Tag Archives: classic cars

Jet Electrica 007

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1982 Jet Electrica 007

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

No one may look back at the Dodge Omni and think “sporty,” but that didn’t stop Chrysler from trying when they introduced the Omni 024 3-door hatchback in 1979. Built through 1982, the car and its Plymouth counterpart, the Horizon TC3, were supposed to be an early-80s sports hatch. There was even a De Tomaso trim level.

Meanwhile, during the energy crisis, the U.S. Department of Energy started handing out money to companies that said they would develop and sell electric cars. Jet Industries, primarily known for their snowmobiles (even though they were based in Texas), actually ended up producing about 3,000 “Electrica 007s,” which were just altered Omni 024s.

The Chrysler engine was replaced with a 23 horsepower direct-current electric motor. The hatchback area was full of batteries, and the car could hit 70 mph and attain 60 miles of range (though not at the same time). This would’ve been the perfect Back to the Future car. Only 50 are known to exist, and this one should bring between $5,000-$10,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,320.

Duesenberg J-547

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1934 Duesenberg Model J Prince of Wales Berline by Rollston

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

A car museum closing is never a good thing as it deprives people to see great automobiles they would otherwise never have a chance to see. But, sometimes it’s kind of nice to see some long-term vehicles put back into circulation.

This Duesenberg has been in this collection since 1996. It has known ownership history since 1950 and was partially restored many decades ago. Power is from a 6.9-liter straight-eight making 265 horsepower.

It retains its original one-off Rollston body, its chassis, and engine. One of the centerpieces of its current collection, it should bring between $500,000-$600,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $450,500.

March 2019 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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We pick up in March at Mecum’s Phoenix sale. They took to the desert a few months after everyone else and managed to move this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T/ Hemi Convertible for $1,430,000.

Photo – Mecum

The 1910 Kenmore we featured sold for $23,100, while previously-featured sales consisted of this Delage which also sold for $23,100, the Ford EX concept truck at $99,000, and the #2 overall seller, this Duesenberg Rollston Sedan. No-sales included the Chrysler ST Special and the Apollo 3500 GT. Click here for complete results.

Next up we have a sale from Aguttes in Paris. The Salmson we featured didn’t sell (perhaps it was the scandalous model name), though this swoopy 1935 Fiat 508 CS Balilla Aerodinamica managed to squeeze $225,620 out of someone in the audience. Final results can be found here.

Photo – Aguttes

Onward now to H&H Classics’ sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. The Bristol 406 we featured sold for $44,045, and the 1939 Imperial brought $14,681. The top sale was $579,934 for this barn find-condition 1936 Bentley 4.5-Litre Vanden Plas Tourer. More results are located here.

Photo – H&H Classics

Now we hop back across the channel for Osenat’s March sale, where the top overall sellers were two of our feature cars: the Gardner-Serpollet at $282,946 and the early Delahaye at $175,157. We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1951 Simca 8 Sport that could’ve been yours for $33,684.

The D’Yrsan three-wheeler sold for $58,610. Complete results can be found here.

We wrap up in Ft. Lauderdale with RM Sotheby’s where this 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $3,080,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Our feature cars all found new homes, with the Stutz Blackhawk leading the way at $55,000. The Lotus Esprit was next, selling for $50,600, and both the Biscuter and Goggomobil microcars sold, at $4,675 and $20,350 respectively.

Feature cars from auctions past included this Packard Clipper station wagon that sold for $56,100 and this Mochet microcar for $7,590. Click here for final results.

Two Old Cars from Bonhams

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1921 Wasp Model 211 Rickshaw Victoria

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Karl Martin was at first an oil man, then a coachbuilder, and then, in 1919 when he ended up in Bennington, Vermont, an automobile manufacturer. The Martin Wasp Corporation built cars from 1920 through 1924. Not very long. The catalog has this listed as a “Martin Wasp” but the cars were sold under the “Wasp” name.

They were powered by relatively ordinary 72 horsepower, 5.8-liter Wisconsin inline-fours (and later sixes), but the styling was quite unique. These were long, low cars that wore touring coachwork Martin described as “rickshaw phaetons.” Douglas Fairbanks bought one as a gift for his wife, Mary Pickford.

The cars were very expensive – this one would’ve cost $5,000 when new. Only 14 four-cylinder – and three six-cylinder – cars were built. The one you see here was actually assembled in the 1940s from leftover unused new parts that Martin retained after the factory had closed. Still, with only two other “real” Wasps in existence, it is pretty special. It should bring between $30,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $51,520.

1931 Detroit Electric Model 99 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Electric cars have always had this weird “science fair project” look about them. Even from the beginning. Part of it is because of packaging – they have different things they have to carry, necessitating different designs. Part of it is function – modern cars are trying to show they are eco-friendly with weird hubcaps, etc.

But this looks like a Ford Model A coupe. Or, as it was bodied by Fisher, a period Chevrolet. You would have no idea it was powered by a 15 horsepower DC electric motor if it didn’t say “electric” in the name.

It was part of the Harrah collection for many years and remains in original condition. The company only built 131 cars in 1931, and this is the only survivor. It may be the “newest” Detroit Electric in existence, as production petered out pretty dramatically after 1932. It should bring between $30,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $67,200.

