Tag Archives: classic cars

XK140 by Ghia

Posted on by
Reply

1956 Jaguar XK140 SE Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The XK140 was the second in Jaguar’s line of post-war “XK” sports cars. It was sold between 1954 and 1957 and was offered from the factory as a two-door coupe, two-seat roadster, or two-seat drophead coupe. The factory coupe did not look like this.

There were a handful of coachbuilt XK140s, including potentially three in this style. In SE spec, power is provided by 3.4-liter inline-six with double SU carburetors and a “C-type” cylinder head that resulted in an output of 210 horsepower.

This car was ordered new by a Californian and another owner there before being purchased in 1967 by Ricardo Montalban. By the 1990s, it was in Japan, where it was restored to as you see it here. The car now has an estimate of $500,000-$650,000. Click here for more info.

British-Market Mercedes-Benz S-Type

Posted on by
Reply

1928 Mercedes-Benz 36/220 S-Type Four-Seat Sports Tourer by Sindelfingen

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

The Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180 S-Type was produced between 1927 and 1928, with just 146 examples completed. It was a sporty car available in a variety of body styles, with the Sindelfingen-built sports four-seater being the only “factory” body style. We’ve featured one of these before.

But what makes this car different is that it is a right-hand-drive example built for the British market. And they measured things a bit differently there, so the “26/120/180” name was dropped in favor of “36/220,” which represents the RAC horsepower rating (36) and the brake horsepower output with the supercharger engaged on the 6.8-liter inline-six (220). Well, Mercedes rated it at 120 horsepower in standard tune, and 180 with the supercharger.

This car has a pretty well confirmed line of ownership back to new and has been with its current owner since 1991. It now has an estimate of $2,000,000-$3,200,000. More info can be found here.

Velie Touring

Posted on by
Reply

1910 Velie Model D-40 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

Passenger cars and tractors have an intertwined history, especially during the dawn of the automotive industry. Velie was founded as a wagon maker in 1902 – kind of late to the game on that one. Just six years later they were ready for cars. So what’s the tie in with tractors? Well, company founder Will Velie was a grandson of John Deere himself.

Early cars were sold through John Deere dealerships, including this 1910 model. Velie offered three models in 1910, with the Model D being the touring car. It’s powered by a 40-horsepower Lycoming inline-four.

All 1910 models cost $1,800 new – which was not inexpensive. The company produced quite a few cars through 1929, but somehow this is the first we’ve managed to feature. Despite closing up shop in 1929, Velie was not a victim of the Depression but rather a victim of its two main company leaders dying within a few months of each other.

You can read more about this one here.

Pan Touring

Posted on by
Reply

1919 Pan Model 250 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

The Pan Motor Company of St. Cloud, Minnesota, was founded in early 1917 by Samuel Conner Pandolfo. He started selling stock in the company to local businessmen and had a sweet deal for himself about the amount of cash he would take from the sale of stock.

Well, after 10 prototypes had been built in Indianapolis with Continental engines, the Pan factory in St. Cloud started construction. But before series production could begin, Pandolfo was indicted after some FTC complaints sprouted up against him. He ended up getting 10 years in prison after siphoning $7.5 million off from the $9.5 million in stock he sold to 70,000 people.

After he went to prison, they actually did start to build some cars. About 737 were completed before the company went bankrupt in 1921, and this one is powered by an inline-four that was built in-house. It has been in the same collection for over 75 years, and you can see more about it here.

Amilcar M2

Posted on by
Reply

1929 Amilcar M2

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau | July 2024

Photo – Osenat

I think it’s fair to say that, when most car people hear “Amilcar“, they think of sporty voiturettes from the late 1920s. But the company, during its 18 or so years of existence, they did build slightly more pedestrian vehicles. Even before they introduced the ahead-of-its-time unibody Compound.

The “M” series of cars was around for a while, from 1928 through 1935. The first three, the M, M2, and M3 saw power from a 1.2-liter inline-four. Output was rated at 27 horsepower. What body style did you want? A boxy four-door sedan? Good. Because that was the only option.

This is the type of model that kept the lights on so they could keep building sports cars. Or that was the theory anyway. They didn’t sell enough to really make it work. Only about 2,650 M2s were built between 1928 and 1931. And it appears this one may be a bit of a project, but it’s a rare one. The estimate is $11,000-$16,000. More info can be found here.

