Tag Archives: gooding & co

Duesenberg J-338

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2013

1931 Duesenberg Model J-338 Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

This Model J is an affordable way to get into the Duesenberg club. The pre-sale estimate is a paltry $350,000-$425,000. I happen to really like this bodystyle, but it isn’t really the most sought after. Part of the reason is that this is not the original body that went with this chassis/engine. And the restoration is an old one.

The body was originally a Derham Sedan but this LeBaron Convertible Sedan survived better on the chassis it was on. After sitting outside for a long time, the two Duesenbergs were turned into one complete car and this body made the transition. Ownership is known from new and this car has been in some big collections since the late 1960s.

If you’re looking for an easy way to get your hands on a Model J, this is your ticket. It’s a nice, clean, drivable car recognized by the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg museum. You can read more about it here and check out more from Gooding & Company in Amelia Island here.

Update: Sold $462,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023, $1,050,000.

Gooding & Company Scottsdale 2013 Highlights

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Auctions held by Gooding & Company are usually packed with the highest quality examples available of a wide variety of cars. Yes, some are even affordable. They only hold three sales a year but they are always mind-blowing in their scope and quality. This was no exception. The top sale was a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider for $8,250,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

The second, third, fourth, and fifth top sellers were all feature cars here on the site. The Porsche RSK went for $3,135,000. The one-off Maserati 150 GT Spider sold for $3,080,000. That downright gothic Mercedes 500K Cabriolet A was sold for $2,750,000. And the Duesenberg from this sale sold for $2,695,000. Next up was a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pinin Farina for $2,365,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pinin Farina

Our featured Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux sold for $451,000 and this 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante went for $2,035,000.

1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante

The next two cars on the million-dollar list were a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for $1,540,000 and a 2003 Ferrari Enzo for $1,485,000.

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

2003 Ferrari Enzo

Then there was a wonderful 1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport by Zagato that sold for $1,375,000. Our featured Ferrari F50 sold for the same price.

1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V GS

The final million-dollar car was a 1965 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster that brought $1,320,000.

1965 Shelby Cobra 289

Our featured White Yellowstone Park Bus was withdrawn from the auction. And the Cisitalia 202 we featured sold for $650,000. The interesting cars front included this 1960 Abarth 850 Record Monza for $89,100.

1960 Abarth 850 Record Monza

And, last but not least, this 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Tourer sold for $363,000 – well above it’s high estimate of $200,000. Check out complete results here.

1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Tourer

Ferrari F50

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1995 Ferrari F50

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1995 Ferrari F50

Photo – Gooding & Company

You’re looking at my favorite supercar of all time. Well, at least my favorite Ferrari halo car of all time. While its predecessor, the F40, was a hard-nosed race car for the road – and its successor, the Enzo, was all business and not much style – the F50 was less about track times and more about celebrating 50 years of Ferrari and being outrageous in the 1990s. Mission accomplished.

This F50, #71 of 349, was delivered new to Roger Penske. It has only covered 655 miles in its life, making it almost brand new. Built from 1995 through 1997, the F50 used a 4.7-liter V12 making 513 horsepower. It could hit 202 mph and 60 in 3.7 seconds. The performance was astonishing for the mid-90s and the eccentric looks were like nothing else on the road. But you can still see hints of the F40 in there, which is quite an accomplishment for something so unlike most other Ferraris.

This like-new example comes with its factory hard top and is one of 302 Rosso Corsa F50s built and one of only 56 U.S.-spec cars delivered. The suggested retail price for an F50 in 1995 was right round $500,000 and they have appreciated since day one. This one should sell for between $800,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the Gooding auction lineup.

Update: Sold $1,375,000.

Mercedes 500K Cabriolet A

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1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

Last week (or the week before, I’ve lost track) we featured a MB 540K. This was that car’s immediate predecessor. The 500K was introduced by Mercedes in 1934 and last until 1936. This car is brilliant in gray and black with red interior – it’s dark and menacing, just like the 1930s Germany that spawned it. It defines luxury and style of a time and place – and that was Germany in 1935.

The engine is a supercharged 5.0-liter straight eight making 160 horsepower (with the supercharger engaged). Only 342 500Ks were built, and only 33 carried Mercedes-Benz’s in-house Sindelfingen Cabriolet A coachwork and only 11 of those still survive. This car is imposing – especially with twin rear-mount spares.

