Tag Archives: classic cars

Barzoi 2

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1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Photo – Osenat

Okay, so this isn’t the greatest picture in the world, but I can’t tell you the last time I saw one of these come up for sale. And you get the idea of how freakish this thing really looks from this photo.

The weird inset reverse-pop-up headlights are one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen – it’s like KITT’s nerdy kid brother. If you look at the panel in front of the lights, you’ll notice that it pops up and shield the lights when not in use, creating a slick aerodynamic front profile. The lot description describes it as “James Bond”-ish and I think that is apt. If I didn’t know any better, I could picture this thing as a submarine.

This was not a kit car, unlike the Barquette above. Well – not kits that consumers could put together anyway. The chassis is out from under a Simca 1000 Rallye (this one is from a ’73 model). The engine is also from the same car – it’s an 80 horsepower straight-four unit of 1.3-liters. It is also rear-engined.

The Barzoi 2 was the last road car Fournier-Marcadier built and only 50 were made. This is expected to bring between $20,700-$28,500. Click here for more info and here for more from Osenat.

Update: Not sold.

A Pair of Fournier-Marcadiers

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1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

André Marcadier built bicycles in France after World War II. In the early 1960s, he also began building go kart chassis and shortly thereafter met Colin Chapman. He liked what Lotus was doing in the U.K. and wanted something similar in France. So he teamed up with Marcel Fournier and, in 1963, launched France’s first kit car.

The FM 01 Barquette, as it was first called, was offered in kit form from 1963. The engine is from a Renault 8 Gordini – it’s a 1.1-liter straight-four tuned to make 89 horsepower that sits behind the driver and passenger. The car was supposed to be the sort of French kit version of the Lotus 23. In all, about 60 kits were sold through 1966.

This car should sell for between $32,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,750.

1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1977 Fournier-Marcadier Barzoi 2

Okay, so this isn’t the greatest picture in the world, but I can’t tell you the last time I saw one of these come up for sale. And you get the idea of how freakish this thing really looks from this photo.

The weird inset reverse-pop-up headlights are one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen – it’s like KITT’s nerdy kid brother. If you look at the panel in front of the lights, you’ll notice that it pops up and shield the lights when not in use, creating a slick aerodynamic front profile. The lot description describes it as “James Bond”-ish and I think that is apt. If I didn’t know any better, I could picture this thing as a submarine.

This was not a kit car, unlike the Barquette above. Well – not kits that consumers could put together anyway. The chassis is out from under a Simca 1000 Rallye (this one is from a ’73 model). The engine is also from the same car – it’s an 80 horsepower straight-four unit of 1.3-liters. It is also rear-engined.

The Barzoi 2 was the last road car Fournier-Marcadier built and only 50 were made. This is expected to bring between $20,700-$28,500. Click here for more info and here for more from Osenat.

Update: Not sold.

Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

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1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1966 Fournier-Marcadier Barquette
Photo – Osenat

André Marcadier built bicycles in France after World War II. In the early 1960s, he also began building go-kart chassis and shortly thereafter met Colin Chapman. He liked what Lotus was doing in the U.K. and wanted something similar in France. So he teamed up with Marcel Fournier and, in 1963, launched France’s first kit car.

The FM 01 Barquette, as it was first called, was offered in kit form from 1963. The engine is from a Renault 8 Gordini – it’s a 1.1-liter straight-four tuned to make 89 horsepower that sits behind the driver and passenger. The car was supposed to be the sort of French kit version of the Lotus 23. In all, about 60 kits were sold through 1966.

This car should sell for between $32,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $32,750.

One of the Earliest Sports Cars

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1908 Isotta Fraschini Tipo FENC Two-Seater

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

1908 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo FENC

Milan-based Isotta Fraschini began building cars of their own design in 1904. This car came not long after that. The Type FE was a race car built by Isotta to compete in the great European races of the day. Its predecessor, the Type D, used a 17.2-liter straight-four engine. That’s “train-size.”

