Cisitalia-Abarth 850 Scorpione

Posted on March 26, 2021 by classiccarweekly

1962 Cisitalia-Abarth 850 Scorpione Coupe

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March/April 2021

Piero Dusio got rich making uniforms during WWII and parlayed that cash into a small company he founded called Cisitalia. They built racing cars, and eventually road cars. But racing is expensive, and eventually, he ran out of money, forcing him to relocate to Argentina.

Cisitalia collaborated with Abarth (Carlo Abarth was Austrian by birth) here and there, and after the company moved to South America, the two got together for one last fling. Abarth had a car out there called the Fiat-Abarth 850 Allemano. This car is essentially a badge-engineered version of Carlo’s 850. It features an 847cc inline-four that was rated at 55 horsepower when new.

Fewer than 200 Fiat-Abarth models were produced, and about the same (or less) of these were also made. It is not really related to the similarly-named Abarth Scorpione. This one has obviously been restored and is up for bidding now. The auction ends tomorrow. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $74,000.

1906 Haynes

Posted on March 4, 2021 by classiccarweekly

1906 Haynes Model O Runabout

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | Online | March 2021

Elwood Haynes and the Apperson brothers (Elmer and Edgar) were American automotive pioneers. In 1894, they built one of the country’s first gasoline-powered automobiles. Four years later, they were selling cars to the public under the Haynes-Apperson brand. But it wouldn’t last long, as it appears Haynes wasn’t all that easy to get along with (he would later take credit for building America’s first car… by himself).

The Appersons started their own company, and Haynes soldiered on with the hyphenated marque for about two years until he dropped the Apperson name in 1904. Cars built thereafter were just known as Haynes, making this 1906 Model O a very early example of the marque, which lasted through 1925.

The Model O was only sold in 1906 and was offered as a touring car or a runabout. It’s powered by a 4.6-liter inline-four rated at 30 horsepower. This particular car has been in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection since 1968, having been restored about a decade earlier. It comes with its “winter body” – a closed coupe sort of thing to keep the weather out when it was cold. The bidding is off to a strong start, and the auction is slated to end tomorrow. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $85,584.

Crown Supercoach School Bus

Posted on March 1, 2021 by classiccarweekly

1961 Crown Supercoach A779-11

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | Online

This is a school bus. That is probably obvious. But it is from 1961. I’m guessing they built a lot of these, but there are probably very few left. And based on the records shared in the auction listing, there are probably even fewer that have had this kind of money lavished upon them.

The Crown Coach Corporation produced buses (and some fire trucks) in Los Angeles between 1904 and 1991. The final few months were under the control of GE before the brand was phased out. The Supercoach was a product they introduced in 1948 and continued to iterate on until the end of the line in 1991.

This one has a replacement drivetrain. The 7.0-liter Detroit Diesel inline-six is located in the middle of the bus (underneath it). It also has a more modern five-speed automatic transmission instead of the old school five-speed manual with a two-speed rear axle. Remember your bus driver constantly shifting gears? Yeah, this one is easier to drive.

I always love an old bus, and this one is pretty great. The seats have been stripped out of the interior, which is a shame, but it’s still a winner. It was in service with a school district from new until 1999, which is insane. It makes me wonder just how old the back-up buses I rode on as a kid actually were. Click here for more info about this bus.

Update: Sold $27,250.