Tag Archives: cars

Maserati 222

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1992 Maserati 222 SE

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 16, 2012

The Maserati Biturbo was in production in various forms from 1981 through 1994. The original models were all called “Biturbo” something or other. In the late 1980s, the models were named 222, the SE model being offered from 1990 through 1992. There were also four-door sedans with various numerical names from 420 through 430.

While the Biturbo was the first twin-turbocharged production car, the engines that the turbos were attached to varied based on model. The 222 SE had a 2.8-liter twin-turbo V6 making 225 horsepower. It was good for 143 mph.

Only 210 of these cars were built and this one has 53,000 original miles. This one was in storage for eight years, but has been freshened and serviced and is ready to drive. Biturbos aren’t known for their reliability – in fact, they are more well known for leaking, bursting into flame and generally falling into disrepair. It was born out of Maserati’s De Tomaso ownership – and cash was not plentiful. But as a cool, cheap exotic, this car could be a lot of fun… you know, until you have to fix it. And I wouldn’t recommend trying to use it as a daily driver.

The car is to sell without reserve with an estimate between $7,700 and $11,000. And it does have that Maserati badge on it. I am seriously tempted. For more information, click here. For more from Bonhams Oxford sale, click here.

Update: Sold $4,500.

Bonhams Greenwich Concours 2012 Highlights

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Bonhams set a record at their Greenwich Concours d’Elegance 2012 sale with a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Berlinetta that brought $1,244,500 – the highest price a car has sold for at this particular sale, which has been going on for eight years now.

Two of our feature cars, the 1915 Crane-Simplex and the 1962 Moretti 2500 SS, both failed to sell. The highest selling of our feature cars was the 1922 Cunningham V-4 Town Limousine which brought $128,000.

Other highlights included a rare 1971 Checker Marathon Station Wagon that, while never actually used as a taxi, was presented as one. It sold for $19,305.

Other interesting sales included a 1929 Stutz Series M Speedster with coachwork by Lebaron that brought $139,000.

And finally, this 1979 Kougar Sports 3.8 Liter Roadster formerly owned by David E. Davis Jr. These were sports cars built around a Jaguar XJ6 with fiberglass bodywork. It sold for $42,120.

Our other feature cars included the 1900 Parisienne Victoria Combination, which sold for $56,160 as well as the 1919 Locomobile Model 48 6-Fender Town Car which was hammered away for $65,000. For complete results, click here.

Abarth OT 1300

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1966 Abarth OT 1300

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie International | Zurich, Switzerland | June 10, 2012

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Carlo Abarth is mainly known for his hot rod Fiats, but he also built cars of his own – well, kind of. He constructed his own cars, usually using bits and pieces of other cars. The one you see here is based on a SIMCA chassis with SIMCA and Fiat parts and a 1.3-liter, four-cylinder engine based on a SIMCA design, but built at a race shop in Italy. It makes 140 horsepower and can do a little more than 150 mph.

Between 1965 and 1966, 50 examples of the OT 1300 were built. There were also OT 1000, OT 1600, and OT 2000 models (I’m not sure of their production numbers off-hand). All OT models were intended for the track when built, however this particular car is road-legal (and in Switzerland at that).

Personally, I quite like the styling and the competition history of the model makes it seem like a performer (the OT 1300 won its class at Le Mans). I wouldn’t mind taking one for a spin. But I’m not sure if I can afford it – as the estimate is “on request.” Perhaps it’s my fault that the two cars I picked from this sale were the only two with “on request” estimates. Then again, they were the pick of the litter.

For more information and photos, click here. And for more on this sale, click here.

Dolson Model F

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1907 Dolson Model F

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

I do love those tires. Why aren’t any modern cars equipped with solid white tires? I guess people would complain about having to keep them clean, but it would certainly make a statement. Anyway, the Dolson Automobile Company (known as J.L. Dolson & Sons until 1906) of Charlotte, Michigan, produced big 60hp touring cars from 1904 through 1907 – meaning this car came from the final year of production. This four-cylinder car would have cost about $3,250 in 1907 – hardly cheap.

It is a well-equipped car and even features galvanized steel (a rarity in the day), which should have improved the car’s chance of long-term survival. But Dolson isn’t a marque you see too often. Later in the company’s short existence, they introduced a 20hp flat-twin model as well as a 28/30hp four-cylinder.

