Tag Archives: classic cars

Bristol 408

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1963 Bristol 408

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | November 28, 2018

Photo – H&H Classics

The Bristol 408 was a model offered by Bristol Cars between 1963 and 1966. It came after the 407 and, guess what, before the 409. It was mechanically identical to the 407, but featured significant exterior design changes.

The engine is a 5.1-liter Chrysler V8, supposedly making 250 horsepower. Top speed is said to be about 122 mph. The company only churned out 83 examples, which is sort of the average output for a model from this small company. This example has been repainted but is otherwise original. It should bring between $45,000 and $58,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $43,071.

Two Bristols

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1963 Bristol 408

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | November 28, 2018

Photo – H&H Classics

The Bristol 408 was a model offered by Bristol Cars between 1963 and 1966. It came after the 407 and, guess what, before the 409. It was mechanically identical to the 407, but featured significant exterior design changes.

The engine is a 5.1-liter Chrysler V8, supposedly making 250 horsepower. Top speed is said to be about 122 mph. The company only churned out 83 examples, which is sort of the average output for a model from this small company. This example has been repainted but is otherwise original. It should bring between $45,000 and $58,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $43,071.

1968 Bristol 410

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 28, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

This is a Bristol 410. It looks an awful lot like the Bristol 408 (and the 409 in between). So what’s different about this car? Well, it’s a little more aerodynamic and not quite as upright. It still used the same Chrysler V8 that dated back to the Bristol 407.

In this case, the engine displaced 5.2-liters but still puts out 250 horsepower. The increased aerodynamic efficiency resulted in the slightly higher top speed of 130 mph. Only 82 examples of the 410 were produced, and this one should bring between $36,000-$41,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet

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1930 Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet by Veth & Zoon

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2018

Photo – Mecum

“Convertibles are cool and I want to be cool but I don’t want to be outside,” said someone who ordered a Faux Cabriolet body for a Bugatti. This is a Type 46, one of the most “common” and often-seen Bugatti models. It was built between 1929 and 1936.

Power comes from a 5.4-liter straight-eight that made 140 horsepower. A rare supercharged version, the Type 46S, was offered beginning in 1930. This car carries coachwork from Dutch coachbuilders Veth & Zoon. In all, about 444 examples of the Type 46 were built.

This car was delivered new to the Netherlands, thus the locally-built body. It was restored in the 2000s and looks amazing, if understated, from the outside. I almost made the lead image a shot of the engine, because it’s a work of art. Mecum estimates this car is worth somewhere between $1,150,000-$1,250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,012,000.

Talbot-Lago T120 by Brandone

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1938 Talbot-Lago T120 Roadster by Brandone

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 15-17, 2018

Photo – Mecum

As the name would suggest, the Talbot-Lago T120 was the baby brother of the marque’s legendary T150. Just because it wasn’t as large, expensive, or powerful, doesn’t mean they didn’t have the ability to be just as beautiful.

The T120 is powered by a 90 horsepower, 3.0-liter straight-six and was introduced in 1934. This car carries bodywork from Carrosserie Brandone and it is believed to be the only such body fitted to a T120 chassis.

It has known history back to the 1960s when it was discovered in storage in Saint-Tropez. It was restored decades ago and has been a part of the Academy of Art University Collection for some time. It is expected to sell for between $1,050,000-$1,150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Vegas.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $900,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2019, $650,000.

Duesenberg J-402

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2018

Photo – Mecum

When the Model J Duesenberg was introduced in 1929 it caused quite a splash. I wonder what it must have been like to see one on the show stand and say “I want one” only to realize that the company would only sell you an engine and chassis for the price of a good-sized house.

You were responsible for taking it somewhere to have a body fitted. This car originally carried a Rollston Town Car body. By the 1950s that had been replaced with a Brunn Convertible Victoria. Whoever restored it in the 1970s built this La Grande-style Dual Cowl Phaeton. So this is not original coachwork, but it looks quite nice in lavender and lilac.

Power is from a 6.9-liter straight-eight making 265 horsepower. It was the king of the road and has a 150 mph speedometer. That speed might sound crazy for a road car designed in the 1920s, but it wasn’t too far from the truth. This is yet another classic coming from the Academy of Art University collection. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Sold $770,000.

Black High-Wheeler

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1908 Black Surrey

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 15-17, 2018

Photo – Mecum

The Black Manufacturing Company of Chicago had a short but interesting life. Their first cars went on sale in 1908 and they were all high-wheelers. But they sold them under two different brands. There was the budget-minded Chicago Motor Buggy and the slightly nicer but still built-for-rough-conditions Black. The Chicago Motor Buggy was only available in 1908 and 1909.

