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Oldest, Lowest-Mileage, Unrestored Corvette

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1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Champaign, Illinois | June 29, 2013

1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster

The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced for 1953 and it was powered by a 150 horsepower “Blue Flame” six (3.9-liter straight-six). It was a sports car but performance really wasn’t mind-blowing. A V-8 would come in 1955 to match Ford’s Thunderbird.

The Blue Flame engine was the only engine available in 1953 and 1954. This is one of 3,640 cars built in 1954 (’53s and ’55s are much rarer). On the plus side, ’54 Corvettes were available in more than just white, although this car still sports its original Polo White paint.

There is something extremely special about this ride: it is known as the oldest, lowest-mileage, unrestored Corvette in existence. It’s covered just 2,331 miles in its life – and there’s a reason for that. The original owner drove it until 1959, when he ordered it buried under one of this stores until 2000. It has been coined the “entombed Corvette.” It was exhumed in the 1980s and preserved since. If you want to see what a 1954 Corvette looked like when it left the factory, this is the car you want to see.

A perfect ’54 Vette will bring about $100,000 at auction. With “survivors” being very much in right now, we’ll see what kind of premium this car brings. Click here for more and here for the rest of the lineup from Mecum’s Bloomington Gold sale.

Update: Not sold.

May 2013 Auction Highlights, Part I

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There were a number of big-time auctions in May – led off by Auctions America’s Auburn Spring sale. We’ll start with interesting cars, which was topped by this 1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia. It has a Ford V6 and is a running car and sold for only $9,570.

1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia photo 1983LincolnQuicksilverbyGhia_zps76785824.jpg

Our featured Hudson Commodore 8 Convertible sold for $51,700. Top sale went to this 1930 Packard Super Eight Model 745 Dual-Cowl Phaeton fro $198,000. Check out full results here.

1930 Packard Super Eight Model 745 Dual-Cowl Phaeton photo 1930PackardSuperEightModel745Dual-CowlPhaeton_zps42b4ff3a.jpg

Next up is Bonhams’ annual Aston Martin sale. The top sale (by far) was our featured DB4GT Bertone “Jet” which sold for $4,897,334. Our other featured car, the DB7 V12 Prototype sold for $34,663. One car whose price really caught my attention was this 2000 SWB Vantage Volante Special Edition which brought $609,924. These things were always expensive and I never really understood why. There were a number of really high-dollar cars and an apparent 100% sell-through rate. Check out complete results here.

2000 Aston Martin SWB Vantage Volante Special Edition photo 2000AstonMartinSWBVantageVolanteSpecialEdition_zps03c9cde3.jpg

Next up (and I’ve just decided to split May’s auction highlights into two posts) was Mecum’s Indianapolis Spring sale. The top sale was our featured Shelby GT500 Super Snake for $1,300,000. This sale had some odd results – including $107,500 for a Buick GNX and $1,000,000 for one of the handful of Shelby GT500 replicas used in the Nicolas Cage version of Gone in 60 Seconds. 

The next (third) highest sale was for this multi-award winning Corvette. It’s a ’67 427/400 Corvette Convertible and, judging by the price, is one of the nicest Corvettes in existence. It’s a black and blue car (Tuxedo Black with Blue interior), which is exceedingly rare. The price? $610,000.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/400 Convertible photo 1967ChevroletCorvette427-400Convertible_zpse66953d7.jpg

Another cool Corvette was this 1991 Callaway Convertible. It has a 400 horsepower engine and a 1990s-teen-bedroom-poster-worthy bodykit. It sold for $135,000.

1991 Chevrolet Corvette Callaway photo 1991ChevroletCorvetteCallaway_zps8f1913b2.jpg

Dana Mecum must have sold his soul to the devil, because he has become the king of getting limited-production muscle cars to his auctions. Like a ridiculous amount of rare cars. That, and there seem to be more Mopars at Mecum auctions than there were built in the late 60s and early 70s. For example, this 1966 Dodge D-Dart Lightweight. It is one of 50 built (and one of two at this sale!). It sold for $26,000.

1966 Dodge D-Dart Lightweight photo 1966DodgeD-DartLightweight_zps9500d45c.jpg

And going back a little farther, we find this 1941 Plymouth PT125 Pickup that sold for $14,500.

1941 Plymouth PT125 photo 1941PlymouthPT125_zps2bab4e44.jpg

Of our other feature cars, the Torino King Cobra and Camaro ZL1 both failed to sell. The L72 Chevy Biscayne with just 720 original miles sold for what has to be a model record of $165,000. Check out full results – including more rare muscle cars – here.

