Tag Archives: classic

1903 Stearns Suburban

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1903 Stearns Suburban Rear-Entry Tonneau

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 19, 2012

Frank B. Stearns organized F.B. Stearns & Company in 1898 with his brothers and they began producing automobiles out of their family’s barn in Cleveland. This 1903 Suburban model featured an 11 horsepower single-cylinder engine. Stearns sold his company to Willys in 1925 and Willys scuttled the company in 1929. In their day, Stearns automobiles were among America’s best – on the same level as Packard. But there are far fewer Stearns’ left in existence.

The car was tracked down in Michigan in the 1950s and restored in 1993. The car has not been driven much since the full restoration and still looks great. It is offered from the estate of John O’Quinn – a massive car collector who died a few years ago and RM has been parting the collection out since.

RM’s pre-sale estimate is $80,000-$100,000. Learn more about the car here (including the possible Astor-family connection). RM’s Arizona sale details are available here.

Update: Sold $82,500.

Nash Bridges ‘Cuda

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1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda Convertible

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 15-22, 2012

If this car looks familiar to you, then I am glad to say we share similar taste in 1990s primetime television cop shows. This was one of five ‘Cudas prepared for the CBS series Nash Bridges starring Don Johnson. Of the five built, it was the one personally retained by Johnson after production wrapped in 2001. He sold the car at Barrett-Jackson in 2003, where it was purchased by the current owner.

In the show, the car was supposed to be a 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible – of which only 11 were built. There was a time in the past five years where a Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible would cost you a cool $2 million. I’m not sure that price would stand today.

But that’s another story. This car is actually equipped with a 340 V8 (5.6 liter) and it’s a 1970. It was one of 64 convertibles built for the Canadian market in 1970. It’s also an automatic – Don Johnson couldn’t be expected to drive, carry on a scripted conversation, take direction from a camera car, and shift, could he? In fact, Johnson did much of his own driving on the series, particularly when doing a dialogue scene and driving through San Francisco (and never hitting a red light!). Apparently, this took a lot of skill – keeping appropriate pace with the camera car and being able to be heard over wind and engine noise. Yes, I’ve watched DVD commentaries of Nash Bridges.

I remember this car selling in 2003 for almost $150,000. Part of me just can’t imagine it bringing that much now. You could probably get a real Hemi coupe for close to that price. The muscle car bubble did burst, despite what certain places will tell you. This is not a $150,000 car. Don’t get me wrong, I want it – bad. But I’m a gigantic fan of the show and Nash Bridges’ ‘Cuda is a car I’ve loved from first sight. You’d really have to love the show to pay more than double what this car is worth, were it any other 340 ‘Cuda Convertible.

More info on the lot car be found here. More on the auction here.

Update: Sold $88,000.

1957 David Convertible

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1957 David Convertible

Offered by Auctions America, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, March 16-18, 2012

Another microcar from Auctions America’s upcoming Ft. Lauderdale auction in the spring. This time, it’s a David – which was made in Barcelona from 1954 through 1958 (not much of a Spanish name is it?). Spain was a microcar hotbed in the 1950s with no less than four fairly significant manufacturers producing these little things. David wasn’t so big, having only produced 60 to 70 of these little convertibles.

The car is powered by a 345cc two-stroke single-cylinder engine making a whopping 10 horsepower. It will hit 42 mph, which I can only imagine is somewhat terrifying in this car. My lawn mower has larger wheels.

There aren’t but a handful of Davids left and cute definitely sells. But microcars have a limited appeal and a low price ceiling. Expect this to come in under $25,000. More info can be found here with more on the auction here.

Update: Sold $25,300.

1955 Flajole Forerunner

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1955 Flajole Forerunner

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 15-22, 2012

Designed by American Bill Flajole, this interesting concept car is one of one. It has a 180 horsepower Jaguar engine from an XK120. The curvy Fiberglas body has sparkly purple paint and curves all over the place.

The car has some unique design features – check out the chrome bumper way out there in front. You’d better be careful not to knick that chrome. And then there’s the rear-view mirror, located above the windshield and above the roof, outside of the car. It might seem strange until you realize there is zero visibility out the rear.

That nice sloping fastback – no pesky window seals to disrupt the airflow back to the rear tire sticking up like a spoiler in the back. The car is definitely interesting and it’s one of a kind. So if you want a car no one else has, this one’s for you.

This car sat at Hyman Ltd in St. Louis for quite a while with a $275,000 price tag. You can read the full catalog description here and check out more from Barrett-Jackson here.

Update: Not Sold. Currently for sale at Hyman Ltd in St. Louis for $295,000.

Jaguar XJ220 S

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1993 Jaguar XJ220 S Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | January 19-20, 2012 | Phoenix, Arizona

The Jaguar XJ220 was the fastest production car in the world at the time of its debut, topping out at 213 mph with a twin-turbocharged V6 engine. It was a sensation – a half-a-million dollar sensation with celebrity owners from Elton John to the Sultan of Brunei (of course). 281 cars were built.

Tom Walkinshaw Racing was there from the beginning to aid in development. They developed the XJ220C race car that competed at Le Mans in 1993 – where it won the GT Class with drivers John Nielsen, David Brabham, and David Coulthard. That win was later revoked because the car that competed didn’t have catalytic converters.

Anyway, TWR built 6 road-going versions of the XJ220C dubbed the XJ220S. Power was upped from the standard 542 horsepower to a staggering 680 bhp. Top speed also jumped, this by 15 mph to 228 mph.

