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November Auction Round-Up

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Of the auctions held in November 2012, the first – Bonhams’ Veteran Motor Cars Sale on November 2nd – was by far the most interesting. The top sale was our featured 1904 Delaugère & Clayette for $361,000. The second and third highest selling cars were also feature cars here on the site: the 1904 Richard-Brasier for $358,000 and the 1904 Wilson-Pilcher for $325,000. Other interesting sales included this 1903 Gladiator 10hp Twin-Cylinder Side-Entrance Tonneau for $298,000.

Then there was this 1903 Vauxhall 5hp Two-Seater. It is the oldest known Vauxhall in existence. It sold for $151,000.

This 1900 Darracq 6.5hp Four-Seat Voiturette sold for $137,000.

Our other feature car was the 1903 Barré Tonneau. It sold for $214,000. We also featured the 1895 Buffum Stanhope – the world’s first four-cylinder car. It didn’t sell at its original auction, but sold here for $182,000. For complete results, click here.

Artcurial’s November 11th sale in Paris included our featured Siata Spring that sold for $15,900. The top sale was a 1974 Lancia Stratos Group 4 Rally Car in Alitalia livery. It sold for $458,000. Complete results are here.

Back to Bonhams for their November 14th sale at Harrogate, Great Yorkshire Showground. The top sale was this 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 that was in, uh, “driver condition.” Apparently it had been restored about 30 years ago but it needs a little work to be perfect. Looks pretty cool as is though. It sold for $108,000.

Interesting cars included our featured Panther J72 that sold for $35,500. And this 1933 MG J2/J4 sold for $71,100.

Also interesting: this 1925 AC Royal 11.9hp that brought $20,900.

And for something really different, this 1951 Guy Otter Pantechnicon moving van. I’m not sure what you’d do with it, other than help your buddies move, but it’s old and pretty cool. It sold for $19,100.

Our featured Metz Model 25 Tourer sold for $13,600. You can find complete results here. Our next stop is Anaheim, California and Mecum’s November 15-17 sale. Our featured Factory Five GTM failed to sell. Top sale went to this 1932 Ford “McMullen” Roadster. It’s a fairly iconic hot rod built by Tom McMullen beginning in 1958. The flame design is by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. The car has popped up everywhere and sold for a serious $700,000.

A car we featured for Mecum’s Monterey Sale (that failed to sell) was brought back for this west coast auction and sold. It was the Duesenberg J-306 Willoughby Limousine and it sold for $370,000. Other interesting cars included this 1982 Jaguar XJS Koenig Special – a car tuned in 1986 new by Koenig for over $100,000. Only 14 were built. This one cost $13,500 today.

This super-gorgeous 2003 Aston Martin DB AR1 is a DB7-based production car from Aston that was designed by Zagato. Only 99 were built and it sold for $125,000 – about $100,000 less than when it was new.

And the final car from this sale, a 1942 Dodge W56 Command Car – a U.S. military vehicle from WWII. It sold for $28,000. Complete results for this sale can be found here.

And finally, Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show Sale was held on November 17th as well. The top sale went to this 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II for $356,000.

Our featured Ferrari 512TR sold for $83,700. And one of the more interesting cars at the auction was this 1986 Ford RS200. It was the second-highest selling car at $164,000. Complete results can be found here.

Bonhams Goodwood Revival Highlights

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Bonhams September 15th sale held during the 2012 Goodwood Revival sale had some pretty impressive results. Among them was our feature car and top sale – the incredibly all-original Mercedes-Benz 680 S-Type that sold for $4,544,000. Our featured Invicta S-Type failed to sell. The second highest selling car was our featured Maserati Tipo 26 for $2,727,000. There were two other million dollar cars, including this 1939 Lagonda V12 Le Mans Tourer for $2,091,000.

The other was this 1929 Alfa Romeo 1750 SS Competition Tourer. It sold for $1,783,000.

Other interesting cars included this pretty 1957 Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupe. It brought $81,000.

