Tag Archives: classic cars

1913 Mercedes Phaeton

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1913 Mercedes 28/60HP Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 24, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Daimler built some pretty impressive Mercedes-branded automobiles in the pre-Benz years. The 1913 28/60 was a development of the 28/50, which was introduced in 1910. Production of the 28/60 would continue until 1920 and power comes from a 60 horsepower, 7.2-liter straight-four.

This car has been in the same family for the last 40 years and was restored in 2008. It’s been actively toured, a testament to the usability of early Mercedes cars, despite their sometimes immense size. It’s well-outfitted in period accessories and should bring between $800,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Carmel.

Update: Not sold.

Duesenberg JN-575

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1936 Duesenberg Model JN LWB Tourster

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Pacific Grove, California | August 23, 2018

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Here’s yet another Duesenberg on offer during the week of car activities in and around Monterey. What this is is a “JN” – a term never used by Duesenberg themselves. The Model J was introduced in 1929. It was expensive. Obviously, that didn’t go so well once the Depression set in and Duesenberg had surplus chassis lying around for years. So in 1935 they decided to freshen the look a little bit. They put on smaller wheels, lowered the body, and fitted different fenders, taillights, and trim. Every one had Rollston coachwork.

This one does not have Rollston coachwork any longer. It still features the same 265 horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight under the hood that all of the other Model Js started with. But the body is different. And here’s why: when it was sold in 1969, it’s new owner, commissioned a restoration. The body was separated from the chassis and the building the Rollston body was stored in burned down.

In the early 1970s, this Derham-style Tourster was constructed on the original chassis with the original engine and mechanicals intact. Since that restoration and re-body, the car has been maintained but never again restored. It shows well and is one of 10 Model JNs built by the factory. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $775,500.

Update: Sold, Worldwide Auctioneers Scottsdale 2019, $605,000.

Update: Not sold, Gooding & Company Scottsdale 2020.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Auburn 2020, $632,500.

Coachbuilt 911 Convertible

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1966 Porsche 911 Spyder by Bertone

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 25, 2018

Photo – Gooding & Company

The first Porsche 911 went on sale in 1964, replacing the 356 series of cars. Upon introduction, only a two-door coupe was offered. A removable-top Targa joined the lineup in 1966 and the first 911 convertible didn’t arrive on the scene until 1982. So what was a well-heeled Porsche fanatic to do in the 60s?

Let’s start by not forgetting that Karmann came up with a 911 Cabriolet Prototype in 1964. So then, in 1966, a Southern California Porsche dealer wanted an open-top 911 for his customers and commissioned Bertone to build one. They started with a bare 911 chassis, which did not include the “S” 160 horsepower, 2.0-liter flat-six that the car carries today. Back then it had a stock 130 horse variant.

Rear-engined convertibles tend to seem a little bulky at the back and it’s funny that Gooding & Company draws parallels to the Fiat 850 Spider, which is the exact car I see when I look at this. The final result here is quite nice and nothing about it says “Porsche.” It looks Italian. The current owner acquired this car in 1993 and it’s been on static display for quite some time, so it will require a little attention to make roadworthy. It should bring between $700,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Sold $1,430,000.

Duesenberg J-262

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 23-25, 2018

Photo – Mecum

The Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California, was the most prolific of all Duesenberg Model J coachbuilders. They built more bodies for these cars than any other company. In fact, they built 31 Convertible Sedans alone, which is what this car is.

Finished in black with a black top over a beautiful tan interior, this Model J – like all Model Js – is powered by a 6.9-liter straight-eight engine capable of 265 horsepower. It’s got a 3-speed transmission that would easily pull this car to speeds over 100 mph.

This was a late-add to Mecum’s Monterey sale and it is coming from the Academy of Art University Automobile Museum in San Francisco. They are thinning their collection a bit, and somebody is going to be lucky enough to walk off with this Duesey. Restored in 1991, it is expected to bring between $1,000,000-$1,250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,155,000.

July 2018 Auction Highlights

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Our July auction highlights begin with Bonhams sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We featured two Brough Superior road cars that both sold, with the 3½-Litre Saloon bringing $42,367 and the one-off V-12 $68,091. The overall top seller was this 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato for a whopping $13,264,951. The “regular” DB4GT we featured failed to sell.

Photo – Bonhams

The Marendaz Special also failed to meet its reserve. The other two cars we featured both turned out to be million dollar sales with the Blower Bentley bringing $2,654,569 and the Bugatti Super Sport hammering sold for slightly more at $2,691,410. Click here for complete results.

Osenat held a sale of a private collection and this 1963 Citroen ID 19 Cabriolet was the top sale at $62,172. Click here for more results.

Photo – Osenat

On to H&H Classics’ Pavilion Gardens sale where the Bond Equipe we featured was no match for the top sale, selling for $4,577. That top sale? $98,938 paid for a dusty 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe.

Photo – H&H Classics

The Beauford and McLaughlin both failed to sell. You can find more results here.

Now it’s time for Silverstone Auctions’ Silverstone Classic Race Car Sale. The top sale, which was one of just a handful of cars to find new owners, was this 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk I for $73,884. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

And finally, into August, Worldwide Auctioneers liquidated Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum in Shipshewana, Indiana. The top sale was the 1952 “Fabulous Hudson Hornet” NASCAR race car that sold for $1,265,000. The next big-dollar feature car was the Hudson Town Car. It brought $313,500. We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1936 Terraplane Series 61 Panel Delivery that sold for $115,500.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

The Dover Mail Truck achieved $55,000 and the Essex Touring Car brought $26,400. More results can be found here.

