Tag Archives: classic cars

OSCA 1600 GT

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1961 OSCA 1600 GT Coupe by Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

We’ve featured a few cars from OSCA over the years, seemingly all of them race cars. In addition to their racers, the company (which was originally founded by the Maserati brothers after they abdicated their positions at the company that still bears their name), also built gorgeous little GTs like this.

The 1600 GT was one of a few road-going models built by OSCA. Introduced in 1960, it was constructed in limited quantities through 1963. Because OSCA was primarily a racing car manufacturer, they took the 1600 GT to the track as well. This early example is powered by a 123 horsepower, 1.6-liter straight-four. This was the mid-range (or GTV-spec) engine. There were 105 horsepower and 140 horsepower versions available also.

Recently repainted in beautiful Celeste Chiaro, this is one of two examples bodied by Carrozzeria Touring and is one of just 128 1600 GTs built in total. It is expected to bring between $325,000-$375,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $341,000.

1912 Benz Tourer

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1912 Benz 8/20HP Tourer

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Pacific Grove, California | August 17, 2017

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Do you think that when Karl Benz was born in 1844 he – or anyone else alive at the time – had any idea that he would be building attractive touring automobiles at some point in his life? The Benz 8/20HP was one of the more important models the company produced, as it sold well and helped keep them financially stable, especially considering the model was built between 1912 and 1921 – years interrupted by a particularly intrusive World War.

The 8/20 is powered by a 20 horsepower 2.0-liter straight-four. The body is good-looking and was built in Australia. There is enough brass here to really drive home the fact that it is indeed a Brass Era car. Of course, Benz would merge with Daimler’s Mercedes marque in 1926 to form Mercedes-Benz.

Supposedly, this car was one of three delivered to Australia in 1913 for a cross-continent endurance race. That race never happened (you know, the war and all). One of the cars was wrecked, another is now in the M-B museum in Stuttgart, and one is being sold by Worldwide Auctioneers in a few weeks (yes, this car). The restoration was completed last year and it is expected to bring between $175,000 and $225,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $121,000.

Aston DBR1

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1956 Aston Martin DBR1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

On their home page, RM Sotheby’s describes the DBR1 as “the most important Aston Martin ever built.” Why’s that? Because David Brown bought Aston Martin in 1947 and set his sights on winning Le Mans. With the DBR1, he finally succeeded, putting his little car company in the spotlight and ensuring its survival for decades to come.

This car is not the Le Mans winning car, but the first of five DBR1s built (chassis #2 triumphed at Le Sarthe). This was built in 1956, there was one example in 1957, one in 1958, and two in 1959. If you’re a big fan of Astons, perhaps this car reminds you a little bit, styling-wise, of the DB3S.

This DBR1 is powered by a reproduction 3.0-liter straight-six developing 302 horsepower. The owner had the engine specially constructed for this car so it could be used in historic events without fear of damaging the original 3.0-liter unit (which peaked at 255 horsepower).

The competition history of this factory race car includes the following:

  • 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans – 14th, DNF (with Tony Brooks and Reg Parnell)
  • 1957 1000km Nurburgring – 6th (with Roy Salvadori and Les Leston)
  • 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Salvadori and Leston)
  • 1958 12 Hours of Sebring – 52nd, DNF (with Salvadori and Carroll Shelby)
  • 1958 1000km Nurburgring – DNF (with Salvadori and Shelby)
  • 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Salvadori and Stuart Lewis-Evans)
  • 1959 12 Hours of Sebring – 62nd, DNF (with Salvadori and Shelby)
  • 1959 1000km Nurburgring – 1st (with Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman)

What a race history! Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby, and Stirling Moss all drove this car in period. And it won the 1000km of the Nurburgring (with Moss at the wheel, no less). The current owner, a major Aston Martin collector, has owned this car since 2009. RM hasn’t published estimates at the time of this writing, but it’s possible this one gets tagged with the ubiquitous “Inquire.” Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $22,550,000.

June 2017 Auction Highlights, Pt. III

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First up in the third auction rundown for June’s sales is Brightwells’ Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The top sale was this 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB that brought $110,000.

Photo – Brightwells

The Delage we featured didn’t meet its reserve but the Willys-Knight we featured a few months ago did, bringing $11,645 this time around. Check out more from Brightwells here.

The first of Bonhams’ two annual Goodwood sales was held at the end of June. Only one of our feature cars failed to sell (the Bugatti Brescia) while a previously-featured, post-war Talbot-Lago did sell: for $176,371. The other Bugatti we featured sold for $365,332. Top sale went to this 1957 Porsche 356A Carrera Speedster for $1,193,852.