However, even though the cars were of a very high quality, success wasn’t to be and Dolson was liquidated in 1908 after production ceased the year prior. This is a rare opportunity to get your hands on one. The cost? $110,000. For more information, click here.

Update: Sold, RM Auctions, St. Johns, Michigan, 2012 – $74,250.

MBM SP-100

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1960 MBM SP-100

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie International | Zurich, Switzerland | June 10, 2012

Peter Monteverdi was a Swiss car salesman turned race car driver turned auto constructor. Okay, maybe not necessarily in that order. He ran the Swiss Ferrari franchise at one point as well as a race team that attempted to break into Formula One with the team’s owner as it’s driver. He attempted one championship race with the MBM (Monteverdi Basle Motoren) team but withdrew after destroying the car in a practice accident.

Then he turned his attention to sports cars and specials for the road race circuit. The MBM Tourismo (chronicled elsewhere on this site) was a very rare road car with approximately two built. The car you see here, the SP-100, is likely the only one of its kind. It was built for the race team Ecurie Baloise HOBA.

It features a 100 horsepower 1.1-liter straight-four from O.S.C.A. One hundred ponies might not seem like all that much, but this car only weighs 425 kg, so it likely goes pretty quick. It also looks quite sporty, with a pontoon-fendered Testa Rossa look to the front of it. It has been owned by the same owner since 1978 and was restored over a nine year period ending in 1991.

Peter Monteverdi went on to build cars under his own name in 1967. Cars like the Monteverdi High Speed are not seen often – but they are seen more often than anything bearing the MBM logo. This is a very rare opportunity. The estimate is listed as “on request,” which is annoying, but it is what it is. The only Monteverdi I can recall for sale was a Hai 450 SS, which was listed for over $1 million. This won’t bring quite that much.

For more information and pictures, click here. For more on this sale, click here.

Lambo Reventón

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2008 Lamborghini Reventón

Offered by H&H Auctions | Canary Wharf, London | June 11, 2012

The Lamborghini Reventón is an ultra-rare, ultra-expensive, sort of “super Murciélago.” It has the 6.5-liter V12 making 631 horsepower engine straight out of the Murciélago LP640. So, you’re paying many times the price of a Murciélago for the same performance and power.

And by “many times” I mean that this car cost $2 million when new. That’s insane. So what are you paying for? Styling? Not really. If anything, this car is part Murciélago and part Aventador. It’s all Murciélago underneath but with styling that looks more like the follow-up model. If I paid $2 million for something that I thought was only one of 20, only to find, three years later, that they were putting into production a car that closely resembled the one I bought, but with shinier paint and a lot more horsepower, I would not be a happy camper.

And yes, that’s right, there were only twenty of these built, so they don’t really come up for sale everyday. In fact, all twenty were pre-sold before the car was even revealed. The one offered here is “for sale” and not going under the hammer (as I understand it). If you’re in London, stop by and buy it. I’m not sure what the asking price is, but, as the saying goes, if you need to ask, you can’t afford it.

This is a car for true Lamborghini and/or super car collectors. It’s cool, but the Aventador is better in every way. Buy this only if you want to tell your friends/potential trophy spouse that it is “one of only twenty.” If you want more information on this car, click here. And to see what else H&H is offering at this sale, click here.

Ford Sportsman Convertible

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1947 Ford Super Deluxe Sportsman Convertible

Offered by RM Auctions | Hampton, New Hampshire | June 9-10, 2012

There were a number of popular American “woodies” built shortly after World War II. The Chrysler Town & Country is among the very best – as are Ford Sportsman Convertibles. You’ll notice many of these cars are painted in some shade of maroon or green. Something about those colors really sets off the woodwork running down the sides.

This Model 79A Super Deluxe has a 100 horsepower 3.9-liter V8 and red leather interior. The wood-bodied Sportsman ran about $500 more than its metal equivalent and was available from either Ford or Mercury. From reading the description of the restoration, it sounds like restoring the wood took longer than the original build time of the car.

This car was part of the Nick Alexander woodie collection that was auctioned off in 2009 and is being offered from the Dingman Collection this weekend. It sold for $220,000 in 2009 and is expected to bring somewhere between $240,000 and $280,000. For the complete lot description, click here and for the rest of the expansive Dingman Collection, click here.

