6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet

1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Alfa’s 6C 2300 model was short lived compared to the 2500 model that followed. It was in produced from 1934 through 1938. In that time, the company turned out just 760 examples, with the “B” variants coming into the line in 1935.

These 2300 B variants still used the same 2.3-liter DOHC inline-six that produced 70 horsepower on this single-carburetor unit. This long-chassis Turismo model wears one-off coachwork by Pinin Farina.

The car was later on display at the 1938 International Motor Show in Berlin and then spent decades in Switzerland and later France and Italy. It is one of 81 Turismo cars built between 1936 and 1937, and it was restored in the 1990s. The estimate here is $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Niclausse Landaulette

1907 Niclausse Type S Landaulette by Binder

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Here’s another Niclausse. Like the one we featured a week ago, this car is coming out of the Mullin collection and was acquired by them in 2007 from the family of the original Spanish owners. It was the 247th car registered in Barcelona.

The Type S is powered by a 2.4-liter inline-four rated at 12/16 taxable horsepower. This is another Binder-bodied car. Potentially a double order for the original owning family, with this being the city car and the big tourer being for the country.

For a collection so well known for its extravagant coachbuilt French classics from the 1930s, the Niclausse – a pair of them at that – seems like such an unlikely thing to be shown side by side. But I guess if you have a line on two one-owner, unrestored almost-unheard-of brass-era cars, you grab them. This one has an estimate of $50,000-$75,000. Click here for more info.

60HP Mercedes-Simplex

1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60HP Roi-des-Belges by J. Rothschild

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

The holy trio of Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Emil Jellinek were responsible for the Mercedes-Simplex, which was the first in a long line of top-tier grand Mercedes road cars. Think of this as the predecessor to the current Mercedes-Maybach sedans.

The car came about because Jellinek, who was Daimler’s Nice-based sales guy, needed a better car than the earlier Daimlers to sell to his rich clients. The new cars were named for Jellinek’s daughter, Mercedes. The first Mercedes was the 35HP model of 1901. It was followed by 1902’s 40HP. The 60HP, which was developed through ’02 and ’03, was even… more.

These were performance cars in their day, used at time trials and other competition events. Even this car was run at the 1903 Nice Speed Trials (setting the fastest time) and an Irish hillclimb later that year (also winning). The car is powered by a 9.2-liter inline-four that was rated at 60 horsepower and a downright low 1,100 rpm. It has a four-speed manual gearbox, and the entire design was meant to be easy to use. Hence the Simplex name.

These were capable of 80 mph and were long and low. Just 102 examples of the 60HP were built between 1902 and 1905. Only five are known to exist. This J. Rothschild et Fils-bodied car was purchased new by publisher Alfred Harmsworth, he of The Daily Mail and The Daily Mirror. It was the 740th car registered in London.

The car was inherited by Harmsworth’s son around 1922 and, in the 1950s, was restored and put on display in the Beaulieu Motor Museum, where it stayed from 1956 through 2023. It has remained with two other members of the Harmsworth family since. That is 121 years of single-family ownership. Gooding has an estimate of “in excess of $10,000,000” on this, the ultimate veteran era car. More can be read here.

Niclausse Tourer

1907 Niclausse Type D Tourer by Binder

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

J. et A. Niclausse was the trading name for the car company started by Jules and Albert Niclausse in 1890. Thy were boilermakers and cars were sort of a side project produced in a separate factory. And the cars were not steam-powered, instead they were large gas-powered luxury cars.

Niclausse produced cars from 1906 through 1914. The Type D is powered by a 6.3-liter inline-four rated at 30/35 horsepower. It has rear drum brakes and a four-speed gearbox. The body was produced by Binder.

This example was sold new in Barcelona and remained with its original owning family until entered the Mullin collection in 2007 (alongside another Niclausse from the same family). The car has not been restored and will sell at no reserve with an estimate of $90,000-$120,000. More info can be found here.

Voisin C28 Clairiere

1935 Voisin C28 Clairiere Berline

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well, once the world found out that the Mullin collection was getting dispersed, we all should’ve prepared ourselves for some Voisins to come to market. This C28 is one of two known with “Clairiere” coachwork, a style that was introduced on the earlier C25 chassis.

The C28 is powered by a 3.3-liter Knight sleeve-valve inline-six rated at 110 horsepower. Of the two known to exist, the other is locked away forever in the Schlumpf hoard in France. So if you want one, this is it.

