Tag Archives: classic

Toyota Classic

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1997 Toyota Classic

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Toyota’s first production car was called the AA, and it was built in small numbers from 1936 to 1943. In fact, just 1,404 sedans were made. In 1996, still in a weird phase of Japanese-market retro-styled vehicles, Toyota decided to honor the AA with this, the Classic.

Produced just in 1996, the sedan, which actually borrows its rear-wheel-drive frame from the Hilux pickup truck, is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 96 horsepower. So yeah, it’s bigger than a Nissan Pao but just as quick/slow. All Classics wore the same black/red paint scheme.

They were also only sold in Japan, and just 100 were built. This one was brought to the U.S. earlier this year. Bidding ends today, and the price was approaching $20,000 as of this writing. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $40,500.

Five Additional Military Vehicles

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The Littlefield Collection

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014

 1973 Alvis FV721 Fox Prototype

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Fox was Britain’s replacement for the Ferret armored scout car. It was designed and manufactured by Alvis, beginning in 1973. The final Foxes were withdrawn from service in 1994.

The Fox here is one of the original prototypes and remains in original condition. The engine is a 4.2-liter straight-six from Jaguar making 190 horsepower. It should sell for between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $57,500.

1942 Baldwin M3A5 Grant II

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The M3 Lee was designed prior to America’s entry into WWII. They were operational around the time Pearl Harbor was attacked. In 1942, a new variant, the M3A5 was introduced. The “Grant II” – as it was called – used a GM engine and was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.

This tank was shipped new to Australia and uses a 12-cylinder diesel making 375 horsepower. It will do 25 mph and cost the new owner between $300,000-$400,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $276,000.

ca.1963 Panhard EBR-90

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Panhard EBR (which is the French abbreviation for “Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle”) was designed prior to World War II but didn’t actually go into production until 1950. It was produced in three versions, with the 90-mm cannoned version you see here starting production in 1963.

It’s an impressive setup: eight-wheel drive. It’s powered by a 200 horsepower Fiat 6.0-liter flat-12. About 1,200 were built and the last ones left the French military in 1987. This one should cost between $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $28,750.

ca.1960 ZiL BTR-152

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The BTR-152 was built by ZiS (from 1950 until 1956) and later by ZiL (through 1962). In total, about 15,000 were built. It’s an armored personnel carrier from the Soviet Union. The engine is a 107 horsepower straight-six.

This example isn’t in the best of shape, but it does run and drive “very well,” according to the auction catalog. This one wears Egyptian Army markings and should sell for between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $34,500.

1945 ACF M37 105-mm Howitzer Motor Carriage

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

This beautiful HMC (basically a motorized Howitzer… artillery on wheels) was built in late 1945 and therefore didn’t see action in WWII. It was built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF for short). It was based on the American M24 Chaffee tank.

The engine is actually two Cadillac 8-cylinder engines – making it a 16-cylinder monster putting out a combined total of 220 horsepower. Only 316 were delivered out of a total of 448 orders. Everything on this one still works – so if you’re celebrating the 4th of July today, here’s your firework machine. It’ll cost you between $200,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this amazing collection.

Update: Sold $195,500.

German Half-Track

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ca.1939 Krauss-Maffei Sd.Kfz. 7

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

German half-tracks are some of the most sought-after military vehicles from WWII. The Sd.Kfz. 7 is one of the highlights. These were built between 1938 and 1944, with a total production of 12,187 between Krauss-Maffei, Borgward, and Sauserwerke. Breda also built 250 of them in Italy. The engine is a 140 horsepower Maybach straight-six. It seats 11 and can do 31 mph. This was used in Czechoslovakia after the war and was restored in the late-1990s. The price shows how sought-after they are: between $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,207,500.

John Deere D

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1924 John Deere D

Offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1924 John Deere D

Photo – Mecum

John Deere is the most famous of all tractor manufacturers with their iconic green and yellow paint scheme. The company, which is still technically Deere & Company, can trace its roots directly back to its founding by John Deere in 1837. Here’s some info on the D model:

Engine: 7.6-liter two-cylinder. About 27 horsepower.

Production: about 160,000.

Produced: 1923-1953.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $42,000.

Milwaukee Steam Runabout

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1900 Milwaukee Steam Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hersey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

The Milwaukee Automobile Company began producing steam vehicles in 1900. There were a bunch of steam car manufacturers in the United States at the turn of the century, and a number of them were producing light runabouts that looked just like this.

Unfortunately, this marque only lasted through 1902 – and not even through the entire year. Quite a few other early makes would shut down just as quickly. It was like a big game of Economic Darwinism Whac-A-Mole. Companies were popping up and shutting down all over the place.

This is a rare example of an already rare marque. It’s two-cylinder steam engine makes six horsepower. It’s only a four-owner car, with all owners and history known – which is a pretty incredible feat considering it’s 112 years old. The car should bring between $20,000-$40,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

McIntyre Runabout

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1910 McIntyre Model B-1 Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

Auburn, Indiana was one of the early meccas of automobile manufacturing. The W.H. McIntyre Company was founded in 1909 on the heels of Mr. McIntyre’s purchase of the W.H. Kiblinger Company, also of Auburn. (I can’t be the only one to find it odd that the two men who founded these companies had the same first two initials, can I?)

McIntyre was the factory manager at Kiblinger and bought the company out when it was faced with a company-ending patent infringement lawsuit. He changed the name of the company and the design of the car – at least enough so that the lawyers went away.