Photo – Bonhams

The Hotchkiss sold for $212,710 while the 1911 Mercedes brought $467,080. Click here for more results from this sale.

Artcurial was the auction house that held this year’s Monaco sale, which had a rough sell-through rate, with three of our featured cars failing to meet their reserves: the Arrows F1 car, the Ruf CTR, and the Bentley Arnage wagon. The top sale was this 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR that brought $2,009,990.

Photo – Artcurial

The two cars from this sale that we featured that did sell were the Lombardi and the OSI Cabriolet. They brought $27,247 each. To see what else sold (or didn’t), click here.

Historics at Brooklands had their July sale and the AC Buckland we featured failed to sell. The top seller was this 1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary that brought $257,580 – almost three times what these cars were bringing 15 years ago.

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The three other cars we featured from this sale all sold with the Lotus Cortina bringing the most at $56,976. Next was the Jensen GT for $20,194 and the Lambretta Mink one-off prototype brought up the rear with a sale price of $15,866. Click here for complete results from this sale.

Finally, Mecum’s Denver sale, which was actually held in late July. The AMC Rebel Machine we featured brought $50,000 and the overall top seller was this 2016 Ferrari California T Convertible for $165,000. Everything else from this sale can be found here.

Photo – Mecum

Wolfe Touring Car

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1907 Wolfe Four Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

Maurice Wolfe, a car dealer in Minneapolis, lent his name to this automobile, which was produced by the H.E. Wilcox Motor Car Company. The company was founded by Wolfe and brothers John F. and H.E. Wilcox. It built a few hundred cars between 1907 and 1909.

For the first two years of Wolfe production, their cars used a 24 horsepower straight-four engine from Continental. Only Five-Passenger Tourers were offered, though in 1909 you could get a four-passenger Roadster. When new, this car commanded a price of $1,800.

After 1909, the Wolfe became the Wilcox, which lasted through 1911. Maurice Wolfe moved to Indiana and built the Clark and Meteor automobiles. This car is one of about 30 built in 1907 (an additional ~170 cars would be built between 1908 and 1909). Restored in 2010, it is in running condition and is being sold to benefit a cancer research center in Seattle. It should sell for between $50,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $49,500.

Ferrari 330 GT Wagon

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1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Shooting Brake by Vignale

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

I’m beginning to think Gooding & Company has a secret stash of one-off Ferrari wagons. It’s a great concept. Think about it: take a high-revving Italian exotic, add a big greenhouse out back and boom! Now you’ve got a grocery-getter that hauls the mail.

The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 was a grand tourer built between 1964 and 1967. It was far and away the most common of the Ferrari 330 series, with 1,099 produced. But this does not look like the rest of them. It was sold new as a normal 330 GT 2+2 but when it came back to Chinetti Motors in 1967, Chinetti Jr. co-designed this “Shooting Brake” and had it built by Vignale. This is believed to be the final Ferrari bodied by the Carrozzeria.

It’s powered by a 4.0-liter V-12 making 300 horsepower. Chinetti sold the car in the 1970s and it was restored in the 1990s. At one point it was owned by Jamiroquai front man Jay Kay. It’s one-of-one and should bring between $700,000-$900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Los Angeles 2018, $313,000.

Gulf 917K

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1970 Porsche 917K

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well here is the star of the Pebble Beach auctions this year (Gooding & Company actually lists a different car, a Ferrari, as their star… but that car is comparatively boring). It’s a Porsche 917K… one of the most legendary of all racing cars. I believe Gooding & Company teased this very car last year and it was eventually pulled from their show.

Anyway, it’s back. The original 917 debuted at the 1969 Geneva Auto Show. That car was apparently a beast (if Vic Elford tells you your car is unmanageable at speed, it probably needs some refinement). So Porsche refined it, shortened the car a bit, and christened it the 917K. And it was a beast.

It won Le Mans in 1970 and 1971, a few World Manufacturer’s Championships and just about dominated every race it entered. The 917K is powered by a 5.0-liter flat-12 that makes 630 horsepower. This car was originally built as a normal 917 in 1969 but it was more or less destroyed in an accident.

When they were working on the 917K, it is believed that Porsche took the frame from the first 917 built and constructed this car. It was painted white and used by Brian Redman and Mike Hailwood as a Le Mans and Nurburgring test car. Jo Siffert bought it from Porsche in June of 1970.

And it’s what Siffert did with it that is going to require the next owner to shell out nearly $15 million for it: He loaned the car to Steve McQueen when he was shooting the movie Le Mans. This was one of the camera cars used during that shoot. McQueen would have almost certainly driven this car during the production of the film and the car still has camera mounting points on the frame. It was under Siffert’s ownership that this car, 917-024, was painted in the iconic Gulf livery and it used by Siffert in Switzerland on the street on at least one occasion!

