Tag Archives: classic

Awe-Inspiring Daimler Double Six

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1932 Daimler 40/50 Double Six Sport Saloon

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 19, 2012

This is one of my favorite cars in the world – ever. When I set up my calendar of cars to feature from the various Monterey sales (yes, I have a calendar of cars to feature – I have to, this year is completely overwhelming with the number of unbelievable cars on offer), this car wasn’t among them. It didn’t show up in Gooding’s “Auction Preview.” But when their full catalog came online, I stopped everything when I saw this was in the auction. I recognized it immediately as the 1999 Best in Show winner at Pebble Beach (perhaps, if you recognize it, it is from this as well).

The Double Six was first introduced by Daimler in 1926. They were over-engineered masterpieces and quickly became the car of choice for the British royal family. It is also one of only two models of cars that have used a sleeve-valve V12 (the other was a Voisin). This car has the 6.5-liter V12 making 150 horsepower. It could also do more than 80 mph.

This car has the longest wheelbase of any of the Double Sixes, coming in just a few inches shorter than a Bugatti Royale, which it somewhat resembles. The body was built by Martin Walker Ltd. and The styling is just amazing – the long hood, low roof and four suicide doors all add up to a somewhat menacing – and totally breathtaking – look.

Only 26 Double Sixes were built, but this car is truly one-of-a-kind. I’ve loved it since the first time I saw it after the ’99 Concours d’Elegance. You won’t find a better-looking four-door anywhere. The pre-sale estimate is $3,000,000-$4,000,000. For the complete description, click here. And for more from Gooding & Company in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $2,970,000.

RM St. John’s Highlights 2012

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RM’s sale in St. John’s, Michigan (okay, it was actually held in Plymouth) had a bunch of really old, really cool cars. The top sale was the SJ Duesenberg we featured for $957,000. One of the stars of the show was this 1928 Cadillac Series 341-A V8 Town Sedan that was once owned by Al Capone. It is bulletproof – literally, which is way cool. It sold for $341,000.

1928 Cadillac Series 341-A V-8 "Al Capone" Town Sedan

Other interesting sales included this 1907 Locomobile Model E Roadster for $74,250.

1907 Locomobile Model E Roadster

A couple of other pre-WWI American automobiles included a 1911 Overland Model 46 Torpedo Roadster (top) for $35,200 and a 1912 Chalmers Model 9 Torpedo Roadster (bottom) for $57,750. Also, our featured 1909 Washington sold for $71,500.

1911 Overland Model 46 Torpedo Roadster

1912 Chalmers Model 9 Torpedo Roadster

One car I really liked was this 1924 Moon Series A Five-Passenger Touring. There’s something about solid, painted wheel rims on 1920s-era cars that I’m really drawn too. I think it’s because it looks more period-correct than any other type of wheel – wooden spokes included. This one sold for $26,400.

1924 Moon Series A Five-Passenger Touring

A few months ago we featured a 1907 Dolson Model F, which was for sale at a dealership in St. Louis for $110,000. Well, it sold at this auction for $74,250. Sometimes it pays to wait. Another car we featured, specifically for this auction, was a 1914 Detroit Electric Model 46 Cape Top Roadster. It sold for $99,000. There were a number of other “alternatively powered” vehicles at this sale. Another Detroit Electric was this 1918 Model 75 Brougham that brought $44,000.

1918 Detroit Electric Model 75B Brougham

The other electric cars were a 1912 Baker Model V Special Extension Coupe (top, $148,500) and a 1922 Milburn Electric Model 27L Light Brougham (bottom, $56,100).

1912 Baker Model V Special Extension Coupe

1922 Milburn Electric Model 27L Light Brougham

A different type of propulsion popular in the early days of motoring was steam, and it was represented at this sale as well, by this 1911 Stanley Model 63 Toy Tonneau which sold for $165,000.

1911 Stanley Model 63 Toy Tonneau

And finally, the “Rolls-Royce of fire engines,” Ahrens-Fox. They are very rare and there were two of these at this sale, the top selling one went for $198,000. It was this 1925 N-S-4 Triple Combination Pumper.

1925 Ahrens-Fox N-S-4 Triple Combination Pumper

For complete results, click here.