Duesenberg J-475

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1931 Duesenberg Model J SWB Sport Convertible Sedan by Derham

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Pacific Grove, California | August 23, 2018

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

I’ve said many times before that the Model J is one of the best cars ever built. Want proof? Look at auction catalogs surrounding big auction weekends (like Monterey/Pebble Beach) and what is the one, classic American car that every auction house has? A Model J. They don’t all have Pierce-Arrows, they don’t all have Cadillac V-16s. But they all have a Model J. Or two. This year Worldwide Auctioneers has two. Gooding & Company has two. Mecum has two. They all come out of the woodwork this time of year.

This Model J has engine number 475 and that engine is a 6.9-liter straight-eight developing a mighty 265 horsepower. It’s a four-door Convertible Sedan but it’s also on the “short” Model J wheelbase (still a massive 11, almost 12, feet). Derham built five examples of their Sport Convertible Sedan, and this is one of three that remain.

This car has known ownership history from new and the current owner acquired J-475 in 1974 as what was essentially a project car. It was restored during the mid-1980s and has been on museum duty for the last two years. It’s been serviced and freshened since and can now be yours. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,320,000.

375 America

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1954 Ferrari 375 America Coupe by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 24-25, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The first America model from Ferrari went on sale in 1950. Ferrari stuffed their largest V-12 engines into these big (for the day) GT cars. Many of them were coachbuilt. And very few were built. The third model in this line was the 375 America, built in 1953 and 1954 only.

A 4.5-liter V-12 provided power. Rated at 296 horsepower, it could propel the car to 160 mph. This particular car was bodied by Vignale and is finished in burgundy with a silver greenhouse, the original colors it came with.

It was purchased new by an American and spent many years in the U.S., making up part of the Blackhawk Collection at one point. It found itself in the Netherlands for a while, again coming stateside in 2009 before being refinished in its original paint scheme. Only 12 examples of the 375 America were built and this is the first up to come up for sale since 2011. It’s a big money Ferrari and you can find out more about it here. Click here for more from RM Sotheby’s.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s, Arizona 2021, $2,557,000.

Duesenberg J-488

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Derham

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 25, 2018

Photo – Gooding & Company

This black Model J is one of five such units produced by the Derham Body Company of Philadelphia. Derham traced their roots back to Joseph Derham’s 1887 carriage factory and later produced bodies for the likes of Stutz, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, Duesenberg, and more.

This is a Duesenberg Model J – one of the greatest cars ever built. This particular car is supercharged, and thus is a retroactive “Model SJ.” But the supercharger isn’t original. When supercharged, the 6.9-liter straight-eight makes 320 horsepower. This car began life as a factory demonstrator and was later owned by Jean Harlow’s 1930s husband as well as Buster Keaton’s son, James Talmadge.

At some point early in this car’s life, parts of the engine were exchanged with the factory-supercharged J-208. When the current owner acquired the car in 1977, he set about making it whole again. He located J-208 and swapped the parts back, making both cars better for it. He later sourced a supercharger, taking J-488 back to how it would’ve been set up in the late-1930s.

And now here it is, wonderfully restored and correct – on sale for the first time in 41 years. It should bring between $1,750,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Patriarca 750 Berlina

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1949 Fiat-Patriarca 750 Berlina Sport by Faina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 24-25, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

With its almost-Porsche-like looks, this Patriarca 750 Berlina is one of many specials built on the backs of small Fiat road cars. Post War Italy didn’t have an economy to support a lot of fancy car sales, so companies like Fiat focused on small, affordable cars for the masses.

But that doesn’t mean Italians still didn’t love motorsport. So people like Rodolfo Patriarca and Carlo Abarth took to modifying these cars for sport. This car was based on a Fiat 500C and has an 81 horsepower, 750cc straight-four tuned for racing by Giannini.

Built by Patriarca for gentleman driver Sesto Leonardi, the competition history for this car includes:

  • 1950 Targa Florio – 3rd in class
  • 1950 Mille Miglia – 1st in class

It continued to race through 1953, with at least one more appearance at the Mille Miglia. It’s wonderfully restored and eligible for many historic events. You can read more here and see more from RM here.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 250 GTO

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1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 24-25, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This, of course, is an example of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO – the most sought-after car in the world, or at least according to its price. Bonhams set a record during the Pebble Beach weekend in 2014 selling another ’62 GTO for just over $38 million. So why feature another one of these grand touring cars? Well, because this one wears a different body.

The 250 GTO – or Gran Turismo Omologata – were homologated race cars built by Ferrari between 1962 and 1964. Only 36 were made and they’re powered by a 3.0-liter Colombo V-12 rated at 296 horsepower. This one has blue seats, which look pretty cool.

Most of the GTOs looked like this, including this car when new. For 1964, the final run of three cars were bodied with “Series II” coachwork. Four earlier, Series I cars, including this one, were rebodied in the more streamlined design. In fact, this was just the third 250 GTO constructed so it lived a solid two years with its first body before heading back to Scaglietti to match the 1964 cars. It is one of two with an extended roof like the 250 LM.

The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1962 Targa Florio – test car for Phil Hill and Mauro Forghieri
  • 1963 Italian 3-Litre GT Championship – 1st (with Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi)
  • 1963 Targa Florio – 4th, 1st in class (with Gianni Bulgari and Maurizio Grana)
  • 1964 Targa Florio – 5th, 1st in class (with Corrado Ferlaino and Luigi Taramazzo)

Acquired by Greg Whitten (of Microsoft fame) in 2000, this 250 GTO is being offered for public sale. Obviously, no estimate is given, and RM Sotheby’s is requiring you to be vetted to even bid on this car. I guess you can’t have some schmo bidding $40 million on something when their net worth tops out in the seven-digit range. Anyway, it’ll sure be interesting to see what it brings – if it sells. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $48,405,000.