This one managed to survive because it was purchased new by a Swedish Baron, who kept it at his castle. It was parked in 1948 and sold in 1950, and then it hopped from owner to owner, being restored for the first time in 1963. It remained in Sweden until 1983 when it went to a collector back in West Germany. It was expertly restored in the late 1980s and has been preserved since. The 20+ years of use give this car a patina that makes it appear to have never been restored since new, which is really cool. It is being sold from a Dutch collection and should bring between $2,500,000-$3,000,000. For more info (and gorgeous pictures), click here. And for more from Gooding, click here.

Update: Sold $2,750,000.

Here are some videos of a similar car:


Cisitalia Spider Nuvolari

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1947 Cisitalia 202 SMM Spider Nuvolari

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2012

1947 Cisitalia 202 SMM Spider Nuvolari

Cisitalia was founded in 1946 by Piero Dusio in Turin. They started by building little single-seat race cars with an eye on Formula One (Dusio entered one F1 race in a Cisitalia but DNQ’d). Instead, the company shifted focus to road-going sports cars and in 1947 the 202 SMM was introduced.

Because it was proper Italian form to send your new sports cars to the circuit, the 202 made its debut at the 1947 Mille Miglia, the first running of the race after the war. Five were entered and one was driven by Tazio Nuvolari, who despite great odds, came home second. After that, the 202 SMM was nicknamed “Spider Nuvolari.” My favorite design feature of this body, by Stabilimenti Farina, are the little fins at the back of the car. The engine is a 60 horsepower 1.1-liter straight-four.

This was one of the first 202s built and by 1949 it was in the hands of an American doctor in New York, who never raced it. But when he sold it in 1951, the new owner took it racing in the SCCA and beyond. Some highlights of its career include:

  • 1952 6 Hours or Vero Beach – 11th (with owner Paul Ceresole)
  • 1952 12 Hours of Sebring – 18th, DNF (with Ceresole & J. Greenwood)
  • 1953 12 Hours of Sebring – 34th, DNF (with Ceresole & Logan Hill)

By 1953, the car wasn’t exactly competitive and it passed from collector to collector until it was restored in the 1980s. Yes, the restoration is a bit old (you can see it in the seats) the body and paint look great. It is one of about 28 ever built and should sell for between $700,000-$850,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $650,000.

Porsche RSK

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1959 Porsche 718 RSK

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2013

1959 Porsche 718 RSK

The Porsche RSK-series of sports racing cars got its start in 1957 on the heels of the 550 Spyder program. They stuck with the mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout for this car, and some of the styling cues seem to have bee carried over from the 550 as well. The engine had more power: it was a 1.5-liter flat-four making 148 horsepower. The cars were nimble and quick, grabbing class wins all over the world. This was a privateer car all its racing life, and it’s race record includes the following:

  • 1959 4 Hours of Alamar (Cuba) – 4th (with owner Roy Schechter)
  • 1959 Nassau Speed Week, Nassau Trophy Race – 14th (with Schechter)
  • 1960 12 Hours of Sebring – 2nd (with Schechter, Bob Holbert & Howard Fowler)
  • 1960 Riverside Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schechter)

After Riverside, Schechter sold the car and it would become a fixture in a prominent Porsche collection for many years, until 1999. It was restored in 2006, but it is still one of the most correct and undamaged 718s you will likely find. It should sell for between $2,800,000-$3,200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Arizona.

Update: Sold $3,315,000.

Yellowstone Park Touring Bus

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1925 White Model 14-45 Yellowstone Park Touring Bus by Bender

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1925 White Model 15-45 Yellowstone Park Touring Bus

In 1925, the National Park Service – or more correctly, the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company (which I guess was a private company and had nothing to do with the Park Service, my bad), purchased 90 of these White Model 14-45 Touring Buses with coachwork by Bender.

Your average car couldn’t traverse the rough terrain of a giant park like Yellowstone in the 1920s. So you’d hop aboard one of these more rugged vehicles that would take you to see everything you came to see. At one point in time, there were hundreds of buses that carried visitors throughout the park. This is one of only a few that survive and it’s “likely the finest restored example.” It is indeed impressive. These open-air coaches were replaced in 1939 by the closed variety, and they were sold off.

