Tag Archives: classic cars

Flanders Touring

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1912 Flanders Model 20 Touring

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | May 7, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Walter Flanders was one third of the automobile company E-M-F (along with Bernard Everitt and William Metzger). Studebaker acquired E-M-F in 1910 (and phased it out in 1913). So Flanders set up shop producing a car under his name. This too was part of Studebaker and it was gone after 1912.

Interestingly enough, Flanders started another company after this one. It lasted only a brief time because Flanders himself went to help Benjamin Briscoe and his United States Motor Company. Walter Flanders started killing off weak brands (including Flanders). Only Maxwell survived that fiasco.

This is a 1912 Model 20 (the final year for the model and marque). It is powered by a 20 horsepower straight-four. The Touring model cost $800 when new and 31,512 Model 20 cars were built over three years. This one presents nicely and should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: $6,600.

205 Turbo 16 Evo 1

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1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evolution 1 Group B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 14, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Peugeot 205 was a small car sold by the French company all over the world between 1983 and 1998. Versions of is became some of the best Hot Hatches of the era. It just so happened that during this car’s production run, the insane rally category – Group B – was thriving.

Between 1982 and 1987, Group B cars were the most over-the-top rally cars ever built. Peugeot entered the fray in 1984 and Group B regulations required homologation road cars. The hatchback road cars were front-engine, front-wheel drive – but the rally cars (and their road-going counterparts) are mid-engined and four-wheel drive. That engine is a 1.8-liter turbocharged straight-four making 345 horsepower. It’s a beast.

This was a works rally car, and as such, it’s competition history includes:

  • 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo – 1st (with Ari Vatanen)
  • 1985 Swedish Rally – 1st (with Vatanen)

After the ’85 season (which included more races than those listed above), the car was sold to a collector in France. It has been recently serviced and is the perfect car for anyone with an insane amount of driving skill. Or you know, a collector. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Overland Sport Touring

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1919 Overland Model 90 Sport Touring

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | May 7, 2016

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Did you know? Auctions America says that Overland was America’s #2 automobile marque between the years of 1912 and 1918. Yes, during some of those years there was a major war, but it still counts.

Overland was founded in 1903 by Claude Cox and he sold the company to John North Willys in 1912. It was then called Willys-Overland, but the standalone “Overland” marque continued until 1926 (and re-appeared for a year in 1939, which was kind of a fluke because it sort of just morphed into Willys).

The 1919 Model 90 was offered as a Sedan and a Roadster – and this car wears a sporty Touring trim. The engine  is a 32 horsepower straight-four and the car looks nice. It’s being offered out of a museum, so it hasn’t been abused – but it may not have been used in a while. It should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,975.

Rockne Sedan

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1932 Rockne Model 65 Four-Door Sedan

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | May 7, 2016

1932 Rockne Model 65 Four-Door Sedan

Photo – Auctions America

When one thinks of Studebaker, they don’t necessarily recall that Studebaker launched multiple sub-brands during its lifetime. Rockne was one such brand. It was introduced in 1932 – shortly after giving legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne a job as “Promotional Manager” (both Studebaker and Notre Dame hail from South Bend, Indiana). Rockne died in a plane crash in 1931, less than two weeks after accepting his new position.

The Rockne was marketed as an inexpensive but solid budget car. Two models were available at launch with this, the Model 65, being the entry-level model. It is powered by a 66 horsepower 3.1-liter straight-six. There were five body styles offered on the Model 65, with the Four-Door Sedan being mid-range, price-wise, costing $635 when new.

This is an ex-museum car and is very nice. Only 23,201 Rocknes were ever built, as the brand was shuttered before the halfway point of 1933. It’s a rare piece of American motoring history and should bring between $12,000 and $16,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $9,625.

540K Cabriolet B

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1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet B by Sindelfingen

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Houston, Texas | April 23, 2016

Photo - Worldwide Auctioneers

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

I feel like we’ve been featuring a lot of Mercedes-Benz 500K/540Ks recently – and we have – but the reason is that these are some of Mercedes’ finest cars and, while we tend not to feature the same car twice, there were a lot of different styles offered. This is the Cabriolet B. There was also an A and a C, among others.

Powered by a 5.4-liter straight-eight, the 540K makes 115 horsepower and, when the supercharger is engaged (i.e. the gas pedal is pushed to the floor), 180. The Cabriolet B was the most popular body style of all 500K/540K production with 296 built (there were 419 540Ks built in total).

The restoration on this car was completed in 1981 but it has aged so well that it has continued to win awards up through the 2000s. It was even shown at Pebble Beach in 2013. It is expected to bring between $900,000-$1,300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $836,000.