Silverstone Classic Sale 2012 Highlights

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The Silverstone Classic sale (held July 21, 2012) by Silverstone Auctions consisted of half road cars and half race cars. Almost all of the road cars sold, whereas seemingly half of the racecars failed to meet their minimum reserve. With some “results to follow” (as the auction house is trying to complete a post-auction sale), the top sale was a 2008 Ferrari F430 GT3 that brought $119,000

One of our feature cars failed to sell, the Satecmo Eolia. The Chausson CHS Prototype did sell, for $17,300. Other interesting sales include a 1964 DKW Munga – there’s some serious fun to be had with this thing for only $5,500.

This 1947 Emeryson Jaguar, a one-off racing special built by Paul Emery, sold for $22,500.

A similar looking car (and with a similar base) is this 1983 Kougar Jaguar. Kougars were  built around Jaguar S-Type mechanicals. It sold for $17,000.

Another race car that actually sold at this sale was this 1970 Mallock Mk 8/16. Built by Arthur Mallock, this car was intended for use on the hillclimb circuit – even though it closely resembles a Formula car. This car actually won a 1600cc “B” Sport championship in its day. It sold for $7,800.

Two other interesting road cars were this 1948 Allard M-Type (top) for $43,400 and an awesome 1998 Renault Sport Spider (bottom) for $31,700.

For complete results, click here.

Aston Martin DB3S

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1955 Aston Martin DB3S

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

The Aston Martin DB3S was introduced in 1953 and produced through 1955. It was developed from the DB3 – a race car in its own right, although less successful on track than the DB3S would turn out to be. Eleven “Works” examples were built (factory raced by Aston Martin). In 1955, the company introduced a customer version.

Twenty of these customer cars were built and they used an updated version of the DB3S’ 3.0-liter straight-six, making 210 horsepower. This is car #118 (the 18th of the customer cars) and it is finished in a vibrant shade of orange, as it was originally delivered to a a Dutch racing driver named Hans Davids. The Dutch love their orange.

The car spent its life in privateer hands (with gentlemen drivers), but it did compete – and it did so against the likes of Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Jo Bonnier, and Mike Hawthorn. The competition history of this car is as follows:

  • 1956 Goodwood (4/14) – 3rd (with Hans Davids)
  • 1956 Silverstone Daily Express – 17th (with Davids)
  • 1956 Grand Prix of Spa – 4th (with Davids)
  • 1956 Zandvoort – 1st (with Davids)
  • 1956 Opatija – DNF (with Davids)
  • 1957 Zandvoort – 1st (with Davids)
  • 1958 SCCA Nationals at Bridgehampton – 1st in class (with Fred Windridge)
  • 1958 Lime Rock National Championship Races – 10th, 1st in class (with Alan Markelson)
  • 1959 USAC Road Racing Championship Ponoma – DNF (with Bob Oker)

The car was restored and returned to its original color in the 1980s. Since then it has been well-maintained in ready-to-race condition. This car has known ownership history from new and no stories. Many people like their Astons in green, but I have to say that this looks really good in Dutch Racing Orange. I’d like to see more like it. The pre-sale estimate is $3,500,000-$4,000,000. For the complete lot description, click here. And for more from RM in during the Pebble Beach week, click here.

Update: Sold $3,685,000.

Pebble Beach-Winning Horch

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1938 Horch 853A Special Roadster by Erdmann & Rossi

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 17, 2012

This is one of the stars of the auction weekend in Monterey. If it looks familiar, that might because you’ve seen it featured as winning Best in Show at a number of high-class Concours d’ Elegance all over the country, namely Pebble Beach in 2004. Over the past eight years, this car hit the show circuit hard. I saw it in person in 2009 and I can attest that it is truly a magnificent car.

Horch was founded in Ehrenfeld, Cologne, Germany in 1899 by August Horch. The company moved to Reichenbach im Vogtland in 1902 and in 1904 relocated again, this time to Zwickau. August Horch was forced out of the company in 1910 and he went across the street and set up Audi. The company that bore his name would continue on without him, being merged into Auto Union in 1932 (coincidentally, Audi was also part of that group and is the sole surviving marque).

The Horch 853 (and 853A, as you see here) were introduced alongside other models of varying sizes/configurations in 1937 – but all used the same 120 horsepower 5.0-liter straight-eight engine. The main competition for these cars came from Mercedes-Benz and their lineup up elegant roadsters, namely the 540K. The Mercedes had a variant called the “Special Roadster” and they all look pretty much the same – about 25 were built.