There were also a number of competition cars, including this “project” 1964 Merlyn Mk 6 – a 1960s sports racer with a little need for some TLC – or, complete overhaul. It sold for $46,600.

And finally, this 1954 Lester-MG T51 Coupe. Only a handful Lesters were built using parts from and/or heavily modifying other cars. This one is MG powered and it was uncompetitive on the track – leading to the demise of Harry Lester’s car building business. It sold for $32,100.

For complete results, click here.

RM Pebble Beach 2012 Highlights

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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.

This 1905 Rapid Nine-Passenger Omnibus had my attention from day one. It sold for $60,500.

And finally, this 1952 Tojeiro-MG Competition Barchetta isn’t something you see everyday. You could’ve bought it for $154,000.

For complete results, click here.

Local Car Show Revue – July 2012

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I was able to hit up a few local car shows during July (as of this writing July still has more than a week left, so hopefully I can hit up more). Here’s a quick rundown:

July 15 was the date of the British Car show put on by the British Car Club of Greater Cincinnati. The setting was nice but the weather was uncooperative. I had to hand it to some of the owners, embracing the spirit – and weather – of British motoring. I saw a guy in an MGA driving in – sans roof – during a downpour. Many of the cars received impromptu plastic coverings, but some were open to the elements. It was both sad and awesome to see. Sad because you hate to see the interiors of these restored cars get wet – awesome because it means the ones that did get some rain probably also get some regular use. And I’m all about cars being driven regularly – flawless paint isn’t as attractive as paint that shows it is being enjoyed.

Photos are sparse due to the heavy rain and the fact I treat my camera as if it were my child. Here are some highlights:

My favorite of the show came down to two cars, first this Daimler SP250 “Dart.”  This was the first Dart I’ve ever actually seen in person. The side view (below) shows it better, but I had two people tell me how Daimler had the styling so right… until they got to the front. Either way it’s a great looking car with a Chrysler Hemi V8 underhood. It’s also a lot longer than most of its contemporaries.

The other car I loved very much wasn’t even British – it was a Saab Sonett II. Many of these cars simply fell apart over time but this one was glorious. And it had, if I remember correctly, the three-cylinder two-stroke engine.

Some other cars: Jaguar Mark 2 (white), 1959 MG Magnette (black), 1970 Austin America (bluish-green), and a DeLorean DMC-12 (silver, obviously).

Another show was the 2012 edition of Rollin’ on the River (held on July 22). It is a properly big show with cars just rolling in one after the other. Again, I failed to take a plethora of photos (although the weather was brilliant) as I spent the early part of the day watching – and more so listening – to the cars roll in. The afternoon was spent chatting up some of the owners and unfortunately, no one offered to just give me their car.

This show had something for everybody, from customs:

To muscle cars:

And Corvettes:

The two directly above I really liked. One is an obvious “work in progress” and the one with the black wheels looks racy and mean. I love it.

And there were cars for everything in between. My favorites included a super rare Pontiac Trans Am Tojan and a 1912 Ford Model T Town Car. This Viper was perhaps the most exotic supercar there. It was listed and displayed as a 1997 Viper GTS-R. The window sticker didn’t mention an “R” (which was mostly an aero package that would be duplicated in 1998 for the GT2). I’m guessing it was all dealer-added post-sale. But whatever, it’s still fast.

(Don’t worry about this one, once it got a little speed it fired right up).

2012 Ault Park Concours d’Elegance

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The 2012 Ault Park Concours d’Elegance, held in one of Cincinnati’s most beautiful parks in one of Cincinnati’s most uppity neighborhoods, was held two weekends ago. The show was full of some of the finest cars from around the mid-west. This year’s featured marque was “A Century of American Power.” Classic Car Weekly was in attendance and here are some of our favorites.

Our pick for best in show was this 1929 Stutz Model M Lancefield Supercharged Coupe.  It came out of the Mitchell Collection in Texas and is the only surviving example of the five originally built. The low roof-line and gives this car a truly sporting presence.

