Tag Archives: gooding & company

Duesenberg J-114

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Town Car by Derham

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Yes, Duesenbergs were cars for the rich. But any car with a town car body was a car for the rich. You had a chauffeur’s compartment up front, where some household employee would sit, exposed to the elements, and drive you around. Like the Isotta Fraschini from Sunset Boulevard.

And that’s kind of what this is. It was sold new to Virginia Robinson, who married a department store heir and lived in Beverly Hills. Just like Norma Desmond, she was ferried around Los Angeles in this, the only short-wheelbase Model J with Derham town car coachwork. The 265-horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight is retained under the hood.

The Robinsons had three Duesenbergs, and all of them were relatively early cars, with J-171 being the highest engine number they had. Early adopters. The car received updated styling and wheels in the mid-1930s. It was restored in 1968 and cosmetically refreshed in the last year. It now has an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info.

Duesenberg J-461

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1934 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Duesenberg’s are out in force for Monterey Car Week. I’ve counted four across the different auction catalogs, with this one wearing the ever-popular disappearing-top convertible coupe bodywork from the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California.

Each Model J features a 6.9-liter straight-eight that was rated at 265 horsepower. This car was ordered new by a member of the Roebling family (their ancestor, John Roebling, built a couple of famous suspension bridges, and his family was the money behind Mercer back in the day). J-461 was originally bodied as a LaGrande dual-cowl phaeton.

It was involved in a crash while Duesenberg was still active and sent back to the factory, where it was fitted with this body. The re-work was completed in 1934, and Duesenberg re-titled it to match the new date. It passed through a few owners, including the John O’Quinn collection, and was restored by Fran Roxas. It now has an estimate of $3,500,000-$4,250,000. More info can be found here.

Delahaye Torpedo Roadster

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1938 Delahaye 135M Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California, August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

This is one of the swoopiest old cars we’ve ever featured. Figoni et Falaschi, the coachbuilder responsible for some of the best – or at least, wildest – designs of this era displayed a very similar example on Delahaye’s 135M chassis at the 1936 Paris Motor Show.

The 135M was introduced for 1936 and saw power from a 3.6-liter inline-six with three downdraft carburetors for a listed output of 116 horsepower. This particular car was ordered new by the Algerian importer for a client. The trail then goes cold.

It wasn’t until 1992 that it was found, relatively complete, in Algeria. It was then shipped to France and restored, with work finalized by 1997. In 1999, it was purchased by the Petersen Museum, where it has remained since. There were apparently 11 of these built, with this being #8. Only about five survive – and this one is going back into circulation with an estimate of $2,000,000-$3,000,000. Click here for more info.

Ghia-Aigle Alfa 1900C SS

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1957 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Coupe Lugano by Ghia-Aigle

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Alfa’s 1900 was a small sedan that was offered between 1950 and 1959. Attractive in its own right, the car was designed by Alfa designer Orazio Satta. Sprint and convertible versions were also offered, as was a short-wheelbase Corto (1900C) variant.

In addition, you could get a hot SS version, of which 854 were built. They featured a 2.0-liter DOHC inline-four with twin Solex carburetors for a rating of 115 horsepower. Many of these received coachbuilt bodies, including a number of them by Ghia-Aigle (not to be confused with Carrozzeria Ghia of Italy). Ghia-Aigle was initially the Swiss subsidiary of Ghia and actually lasted until 1988.

It’s unknown how many Coupe Luganos were built, but four are known. It, as are many 1900Cs, is a very attractive car. And it is selling at no reserve with an estimate of $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info.

Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato

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2013 Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

There are a number of modified Ferraris wearing modern Zagato coachwork, but Lamborghini really isn’t a brand associated with that kind of custom coachbuilding. The car you see here exists due to a client request, and when rich people demand something, things like the 5-95 Zagato are born.

