Tag Archives: classic cars

Adler 2.5-Liter Cabriolet

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1938 Adler Type 10 2.5-Litre Cabriolet

Offered by Bonhams | Online | June 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Adler was a pioneering German car manufacturer that sold its first car in 1900. They introduced the revolutionary front-wheel-drive Trumpf in 1932. In 1937, the company introduced the Type 10, which is also known as the 2.5-Litre. This would be Adler’s final real new car, as the company chose not to resume automobile production after WWII.

The 2.5-Liter’s namesake inline-six produced about 57 horsepower when new. The streamlined cabriolet bodies were produced by Karmann and allowed the car to hit 78 mph. The model was offered with two- or four-doors and as a coupe, convertible, or sedan.

In all, just 5,295 Type 10s were built through 1940. Only a handful of two-door cabriolets are known to exist, and this one was restored in the 1970s. The car is accompanied by an Adler motorcycle, bicycle, and typewriter so you can own one of each of the company’s products. The package is expected to fetch $170,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Artcurial Paris 2023, $106,588.

BMW 1600 GT

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1968 BMW 1600 GT

Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | July 3, 2021

Photo – Dorotheum

Aside from the 507, BMW didn’t do sporty cars very well back in the day. So how did they up their game? Well, in 1966, they purchased Hans Glas GmbH, a company that, among other things, produced the Goggomobil and sports cars like 1300 GT and 1700 GT.

After BMW bought out Glas, they decided to drop the 1.6-liter M10 inline-four from the Neue Klasse 1600 into the sporty, Frua-bodied Glas 1700 GT. Output was rated at 103 horsepower. Styling changes were more or less limited to lighting revisions and the addition of the corporate kidney grilles.

Only 1,255 coupe examples of the 1600 GT were produced between 1967 and 1968. This car has known ownership history from new, having spent its early years in Italy. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $55,000-$73,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $64,978.

Alvis TD 21 Saloon

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1961 Alvis TD 21 Saloon

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | June 19-23, 2021

Photo – Brightwells

Post-war two-door Alvis cars are very attractive. The TD/E/F range were all good-looking cars. The TD was produced in two series between 1958 and 1963, and this Series I car features two-door saloon coachwork. A drophead coupe version was also available.

This car features a 120-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-six and a four-speed manual transmission, the latter of which was sourced from Austin-Healey. Top speed was about 103 mph.

There were 784 examples of the Series I TD 21 produced, but I have no info to present on the breakout between coupes/saloons versus convertibles. Common sense would say that the saloon was more popular, but the drophead coupes seem to pop up for sale more often. This one carries an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. Bidding ends tomorrow. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold (I think?) $10,021.

Byers SR-100

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1956 Byers SR-100

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | June 23-30, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 1950s was the golden era of fiberglass. And Jim Byers took full advantage of it in El Segundo, California, in 1955 when he designed the SR-100. This body was constructed of fiberglass and was meant to fit over a 100-inch wheelbase. He sold the molds to Victress in 1960.

Approximately 25 bodies were produced in that time, and only 10 are known to still exist. This one is fitted on a modified 1949 Ford chassis and features independent suspension. Power is from a 4.3-liter Chevrolet V8 that is mounted behind the front suspension, which technically, I guess, makes this car mid-engined.

It’s a pretty great example of a rare, cool, old sports car. The pre-sale estimate is $60,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Duesenberg J-566

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1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Sedan by Rollston

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | Online | June 2021

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve featured a Model J. This Duesenberg is a late one, and it’s one of 10 “JN” models built in 1935. All 10 were bodied by Rollston, and this car is one of three that was built as a convertible sedan. It was restored in the late 1990s and has spent the last two decades in the collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Power comes from a 420ci Lycoming straight-eight that made 265 horsepower when new. There were a number of four-door convertible body styles on Duesenbergs. The “convertible sedan” features folding B-pillars and a single front windshield. The top boot out back sticks up like a big spoiler in the air.

This is the fifth JN we’ve featured. I believe all still exist, meaning half of them have come up for public sale since 2012. This one has a week left to bid on, and you can find out more about it here.

Update: Sold $1,341,000.

Delahaye 148L Coupe

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1949 Delahaye 148L Panoramic Coach by Letourneur & Marchand

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | June 20, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Delahaye’s 135-series of cars was one of the very few cars that looked as fresh after WWII as it did before. The 135 was introduced in 1935, and the production of various related models lasted until 1954. Part of the reason this was able to be accomplished is that many of the cars were bodied by coachbuilders, so they continued to look fresh after nearly 20 years.

