Tag Archives: indy car

Mario Andretti’s Hawk-Ford

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1965 Brawner Hawk-Ford Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 13-21, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Clint Brawner was a race car designer and mechanic who worked on the front-engined Indy roadsters before he built this, the rear-engined Hawk. Hawks were all over the American open-wheel grid from 1965 into the early 1970s.

This particular car is powered by a 4.2-liter Ford DOHC V8 with Hilborn fuel injection paired with a two-speed Halibrand gearbox. It carries the Dean Van Lines Special livery that Mario Andretti ran in his rookie year at the Indy 500. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1965 Indianapolis 500 – 3rd (with Andretti)
  • 1965 Hoosier GP at IRP – 1st (with Andretti)
  • 1966 Indianapolis 500 – 18th, DNF (with Andretti, from pole)

That ’65 win at Indianapolis Raceway Park was Mario’s first Indy Car victory. He won a total of nine races in this car as well as the 1965 and 1966 USAC Champ Car championships. It’s being offered out of Ray Evernham’s personal collection. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $2,200,000.

Hudson Indy Car

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1932 Hudson Indy Car

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

The “Junk Formula” was an era of the Indianapolis 500 that lasted from 1930 through 1937. It allowed for a much wider variety of cars at the track, which had the effect of increasing field sizes. It also encouraged race car builders to use production car parts. A mechanic from Saginaw, Michigan, named Jack Mertz decided to build his own Indy car. Using a Hudson chassis, he bodied this car himself.

Under the hood is a 4.2-liter inline-eight capable of 150 horsepower. Mertz then drove the car from Saginaw to Indianapolis to enter the 1932 race. But he arrived too late and missed the field. The following year, Mertz sold the car to a Detroit car dealer named Lawrence Martz, who then named the car after himself. The competition history for the “Martz Special” includes:

  • 1933 Indianapolis 500 – 15th, DNF (with Gene Haustein)
  • 1934 Indianapolis 500 – 30th, DNF (with Haustein)

It actually crashed during the ’34 race, and by the end of the decade the trail of this car went cold. That is, until the 1970s when it was discovered. The restoration was done in the early 1980s, and the car was shown at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours. It is now expected to bring between $250,000-$350,000 and will sell without reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $291,000.

1995 Lola Champ Car

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1995 Lola-Cosworth T9500

Offered by Motostalgia | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 12, 2015

Photo - Motostalgia

Photo – Motostalgia

Lola was one of the main Indy Car/Champ Car chassis producers in the 1990s. This car was actually from the CART series – which, in this time period, was fantastic. American open wheel racing in the 90s was a really bright spot in racing history… well, at least through 1995.

The T9500 was Lola’s 1995 entry and this particular combo has a Cosworth XB V-8 – a turbocharged V-8, actually, making in excess of 750 horsepower. This car has Indy 500 history, including:

  • 1995 Indianapolis 500 – 31st, DNF (with Eddie Cheever)
  • 1996 Indianapolis 500 – 10th (with Scott Sharp)

This was actually an A.J. Foyt racing team car, which can’t hurt the value. It’s a pretty cool machine, although I’m not sure what you’d do with it (unless you’re some kind of daredevil that likes taking 750 horsepower open wheels cars to track days). Anyway, it should cost its next caretaker/pilot between $210,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Update: Sold $93,500.

1972 AAR Eagle

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1972 AAR Eagle 7200

Offered by Motostalgia | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 12, 2015

Photo - Motostalgia

Photo – Motostalgia

Dan Gurney’s All American Racers (AAR) built some amazing Indy cars an F1 racers back in the day. This STP-liveried Indy Car looks amazing – and it’s not just the paint job. It represents classic Indy style. To borrow the old cliché, It looks like it’s going 200 mph just sitting there.

The engine is a turbocharged 2.6-liter Drake-Offenhauser straight-four making 750 horsepower. That is more than today’s Indy Cars. This particular car notched three wins with Wally Dallenbach in 1973 and it’s Indy history includes:

  • 1973 Indy 500 – 16th (with Graham McRae)
  • 1974 Indy 500 – 13th, DNF (with Bill Simpson)
  • 1975 Indy 500 – DNQ (with George Follmer)
  • 1976 Indy 500 – 23rd (with Billy Scott)
  • 1977 Indy 500 – DNQ (with John Martin)
  • 1978 Indy 500 – DNQ (with John Martin)
  • 1979 Indy 500 – DNQ (with Billy Scott)

Interestingly, this was also the very car that Roger Mears made his Indy Car debut in, finishing 6th at California in 1978. In total, 29 of these 7200s were built. This one has been completely restored and has been on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and the Riverside International Automotive Museum. It sold at an RM sale last August for $341,000 and is offered now with an estimate between $375,000-$435,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Top Open-Wheel Cars in Monterey

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Open-Wheel Race Cars

Offered during the Pebble Beach Concours Weekend | August 15-17, 2014

 1986 March 86C Cosworth

Offered by RM Auctions

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

This was the car in CART in 1986. Fielded by Truesports, the March 86C was campaigned by Bobby Rahal for the 1986 season. It is powered by a 700 horsepower 2.7-liter Cosworth turbo V-8. Just take a look at this car’s competition history:

  • 1986 Indianapolis 500 – 1st (with Bobby Rahal)
  • 5 other wins that season
  • 1986 CART Championship

The chance to own an Indy 500-winning car is a very rare thing, and one this cool driven by such a legend makes it even better. The car still retains its race-winning engine. It should sell for between $1,750,000-$2,500,000. Click here for more info.