It has known ownership from knew, having been first delivered in Berlin in 1936, despite being titled as a 1929. It was owned by the Voisin family in the late 1990s and came into the current collection in 2010. The catalog carries a very reassuring disclaimer that the car has been in storage and “may not be currently operational.” So, you know, maybe it runs. The estimate is $350,000-$450,000. More info can be found here.

G.A.R. Roadster

1930 G.A.R. Type B5 Roadster

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February-March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Cyclecars G.A.R. was founded in Clichy, France, in 1922, and, through a name change to Gardahaut et Cie in 1929, remained in production through 1934. M. Gardahaut designed the cars, and he took them racing in the mid-’20s to prove their mettle.

The G.A.R. was not a mass-produced car, and only three B5s are known to still exist. This one is powered by a 1.4-liter inline-eight that was rated at eight taxable horsepower. It also has a Cotal pre-selector gearbox and four-wheel drum brakes.

With known history back to 1970, the car came into the Mullin collection in 2011 and was restored two years later, debuting at Pebble Beach that year. It now has an estimate of $75,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

1905 Richard-Brasier

1905 Richard-Brasier Type D Tourer

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Richard-Brasier was not named after a guy named Richard Brasier. In fact, it was named for Charles-Henri Brasier, formerly of Panhard and Mors, and Georges Richard, he of his own eponymous company. The partnership was founded in 1902, but Richard left the company during 1905 and went on to found Unic. Brasier soldiered on alone.

This Model D is from the final bit of Richard-Brasier production and is powered by a 6.5-liter inline-four that was good for almost 60 horsepower. These were well-performing cars in their day, hence probably why it was sought out for the Mullin collection, from which it is being offered.

The car carries coachwork by Deshayes Freres & Courtois. Gooding & Company are testing the waters at Amelia with some of the less valuable/desirable Mullin cars before the “big auction” at the museum later this year. You can read more about this car here.

Duesenberg J-346

1931 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia, Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Can we talk about how good this car looks painted silver with green wire wheels and wide whitewalls? What a combo. This is a Murphy-bodied Model J, and it has known ownership history back to new.

But what makes it interesting is that it was repainted, and the interior refreshed, in 1951. It remained with one owner for 61 years and appears to have been somewhat recently acquired by its current owner. The car was offered privately late last year but went unsold. There is a document on their website tracing the car’s history, but it is somewhat confusing.

In any case, this is what you’d call a “driver”, which is the best kind of car, much less a Model J. Not only that, but it’s a highly desirable Murphy-built body style. There are plenty driver-level Model J sedans, but most open cars have been [over] restored. It has a 6.9-liter straight-eight capable of 265 horsepower, and more info can be found here.

Voisin C30 S

1938 Voisin C30 S Coupe

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Gabriel Voisin was a visionary designer – of both automobiles and aircraft. But brilliance doesn’t necessarily transfer over to business skills. By 1937 Avions Voisin had been reorganized under SADAV, and the new heads of the company tapped Voisin to design a new car.

It would be his final pre-war design. Long known for their use of Knight sleeve-valve engines, Voisin would shift away from them for the C30 and move to the (likely) 3.6-liter supercharged Graham inline-six. Only about 30 C30s were built before the war put an end to production.

This is said to be the only “C30 S” Coupe produced. It bounced between two owners between 1945 and 1998. For the next 10 years it resided with one owner and was sold in 2008, presumably into the Mullin collection. You can read more about it here.

DB2/4 Indiana Spider

1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Indiana Spider by Bertone

Offered by Gooding & Company | London, U.K. | September 1, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

This car looks like a toy. It certainly looks different from other DB2/4s, with its more aggressive grille and fixed, rounded windshield frame. The car was styled by Franco Scaglione at Bertone and was built for Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt of Arnolt-Bristol (among others) fame.

The DB2/4 is powered by a 2.9-liter inline-six with twin SU carburetors for a factory-rated 140 horsepower. In the early 1950s, Arnolt partnered with Bertone to build the Arnolt-MG. In 1953, he then acquired eight DB2/4 chassis that he was going to have custom-bodied by Bertone to then sell as Arnolt-Astons.

Six of those were actually built, one disappeared, and the last one, this car, was bodied by Bertone to be Arnolt’s personal Aston Martin. It’s had many owners since and was most recently restored under 20 years ago. It now has an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,250,000. Click here for more info.