Tag Archives: classic cars

Bristol 411

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1971 Bristol 411 Series II Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | December 7, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Bristol Cars has been around since the end of World War II, a spin-off of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. They’ve built low-volume luxury sports sedans and coupes for over 60 years. They went bankrupt in 2011, but were purchased and are back in business.

The 411 was the successor to the 410 and was built in small amounts between 1969 and 1974 in 5 Series. Series II cars differed from Series I in that they had a self-leveling suspension. The engine was a 6.3-liter V-8 but the owner of this car had it replaced with a Chrysler 7.2-liter V-8, fitted by the factory. It makes 325 horsepower.

This car has been owned by a Bristol Owners Club member for 20 years. The engine was rebuilt in his care and the paint is a little over a year old. Bristols have always been handbuilt cars and they only made 287 of the 411 across all series. This one should sell for between $63,000-$71,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn.

Diatto Sports

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1919 Diatto Tipo 4DA Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | December 7, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Guglielmo Diatto was a carriage maker in Turin, founding his company in 1835. He served a range of wealthy clientele. It was Guglielmo’s grandsons who saw what the automobile offered their business and they began building Clement-Bayards under license in 1905. By 1909 they were designing their own cars.

Europe saw a massive disruption of automobile production between 1914 and 1919 due to the Great War, but for some companies, production was able to resume quickly upon war’s end in 1919. Diatto was among these swift companies and they introduced the Tipo 4DA that year. It uses a 2.7-liter straight-four making 25 horsepower.

This particular car was delivered new to Australia and bodied locally. By 1940, the car had been disassembled and boxed up. It wasn’t  until 1990 that it was sent to England and put back together and restored. It’s a nice, sporty car from the teens that is great for hillclimbs. It should sell for between $39,000-$47,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $45,096.

1911 Talbot Tourer

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1911 Talbot Type M 15HP Roi-des-Belges Tourer

Offered by H&H Auctions | Droitwich Spa, England | December 3, 2014

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

This is a very big, very attractive old tourer from the British Talbot. Talbot began producing cars of their own design in 1906, having been assembling and selling French-designed cars since 1904 (since 1903 if you count the Clement-Talbot brand).

The engine is a 3.0-liter straight-four rated at 15 horsepower. The body shows nicely and it looks to be an older restoration (I say that because the interior looks really nice and there’s no way that leather is original).

This particular car was sold new in Australia and the Roi-des-Belges body was constructed locally by Isaac Phizackerley – not exactly a household name, but he did very nice work on this large and imposing early automobile. It can be yours for between $78,500-$95,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $88,583.

Super Snake Cobra

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1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2015

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

This car will be one of the stars of Barrett-Jackson’s 2015 Scottsdale auction. It comes from the collection of Ron Pratte and he famously bought it at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2007 for $5.5 million. What’s changed since that price was hammered down? Well, we lost Carroll Shelby. How about a little biblical history of this car:

Genesis: AC built a car called the Ace. It had a six-cylinder engine. Carroll Shelby stuffed a Ford V-8 under the hood. The Cobra was born.

Exodus: AC/Shelby built a limited run (23) Cobra 427 Competition models. Shelby converted one of these (this car) into the Super Snake – the Cobra to End All Cobras. It was a competition-spec Cobra made street-legal with the addition of bumpers and a windshield. They also supercharged the hell out of it.

Revelation: They built a second one for Bill Cosby who, appropriately, found it impossible to control and drive on the road. He gave it back. The next owner drove it off a cliff. Shelby retained this car most of his life. It’s the only one left.

The engine is a 427 (7.0-liter) V-8. It has two superchargers and puts out 800 horsepower. Ol’ Shel himself claims that the car will hit 60 mph in just over three seconds but I doubt there is any way you could possibly get the power down smoothly enough for it to happen. The top speed is still likely limited to 165 mph based on aerodynamics.

This is a fairly legendary car in both the auction world and the world of muscle cars. You can buy it this coming January, but you better have a big bank account. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $5,115,000.

March 711

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1971 March-Ford-Cosworth 711

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | December 2, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

By 1971, March was a force in motor racing, having only been around since 1969. They built cars for their own team, but they also sold customer cars for a handful of different series’ around the world. March continued building cars into the 1990s.

This car, the March 711, was the team’s machine for 1971. It never won any races, but it was competitive and had multiple podiums. The aerodynamics were designed by Frank Costin and the competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1971 South African Grand Prix – 10th (with Ronnie Peterson)
  • 1971 Spanish Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Peterson)
  • 1971 Monaco Grand Prix – 2nd (with Peterson)
  • 1971 Dutch Grand Prix – 4th (with Peterson)
  • 1971 British Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Mike Beuttler)
  • 1971 German Grand Prix – 19th, DSQ (with Beuttler)
  • 1971 Austrian Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Niki Lauda)
  • 1971 Italian Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Beuttler)
  • 1971 Canadian Grand Prix – 17th, NC (with Beuttler)

This is a very cool looking car and it’s powered by a Ford-Cosworth 3.0-liter V-8. It’s an ex-Lauda and ex-Peterson car from one of the golden eras of Formula One. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

S/N: 711-2

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Monaco 2016.

Lancia Epsilon

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1912 Lancia Tipo 58 20/30HP Epsilon Corsa

Offered by Coys | London, U.K. | December 2, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Lancia models have always had Greek letters for their series names. The Epsilon was an early example of this naming convention. The company was founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia in Turin. The Tipo 58 Epsilon entered production in 1911 and lasted through 1912.

