Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2024
Photo – Bonhams
Gobron-Brillie was a French automobile marque that existed from 1898 to 1930. That company was founded by Eugene Brillie and Gustav Gobron, with Brillie being the engineer behind the company’s products.
Brillie left the company at the end of 1903 and went off to found his own company under his own name. The cars were actually constructed by Schneider & Cie (now known as Schneider Electric, the huge French company). Brillie went belly up in 1908, and Schneider continued on making buses under their own name. This car is powered by a 20/24-horspower inline-four. It is thought to be the only example of the marque in existence.
It is believed to have been used regularly up to 1928, at which point it must’ve seemed like a dinosaur. The car was later hidden away, being discovered in the 1950s. It underwent a lengthy restoration and now has an estimate of $100,000-$130,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Detroit, Michigan | February 2024
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
At the end of the 1957 World Sportscar Championship season, Ferrari debuted the 250 Testa Rossa aimed a the 3.0-liter class. Ferrari built about 33 examples by 1962, including 19 customer cars. There were 19, unclear if the same 19, that were bodied by Scaglietti, including this one. But this car does not have its original Scaglietti body anymore.
The auction catalog is not complete yet, however, what is there does not mention at all that the car carries a replica body. It just brags of the original engine and gearbox. The engine is a 3.0-liter V12 that made 300 horsepower. The TR was a beast, winning Le Mans three times, Sebring three times, the Targa Florio, and three WSC manufacturer titles. This car was sold new to a Brazilian privateer and was raced at Interlagos in period before having its pontoon fenders removed between the ’59 and ’60 seasons.
It was re-bodied in the style of a 250 GT Berlinetta in the early ’60s and made its way out of South America and to the U.K. in 1985. In 1989 it was fitted with a replica pontoon-fender body (the one you see here) during a restoration. Under British ownership beginning in 1996, the car was used at quite a few historic events, which is great, including the Le Mans Classic, among many others.
It failed to sell at an RM auction in 2010 with a $10.7 million bid and then was purchased by its current owner, Les Wexner, the guy who founded Bath & Body Works and made Victoria’s Secret into what it is today. Fun fact that Wikipedia points out very early: he was also a long-time buddy-buddy of Jeffrey Epstein.
Forbes points out that this re-bodied Testa Rossa could fetch $38 million, which may seem steep for what is essentially a re-creation of what it originally once was. But, these things are rare and you’re paying for that serial number and the history associated with it. You may be able to read more about it here.
Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024
Photo – Artcurial
Amedee Bollee specialized in steam cars and was one of the world’s pioneers of automobiles, with his first vehicle doing a run between Paris and Le Mans in 1873. His son, also named Amedee, set up an automobile company in 1898 and continued building cars, at some points almost upon request and never more than 50 a year, until 1923. His brother Leon would have his own car company.
This “Type F” was built in 1916 and is powered by a 6.3-liter inline-four. Around 1930 the car is known to have been bodied as a sedan, a style it still wore in 1988 when it was purchased by an owner, directly from the Bollee family.
It was then restored and fitted with the body you see here. Bollee cars (from either brother) don’t pop up very often, and Amedee’s are much rarer. This one has an estimate of $88,000-$132,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2024
Photo – Bonhams
This aerodynamic masterpiece is from De Dion-Bouton, the world’s first automotive giant. The company existed from 1883 until 1932. Even by 1901 they were large enough to open an American arm.
It was also their second year for four-wheeled vehicles. The Type G was introduced in late 1900 and is powered by a 4.5-horsepower, 499cc single-cylinder engine. Single-cylinder engines is what the company built their empire on, and they would supply such engines to many other manufacturers.
This car has been with its current owner since 1966 and would be a popular choice for the London-to-Brighton run (and could take passengers!). It has an estimate of $75,000-$100,000. Click here for more info.
1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este Coupe by Touring
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2024
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Alfa’s 6C model was around for over 25 years, debuting in 1500 form in 1927 and bowing out with double the displacement after 1954. While the handful of 6C 3000s built were mostly race cars, it was the 6C 2500 that was really the final evolution of the model.
The Super Sport variant debuted in 1939 with triple carburetors on the 2.5-liter inline-six, which was good for 110 horsepower. A few different body styles were offered on this chassis, including the Touring-penned Villa d’Este coupe, of which just 36 were built.