There are only a few of these cars, so they don’t sell too often. The last one I can find was at a dealer a few years ago for $295,000. More info on this car is available here with more on the auction itself, here.

Update: Sold $230,000.

Mecum Kansas City Highlights

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The Mecum muscle car show recently traveled through Kansas City, Missouri. The top sale of the auction was this 1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible.

The restoration on this car was completed in 1997, meaning it isn’t Concours-fresh so it can definitely be driven. It sold for $165,000. Other interesting cars include a 1953 Buick Skylark Convertible seen here:

Finished in its original, attractive color, Ridge Green, this fully-optioned, 188 horsepower Skylark sold for $120,000. The other big sale was an awesome, white 1970 Plymouth Superbird with a 440 Six Pack which brought $122,500. More info on the sale and results can be found at Mecum’s website, here.

Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow

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1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow

Offered by Barrett-Jackson, January 15-22, 2012, Scottsdale, Arizona

Originally shown at the New York Auto Show in 1933 where it gathered much interest. A $10,000 price tag in 1933 made this a car that was definitely not for everyone, and only five were built (three survive today).

The modern-day Mercedes-Benz CLS is described as a “four-door coupe” which Mercedes would like us to think was their idea. But this car is a four-door coupe and it’s a tad older than any CLS. It features a V12 that will take this car to a then astounding 115 mph. It’s a sensational car of which very few exist. Among large 1930s American classics, they don’t come much better than this.

This particular car was restored by the Harrah Collection where it remained until 1987. When it crosses the block in January it will be coming from the Blackhawk Collection, where it sat for years with a price tag of about $1.45 million.

More info on the car is available here and more info on the sale at Barrett-Jackson’s website.

Update: Sold $2,200,000.

1952 Kleinschnittger F125

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1952 Kleinschnittger F125 Convertible

Offered by Auctions America, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 16-18, 2012

This Kleinschnittger (we recommend not trying to say that three times fast as you might actually injure yourself) is one of a handful of rare, interesting post-war European microcars that will cross the block at Auctions America’s Ft. Lauderdale event in March of 2012.

The model is an F125, the 125 standing for the 125cc single-cylinder engine (two-stroke) outputting a sporty 5.4 horsepower (that decimal is very important). A three-speed transmission will propel this 367 pound roadster to a blistering 43 mph.

In all seriousness, this car is quite interesting because not very many survive of the less than 3,000 that were built. There was an F250 follow-up model with a 250cc engine.

Kleinschnittger only existed between 1950 and 1957 in Germany so their cars never really had the chance to make a huge impact on the world. This car is small and cute – two characteristics that have proven to sell strongly at recent auctions. Christie’s sold one (back when they were still selling cars in 1997) for about $22,000. My guess is somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. It’s in really nice shape and, well, apparently they don’t come up for auction but every 15 years.

Find out more about it here and more about Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale, here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

Purple Isotta Boattail

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1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Boattail Tourer

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 19-20, 2012

Look. At. This. Car. It’s mindblowing. First of all, how many two-tone purple cars do you see? Now, how many two-tone purple cars do you see that grab and hold your attention quite like this. Look at that grille!

This is the second Tipo 8A that we’ve featured that’s being offered in Arizona this January. It is by far the more awesome. The car is immaculate and I’d by dying to put a bid in on it, had I not been aware that RM sold this car back in 2007 for a touch over $390,000. At that time, it undercut the lower end of the estimate by a cool $60,000 – so, by definition it’s a steal. (The car lacked the current grille-work that it has now at that time).

It’s got a 135 horsepower, 7.4 liter Straight 8 engine which isn’t Duesenberg power but it’s no slouch, able to hit 100 mph. The Boattail bodywork is by Carrozzeria Italiana Cesare Sala (not a household name by any means) and it cost $6,000 back in 1927 – on top of the $8,500 chassis price. They weren’t exactly giving these cars away.

RM doesn’t have an estimate handy as of this writing, but $400,000 sounds about right, we’ll see. I’d pay it, conditions willing. More info can eventually be found here and more about RM in Arizona here.

Update: Sold $407,000.

1913 AC Sociable

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1913 AC Sociable Runabout

Offered by Coys | “True Greats,” London, U.K. | December 7, 2011

Autocars and Accessories Ltd. was founded by the Weller Brothers who initially produced a three-wheeled delivery vehicle called the Autocarrier. When they decided to sell it to the emerging motoring public as a passenger vehicle, the replaced the cargo box with a front seat and the AC Sociable was born.

AC produced approximately 1800 Sociables from 1907 through 1914. It is powered by a single-cylinder engine of about 630cc that sits below the driver who sits in the lone seat at the car’s rear. This car has a somewhat perplexing convertible top that can be raised over the passenger compartment. It’s purpose, one could suppose, would be to block the sun – as it does not reach the small half-windshield, therefore not really protecting anyone from the elements.

Curiously, it also obscures the vision of the driver. This picture:

shows that, perhaps if the correct height, the operator could see through the porthole window to drive (assuming the passengers aren’t large enough to cover it up), but their vision is still quite limited. It’s an interesting car, no doubt. But it also showcases that we’ve come a long way so far as ergonomics are concerned.

Coys estimates the price to be between £18,000 and £22,000 ($28,000-$34,000 USD). More info on the car can be found here. And more info on the auction here.

Update: Sold £25,370, or about $40,300.