The final part of our “Part I” post for may takes us through Silverstone’s International Trophy Sale. Our featured Maserati Merak with custom coachwork by Saurer sold for $69,000. Top sale here went to this 1964 Ferrari 330GT for $134,900. Check out complete results here.

1964 Ferrari 330GT photo 1964Ferrari330GT_zps1203f6aa.jpg

Ron Fellows Edition Z06

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2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Ron Fellows Special Edition

Offered by Auctions America | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 22-24, 2013

2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Ron Fellows Special Edition

The C6 Corvette just went out of production and along the way there were a number of special editions and different models. This particular one celebrates the career of Canadian race car driver Ron Fellows.

Fellows joined the Pratt & Miller Corvette race team at its inception in 1998/9. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a C5-R in 2001. He has two class victories and seven podiums in C5-Rs and C6.Rs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 2000 and 2008. He was the most solid, reliable, and winning Corvette team driver of all time. He was also (perhaps never officially), the team leader. In 2007, he stepped into a supporting role at team Corvette, retiring for good in 2009. He still competes in the occasional NASCAR road-course race.

So Chevrolet honored his loyalty and passion with a limited-edition run of 399 Corvette Z06s. All came in Arctic White with a red fender stripe and Fellows’ autograph. This one, car #399 of 399, is actually signed by Ron inside. It uses the same 505 horsepower 7.0-liter V-8 as every other Z06. This one has less than 150 miles on it. It’s a $60,000-$75,000 car. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Auctions America’s Ft. Lauderdale auction lineup.

Update: Sold $52,800.

Baldwin Motion Phase III Corvette

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1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 22-24, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Baldwin, Long Island-located Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance joined forces in 1967 to build serious street machines. Baldwin Chevrolet sold the cars that they, and their partners, modified. All kind of Chevrolets could be had: Novas, Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes.

They called their Phase III cars “supercars” and the term is apt. They guaranteed both an 11.5 second quarter mile time and a cruising speed of 120 mph. That’s some gearing! But then again, such gearing is made easy when the engine makes 600 horsepower. This car has a 7.9-liter (482-cid) V-8 “Elephant” motor making just such a number. It is the only engine like it known to exist.

This car is a 15,000 mile car from new and is well optioned. It is all original and is the only one like it. Rare, period one-off muscle cars like this used to bring ridiculous money about 10 years ago. The market has softened but this is still a very valuable car. Click here to read more and here for more from Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale.

Update: Sold $136,400.

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2013 Highlights

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Barrett-Jackson’s auction is so big in Scottsdale, Arizona in January – and it’s so well publicized (not to mention live results) that it makes it easy to catch all the action. And last year we found it necessary to split up the highlights over two posts (and weekends). This year, the first three days were kind of lackluster with regards to interesting cars (plus I don’t have the time), so I’m combining them into a single post.

The top sale for the first three days (charity cars notwithstanding) was a pitifully photographed 1968 Shelby GT500 KR that sold for $108,900. We only featured one car from these three days, a 1906 Success Highwheeler, which sold for $33,000.

Overall, the top sale was the first Batmobile ever made. Built by George Barris around the 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept car, this Batmobile has been in his possession since the end of filming when he bought it for $1. There are a lot of replicas out there, but this is the first one. It sold for $4,620,000. I would describe this price as bat$&!t crazy. Those replicas don’t sound so bad now.

1966 Lincoln Batmobile #1

One of the other most eye-popping results that will be making people rethink whether or not they will be keeping theirs was this 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 Convertible for $357,500.

There were a few other million dollar cars, starting with this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL that was purchased new by Clark Gable. It originally didn’t meet its reserve on the block but was sold shortly after for a slightly lower price. It sold for $2,035,000.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

The next million-dollar car was one of our feature cars. The 1934 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Beverly Sedan sold for $1,430,000. There was another Duesenberg at this sale, that we featured a while back, that failed to meet its reserve. Another feature car that failed to sell was the Shelby EXP 500. The other car that came from Craig Jackson’s personal collection was the 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible that sold for $1,320,000. Another top sale was this 1929 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Castagna Roadster for $1,320,000.

1929 Isotta-Fraschini Tippo 8A SS Castagna Roadster

Our featured Chrysler Diablo Concept car sold for $1,375,000. Another concept car was this 1954 Packard Panther Convertible that sold for $825,000.

