Tag Archives: classic

Ferrari 375 MM

Posted on by
1

1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 12, 2012

When new, the Ferrari 375 was the top dog among Ferraris with the 4.5-liter Lampredi V-12 making a potent 340 horsepower. It was also capable of a speeds in excess of 170 mph – insanity in 1953. This car was shipped new to Argentina where it quickly built a reputation for speed and success. It’s impressive competition history includes:

  • 1954 Argentine Sports Car Championship – 1st (with Diaz Saenz Valiente)
  • 1954 Turismo Carretera – 1st (with Valiente)
  • 1955 Buenos Aires 1000 km – 2nd (with Cesar Rivero and Raul Najurieta)
  • 1955 Argentina Sports Car Championship – 1st (with Najurieta)
  • 1956 500 Miles of Argentina – 1st (with Najurieta)

The car suffered a few serious crashes in its lifetime, but it is a race car, and repairs from racing are kind of expected. The last serious accident was in 1957 and it’s racing career ended. An American V8 was then installed in the car and it was used on the street until it was eventually parked and forgotten.

In 1983, the car was discovered again in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was shipped to Italy and restored under the ownership of Count Vittorio Zanon di Valgiurata between 1984 and 1986. A correct 375 MM engine was found and put into the car – although it is not the engine it came with from the factory. Since its restoration, it has changed hands a number of times and has enjoyed a career of historic racing – including the Monterey Historics and Mille Miglia Storica.
Only 15 Ferrari 375 MMs were built and they are valuable. This one has known (and successful) competition and ownership history. It is simply a killer Ferrari and won worth it’s weight in gold. The pre-sale estimate is (converted to USD) $4,300,000-$5,300,000. Good luck bidding.

For the complete catalog description, click here and for more from RM in Monaco, click here.

Update: did not sell.

Dennis Fire Engine

Posted on by
Reply

1930 Dennis Fire Engine

Offered by Coys | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | April 21, 2012

John & Raymond Dennis set up shop as Dennis Brothers Ltd in 1895 in Guildford. Originally, the sold bicycles before building their first motor-powered tricycle in 1899. Four-wheeled cars followed in 1901 and commercial vehicles – beginning with a bus – in 1903. The first Dennis fire engine was built in 1908 and the company had found their groove. Passenger cars disappeared by 1915.

Buses and fire engines were their specialty and this 1930 fire engine features a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine and it is in the livery of what is believed to be the original department, County Hospital Prestwich. There is a lot of attractive brass and many period fire-fighting items, including antique extinguishers, ladder and a trailer pump.

The Dennis company has gone through a serious of corporate mergers since 1972. At one point, it was split into three separate companies, with Dennis Bus and Dennis Fire being merged back into one another and re-branded as Alexander Dennis in 2001, the form in which they currently exist.

Fire engines are great collectibles – they usually don’t cost all that much and there are a ton of them out there. Dennis is a recognized brand name among fire equipment collectors and this one shows well and would be great for parades – the most common duty retired fire trucks serve. Coys estimates that this will sell for between $15,000 – $24,000. For the complete description, click here. And for the rest of Coys’ Ascot lineup, click here.

The 9th Ferrari Built

Posted on by
2

1948 Ferrari 166 Inter Spyder Corsa

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 12, 2012

The Ferrari 166 Inter was among the first models produced by the company. This particular example was the ninth Ferrari built – of all models (the sixth 166). It is an extremely early car that is preceded mostly by competition cars. It has a coachbuilt body by Carrozzeria Fontana of Padua, which is near Venice. Only 37 of these cars were built.

The 166 Inter was a competitive model from the get-go, with this car winning the 1949 Italian Hill Climb Championship. Here is a brief (and not in any way complete) rundown of it’s competition history:

  • 1948 Pescara Grand Prix – 2nd (with Count Bruno Sterzi)
  • 1948 Coppo d’Oro – 9th (with Sterzi and Enzo Monari)
  • 1949 Italian Hillclimb Championship – 1st (with Giovanni Bracco)
  • 1949 Mille Miglia – unknown result (with Bracco and Umberto Maglioli)
  • 1949 Grand Prix di San Remo – 6th (with Bracco)
  • 1950 Targa Florio – abandoned (with Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara)
  • 1950 Mille Miglia – 9th (with Count Vittorio Marzotto and Paolo Fontana)
  • 1951 Grenzlandring – 2nd (with Franco Comotti)
  • 1951 Grand Prix di Modena – 6th (with Frolian Gonzalez)
  • 1955 Targa Florio – unknown result (with Francesco Matrullo)

This car was entered in many other races and hillclimbs with various other drivers. The body that is on the car now was introduced to the car in 1950 by the then-owners, the Marzottos. The ‘722’ on the door was first given to the car for the 1950 Mille Miglia, when it was driven by the car’s owner and the designer of the car’s body.