The 1908 Black lineup consisted of four models, three of which were Surreys. There was the Type 18, Type 118, and Type 20. I have no idea which version this is, but I do know the engine should be a 20 horsepower, 2-cylinder and it would’ve cost somewhere between $575 and $650.

The Black would be available through 1910, but the company also sold a more traditional car under the Black Crow marque in 1909 and 1910. It was a licensed version of the Crow-Elkhart. The high-wheeler example above has only been owned by two families since new and is a pretty rare early American automobile. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,700.

Delahaye 235 by Antem

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1952 Delahaye 235 Cabriolet by Antem

Offered by Aguttes | Lyon, France | November 10, 2018

Photo – Aguttes

When you think “coachbuilt” Delahaye, images of windswept cars from the 1930s or 1940s are probably what you imagine. But the company actually survived into the 1950s – 1954 to be exact when rival Hotchkiss acquired them and phased out the name.

Shortly before that, however, Delahaye introduced the 235. It was built between 1951 and 1954 and it actually looked like a modern car (for comparison, check out this 1951 Delahaye legacy model that just looks live an evolution of the earlier coachbuilt stuff). Anyway, the 235 is powered by a 3.6-liter straight-six that made 152 horsepower. Top speed was over 100 mph, and the factory cars carried bodies from Chapron.

Only 85 examples of the 235 were built (they were expensive). Antem bodied 14 of them. Only one was a convertible, this one. It should sell for somewhere in the neighborhood of $230,000-$355,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Paris 2020, $227,058.

The Gullwing Alfa Romeo

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1976 Alfa Romeo Giulia 2000 GT Veloce Gullwing Coupe

Offered by Aguttes | Lyon, France | November 10, 2018

Photo – Aguttes

The original 4-door Alfa Romeo Giulia went on sale in 1962 and spawned the Series 105/115 Coupes that followed in 1963. There were quite a few variants of the 2-door Giulia. This car began life as a 2000 GT Veloce, a model offered between 1971 and 1976.

Such cars were powered by a 2.0-liter Twin Cam straight-four that made 130 horsepower. They’re great-looking cars, as were most Alfa 2-doors from this era. One thing they didn’t offer from the factory though: gullwing doors.

Some enterprising German decided to build such a car, because, why not? After all, Mercedes-Benz did it 20 years before, so how hard could it be? The car was fully restored and finished in brown. The new doors look seamless – as if this was how the car was born. It’s funky. We love it. It’s a unique one-off creation that is expected to bring between $55,000-$90,000 at auction. Click here for more from Aguttes.

Update: Sold $121,467.

Chenard et Walcker Y7 Grand Sport

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1929 Chenard et Walcker 1500 Type Y7 Grand Sport Torpedo

Offered by Osenat | Chassieu, France | November 11, 2018

Photo – Osenat

Cars built by the company founded by Ernest Chenard and Henri Walcker always appear to be quite heavy, as if carved from a single block of lead. Or maybe I just get that impression because of their association with the so-called Tanks they built.

The company has some racing heritage, winning the first 24 Hours of Le Mans. So there is some sporting pedigree, adding a degree of legitimacy to calling this Torpedo-bodied automobile a sports car. It’s no lightweight French cyclecar. This thing was meant to move. Power is from a 1.5-liter straight-four and top speed is about 83 mph.

This example has known history back to the 1960s and was on museum duty until the early-1990s. It was restored in the last five years and is thought to be one of three known Torpedo-bodied examples. It should sell for between $115,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ligier JS2

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1974 Ligier JS2

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | November 4, 2018

Photo – Artcurial

Guy Ligier was a semi-professional rugby player and later raced at Le Mans and in Formula One. Who said racing drivers aren’t athletes? Not only did he race some cars, but he also built them too! Equipe Ligier was an F1 team between 1976 to 1996. They also built cars for Le Mans, and sports cars and microcars for the street.

The JS2 was a mid-engined sports car built between 1972 and 1975. The company’s first road car, the JS2 is powered by a 3.0-liter Maserati Merak V6 that made 191 horsepower. Smaller V6s from the Citroen SM were used on earlier cars.

Production figures vary widely depending on where you look. Numbers as high as 250 are quoted, and Artcurial says that only about 40 of the 81 built still exist. The fact that it entered production at all was enough that Ligier was allowed to race the JS2, which was the whole point of building a road car anyway. This example was acquired by the owner in 2009 after being parked for almost 15 years. Mechanically renewed, this car is expected to bring between $80,000-$105,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $91,897.