Hotchkiss Gregoire

Posted on by
Reply

1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | July 2024

Photo – Osenat

Jean-Albert Gregoire was a French car designer responsible for the likes of the Amilcar Compound and Panhard Dyna. He was a big proponent of a front-wheel-drive layout, and in 1947, he debuted a car called the Gregoire R at the Paris Motor Show. Lacking backing to build it himself, he partnered with Hotchkiss to put it into production.

But, like the Amilcar Compound, people just weren’t read for this. It had a lightweight chassis that made use of aluminum, a front-mounted 2.2-liter flat-four that made 75-80 horsepower, front-wheel drive, and independent suspension.

Launched in 1950, the Gregoire would only be produced for a short time – until 1953, with just 247 examples completed, 235 of those being four-door sedans. Hotchkiss tried a last-ditch effort with coupes, cabriolets, and coachbuilt models, but it wasn’t enough. Passenger car production ceased completely for the company in 1955.

This example was restored in the 2000s and has an estimate of $21,000-$27,000. Click here for more info.

Mercedes 10/40/65 Sports

Posted on by
Reply

1924 Mercedes 10/40/65PS Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Mercedes didn’t team up with Benz until 1926. But before that, Emil Jellink’s Mercedes produced some fine cars. Finer than most Benzes. Mercedes launched the 10/40hp in 1921 and would update it to the 10/40/65hp in 1924, the model’s final year of production.

Power is provided by a 2.6-liter inline-four that was rated at 65 horsepower with the supercharger engaged. This car was sold new in Germany and remained in Romania from essentially new until 1989, with about 30 years of that on museum duty.

It was 1989 that it came back to Germany and then the U.S., where it was restored in 1991. It was originally bodied as a cabriolet and now wears “SSK-lite” sports bodywork. It has an estimate of $100,000-$180,000. Read more here.

Bayard Tonneau

Posted on by
Reply

1904 Bayard AC2K Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by H&H Classics, Duxford, U.K. | June 2024

Photo – H&H Classics

We have covered the story of Adolphe Clement-Bayard here before. Many times. Probably too often. But let’s just say he was involved with a lot of early car companies, including Clement, Gladiator, Clement-Bayard, and Clement-Panhard… and by extension, Diatto, Talbot, and more. He set up Clement-Bayard in 1903, and it would last until 1922.

In the early days, some of the cars left the factory under the Bayard-Clement name, and based on the badging on this car, some may left just under the name Bayard (Adolphe didn’t change his name to Clement-Bayard until later). It’s powered by a 1.6-liter twin that could propel the car to 30 mph.

The car is a London-to-Brighton veteran now has an estimate of $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

Cadillac Model T

Posted on by
Reply

1908 Cadillac Model T

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | June 2020

Photo – H&H Auctions

Probably not the Model T you were thinking of, but I guess it’s hard to really corner the market on model names when everyone is just using letters. Cadillac’s 1908 lineup consisted of the Models G, H, M, S, and T, the latter three of which were all single-cylinder cars. The T was a one-year-only model.

It differed from the Model S in that the T coupe didn’t have running boards. It was essentially a carried-over version of the 1907 Model M. Three body styles were offered: a touring, a victoria, and a coupe.

This touring car would’ve cost $1,000 when new. It’s powered by a 1.6-liter single-cylinder engine that was rated at 10 horsepower. S and T production combined for 1,482 units in 1908, and they are rarely seen today. This non-running example has been parked for the better part of 40 years and is now selling at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Lancia Astura by Pinin Farina

Posted on by
Reply

1939 Lancia Astura Series IV Convertible by Pinin Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | June 2024

Photo – Bonhams

The Astura was one of two V8-powered cars Lancia sold during the 1930s, outlasting the Dilambda by an extra four years. It was produced from 1931 through 1939 across four series. This is a Series IV car, which were around from 1937 through the end of production.

Just 423 examples of the Series IV were built, each with power from a 3.0-liter V8 that made 82 horsepower. All 423 were long-wheelbase cars, and they also featured hydraulic brakes. These were coachbuilt cars, and this one was completed two weeks before the start of WWII and is an early example of Pinin Farina coachwork.

The rumor is that the car was owned by Mussolini at some point. It was later owned by Bernie Ecclestone. So… draw your own comparisons. It was restored in 2020 and has an estimate of $310,000-$450,000. Click here for more info.