The engine had been swapped and upgraded over the years, but when the car was discovered in Rome in 1970, a 190 horsepower V-12 166 engine was pulled from an ex-Marzotto Ferrari Formula 2 car and installed when it was restored in 1977. It was restored again, with the final pieces being finished in 2012, including a “preservation” of the 1950 Fontana body.

This is a storied example of the early days of Ferrari. It’s fresh and eligible for just about any historic event you wish to partake in. The pre-sale estimate is €1.100.000 – €1.800.000 or $1,440,000-$2,350,000. For the complete catalog description, with a more in depth history, click here. And for more on RM in Monaco, click here.

Update: sold $1,307,950.

Windhoff Four

Posted on by
1

1928 Windhoff 764cc Four

Offered by Bonhams | Stafford, U.K. | April 29, 2012

Windhoff, which began producing motorcycles in Berlin in 1924, introduced their well-engineering Four in 1927. This bike featured a number of innovations that led to it being among the most expensive motorcycles of its day – not great news considering Germany’s pre-war economic woes. With an economy in ruins, the Windhoff Four was not long for this world. Company founder Hans Windhoff pulled the plug on the Four and returned to making light twins. This was not successful either and the firm folded in 1933.

The 764cc four-cylinder makes 22 horsepower. It’s so well engineered that I want to refer to it as the “German Brough Superior.” It’s certainly priced like it.

This particular motorcycle was sold at a Bonhams auction in 2008 for £100,500. The estimate for the current sale is £100,000-£130,000 or $160,000-$210,000. Not cheap, but you aren’t likely to find another one. For more information, click here and to see the entire lot list, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

Ferrari 625 TRC

Posted on by
1

1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 12, 2012

Impossible as it may seem, auction houses keep topping themselves with rarer and rarer cars – or in the case of RM, rarer and rarer Ferraris. This is one will be hard to top as it is but one of two 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spiders built. And it’s just sitting there, waiting for you to open your checkbook.

Originally purchased by West Coast Ferrari distributor Johnny von Neumann, this car has spent its entire life both A) in known hands and b) at the race track. While it never competed “with the big boys” at races like Le Mans, it has plenty of SCCA and other club racing wins under its belt. More recently, it has competed in over 100 races dedicated to vintage racing cars – far more than it did when it was new. The most interesting, perhaps, of all races this car was involved in was the very first race at Laguna Seca in 1957, where it finished 2nd.

When Ferrari shipped this car new to California, it was equipped with a 2.5-liter Lampredi straight-four engine making about 225 horsepower. In 1960, the second owner swapped out the original engine for a Chevy V8 (I shuddered as I read that the first time). Later on, the Chevy engine was replaced in favor of a 3.0-liter V-12 making 320 horsepower and the car was restored in the early 1980s.

“But, wait!” you say. “This is not a numbers matching car, surely the value is lessened.” Ah, but the original engine was tracked down (at some point, presumably by the current owner who has owned the car for 30 years) and it is offered with the car. So when you buy it, you can re-install it if you so choose. I’m beginning to wish my list of problems in life included: “which engine do I want in my Ferrari this week?”

This is one of those pesky “Estimate Upon Request” cars, so, in other words, if you need to ask, you can’t afford it. But look for it to fetch multiple millions. For the entire – and much more complete – catalog description, click here. To check out the other cars from RM in Monaco, click here.

Update: sold $6,526,800.

1926 Arab Super Sports

Posted on by
1

1926 Arab Super Sports Low-Chassis Tourer

Offered by H&H Auctions | Duxford, England | April 19, 2012

Arab was a very short-lived marque of automobile manufactured in Letchworth, England between 1926 and 1928. It was born out of a surplus of 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines built by Leyland Motors for use in “speedy delivery vans” that were never built. Enter Leyland engineers J.G. Parry-Thomas, Reid Railton (whose name would later appear on Railton automobiles) and Henry Spurrier, who put the engines to good use in low-slung sports cars. Only six or seven cars were built. This is one of two that survive – and the lone surviving Arab that is road-worthy.

Two models were available. This is the Low-Chassis model, capable of 90 mph (the High-Chassis model was not as quick). The bodywork is attractive and evocative of a Lagonda of similar vintage.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a very rare car in very good shape. The pre-sale estimate is $160,000-$190,000. To read the entire lot description, click here. And to see the other cars offered by H&H at The Imperial War Museum, click here.

Update: Sold, $144,000.

Ferrari Motorcycle

Posted on by
1

1953 Ferrari 150cc Super Sport

Offered by Bonhams | Stafford, U.K. | April 29, 2012

That’s right, a Ferrari motorcycle. But not that Ferrari. The lot description says that Enzo was “not pleased” that the name of his new sports car company was also being used on a line of unrelated lightweight motorcycles. But, the bikes were built by (dramatic music) his brother! Could you imagine an upstart motorcycle company trying to use the Ferrari name today? Oh, the lawsuits.

Built in Milan, Fratelli Ferrari’s motorcycles rolled out of the factory from 1951 through 1954, making them extremely rare. They ranged in displacement from 123cc to 248cc. Two or four-stroke. Single or twin-cylinder. This one is “original and unrestored” and has a 150cc single.

