Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | April 11-12, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Most boutique car companies focus on high-end sports cars. Not Peter Monteverdi’s Swiss shop. In addition to building superfast sports cars, he sold high-end SUVs and extremely lengthy sedans for the world’s elite.
The High Speed line of cars was produced between 1967 and 1976. Most of them were 2-door coupes. There is one surviving convertible. And then there are these, the sedans. Fewer than 30 were built, and after production ceased, the Qatari Royal Family wanted some, so Monteverdi built seven more in the late 1970s. I once saw one of those cars plow into the back of a McLaren MP4-12C. So that was fun.
This car is powered by a 7.2-liter Chrysler V8, which makes a great sound, and the chassis features a 20-inch stretch over the coupe. The wheelbase looks insane, but these are big cars. For royalty. And they never change hands. This one is expected to bring between $225,000-$275,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s in Essen.
Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 26-27, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Anyone with any degree of mechanical knowledge could’ve opened an automobile company before 1910. In this case, J.B. Bartholomew of Peoria, Illinois, made peanut and coffee roasters before building his first car in 1901. In 1903 the Glidemobile went into production, and the name was shortened the following year to just Glide.
The 1910 Glide model range consisted of the Model 45 which was powered by a 45 horsepower 5.8-liter inline-four. Three factory body styles were offered, a three-passenger roadster, the five-passenger Scout touring, and a seven-passenger Special touring. This is the middle car, which cost $2,500 when new.
It is a larger car than the photos would have you believe, and it is one of only a few Glides known to exist. Formerly a part of the Imperial Palace collection, it is the first car we are featuring from the now-closed Tupelo Automobile Museum. It should sell for between $38,000-$53,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Larrousse Formula One was an F1 team founded by Gerard Larrousse and Didier Calmels in 1987. Based in Paris, the team used Lola chassis through 1991 and switched to Venturi-branded chassis for 1992. Their final two seasons, 1993 and 1994, they used cars designed in-house.
This car, LC89 chassis number 03, was a Lola-built car powered by a 3.5-liter Lamborghini V-12 capable of 600 horsepower. The engine was unreliable and 1989 was a disaster for the team, failing to qualify for or finish a majority of the races that year. The race history for this chassis includes:
1989 US Grand Prix – 26th, DNF (with Philippe Alliot)
1989 Canadian Grand Prix – 14th (with Alliot)
1989 French Grand Prix – 11th (with Eric Bernard)
1989 British Grand Prix – 16th (with Bernard)
1989 Hungarian Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with Michele Alboreto)
1989 Belgian Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Alboreto)
1989 Italian Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with Alboreto)
1989 Portuguese Grand Prix – 11th (with Alboreto)
1990 US Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Aguri Suzuki)
1990 Brazilian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Suzuki)
In addition to those races, it also failed to qualify for a few races, including the 1989 Mexican, Spanish, Japanese, and Australian Grands Prix. The car has been on museum duty for quite a while and is missing and ECU and some engine internals. Otherwise, it should sell for between $180,000-$220,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | March 29-30, 2019
1965 Goggomobil TS300 Cabriolet
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Goggomobil was built by Hans Glas GmbH between 1955 and 1969. There were a number of different models offered, with the TS coupe model available in TS250 or TS300 form.
They are powered by a 15 horsepower, 293cc 2-stroke twin. The cabriolet is very rare, with only seven examples produced. This former museum car carries a pre-sale estimate of $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $20,350.
1958 Biscuter 200-1 Furgoneta
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Biscuter was a microcar built by Autonacional of Spain. It is a descendant of Gabriel Voisin‘s post-war Biscooter French microcar. Different models were available, including the Pegasin sports car and this Furgoneta commercial van.