The 11-passenger convertible bus is powered by a 3.7-liter straight four making 45 horsepower. The restoration began 15 years ago and turned out beautifully, as you can see. You’ll probably never have the opportunity to buy one of these again. The estimate is $110,000-$130,000. Click here for more info. And here for more from Gooding.

Update: Not sold as the vehicle was withdrawn from the sale.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s, Hershey 2016 $88,000.

Bugatti 57 Ventoux

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1937 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1937 Bugatti Type 57 VentouxThere are more expensive and rarer Bugattis – Type 57s even – available during the auctions in Arizona. Gooding has one, in fact, but the color scheme isn’t as good as this one. That’s right, I picked this one, not for rarity, but for color. Another Atalante will come up for sale at some point and I will feature it then.

The Bugatti Type 57 was new for 1934. It featured a 3.3-liter straight-eight making 135 horsepower. Bugatti themselves bodied many of the cars, with this being the “Ventoux” two-door saloon. It was finished without running boards but has that brilliant two-color paint scheme with a bright blue inlay over black. It’s a good-looking if not sporty car that’s got all the fancy for a fraction of the price of “greater” Type 57s. In total, over 700 Type 57s were built.

This car arrived in the U.S. around 1970 and has been cared for over its life. Never having been restored – just tended to as needed – the car shows some wear, but has wonderful touches of originality that hopefully won’t go away. It has its original engine and is certainly roadworthy. It should sell for between $250,000-$325,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding.

Update: Sold $451,000.

Duesenberg J-429

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1933 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Co. | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1933 Duesenberg Model J-429 Disappearing-Top Converibly Coupe by Murphy

I’m not sure why, but every exterior photo available of this car was taken at ground level, so you really can’t see how grand the rear of this car is from above. How slick and sloped it is – no evidence of a top whatsoever. Which is why it’s called a “Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe.” It completely stows away under the bodywork.

Underneath are the standard Model J mechanicals – a 265 horsepower straight-eight Lycoming engine of 6.9-liters. And this is a numbers-matching car. It has the actual engine, chassis and bodywork that were all packaged together way back in 1933.

This was one of the last cars bodied by Murphy before they closed and they did it in high-style – the Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe being atop the list of desirable Duesenberg bodystyles for many people.  It was two Murphy employees (a designer and the general manager) who came up with the idea that the convertible top could be stowed away out of sight. What a fantastic idea it was – and the execution of it was perfect.

This car bounced around between owners early in its life before coming into the hands of the Bob Estes, who owned it for 40 years. It has had three owners since 2001 and was restored to perfection about 10 years ago. This is an exceptional car and it can be yours for between $2,000,000-$2,400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $2,659,000.

Maserati 150 GT Spider

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1957 Maserati 150 GT Spider

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18-19, 2013

Photo – Gooding & Company

This is one of the best looking Maserati road car convertibles I’ve ever seen. Part of the reason for this is that this is the only one like it I’ve ever seen as it was the only one ever made. It began life as a A6GCS, Maserati’s 2.0-liter race car built from 1953 through 1955. It was a Maserati team car and after the 1954 season, it returned to the factory where the chassis was used for the prototype 300S, with the 3.0-liter six. The 300S went into production and Maserati then turned to the 150S race car, which used a 1.5-liter four.

With production of the race-bred 150S well under way, Maserati turned to developing a road car variant. They pulled this chassis back in, stripped it of the 300S bits and strapped the 1.4-liter four in from the 150S, a transmission from the A6GCS (in current form this car makes about 195 horsepower and weighs less than 2,000 lbs). Then they shipped the car to Fantuzzi, who constructed this incredible convertible body.

Due to things that seem obvious now – the price being “prohibitive” (it was a one-off, of course it was expensive) and it being a poor handler/performer on the road (again, it was a prototype and was never properly tuned – parts were just thrown on it and bodied to show off to the public) – Maserati shelved it and production never started. Instead, the company started development of the legendary 3500 GT.

This car was forgotten about and sold to a dealer in the U.K. in 1960 who kept it until the 1980s when it was sold to a German collector, who owned it until 2007. The new owner found the car with red paint and a relatively unknown history that was, at best, confusing. He did some research and discovered just what this car was. It was then properly restored and repainted to this lovely cream color. And now Gooding & Company estimate that this car will bring somewhere between $3,000,000-$4,000,000. Quite a find. For more information check out Gooding’s site.

Update: Sold $3,080,000.