Kurtis 500 Coupe

1955 Kurtis 500 Swallow Coupe by Allied

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Ft. Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Frank Kurtis began building race cars in the 1930s. They were midgets and the first one he built was for himself. But he was good at it – and people recognized that. His cars were so good that Frank Kurtis was the first non-driver inducted into the National Midget Racing Hall of Fame. After WWII, he tried his hand at fiberglass road cars and would go on to build five Indy 500-winning roadsters.

The Kurtis Kraft 500 was a racing car – an Indy Roadster. They built a (barely) fendered road version as well. What we have here is a KK500 racing chassis. The body is by a company called Allied that built bodies, specifically near-copies of the Cisitalia 202. It’s a short-wheelbase car and uses a 5.2-liter V-8 from a Lincoln that has been tuned to make 257 horsepower.

The car was built to compete in the legendary Carrera Panamericana, but the 1955 race was cancelled. It would, however, get to compete in the 1990 version of that race and some other vintage events as well. It’s one of only two Allied-bodied Kurtis cars known to have been built and should sell for between $140,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $220,000.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Scottsdale 2020.

March 2015 Auction Highlights

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance occurred in March, and with it, a slew of amazing sales, the first being Bonhams’ auction. The top sale was this much-ballyhooed (and rightfully so) 1930 Cord L-29 Town Car by Murphy for $1,760,000.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Of our feature cars, the top seller was the Stutz Super Bearcat for $1,012,000. The Templar Touring brought a more reasonable $60,500. Two cars failed to sell: the Thomas and the Wanderer.

The “French-Front” Oldsmobile sold for $94,600 and the 1911 EMF went for $242,000. And last but not least, the Wills Sainte Claire sold for $151,250. Click here for full results.

Next up is newly re-branded RM Sotheby’s and their Amelia Island sale, where the top seller was out featured Ferrari 400 Superamerica for $6,380,000. Other million dollar feature cars included the 427 S/C Cobra for $2,117,500, the Jaguar XJR-9 for $2,145,000, and a previously-featured Duesenberg that proves a paint job can go a long way. It sold for $1,155,000.

Another previously-featured car that showed up at this sale is the 1932 Marmon HCM Prototype. It brought $429,000. I’m going to call out this 1952 Kurtis 4000 that finished 5th at the 1952 Indy 500 as most-interesting non-feature car. It sold for $495,000.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

On a related note, the Miller 91 brought $770,000.  And the beautiful Stutz DV-32 sold for $522,500. Check out full results here.

The third Amelia Island sale (well, second if you’re going by the calendar… third in our rundown) is Gooding & Company’s sale. The top seller was a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that has been in the same family for 40 years. It brought $3,300,000.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The top seller of our feature cars would’ve been the Maserati 200 SI, but it failed to sell (as did the Duesenberg from this sale). Instead, it is the AAR-Toyota Eagle for $660,000. The March-Cosworth went for $231,000 and the first Lotus ever sold to a customer sold for $247,500. Check out full results here.

Bonhams had another sale in March, in Goodwood. The top sale was our featured Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe for $695,854. The other Frazer Nash failed to sell. Interesting cars included this 1961 Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero Record Monza by Zagato for $94,089.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The H.R.G. Le Mans sold for $243,444. And the Audi Quattro Rally car sold for $368,210. Click here for full results.

And finally, Osenat’s March sale, in which our featured Aryathis failed to sell. The top sale was this 1939 Citroen Traction Avant 15/6 Cabriolet for $661,435. Click here for full results.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

America’s First Post-War Sports Car

1947 Kurtis-Omohundro Comet

For sale at Vintage Motors of Sarasota | Sarasota, Florida

1947 Kurtis-Omohundro Comet

Frank Kurtis is an important name in the history of American sports cars. In the late-1930s he built his first midget dirt-track car. Just prior to WWII, he designed a car that would eventually go into (short-lived) production as the Davis Divan.

Kurtis Kraft would be he racing car business. He built five Indianapolis 500 winning cars and nearly 2,000 Kurtis Kraft cars would be built, 120 of which would actually compete in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. He even built a short run of sports cars for the road (and those were also produced as the Muntz Jet).