Paterson Touring

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1910 Paterson Model 30 Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Born in Canada, William A. Paterson moved to Flint, Michigan in 1869 to build carriages. In 1908 he built a prototype automobile, and by 1910, cars were his only line of business. There were a lot of car companies in America in the 1910s. Some were big and are still around today. Some were small and only lasted a few years. And then were companies like Paterson who fell right in the middle: they built a fair number of cars and lasted, as Paterson did, for a solid 15-ish years (until 1923, in this case).

The 1910 Paterson model range consisted of the Model 30, the company’s first four-cylinder car. It is a 30 horsepower, 3.3-liter inline-four. Three body styles were offered, each costing $1,400. Only 450 cars were built in 1910.

This car was once owned by the director of Dumbo and was then acquired by the Harrah collection. The Tupelo museum bought it from a Harrah’s dispersal sale in 1986. It should now sell for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $43,680.

Voisin C23

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1930 Voisin C23 Conduite Interieure

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | April 11-12, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The C23 was a model produced by Avions Voisin between 1931 and 1936. In all, 335 examples were built, which was a pretty successful number for Voisin. Despite their extraordinary appearance, only 15 are thought to have survived.

This car is powered by a 3.0-liter sleeve-valve inline-six that made around 80 horsepower. The body was Voisin-designed and built, with its very cube-like center section. Go to RM’s site and check out the photos – the car looks downright menacing from the straight-on front view. Also worth of note is the interior, which is trimmed in a pretty wild pattern, like many other Voisins.

This car has known history dating back to 1985, and it was restored between 2005 and 2008. It is being offered from a Swiss collection and is estimated to bring between $340,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Germany.

Update: Sold $310,103.

Wendler-Bodied MB 320

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1937 Mercedes-Benz 320 Cabriolet by Wendler

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | April 11, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are two very interesting things about this car. First, quite obviously, are its looks, as it resembles nothing else Mercedes has ever built. Second is that the looks are very 1950s and the chassis is very 1930s. That’s because it was bodied in the early-1950s by Wendler, the company most famous for building the bodies for the Porsche 550.

The Mercedes W142 was also called the Mercedes Type 320, and it was produced between 1937 and 1942. In all, 7,017 examples were built in a wide variety of body styles. Power is from a 3.2-liter inline-six making 77 horsepower.

The post-war body features three headlights, which is certainly unusual. You could drive this car rather anonymously through a Mercedes-Benz festival and no one would be the wiser. That’s what I love about it – it is uniquely coachbuilt and removes all brand pretense from the equation. Believed to be one of four “Ponton” cabriolets built by Wendler, it is a one-off and should bring between $125,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Duesenberg Model X

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1927 Duesenberg Model X Dual Cowl Phaeton by Locke

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Louis, Missouri | May 4-5, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

After the Duesenberg Model A had been on sale for six years, the Duesenberg brothers introduced a new, sportier model: the Model X. Shortly after its announcement, E.L. Cord swooped in and bought the company, ushering the new Model J into production and cancelling the Model X. Only 13 were built before Model J production took over.

It is powered by a 5.3-liter straight-eight capable of 100 horsepower, and the car itself was not just a slightly modified Model A. It was a mostly new car. This particular example carries a dual cowl phaeton body from Locke – the only remaining such example of four built.

With known ownership history from new – and a lengthy stay in the Harrah Collection – this is certainly a car to watch. Especially considering only four or five of these still exist. The current restoration was actually performed by Harrah’s team and is over 50 years old. The last Model X to change hands was this car – in 1996. They make acquiring a Model J seem like a rather ordinary endeavor. Click here for more info and here for more from this great sale.

Update: Sold $527,500.

Bristol 403

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1953 Bristol 403

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

We are slowly filling in the gaps of the Bristol model history. We’ve previously covered models 400, 401, and 402. And here we have the 403. Largely an evolution of early cars, it was built between 1953 and 1955. Only 287 were made (or 281, depending on who you ask).

Like earlier cars, and a few following it, the 403’s powerplant is based on a pre-war BMW six-cylinder engine, specifically a 2.0-liter straight-six. Horsepower now cracked three figures for the first time, at 100. It could also do over 100 mph.

Other improvements included work on the suspension and brakes, to add some credibility to the “sport” part of the “sports saloon” they advertised it as being. This is a rare two-door post-war British sports sedan that should command between $62,000 and $66,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

1907 Adams

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1907 Adams 10HP Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

The auction catalog for this car lists it as an American car, which it isn’t. Arthur Adams teamed up with Edward Hewitt to build the Adams-Hewitt in Bedford, England from 1905 through 1907 when Hewitt left the company. Cars built thereafter until 1914 were known as just “Adams.”

This small two-seater is powered by a 1.7-liter single-cylinder engine pushing out all of 10 horsepower. It was discovered in Turkey, of all places, and brought back to the UK and restored for museum duty. Only a handful of these cars remain.

Bizarrely, Mr. Adams died aboard the Lusitania (not the Titanic as mentioned in the catalog), much like the founder of the Trumbull cyclecar that is being sold from this same collection. It’s either a weird coincidence, or this collector has, um, very morbid tastes. Look for a price between $20,000-$26,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $22,547.