Tag Archives: gooding & co

Duesenberg J-355

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy

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

You thought Duesenberg week would have ended last week, you know… when the week ended, didn’t you? Well, I don’t know how to read a calendar. This is the final Model J that were featuring that was on offer at Pebble Beach this year.

It’s a Murphy-bodied car, the most prolific coachbuilder of Model Js. This one originally had J-204 under the hood, but was swapped for J-355 at some point. This car spent quite a while in a European automotive museum until 2011. It’s been freshened recently and is ready to cruise.

Purchasing this car would have been a great way to get your hands on a Duesenberg, relatively inexpensively, that has been out of the public eye for quite some time. The estimate was $500,000-$700,000. The catalog description is here.

Update: Sold $522,500

Gooding & Company Monterey 2012 Highlights

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Gooding & Company held their very successful Monterey sale last weekend. They had the top two cars in terms of selling price. The top car was this 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. It sold for $11,770,000 including buyer’s premium. It is an astounding car at a price that was more or less expected.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster

Not far behind was, not surprisingly, this 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder Competizione. This was the 1960 Chicago Motor Show Car and one of a few high-dollar Ferraris sold from the Sherman Wolf Collection. It sold for $11,275,000.

1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione

Other Ferraris from this collection included our featured Ferrari 340 MM Spider that brought $4,730,000. Also from this collection was the 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC that sold for $4,510,000.

1957 Ferrari 500 TRC

The final car from the Sherman Wolf collection also went for over a million dollars (unfortunately, do to the insanely high number of million dollar cars, those are the only ones we’re recapping in this rundown. Fortunately, these are also the most interesting cars). It was this 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO. If $1,045,000 isn’t a world record price for this model, it’s pretty close.

1985 Ferrari 288 GTO

Our other featured Ferrari, the ex-Andy Warhol 1955 857 Sport, sold for $6,270,000. And another really high-dollar Ferrari was another California Spider, this one a 1957 LWB Prototype for $6,600,000.

1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Prototype

For something other than a Ferrari, check out this 1928 Bentley 4.25-Litre Le Mans Sports Bobtail that brought $6,050,000.

1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Le Mans Sports "Bobtail"

A couple of Maseratis up next, first the ex-Jay Kay 1955 A6G/2000 Berlinetta by Frua (below). It sold for $1,650,000. And the 1959 Tipo 61 Birdcage (second below) sold for $3,520,000.

1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Berlinetta

Mercedes-Benz 300SLs were, as always, well represented. Two of them cracked the million dollar mark at this sale. Strangely, a Roadster was the highest-selling of them all. A white 1963 300SL Roadster sold for $1,595,000 and a blue 1955 300SL Gullwing sold for $1,127,500.

1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

There were three million dollar Bugattis at this sale, the cheapest of which being a 2008 Veyron at $1,182,500. Our featured 1920 Type 13 sold for $379,500. Our other featured Bugatti, the 1932 Type 55, failed to sell. A 1938 Type 57C Stelvio brought $1,292,500.

2008 Bugatti Veyron

1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio

The other Bugatti was a beautiful yellow and black 1936 Type 57 Atalante. It sold for $1,485,000.

This 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype is the second-oldest GT40 in existence. It sold for a hefty $4,950,000.

1964 Ford GT40 Prototype

Our featured – and unbelievably awesome – 1932 Daimler Double Six sold for $2,970,000. Another English car was this 1953 Jaguar C-Type which went unsold on the block but found a buyer a few minutes later with a little behind-the-scenes work from the folks at Gooding & Co. The final price was $3,725,000.

1953 Jaguar C-Type

This 1919 Miller TNT is sort of the pre-Miller Indy Car Miller Indy Car. It’s an ex-Harrah Collection car and it sold for $1,210,000.

1919 Miller TNT

One feature car that didn’t sell was the 1911 S.P.O. Raceabout. The 1960 Porsche RS60 did, however, bringing $3,465,000. Two more million-dollar Ferraris included a 2003 Enzo for $1,430,000 and a 1962 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico for $2,365,000.

