Tag Archives: classic cars

Georges Irat Prototype

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1949 Georges Irat Cabriolet Prototype by Labourdette

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

This car, which looks like a toy, was built by Georges Irat, a company that sold its first car in 1921. They built less than a thousand cars up until World War Two broke out. During the war they turned to electric cars but never got very far.

After the war, Georges Irat wanted to get back into auto production. They showed a prototype in 1946 and another in 1949. This is that second car. It was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-four. The body was designed by coachbuilder Labourdette. After the 1949 auto show, production never resumed, though the company tried building smaller cars in Morocco for a few years.

Years later, the body of this car was discovered in the old Georges Irat factory. To make it show-worthy, a chassis from a Simca 8 was thrown under the car, so, you know, they could actually drive it. Pretty – and very unique – this end-of-the-line prototype from little-known Georges Irat should bring between $55,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $64,109.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Monaco 2021, $85,980.

Delahaye 135MS Coupe by Ghia

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1949 Delahaye 135MS Coupe by Ghia

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

The Delahaye 135 was one of their best models. It lasted (in some form) between 1935 and 1954. The 135MS was the sportiest version – sometimes it was a race car, and sometimes it was a road car. It was the final Delahaye car available for purchase before the brand was phased out.

Bodies for the car varied widely. This car, with its covered wheels and sort of boxy design, was styled by Ghia in Turin. It’s beautiful. The engine is a 3.6-liter straight-six making 120 horsepower. It was built for the Shah of Iran who owned it until the late 1950s when it went back to Europe. Since then it spent time in the Blackhawk Collection and the John O’Quinn collection. The restoration was carried out sometime in the early 1990s. It’s a wonderful car and one of three Delahaye 135s styled by Ghia. It should sell for between $210,000-$285,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $180,307.

540K Special Roadster

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1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

You’re looking at what might be the biggest dollar car sold at this year’s Arizona auctions. It’s certainly among the most beautiful (okay it is the most beautiful). This is the Benz of the 1930s. The 540K was introduced at the 1936 Paris Motor Show, an evolution of the 500K.

The 540K is powered by a 5.4-liter straight-eight that makes 115 horsepower in normal operating mode and a sporty 180 horsepower when the supercharger was engaged via matting the pedal. 540Ks usually wear Cabriolet A, B, or C bodies by Sindelfingen. But the ultimate topless version was the Special Roadster.

This example is one of the earliest 540Ks known to exist and it was sold new in the United States and kept by the original owner up until the late 1950s. The current owner acquired the car in 1989, it having been restored prior to that acquisition. It is believed to have 10,277 original miles.

Not many of these were built but it is thought that only six remain in this specific style today. They never come up for sale. The pre-sale estimate of $10,000,000-$13,000,000 underscores how special these are. Don’t miss it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $9,900,000.

One Expensive Adler

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1914 Adler 35/80HP Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Adler was a German car and motorcycle manufacturer that really hit their stride in the 1930s with the small front-wheel-drive car they called the Trumpf. But the company started 30 years earlier built a bunch of other stuff along the way.

For example, in 1911 they introduced this, the 35/80HP that features a massive 9.1-liter straight-four engine making 80 horsepower. It was their largest car and one of the most expensive cars – or things – you could buy in Germany at that time. Top speed is 71 mph.

But WWI came trundling along and production ceased. Remarkably, in a four year span, it is believed that only four of these were made. Economies of scale need not apply. This is the only survivor of the model. It was used by the German military during the Great War and has spent many decades in a Swiss museum. All original and mostly unmolested, it should bring between $140,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

1908 Sizaire-Naudin

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1908 Sizaire-Naudin Type F1 8HP Sport

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Sizaire-Naudin was a French marque that existed between 1903 and 1921. The Sizaire name lived on for a few years after 1921 in a few different forms. The company was founded by brothers Georges and Maurice Sizaire and their friend Louis Naudin in Courbevoie.

The car features unique styling at the front. The engine cover has a cyclops-like design to it and the eight horsepower single-cylinder engine resides beneath. Microcars aside, single-cylinder cars (especially of this size) went out of favor by about 1904. Still, this car is capable of 49 mph.

Sold new in Nice, the car is as it would’ve been when it was new and has been restored as needed over time, with major work being carried out in the 1980s and around 2000. It’s a rare marque and a fine example that should bring between $70,000-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $133,561.

Iso Rivolta

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1967 Iso Rivolta IR 300 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 4, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Iso Rivolta is, obviously, a very good-looking coupe built by Iso between 1962 and 1970. The IR Coupe was offered in two forms, the 300 and the 340. It was the first car the company introduced after their famous Isetta, marking the move from microcars to powerful tourers, sports cars, and sedans.

The engine is a 5.4-liter V-8 from Chevrolet making 300 horsepower. Top speed is 135 mph. The styling was done at Bertone by Giorgetto Giugiaro and the chassis was was designed by Bizzarrini. It’s an Italian-American sedan. And a mean-looking one at that.

This car was restored two years ago and has spent its whole life in Italy. This was Iso’s best-selling model, with 797 built. This one should bring between $93,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $103,095.

