Tag Archives: classic cars

DAM/TPR 4100

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1987 DAM 4100

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | November 13-14, 2020

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Group B rallying was one of the best classes of motorsport since… well, since motorsports. In the 1980s, there were some outrageous rally cars, and one such example was the MG Metro 6R4. Badged as a derivative of the frumpy Austin/MG Metro front-wheel-drive hatchback, the 6R4 was a rear-mid-engined four-wheel-drive monster powered by a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 capable of over 400 horsepower.

There were 220 examples of the 6R4 built, 20 of which were high-level competition cars. The other 200 were Clubman cars, which were sold to the public. Many of them ended up in the hands of privateer rally drivers. So what is this car then?

Well, Tony Pond was a works Austin-Rover rally driver. One of the team engineers was a man named David Appleby. When Austin-Rover (MG) pulled out of rallying in 1987, Pond and Appleby set up shop updating Clubman cars. Thus, the DAM/TPR 4100 was born.

This is the prototype. Pond and Appleby parted ways shortly after this car was built, but Appleby soldiered on without Pond and ended up producing 5-10 examples. Power is from a Cosworth-derived 2.5-liter V6 rated at 295 horsepower at an impressive 10,250 rpm. It’s got four-wheel drive, too.

This is like a cottage industry British supercar from the 90s (even though it was built in the late 1980s). It’s a car that never appears at public sales (or in public generally). The estimated price reflects it. The estimate is $190,000-$215,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold. Silverstone actually says sold for an “undisclosed amount,” which is about the sketchiest thing I’ve ever seen on an online auction.

Update II: Sold, Silverstone Auctions, March 2021, $124,501.

Kissel Semi-Racer

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1912 Kissel Kar Thirty Model C Semi-Racer

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | November 11-20, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Kissel, who still badged their automobiles “Kissel Kars” in 1912 (and would do so through 1918), is most famous for their 1920s sports car, the Gold Bug Speedster. But for a decent amount of time before and after the Gold Bug, they produced a wide variety of other cars.

Kissel Kar’s “Thirty” was sold in 1912 and 1913. Power was from a 30-horsepower inline-four, though the engine’s rating would dip a bit for 1913. The Semi-Racer body style appears to be mostly marketing talk, as this looks like many other convertibles offered around the same time. It was one of four styles offered in 1912, and one of two that would make the jump to ’13.

The example presents fairly well, and the white tires are always a selling point. No pre-sale estimate is available, but you can read more about this car here. The rest of RM’s lineup is available here.

Update: Sold $48,400.

Mohs Safarikar

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1973 Mohs Safarikar

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Photo – Hyman Ltd

Well here’s a car I never thought I’d get to feature. Bruce Mohs had his hand in a lot of various ventures, including his namesake seaplane company (though it is unclear if he ever made a seaplane). In 1967, he introduced a wild thing of a car called the Ostentatienne Opera Sedan. It was based on an International truck and was crazy expensive. Only a prototype was built (and it survives).

In 1972, he introduced the Safarikar. It was also based on an International, using a Travelall frame, aluminum panels, and an exterior covered in padded Naugahyde. The radiator surround is cartoonish, and the car features a retractable multi-piece hardtop. The doors just slide straight out (so the people in the car could hunt while moving, thus the safari part of the name). Seating is from three abreast buckets up front and a rear bench that folds into a bed. Power is from a 6.4-liter V8.

Three of these were built, and two are known to survive. The story of this car is that it was found in a parking lot in Georgia. It was later restored over a period of four years. It’s now for sale in St. Louis. The price? Well, it’s less than $350,000 if you were worried about being able to afford it. Click here for more info.

Renault 5 Turbo Touring Car

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1987 Renault 5 Turbo Supertouring

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | November 14, 2020

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Renault 5 Turbo was the coolest hot hatch of the 1980s. The rally car variants are legendary. But I don’t think I’ve seen an R5 Turbo that I’ve wanted more than this one. It was built as a touring car for the French Supertouring Championship, which was a series that existed between 1976 and 2005.

Only six R5 Turbos were converted to this spec in 1986. Half of those were updated in 1987 (including this car) with a wider track, a lowered suspension, and a revised 1.4-liter stroker version of the turbocharged inline-four. Output was 410 horsepower. The other two updated versions have been retained by Renault.

This car had two race wins during the 1987 season, and it was also the championship-winning car. It was sold after the season to a hillclimb driver who managed to finagle factory support for his privateer effort. It broke after it was “out of warranty,” so he refinished it in its Supertourisme livery and lent it to the Prince of Monaco for display in his collection. It’s since been refreshed and now carries a pre-sale estimate of $390,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Heron Europa

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1967 Heron Europa

Offered by Brightwells | Online | November 2-5, 2020

Photo – Brightwells

Heron Plastics was based in London and got its start in 1960 building fiberglass shells for Austins. In 1962, they introduced their own car, the fiberglass-bodied Europa. It was sold for a few years, and the catalog estimates that only 12 were made.