2003 Ferrari Enzo

1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico

This 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV sold for $1,375,000.

1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV

Duesenberg recap time! Only the ex-Clark Gable Model JN went unsold. The Model J known as “Blue J” went for $1,980,000. The Willoughby Limousine was the bargain of the bunch at $330,000 and the Murphy Convertible Sedan sold for $522,500. And okay, I lied when I said we would only highlight million dollar cars. Here are some of the more interesting lots sold, starting with a 1970 Monteverdi HAI 450 SS Prototype for $577,500.

1970 Monteverdi HAI 450 SS Prototype

And some pre-WWI cars, beginning with this 1913 Pope-Hartford Model 33 Four-Passenger Touring Phaeton. It sold for $319,000.

1913 Pope-Hartford Model 33 Four-Passenger Touring Phaeton

This 1904 Knox Tudor Touring was the earliest car at the sale. It brought $198,000.

And this really cool 1907 Panhard et Levassor Model U2 Transformable Seven-Passenger Town Car with body by Audineau & Cie is, I guess, an early version of the “retractable hardtop.” Instead of retracting, in this case, the entire top half of the town car body comes off to turn it into a large touring car. See the “before and after” photos below. How cool. It sold for $264,000.

For complete results, click here.

Duesenberg J-270

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

This Model J has the LeBaron Dual Cowl body on it – my favorite bodystyle. This body was originally attached to a different chassis and engine than it is now. When it was first bought, it was wrecked and the chassis was junk. So Duesenberg removed the body, repaired it, and fitted it to a new chassis and engine, the one it currently has, including engine J-270.

One reason this car doesn’t really look like all the other LeBaron Dual Cowl Phaetons is because in 1937, the then-owner took the car to Derham and had them streamline it a little. There are aspects of this car that scream “1930s Art Deco” instead of “Big 1920s Touring Car.” The skirted fenders and bullet headlights are an awesome additions.

This car has been with the current owner for almost 60 years. It has been used regularly and never restored, just mechanically maintained. The two tone blue paint on the Sweep-Panel body (which is hard to see in the photo above) has helped create the nickname “Blue J” for this car.

For being unrestored, this is a truly impressive automobile. The pre-sale estimate was $2,000,000-$2,750,000. The complete catalog description is here.

Update: Sold $1,980,000.

Duesenberg J-430

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1931 Duesenberg Model J LWB Limousine by Willoughby

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

Photo – Gooding & Company

A few weeks ago we featured a car very similar to this. J-306 is also a Willoughby Limousine, but it is green and was offered by Mecum during the Pebble Beach weekend as well. The write up for J-306 included a history of Willoughby, so we’ll keep this one short.

The other thing that differs between these cars is that this one is original. It has been repainted – in the late 1950s. It is in amazing condition for a car this old. Then again, this car was owned by people who loved Duesenbergs for most of its life. The owners appreciated the car and maintained it. It has also spent time in museums.

A decent number of Duesenbergs have been rebodied over the years. Many more have been restored (or over-restored). This one is all original – a 1930s time warp car. It is way cool. The pre-sale estimate was also in the affordable-for-a-Duesenberg range of $400,000-$500,000. The complete lot description can/could be found here.

Update: Sold $330,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Hershey 2019, $451,000.

Duesenberg JN-560

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1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston (and Bohman & Schwartz)

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

You might be saying, “Hey, the Pebble Beach sales have already concluded, why are you still featuring cars from them?” Well, that’s because there were so many great cars that I just went ahead and skipped all of the Duesenbergs (except for the one from Mecum). I figured we could feature them post-auction as there is a short lull before any other big sale. Turns out, that lull isn’t long enough because there were no less than seven of these beautiful Dueseys for sale in Monterey. So saddle up, because for the next week or so it’s nothing but Model Js.

This might be the most desirable Duesenberg of all during the Monterey weekend. The Model J was introduced in 1929 (and it was expensive) and almost immediately, the selection of people who could afford such a car dwindled rapidly. The SJ was introduced in 1932 with some more power. By 1935, Duesenberg was struggling mightily. They updated the Model J to JN specification, which was more modern looking. All had Rollston bodies and only 10 were built.