Well that big engine didn’t fare so well in competition, detonating itself after one lap. So, for the 1908 races, Isotta tried something different. Instead of brute power via displacement, they went for the whole package. The cars were light and handled well – weight was only 1,342 pounds – which is probably close to what the 17.2-liter engine weighed. And then they fitted it with a light 1.2-liter straight-four.

They were more successful at the track and Isotta Fraschini built some for the road and dubbed them “FENC.” The engine was enlarged to 1.3-liters and makes about 17 horsepower. It is capable of 60 mph. You could call it a sports car. Only about 100 FENCs were built and only two are known to survive. This one was discovered in 1985 in bad shape and then thoroughly restored. It sold at auction in 2008 for $166,500. We’ll see how it goes this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Monterey.

Update: Sold $145,000.

S/N: 6023

B.N.C. Type 53

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1929 B.N.C. Type 53

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1929 BNC Type 53

B.N.C. was a French automobile company founded in 1923 by Lucien Bollack and René Netter (the “B” and the “N” – the “C” stands for “et Cie” or “and company”). They hired an engineer who had experience building cyclecars and a cyclecar was the basis for their first model. The cyclecars were successful in competition but sales were always slow.

In the late 1920s, the company shifted toward larger, more expensive cars – and sales grew dimmer. Even super sporty cars like this didn’t help and both founders were forced out in 1928. The company closed for good in 1935.

This car uses a 1.1-liter straight-four by Ruby and has been campaigned in the Le Mans Classic four times in the past 11 years (as B.N.C. raced at Le Mans in period, just not this car). It is said that this car has serious pace for its age. It is certainly rare and rather sporty looking. It is expected to sell for between $105,000-$160,000. Click here for more details and here for more from Osenat’s sale.

Update: Sold $104,800.

Artcurial 6/10/13 Paris Sale Highlights

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Artcurial held a relatively large sale in Paris on Monday and we featured a couple of cars from it. The top sale was this 1939 Horch 853A Cabriolet for $873,553.

1939 Horch 853A Cabriolet

Among our feature cars, there were two ASAs. Both sold: the race car RB 613 brought $291,184 while the road car 411 GT brought $237,545 – more than double the high end of the pre-sale estimate! Interesting cars were led by this 1974 KV Mini 1. It was built by KV using a 125cc engine. It’s a rare microcar of which not many were built. It sold for $2,759. Arrested Development fans take note – the hood appears to read “GOB.”

1974 KV Mini 1

Other interesting sales included this 1948 Lea-Francis 14HP Roadster. It sold for $49,042.

1948 Lea-Francis 14HP Roadster

One of our featured cars was an incredible military vehicle – a barn find condition World War I Nash Quad. It sold for $21,456. There were other military vehicles here as well, including this 1964 Hotchkiss M201 which sold for $15,325.

1964 Hotchkiss M201

There were a number of really nice, pretty French cars at this sale as well, including a trio of Bugattis, highlighted by this 1935 Type 57 Gangloff Coupe. It sold for $712,635. And our featured Renault Nervastella sold for $324,844 – almost three times its original estimate. Check out complete results here.

1935 Bugatti Type 57 Gangloff

Tojeiro Barchetta

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1952 Tojeiro Barchetta

Offered by Russo & Steele | Newport Beach, California | June 20-21, 201

1952 Tojeiro Barchetta

John Tojeiro was born in Portugal but relocated to England when he was very young. That move was important because after World War II, in which John served, England would become a hotbed for race car building.

Tojeiro made his name as a chassis engineer and once he was established, customers were contacting him and commissioning him to build one-off race cars. Tojeiro’s first car was powered by a Bristol engine and the body was supposed to look like a Ferrari 166 MM. Shortly after that, Tojeiro built two or three MG powered cars with a similar body. This is one of those cars.

The engine is a 1.5-liter MG straight-four, power output unknown – but likely less than 125. One of the three cars like this was driven to the AC headquarters and AC repainted it blue, put one of their engines in it, and displayed it as the AC Ace. So this car (which was not used by AC) is sort of the prototypical AC Ace. Which is pretty cool if you think about it (and if you refuse to think about it, I’ll tell you: the Ace became the Cobra. Shelby Cobras can directly trace their origin to this car).