Power here is from a 197cc 2-stroke single-cylinder making a whopping nine horsepower. It’s wearing a wrap, which is an interesting thing to do to a classic car. Not many examples remain, and this one sports some pretty awesome wood work. It should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | March 29-30, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Biscuter was a microcar built by Autonacional of Spain. It is a descendant of Gabriel Voisin‘s post-war Biscooter French microcar. Different models were available, including the Pegasin sports car and this Furgoneta commercial van.
Power here is from a 197cc 2-stroke single-cylinder making a whopping nine horsepower. It’s wearing a wrap, which is an interesting thing to do to a classic car. Not many examples remain, and this one sports some pretty awesome wood work. It should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
The Trumbull Motor Car Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was founded by brothers Alexander and Isaac Trumbull. They bought the rights to a cyclecar designed by Harry J. Stoops and put it into production in Connecticut in 1914.
Power is from an inline-four engine making 14/18 horsepower. Cyclecars gained a bad reputation in the US, so Trumbull found success overseas, selling 3/4 of their cars in Europe and Australia.
Sadly, Isaac Trumbull was aboard the Lusitania when it was torpedoed in 1915 – along with 20 Trumbull cars. After his death, the company was closed. This rare example should bring between $26,000-$33,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
There were a few Columbia-branded automobiles in the early days of motoring, including this car made by the Columbia Automobile Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Columbia was actually founded by Albert Pope, who built a number of other cars. They offered electric and gasoline-powered cars from 1903 through 1911, with a smattering of both available from 1897 and gasonline-only cars until 1913.
This 1908 model was wildly outdated by 1908 standards, carrying a body more appropriate for something from 1901. The Mark LXX Victoria Phaeton body was one of at least four body styles offered on Columbia’s electric motor-powered chassis in 1908.
Costing $1,600 when new, this car currently carries a pre-sale estimate of $39,000-$65,000. It’s a pretty rare example – and it sports white tires, which is always a plus. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 23, 2019
Photo – Osenat
D’Yrsan was a manufacturer of small cyclecars that was founded in 1923 by Raymond Siran de Cavanac. The company built three and four-wheeled light cars and remained in business through 1930. They even entered a car in the 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans. It did not do well.
A 972cc Ruby inline-four is mounted up front and requires a hand-cranked start to get going. The car has chain drive powering the lone rear wheel. The bodywork is interesting, as the driver sits slightly forward of the passenger, and the rear of the car tapers to a nice point. Do not rear end this car, or you will be speared.
This example was sold new by the company’s British importer and was recently restored. Only 530 three-wheeled cars were built by D’Yrsan (and only 50 four-wheelers). This one actually looks really nice and should bring between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 23, 2019
Photo – Osenat
Emile Delahaye founded his car company in 1894 in Tours, France. The car we have here is one of the earliest Delahayes in existence and is believed to be one of the earliest Type 0 examples produced in 1898.
The Type 0 was available from 1898 through 1901, and 250 examples were produced. It is powered by a 1.4-liter single-cylinder engine making somewhere between five and seven horsepower. It was capable of 22 mph.
Only four examples of the Type 0 are known to exist, and this is the only one with this style of bodywork. Remarkably, the original owner is known, as is its history since, which included a long museum stay. That’s exactly what most cars of this era have become: museum pieces. It would be great if the next owner would get it out for vintage road rallies. It should cost between $115,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | March 20, 2019
Photo – H&H Classics
The Bristol 404 and 405 were a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan/2-door convertible, respectively. In 1958, they gave way to this, the 2-door 406 coupe. Naturally, it would be replaced by the 407 in 1961.
The 406 was the final Bristol to use the, by then, antiquated BMW-based 2.2-liter straight-six. While the engine was larger than in previous models, the power output was unchanged at 105 horsepower, which left the Bristol in the dust of most of its competitors. So the company had to make up for it in luxury and engineering. For instance, it was one of the first cars to receive 4-wheel disc brakes.
The 406 is not all that rare by Bristol standards, with a whopping 174 units produced in its short production run. This nice example is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from H&H Classics.
