July 2014 Auction Recap

Posted on August 3, 2014 by classiccarweekly

Welcome to our July 2014 auction rundown, beginning with Artcurial’s 2014 Le Mans sale. The top sale was this 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL for $1,505,502.

Photo – Artcurial

Our feature cars all sold, with the Jaguar Buetler Prototype leading the way and smashing its estimate, selling for $217,162. Both other cars, the D.B. HBR5 and the Koenig Testarossa, sold for $160,860 each. Interesting cars were topped by this 1966 Fiat 1500 GT Barchetta by Ghia for $96,516. Check out full results here.

Photo – Artcurial

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Mercedes 10/40/65

Posted on July 8, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1924 Mercedes 10/40/65PS Sport Phaeton

Offered by Bonhams | Stuttgart, Germany | July 12, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

This pretty Mercedes touring car was built by Mercedes – before the “hyphen Benz.” In fact, it was produced just two years before Daimler (Mercedes’ controlling company) merged with The House that Karl Built in 1926.

The confusing model nomenclature used by Mercedes with the three numbers separated by slashes is like that for good reason: these were the first production cars fitted with superchargers and the numbers reflected the horsepower during various driving stages. The first number is the nominal horsepower (which was and is an outdated way of estimating power – it’s what they used for steam engines), the second number is the engine during normal operating procedure, and the third is when the supercharger is engaged.

So this 2.6-liter straight-four put out 40 horsepower – 65 when the “Kompressor” was engaged. It was the more powerful of the two four-cylinder cars Mercedes was producing at the time. My favorite part of the catalog entry for this car is that this car is currently owned by a collector of mainly post-war Mercedes and this car “does not fit his collection.” Must be a nice problem to have.

Only 851 10/40/65s were built. And this one should sell for between $610,000-$890,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Late August 2013 Auction Highlights

Posted on August 18, 2013 by classiccarweekly

I may end up splitting this up into two posts because it’s bound to be insane. We’ll start with Barrett-Jackson’s inaugural Reno, Nevada, sale. Our featured Studebaker Champ pickup sold for $30,800. Top sale (not counting charity cars, which I don’t count) was this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 327/360 Convertible for $192,500.

Of all the other cars, the coolest was this truck. It’s a 1955 Dodge C-3B and it sold for a really strong $90,750. Check out complete results here.

Moving forward to Monterey weekend. First up, Bonhams’ sale in Carmel. The top sale here was this 1931 Bentley 4.25-Liter Supercharged Le Mans. It’s a factory blower Bentley and it sold for $4,647,500.

Next up was our featured one-off Ferrari 250 Europa which went for $2,805,000. The most interesting car I didn’t get to feature was this 1902 Knox Model C Runabout. It was the first lot and it sold for $56,100.

Now on to the million dollar sales (in no particular order)! How about a pair of Mercedes-Benz 300SLs? First a 1955 300SL coupe ($1,100,000) and then a 1963 300SL Roadster ($1,430,000).

What would you think about an un-restored, barn-find condition 1963 Shelby Cobra 260 that was used as Car and Driver‘s test car back in the day? The 260 cubic inch engine makes it a very early Cobra. It was sold as-is for $2,068,000.

And now a pair of Ferraris. First, a 1960 250 GT Cabriolet Series II by Pinin Farina. It sold for $1,375,000.

Then there was the Brussels Motor Show 1965 275 GTS for $1,045,000.

My favorite of our feature cars, the unbelievable American Underslung Tourer sold for $748,000. Speaking of early cars, how about another million-dollar Mercedes? This one is from the pre-Benz era. It is a 1910 Mercedes 45hp 4-Seat Tourabout. It sold for $1,100,000.

Like the Cobra above, this 1958 Lister-Chevrolet “Knobbly” is in completely original condition. It sold for $1,430,000.

Another one of our feature cars was this 1906 Autocar. It sold for $42,600. The final million dollar sale was this also-unrestored and all-original 1952 Frazer-Nash Le Mans Replica Mk II Competition – and just barely: it sold for $1,001,000. It has Sebring race history and was used at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show.

Our final feature car was the 1910 Peerless Victoria. It brought $176,000. One final cool car is this 1961 Mercedes-Benz Type O321H Bus that was used by the Swiss national hockey team. It sold for $126,500. Check out full results here.

