Tag Archives: classic cars

Aurelia B52 by Vignale

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1952 Lancia Aurelia B52 2000 Coupe by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Villa Erba, Italy | May 27, 2017

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

What time period do you define as the “golden age” of coachbuilding? Is it the 1930s? If so, I would be inclined to agree, but at the same time, I’d be doing a great disservice to the 1950s because there were some really fantastic coachbuilt cars built during that decade. The Lancia Aurelia alone had some great designs.

The Aurelia was Lancia’s luxury car (which was also available as a coupe and convertible in addition to the standard sedan) between 1950 and 1958. It featured the first production V-6 engine and this car carries a 2.0-liter V-6 making 90 horsepower. It rides on a B52 chassis, which was the slightly lengthened B21 chassis that Lancia offered to coachbuilders.

This one went to Vignale and it was fitted with this body that resembled nothing else that Lancia built. The company only sold 98 B52 Aurelias between 1952 and 1953 (with 86 of those being from ’52). It’s a cool car that will stand out anywhere it goes. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $313,152.

April 2017 Auction Highlights

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We’ll kick off April with Auctions America’s Ft. Lauderdale sale. The top seller was this 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for $1,200,000.

Photo – Auctions America

Both Lamborghinis we featured failed to sell, the Diablo and Jalpa. Oh, and the Suzuki Cappuccino we featured was withdrawn from the sale. Check out complete results here.

On to Mecum in Houston. This 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback was the top sale at $325,000.

Photo – Mecum

The Oakland we featured sold for $30,000 and the Stutz seemed like a bargain at $35,000. Click here for more results.

Early April is when Barrett-Jackson holds their annual Palm Beach sale. We only featured one car: a Torino Talladega that sold for $41,800. The top sale was this 2006 Ford GTX1 that brought $401,500. Click here for the rest of the results.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Next up, Brightwells and the first of their two April sales. The top sale at this one was this 1923 Vauxhall OD 23-60 Kington Tourer that went for $80,730.

Photo – Brightwells

Both of our feature cars sold, with the Riley bringing more at $47,196. The McEvoy Special came in at $28,566. A previously-featured Aster sold for $32,292. Click here for everything else.

Finally, Worldwide Auctioneers held their Texas Classic Auction. We featured a beautifully original 1912 Cadillac that sold for $36,300. The top sale was this 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for $1,111,000. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Talbot M67 Sedan

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1930 Talbot M67 11CV Sedan

Offered by Osenat | Obenheim, France | May 1, 2017

Photo – Osenat

The Talbot marque has one of the messiest histories of any automobile brand in history. There were British and French Talbots and they manufactured cars simultaneously. And there were numerous prefixes and suffixes attached to the name. What we have here is a French Talbot, from the brand that sold cars from 1922 (prior to this they were sold as Darracq-Talbots) through 1936 (after which they were badged as Talbot-Lagos).

Yeesh. Anyway, the M67 was built between 1927 and 1930. It was a relatively nice car in its day and is powered by a 2.0-liter straight-six making 38 horsepower. Different body styles were offered, but this car wears a fairly standard sedan body.

The restoration on this particular example is about 10 years old but this is the same body, engine, and chassis combination from when it was new. It kind of reminds me of a taxi, based on its livery (which is the color it was when new) – but it isn’t. It’s a driver and should bring between $21,700-$32,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,263.

Update II: Not sold, Osenat Strasbourg 2018.

Gangloff-bodied Lorraine-Dietrich

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1929 Lorraine-Dietrich Type B 3/6 Sport by Gangloff

Offered by Osenat | Obenheim, France | May 1, 2017

Photo – Osenat

Lorraine-Dietrich just sounds fancy, doesn’t it? This automotive marque began in 1896, founded by their namesake, a railway locomotive manufacturer. Cars were available through 1935, manufactured at two different plants in France. At one point, a young Ettore Bugatti worked there, designing engines.

They built racing cars (they won Le Mans with this model) as well as luxurious tourers like the one you see here. The Type B 3/6 is powered by a 115 horsepower 3.4-liter straight-six.

This car was bought new in Geneva and bodied by Gangloff in Bern. It was restored in 1993 – after nearly 50 years of sitting. The current owner acquired it in 2011 and has used it extensively. It is one of 65 Sport models built but only 15 remain – with this one being the only Cabriolet. It should bring between $543,000-$760,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

The Qantas Flyer

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1916 Talbot 4CY 15/20

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

In 1916, Talbot had yet to be taken over by Darracq (which would happen in 1918). In fact, production pretty much wound up by 1916 because of WWI and wouldn’t really restart until 1919, making this car among the last built before their wartime hiatus.

While it may have been one of the last built, it was at the same time a first: this car was the first automobile ever purchased by Qantas, the Australian airline. The 4CY is powered by a 2.6-liter straight-four making 38 horsepower. That’s enough to get it to 55 mph. Qantas’ purpose for this vehicle was that it was to be used as a recovery vehicle for downed aircraft, making jaunts into the Outback in order to rescue crew.

