Tag Archives: classic cars

TVR 3000M

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1977 TVR 3000M

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | London, U.K. | February 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

TVR‘s M-Series of cars defined the marque for the 1970s. They launched in 1972 with the 1600M. The 3000M debuted in October 1972, and just 654 were built, although mechanically identical variants such as the hatchback Taimar and the drop-top 3000S would add to that total, as would a small number of turbocharged cars.

Power in the 3000M is provided by a 3.0-liter Ford V6 rated at 138 horsepower. The body is fiberglass, which is finished in blue over an off-white leather interior here.

These are relatively affordable old sports cars that will make onlookers do a double-take, especially in the U.S. but in Europe as well, as these are not a common sight anywhere. The pre-sale estimate here is $15,000-$20,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Touring-Bodied Alfa 6C 2500 Super Sport

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1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Coupe by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 2500 was really the best iteration of Alfa’s long-lived 6C line of cars. The 6C 2500 was introduced in 1938 and resumed production after the war, living on until 1952. Various versions were offered, including the Super Sport, which was available from 1939 through 1951.

The main Super Sport model was the coupe, of which 413 were built. This one carries attractive coachwork by Touring. It rides on a shortened 2,700mm wheelbase and was powered by a 2.4-liter inline-six good for 110 horsepower. Top speed was just over 100 mph.

This one led the sad life of many cars of this era: it was acquired in Europe by a US serviceman (awesome) and brought back to the U.S. It eventually worked its way up through tiers of collectors (less awesome) before someone spent half a million and seven years restoring it. It’s too bad regular people can’t buy cars of this caliber like they used to and that some dude who had “three other examples” had to keep hoarding. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Waterhouse-Bodied Packard

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1930 Packard Deluxe Eight Series 745 Convertible Victoria by Waterhouse

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Packard’s eight-cylinder line of cars was their bread and butter for decades. In 1930, at the dawn of the Depression, Packard offered four takes on the Eight: the Standard, Speedster, Custom, and Deluxe. The latter was their top offering, available in Series 745 form only.

This specified a 145.5-inch wheelbase and a 106-horsepower, 6.3-liter inline-eight. Eleven factory body styles were offered in addition to whatever you could get an independent coachbuilder to whip up for you.

This car was bodied by Waterhouse, who were based in Massachusetts. It was restored in the 1980s, purportedly in colors found under layers of newer paint. It’s a striking combination that, coupled with Woodlite headlights, really grabs your attention. No estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $637,500.

A6CGS Monofaro

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1950 Maserati A6GCS 2000 Race Car by Fantuzzi

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The A6GCS was among the final models designed by the Ernesto Maserati before the family company was taken over by the Orsi family. The A6 1500 was a road car that went on sale in 1947. Meanwhile, the sporting derivative, the GCS was also launched that year.

The A6 1500 gave way to the A6G 2000 in 1950, which is why this GCS is equipped with a 2.0-liter inline-six. It wears open-wheel coachwork by Fantuzzi and is one of 14 or 15 to have been built.

It was delivered new in Brazil, where it won its class at a race at Interlagos in 1951. It remained in South America until being discovered in the early 1970s as a project and taken to the U.K., where nothing of note happened to it. It would be restored in San Francisco, remaining with its owner there for over 20 years before being purchased by the current owner in 2004.

No estimate is provided, but this is stated to be one of eight surviving examples. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,088,500.

Warwick Mk II

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1961 Warwick-Ford Mk II

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Warwickshire, England | February 24-26, 2023

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

This is an interesting race car. In the mid-1950s, some F1 teams dropped streamliner bodies over their F1 cars at high-speed tracks. Mercedes is perhaps the most famous to have done it, but the results were real. Covering the wheels decreased drag and increased speed. Eventually they were banned.

This body was used on Jack Brabham’s 1959 French Grand Prix car, which was a Cooper. The car got airborne in practice, so the pulled it off and ran the car as a typical open wheeler. Engineer John Moore spotted the body years later in the Cooper workshop.

He designed a racing car around it that could be easily converted to full-bodied sports car or an open single seater. It won the 1962 Monoposto Championship in the U.K. The car remained in competition into 1970 before it was retired. It was then partially restored around 1990, competing in historic events into the 2010s. Two Ford inline-fours accompany the car. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $34,273.