Only eight Horch 853A Special Roadsters were built. The first one was bodied by Horch, the next six by Erdmann & Rossi, and the final one by Glaser. They are all different. The first three cars were referred to as “Series One” cars, while the final five are “Series Two.” This is one of three surviving Series Two cars.

One note about these cars when new: Horch wouldn’t sell you one until they concluded that you resided in an acceptable realm of society. They picked you to buy one of their cars instead of the other way around (well, you had to want one, I guess. But they almost certainly refused to sell them to certain individuals, although somehow Hermann Göring slipped through their screening process. I guess personality and likability weren’t among their requirements). In any case, this cost “significantly more” than its 540K counterpart.

Ownership history is known from the end of the war and the car was restored by RM, being completed sometime prior to being shown in August of 2004. This is one of the nicest pre-war cars around – and one of the most famous. But you better crack open your piggy bank(s) if you want to own it, as the estimate is between $6,000,000-$8,000,000. For  the complete lot description, click here. And for more from RM in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $5,170,000.

1896 Léon Bollée

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1896 Léon Bollée Voiturette

Offered by RM Auctions | Nysted, Denmark | August 12, 2012

This is probably the final car we’ll be featuring from the Aalholm Automobile Collection sale that RM is holding mere days before the festivities in Monterey. There are at least 15 other cars from this sale that I wanted to feature but have just run out of time with the Monterey catalogs becoming available and the incredible offerings on hand.

This is right there with some of the most interesting from Monterey. It’s certainly older. The Bollée name is an important one in automotive history. Amédée Bollée, whose original goal was to set the record for most accented “e”s in a person’s name, ended up building some of the earliest road-going (as in, not on rails) steam carriages known. He built four steam cars, the first in 1873 and the last in 1881, which is mind-boggling. Two of these vehicles still exist in museums. Also: he resided in a little town called Le Mans.

Amédée had two sons: Amédée the second and Léon. Before cars, Léon spent his time inventing calculating machines – early calculators that resembled typewriters. In 1895 he founded Automobiles Léon Bollée in Le Mans. 1896 was the first year for the “Voiturette,” the interesting design you see here, which is from the first year of production. The single-cylinder engine was mounted horizontally beside and to the rear of the driver, who sat in back – the passenger(s) rode in the front, no doubt sometimes making it hard for the driver to see! It was also one of (if not the) first car to have rubber tires.

Larger cars followed in 1903 and the company was purchased from Léon’s widow in 1922 by Morris of England (Léon died in 1913). The Léon Bollée name disappeared from vehicles after 1933. There is a statue of Léon in his hometown of Le Mans on Avenue du Général Leclerc directly across and up the street from the train station. I’ve seen it and my traveling companions failed to see why it was interesting.

I’ve seen one of these vehicles before too – there is one in the National Automobile Museum in Reno (The Harrah Collection). It is an 1897. So you can own one that is older. These are extremely interesting cars from the pioneering days of motoring and while other examples do exist, it is genuinely rare. There are many interesting cars at this sale, but this tops them all. The price is estimated between $55,000-$60,000. That might not seem like a lot for a car I claim to be so fantastic, but that is because cars like this have limited potential for use, which is what keeps their price down (you can’t take it on a Sunday cruise and there is no outlandish coachwork that will bring you heaps of awards). Trust me, this thing is amazing (and it has been restored at some point, unlike many of the other cars at this sale).

For more pictures and the complete catalog description, click here. And to view the rest of the vehicles at this sale, click here.

Update: Sold $129,800.

Gulf GT40

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1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey California | August 17, 2012

The genesis of the Ford GT40 is a well-known story. Henry Ford II wanted Ferrari. Enzo said no. Ford set out to destroy them on the track – and succeeded brilliantly. The Gulf-Mirage story isn’t quite as popular, but it’s just as interesting.

While the GT40 was conceived and designed in Dearborn, it was built in England by Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV). After the 1967 season, Ford cancelled the project, effectively ending FAV. A number of road-going models (as well as race cars) had already been produced.

