Tag Archives: classic cars

Continental Mark II

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1956 Continental Mark II

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 5-7, 2018

Photo – Mecum

Here is one of the loveliest American cars of all time. When it was released in 1956, it was the most expensive car sold in America. In 1956 the base price was $10,400 – the same as a Rolls-Royce and double the price of a Cadillac. And this was no Lincoln. Ford knew they were making a special car and created the Continental Division to produce this car under a separate marque.

It was so opulent that it only lasted two years, through 1957. It’s powered by a 285 horsepower, 6.0-liter V-8 (the ’57s got 300 horsepower). While Mark IIs look best in white (opinion) I really love this 1950s pastel blue with wide whitewalls. The interior is the same shade of blue, mixed with white.

In beautiful condition, this Mark II was once owned by socialite Lolita Armour. It’s one of just 2,550 examples built in 1956 and one of only 2,996 built in total. They’re rare, but they’re around. Click here for more info on this one and here for more from Mecum in Houston.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $42,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Indy 2018, high bid of $35,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Harrisburg 2018, high bid of $40,000.

March 2018 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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We’re back with more from Amelia Island, this time with RM Sotheby’s. One of the Duesenberg’s we featured failed to sell, but the other one, a Hibbard & Darin-bodied example brought $995,000. Speaking of Hibbard & Darin, this previously-featured Hispano-Suiza failed to find a new home at Amelia Island this year. The top sale was $2,205,000 paid for this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

We featured a trio of Porsches from this sale, all 1993 911s. The RS 3.8 brought the biggest money: $1,655,00 followed by the RSR racing version of the same car for $1,270,000. And the RS America sold for a comparatively paltry $190,400.

On the British side, the Arnolt-Bristol sold for $401,000 and the Healey Westland $218,400. You can see all of the results from this sale here.

Motostalgia was the fourth sale at Amelia Island this year. The overall top sale was this 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren that brought $260,000.

Photo – Motostalgia

A Chevy Beauville Wagon we featured a few weeks ago sold again here for $19,800. Click here for more results.

We move next to Mecum in Kansas City where it finally happened: a Demon was the top sale. In this case it was this poorly-photographed 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (with crate!) for $130,900.

Photo – Mecum

The Tesla Roadster we featured sold for $55,000 and you can see the rest of the results here.

The first of Bonhams’ Goodwood sales was held in March. The top seller was this 1967 Aston Martin DB6 for $259,671.

Photo – Bonhams

The Attila race car we featured failed to meet its reserve, but the Amilcar sold for $95,756 and the Cannon GT brought $31,256. Click here for complete results.

And finally, a sale from Brightwells, which consisted of a bunch of cars from that giant collection Jaguar Land Rover bought a few years ago and didn’t want (because they were too ordinary or just didn’t have space for 450 cars). We featured three unusual British cars: a Rover Estoura ($13,578), Vauxhaull Velox Friary ($12,729), and a Princess 2200 ($3,111). The top sale was this 2002 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG that brought $29,136. Click here for more results.

Photo – Brightwells

1923 Léon Bollée

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1923 Léon Bollée Type M Roadster

Offered by Leclere MDV | Avignon, France | March 25, 2018

Photo – Leclere MDV

The Bollée name is a very important one in the history of French automobiles. Amédée Bollée built some of the earliest steam cars beginning in 1873. Léon, his son, began building gasoline-powered cars in 1893. His Voiturettes are some of the best pre-1900 vehicles built.

And those are what people usually think of when they hear the name Bollée. But his company actually lived on for a few more decades (Léon died in 1913). In fact, in 1924, the company was purchased by Morris Motors of the U.K. as a way for Morris to break into the French market. It went just okay and production ended in 1928 and the French company closed in 1931.

This four-cylinder Type M is a four-door, five-passenger Roadster. If the entire car was restored (the interior definitely has been) it was done long ago, as the paint is showing its age. But where are you going to find another one? In the last decade, give or take, this is the first post-WWI Léon Bollée car that I can recall seeing (actually, it’s the first post-1900 Léon Bollée car that I can recall seeing). It should bring between $30,750-$37,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

La Buire Coupe

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1910 La Buire Type 8000

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 24, 2018

Photo – Osenat

La Buire was founded in 1847 to produce chassis for rail cars. In 1900, the company joined forces with Léon Serpollet and turned to automobiles. Their first car was presented in 1904 and the marque lasted through 1930.

This “Type 8000” is a coupe with house-like windows and a very carriage-like appearance. It’s powered by a four-cylinder engine, likely displacing 3.2-liters and rated at 12 horsepower. It was the the company’s small car for 1910.

It’s an older French car with a very nice interior. It’s definitely the most interesting-looking example of a La Buire I’ve come across in the past decade. It should bring between $25,000-$37,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $64,754.

Three Cars from the Jaguar Land Rover Collection

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Three Cars from the Jaguar Land Rover Collection

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018

1974 Rover P6 3500 Estoura

Photo – Brightwells

Jaguar Land Rover bought the entire 453 car James Hull collection in 2014. Many of those cars were Jaguars, but they had a bunch of other oddballs and are selling a good number of them. We’ll show you three, starting with this Rover P6 Estoura.

The Rover P6 3500 was produced between 1968 and 1977. They’re powered by a 3.5-liter V-8 making 146 horsepower. The cars were four-door sedans and if you wanted a wagon, you had to go to an outside company. Enter FLM Panelcraft, who turned 150 P6 3500 sedans into Estoura estates. It is said that this is one of the finest of this model in existence and you can read more here.

Update: Sold $13,578.

