Tag Archives: classic cars

Japan’s First Supercar

Posted on by
1

1967 Toyota 2000GT

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | April 27, 2013

1967 Toyota 2000GT

Toyota built small sports cars prior to this, the wonderful 2000GT. But they didn’t even design the 2000GT (much like today’s GT86/Scion FR-S where the bulk of the work was done by Subaru. Makes you wonder if Toyota can do anything exciting on their own). Yamaha designed it did much of the work. They also built it for Toyota.

The body is aluminium and it sits very low – handling was excellent. They were also luxurious on the inside with wood trim and some had air conditioning. They were luxury GT cars that rivaled Europe’s top GT cars for luxury and performance – but not necessarily prestige. Not until recently anyway. This is widely considered the first collectible Japanese car and the first supercar from the country as well. It also put the world on notice that they could build serious cars – which was the point of the project, as Toyota really didn’t make any money off of them.

The engine is a 2.0-liter straight six from Toyota that was tuned by Yamaha. Power was rated at 150 horses. Only 337 were built in total – 233 of them with this engine. They cost about $6,800 when new and have appreciated significantly with a pre-sale estimate on this car between $650,000-$850,000. Click here to read more and here for more of the Don Davis collection.

Update: Sold $1,155,000.

Duesenberg JN-570

Posted on by
Reply

1934 Duesenberg Model JN SWB Convertible Sedan by Rollston

For sale at RK Motors Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina

1934 Duesenberg Model JN-570 Rollston SWB Convertible Sedan

I randomly came across this Duesenberg for sale at a collector car dealership in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s a Model JN – so it’s certainly pretty as it had mid-life cycle styling refinements. All Model JNs had Rollston bodywork and only 10 were built before Duesenberg shut down. This is one of three JN Rollston Convertible Sedans built.

This car looks like a two-door convertible coupe, but it does have to rear doors tucked behind the mains. It rides on a short wheelbase chassis, when it seemed most later Model Js were long wheelbase cars. Ownership history is known from new. It was originally black but when it was restored a few years ago it was given this attractive maroon-ish color.

Bought new in Texas, this car has seen numerous owners – including some time spent in the Blackhawk Collection. And it’s matching numbers – chassis, body and engine – engine no. 570 – that big straight-eight engine making 265 horsepower. The price isn’t listed, but it says it had a $1 million restoration and I’m guessing they want to recoup that investment. Click here to read more.

Yarborough Special Cyclone

Posted on by
Reply

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Yarborough Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Yarborough Special

Photo – Mecum

Ford – make that, Mercury – was involved in NASCAR racing in the late 1960s. For 1969, their NASCAR model was the Cyclone. And NASCAR demanded that any car a manufacturer raced needed to be produced for the street – or homologated. So Mercury took their Cyclone and made it more aerodynamic to make it more competitive on the circuit.

So they built a few road models – “few” being the operative word. NASCAR mandated that about 500 be built. Mercury was feeling generous in 1969 and built 503. They built them all in the first few weeks of 1969 only. It was essentially the same car as the Ford Torino Talladega.

The body was a Cyclone fastback (or “Sportsroof”) with a nose extension. The engine was  a 5.8-liter Ford V-8 (the race car got a 7.0-liter). Horsepower was about 290. Two models were offered, this one being a “Yarborough Special” named for NASCAR superstar and legend Cale Yarborough. Only 285 of this version was built and the red trim sets it apart from its sister car (you can read more here).

Update: Sold $26,000.

Cyclone Spoiler: Gurney Special

Posted on by
Reply

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special
Photo – Mecum

This is the other version of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (if you’re linking here from somewhere on the site, you can read more about these cars above). It’s interesting that Ford would name a car after Dan Gurney – he wasn’t a NASCAR regular (even though he has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history at 31.25% – the highest among drivers who started more than 3 races). He ran races between 1962 and 1968 – just 16 races. And he won 5 of them (and he did drive Mercurys for owner Bud Moore). Pretty incredible.