The head of FAV was John Wyer, a former race engineer and team manager. He was actually the team owner of the winning 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans team – when Carroll Shelby, head of the GT40 race team, was driving. Anyway, when FAV was scuttled, Wyer stepped up and reformed it as John Wyer Automotive Engineering (JWAE).

One of the customers of the road-going cars happened to be Grady Davis, Vice-President of Gulf Oil. He liked the car and thought it might be a good platform to carry the Gulf Oil name in competition. He funded JWAE to build race cars specifically for the purpose. These cars were badged as “Mirage”s.

Wyer based the first Mirage prototype (the M1) very closely on the, unsuccessful in competition, Mk I GT40. The car you see here was the third of three lightweight Mirage M1 race cars built. The Mirage M1 was competing against the very successful Ford’s Mk II and Mk IV GT40s in 1967. When the 1968 rules were announced, Ford pulled out of the GT40 project and it was left to privateer teams. Wyer found a curious loophole: prototypes would be limited to 3.0-liters while sportscars (with at least 50 road version having been constructed) were allowed 5.0-liters. Wyer took the Mirage M1 cars back to Slough, where JWAE was based, and converted two of them to GT40s.

Now Wyer had quite a car on his hands. These “Mk I” GT40s (built after the Mk II, III and IVs) won the 1968 and 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. The competition history of this car, Mirage M.10003/Ford GT40 P/1074, is as follows:

  • 1967 1000km Spa (as a Mirage M1) – 1st (with Jacky Ickx and Dick Thompson)
  • 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans – 47th, DNF (with Ickx and Brian Muir)
  • 1967 BOAC 500 (Brands Hatch) – DNF (with Thompson and Pedro Rodríguez)
  • 1967 1000km Paris at Montlhéry – 1st (with Ickx and Thompson)
  • 1968 Daytona 24 Hours (as GT40) – 33rd, DNF (with Paul Hawkins and David Hobbs)
  • 1968 12 Hours of Sebring – 28th (with Hawkins and Hobbs)
  • 1968 1000km Monza – 1st (with Hawkins and Hobbs)
  • 1968 1000km Nürburgring – 6th (with Hobbs and Brian Redman)
  • 1968 Six Hours of Watkins Glen – 2nd (with Hawkins and Hobbs)
  • 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans – 34th, DNF (with Hawkins and Hobbs)
  • 1968 1000km of Paris at Montlhéry – 8th (with Jean Blaton & Hughes de Fierlandt)
  • 1969 BOAC 500 (Brands Hatch) – 5th (with Hobbs and Mike Hailwood)

Perhaps, one of this car’s more interesting assignments was that of camera car for the 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen. The roof was cut away and heavy 1960s-era 35mm cameras were installed. The car was driven at speeds up to 150 mph with a daring camera operator in the passenger seat. The car made runs of the pit lane prior to the start of the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans for filming. Whether or not it ran during the race, however, is unknown.

The car passed through a few hands, being reconstructed as a GT40 in the 1970s and restored again in 1983. The most recent restoration was completed in 2002. Behind the driver sits a 440 horsepower Ford 289 V8. And all around the driver shines the brilliant blue/marigold Gulf colors that gives this car away as something truly special. The original Mirage M1 bodywork is included with the car.

If a Ford GT40 is a car you feel you must own, there is perhaps no other example, save for the Le Mans-winning Mk IV sitting in the Henry Ford Museum, that you should rather have than this. RM listed the estimate as “available upon request” – hinting that if you need even inquire, it is out of your reach. Expect it to go for millions. For the complete description, click here. And for more from RM in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $11,000,000.

The Oldest Simplex

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1908 Simplex 50 Speedcar Roadster

Offered by Mecum Auctions | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

The Simplex Automobile Company was born out of the failure of Smith & Mabley, which began importing and building cars in 1904 under the name S&M Simplex. After their bankruptcy in 1906, the remnants of Smith & Mabley were purchased by Herman Broesel who formed Simplex.

The first Simplex cars were, like the one you see here, massive cars, whose bare chassis with engine cost $4,500. The engine was a 10.0-liter four-cylinder – which, I think, means you can hear each individual revolution of the engine. It also has double-chain drive, which is a really amazing thing to see when one of these drives past you. Simplex was one of – if not the – last company to use chain drive on their cars. The company morphed into Crane-Simplex when they were bought out in 1917.