The Fanciest Pre-Jaguar

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1939 SS 100 2.5-Litre Roadster by Van den Plas

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

We’ve featured another SS 100 before, but that was the larger-engined 3.5-litre model. This car is actually powered by a 2.7-liter straight-six (even though it’s called a “2.5-litre”) making 102 horsepower.

The SS brand, as we all know, became Jaguar after WWII and the Nazi connection those two letters had. This particular car is thought to be the final 2.5-litre SS 100 chassis built in 1939 and it was purchased by Van den Plas, the Belgian coachbuilder. But war broke out and they weren’t able to do anything with it until after things had settled down, so this car with this fantastic, Figoni-esque body debuted in 1948 at the Brussels Motor Show.

Van den Plas began in Belgium in 1870 and a British arm, Vanden Plas, opened in London in 1917. Jaguar had a long associated with that brand through its British Leyland ownership and beyond. You can see the underlying SS 100 under the added swoopy fenders – the grille and hood line is still intact.

This car arrived in the U.S. in the late 1980s or early 1990s and it was then restored. It still wears that restoration that shows well. It is one-of-one and will cost you a pretty penny. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s lineup.

Update: Sold $1,402,500.

Bugatti EB112

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1999 Bugatti EB112

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Well what do we have here? Bugatti has existed in three different forms. First, Ettore’s original company, which built cars up to the war. Ettore died soon after it ended and the company fumbled along until closing its doors in 1952. But alas! Romano Artioli revived the marque in the late 1980s – in Italy. He built the over-the-top EB110 supercar through the mid-1990s. Then in 1998, Volkswagen bought the brand name and revived it again for the 2006 model year.

This car is listed as a 1999 – which you’d think means it was built by Volkswagen. But no. The EB112 was shown as a concept car in 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show. It never reached production and as the second chapter of the Bugatti story came to a close, three such EB112 super sedans were in the factory in some form.

When the assets were liquidated, Monegasque businessman Gildo Pallanca Pastor bought all three. In 1998, his racing team managed to complete two of the cars (hence why it is listed as a 1999). One was sold to a Russian collector and this one was retained by Pastor.

The engine is a 6.0-liter V-12 making 455 horsepower. Sixty arrives in 4.5 seconds thanks to all-wheel drive and the car tops out at 186 mph. It’s an incredible performer considering it’s a large, luxurious sedan designed in the early 1990s. It is in perfect condition and is one of those cars you’ll never get another chance to grab. Artcurial isn’t even publishing an estimate. This is a mind-blowing chance. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia

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1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

When you think of 50s Cadillacs, you think big fins. But 1953 was a pre-fin year and everything was a little more restrained. The Series 62 was the entry-level Cadillac from 1952 through 1968 when it’s name was changed. The series was introduced in 1940.

In 1953, Ghia of Italy ordered two Cadillac Series 62 Convertible chassis and had them shipped to Italy. They applied this gorgeous, stylized black coupe body with gold accents all around. The engine is the standard 5.4-liter V-8 making 210 horsepower.

This car has slightly different styling than its sister car at the front and passed through the Blackhawk Collection more than 20 years ago before its current owners acquired it around the time of its restoration. As a 1950s American chassis with an Italian body – and it being one of two – it will be pricey. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,430,000.

Ferrari 335 S

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1957 Ferrari 335 S by Scaglietti

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

What you’re looking at could be the second-most expensive car ever sold at auction. This rare Ferrari racer is just one of four made and carries a pre-sale estimate between $30,315,000-$34,650,000. That is some serious dough. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

The Ferrari 335 Sport was an evolution of the earlier 315 S that was built in 1957. The 1957-1958 335 S was powered by a 4.0-liter V-12 making a handy 390 horsepower. It was a car built to dominate the Mille Miglia – and it ended up ending the race.

This car began life as a 315 S and in that form competed in two races:

  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 6th (with Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant
  • 1957 Mille Miglia – 2nd (with Wolfgang von Trips)

After the 1957 Mille Miglia (which was marred by the accident of Alfonso de Portago in a different Ferrari 335 S that killed nine people, including de Portago), this car was upgraded to the 4-liter engine it currently has, bringing it to 335 S specification. It’s factory competition history continued:

  • 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans – 44th, DNF (with Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso)
  • 1957 6 Hours of Kristianstad (Sweden) – 2nd (with Hawthorn and Musso)

After this, back to the factory it went for damage repair. Slight modifications were made to add a more “pontoon-fendered” look to it (like the 250 Testa Rossa). Then it was back to the circuit:

  • 1957 Venezuelan Grand Prix – 2nd (with Hawthorn and Musso)
  • 1958 Cuban Grand Prix – 1st (with Masten Gregory and Stirling Moss)
  • 1958 Road America 500 – 1st (with Gaston Andrey and Lance Reventlow)

Those last two races were in privateer hands, once the car had been sold by Ferrari to Luigi Chinetti. It was restored in 1981 and the original nose configuration was put back on the car (although the pontoon-nose was kept as well). This car has been with the same owner since 1970 and a 335 S is not a car you will likely see at auction for years to come. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $35,075,200.