Delivered new in Switzerland, the car eventually made its way to Texas. It was restored in Milan, though the catalog doesn’t quite make it clear when. Sometimes in the ’80s or ’90s apparently. This car is pretty fantastic, and it has an estimate of $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 1, 2024
Photo – Bonhams
Germain was a Belgian automaker that existed for almost 20 years. Yet they disappeared by the start of WWI. Based in Monceau-sur-Sambre, the company was founded around 1897 and wrapped it all up by 1914.
Later cars like this one used Knight sleeve-valve engines, which in this case consists of four cylinders, cast in pairs. Taxable horsepower was 13. Bonhams guesses that this is a “Type S” model, and not many later Germains were produced.
This one is believed to have resided in Belgium since new, having been with its current owner since the 1970s. It now has an estimate of $44,000-$66,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | January 2024
Photo – Bring a Trailer
The first-generation NSX was produced from 1991 through 2005. We’ve featured a launch-year car before, and here is the other end of the spectrum. In 2002, the car received a facelift that saw the switch from pop-up to fixed headlights. There were some other tweaks too, but basically it was refresh to make the car appear more modern, considering it had been unveiled over 15 years earlier.
Power is from a 3.2-liter V6 rated at 290 horsepower. They only built 248 cars for the final model year, 240 of which had manual gearboxes like this one does. Of those, only three of them were finished in Imola Orange Pearl over a black interior, also like this one.
This was not a common color on the NSX (only 49 facelifted cars were painted in it). That, plus the 13,000 miles, is going to make this one big-money NSX. The auction started earlier today (as of this writing) and bidding is already over $130,000 with 12 days left. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 1, 2024
Photo – Bonhams
Paige Fairfield Touring could be somebody’s name. That’s one thing to love about Paige automobiles – they actually gave their models names, and as early as 1912. Not something that was very common. Paige-Detroit came into being when Henry Jewett bought into Fred Paige’s car company, only to realize that the Paige-Detroit was garbage. He forced Fred out and changed the name to just Paige before beginning production on a better car of 1911.
Paige soldiered on until 1927 when Jewett sold the company to Graham Brothers. Paige sold 7,749 cars in 1915, their first year for six-cylinder cars (which is all they would produce thereafter). The 1915 Six is powered by a 29.4-horspeower inline-six, and three body styles were offered on that chassis.
This car moved to its current Belgian collection in 1981 and was restored there about five years later. Paige marketed their vehicles as “the most beautiful cars in America” – and while a stretch, this certainly is a handsome machine. $1,395 when new, it now has an estimate of $32,000-$43,000. More can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2024
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Audi’s two-door Quattro went on sale in 1980 and arrived in North America in 1983. It is not the same car as the similarly-styled Audi Coupe. It was powered by an inline-five that varied in capacity depending on model year. But the Quattro hung around until 1991. Audi also used it as their Group B rally car.
Group B was an insane time in rallying, where manufacturers were pulling out the stops to try and win, producing some truly ludicrous cars in the process. So Audi developed the Sport Quattro, a four-wheel-drive monster powered by a turbocharged 2.1-liter inline-five that, in road car form, was rated at 302 horsepower.
Yes, they made about 214 road versions in order to homologate the car for Group B competition, where it won two championships. This one has less than 6,000 miles and was sold new in Japan. The pre-sale estimate here is $575,000-$700,000. Click here for more info.
1927 Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupe-Chauffeur by Eugene Girard Fils
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 1, 2024
Photo – Bonhams
Hispano-Suiza’s H6 went on sale at the end of WWI in 1919 with an engine that was essentially half of a WWI V12 aircraft engine. It would be the company’s flagship model throughout the 1920s, with the H6B arriving in 1922 and the H6C in 1924.
The engine is a 6.6-liter inline-six rated at 135 horsepower. This car was delivered new in Paris, where it was rebodied in 1933 with the coachwork you see here. It was later parked in a print shop, where it was discovered in 1967… by its current owner.
It has not been restored – and it hasn’t been used recently either, which is a shame because the engine has since seized. Running or not, it’s still excellent and comes with an estimate of $165,000-$240,000. Click here for more info.