One of the other awesome rides was this 1910 Oldsmobile Autocrat Prototype Race Car built for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup. Old race cars like this are fascinating – they’re as big as trucks and the driver and riding mechanic were just hanging on, completely exposed to the elements in tiny little seats with absolutely no protection whatsoever. Also, don’t forget about the 7.7-liter four-cylinder hanging out front.

Oh, and check out these exhaust, which look like something of a battle tank:

I really enjoyed this 1911 Lozier Briafcliff, as it was gigantic. A gentlemen hanging around it all day tried to convince me that it was worth $40 million. I nodded and smiled but politely declined to tell him he was insane.

This 1968 Bizzarrini 5300 Spyder is one of three 5300 Spyders built. It has a 327 Corvette engine making 350 horsepower and a stunning interior.

One of the most mind-blowing aspects of this show, was that, on either side of the Stutz mentioned above, there was an SJ Duesenberg. Not a bad day when there are multiple SJ Duesenbergs vying for your attention. This one is a 1929 Bohman & Schwartz Disappearing Top Roadster. 320 horsepower and 140 mph in 1929 must have been incredible.

Another exotic was this 1969 Lamborghini Miura S, one of 338 built. Only when standing next to one of these do you realize how impossibly low they sit to the ground. What a wonderful machine.

MG was a featured marque this year. Two cars that really stood out included this brilliant blue 1934 NA Evans-Wilkinson Special, one of three built.

There other super-cool MG was this crazy 1985 Metro 6R4 Group B Rally Car from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. It was built by Williams F1 for the rally circuit and, yes, crazy is the correct word.

Some other interesting, newer cars include this 1991 BMW Z1, a car you don’t see often, especially in America.

This track-day special (although it was listed as “street-legal”) 2009 Ariel Atom 3 drew a crowd, as you could look around it and see just about every part on/in/within it.

American classics (and muscle cars) were prevalent, with muscle cars being part of the featured “American Power” motif. Easily the most interesting among them was this 1964 Studebaker Commander Super Lark – the only production steel-bodied R-3 package car with the 5.0-liter supercharged V8, which was built for Studebaker by the Granatelli Brothers. It was the fastest compact car in the U.S. when it was built, turning sub-13 second 1/4 miles in excess of 110 mph.

Other fantastic American (or semi-American) classics include this 1957 Dual-Ghia D-500 Convertible. Dual-Ghias are simply beautiful cars and this one in red was no exception.

And finally, this 1964 Buick Riviera looked amazing in Coral Mist, my new favorite automotive color. It has the 425 cubic inch Super Wildcat V8, making 360 horsepower.

And what would any good car show rundown be without a trip through the parking lot, a car show in itself. Some of the more impressive cars I saw included a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible. It looked mean, and made me wonder why GM hadn’t built these before.

This Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster was pretty classic and it looked fun, as it drove past me with four people packed in and on it, having a good time.

This Lamborghini Diablo SV got the attention of the high-school student within me – and plenty of others.

And finally, from the environmentally responsible crowd, this Fisker Karma gathered a lot of interest from onlookers saying things like “What is that?” and “I’ve never seen one of these.” While this car might look like some kind of extended coupe, it is actually a very long car in person – much bigger than you’d think.

H&H – Imperial War Museum Highlights

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H&H held their classic car auction at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England on April 19th. Our highlighted 1926 Arab Super Sports sold for about $144,000. Top sale of the auction went to this odd yet strangely attractive in yellow 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage.

It sold for $338,000. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one in that color, but I kind of like it. Other highlights include the how-did-I-fail-to-feature-this 1947 HRG 1100 which brought $52,000.

Next is the very attractive 1936 MG SA Saloon in silver and blue. It’s a big car and proof that not all MGs be needlessly minuscule and terrifying. It sold for $55,900.

And finally, one super-cool car from Peugeot, the rally-bred 1984 205 T16 that could do 130 mph and hit 60 mph in six seconds. It is one of 200 and it sold for an impressive $180,000. For complete results, check out H&H’s website.