DAM/TPR 4100

1987 DAM 4100

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Online | November 13-14, 2020

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Group B rallying was one of the best classes of motorsport since… well, since motorsports. In the 1980s, there were some outrageous rally cars, and one such example was the MG Metro 6R4. Badged as a derivative of the frumpy Austin/MG Metro front-wheel-drive hatchback, the 6R4 was a rear-mid-engined four-wheel-drive monster powered by a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 capable of over 400 horsepower.

There were 220 examples of the 6R4 built, 20 of which were high-level competition cars. The other 200 were Clubman cars, which were sold to the public. Many of them ended up in the hands of privateer rally drivers. So what is this car then?

Well, Tony Pond was a works Austin-Rover rally driver. One of the team engineers was a man named David Appleby. When Austin-Rover (MG) pulled out of rallying in 1987, Pond and Appleby set up shop updating Clubman cars. Thus, the DAM/TPR 4100 was born.

This is the prototype. Pond and Appleby parted ways shortly after this car was built, but Appleby soldiered on without Pond and ended up producing 5-10 examples. Power is from a Cosworth-derived 2.5-liter V6 rated at 295 horsepower at an impressive 10,250 rpm. It’s got four-wheel drive, too.

This is like a cottage industry British supercar from the 90s (even though it was built in the late 1980s). It’s a car that never appears at public sales (or in public generally). The estimated price reflects it. The estimate is $190,000-$215,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold. Silverstone actually says sold for an “undisclosed amount,” which is about the sketchiest thing I’ve ever seen on an online auction.

Update II: Sold, Silverstone Auctions, March 2021, $124,501.

Arnolt-MG

1953 Arnolt-MG Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 2, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Stanley Arnolt began importing cars into the US from Europe in the 1950s and was later a manufacturer in his own right, based out of Chicago. When he was on a business trip in 1952 he ran into the folks from Bertone at an auto show and struck up a deal.

The deal was that Bertone would design bodies for Arnolt to fit on the chassis of other European cars. The first collaboration was the Arnolt-MG, which was offered as a coupe and convertible. Power is from a 54 horsepower, 1.3-liter inline-four. The mechanicals and chassis were from an MG TD.

Only 65 coupes were built before MG moved on to the TF, leaving Arnolt to find a new base car, which he did from the likes of Bristol, Jaguar, and Aston Martin. This car has been restored and looks as if it came from an entirely different decade than the MG TD on which it is based. It should sell for between $75,000-$125,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $64,960.

MGB Prototype

1965 MG B EX234 Prototype Roadster by Pininfarina

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, England | June 24, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The MG B is a legendary car because it is the definitive British sports roadster. Produced between 1962 and 1980, they are ubiquitous – with over half a million built. You can find them everywhere, they are cheap and easy to work on. And fun. And wild – I’ve been in one that launched into a snowbank off a slippery runway. Good times.

But what we have here is a very special MGB. In 1964, MG started planning for the “next MGB” and built a prototype chassis with independent rear suspension and four wheel disc brakes. The engine was a 1.3-liter straight-four found in most other BMC products (but, strangely, not other MGBs). They shipped the chassis to Italy for Pininfarina to attach a prototype body to it.

It was intended to replace the B and the MG Midget. But both cars were strong sellers – and why mess with success? This car got put away and eventually sold into an MG museum in 1977 having only 100 miles on it. Today it has covered only 374 miles and is all original. It’s one of a kind and it’s the first time it is being offered for public sale. It is expected to bring between $51,000-$66,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $83,762.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Goodwood 2022.

MG Metro 6R4

1985 MG Metro 6R4

Offered by Coys | Birmingham, U.K. | January 16, 2016

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The MG Metro was not an exciting car. In fact, the Metro (which was produced under the Austin, MG, Rover and Morris brands) was originally built as a 1.0-liter front-wheel-drive supermini in England from 1980 through 1990. It could be had as a three or five-door hatchback and three-door van. This is obviously not one of those.

This is what happens when a giant motoring governing body lets people go wild. That’s what Group B Rally represented in the 1980s. The cars that came out of that short-lived era are some of the most collectible rally cars ever built. The 6R4 version of the Metro was built between 1984 and 1987.

In this trim, the engine is mounted behind the driver. It’s a 3.0-liter V-6 – naturally aspirated. Power output was 410 horsepower. Four-wheel drive was permanent. There was even a (slightly neutered) road-going version. Twenty rally versions were built.

