Tag Archives: cars

Mercedes W04 F1

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2013 Mercedes-AMG W04

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Mercedes-Benz took quite the hiatus from Formula One, departing in 1955 after murdering a bunch of spectators. They returned as an engine supplier in the 1990s, but didn’t come back with a full team effort until the 2010 season, a year after purchasing reigning champions Brawn GP.

After three somewhat disappointing seasons, they showed up in 2013 with this, the W04 that was to be fielded by drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It would take them to second in the constructors championship, bettering the fifth they achieved the year prior. It was clear they were onto something, as the following year they would win the championship… and then keep doing so year after year after that.

The W04 is powered by a 2.4-liter V8 with a KERS system that can produce 750 horsepower (or 830 with the KERS enabled). All while revving to a cool 18,000 rpm. This was the last season of F1 to feature V8 engines. The race history for this chassis, #F1W04-04 includes:

  • 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Lewis Hamilton)
  • 2013 Chinese Grand Prix – 3rd (with Hamilton)
  • 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix – 1st (with Hamilton)
  • 2013 Belgian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Hamilton)

This chassis was actually used in 14 races that year. It has somehow escaped Mercedes’ hands and has a pre-sale estimate of $10,000,000-$15,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,815,000.

Barzoi I

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1965 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi

Offered by Osenat | Lyon, France | November 12, 2023

Photo – Osenat

The André Marcadier and Marcel Fournier partnership produced some interesting cars. First there was the Barquette, which was an open-top race car, which was also France’s first kit car. The Barzoi, which was introduced in 1965, was kind of a coupe version of the Barquette.

It has gullwing doors and a fiberglass body. Various engines could be fitted as they were sold as kits, and this one has a Renault 8 Gordini inline-four (displacement unknown). Output is estimated at 150 horsepower.

This car was discovered by its owner still in kit form and subsequently completed in 1990. It’s since been used on various European rallies. Fournier-Marcadier followed up later with a Barzoi 2, which looks more like a spaceship than a sequel to this sporty little thing. The estimate here is $32,000-$42,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold ~$49,270.

BMW 319 Sport Cabriolet

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1936 BMW 319 Sport Cabriolet

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 25, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

BMW’s 303 line of cars was their first with a six-cylinder engine, and they helped cement the kidney grille design language that persists today. The original 303 launched in 1933, and a slew of spin-off models followed. The 319 was sold from 1935 to 1937.

The big difference here was the engine. The 319 is powered by a 1.9-liter inline-six rated at 45 horsepower. It was BMW’s largest car until the 326 debuted a year later. Various body styles were offered, and of the 6,646 built, just 238 were two-seat sport cabriolets.

This car was sold new in Mainz, Germany. The current owner bought it as a project in 2018 and turned it into the concours class winner it is today. The estimate is $130,000-$170,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold ~$80,910.

Francon Cyclecar

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1923 Francon Type F1

Offered by Osenat | Lyon, France | November 12, 2023

Photo – Osenat

The Francon was produced by Truelle et Compagnie in France between 1922 and 1926. They were cyclecars – light runabouts. Beginning in 1923, they upgraded a bit with a larger, more modern engine. But modern wasn’t necessarily the company’s strong point. The earliest cars had wooden chassis!

This 1923 model has a two-stroke inline-twin of 664cc capacity. The water-cooled engine featured both cylinders cast in as a pair with aluminum pistons and a rated output of 14 horsepower. Top speed was 40 mph. The pictures are lacking, but apparently these had some kind of friction disc transmission?

This car was previously owned by a museum and was restored prior to 1994, when it was purchased by the current owner. Subsequent work was never completed, so the car has been a parked project for some time. This car has an estimate of $5,000-$7,500. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold ~$8,820.

Alvis Firefly

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1933 Alvis Firefly Drophead Coupe

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | November 29, 2032

Photo – H&H Classics

The Firefly was the replacement for Alvis‘ earlier 12/50 model and the predecessor to the later Firebird. Produced between 1932 and 1934, the Firefly was offered as a roadster, touring car, sedan, and convertible, with some of those bodies being coachbuilt, like this one.

Power is provided by a 1.5-liter overhead-valve inline-four with a single SU carburetor for a rating of 50 horsepower. It was a carryover engine from earlier models fitted in a stylish new design. Only 871 Fireflys were built, with 133 of them being drophead coupes.