1954 Packard Panther Convertible

More million-dollar cars: this 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Owens/Corning race car sold for $1,100,000.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Owens/Corning Racecar

There was also a pair of 1940s French beauties that crossed the million-dollar mark. First, this 1949 Delahaye Type 175 Saoutchik Coupe de Ville sold for $1,210,000.

1949 Delahaye Type 175 Saoutchik Coupe de Ville

Then there was this 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Gran Sport by Franay that brought $2,035,000.

Of our three other feature cars, Fatty Arbuckle’s Pierce-Arrow failed to sell. The incredible Ruxton Sedan was stolen for $275,000. And the Hudson Italia sold for $396,000. There was another Isotta-Fraschini at this sale, a 1925 Tipo 8A S Boattail Roadster by Corsica. It sold for $935,000.

1925 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A S Boattail Roadster by Corsica

There was also this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Dick Harrell 427 that sold for $253,000.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Dick Harrell 427

This 1927 Bugatti Type 38 with Four-Seat Open Tourer coachwork by Lavocat et Marsaud sold for $715,000.

1927 Bugatti Type 38 Four-Seat Open Tourer by Lavocat et Marsaud

And finally, one of my favorite cars from this sale was this 1913 Fiat Tipo 55 Speed Car that brought $198,000. Which is less than it would have had it been sold elsewhere, I would bet. You can check out full results here (the final day of the auction is still on-going as I write this).

1913 Fiat Tipo 55 Speed Car

’62 Big Brake Fuelie Tanker Vette

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1962 Chevrolet Corvette Big Brake Fuelie Tanker

Offered by Mecum Auctions | Kissimmee, Florida | January 25, 2013

1962 Chevrolet Corvette Big Brake Fuelie Tanker

1962 was the final year for the C1 Corvette, even though it really doesn’t resemble the 1953 launch model. The design had changed, but the underlying bits were all the same (solid axle and 102″ wheelbase). For 1962 there were four all-new engine combinations. This one has the top-of-the-line fuel-injected 5.4-liter V8 (327) making 360 horsepower. It was the only “Fuelie” Corvette engine available in 1962.

But that’s just where this special car starts – as you could probably tell from all of the superlatives attached to the name above. This car also received special order large wheels and heavy duty brakes and suspension. Furthermore, it has the very rare 24-gallon fuel tank. Only 65 cars were ordered with the fuel tank option in total, much less everything else it has on it. Tuxedo black with a red interior, this car might not be one-of-a-kind, but its darned close.

It’s a multiple award winner. Only 1,918 of 14,531 1962 Corvettes had fuel-injection. Only 561 had the 15×5.5-inch wheels. Just 246 are big brake cars. It’s a rare car and an excellent example at that. It isn’t going to be cheap. Check out more about it here and more from Mecum in Florida here.

Update: Sold $242,000.

October Auction Roundup

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Well there were a number of auctions in October and we’ve recapped only a couple of them. So here are the highlights from some of the others. First, we forgot to include Mecum’s Dallas sale from September in our September roundup. Top sale there went to this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible for $285,000. Complete results from that sale can be found here.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible

From there we move on to Auctions America’s Fall Carlisle sale. Our featured Dodge Phoenix failed to sell. Top sale went to this 1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible for $90,750.

1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible

Another interesting Mopar was this 1960 Dodge Polara 9-Passenger Wagon. I think wagons with tail fins are really weird but really cool looking. This one sold for $42,900.

1960 Dodge Polara 9-Passenger Wagon

But by far, the most interesting car from this sale goes to this 1920 Pan Touring. Pan was only around from 1918 until 1922 and they managed to build only 737 cars. Only a few are still around. It brought $23,100. Complete results from this sale are here.

1920 Pan Touring

French auction house Osenat held a sale during October as well – in Paris. We didn’t get to feature anything from this sale, but this 1982 Matra Murena is kind of interesting. It sold for $4,570.

1982 Matra Murena

Also cool was this 1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire sedan for $29,400.

1953 Hotchkiss Gregoire

The top sale from this auction was this 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 for $104,500. Complete results can be found here.

1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2

Next up was RM Auctions’ sale of the Charlie Thomas Collection. We featured a 1953 Mercury Monterey Wagon that sold for $44,000. The top sale was a 1946 Chrysler Town & Country Roadster for $143,000.

1946 Chrysler Town & Country Roadster

One car I liked was this 1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Business Coupe with all its chrome and pre-war style. It sold for a modest $21,450.

1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Business Coupe

Another interesting car was this 1925 Star Model F-25 Five-Passenger Sedan. It sold for $19,800. Complete results can be found here.