The engine remained the same 265 horsepower 6.9-liter straight-8 of the cars before it. Some things did change, like the wheels – they were smaller. The cars had sleeker bodies with skirted fenders and new taillight designs. The designs – especially this one – embraced the Art Deco look better than their predecessors.

This car was purchased new by Clark Gable. The full lot description includes the great story of him and this car, it’s worth a read but I won’t just copy it here. Originally a Rollston Convertible Coupe, Gable took the car to Bohman & Schwartz who updated it to the much more dramatic car you see here, the design being done with Gable’s input. In the late 1940s, after the death of Carole Lombard, Gable’s wife, he sold the car.

It changed hands numerous times, spending about 10 years in the Blackhawk Collection until 2006, when the current owner bought it and restored it to how you see it now – that is, how it was when Clark Gable and Carole Lombard cruised the streets of Beverly Hills with it in the 1930s. It originally had engine J-560 in it, but in the 1950s engine J-521 was installed. It currently has the 560 number on it, but could probably best be described as having bits of both.

The is one hell of a car with one hell of a history. The fact that Gooding lists the estimate as “available upon request” when they feel quite comfortable quoting prices up to $10 million for other cars, means this car is going to bring a ton of money. For the complete description (including the very narrative-like story of Gable and Lombard’s courtship), click here.

Update: Not sold.

The Final Ferrari 340 MM

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1953 Ferrari 340 MM Spider

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 18, 2012

There are a few variants of the Ferrari 340 – the 340 America, the 340 Mexico, and the final version, the king-of-the-hill 340 MM. It had a 300 horsepower 4.1-liter V12. Only 10 were made and five of them were bodied by Vignale. This car was the last one made and it cost its American buyer an eye-watering $18,000 in 1953.

The car was bought new by Californian Sterling Edwards, who was, at about the same time he purchased this car, building cars under his own name. He picked this car up in Italy on his honeymoon, before shipping it home to San Francisco. He campaigned the car in SCCA events on the west coast, winning races and beating drivers like Masten Gregory in the process. Edwards sold the car in 1955 for $8,000.

The car passed through many hands and at one point someone repainted it red. Thankfully it has been restored to its original condition and color. This car competed in the Mille Miglia a number of times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The current owner has owned the car for nearly 30 years and is being sold along with a number of his other significant Ferraris.

Ferrari 340 MMs are very rare – only 10 were made – so you don’t see them for sale too often. Expect this one to command a price between $4,500,000-$6,500,000. For more information, click here. And for the rest of Gooding’s Monterey lineup, click here.

Update: Sold $4,730,000.

Bugatti Type 55

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1932 Bugatti Type 55 Cabriolet

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

Bugatti’s Grand Prix car for 1931 was the Bugatti Type 54, which was a development of the Type 51. The Type 55 you see here is the road-going variant of the Type 54. It features a 2.3-liter straight-8 that has been supercharged, giving it 135 horsepower.

Only 38 Type 55s were built. According to the lot description provided by Gooding & Co., 14 of the cars were bodied by the factory as roadsters. Seven were factory coupes. And there was one factory cabriolet. That accounts for 22 of them. It goes on to say that 11 received bodies from Gangloff or Vanvooren. And the “other three” all had one-off coachwork. You are correct, discerning reader, that 22+11+3=36. So keep an eye out, you may find one of the mysterious unaccounted-for Bugatti Type 55s.

These were very expensive cars at the time – the Type 51 and 54 weren’t winning races like their predecessors, so presumably racing income was way down and maybe Bugatti was making up for it on the road car end. Then again, they were always expensive cars. In any case, this car was purchased as a chassis by a wealthy surgeon who ordered a new Bugatti every year. He sent it to Lyon to receive this fantastic coachwork from Billeter & Cartier. This is the only such car constructed by them.

Somebody had the brilliant idea to finish this in black and green – an amazing color combination. Every owner of the car is known and it underwent a restoration over a number of yeas and under the direction of multiple owners. It has never been shown at the big Concours’ and it is one seriously good-looking Bugatti. Of course, this comes at a price, with an estimate between $5,000,000-$6,500,000. For more information, click here and for more from Gooding in Monterey, click here.

