s a car I wanted to feature but didn’t get to it. It sold for an attainable $24,185.

1913 De Dion-Bouton Type DX Touring

Our other three feature cars all sold. The Healey Duncan brought $59,119. The Alldays & Onions Tonneau sold for $68,077. And the sole surviving road-going Aster sold for $39,413. Other interesting cars included this 1916 Rauch & Lang Model BX6 Electric Brougham. It sold for $33,143.

1916 Rauch & Lang Model BX6 Electric Brougham

And finally, from the weird category, this 1971 SAVIEM TP3L39 4×4 Gun Bus. I think it’s a hunting car, but I really don’t know. Anyway, it was cheap, bringing only $1,254. Check out full results here.

1971 SAVIEM TP3L39 4x4 Gun Bus

The next auction that this post will cover was Auctions America’s Auburn Fall sale. Top sale was our featured Duesenberg Murphy Convertible Coupe for $1,540,000. Interesting cars included this 1950 Sunbeam-Talbot Mk I Convertible. It sold for $21,450.

1950 Sunbeam-Talbot Mk I Convertible

And how about this 1982 Freeway II? You don’t see these everyday. It sold for $5,225.

1982 Freeway II

Annoyingly, I somehow neglected to feature this 1919 Columbia Six Five-Passenger Touring. This happens every time Auctions America has a huge sale. Something is always overlooked because the catalog is too huge and hard to sort through. This one sold for $11,550.

1919 Columbia Six Five-Passenger Touring

A previously featured Duesenberg Sport Sedan sold at this sale for $962,500 – about $150,000 more than when it sold a year ago. Another Duesenberg, our featured Dual-Cowl Phaeton, sold for $858,000. Our featured Flxible Starliner bus failed to sell. Interestingly, there are about 10 Abbott-Detroit models known to exist. Two of them were in this sale. This 1917 Speedster sold for $19,800. Check out full results here.

1917 Abbott-Detroit Speedster

One more set of highlights: Mecum’s Dallas sale. Our featured Checker Aerobus failed to sell. Top sale was this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible that happened to be the 1967 NHRA/A Sports Champion. It sold for a ludicrous $3,200,000.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible

Our featured Chevelle Z16 brought $200,000. A previously-featured Duesenberg failed to sell at this sale. Check out full results here.

Connaught L3

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1953 Connaught L3

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 14, 2013

1953 Connaught L3

Connaught Engineering was founded after World War II by two ex-RAF pilots who happened to own a car dealership in Surrey. Well, automobile production took a little while to ramp back up in Britain and the two men, Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver, got a little impatient and decided to build their own cars instead of wait.

They acquired some chassis from Lea-Francis and had the cars bodied elsewhere. They were little, two-seat sports cars – a craze that was just taking off across the U.K. This was the second model and it features a 1.8-liter straight-four making 122 horsepower and an upgraded suspension compared to the earlier model.

This is one of the last road cars they made as they quickly turned to single-seaters – which would compete in Formula One through 1959. This car has known ownership history from new and was restored in Italy within the past 10 years. It is thought that Connaught only built about 17 road cars of all types, making this extremely rare. It should sell for between $130,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Goodwood lineup.

Update: Not sold.

S/N: L3 7120

Invicta S1

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2009 Invicta S1

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 14, 2013

2009 Invicta S1

There are a bunch of people with money out there that think it is their duty to build the world’s greatest supercar. Newsflash: it isn’t. I’m not saying that’s the case with this car – because it was more of a “let’s revive a revered and dead company and build what they would be building had they never gone out of business in the first place” sort of thing.

The Invicta car company shut off the lights back in 1950 (for the second time – the original company closed in 1935 before returning in 1946). In 2002, some investors produced a concept of a new sports car called the S1. Deliveries started in 2003 (I think they were 2004 models) and the company built this lone model through about 2011 (they closed down in 2012).

The body is carbon fiber and the most of the components come from other road cars – including the engine, which, in this car, is a 320 horsepower version of Ford’s SVT 4.6-liter V-8 (a 5.0 could be had with almost twice the power). Top speed is about 170 mph and the car cost upwards of $150,000 when new.

You might be wondering why I’m featuring this car, and here’s my answer: so many of these little car companies pop up with a concept car and then no one ever knows if the thing actually goes into production or not. I was always unsure about this one (I’ve never seen one – have you?) but now I have proof that Invicta S1s were actually produced (I just don’t know how many). But you never see them for sale.

This one should sell for between $93,000-$120,000. Oh, and yes, those are the actual headlights and body-colored wheels, they aren’t aftermarket add-ons. You can find out more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

S/N: 006

A Scuderia Ferrari Alfa 8C-35 Grand Prix Car

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1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 Grand Prix

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 14, 2013

1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 Grand Prix

Before Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren there was Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Auto Union. The 1930s were a thrilling (and scary) time in Grand Prix racing and some of its all-time stars came from that era: Caracciola, Nuvolari, Rosemeyer, Varzi and more. And so did one other man: Enzo Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari began as a race team in 1929 – becoming the Alfa Romeo factory team. It wasn’t until after the war that he started building his own cars.