The Cross & Ellis body on this example was restored between 1985 and 1993. In the early 1960s it was purchased by a dental student who used it for two years before it broke. It then changed hands a few times and was restored before being reacquired by that same, former, student in 2012. It now has an estimate of $30,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Brouhot D1

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1904 Brouhot D1 Roadster

Offered by Osenat | Lyon, France | November 12, 2023

Photo – Osenat

Many early car companies sprouted up out of existing mechanical business, and Charles Brouhot was in the agricultural business in the late 1800s, making threshing machines and station engines. He started building automobiles in 1898.

The company would continue in both sectors until 1911, when they returned to focusing on farm equipment. This D1 from 1904 is powered by an inline-twin. It has known history back to 1921.

By the 1960s this car was on the London-to-Brighton run and has been in its current collection since 2008. It has not really moved in the last five years, so it’s going to need some service. The estimate is now $21,000-$31,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold ~$47,884.

Nissan GT-R50

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2021 Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 25, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Nissan‘s R35 GT-R has been on sale for what seems like forever. And the new ones look pretty much just like the examples produced back in 2009. Unless that is, your GT-R is one of the 18 “GT-R50” examples with bodywork by Italdesign.

And it’s not just the angular bodywork that is different. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 received better pistons and fuel injectors in addition to a fresh exhaust system for a rating of 710 horsepower.

This is the 11th car built (they wanted to make 50, but only 18 made it out). They cost over $1 million when new, and this one now has an estimate of $1,000,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Ultima GTR

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2005 Ultima GTR

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Birmingham U.K. | November 11, 2023

Photo – Iconic Auctioneers

Ultima Sports was founded in 1983 by Lee Noble in England. Most of the cars they have produced since have been sold in component (kit) form. You buy the fiberglass body and tubular space frame chassis, then you go find a powerplant to stuff behind the driver.

The GTR was offered between 1999 and 2016, with cars sold in both kit form and as full turn-key cars constructed by the factory. This example is powered by a 6.3-liter Chevrolet V8 that apparently makes 600 horsepower. It’s also got a Porsche G50 transaxle. It’s a rocket ship.

In fact, a 720-horsepower GTR set many production car acceleration records. After 2016, the GTR was replaced by the Ultima Evolution. This car has an estimate of $43,000-$49,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold ~$44,944.

MG XPower SV-R

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2004 MG XPower SV-R

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Birmingham, U.K. | November 11, 2023

Photo – Iconic Auctioneers

This is the ultimate MG. It was offered during the last few years of MG as a British, somewhat independent, manufacturer before the company was acquired by Nanjing Auto in China from the British holding company that held onto the firm after BMW divested itself of anything “Rover.”

The XPower SV was a sports car launched as a concept in 2001 before McLaren F1 exterior designer Peter Stevens revised it for production, which started in 2003. MG collapsed in 2005, so just 82 examples of the XPower ended up being built between the SV and SV-R versions. Apparently 42 of them were SV-Rs.

The car is based on the chassis of the Qvale Mangusta, which is weird. In SV-R form, the car is powered by a Roush-tuned 5.0-liter V8 rated at 385 horsepower, which has to make it the most powerful production MG of all time. Sixty arrived in 4.9 seconds on the way to a 175-mph top end. Manual or automatic gearboxes could be had.

This manual-transmission car has 10,000 miles and a pre-sale estimate of $66,000-$79,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold ~$68,820.

C124 Gullwing

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1989 Boschert B300

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 25, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Mercedes-Benz W124 was the first generation of Merc marketed as the E-Class. The C124 was the coupe version, and that’s what this car here is based on. Hartmut Boschert founded his tuning company in the 1980s and began modifying Benzes thereafter.

In 1989, he took a 300CE coupe and grafted an R129 SL-Class front end onto it. He also added gullwing doors – a Mercedes legacy. R129 seats also came along, and the standard 300CE 3.0-liter inline-six was fitted with two turbochargers to make 283 horsepower.

The plan was to make 300 of these after it debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt International Motor Show. But that never happened, and this was the only one built. It’s been with it’s current owner for almost 20 years and now has an estimate of $265,000-$320,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold ~$477,795.