The car you see here is often billed as “America’s first Post-War sports car.” It was designed by Frank Kurtis and Paul Omohundro, a man who had worked for Kurtis fabricating race car bodies. The Comet was built around a 1940 Ford chassis and the two men planned to put the car into limited production on donor Ford chassis (it never happened).

The engine was a 1946 Mercury flathead V-8 making about 100 horsepower (it was swapped out years later for a 1949 engine). Omohundro was able to build a lightweight aluminium body that made the car capable of over 100 mph. The car bounced around between owners, garnering little use until it was parked in 1986 and forgotten.

When it was finally rediscovered, a restoration was undertaken and completed in 2007. It has been shown and won awards at multiple prestigious concours’ and while its claim of America’s “first Post-War sports car” can be disputed, it is considered the first documented American “coachbuilt car after the war.”

This isn’t a car that you can find a duplicate of – as it was the only one built. It’s also in the best shape it has ever been in. You can buy it from one of America’s coolest car dealerships in Sarasota, Florida for $390,000. Click here for more info.

Early August 2013 Auction Highlights

August is a very busy month for classic cars – just in the Monterey area alone there are five major auctions. So we’ll cover early August as its own thing. First up, Auctions America’s huge and awesome sale in Burbank, California. Top sale was this 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster for $825,000.

1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster

Our first feature car was the 1951 Glasspar and it brought $52,800. The other car we featured from this sale was an Edwards America roadster which sold for $66,000. Interesting cars was this auction’s bright spot. I’ll just go through them as I come to them… First, how about a 1976 Manta Mirage for $22,000?

1976 Manta Mirage

Then there’s this 1950 Pearson-Kurtis Front-Wheel-Drive Indy 500 car that was never actually raced. It’s got an Offy under the hood and is in barn-find condition – and it still managed $192,500.

1950 Pearson-Kurtis FWD

A rare 1967 Ghia 450SS Convertible sold at this sale. These cars are awesome. This one brought $129,250.

1967 Ghia 450SS Convertible

This 1953 Bohman Special Roadster was built by the son of the “Bohman” in “Bohman & Schwartz” – the celebrated coachbuilder. It was built for the movie “Johnny Dark” starring Tony Curtis. It sold for $104,500.

1953 Bohman Special Roadster

The award for “The Car I Would’ve Bought Had I Been There” goes to this 1924 Dodge Four-Door Sedan for only $5,500!

1924 Dodge Four-Door Sedan

For something a little rarer, this 1939 Steyr 220 Cabriolet should fit the bill. And the bill was $60,500.

1939 Steyr 220 Cabriolet

Check out this super rare 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra R (one of 107 built) with only 600 original miles. The price reflects it: $46,750 (which has to be some kind of record for a Fox body Mustang).

1993 Ford Mustang Cobra R

This I love. The sale was in Burbank – home of movie studios and Hollywood and all that. Well how about this extravagant golf cart? It was used in the Jim Carrey movie “The Grinch.” This car thing is straight out of Whoville. And it sold for $38,500. (It’s referred to in the catalog as a 2000 Cinema Vehicle Services Family Sedan). It’d definitely be cool to cruise in around a small town (on the sidewalks of course).

2000 Cinema Vehicle Services Whoville Family Sedan

Taking a 180 car-wise, this 1912 Buick Model 35 Touring was a car I kinda wanted to feature, but couldn’t squeeze it in. It sold for $28,600.

1912 Buick Model 35 Touring

Concept cars always get my attention – even if they aren’t that exciting. This 1988 Pontiac Fiero Concept was a 232 horsepower Fiero Concept that never made it to production. It’s one of one. It sold for $3,520. And I think that’s enough cars. You can check out the rest of the results here.

1988 Pontiac Fiero Concept

The other early-August auction was Silverstone’s semi-small (at least in comparison to the one above) CarFest North sale. The top sale was this 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series III Roadster which brought $111,600.

1973 Jaguar E-Type Series III Roadster

Check out complete results for that sale here.