Tag Archives: classic cars

R-Type Continental by Franay

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1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback by Franay

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 10, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Bentley R-Type was introduced in 1952 to replace the Mark VI, which was Bentley’s first Post-War car. The R-Type Continental was a two-door variant of the R-Type with increased power. It is significantly rarer and more sought after.

The aforementioned power comes from a 4.6-liter straight-six making 178 horsepower, which is about 45 more than the standard R-Type. Bentley R-Type Fastbacks are pretty popular, but most (all but 15) were coachbuilt by Mulliner. This one was built in France by Franay.

It is one of only three Franay Fastback Continentals and one of only five Franay-bodied R-Type Continentals in total. And it is one of two that are left-hand drive. This car has undergone a recent (date unknown) mechanical restoration and is ready to run. Of the 2,323 R-Types built before production ended in 1955, only 207 were Continentals. And this is one of the best of them. The pre-sale estimate is $1,000,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest or RM’s Monaco lineup.

Update: Sold $963,270.

Waltham Orient Buckboard

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1906 Waltham Orient Buckboard

Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Waltham Manufacturing Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, was founded by Charles Metz (who would later build the Metz automobile). They began by selling the Orient bicycle before turning to automobiles in 1905.

Four different models were offered for 1905, with that shrinking to three for 1906. The Orient Buckboard was the entry-level car and was marketed as “The Cheapest Automobile in the World.” It is powered by a rear-mounted single-cylinder engine making only four horsepower. It has tiller steering and can do 35 mph. This is about as basic as cars came, even for 1906.

Waltham’s last year was 1908 (until some weirdness involving the return of Metz in 1922 when he tried to revive the brand which ultimately failed). The Orient Buckboard – as well as the rest of their models, are exceedingly rare. This car is thought to contain mostly original parts and is super-interesting, if you’re into this kind of thing. It should sell for between $12,000-$18,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,320.

Bianchina Jolly

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1963 Autobianchi Bianchina Jolly

Offered by Coys | Monaco | May 9, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The Autobianchi Bianchina was a tiny, little car built by Autobianchi between 1957 and 1970. It was a fairly popular model and remains popular among collectors today – especially the Transformable (convertible) model. About a quarter of a million Bianchinas were built.

The cars were based around the extremely popular Fiat 500. The engine is a 499cc straight-twin making 22 horsepower. Because they share mechanicals from one of the most popular cars ever built in Europe, parts are easy to find. Fiat built “Jolly” versions of the 500 and 600 and they have become crazy expensive in the last few years. They are essentially beach cars with wicker interiors.

Well, Autobianchi tried their hand at it as well – but they only managed to build four of these Bianchina Jolly beach cars in 1963, making them extraordinarily rare – much rarer than their Fiat counterparts. This has been an Italian car all its life and should sell to a new owner for between $55,000-$62,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys in Monaco.

Update: $72,731.

Premier Model 45

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1909 Premier Model 45 Raceabout

Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Premier Motor Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, was founded in 1903. If this car looks big for a two-seater, that’s because it is. These old racer-style cars are huge and insanely cool.

Premier’s 1909 model line consisted of two models, with the Model 45 being the larger. It’s a six-cylinder engine under the long hood and it made a crazy-for-1909 45 horsepower. The Model 45 was available in three body styles – none of them a raceabout. In fact, this car was a formal limousine when new and the body was replaced to what you see here in the 1950s – a popular thing to have done to big, powerful old cars. And given this car’s Indy roots, it’s not unseemly.

Bonhams describes this as one of only a few six-cylinder Premiers still in existence, even though it hasn’t been used in decades. Premier closed its doors in 1925. This is a great way to get your hands on a racy old car on the cheap – if you’re up for a little project. This should sell for between $45,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here fore the rest of this auction’s lineup.

Update: Sold $143,000.

Aston Martin AMR1

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1989 Aston Martin AMR1

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 10, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Strangely, Aston Martin entered the LMP arena in 2011 with a car called the AMR-One. Not to be confused with this, the 1989 AMR1. Apparently, the folks at Aston Martin only write things down and never say them out loud.

This is a Group C prototype from Aston Martin that went up against the likes of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche during the heyday of Group C racing. This is a ground effects car that generates massive amounts of downforce. The engine is a Callaway-massaged 6.0-liter Aston Martin V-8 making 723 horsepower. The racing history of this car includes:

  • 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship Brands Hatch – 4th (with David Leslie and Brian Redman)
  • 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship Nurburgring – 8th (with Leslie and Redman)
  • 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship Donington – 6th (with Leslie and Michael Roe)
  • 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship Spa – 28th, DNF (with Leslie and Roe)

And that was it for this car. Only four of these prototype racers were built and this is considered the best, most-original example around. It was sold from Aston Martin directly to the current owner in 2001. It has been regularly exercised on track at historic events, setting the fastest race lap at the 2013 Monterey Historics.

It comes with extensive spares and should sell for between $975,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Auctions.

S/N# AMR1/04

Update: Not Sold, high bid of $825,660.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017: $616,000.