It debuted in 2014 at Villa d’Este and is based on the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera. It retains a 5.2-liter V10 that was rated at 562 horsepower in Superleggera spec. Top speed is 200 mph.

Just nine of these were built including one convertible. This is the first time one has come up for sale, and it has 1,100 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $400,000-$600,000. Click here for more info.

Sizaire-Naudin Speedster

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1908 Sizaire-Naudin Model C Speedster

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Sizaire-Naudin was founded by the Sizaire brothers (Georges and Maurice) and Louis Naudin. The company existed between 1903 and 1921, and despite that range, this is just the second vehicle from them we’ve featured. Both are from 1908.

Between 1906 and 1909, the company was active in racing, thus this 1908 model wearing sporty speedster coachwork. It’s powered by a single-cylinder engine, and all early Sizaires feature an independent sliding-pillar front suspension with big transverse leaf springs hanging out in from of the radiator.

This car has been on display at the Mullin museum for some time and will require reconditioning. It has an estimate of $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Morgan-Monotrace Torpedo

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1926 Morgan-Monotrace TMX Torpedo

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

What do you call a motorcycle with four wheels? That’s not the start of a joke, but a description of what we’re dealing with here. It’s essentially a two-passenger motorcycle with… training wheels.

The Monotrace was designed by a German firm called Mauser but were built under license in France by Mecanicarm of St. Etienne between 1925 and 1928. The marque was Morgan-Monotrace, and the company was unrelated the Britain’s Morgan Motor Company.

The engine is a 520cc single. It’s got tandem seating and chain drive. Approximately 310 were built, and this one was in the Schlumpf reserve collection before coming to the Mullin museum. Very few of these exist, and this project-status example has a reserve of $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info.

1902 Prunel

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1902 Prunel Model F

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Radiator as front bumper is always a good choice, isn’t it? Ste des Usines Prunel was founded outside of Paris in 1900 by a J. Prunel. The company initially marketed their cars under the Atlas marque for the first two years. Prunel didn’t appear on the cars until 1902, and they sort of faded away after 1907. The Phenix was built at the Prunel factory between 1912 through 1914.

This car was imported to the U.S. in 1962, at which time it was restored in New Jersey. It remained on display at the Briggs Cunningham Museum and the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum for decades before being acquired by the Mullin museum in 1990.

The engine is a single-cylinder unit, and it’s not running because it’s been on display for so long. Still, an estimate of $30,000-$50,000 for a car of this age, condition, and rarity seems like a bargain here, running or not. Click here for more info.

The Last Voisin

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1938 Voisin C30 Cabriolet by Dubos

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

The C30 was the final Voisin road car. Sure, there was a post-war prototype, but this was the last real model from the company. Coupes and convertibles were offered, but only about 30 chassis were completed in total. The Mullin museum had a copy of each.

This one has cabriolet coachwork by Dubos. Earlier Voisins utilized Knight sleeve-valve engines, but by this late in the game, Voisin had switched to a more modern powerplant (but still American): a supercharged 3.5-liter Graham-Paige inline-six (interestingly, Gooding described the last C30 as have a 3.6-liter engine).

This car entered the museum in 2008 and has been on display since, so it’ll need some work if you want to use it. The estimate is $150,000-$250,000. More info can be found here.

Bedelia Cyclecar

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1913 Bedelia Type 8 Sport Torpedo

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Bedelia was a French marque that existed between 1910 and 1925. Prime time for cyclecars, which were light, low-powered cars that were cheap and efficient. They were a fad, really. And one that never came back. They were kind of like the proto-microcar.

Some of them featured tandem seating like this car. In today’s world, being positioned behind your passengers as the driver seems insane. The car features a V-twin engine turned to the side, unlike a Morgan of the same era.

This is another car that was acquired by the Mullin museum from as part of the Schlumpf reserve collection. It’s a project, but finding another one isn’t going to be easy (they’re out there, though). The estimate is $10,000-$20,000. More info can be found here.