This particular car was a Rothmans team rally car. It was never used in anger – mostly at shows and in demonstrations. It has 3,100 miles on it. The pre-sale estimate is between $125,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Lester-MG

1954 Lester-MG T51

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

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

This car has been around the block recently. The auction block. Bonhams sold it in September 2012 for $33,000. It’s a one-off based around an MG. It was built by Harry Lester – a garage owner in Berkshire, England. He built an open roadster that fared well on the racing circuit. So in 1954, he turned to building a few coupes – only two are known to have been completed, and this is the only MG-powered car.

This car was built specially for tall driver Maurice Toulmin – hence the conversion van-esque roof and tall greenhouse. This car was competitive with subsequent owners, racking up wins at hillclimbs and speed trials all over England. The engine is a 1.5-liter straight-four from an MG TC.

It is thought that about 18 Lester cars were built and that only four survive. This one is one-of-a-kind. This one has spent many years in a museum and is offered for sale for the second time in two years. You can read more here and check out more from Mecum in Monterey here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $30,000.

MG Magna F1

1932 MG F-Type F1 Coupe

Offered by Coys | Essen, Germany | March 29, 2014

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The MG F-Type – also known as the Magna – was introduced in 1931 and became available in three types: the F1, F2, and F3. The F2 was only available as a two-seat roadster while the F1 and F3 was a four-seat tourer or four-seat coupe. Production ended after 1932, with the F1 being available both years.

It uses a 1.3-liter straight-six making 47 horsepower. It can do 70 mph (if you dare – those are practically bicycle tires). This car is basically all-original and cost £286 when new. The F-Type Magna was replaced by the L-Type for 1933.

In total, 1,250 F-Types were built – I’m unsure of how many F1 “Foursome” Coupes were built – but it is believed that only three remain. This very nice unrestored example should sell for between $55,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ Techno Classic lineup.

Update: Sold $76,700.

MG NB Magnette

1936 MG NB Magnette Cresta Tourer by Enrico Bertelli

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | March 8, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The MG N-Type was introduced in 1934 and the NB version came in 1935 and lasted through 1936. It was the final version, chronologically, but not alphabetically. It was also the most popular built (690 NA and NBs were built total with only handfuls of the other two models).

The engine is a 56 horsepower 1.3-liter straight-six. It was a sporty car for 1936 (remember that it weighs practically nothing). It could do 80 mph. What makes this particular car special, however, is the body. Cresta Motor Company was a dealer in West Sussex, England. One of the owners was an Aston Martin factory driver and he bought an NB Magnette but didn’t like the body. So he – and Cresta – sent 10 NBs to the Aston Martin designer Enrico Bertelli to have special bodies fitted.

So this is a special coachbuilt MG. One of only 10 or 12 built. The most recent restoration was carried out in 2001. It is one of three Cresta Tourers still in existence (although a fourth is rumored to be out there somewhere). It is one of the rarest MGs in the world and the price reflects it with a pre-sale estimate of between $130,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Oxford lineup.

Update: Not sold.

2014 Scottsdale Highlights III

Next up from Scottsdale is Gooding & Company’s results. The top sale was our featured Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet for $6,160,000. The second-biggest sale was our featured BMW F1 GTR Longtail for $5,280,000. Interesting sales were topped by this 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by Vignale for $1,787,500.

1952 Ferrari 212 Inter by VignaleAnother cool Ferrari was this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina for $2,365,000.

1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina

Our featured Siata Daina sold for $247,500. The Cunningham C-3 brought $550,000. This super cool 1972 Alpine A110 1800 slipped under my radar and I didn’t get to feature it. It brought $302,500 anyway.

1972 Alpine A110 1800

Other cool cars included this 1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet for $110,000.

1954 Arnolt-MG Cabriolet

This sale’s featured Duesenberg sold for $2,090,000. The Hispano-Suiza K6 sold for $621,500. And finally, this 1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe sold for $59,400. Check out full results here.

1923 Citroen Type C2 TL Drophead Coupe

And our final bit of coverage from Scottsdale is Russo & Steele’s sale. Our featured McKee Mk IV brought $260,000. The top sale was this 1966 Lamborghini 350GT for $742,630.

1966 Lamborghini 350GT

Cool cars have to be topped by this 1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon that sold for a strong $65,000. You can check out full results here.

1958 Plymouth Sport Suburban Wagon

2013 Ault Park Concours d’Elegance

Okay, so it’s been about a month since the 2013 Ault Park Concours d’Elegance (I’ve been busy!) was held in Cincinnati’s beautiful Ault Park. I was at the show bright and early and it was great. The weather was perfect and the rain held off until just after the show had completed (by literally minutes). While I managed to photograph every car on the show grounds, I’ll only show you some of the highlights here. I even managed to capture some of them on video.