After Siffert’s death, this car was eventually purchased by a French collector and it quietly disappeared. In 2001 it was discovered parked in a Parisian warehouse. Someone managed to buy it and they had it restored. And now, one of the most famous of all Porsches, comes up for public sale. The estimate is a steep $13,000,000-$16,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,080,000.

Alfa Tipo 33 TT 12

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1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 18, 2017

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a series of awesome prototype racing cars built by Alfa between 1966 and 1977. We’ve previously featured the Tipo 33/2 and 33/3, which were two of the earlier designs. The TT 12 was the second-to-last version and it was built between 1973 and 1976.

Prior to this car, the Tipo 33s were V-8 powered. For 1973, they opted to install a 3.0-liter flat-12 that puts out 500 horsepower. The “TT” does not stand for “twin turbocharged” but instead references the car’s tubular chassis. This was a factory race car, owned and operated by Autodelta S.p.A. and under their direction, it competed in the following races:

  • 1975 1000km Monza – DNF (with Henri Pescarolo and Derek Bell)
  • 1975 1000km Spa – 1st (with Pescarolo and Bell)
  • 1975 1000km Nurburgring – DNF (with Pescarolo and Bell)
  • 1975 6 Hours of Watkins Glen – 1st (with Pescarolo and Bell)

That’s just a few of the big races it competed in, as it ended up winning at least one more. For 1976, Alfa replaced the 33 TT 12s with the next generation car and this example was parked. In 1980, Autodelta dealt this car to a collector in California who has owned it since. It’s shown up at the Monterey Historics six times over the years and you can take it there next year. Only six of these were built and this one should bring between $2,400,000-$2,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

The First DB4GT

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1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Asrton Martin DB4, DB5, and DB6 are the best looking of all the classic Astons (though I will forever maintain that the DB7 is the best looking period, especially the convertible). The DB4 was built between 1958 and 1963 until the DB5 took its place.

Among the most sought-after DB4s were the DB4GTs. These were lightweight, short-wheelbase, near-racing spec cars. Nineteen of them sported bodies by Zagato. One of them received a Jet Age body from Bertone. In all, 75 DB4GTs were built – but this is the first.

The GT came with an upgraded engine, a 302 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-six to be exact. Top speed was 151 mph – pretty stout for something pre-1960. The story of this car is that program manager John Wyer took an early DB4 chassis, shortened it, and wrapped it in aluminium to save weight. They tested it at Le Mans and actually entered in the 1959 race. Here’s how it fared:

  • 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans – 52nd (of 53), DNF (with Hubert Patthey and Renaud Calderari)

So maybe that race entrance was a little premature. After Le Mans, Aston converted this car to road spec and pushed it into service as a press car. The first real owner came in 1961 and it turned out to be a relative of the Royal family. The current owner acquired the car in 1986 and had the factory restore it in 1989. Between their original acquisition and now, the car was at one point owned by actor Rowan Atkinson.

At the time of writing, RM has not yet published an estimate for this car. It won’t come cheap, and rightly so. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $6,765,000.

L’Uovo

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1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export by Fontana

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This early Ferrari is certainly a unique design. Check out how short that windshield is. Driving it has to feel as if you are just strapping yourself to an engine and hanging on for dear life. It sort of has a proto-pontoon fender look to it, but it all curves inward at the passenger compartment before the bobbed rear end. It’s aggressive, racy, and screams “competition Ferrari.”

This car was purchased new by the Marzotto brothers in Italy in 1950. It has serious competition history in period, including:

  • 1950 Targa Florio – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto)
  • 1950 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto and Franco Cristaldi)
  • 1951 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara)
  • 1952 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Guido Mancini and Adriano Ercolani)

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t super successful in it’s day, but it still ran at the biggest races in the world. After the 1950 racing season the car was rebuilt by Carrozzeria Fontana, with the body you see here having been constructed at that time. Dubbed “L’uovo,” or the egg, it was designed to be aerodynamic and light.

After the 1952 season, the original 166 MM engine was replaced by an engine from Ferrari’s newer 212 Export model, which would mean that it carries a 2.6-liter V-12, which makes 175 horsepower (though this is unclear from the catalog description). In 1953 the car made it’s way into Californian ownership. In 1986, an Italian buyer brought the car home from the U.S. and had it restored. Displayed infrequently, the car has competed in the modern Mille Miglia a few times in the last 20 years.

This one-off, big money Ferrari will go under the hammer next month. For more information, check out RM Sotheby’s site here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $4,500,000.