This car was raced on road courses by privateers until the end of the 1954 season. It finished every race. It has bounced between owners quite a bit since then (and even a fair amount in the past five years). This car sold in Monterey last year at a different auction for a touch more than $150,000 and it sold twice in 2011 for about the same price (a little less). We’ll see what it brings this time around as the market continues to improve. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Russo & Steele’s Newport Beach lineup.

Update: Sold $159,500.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s, Arizona 2021.

Phantom I Ascot Phaeton

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1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Phaeton

Offered by Coys | Athens, Greece | June 15, 2013

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Tourer

Rolls-Royce of Derby, England, set up a manufacturing arm in America which was referred to, surprisingly, as Rolls-Royce of America. They opened shop in 1921, constructing the already-old Silver Ghost. In 1925, Rolls introduced the follow-up model to the Silver Ghost – the Phantom. In 1929, the Phantom II was introduced and the Phantom’s name was changed to “Phantom I” and it stayed in production through 1931.

The car you see here was built by Rolls-Royce of America and they are often referred to as a “Springfield” (which refers to Springfield, Massachusetts – where the cars were built). As it is a Phantom I, it uses a 7.7-liter straight-six that made about 120 horsepower.

What is great about this car is the bodywork. As far as early Rolls’ go this is one of my favorite designs. The body is by Brewster – the Long Island coachbuilder contracted by RR of America to build many of their bodies. It is called an “Ascot Phaeton” to give the buyer an aura of Britishness. It’s a five-seater with sporty looks and I like it.

The car has known ownership history from new. It was restored first in 1970 in New Jersey and is being sold by a European collector who had more work done recently. The car comes without an estimate but is being sold at no reserve. It is one of 28 Springfield Ascot Phaetons built on the Phantom I chassis. RR of America built 1,240 Phantom Is total (of 3,512 built worldwide). I estimate this car at about $300,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ Greek lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Columbia Highwheeler

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1899 Columbia Motor Buggy

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 15, 2013

1899 Columbia Highwheeler

I’ll start by saying that this is listed as a “circa 1899” so I’m just going with 1899. The Columbia Automobile Company was founded as a joint venture between the Pope Manufacturing Company and the Electric Vehicle Company in 1899. They offered electric and gasoline powered cars. In 1904, Columbia offered 37 different electric cars and two gas-powered ones. By 1911, there were only two electrics while gasoline cars offered had risen to 10.

In 1911, Columbia came under the control of the United States Motor Company – one of the first major “automotive conglomerates.” It over-expanded and failed in 1912, taking Columbia, one of America’s first manufacturers, down with it.

This car is possibly from the launch-year of manufacture. It is powered by a 616cc two-stroke vertical twin-cylinder. It hasn’t run since 1986 but it’s still early and interesting. There aren’t many of them left and this is the only one in the U.K. It should sell for between $23,000-$27,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ Banbury Run sale.

Update: Sold $17,966.

Vignale Samantha

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1968 Fiat 125 Samantha

Offered by Coys | Athens, Greece | June 15, 2013

1968 Fiat 125 Samantha

Photo – Coys

The Fiat 125 was Fiat’s large family car that replaced the 1500 and was introduced for 1967. It was available as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon. But some Italian coachbuilders got a hold of it and built some two-door variants as well.

Vignale built the “Samantha” – a sporty-looking two-door coupe. It is said that the car was designed for Alfredo Vignale himself – as he wanted a luxurious ride to drive around. Underneath, the engine has been upgraded from the 125’s original 1.6-liter: it’s a 2.0-liter straight-four making around 112 horsepower. Performance is described as “spritely.”

It comes with a set of spares, but it is in fantastic condition. Vignale ended up building a few more – 100 in total, making this a very rare coachbuilt Italian sports car. It is expected to sell for between $23,500-$32,500. Click here for more info and here for more from Coys in Greece.

Update: Sold for about $35,600.