Next up, Mecum’s Monterey sale. The top sale there was a 1955 Porsche 550/1500 RS Spyder for $3,750,000.

Our featured Delage would’ve been next, but it failed to sell. The only other million dollar car that actually sold was this 1990 Ferrari F40 for a very strong $1,325,000.

To run down some more feature cars… these feature cars failed to sell: a previously featured Duesenberg, a Ferrari 750 Monza, the JPS Lotus F1 car, and the Jaguar XJR-5. Our feature Isotta-Fraschini did sell: for $145,000. Among cool cars, I like this 1954 International R140 that went for $140,000.

And finally this super-cool 1948 Allard L-Type Roadster. It sold for $44,000. Click here for full results.

RM Pebble Beach 2012 Highlights

Posted on September 1, 2012 by classiccarweekly

RM Auctions’ 2012 Monterey sale had some impressive results, with one car standing out above the rest. The 1968 Ford GT40/Gulf Mirage sold for $11,000,000 – a new world record for an American car sold at auction (although it’s a little British). Just like at Le Mans in the 1960s, Ford destroyed Ferrari at this sale. Ford took the #1 spot, and Ferrari was relegated to second, third and fourth. The second-highest selling car was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder for $8,580,000.

The third place car was our featured 1955 Ferrari 410 S for $8,250,000. After that came this 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Tour de France for $6,710,000.

The next two cars were feature cars. First, the incredible Horch 853A Special Roadster brought $5,170,000, missing the lower end of its estimate by about $1,000,000 (no big deal, right?). Then there was the awesome-in-orange Aston Martin DB3S for $3,685,000. Then there was another GT40 (the apparent theme of this year’s Monterey sales). This was a 1967 Mark I road car and it sold for $2,860,000.

One of the all-time classics was available for purchase at this sale too, a 1938 Talbot-Lago T23 Teardrop. The one seen here sold for $2,640,000.

The two incredible Le Mans prototypes we featured both sold. The Bentley Speed 8 brought $2,530,000. The Audi R8 was a comparative steal at $1,034,000. Another high-dollar Bentley was this 1953 Continental R-Type Fastback by Mulliner for $1,622,500.

There was also another high-dollar Aston Martin, this one a 1960 DB4GT. I don’t know if you’ve ever witnessed one of these things buzzing around during a historic race, but they’re astonishing. This one brought $2,035,000.

The only other million dollar Ferraris were all 275 GTBs. The photos will follow in this order: first, a 1967 275 GTB/4 Competizione Speciale for $1,485,000. At the same price was a blue ’67 275 GTB/4. Then there was a 1965 275 GTB for $1,182,500.

Of our two featured homologation supercars, the Porsche 911 GT1 failed to sell (only one no-sale among our feature cars, a new record!). The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR brought $1,100,000. Another million dollar Mercedes was the ever-present 300SL, this one a 1955 Gullwing selling for $1,171,500.

RM had Shelby Cobras out the wazoo this year, selling six of them and three Shelby GT350s. The only Cobras that surpassed the $1 mil. mark were both competition Cobras. One was a 1965 427 (below) at $1,485,000. and the other a 1964 289 (second below) at $1,320,000.

And there was a bonus piece of Shelby goodness at this sale. It’s a 1956 Fiat 306/2 Grand Prix Transporter used by Shelby to transport the Cobra Daytonas to Le Mans (as well as having been used by other race teams and privateers over the years). It has been restored to its Shelby team days. It sold for $990,000.

Duesenberg wrap-up: J-108, the all-white Murphy Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe sold for $1,897,500. And J-151, the Murphy Sport Sedan sold for $990,000. Other interesting cars included a 1954 Hudson Italia – hands down one of the best-looking cars of all time – for $265,000.

My affectation for giant pre-WWI touring cars compels me to show you this pre-Benz 1914 Mercedes 50HP Seven-Passenger Touring that I really liked. It sold for $528,000.

One car that received a fair amount of pre-sale press was the 1960 Plymouth XNR that was restored from 2009-2011 by RM Restorations. I was going to feature this car but that Bentley Speed 8 couldn’t be passed up. This car sold for $935,000.

Another car that almost got featured was this 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Aero Coupe by Classic Auto Rebuilding Service. If that coachbuilder’s name doesn’t sound quite “1930s enough,” you’re right. When the car was restored, the original body was basically scrap so the owners had a new one commissioned based on 1930s-era drawings. It sold for $473,000.