Dan Gurney is, hands down, one of the best race car drivers that America has ever produced. Mercury built 218 Gurney Specials for 1969 in honor of him. The blue trim on this one sets it apart from the Yarborough Special. Both of these cars look incredible and are likely coming from the same home. You can read more about this one here and see what else Mecum has to offer here.

Update: Sold $22,000.

A Pair of Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs

Posted on by
3

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Yarborough Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Yarborough Special

Ford – make that, Mercury – was involved in NASCAR racing in the late 1960s. For 1969, their NASCAR model was the Cyclone. And NASCAR demanded that any car a manufacturer raced needed to be produced for the street – or homologated. So Mercury took their Cyclone and made it more aerodynamic to make it more competitive on the circuit.

So they built a few road models – “few” being the operative word. NASCAR mandated that about 500 be built. Mercury was feeling generous in 1969 and built 503. They built them all in the first few weeks of 1969 only. It was essentially the same car as the Ford Torino Talladega.

The body was a Cyclone fastback (or “Sportsroof”) with a nose extension. The engine was  a 5.8-liter Ford V-8 (the race car got a 7.0-liter). Horsepower was about 290. Two models were offered, this one being a “Yarborough Special” named for NASCAR superstar and legend Cale Yarborough. Only 285 of this version was built and the red trim sets it apart from its sister car (you can read more here).

Update: Sold $26,000.

______________________________________________________________

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special

This is the other version of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (if you’re linking here from somewhere on the site, you can read more about these cars above). It’s interesting that Ford would name a car after Dan Gurney – he wasn’t a NASCAR regular (even though he has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history at 31.25% – the highest among drivers who started more than 3 races). He ran races between 1962 and 1968 – just 16 races. And he won 5 of them (and he did drive Mercurys for owner Bud Moore). Pretty incredible.

Dan Gurney is, hands down, one of the best race car drivers that America has ever produced. Mercury built 218 Gurney Specials for 1969 in honor of him. The blue trim on this one sets it apart from the Yarborough Special. Both of these cars look incredible and are likely coming from the same home. You can read more about this one here and see what else Mecum has to offer here.

Update: Sold $22,000

A Chinese Classic

Posted on by
2

1974 Hongqi CA770

For Sale at The Auto Collections | Las Vegas, Nevada

1974 Hongqi CA770

Say what? This is actually a really exciting car to see for sale in the United States. The Chinese automobile industry is just starting to take off (I could throw some numbers at you but I won’t. I wrote a thesis-ish paper in college about two years ago regarding it but I don’t want to bore you). But the industry has actually been around longer than 10 years.

Hongqi (which means Red Flag, the name by which the cars are sometimes referred to in Western media) is owned by FAW (First Automobile Works). The cars were the first domestically produced passenger automobiles in China. They were introduced in 1958, essentially as a copy of a 1950s Chrysler. An update came in 1963 and it was known as the CA770, the car you see here.

They were built for elite members of the Communist Party. It used the same engine as its predecessor, a 197 horsepower 5.6-liter V-8 (also a Chrysler design). This model was produced until 1980. Only about 1,600 of these cars (and the earlier model) were made in total. So they are very rare to begin with.

Then you throw the curveball: this car is in the U.S. It is one of very few (it could be the only one) Chinese cars (and not those little electric things) in this country. It is almost certainly the only “classic” Chinese car to have reached these shores. No one’s really collecting them because most people don’t know they are out there. Russian cars have a little bit of a following, but this is a whole new ballgame. The Auto Collections bill it as “the very first collector car to ever be exchanged in the USA with China.” It’s interesting. It’s for sale. I want it, and any collector of interesting cars should too. Click here for more.

Panther DeVille

Posted on by
1

1977 Panther DeVille

Offered by Auctions America | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 22-24, 2013

1977 Panther DeVille

Panther Westwinds build some outrageous cars in their history. This neo-classic is actually pretty tame compared to some of their cars (it only has four wheels, is what I mean). When it was introduced in 1974, there were already a few neo-classics on the market, but so many more were yet to come.