Best in Show went to this 1938 Steyr 220 Special Roadster. I think most people knew going into the show that this was going to be the major award winner.

If this website were to give out an award for something – it would undoubtedly have gone to this 1911 Thomas Flyer K6-70 Flyabout. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the chance to hear a starter on a 1911 Thomas Flyer, but I highly recommend trying to get the opportunity. It is a noise. Watching this thing being driven was one of my favorite points of the show. I’ll post video below!

Hands down the most popular car at this year’s show was the Goldfinger Aston Martin. This was the DB5 that was actually used in two James Bond films: Thunderball and Goldfinger. The best part? It was just sitting there so you could get up close and personal with it AND the owner was driving it around. You can see video of it here.

One of my other favorite cars was perhaps the most infamous of the show. It is a 1978 Monteverdi 375/4 High Speed Sedan. The High Speed 375/4 was built for a few years in very limited numbers. After production wrapped, the Royal Family of Qatar wanted a sedan version, so Peter Monteverdi built seven of them. This is one of those cars. It was exquisite and I took more photos of it than any other car there. Then, while lining up for awards, the owner (who brought the car here from Germany) was trying to keep the car running by revving the throttle. His foot slipped off the brake (or something) and he peeled out and smashed into the back of a McLaren MP4-12C Spider. Luckily no one was hurt and the McLaren will be fine. This thing will need slightly more repairs.

Some other cool cars included this 1908 Locomobile Model I 7-Passenger Touring, the restoration of which, concluded at something like 4 a.m. of show day.

This 1955 Cadillac Custom Viewmaster was one of seven built locally by Hess & Eisenhardt and was really cool as you rarely ever see a Cadillac wagon.

From the “you’ve got to be kidding” category: a 1996 Vector M12. This was the auto show car first displayed by the company and is painted in some hideously patriotic paint scheme. I couldn’t believe where the car was from – a small town not far from where I live and a place you definitely would not associate with supercars (more like beat-up pickup trucks and Ford Aerostars).

Two of the featured marques this year were Corvette and Porsche. There were some awesome Corvette race cars on the field but the most valuable has to be this 1957 Corvette SS Concept Car. I believe it resides at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum.

There were two Porsches that stood out (to me) above all others. First, this 1964 904 Carrera GTS:

And second, this 1955 550 1500RS Spyder. This car is so small but it’s worth about $3 million. And the sound! The engine is about the size of a lunchbox but it packs a punch. I couldn’t believe how loud and how enthralling the noise actually was.

Finally, I have to give a shout-out to this car. It is the best-looking MGA (it’s a 1959) I have ever seen and this color is amazing in person. I talked to the owner and he said that something like 1% (or less) of MGAs were painted this color back in the day but no one wanted them so dealers sprayed them red and they drove off the lot. Only a fraction of the cars were sold without the repaint and those who bought them must be quite proud today because the combination of this soft teal and whitewall tires is outstanding.

Be sure to check out some of our videos from the show at our YouTube channel! These cars are ever better then they are in-motion and making noise. Sorry I couldn’t capture the smells for you too! And check the show’s website here for more winners.

December Auction Roundup

All of December’s big auctions happened early in the month. The very first one occurred on December 1st in North Palm Beach, Florida. It was the sale of John Staluppi’s “Cars of Dreams” Museum. Every car sold at no reserve and the top sale was actually a giant carousel – but the top selling car was this 1956 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible.

1956 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible

Our featured cars were the entire Chrysler 300 Letter Series. Their sales breakdown is as follows:

  • 1955 Chrysler C-300 – $88,000
  • 1956 Chrysler 300B – $115,500
  • 1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible – $154,000
  • 1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible – $198,000
  • 1959 Chrysler 300E Convertible – $176,000
  • 1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible – $170,500
  • 1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible – $137,500
  • 1962 Chrysler 300H Convertible – $74,250
  • 1963 Chrysler 300 Sport Series Convertible – $71,500

For complete results, click here. Next up was Bonhams sale at Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands in Weybridge. The top sale was this 1931 Invicta 4.25-litre S-Type Low-Chassis Tourer for $750,000.

1931 Invicta 4½-Litre S-Type Low-Chassis Tourer

Our featured Pagani Zonda failed to sell. Our featured SS 100 was the fourth highest-selling car at $402,800. The Fiat 1500 with beautiful cabriolet Ghia coachwork sold for $128,600. And our final feature car, the 1904 Winton, sold for $218,800. Other interesting cars included an early 1913 Austin 10hp Coquette for $44,444.

1913 Austin 10hp Coquette

There was also this 1924 Frazer-Nash 1.5-Litre Super Sports Roadster for $107,000.