The 148 was a more boring version of the 135 set on a longer wheelbase. It still featured the same 3.6-liter inline-six that, in this triple-carbureted car, would’ve been rated at 115 horsepower when new.

The body is by Letourneur & Marchand and is of the “Panoramic Coach” variety. Which I think just means it has two doors and a lot of glass. It’s been restored in a very nice two-tone scheme that makes the profile view look like a mid-50s Buick. There were 2,592 examples of the 135 car line built, but the breakout to 148 is unknown. This one should bring between $60,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $67,630.

Antony Bergamot Race Car

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1929 Antony Bergamot Race Car

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | June 20, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Automobiles Antony was founded by Louis-Auguste Antony and was based in Douai, France, between 1921 and 1932. Antony’s money came from a family cycle-dealing business, and he was an avid racing driver after the turn of the century.

The company’s road cars were not very popular, but they did find some success on the track. This one-off race car features a lowered chassis, front-wheel-only brakes, and a chain-driven rear end. The original engine was changed based on race regulations and rotated between one (or two) Harrisard 350cc two-stroke twins or a 500cc JAP single. It now has a 500cc Triumph twin.

The Bol d’Or is an endurance race that was open to cars in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. This car competed there in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1947, and 1948, usually with Mr. Antony himself (in his 60s by ’48) behind the wheel. It had four class victories among those entries. Antony only built about 60 cars, three of which were pretty competitive race cars that he kept hidden away for long after his death. This one is expected to bring between $42,000-$66,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $49,429.

Moretti Alger-Le Cap

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1954 Moretti 750 Alger-Le Cap

Offered by Finarte | Online | June 14-28, 2021

Photo – Finarte

Moretti S.p.A. was technically an automobile manufacturer. But maybe they could be better described as a boutique automobile manufacturer. It’s unclear if they built more cars of their own design, or modified more cars built by others.

That said, in the beginning, the company offered a couple of homegrown models, each powered by a Moretti-developed inline-four engine. The 71-horsepower, 750cc variant powers this car, which is named for its displacement. The 750 was available in limited numbers in a variety of body styles. This Alger-Le Cap is a two-door fastback.

The auction catalog states this is one of five known surviving examples of 200 built. It’s unclear if that’s of this body style or 750 production in total. Anyway, it’s rare. And the estimate is $73,000-$91,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Sizaire-Berwick

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1913 Sizaire-Berwick 60HP Limousine by Labourdette

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | June 20, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Sizaire-Berwick was founded in Paris but was financed in England. The chassis and engines were manufactured in the Courbevoie factory, and they were bodied in England, where most of the cars were to be sold. Maurice and Georges Sizaire had previously founded Sizaire-Naudin, and they teamed up with Frederick Berwick (the British importer of Corre La Licorne) in 1913 (the year after they left Sizaire-Naudin).

The company managed to churn out 139 examples before WWI started. They were powered by a Maurice Sizaire-designed 4.1-liter inline-four that made 60 horsepower when new. Those 139 chassis built before the war? Well most ended up bodied for the British military as armored cars.

This one, by some miracle, ended up bodied by Labourdette. It’s never been restored and has spent time on museum duty after staying disassembled with its first owner (at a castle, naturally) until 1968. It’s kind of unusual for its time in that it has an electric starter and completely closed bodywork.

After WWI, there ended up being British and French-built Sizaire-Berwick cars. Things got confusing and messy, and the marque disappeared after 1927. This car is expected to sell for between $100,000-$145,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Castagna Vittoria

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1995 Castagna Vittoria

Offered by Finarte | Online | June 14-28, 2021

Carrozzeria Castagna was an Italian coachbuilder whose roots dated back to the 1820s. During the 1920s and 30s, the company bodied many cars for companies like Isotta Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo.

The brand was revived in the mid-1990s, and they still exist. They re-debuted at the 1995 Geneva International Motor Show with this, the Vittoria. It’s essentially a re-bodied Alfa Romeo SZ. The front end actually kind of looks like it was ripped off a Nissan 240SX or something, while the rear looks like it was designed by someone who never met the designer of the front end.

The powerplant remains the same: a 207-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6. It’s the only one like it, and the pre-sale estimate is listed by Finarte as $235,000-$275,000. Which seems like… a lot. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.