But it was still, like the Kiblinger, a high-wheeler – a car with big solid-state wagon wheels and enough ground clearance to function in even the most remote sections of the new automobile marketplace. This car has a 14 horsepower flat-twin and a two-speed transmission with chain drive. 1910 was the last year for high-wheelers from McIntyre, although the company soldiered on through 1915.

This one is expected to sell for between $20,000-$30,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Bonhams at the Simeone Foundation, click here.

Update: Sold $37,950.

1915 Peerless Touring Car

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1915 Peerless 48 HP Seven-Passenger Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

This big WWI-era touring car is beautiful. Then again, I’m usually pretty crazy for these cars – but to be one from the “Three P’s” (Peerless, Packard, Pierce-Arrow) makes it even more special. Peerless got off to kind of a slow start in the early 1900s, but by the Teens, production was in full swing and they were turning out some of the finest cars you could buy.

The cars were built in Cleveland and this one has a 48 horsepower 9.5-liter T-head straight-six. The car seats seven and the original owner had five kids – making this their minivan. When the owner, a wealthy Pennsylvanian businessman, died in 1933, the car was put into storage for the next 30 years.

Light work was done on the car over that period by the purchaser’s grandson, but it wasn’t until 2003 that the car was fully restored, making its show circuit debut in 2010, reaping awards wherever it went. It is believed that this car has only covered 24,500 miles since new and it is the only 1915 Peerless 48 HP Seven-Passenger Touring known to exist and it is being sold from the same family that bought it in 1915. For more information, click here. And for more from RM in Hershey, click here.

Update: Not sold.

All-Original Mercedes-Benz S-Type

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1928 Mercedes-Benz 680 S-Type Four-Seat Open Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, England | September 15, 2012

Well check this out. This 1928 Mercedes-Benz S-Type Tourer has been in the same family for the last 84 years. That’s single-family ownership from new. And it has never been restored and has covered only 8,375 miles. This is an incredible car and an example of one of those cars that proves there is always something out there that will surprise you when it surfaces.

Mercedes-Benz introduced the S-Type in 1927. It featured a 6.8-liter straight-six with supercharger that was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Power was around 180 and the top speed was in excess of 100 mph. The big brothers of this car, the SS, SSK and SSKL are legendary for their performance.

This car was ordered by an Army Captain in early 1928. It was delivered to England as a bare chassis and bodied by Cadogan Motors Ltd. of London with this lightweight, four-seat, fabric open tourer-style body. It was road-registered up through 1937 and by the 1950s it was set on blocks in the custom-made garage built specifically for this car.

The original owner’s grandson acquired the car in 2012 and brought it back to life. It runs and drives and has been inspected by a Daimler-Benz Classic engineer. This was the first great car produced by Mercedes-Benz and everything is just as it was in 1928 (well, the tires are new and the transmission was replaced by the owner in the 1930s). You won’t find a car this rare and interesting that hasn’t been seen in 60 years anytime soon. Then again, who knows what else will drive out of the woodwork tomorrow.

The pre-sale estimate is $2,400,000-$3,200,000. For the complete lot description, click here. And for more from Bonhams at Goodwood, click here.

Update: Sold $4,544,000.

1917 Abbott-Detroit

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1917 Abbott-Detroit 6-44 Four-Passenger Roadster

For Sale at Hyman Ltd. | St. Louis, Missouri

The Abbott-Detroit Motor Car Company was founded in Detroit in 1909. Cars could be had with either four or six-cylinder Continental engines. This car uses a 3.7-liter straight-six making an estimated 44 horsepower. The body looks like a two-door, two-passenger roadster, but there are actually two seats directly behind the driver – a layout common in modern coupes, but not something you see too often in cars from the 1910s. Also, this car is listed as “bigger than it looks in the pictures,” which sounds about right when you see some of the detail shots.

Abbott-Detroit relocated to Cleveland in 1916 and was renamed the Consolidated Car Company. They badged their cars as “Abbott”s, although the 1917 model you see here is badged as an Abbott-Detroit. The company went bankrupt in 1918 and was liquidated the following year.

Abbott-Detroit cars were guaranteed for life, but unfortunately, the company had long since closed before this car was discovered and restored. It comes with a large amount of documentation including documents from the factory such as stock certificates and correspondence, which is pretty cool.. The asking price is $73,500. For more information, click here.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kansas City, 2014 for $35,000.

Duesenberg J-356

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1932 Duesenberg Model J Tourster in the style of Derham

For sale at St. Louis Car Museum & Sales | St. Louis, Missouri

Ordinarily I wouldn’t feature a car on a Saturday, the day I normally reserve for auction results or, well, my day off. But this is a makeup post because two weeks ago I featured J-355, a car which had already been featured. I knew this car was for sale, and it was going to be skipped so I could feature that other car. So I felt dumb, and here we are.

This is a Model J that was constructed from pieces of other Duesenbergs. In total, three cars combined to make this one. A Willoughby Sedan originally sat atop this chassis and the engine came from a Murphy Convertible Sedan. Other parts came from a car that was once a Rollston Cabriolet. But it does have an actual Duesenberg engine, no. J-356.

The body is not original. It is one of a few built by a man named Ted Billings to an exacting standard in the style of a Derham Tourster. This type of Model J isn’t the most desirable, but it will get you in the ever-exclusive “I-own-a-real-Duesenberg” club. The cost of entry? $799,900. For more information, click here.

Update: Failed to sell at Motostalgia, Houston 2014.

Update II: Failed to sell at Bonhams, Greenwich 2015.