1925 Star Model F-25 Five-Passenger Sedan

H&H Auctions held a sale in Duxford, England on October 23rd and we weren’t able to feature anything from this sale either. The top sale went to this 1961 Bentley S2 Continental Saloon by H.J. Mulliner. It sold for $310,600.

1961 Bentley S2 Continental H.J. Mulliner Saloon

The second-highest seller was this 1998 Proteus Jaguar C-Type Replica that brought $120,900. Not C-Type money, for sure, but a bargain for something that was factory built and looks quite like the real thing.

1998 Proteus Jaguar C-Type Replica

This awesome 1965 Jensen CV8 Mk II sold for $46,900. Complete results can be found here.

1965 Jensen CV8 MKII

Mecum held a sale in St. Charles, Illinois toward the end of October. We featured a really rare All-Cars Charly that sold for $5,250. The top sale at this auction was actually a 2000 Prevost Country Coach Motorhome – exciting, right? Either way, to comprehend that a 12-year-old bus/RV is still worth $160,000 is pretty crazy. Then again, they’re expensive to begin with.

2000 Prevost Country Coach Motorhome

And from the interesting file from this sale was this 1942 Crosley Victory Sedan Convertible. Crosley was one of very few car companies building passenger cars in 1942. This was one of a handful of Crosleys at this sale and by far the most interesting/rare. It sold for $9,750. Complete results can be found here.

1942 Crosley Victory Sedan Convertible

And finally, H&H’s October 31st sale at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, England. The top sale was this 1955 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe for $62,300.

1955 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe

The interesting sales portion of this sale more or less consisted of this pretty 1937 Humber 12 Foursome Drophead Coupe. It sold for $23,400. You can find complete results here.

1937 Humber 12 Foursome Drophead Coupe

September Auction Round-Up

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Okay, so I’ve been a little tardy with auction results. Unless it’s a major sale, I’m probably just going to start lumping them all into one post. It’s easier and as I have other things going on in my life and this site doesn’t pay the bills (unfortunately), it’s how it is going to be. First up, H&H’s September 19, 2012 sale at Newbury Racecourse. Our featured GAZ-69 sold for $8,000. Top sale went to this 1920 Vauxhall 30/98 E-Type Tourer for $288,000. Complete results for that sale can be found here.

1920 Vauxhall 30/98 E-Type Tourer

Silverstone Auctions held their CarFest North “Pride & Joy” Auction on September 9th. The top sale was this 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish for $77,900. Complete results for that sale are here.

2002 Aston Martin Vanquish

Next up was The Bennett Collection, sold by Auctions America on September 21-22. Many of the cars sold at this sale were in various stages of disrepair. It also appeared to contain the world’s largest collection of Mazda 323s. The guy who assembled this collection definitely had a thing for certain cars of certain model years. Anyway, the top sale here was a 1925 Lancia Lambda for $207,000.

1925 Lancia Lambda

Another interesting car was this circa 1952 BMW “Wagner Special” race car. It’s a one-off and was probably in the best shape of any of the cars offered, as many of them seemed to be parts cars. This race car brought $177,100. Complete results can be found here.

1952 BMW Wagner Special

And finally, Barrett-Jackson held their comparatively massive Las Vegas sale from September 20-22, 2012. The top sale (I didn’t even bother to look at any of the custom cars, so by “top sale” I mean production car that looks like it did when it was built. Sorry, I didn’t want to sort through that many results – plus, this site is fairly “traditionalistic” – and yeah, I just coined that word) was our featured 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird for $297,000. Second place was this 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback for $247,500.

1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback

An interesting car, as we’ve featured a number of strange custom Corvettes in the past, was this 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Anteros Roadster. It is serial #0001 of I-don’t-know-how-many but it certainly looks like a Ferrari California, doesn’t it? It sold for $99,000.

2005 Chevrolet Corvette Anteros Roadster

Here is a Cobra replica built by someone other than Factory Five or Superformance. In this case, it was built in 1988 by the Contemporary Classic Motor Car Company and it sold for $44,000.

1988 Contemporary Classic Motor Car Company Shelby Cobra Replica

This 1937 Ford Housecar is unusual to say the least. It’s an early motorhome that was actually built by Ford on the assembly line. It sold for $26,400.

1937 Ford Housecar

This 1976 Stutz Blackhawk VI was an expensive handmade car when new. It cost $61,000 in 1976 and it has held its value relatively well (discounting inflation) – selling for $52,800 after having covered only 8,240 miles.