Ford Model AC

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1904 Ford Model AC Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The 1903 Ford Model A was the first automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. They built between 1,500 and 1,700 of those flat-twin-powered cars in only two years. The updated Model C followed in 1904 and lasted through 1905.

Then what is a Model AC? It was a 1904 model year-only car that was essentially a Model A with the larger, more powerful engine from the forthcoming Model C. Call it a hot rod with its 2.0-liter flat-twin making 10 horsepower (up from eight in the Model A).

It is thought that this car was restored in the 1950s and has been preserved since. With about 1,700 Model A/Model AC cars built, Bonhams states that only about 30-60 of them remain (but it is unclear if they are referring to Model As or Model ACs or both). At any rate, it is safe to assume that this is much rarer than a normal Model A. It’s in nice but not perfect shape and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $88,000.

Mirage M12

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1982 Mirage M12

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 10, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Mirage M12 was the final Mirage prototype race car the company would construct. Mirage has one of the coolest histories because of its founding as the flag carrier for the colors of the Gulf Oil Corporation. The first Mirages were Ford GT40-based and they were awesome.

The Gulf sponsorship dried up after 1975 but Mirage continued to be successful in the late-70s. With the new Group C rules coming into effect, Mirage designed this rather attractive ground effects car powered by a 4.0-liter Ford-Cosworth V-8 that makes 540 horsepower. The build of the car was actually undertaken by Tiga, another racing car manufacturer.

This particular example was never raced, as it served as the team’s spare car at Le Mans in 1982. It has been clocked at 220 mph in testing and has never needed a rebuild or restoration – although it has been competently sorted and is ready for the historic racing circuit.

The Mirage program ended after Le Mans in 1982 and this is the last car they built. It can be yours for between $345,000-$440,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Monaco.

Update: Sold $115,592.

Hansa Cabriolet

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1937 Hansa 1100 Cabriolet

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Toffen, Switzerland | April 26, 2014

Photo - Oldtimergalerie

Photo – Oldtimergalerie

Hansa was a German car manufacturer and, in my mind, I consider it a sort of German version of one of those British manufacturers that went through so many owners and mergers over the years. The company started as Hansa in 1906 and in 1921, Hansa-Lloyd was formed by the amalgamation of Hansa and Lloyd. But Hansa remained as a stand-alone marque, producing cars up to 1939.

Carl Borgward took over after that and Borgward became the marque of note, with Hansa coming back around to supplement the Goliath range later on. Anyway, the auction catalog has this car listed as a Hansa-Lloyd – which is accurate insofar as it was produced by Hansa-Lloyd und Goliath-Werke Borgward & Tecklenborg. But the marque for the 1100 model was actually just Hansa.

The 1100 was introduced in 1934 and uses a 1.1-liter straight-four making 28 horsepower. The model was available as a two-door sedan or two-door cabriolet, as you see here. It will do 57 mph and about 20,000 were built before war broke out in 1939 and Hansa production ceased. This nice example should bring between $27,500-$29,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Allard J2X

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1951 Allard J2X

Offered by Coys | Ascot, U.K. | April 26, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The Allard J2X is one of the legendary automobiles. If you want to talk early, serious sports cars, then this is a great place to start. Sydney Allard really got into building his hillclimb specials after WWII and as time went on, the cars became more original, more competitive, and much more popular. Not to mention they went into actual production.

The J2X replaced the J2 for 1951. This is the very first J2X built and it was a works test car before being sold into public hands. The J2X featured improved handling thanks to a lengthened chassis and a choice between Cadillac or Chrysler V-8s. This car uses a 5.4-liter Cadillac V-8 that makes 200 horsepower.

It was originally campaigned privately all over England and the restoration was finished in 2007. Since then, it has appeared at historic events and is eligible for the Goodwood Revival. Only 83 J2Xs were built before production ended in 1953. This is among the nicest and should bring between $465,000-$535,000. Click here for more info and here to see the rest of Coys’ lineup at Ascot Racecourse.

Here’s video of a similar car:

OSI 20M TS

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1967 OSI-Ford 20M TS Coupe by Ghia

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 28, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s a weird one. Officine Stampaggi Industriali was founded in 1960 in Turin by two men – one the former president of coachbuilder Ghia, the other from the Fergat automotive component manufacturing company. OSI built custom cars and bodies for other manufacturers. The company was absorbed into Fiat’s design office in 1968.

In 1967, OSI designed a sporty Italian coupe based off of the Ford Taunus 20M (hence the “20M” in this car’s name). The car has four seats and two engines were offered – this one uses the larger 2.3-liter V-6 making 106 horsepower. Top speed was about 112 mph. It wasn’t quick, taking over 11 seconds to hit 60 mph.

This car was recently restored and, because it is based on a very popular old Ford, it is easy and inexpensive to maintain. Only 409 2.3-liter coupes were built (and 870 with the 2.9-liter). Only about 200-300 of these cars (both engines) remain today, making them fairly rare. This one should sell for between $20,000-$27,000 – a nice price for a pretty Italian automobile. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Hendon.

Update: Sold $29,029.