The restoration on this car can be described as “fresh,” having covered only 200 miles since completion. This is the earliest Simplex known to exist and cars like this are capable of fetching prices near $500,000, but no estimate has been published. For more info, click here. And for the rest of Mecum’s Monterey lineup, click here.

Update: Sold $1,900,000.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Amelia Island 2021, $610,000.

Fiat 1100 by Bertone/Stanguellini

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1954 Fiat Stanguellini Bertone Berlinetta

Offered by Russo & Steele | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

This car was supposed to be a Fiat 1100. But luckily it escaped that fate, being shipped to Bertone, the famous Italian design house and coachbuilder, before Fiat’s standard body could be installed. It was handed over to designer Franco Scaglione who was also working on the series of BAT concept cars for Alfa Romeo. There are some slight similarities, the one-off look being part of it.

The goal was to put these cars into limited production, but only a handful (four) were built. And if having the direct built-by-Bertone connection wasn’t enough, this car was then mechanically modified by Stanguellini, builder of tiny Italian race cars from the end of WWII through the mid-1960s. Horsepower from the 1.1-liter straight-four was bumped to 70.

This particular car was first shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show, where it was bought off the stand by Briggs Cunningham, for his wife – who didn’t like it. The next owner kept the car for 51 years, parting with it in 2006. It then underwent a four-year concours-quality restoration. It was shown at Pebble Beach in 2010, and at the Concorso Italiano in 2011, where it won Best in Show.

Since then, the car has spent time on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, while also being “for sale” at Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, California. The asking price is/was $295,000 – and it has been there since at least November of 2011. So what will it bring at auction? Well, you’ve seen the asking price, it just depends what reserve the consignor has placed on the car and how realistic they think that $295,000 really is. Then again, it’s been for sale for almost nine months and hasn’t sold at that price, so we’ll see. For more information, click here. And for the rest of the Russo & Steele Monterey lineup, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Artcurial Le Mans Highlights (7/7/12)

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Artcurial’s July 7th, 2012, auction held at Le Mans was an interesting one. Among the many exotics and classics, there was a small collection of Ligiers, quite a few race cars, and a large collection of one-off cars built by Heuliez. Top sale went to this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTC in deep maroon for $1,961,553.

Our featured Audi R10 TDI failed to sell. So did the Liger JS2. A Ligier JS1 followed the JS2 across the block and it too failed to reach reserve. The following two Ligier Formula One cars were then both withdrawn from the sale. The fifth and final Ligier, a 1985 JS6D sold for $3,305.

Our featued Simca Butagaz promotional vehicle sold for $30,346. And the Peugeot 905 Evo 1B brought $833,855. Other interesting sales (and there were many) included this 1966 ASA RB Type 613 1300GT for $379,329.

This 1979 Marcos Mini Marcos Mk IV sold for $16,690.

Other race cars included a 1962 Terrier Mk 6 that brought $51,589 (below) and a 1988 WM P88 Le Mans prototype that sold for $151,732 (second below).

The WM prototype was from the Heuliez Collection. Heuliez designs, and in some cases produces, cars for various automakers, usually European. They specialize in convertibles (lately, retractable hardtops) and station wagons. They’ve even built a few prototypes of their own to showcase what they can do. They sold a bunch of cars from their collection including all of the following, beginning with two cars designed and built by Heuliez. First the 1992 Raffica Concept which sold for $4,552. And following that, the 1986 Atlantic “Stars & Stripes” concept, which sold for $3,035.

There were a few Heuliez prototypes based on German cars, namely this 1969 Porsche 914-6 Murene, which brought $54,623 and the 1998 Mercedes-Benz G Intruder concept which brought the exact same amount.

Two other concepts, both French, included this very 1970s Peugeot 204 Taxi “H4” of 1972, which brought for $25,036 (orange car below) and this 1990 Citroen Scarabee d’Or Concept (tan roadster below), which sold for $9,104.

One of the more road-going (or off-road-going) prototypes was this c.1988 UHM-Heuliez VLH 4×4 which looks quite rugged and sold for $9,104.

And finally, an actual road-going car, a 1941 Peugeot VLV Electrique, a small electric car made at the onset of WWII. It is just one of 377 built and it sold for $22,760.

For complete results, click here.