Tag Archives: cars

Guyot Grand Prix

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1925 Guyot Special GS25

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Albert Guyot was an early gearhead. By 1905 he ran a Gladiator and Delage garage in France and later turned to driving race cars. He competed in five Indianapolis 500s between 1913 and 1926, with four top 10 finishes, the highest being third in 1914.

He also ran races in European Grands Prix. He drove a Duesenberg in the 1921 French Grand Prix. Rolland-Pilain hired him the next year to design their Grand Prix car. After that, he started designing his own car, the GS25, seen here. It appeared for the 1925 season. It’s powered by a supercharged 2.0-liter inline-six that featured a valve-less aluminum design. Horsepower was rated at 125.

The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1925 Italian Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Guyot)

After that, it entered in Formula Libre events, remaining in competition until 1948. A restoration happened circa 1980, with mechanical freshening happening more recently. This one-off Grand Prix car carries an estimate of $420,000-$535,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Bandini Veloce Zagato

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1955 Bandini 750 GT Veloce Zagato

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s another Bandini, one that seems somehow even smaller than the others. The 750 GT was not a model that ever entered “production” by Bandini and was instead a one-off. It features aluminum Zagato coachwork over a elliptical tube chassis that supposedly only weighs about 60 pounds.

Power is from a twin-cam 750cc inline-four rated at 67 horsepower when new. The car made its way to the U.S. by 1959, when it started upon a sports car racing career that included:

  • 1960 12 Hours of Sebring – DNF (with Victor Lukens)

There were a few class victories sprinkled in during the 1960 season as well. The car was purchased by Ilario Bandini’s nephew in 1998, returned to Italy, and restored. It’s now offered from his collection with an estimate of $450,000-$700,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Davis Divan

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1948 Davis Divan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well it’s about time one of these comes up for public sale. I mean, there were only 13 built and only a dozen survive, but they are popular three-wheeled weirdos. The Davis Motorcar Company of Van Nuys, California, was founded by Glenn Davis and only existed for two years: 1947 and 1948.

Their product was the Divan, which was based on a Frank Kurtis-built custom that Davis purchased after WWII. This is the third Divan built, the first two being prototypes, making it the first “production” example. Power is provided by a Hercules inline-four good for 47 horsepower. Most of the other cars got 63-horsepower Continental fours.

It is a convertible with a removable hardtop. It also featured disc brakes and pop-up headlights. This car spent most of its life in Michigan, being restored in 2011. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $125,000.

Frazer Nash-BMW 327/80

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1939 Frazer Nash-BMW 327/80 Cabriolet

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5-6, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Frazer Nash was the official British importer for BMW cars between 1934 and 1939. The cars were sometimes slightly modified by Frazer Nash before being sold, and they were all sold in the U.K. under the Frazer Nash-BMW marque. BMW’s 327 was built between 1937 and 1941 (and again after the war for a short period).

Frazer Nash only managed to import 19 of them before the outbreak of the war. BMW offered the 327 with the 328‘s more potent 2.0-liter inline-six. It was rated at 80 horsepower, hence the model designation here. In Germany, these were referred to as the 327/28.

This car was restored in 2005 and is one of 12 known to exist. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $184,888.

Bandini 750 Saponetta

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1957 Bandini 750 Sport Internazionale Saponetta

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Ilario Bandini’s little car company was founded in 1946 and was pretty popular in the 1950s, taking SCCA class championships in the middle of the decade. They built a number of models over the years, some as late as the 1990s, and it seems that very few were all that similar.

This particular car features a streamlined body and similar mechanicals to the company’s 750 Siluros. The engine is a 747cc inline-four that made 68 horsepower when new. A total of nine Bandini Saponettas were built. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1957 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Carlo Camisotti and Giovanni Sintoni)

Bandini himself campaigned this car for years thereafter, selling it in the late 1960s. It was restored in the late 1990s/early 2000s and has been used in the Mille Miglia Storica. It now carries an estimate of $675,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $707,815.

Lincoln KB by Dietrich

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1933 Lincoln Model KB Dual Cowl Phaeton by Dietrich

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Before the Continental arrived, Lincoln’s K series of cars was the best thing they offered. The first K arrived in 1931, and 12-cylinder cars followed in ’32. The Model KB was sold in 1932 through 1934. A variety of factory body styles were offered along with standard coachbuilt styles from the likes of LeBaron, Willoughby, Brunn, Judkins, and Dietrich.