The engine is a 4.1-liter straight-four making 60 horsepower. It was available in four different chassis configurations that offered a wide variety of body styles. In all, only 312 Epsilon chassis were built. Only two are known to exist: this one, and one on permanent display at the Schlumpf Collection.

This was originally built as a race car (as seen)and was actually a Lancia factory entrant at the 1913 Targa Florio. The car was discovered in storage and Lancia finally sold it in 1970. It was then restored and is now considered the oldest functioning Lancia in the world and the only surviving Lancia racing car from this era. It’s pretty impressive and should bring between $235,000-$275,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys.

Update: Sold $266,875.

Monteverdi Safari

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1978 Monteverdi Safari 5700

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | November 29, 2014

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Peter Monteverdi founded one of Switzerland’s few automobile companies. He began it in 1967 and it went out of business in 1984. They built some serious luxury supercars in the early years but by 1976 the cars were history and the company looked way into the future: luxury SUVs.

The Monteverdi Safari was their second SUV, behind the Sahara. It was a re-styled International Scout designed by Carrozzeria Fissore. Three engines were offered: a 5.7-liter International V-8 (165hp) or the choice between two Chrysler V-8s, a 7.2-liter (305hp) or a 5.2-liter (152hp). This one has the 5.7-liter International engine with 165 horsepower.

The Safari was built between 1976 and 1982 and sold well in Europe and the Middle East. About 1,000 SUVs were built in total between the base Sahara and the upscale Safari. The price probably won’t be that outrageous compared to when it was new. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

November Auction Highlights

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First up for November is one of our favorite annual sales, Bonhams London-to-Brighton sale where our featured Gardner-Serpollet was the top sale at $592,624. Quite a number of cars failed to sell including the Laperelle, the Panhard roadster, the Autocar, the Daimler, the CGV, and the Rochet. Our featured Malicet et Blin exceeded its estimate, selling for $163,366. The 1899 Peugeot sold for $115,075. Interesting non-feature cars (there weren’t many, non-feature cars, that is) were topped by this 1904 De Dion-Bouton 8HP Model V Coupe by Leon Molon. It sold for $141,904.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Phoenix Tricar sold for $36,729. The Cleveland Sperry Electric brought $88,151. And the Panhard Tonneau sold for $413,767. Click here for full results.

 Artcurial’s November sale featured this 1989 Ferrari F40 as the top sale for $1,151,285.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Our featured EJS Special failed to sell, but the Porsche 911 RS sold for $341,024. Check out full results here. Next up is Bonhams’ Harrogate sale where this 2001 Bentley Continental R Le Mans Coupe topped the sales at $160,146.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Delahaye Estate Car failed to sell. Check out full results here. Now we’ll jump back to October for Osenat’s Fontainebleau sale. The top sale was this 1970 Porsche 911 T Targa for $41,250. Check out full results here.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Auctions’ Pavilion Gardens sale. Our featured Foers Ibex failed to sell. The top sale was this 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 Coupe for $109,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

Porsche 908/2

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1969 Porsche 908/2 Longtail Spyder

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Porsche 908 was the successor to the 907 and it was introduced by Porsche to fight in the Group 6 category, which had just undergone rule changes for 1968. First came the 908/1. The 908/2 was a topless spyder, unlike the closed coupe 908/1.

The Langheck Coupe was a long tail version for high-speed tracks. But when Porsche chopped the top for 1969, the Longheck (long tail) Spyder was born. The engine is a 3.0-liter flat-8 making 350 horsepower. The light fiberglass body allowed this car to achieve high speeds on the straight at Le Mans.

This was a factory team race car before going into privateer hands, and its competition history includes:

  • 1969 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Vic Elford and Richard Attwood)
  • 1970 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Attwood, Gerhard Koch, and Gerard Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Brands Hatch – 6th (with Koch and Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Monza – 14th (with Larrousse and Rudi Lins)
  • 1970 Targa Florio – 13th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Spa – 9th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Nurburgring – 6th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd (with Lins and Helmut Marko)
  • 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans – 43rd, DNF (with Hans-Dieter Weigel and Claude Haldi)

This car was later owned by Jo Siffert and appears in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Later in 1971, it ended up in a private collection before being acquired by Peter Monteverdi. It has had a recent restoration and a handful of other owners. It’s an awesome machine with a fantastic history. There is no pre-sale estimate, but it’ll go big. Read more here and see more from this sale here.

Chassis # 908.02-05

Update: Sold $3,437,744.

Abarth 1000SP

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1966 Fiat-Abarth 1000SP Tipo SE04

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

If you’ve been following recent trends with regards to cars coming to auction, you might think this car is part of the liquidation of the Maranello Rosso Collection. And you’d be right. It’s a pretty car, this racer. It was used in both hillclimbs and on circuits.

The SE04 was Abarth’s first multi-tubular chassis and it used a Fiat-based 982cc straight-four making 105 horsepower at a wailing 8,000 rpm. It might not seem like a lot of power for a race car – even in 1966, but it weighs practically nothing and has a power-to-weight ratio of around 10 pounds per horsepower. It had a top end north of 130 mph.

This car was campaigned around Italy by privateers in various hillclimbs, winning here and there. Fabrizio Violati acquired the car around 1980 and added it to his fantastic collection of rare Abarths. It’s pretty cool and somewhere around 50 were made. This one should bring between $130,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $213,767.