This car was discovered in the 1990s at one of Qantas’ “original sites.” It was restored in 2001 by its new Scottish owner and given a new body in the style of a “balloon car” – one that was used to rescue stranded hot air balloonists instead of airline crew. Since then, it’s covered nearly 10,000 miles in rallies and historic motoring events. It should sell for between $42,500-$52,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Roamer Roadster

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1916 Roamer Six Roadster

Offered by Osenat | Obenheim, France | May 1, 2017

Photo – Osenat

Roamer has an interesting backstory. The New York distributor of the Rauch & Lang electric car (Cloyd Kenworthy) wanted a gasoline car to sell because electrics weren’t as popular as they had once been. He teamed up with a designer (Karl Martin) and Albert Barley, the owner of the Halladay marque. They called their new car “Roamer,” named after a popular race horse. On a related note, “Seabiscuit” is not a great name for a car.

Roamers went on sale in 1916 – making this a launch-year model (though I can’t find a record of a two-door Roadster being available that year). It’s powered by a 23 horsepower, 5.0-liter Continental straight-six. It’s looks are sportier than its actual performance. Some people referred to them as the “Poor Man’s Rolls-Royce.” They certainly looked the part, but were just a lot cheaper. I like Roamers – they are very Gatsby-esque.

This car has done a lot of travelling, as it was delivered new to Australia, later imported to Uruguay, and then to Italy. Not to mention it was built in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The final Roamers were sold in 1930 and they aren’t particularly well-remembered today, though their designs have held up well. This one should bring between $58,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

1928 Willys-Knight

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1928 Willys-Knight Model 70A Saloon

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | May 17, 2017

Photo – Brightwells

Willys-Knight was a sub-brand of the Willys-Overland company. John North Willys’ little empire started when he purchased Overland in 1907. Many marques followed and his legacy lives on today in the form of Jeep. The Willys-Knight was available from 1914 through 1933.

As was the case with every “-Knight” suffixed automobile marque, the Willys-Knight is powered by a Knight sleeve-valve engine. In this case, it’s a 3.0-liter straight-six making 53 horsepower. The Model 70 was introduced in 1926 and could be had through 1930. Seven body styles were offered in 1928 with this, the sedan, being the most expensive, costing $1,495 when new.

This example was sold new in the U.K. and has remained there its entire life. The current owner acquired it in 2011 and has used it regularly. The body is fabric, which looks very nice and it sports four-wheel brakes. It’s a driver and should bring between $16,275-$18,775. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, Brightwells Bicester June 2017, $11,645.

V8 Vantage Zagato

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1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 13, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

In the mid-to-late 1980s (and through the early 1990s), Aston Martin was just barely getting by. Like, they were producing cars by the handful before Ford got involved. Take this for instance, the V8 Vantage Zagato, which was built between 1986 and 1990 and resulted in just 89 cars completed.

Aston Martin and Zagato have a long history together and this car reignited the flame. The “V8 Vantage” nameplate has been a popular model name over the years and this V8 Vantage was based on the aging Aston Martin V8 that dated back to 1969. It shares the same, old (Bonhams calls it “proven”) 5.3-liter V-8 spec’d to 432 horsepower, which was pretty serious for 1987. It was quick, too: 60 mph arrived in 4.8 seconds.

Only 52 coupes were built and they were expensive, costing $156,600 when new. But because they came out at the height of the supercar craze, prices skyrocketed and a few years after their introduction they were selling for nearly half a million dollars. This one should bring between $370,000-$500,000. Aston built a further 37 convertibles which are even more sought after. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Alvis TE 21

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1964 Alvis TE 21 Drophead Coupe by Park Ward

Offered by Historics at Brooklands | May 20, 2017

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

The TE 21 was the penultimate Alvis motorcar ever built. Introduced in 1963, the TE 21 would be offered as a coupe or convertible (er, Drophead Coupe) through 1966. Production on the next model, the TF 21, would wind up in 1967 and Alvis pretty much just became a defense contractor after that.

The TE 21 is powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six making 130 horsepower. These luxurious two-doors were sporty as well, with a top speed of about 110 mph. The body was based on a design by Graber of Switzerland but was massaged and built by Mulliner Park Ward of London. It’s a very attractive car.

This early example was ordered off the 1964 London Motor Show stand and was used regularly through 1975 when it was parked. Rediscovered in 2008 by its current owner, this car was extensively restored and shows beautifully. Showing just over 40,000 miles, this is one of just 352 TE 21s built – and less than 100 of those were drop tops. It should bring between $93,000-$105,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $203,761.

Sbarro SB2 Tornado

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2005 Sbarro SB2 Tornado

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | April 29, 2017

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Franco Sbarro founded the car company that bears his name in 1971. Over the years they’ve alternated between building replicas of other cars and wild designs of their own. This car definitely falls under the latter category.

In 2004, Sbarro showed a car called the SB1 – a two-seat roadster based on a Ferrari 550 Maranello. The next year they showed this, the SB2 Tornado, again based on the 550 Maranello. In fact, it still has Ferrari badging around the car, though the catalog lists it as a “1994,” which was long before 550 production began.

It’s powered by the Ferrari 5.5-liter V-12 making 485 horsepower. This is the only example built and I have to say, it’s really not that bad looking. It looks sporty, racy, and like something Ferrari might have built themselves as a concept car. No estimate is available but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.