DB5

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1964 Aston Martin DB5

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | London, U.K. | February 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

This is what you would call an absolute classic in its classic color. The DB5 was the James Bond car – so much so that it continues to pop up in later films. It was introduced in 1963 and sort of had an evolutionary design compared to that of the DB4 it replaced. In 1965, it was replaced by the DB6, which looked even more similar to the DB5 than the DB5 did to the DB4.

Power is from a 4.0-liter inline-six that was rated at 282 horsepower. That was enough for 145 mph, and Vantage options pushed power to over 300 horses. Convertibles and shooting brakes were also sold, although the latter were coachbuilt. But the 2+2 coupe is the most classic.

The alloy coachwork is from Touring Superleggera. Just 1,059 units were produced, and this was a British-market example that received a two-year restoration after 2017. The estimate is $590,000-$645,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $760,126.

Hispano-Suiza HS26

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1933 Hispano-Suiza HS26 Sedan by Vanvooren

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Hispano-Suiza’s French arm opened as a remote factory in 1911, and by the end of WWI, it was their main production facility, especially for their largest, most expensive cars. In 1931, the company took over Ballot, and with that, they introduced a model called the Ballot HS26, except that the departing Ernest Ballot objected to his name being used. So the Hispano-Suiza HS26 was born.

Also referred to, at least in Artcurial’s catalog, as the “Junior”, it was smaller than the company’s concurrent models in 1931: the J12 and T56. Power is from a 4.6-liter inline-six good for 96 horsepower. Just 124 examples were built through 1934.

This car was bodied as a four-seat, four-door pillarless sedan by French coachbuilder Vanvooren. Its interior was upholstered by its first owner, a leather company. The car was hidden during WWII and wasn’t really recommissioned until the 1960s. Only 13 HS26s are known to still exist, and despite their “junior” status, their still command a big price. In this case: $305,000-$395,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $279,467.

Brennabor Roadster

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1911 Brennabor Type B Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Brennabor-Werke AG was a German automobile company that was founded by the Reichstein brothers in 1871 to produce child carriages. A decade later they got into bicycles, with the Brennabor name first appearing in 1892. Motorcycles arrived in 1901, and to-order automobiles became available two years later.

Actual production started in 1908, and this Type B was produced just three years after that. The B was available from 1911 through 1913 and is powered by a 1.3-liter inline-four rated at about 12 horsepower. Top speed was around 35 mph.

This car spent decades upon decades in the U.K. before entering the collection from which it is offered. It’s been regularly used in various rallies and events and now has a pre-sale estimate of $24,000-$27,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $31,902.

Adler Type K

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1911 Adler Type K 7/17PS Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Adler really ran the gamut of products, selling things like typewriters and bicycles in addition to motorcycles and cars. Their first cars were De Dion-powered and premiered in 1900. Automobile production ceased in 1940, but motorcycle production resumed after WWII. They are most well known for the Trumpf models of the 1930s.

What we have here is a pre-WWI touring car. The Type K was produced between 1910 and 1913. Power is from a 1.8-liter inline-four, which was the smallest engine they offered in a range of exclusively four-cylinder cars at the time (there was a nine-liter four also offered concurrently, among others). Output was rated around 15 horsepower.

The car had a top speed of less than 40 mph, so about the speed of a Model T. Still, though, it’s a really attractive car. It looks like the sort of thing the Kaiser would be seen riding in during a WWI movie. It has an estimate of $35,000-$44,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

D.B. Barquette

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1951 D.B. Barquette by Antem

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Deutsch-Bonnet, later D.B. after 1947, was a low-volume French sports car manufacturer that was perhaps best known for the Le Mans and the HBR models. Artcurial initially had this one tagged as an HBR5 but later changed the description, presumably because the HBR5 didn’t launch until 1955.

This is apparently one of about 20 “Antem” models designed by Antem, which was located near Paris. Only seven of those were “Barquette” racing cars with aluminum bodies. The non-race versions had steel bodies. Power is from a 747cc Panhard flat-twin. This one had early competition history in Portugal and Morocco.

It’s noted to require a few things to take it back to stock, but it still remains eligible for events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic. The estimate is $120,000-$165,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $116,986.