The Original Z06

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1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 20, 2016

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

This car has a lot going for it. First of all, it’s a ’63 Corvette Coupe, meaning it carries the signature “split window” rear glass –  a one-year-only feature. Then we have the fact that it is a Z06. The modern Z06 was introduced in 2001 and is the Track Attack variant of the ‘Vette. But this was the first model to carry that letter and number combo.

In 1962, Zora Arkus-Duntov wanted to build a performance Corvette for sale after the factory ban on racing went into effect. So they created “RPO Z06” – a high-performance package that could be ordered. It included beefier brakes and suspension and could only be had with the 5.4-liter V-8 making 360 horsepower. It wasn’t cheap, adding over 40% of the base price onto the cost of the car.

Only 199 of them were built in 1963. This one features a nut and bolt restoration and is an award winner. It’s about a $250,000 car. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $210,000.

Ghia 1500 GT

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1965 Ghia 1500 GT

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 9, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Carrozzeria Ghia is primarily known for their custom bodies that they apply to other people’s cars. There’s a little more history about that coming in a future post, but I’ll keep it short and say that Ghia built a few models of their own in the 1960s. This, the 1500 GT, is one of them.

This 1500 GT is powered by a Fiat 1.5-liter straight-four with power ratings varying based on whom you ask, but it was probably somewhere around 73 horsepower. Top speed was over 100 mph and it is said that this is a fantastic sounding car for having such a tiny motor.

The cars were only built between 1963 and 1966 and about 300 were made. It was bought by an American soldier in 1967 and it returned stateside with him in 1970. It went to Canada in 1987 but just sat there. The current owner, who acquired it much more recently, restored it. It should bring between $72,500 and $106,000. Click here for more info and here for more info.

Update: Sold $71,900.

Tornado Typhoon

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1960 Tornado Typhoon

For sale at The Gallery Brummen | Brummen, The Netherlands

Photo - The Gallery Brummen

Photo – The Gallery Brummen

Tornado Cars Ltd was a British manufacturer of sports cars and kits founded in 1957 by Bill Woodhouse and Tony Bullen. Based in Hertfordshire, the company offered a variety of models and went out of business in 1964.

What we have here is a Typhoon, the first model the company sold. It was built from 1957 through 1962. It could be had already assembled or as a kit that fit to a pre-War Ford. The body is fiberglass and the engine (which could’ve been anything) in this case is a 1.2-liter straight-four out of a Ford.

Although meteorologically a little confusing, this Tornado Typhoon is in amazing shape and has been completely restored. Only about 300 Typhoons were sold and it’s a car you rarely ever see (you rarely see anything from Tornado to begin with, much less this model). It is for sale in the Netherlands for $53,857. Click here for more info.

1983 GAZ Chaika

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1983 GAZ Chaika M14

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | April 9, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The GAZ Chaika was a Soviet luxury car built in two series between 1959 and 1988. The first series somewhat resembled an American sedan from the 1950s. This, the second series (which was built between 1977 and 1988) doesn’t really resemble anything sold in America. This wasn’t the top of the line Russian car of the day – for that, you had to step up to the ZIL Limousine.

This car is powered by a 5.5-liter V-8 making 220 horsepower. It’s a limousine and should seat six. They were generally only available to government officials, and this particular car was purchased straight from the Lithuanian government.

They only built about 100 of these per year with final production output reaching 1,114. There’s a number of them still around, but Mikhail Gorbachev had the blueprints and tooling destroyed, which is nice. This is being sold without reserve. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $18,380.

Monteverdi Sierra Sedan

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1978 Monteverdi Sierra

For sale at The Gallery Brummen | Brummen, Netherlands

Photo - The Gallery Brummen

Photo – The Gallery Brummen

Peter Monteverdi’s Swiss car company built cars between 1967 and 1984. They built all kinds of things: SUVs, sedans, coupes, supercars… you name it. This, the Sierra, was available between 1977 and 1982. Strangely, it was based on the fairly-lame Plymouth Volare but had pretty features thanks to Carrozzeria Fissore.

The engine is a 5.2-liter V-8 making 160 horsepower. Three body styles were offered: sedan, cabriolet, and station wagon (this, the sedan, was the one actually sold to the public). No one is quite sure just how many were built, but it is believed to be between 20 and 50.

This car is in great shape and if you’re a collector of American cars or European cars, it should appeal to you. Alongside most Monteverdi vehicles, the Sierra is a model you almost never see. The price on this one? $50,192. Click here for more information.