1924 Frazer Nash 1½-Litre Super Sports

And finally, one for the weird, this 1963 Hillman Imp “Flatmobile.” It is the World’s Lowest Car. It was one of a handful of weird one-offs in this sale. It’s only 19 inches high… and would be one of the last vehicles I would ever want to ride in. It sold for $15,700. For complete results, click here.

1963 Hillman Imp 'The Flatmobile'

H&H’s December 5th sale at Newbury Racecourse had this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 as its top sale. It went for $431,000. Our featured Allard P2 Safari failed to sell.

1965 Aston Martin DB5

The second-highest selling car was this 1925 Vauxhall 30/98 OE-Type Tourer. It sold for $287,000.

1925 Vauxhall 30/98 OE-Type Tourer

Then there was this 1980 MG B Roadster that was styled by Aston Martin. It’s one-of-a-kind and was sold for $17,900. For complete results, click here.

1980 MG B by Aston Martin

Mecum’s December Kansas City auction had quite a number of cars cross the block. The only one we featured, a Mark II Sunbeam Tiger failed to sell. A car we featured from when it was for sale in St. Louis, a Vespa 400, sold at this sale for $22,500, $9,000 less than the asking price at the dealership. Top sale was a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro COPO factory drag car for $140,000.

2012 Chevrolet COPO Camaro

Actually, it was co-top sale. The other $140,000 sale was this pretty awesome 1970 Ford Mustang Mach I Twister Edition. It is one of only 48 made.

1970 Ford Mustang Mach I Twister Edition

Another cool muscle car was this awesome-in-green 1971 Pontiac GTO “Judge” that sold for $92,500.

The other two “interesting” cars were a pair of Buicks. First this 1928 Master Six Opera Coupe that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time at the same dealership that the Vespa came from. It also sold for $22,500. Mmmm, wood-rimmed wheels.

1928 Buick Master Six Opera Coupe

Then there was this 1985 Century Convertible. It’s a V6 car – and Buick never built a Century convertible in this bodystyle, so it’s an aftermarket job. Maybe it’s just because I owned a ’92 Century that I was drawn to this thing, but it was also the cheapest car in the sale and it looks like it’s in really good shape. It sold for $1,250. Complete results can be found here.

1985 Buick Century Convertible

The coolest auction of the month was Auctions America’s sale of some WWII vehicles from (what was) Dean Kruse’s National Military History Center in Auburn, Indiana. There were some seriously cool trucks on offer. The top sale went to one of our featured half-tracks. They sold as follows:

  • 1945 Daimler-Benz DB10 Sd.Kfz. 8 – $200,000
  • 1940 Hanomag S.P.W. Ausf. C Sd.Kfz. 251/1 – $160,000
  • 1942 Borgward H kl 6 – $145,000
  • 1944 White M16 – $95,000
  • 1944 Auto Union Hl kl 6p – $75,000
  • 1943 Opel Maultier – $65,000
  • 1943 Opel Maultier Panzer-Werfer 42 Rocket Launcher – $60,000
  • 1943 Ford Maultier – $42,500
  • 1941 Autocar M3 – $38,000
  • 1939 Unic Kegresse P107/U304(f) – $20,000

Then we featured five cool trucks available at this sale, they sold as follows:

  • 1942 GMC DUKW-353 – $97,000
  • 1940 Humber Hexonaut GS 6×6 Amphibious Prototype – $47,500
  • 1940 Breda 40 4×4 Artillery Tractor – $37,000
  • 1942 Mercedes-Benz L3000S – $32,000
  • 1939 Latil M2TL6 4×4 Tractor – $10,000

Other interesting vehicles included this 1944 Phanomen-Granit 1500A 4×4 Kfz. 70 personnel car for $72,500.

1944 Phanomen Granit 1500A 4x4 Kfz 70 Personnel Car

Next up, a 1944 Steyr 1500A/01 4×4 Kfz. command car that was hammered away for $130,000.

And the final” thing” (some of these looked like cars built on truck chassis and some of them didn’t have wheels at all… these aren’t typical vehicles) from this sale, an awesome 1940 Horch Type EFm 4×4 cross-country personnel car that sold for $150,000. Complete results can be found here.

And, finally, Osenat’s December 9th sale was the latest held in the month. Top sale was a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster for $117,000.

1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster

The most interesting vehicle, by a landslide, was our featured 1908 Doriot-Flandrin Type E, but it failed to meet it’s reserve and did not sell. The most interesting car that did sell was this 1929 Chenard & Walcker 1550 Grand Sport Torpedo that brought $108,000. For complete results, click here.

1929 Chenard & Walcker 1500 Grand Sport Torpedo