This is a special, special car. It’s an 8C-35 – it uses a supercharged 3.8-liter straight-eight engine making 330 horsepower – quite a sum for 1935. This is an actual Scuderia Ferrari team car driven by Nuvolari (and more). The Ferrari-era history of this car is not known, but legend holds that Nuvolari won the 1936 Coppa Ciano with it. Toward the end of 1936, this car was sold to a privateer – Hans Ruesch, who raced it as often as possible. Some of his driving career in the car is as follows (including 3 European Championship – the precursor to Formula One – eligible races in 1937, as noted by asterisk*):

  • 1936 Donington Grand Prix – 1st (with Ruesch and Dick Seaman)
  • 1936 Mountain Championship at Brooklands – 2nd (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 South African Grand Prix – 4th (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Grosvenor Grand Prix – 5th (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Finnish Grand Prix – 1st (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Grand Prix des Frontieres – 1st (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Bucharest Grand Prix – 1st (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 German Grand Prix* – 8th (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Monaco Grand Prix *- 8th (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Swiss Grand Prix* – 15th, DNF (with Ruesch)
  • 1937 Mountain Championship at Brooklands – 1st (with Ruesch)

Ruesch sold the car in 1939 after much success (and a few major repairs). The car came into the hands of Dennis Poore during the war and he maintained the car for 40 years, using it in a fair number of events. It was sold at auction in 1988 and was restored to its 1930s-era look in the late-1990s. The current owner acquired it about 10 years ago and has used it in some historic events as well. This is the only surviving example of an 8C-35 and it should sell for between $8,600,000-$10,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams at Goodwood.

Update: Sold $9,511,542.

S/N: 50013

Silk Cut Jaguar

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1987 Jaguar XJR-8

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 14, 2013

1987 Jaguar XJR-8

The XJR-line of Jaguar sports racing cars was a nine-year program that Jaguar initiated (with the help of the race car specialists at Tom Walkinshaw Racing) with the aim of dominating both the World Sportscar Championship and the IMSA Camel GTP Series. The cars were impressive – winning Le Mans twice – and the experience led Jaguar to produce two other-worldly road-going supercars: the XJ220 and XJR-15.

The XJR-8 was the fourth iteration and it was focused solely on the WSC. The Silk Cut livery began in 1986 and was a staple of Jaguar endurance cars through the early 1990s. The difference between and XJR-6 and the XJR-8 is mostly engine-related, as they share the same basic structure underneath. The engine is a 7.0-liter V-12 making in the neighborhood of 750 horsepower.

The racing resume of this car includes:

  • 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans – 5th (with Eddie Cheever, Raul Boesel, and Jan Lammers)
  • 1987 1000km Spa – 1st (with Martin Brundle, Johnny Dumfries, & Boesel)

Raul Boesel would go on to win the 1987 WSC Driver’s championship, with TWR-Jaguar winning the Teams Championship. After it’s racing career, the car was acquired from the TWR team by an unnamed racing driver who has owned it since. It has been freshened and is ready to run. Apparently, only four were built (or at least run by this team that had factory support). It should sell for between $1,400,000-$1,900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams at Goodwood.

Update: Sold for a mysterious sum of less than $1.4 million.

S/N: 3.87

Healey Duncan

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1948 Healey Duncan Saloon

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 7, 2013

1948 Healey Duncan Saloon

Donald Healey started building cars upon completion of World War Two. The Westland and Elliott were the first two cars from the company and they went on sale in 1946. All Healey-branded cars used a 2.4-liter straight-four engine from Riley making 104 horsepower. He built his own chassis.

The Donald Healey Motor Company sent 39 of its chassis (with Riley engines attached) to Duncan Industries Ltd. They bodied 15 of the cars as “Drones” with fairly unattractive and simple bodywork. They then built 23 of these Saloon models with pillarless doors and swoopy lines. They also bodied some Alvis cars with coachwork very similar to this.

Only eight Duncan-bodied Healeys are thought to still exist – six of which are the Saloon model like the one above. Ownership history of this car is known from the 1960s and the it was restored professionally in 1996. It has been used here and there and is in generally great and usable condition. It is estimated to sell for between $28,000-$37,000. You can read more here and check out the rest of this sale’s lineup here.

Update: Sold $59,119.

1924 Aster

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1924 Aster 18/50HP Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 7, 2013

1924 Aster 1850HP Coupe

Photo – Bonhams

Aster started as an engine-building company in Wembley, England. They were building licensed versions of French engines and moved to aircraft engines during WWI, when they acquired the name Aster.

In 1922, they started building luxury automobiles. The 18/50hp was their first model and it was built from 1922 through 1924. It uses a 2.6-liter straight-six making 50 horsepower. They were expensive and bought by well-known people such as the man who would later become King George VI.

In 1924, the engine was upgraded and the model became the 20/55. In 1927, the company merged with Arrol-Johnston and the Aster name disappeared after 1930. This is a car from a short-lived and rarely-heard of marque. Only about 170 Asters were ever built and this is one of two known to survive (both are in this sale and the other one is a half-restored project). This one is in original, unrestored condition and should sell for between $28,000-$37,000 – which seems like a bargain considering it was an expensive car when new and it’s the only one like it left. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ sale.

Update: Sold $39,413.

Update II: Sold, Brightwells Classic & Vintage, April 2017, $32,292.