It features a steel backbone chassis, independent suspension, and front disc brakes. Power is from a Ford inline-four, which was offered in 1.0- and 1.5-liter forms. No word on what this car has. The Europa was available as a kit or as a complete car.

Brightwells claims this is the only surviving example, though a quick Google search turns up at least one more car out there. Fun fact: this car was the inspiration for Monteverdi‘s MBM Tourismo. The pre-sale estimate on this Europa project is $10,000-$13,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,635.

Westcott C-48

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1920 Westcott Model C-48 Sedan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | November 12-19, 2020

Photo – RM Sotheby’s, obviously

Sweet watermark. The Westcott Carriage Company was based in Richmond, Indiana, beginning in 1895. They didn’t build their first car until 1909, and it was a simple buggy. The following year they launched right into the production of a four-cylinder car. Westcotts were assembled cars, meaning they were built using off-the-shelf parts from other manufacturers.

They relocated to Springfield, Ohio, in 1916 and continued building cars through 1925. The C-48 was offered in 1920 and 1921, and it was the larger of the two models offered in each of those years. It is powered by a 51-horsepower inline-six and was actually less powerful than the smaller Model C-38 that was sold alongside.

Three body styles were offered, and this seven-passenger sedan is one of 1,850 Westcotts of all types built in 1920. It was actually used as the mayor’s car on Boardwalk Empire. It is now offered without reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $27,500.

B.A.T. 9

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1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9d

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | October 28, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

And then there was this one, the final Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept car of the 1950s (they actually produced a B.A.T. 11 concept in 2008 as a sort of tribute to the first three). Scaglione’s styling on this one was a little more subdued. The rear wings shrunk down, and the front end actually carried an Alfa Romeo corporate look, foreshadowing the Giulietta Sprint Speciale.

This one also debuted at the Turin Motor Show, albeit in 1955. Ownership history is known since new, and the powertrain was again sourced from Alfa’s 1900.

The story of the three of these being united is interesting. Nuccio Bertone was in Pasadena, California, in 1989, and the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours arranged to have all three cars displayed at their show, which Bertone ended up attending. While there, a collector made offers on all three, and it worked. The cars later spent ~10 years at the Blackhawk Museum and are all three now being offered as a single lot. Click here for more info.

Update: All three B.A.T. cars sold as a single lot for $14,840,000.

Woods Dual Power

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1917 Woods Dual Power Type 44 Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | October 30, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

I’m not a huge fan of featuring project cars (this one is described as 80% complete), but the car itself is interesting – and rare – enough that I had to. The Woods Motor Vehicle Company was founded in Chicago in 1899. They produced electric vehicles through 1916, though they did sell gas-powered cars under the Woods Electric brand for a few years.

In 1917, the company rebranded as Woods Dual Power, a new marque that would last only through 1918. The new cars had an inline-four gas engine rated at 14 horsepower, in addition to an electric motor. Below 15 mph, the car drove on electricity (though the gas engine was still idling). After it hit 15, the gas motor would take over, pushing the car up to 35 mph. It was essentially a very early hybrid.

Only 1,900 examples were produced, and only four are known to survive. Three are in museums, and this example was restored in the 1980s. It was later present in a private German collection when a fire swept through and a beam landed on the Woods, crushing it. The current owner straightened the chassis, sourced a replacement gas engine, and rebuilt the electrics to roughly mimic the original running procedure. It now carries a roadster body and still needs some additional touches to be complete. In this state, it should sell for between $41,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

B.A.T. 7

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1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | October 28, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is the second of the three Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept cars that RM Sotheby’s is offering as a single lot later this week in New York. It was also styled by Franco Scaglione at Bertone and carries a similar look as BAT 5, except that those rear wings are pulled so far inward they look like the spiraling vapor trails off the end of a plane’s wing.

The driveline was sourced from Alfa’s 1900, meaning that this car has a 115-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-four. Designed without the aid of computers (and likely little-to-no windtunnel time), the BAT 7 boasts a drag coefficient of 0.19. That’s better than a Prius, a car designed specifically to slip through the air.

This car debuted at the 1954 Turin Motor Show and was later sent to the U.S. by Alfa Romeo. It even ran in SCCA races in 1955. The rear wings were removed at one point before being re-installed during a late-1980s cosmetic restoration. Click here for more info.

Update: All three B.A.T. cars sold as a single lot for $14,840,000.

Mignonette-Luap

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1900 Mignonette-Luap 2.25HP Voiturette

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | October 30, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

Well here’s a car that probably shouldn’t still exist. Mignonette-Luap was a short-lived product of Jiel-Laval et Cie of Bordeaux, France. Produced only between 1899 and 1900, this small voiturette could potentially be the only remaining example of the marque.

Power is from a 2.25-horsepower De Dion-Bouton single-cylinder engine mounted at the rear. In a case of making customers feel good about their purchase, the car was also equipped with pedals should you need to bike it the rest of the way home after the engine failed.

But no fear, it has completed the London-to-Brighton three times since 2011. It has tiller steering, a two-speed gearbox, and an Amal carburetor from a much later motorcycle. It also has a pre-sale estimate of $65,000-$71,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.