Update: Not sold.

The Only S.P.O. in Existence

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1911 S.P.O. Raceabout

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

S.P.O. was a French manufacturer that began selling cars in 1898. They jumped into the American market as soon as they could. The manager of their American operations was also a racing driver and S.P.O.s were seen on the beaches in the early days of speed trials. They also competed for the Vanderbilt Cup. And they inspired some American competition – namely Mercer, who were able undercut S.P.O. on price. By 1911, it was all over for the French firm.

This car, a Raceabout (the first time this was used to describe a car), has a 4.2-liter inline-4 rated at 24 horsepower. Ownership history is known from new and it is believed that this car actually competed in beach races in Maine in 1911 as well as sat on the stand at the 1911 Importer’s Exhibition at the Astor Hotel in New York. It was also part of the Harrah Collection (shocking!) until it was broken up and parted out in the 1980s (the collection, not the car).

This is the only S.P.O. in existence. So the buyer not only has a new toy, but also a responsibility to maintain and preserve something of which there will never be another. The car is gorgeous – a fine example of early sporting cars. I think the cloth “fenders” are fantastic. You won’t get another chance to purchase an S.P.O. Jump at it for $500,000-$650,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Gooding during the Pebble Beach festivities, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Porsche RS60

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1960 Porsche RS60

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August, 18, 2012

The Porsche 718 (or RSK) was introduced in 1957 as a further developed racing version of the 550 Spyder. In 1960, due to FIA rule changes, Porsche had to refine the 718 and the RS60 was born. The RS60 was a one-year only racing model, as it was lightly changed for 1961 to become the RS61.

Changes over the 718 included a larger cockpit area and windshield, as mandated by the FIA. The engine in this car is a 1.5-liter flat-4 making 150 horsepower. It cost $9,000 in 1960 and is one of 14 non-works RS60s built.

This car ran in sports car races across the U.S. during its day, never suffering an accident and passed through the hands of a few owners/collectors until it was “sympathetically” restored (I guess that could mean anything, but I take it to mean “as needed”) sometime after 1999. It has seen track time during the Monterey Historics and the Rennsport Reunion.

The pre-sale estimate is $2,250,000-$3,000,000 – which is a lot of money for a car that begs the question: “Is it going forward or backward?” For the complete lot description, click here. And for more from Gooding & Co in Monterey, click here.

Update: Sold $3,465,000.

Ferrari 857

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1955 Ferrari 857 Sport

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

The Ferrari 857 was born out of a need for an improved Ferrari road-racing car – that is, something to do battle with the new Mercedes 300 SLRs. The 750 Monza and 500 Testa Rossa had done their jobs, but in the House of the Prancing Horse, “doing one’s job” probably lies somewhere well below “total domination” on il Commendatore’s list of cherished qualities.

So, for 1955, Ferrari took a 750 Monza chassis and stuffed under the hood a new, larger, version of the Lampedri straight-four, now displacing 3.5-ish liters, a 421cc improvement. Power jumped from about 260 to 290, which looked great on paper – unfortunately, the car was not the power-house it was intended to be. Over the next two years, however, the Monza line would produce some stellar, race-winning cars.

This particular car, chassis 588M, was the last of the four 857s built. It is the only car with this particular Scaglietti-designed body that includes a fin behind the driver. The car was entered by the Scuderia in a single race, where it was rolled in practice by Olivier Gendenbien. After that, it was repaired and sent to America where, in the hands of privateers, it competed in various road races across the country with drivers such as Carroll Shelby, Masten Gregory and Richie Ginther.

Once its racing life had concluded, the car was purchased by Andy Warhol and driven around New York by his agent. It changed hands several times after that, being restored in 2011. With a pre-sale estimate of $5-$7 million, this might be the cheapest way to get  your hands on something that you can connect to Andy Warhol. For the complete lot description, click here. For more from Gooding in California, click here.

Update: Sold $6,270,000.