Think you can find something with a “Ferrari” badge for less than this? Good luck. The estimate is $7,200-$8,800. For the complete lot description, click here. And to check out the rest of the line up for this Bonhams motorcycle auction, click here.

On a side not, I apologize for the images. Bonhams has shrunken their images on their new website and I really loathe finding photos outside of the official ones for fear of misrepresenting the vehicle we are featuring. It might end up that we begin to feature less vehicles from Bonhams, which would be a shame. But I’ll do my best to get you the highest quality images.

Update: Did not sell.

Alfa Romeo Daytona

Posted on by
2

1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 Daytona

Offered by RM Auctions | Monaco | May 11-12, 2012

The Tipo 33/2 was Alfa Romeo’s prototype sports racing car for 1968. This one was a works race car that had at least one victory – finishing first at Imola in 1968 with Nino Vaccarella and Teodoro Zeccoli. The rest of the podium consisted of two other Tipo 33/2’s – a testament to the car’s dominating performance.

The “Daytona” moniker was given to the car after it won the 2-lire class at the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Tipo 33/2’s grabbed wins at the Targa Florio and class wins at the 1000km of the Nürburgring and 1000km of Monza.

The competition history of this car  includes:

  • 1968 500km Imola – 1st (with Nino Vacarella & Teodoro Zecolli)
  • 1969 1000km Monza – 10th (with Antonio Zadra & Giuseppe Dalla Torre)
  • 1969 GP Swerige – 12th (with Antonio Zadra)
  • 1969 Sports Neubiberg – 7th (with Klaus Reisch)
  • 1970 Dijon – 14th (with Hubert Ascher)
  • 1970 Sports Neubiberg – 5th (with Klaus Reisch)
  • 1970 Magny Cours International – 3rd (with Klaus Reisch)

This model is stated to be “the most original of its kind” and it looks fantastic – I’m sure it sounds just as good (you can get a brief snippet of engine noise from the very dramatic video of the car that RM has on their website). It has a 270 horsepower 2.0-liter V8 (there were cars with a 315 horsepower 2.5-liter V8).

A total of 28 Tipo 33/2’s were built between 1967 and 1968. Amazingly, there is an even rarer road-car variant – but who needs that when the car offered here is road registered and ready to race… er drive safely on the highway! RM’s pre-sale estimate on this car is €900,000-€1,100,000 or $1,199,970-$1,466,630. For the complete catalog description, click here. And to see the rest of what RM has in store for Monaco, click here.

Update: sold $1,305,360.

Mecum Kansas City Highlights

Posted on by
Reply

Mecum Auctions’ Kansas City Auction (which ended on March 31) did not have any huge sales that broke any records. In fact, there were numerous sub-$10,000 cars that would have been a lot of fun to buy. As far as highlights go, we’ll start with the Divco Milk Truck we featured, which sold for almost exactly what I predicted at $52,000.

The top sale was a brand new 2012 Mercedes-Benz S600 sedan which sold for $133,000. Not exactly super-exciting.

The next three top-sellers were 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertibles. One sold for $77,500 (a 427/300). One sold for $120,000 (a 427/435). Our favorite, the 427/435 pictured below, brought an even $100,000.

Other highlights include a 1969 Plymouth GTX with the 375 horsepower 440 engine that sold for $52,000.


.As far as cheapies go, this 1955 Chevrolet Ambulance that included period medical response equipment from the 1970s sold for only $3,100.

And finally, two rare Mustangs: a 1984 SVO (top) and and 1978 King Cobra (bottom):

The SVO was from the first year of production and only about 4,508 were made between 1984 and 1986. It sold for $3,800. The King Cobra was one of only 4,313 built and has some very Trans Am-like hood decals. It sold for $7,100.

For complete results, check out Mecum’s website.

Baldwin Motion Manta Ray

Posted on by
2

1973 Chevrolet Baldwin Motion Corvette Manta Ray GT

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 19, 2012

The Baldwin-Motion Performance Group came together in 1967 and was active in its original form until 1974. It was a partnership between Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance – both located in Baldwin, Long Island in New York. They took standard Chevrolets of the day and turned them into monsters – drag strip terrors that would eat up competitors.

Well, the muscle car era began to fade rather abruptly in the early-70s and the partnership tried something different: this 1973 Manta Ray GT Corvette. It was one of three built and the only one known to exist. It has the 350 small block V8 putting out 425 horsepower. It was also given a makeover – the attractiveness of which depends on your taste. But it is certainly distinctive.

Baldwin-Motion cars are very desirable today. The name carries similar gravitas as “Yenko” or “Nickey.” And this one is far rarer than a Baldwin-Motion Camaro from the late 60s. Better buy it now.

There is no pre-sale estimate available for this car. For the complete catalog description, click here and for more on Mecum’s Spring Classic in Indianapolis, click here.

Update: not sold.