1976 Stutz Blackhawk VI Coupe

And finally, I really liked this 1950 Chevrolet Suburban. And based on the sale price of $69,300, so did at least two bidders. For complete results from Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas, click here.

1950 Chevrolet Suburban

Callaway C12

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1997 Callaway C12

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 8, 2012

If you don’t know, or can’t tell, this car is based around a Chevrolet Corvette. 1997 was the first year for the C5 and the first year for the Callaway C12 – and this is the very first C12 built.

Callaway was founded in Connecticut in 1977 by Reeves Callaway. They began tuning Corvettes in 1987 and have dabbled in aftermarket tuning of other cars over the years, including Range Rovers and Alfa Romeos. But it’s mostly been Corvettes with the occasional Camaro thrown in for good measure. And it was mostly engine and performance modifications. That is, until 1993 when they introduced the Callaway C7, a GT1 racecar produced for the 24 Hours of Daytona.

The C12 was a continuation of that ultimately doomed attempt at building a successful racing car. Reeves Callaway wanted his cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And he got his wish – they scored a pole in the GT2 class in 2001, the final year for C12 production. In order to compete, the company needed to homologate the car for the road and 20 examples were built.

Callaway reworked every part of the Corvette except the roof and greenhouse. Everything else was modified, so it’s essentially its own car. The 5.7-liter V-8 underhood makes 440 horsepower, allowing the car to sprint to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds on its way to a top speed in excess of 190 mph. Originally, these cars were supposed to cost $140,000 – but they were built to an exacting standard for high-profile customers who would have likely paid more if asked. The cars were also built under license in Germany as the IVM C12 from 1998 through 2003 and these were available as a coupe, hardtop or cabriolet.

With only 20 built, getting your hands on one won’t be easy. Here’s a good opportunity. For more information, click here. And for the rest of Mecum’s Dallas lineup, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Mecum Monterey 2012 Highlights

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Mecum’s multi-day sale at this year’s Pebble Beach weekend featured a number of high-dollar Porsches, including this year’s top sale, our featured 1972 Porsche 917/10 that brought an impressive $5,500,000. The second-highest selling car was our featured 1908 Simplex that was also impressive at $1,900,000. Our featured Duesenberg from this sale was bid to $350,000 but didn’t meet the reserve and thus failed to sell. The only other million dollar car was this $1,050,000 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder

I mentioned all the cool Porsches and one that really struck me as awesome is this 1974 911 RSR that was driven in the IROC series by Emerson Fittipaldi. There were only 15 of these built by Penske for the 1974 season. Fittipaldi drove this in the season’s first race and it was a reserve car the rest of the year. It sold for $875,000.

1974 Porsche 911 RSR IROC - Emerson Fittipaldi

Another race car, or sort of race car – a car that was designed with racing in mind but could probably be easily driven on the street, was this 1955 Devin Monza. It sold for $105,000.

1955 Devin Monza

Some other cool cars from the 1950s included this one-off 1952 Astra Coupe. This car was for sale last year in at Fantasy Junction in California for $125,000. It sold here for $43,000.

1952 Astra Coupe

Perhaps one of the most beautiful cars of the sale was this 1953 Muntz Jet. Designed and originally built by Kurtis, production was taken over by Earl “Madman” Muntz for a little while. They’re rare and they’re pretty. This one cost $75,000

1953 Muntz Jet

From large-ish American convertibles to tiny European microcars – this 1958 Goggomobil TS400 brought a small-ish $26,000.

1958 Goggomobil TS400

Another teeny-tiny European car was this 1970 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica. I’ve seen a number of Bianchina Transformables (the convertible) but I’ve never seen the wagon variant. It sold for $17,500.

1970 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica

This 1977 International Scout SSII (yes, I’m out of transitions) is a very rare find – especially in this condition. It sold for $23,000.

1977 International Scout SSII

Continuing with the theme of utility, I thought this 1956 Hudson Rambler Station Wagon was pretty cool. I’ve actually seen one of these up close and they are kind of bizarre looking – in a very good way. It sold for $19,500.

1956 Hudson Rambler Wagon

And finally, we always seem to be able to find some oddball Corvette at Mecum auctions (and Auctions America’s sales too, I guess). This sale was no different. Witness: the 2009 Corvette SV 9 Competizione. Only four of these were built (aftermarket). They have an all-carbon fiber body, so don’t ding it – or chip it. It sold for $44,000.

2009 Chevrolet Corvette SV 9 Competizione

For complete results, click here.