1960 Vauxhall Velox Friary Estate

Photo – Brightwells

This looks like Britain’s idea of a big American wagon. Which it kind of is as it was built by Vauxhall, then a division of General Motors. Well, actually GM didn’t build it as the Velox PA, which was produced between 1957 and 1962, was only offered from the factory as a four-door sedan.

But estate cars were popular and if the factory wouldn’t build them, someone else would. In this case, it was Friary of Basingstoke and the result is beautiful, in a 1960s wagon kind of way. This car is powered by a 2.3-liter straight-six making 83 horsepower. This example was restored at some point.

The Queen had one – and now you can too. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $12,729

1977 Princess 2200 HL

Photo – Brightwells

Brightwells dubbed this sale “affordable classics” and that’s exactly what we have here. Princess was a marque produced by British Leyland from 1975 to 1981 (and for an extra year in New Zealand). It was not an Austin, nor a Morris (though it was produced by the Austin-Morris Division) but was a separate brand entirely.

This is a first generation Princess (of two) and it sports the larger of the two engines offered during its 1975-1978 model run. It’s a 2.2-liter straight-six making 110 horsepower. Two trims were offered, with this being the lesser of them. It’s a super 1970s car if you want a throwback to what is largely considered a sad era for British motorcars. But Princess-branded cars are getting harder to find. Click here for more info on this one.

Update: Sold $3,111.

Rover P6 Estoura

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1974 Rover P6 3500 Estoura

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

Jaguar Land Rover bought the entire 453 car James Hull collection in 2014. Many of those cars were Jaguars, but they had a bunch of other oddballs and are selling a good number of them. We’ll show you three, starting with this Rover P6 Estoura.

The Rover P6 3500 was produced between 1968 and 1977. They’re powered by a 3.5-liter V-8 making 146 horsepower. The cars were four-door sedans and if you wanted a wagon, you had to go to an outside company. Enter FLM Panelcraft, who turned 150 P6 3500 sedans into Estoura estates. It is said that this is one of the finest of this model in existence and you can read more here.

Update: Sold $13,578.

Vauxhall Velox Estate

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1960 Vauxhall Velox Friary Estate

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

This looks like Britain’s idea of a big American wagon. Which it kind of is as it was built by Vauxhall, then a division of General Motors. Well, actually GM didn’t build it as the Velox PA, which was produced between 1957 and 1962, was only offered from the factory as a four-door sedan.

But estate cars were popular and if the factory wouldn’t build them, someone else would. In this case, it was Friary of Basingstoke and the result is beautiful, in a 1960s wagon kind of way. This car is powered by a 2.3-liter straight-six making 83 horsepower. This example was restored at some point.

The Queen had one – and now you can too. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $12,729

Princess 2200

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1977 Princess 2200 HL

Offered by Brightwells | Bicester, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – Brightwells

Brightwells dubbed this sale “affordable classics” and that’s exactly what we have here. Princess was a marque produced by British Leyland from 1975 to 1981 (and for an extra year in New Zealand). It was not an Austin, nor a Morris (though it was produced by the Austin-Morris Division) but was a separate brand entirely.

This is a first generation Princess (of two) and it sports the larger of the two engines offered during its 1975-1978 model run. It’s a 2.2-liter straight-six making 110 horsepower. Two trims were offered, with this being the lesser of them. It’s a super 1970s car if you want a throwback to what is largely considered a sad era for British motorcars. But Princess-branded cars are getting harder to find. Click here for more info on this one.

Update: Sold $3,111.

Amilcar CGSS

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1927 Amilcar CGSS Voiturette

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | March 18, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

Amilcar was a French automobile brand that built cars between 1921 and 1939. They were good – as you can see – at building sporty little roadsters. Toward the end of their existence, they also offered a forward-thinking model aimed for more mass-market consumption. But financial difficulties and the war prevented it from being a success.

Ah, but the CGS Type S (or CGSS). It’s a fantastic example of pre-war French sportiness. It may not have the desirability or pedigree of a Bugatti, but these are awfully sharp looking cars, aren’t they? The CGS was introduced in 1923 and the CGSS, which was lower and more powerful, was produced between 1926 and 1929. It’s powered by a 40 horsepower 1.1-liter straight-four.

This car came to the U.S. in the 1990s and was professionally restored between 2002 and 2005. It returned to Europe in 2012 and hasn’t been used much since. The color scheme here is fantastic and the car looks great. Only about 4,700 examples of the CGS and CGSS were built. This one should sell for between $55,000-$82,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Goodwood lineup.

Update: Sold $95,756.

LaFayette Coupe

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1924 LaFayette Model 134 Coupe

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – H&H Classics

LaFayette has an interesting history. Founded secretly by Charles Nash and staffed with ex-Cadillac designers and engineers, the first LaFayettes hit the market in 1921. It was a full-on luxury car aimed squarely at Cadillac. At first, it was a completely separate endeavor from Nash Motors.

After a slow start, LaFayette was reorganized and moved from Indianapolis to Milwaukee with Nash Motors as the largest shareholder, effectively making it a Nash subsidiary at last in 1923. Later that year Nash introduced the Ajax at the low end of the market and LaFayette became part of that division.

This car is powered by a 5.7-liter V-8 good for 100 horsepower. Seven body styles were offered in 1924, which was the final year for production as Nash sort of gave up on the venture. This four-door coupe (that’s right, LaFayette was almost 100 years ahead of the times) was a four-passenger car. The only two-passenger LaFayette was the Roadster. When new, this car cost a not-insignificant $6,300. Only 2,267 LaFayette motorcars were produced (with just 441 of those being produced in 1924) making this extremely rare. This car, which is selling in England, sports a claimed $200,000 restoration and is expected to bring between $35,000-$48,000. If you want to make a quick buck, buy this for even the upper end of that estimate, ship it to the U.S. and take it to auction at Hershey. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $63,614.