S/N: 86C-13

Update: Not sold, high bid of $1,550,000.

2000 Ferrari F1-2000

Offered by RM Auctions

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The F1-2000 was, you guessed it, Ferrari’s F1 car for the 2000 season. And guess who drove for Ferrari in 2000? That’s right, Michael Schumacher. And it was one of those seasons that he had with Ferrari where he nearly won everything on the calendar. He also won the championship. This car won the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix. The engine is a monster: 3.0-liter V-10 making 770 horsepower. It should sell for between $1,750,000-$2,500,000. Click here for more.

S/N: 198

Update: Sold $1,804,000.

1970 Brabham-Cosworth BT33

Offered by Bonhams

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

You’re looking at the final car driven by Jack Brabham in Formula One. In fact, he won his final grand prix in this car – the 1970 South African Grand Prix. What’s even better, this is a Brabham chassis and he remains the only person to ever win in a car bearing his own name. The car looks fabulous. The engine is too: it’s a Cosworth V-8 of 3.0-liters and puts out 430 horsepower at an ear-shattering 10,000 rpm. It can be yours for between $1,000,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,034,000.

1978 Ferrari 312 T3

Offered by Bonhams

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Ferrari 312 T3 was Ferrari’s second car for the 1978 Formula One Season. The car used for the first two races was a carryover from 1977. The T3 was introduced for the third race. This car was driven primarily by Carlos Reutemann (who won the 1978 British Grand Prix in it). It also driven by Gilles Villeneuve. Villeneuve won the 1978 Race of Champions (a non-points F1 race) in this car. The engine is a 530 horsepower 3.0-liter Flat-12. Ferrari built five of these cars and this one is offered in more-or-less as-raced conditions and has spent many years in the Maranello Rosso Collection. It should sell for between $1,500,000-$2,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $2,310,000.

1969 AAR Eagle-Santa Ana

Offered by RM Auctions

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Here’s the last open-wheel car we’ll feature from Monterey (mostly because I just lost all of the work I did on this post and had to start over – there are other awesome racers this weekend). This car comes from AAR, Dan Gurney’s All American Racers. It was their car for 1969 and it uses a 5.2-liter Ford V-8. AAR built four of them, three of which raced at the Indy 500 that year. This one did not, although Gurney did run it in practice. The only racing this car has ever done is on the historic circuit and it has been in the same ownership for nearly a quarter of a century. It can be yours for between $125,000-$175,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $104,500.

Shelby Turbine Indy Car

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1968 Shelby Turbine Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 14-16, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Everyone remembers Andy Granatelli’s STP turbine indy cars from 1967 and 1968 – back in the day when the Indianapolis 500 stood for speed and innovation. The STP-Paxton Turbocars were driven by Parnelli Jones and Joe Leonard and dominated the races but always failed prior to the finish.

Well in 1968, Carroll Shelby also built a similar turbine-powered open-wheel racer and entered it in the Indy 500. The team practiced two cars – this one was driven by Bruce McLaren. USAC changed the rules surrounding turbine cars and while the STP cars were still legal, the Shelby cars were not able to compete and were withdrawn prior to qualifying.

The powerplant here is a General Electric T-58 shaft-drive turbine putting out a crazy 1,325 horsepower. This car is pristine and is currently on display the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in their Turbine Indy Car exhibit. It’s a pretty cool opportunity that should command a pretty princely sum. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $450,000.

Auctions America Auburn Spring Sale Highlights

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Auctions America’s three-day spring sale in Auburn, Indiana, (held last weekend) saw more than 170 cars sell for a wide variety of prices. Top sale was a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Boattail Speedster. The car is a re-creation, but uses an original engine (J-249). I’m not sure of the car’s history, but it sounds like the original car is no longer extant and this one was built around the original mechanicals to take the place of the lost car. It sold for $484,000, which is a lot less than it would have cost were it the real deal. Still looks amazing, though.

Both of our feature cars sold. The awesome Mercury Marauder Concept Convertible brought $51,700 and the De Tomaso Mangusta sold for $75,900. We also featured an Avelate Corvette, which either didn’t sell or was withdrawn as I couldn’t find it in the results.

Another big sale was a 1969 Hemi Dodge Charger, one of only 119 built in 1969 with that monster engine. It’s white and entirely unassuming – perfect for a car that will take just about anything at the stoplight. It sold for $130,000.

Other interesting sales included this 1995 Lola T9500-HU24 Cosworth XB Indy car. It was driven by Scott Sharp to 10th place in the 1996 Indy 500 for A.J. Foyt Racing and by Eddie Cheever in 1995. It is a complete, running Indy car with Indy 500 history. It sold for $62,700.

Finally, from the bargain bin (sort of), is this 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Catalina Custom. The second-generation Star Chief is one of my favorite Pontiacs and it’s such a great-looking car with those two chrome strips running the length of the hood. This one has a 5.2-liter V8 and appears to be in great shape. It sold for $14,300. For complete results (and to see what cars are still available), click here.