Update: Sold $253,000.

Locomobile Model 48

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1919 Locomobile Model 48 6-Fender Town Car

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 3, 2012

Locomobile was one of the first big American automakers and the marque is a testament to the importance of the Stanley brothers in the history of the automobile. The publisher of Cosmopolitan magazine, John B. Walker, bought the design of the Stanley’s first steam car and put it into production. The Stanley brothers were General Managers until they left in 1902 to start Stanley, which would become Locomobile’s largest rival.

The Model 48 was introduced in 1911 and it had a wheelbase almost 30 inches longer than that of a modern Chevrolet Suburban. The 8.6-liter straight-six makes around 48 horsepower. Most of the powertrain components were cast in bronze and the chassis was made of chrome-nickel steel – which helps explain  why so few of these imposing automobiles survive to this day: scrap drives during the Second World War made these cars a lot more valuable in pieces than they did as a 20-something-year-old used car. This car was made using only the finest materials – the only thing, I guess, they could have done to make it even more over-the-top would have been to build it entirely out of gold and platinum – although it wouldn’t be quite so solid.

The body was built by Demarest and the layout is one you don’t see that often – a six-fendered town car. The fifth and six fenders sit just in front of the rear passenger compartment and I suppose exist to make each and every passenger feel a little like Cinderella being helped from her carriage. Bonhams claims that this car cost, when new, three times that of an open-bodied Model 48 – which I’ve read elsewhere would have cost around $10,000 in 1920 – which helps explain why Locomobile failed along with parent company Durant Motors at the onset of the Great Depression

This was about as grand a car as you could buy in 1919. And all of this grandeur will set you back somewhere between $60,000-$80,000. Which is a deal. For the complete description, click here. And for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup at the Greenwich Concours, click here.

Update: Sold $70,200.

Cobra Killer?

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1969 De Tomaso Mangusta

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | June 1-3, 2012

That it is called a “Mangusta” – which is Italian for mongoose, renown killer of cobras – is, perhaps, a bit optimistic. This car was certainly not going to take on the Shelby Cobra in any competitive way, shape or form (apparently Alejandro De Tomaso and Caroll Shelby were friends, so it wasn’t named out of spite. Perhaps just arrogance or a friendly rivalry?). But none of this is to say it isn’t great, because it is.

The common traits of Italian supercars include (but are not limited to): an engine mounted in the middle or rear of the car and some sort of ridiculous styling feature. It must also be hideously expensive. This car marks two and a half of those boxes. The engine, in this case the American-only 5.0-liter Ford V8 making a somewhat sad 220 horsepower, is mounted behind the driver (Europeans got a 306 horsepower 5.7-liter Ford V8). And the over-the-top styling feature? How about twin doors to access the engine that fold upward – gullwing-style.

With regard to expense, the car was very expensive to build – almost prohibitively so. Only 401 were made before it was replaced by the less costly Pantera. Of those 401, only about 250 still exist. This is a 36,000-mile car with power windows, air conditioning and four-wheel disc brakes. These are definitely cool – cooler than a Pantera anyway. And it can be yours for $75,000-$100,000. For the complete lot description click here and for the complete lot list, click here.

Update: Sold $75,900.

Parisienne Victoria Combination

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c.1900 Parisienne Victoria Combination

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 3, 2012

The Victoria Combination was the most popular model produced by Société Parisienne E. Couturier et Cie of Paris. What began as a bicycle manufacturing company turned to motorized vehicles in 1899 and produced them through 1903. Engines from De Dion-Bouton and Aster were available. The car you see here sports a 2.75 horsepower De Dion.

These were relatively popular in the early days of motoring with about 400 being made. At the time, it would have cost about $600 to purchase one (3,000 francs). And this car is 112 years old – there are only about ten people left on Earth who were alive when this was built! The fact that any car has survived that long should make it near-priceless. It’s an antique – but one you can use as this one appears to be in great shape. Plus, how many other front-wheel drive cars can you think of made prior to, say, a Cord L-29? Not many, I’m guessing.

The pre-sale estimate for this rare and interesting early car is $50,000-$70,000. You don’t exactly see these everyday. To read the complete lot description, click here. And for more from Bonhams in Connecticut, click here.

Update: Sold $56,160.