This Dietrich-bodied dual cowl phaeton is one of nine produced for the model year, and it’s a pretty car, especially in these colors. When new, the car would’ve cost $4,200. Which was not cheap. The 6.8-liter V12 was rated at 220 horsepower, which put it near the top of American cars of its day.

It’s an older restoration and is a CCCA Full Classic. This one comes from long-term ownership. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Ginetta G55 GT4

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2016 Ginetta G55 GT4 SuperCup

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Ginetta is interesting. They’ve been around since the 1950s and have produced all manner of road and sports racing cars. But even the racing cars, especially the ones back in the day, were either prototype-ish or could double as road cars.

But not this. The G55, which looks like a two-door sports car that has been fitted with a track package, is actually a purpose-built race car. There is no road-car variant. Based on the G50, it was introduced in 2011 and is built to FIA GT3 specs. They also compete in a one-mark racing series, the Ginetta GT Supercup. The GT4 version, shown here, is destined for the Supercup and not GT3 racing.

While this car was built in 2016, it has been updated to 2022 spec. The GT4 version is powered by a 3.7-liter Ford V6 making 355 horsepower. It’s a race-winning car that comes with a spares package. The pre-sale estimate hasn’t been release, but you can read more about it here. Check out more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

March 881

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1988 March-Judd 881

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Hendon, U.K. | March 5-6, 2022

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The March Racing Team was founded in 1969 and appeared on its first F1 grid the following year. They took a few breaks over the years, returning to F1 in 1987 after a four-year absence. For 1988 they had a young new designer on staff. That guy was Adrian Newey, and this was the first Formula One car he designed.

The team was branded as Leyton House March Racing for 1988 (they would race under the Leyton House Racing name in 1990 and 1991 before the March name returned for the team’s final year in ’92). The car features a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter Judd V8. The complete race history for this chassis is not known, but the team’s drivers were Mauricio Gugelmin and Ivan Capelli, the latter of whom is said to have run this car at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1988 where he qualified fourth and DNF’d.

The 881 was kind of a success, scoring a decent number of points and achieving two podiums in 1988. It was also used by the team for the first two races of the ’89 season. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Duesenberg J-142

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, California | March 16-19, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Great colors! In the sea of Model Js that have been featured on this site, sometimes it’s something as simple as a great paint job that will set one of them apart. It also doesn’t hurt that this car wears sporty convertible coupe coachwork by Murphy, the most prolific of Model J body constructors. In all, 60 were fitted with this style by Murphy.

The 6.9-liter Lycoming inline-eight developed 265 horsepower when new. No word if this engine is original to this chassis, but honestly who cares. The car is ACD Club certified, and its first owner is known.

This car previously resided in the Blackhawk Collection and the Imperial Palace Collection. It’s also an AACA and CCCA award winner. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,365,000.

The King of Iraq’s 770K

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1930 Mercedes-Benz 770K Four-Door Three-Position Cabriolet by Voll & Ruhrbeck

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | January/February 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

The first comment on this auction was to the effect of “This is BaT at a completely different level.” And they ain’t kidding. The 770K was not only extremely exclusive when new, but also ultra rare. And they trade hands (at least publicly) very infrequently. The W07, which was the first generation of the 770 range, went on sale in 1930, making this an early example, in terms of timing. It would be replaced by the W150 in 1938.

They were very expensive cars, intended for high-ranking government officials. The (second-generation) 770K is largely remembered for being the choice cars of Nazi officials. But this car was produced before the Nazis were even in power. And it was sold new to the King of Iraq, remaining in his family until the 1950s.

Power is from a supercharged 7.7-liter inline-eight that made 200 horsepower with the supercharger engaged. Mercedes built 205 examples of the 770 in total, with 117 being the first-gen style. This one was bodied by Voll & Ruhrbeck of Berlin as an imposing, intimidating car. Which was probably the desired effect considering the type of people who owned them.

The car has about 10 days left at auction by the time this posts, and bidding was up to $600,000 at the time of this writing. The cheaper of the two 770Ks we’ve featured in the past sold for $2.5 million, with the other one not selling at a bid of $7 million. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $2,555,555.