The body was meant to evoke the Bugatti Royale. The engines were Jaguar-sourced – either a straight six or an optional V-12. The original owner of this car opted for the latter and it made about 282 horsepower. The car was named De Ville and, as you would expect from a car that looks like this and has that name, one was used (not this one) in the 1996 live-action version of 101 Dalmatians (the one with Glenn Close playing Cruella De Vil). I think that one was a coupe or convertible – I haven’t seen the movie in a while.

Only 60 DeVilles were built in total, with the sedan being the most popular bodystyle with 48 built. This one is original with original paint. It has new tires and has had mechanical freshening and is ready to go. I’ll call it a $35,000-$45,000 car. Click here for more and here for more from Auctions America.

Update: Did not sell.

Voisin Flatbed Truck Prototype

Posted on by
3

1957 Voisin Camionnette Prototype

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 17, 2013

1957 Voisin Camionnette Prototype

We featured a pair of post-war Voisin prototypes during our coverage of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Collection. As wide and as complete as that collection was, it didn’t have one of these. This trucklet is a testament to the changes in France between the 1930s and 1950s. Pre-war Voisins were extravagant as can be. This is about as utilitarian and as basic as can be.

Voisin exhibited this very vehicle, the prototype, at an auto show in France in 1957. As you may know from the other Voisin prototypes, no one wanted them and they weren’t put into production (at least not in France, anyway). This car uses a 200cc single-cylinder engine, weighs in at 400kg and can carry 500kg. It is also front-wheel drive.

A man who knew Gabriel Voisin and who saw this car on the auto show stand in 1957, contacted SNECMA, the company that Voisin worked for and owned his post-war prototypes, and asked if there was anything he could get. They told him “come take this little truck that’s taking up space in our warehouse.” Well, sort of. He was able to save this truck though, which is nice because it is likely the only one like it. It should sell for between $13,000-$19,500. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Osenat’s auction lineup.

Update: Sold $23,220.

An Italian Darracq

Posted on by
1

1907 Darracq-Italiana

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 17, 2013

1907 Darracq-Italiana

We’ve broken down the somewhat convoluted history of Alexandre Darracq’s early automotive mini-empire. We wrote mainly about the differences and lineage of the French and English Darracqs. But we never mentioned the Italians.

Internal combustion Darracqs first appeared in the year 1900. By 1903 the company was doing well and Darracq decided to expand his business into other countries (he already had Germany covered because of a deal with Opel). The U.K. followed in 1905 and Italy in 1906. The company was established in a suburb of Milan. The cars (this one included) were built in France and assembled in Italy. Darracq closed the Italian branch in 1910 and it became A.L.F.A. – which would become Alfa Romeo (just another piece of automobile history that Darracq had its hand in).

The engine is a 1.5-liter straight-two making between eight and 10 horsepower. This car is all original and is believed to be one of two in existence. It is expected to sell for between $26,000-$39,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Osenat.

Update: Sold $32,895.

Baldwin Motion Phase III Corvette

Posted on by
1

1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 22-24, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Baldwin, Long Island-located Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance joined forces in 1967 to build serious street machines. Baldwin Chevrolet sold the cars that they, and their partners, modified. All kind of Chevrolets could be had: Novas, Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes.

They called their Phase III cars “supercars” and the term is apt. They guaranteed both an 11.5 second quarter mile time and a cruising speed of 120 mph. That’s some gearing! But then again, such gearing is made easy when the engine makes 600 horsepower. This car has a 7.9-liter (482-cid) V-8 “Elephant” motor making just such a number. It is the only engine like it known to exist.

This car is a 15,000 mile car from new and is well optioned. It is all original and is the only one like it. Rare, period one-off muscle cars like this used to bring ridiculous money about 10 years ago. The market has softened but this is still a very valuable car. Click here to read more and here for more from Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale.

Update: Sold $136,400.