1902 Gardner-Serpollet

1902 Gardner-Serpollet Type F

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 23, 2019

Photo – Osenat

Gardner-Serpollet was a car engineered by Leon Serpollet, an important figure in the pioneering days of the automobile. He invented the flash boiler and built steam cars under his name as well as under the Gardner-Serpollet name after joining forces with Frank Gardner, a wealthy American.

This early steam-powered Type F features a flat-four engine fed by a flash boiler running on kerosene. It has chain drive and will apparently cruise for 50-75 miles before… running out of steam. It looks remarkably ancient compared to this 1904 Gardner-Serpollet. A lot changed in terms of automotive design in only two years time.

Fun fact, Leon Serpollet was the first person to set a land speed record in a non-electric automobile. This particular car was not used for that feat, but it does have known history to 1959 and has been more recently restored. It should sell for between $225,000-$285,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $282,946.

November 2018 Auction Highlights

We start off our November rundown with Bonhams’ London-to-Brighton sale. The Darracq we featured was the top sale, bringing $779,115. Other big dollar cars included the very early Peugeot for $463,202, a previously-featured Schaudel for $156,891, $149,420 for the Liberia, and the Star that brought $113,559. We’ll give Most Interesting (of the few cars left that sold that we didn’t feature) to this 1903 De Dion-Bouton 8HP Two-Seater that sold for $70,974.

Photo – Bonhams

The 1902 Rambler brought $62,756 and the Wolseley sold for $89,652. Click here for final results.

On to France, for a sale from Osenat. The Chenard et Walcker we featured didn’t find a new home, but this 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 did, selling for $280,945. More results can be found here.

Photo – Osenat

Mecum’s second-to-last sale of the year was held in Las Vegas, and the Bugatti we featured from this sale took top honors, bringing $1,012,000, while the lilac Duesenberg sold for $770,000. On a related note, Most Interesting goes to this lilac 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet (with Woodlight headlights!). It sold for $203,500.

Photo – Mecum

A previously-featured V12 Cadillac failed to sell here… again – as did the Talbot-Lago that came from the same collection as the Duesey and Bugatti. The Black buggy brought $7,700, and, fun fact, you could buy 100 Black buggies for the same price as the Duesenberg! Complete results can be found here.

The Aguttes sale held in Lyon saw this 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe sell for $151,092 – the overall top sale.

Photo – Aguttes

Meanwhile, that crazy gullwing Alfa Romeo handily beat its pre-sale estimate, bringing $121,467. The Delahaye failed to sell, and more results can be found here.

Italian auction house Aste Bolaffi held a sale of classic cars in Turin in November. The sale included many scale models from Bertone and a handful of real cars as well. We didn’t feature anything (because it wasn’t on my radar), but the top sale was this 1999 Ferrari 456M for $77,602. Complete results can be found here.

Photo – Aste Bolaffi

Chenard et Walcker Y7 Grand Sport

1929 Chenard et Walcker 1500 Type Y7 Grand Sport Torpedo

Offered by Osenat | Chassieu, France | November 11, 2018

Photo – Osenat

Cars built by the company founded by Ernest Chenard and Henri Walcker always appear to be quite heavy, as if carved from a single block of lead. Or maybe I just get that impression because of their association with the so-called Tanks they built.

The company has some racing heritage, winning the first 24 Hours of Le Mans. So there is some sporting pedigree, adding a degree of legitimacy to calling this Torpedo-bodied automobile a sports car. It’s no lightweight French cyclecar. This thing was meant to move. Power is from a 1.5-liter straight-four and top speed is about 83 mph.

This example has known history back to the 1960s and was on museum duty until the early-1990s. It was restored in the last five years and is thought to be one of three known Torpedo-bodied examples. It should sell for between $115,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

October 2018 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

We’re starting off our second October auction rundown with one of Bonhams’ most interesting sales of the year: their sale at the Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia. Even with a bunch of weird old classics on hand, the top sale was still a 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 for $215,040.

Photo – Bonhams

The Paige Daytona Speedster we featured sold for $84,000 and the Breese Paris Roadster $78,400. Click here for more results.

H&H Classics held a sale in October, and the Honda S800 we featured sold for $17,615. The overall top seller – by a very wide margin – was this 1929 Bentley 4.5-Litre Le Mans-style Tourer for $1,115,638. Click here for final results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Next up, Leclere-MDV in Paris. We featured an Alpine A110 1300 S that sold for a strong $105,158. The overall top sale was $286,795 for this 1990 Lancia Delta HF rally car and full results can be found here.

Photo – Leclere-MDV

Onward to Osenat’s Automobiles de Collection sale where the Matra Murena we featured failed to find a new home. The catalog here was on the smaller side and the top sale was this 1972 Land Rover Range Rover for $45,067. Click here for more results.

Photo – Osenat

Finally, we stay in Europe for Brightwells’ Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The Frazer Nash we featured ended up being the top seller, bringing $265,436. That means we get to award Most Interesting. We’d like to hand that to a Soviet SA-6 SAM missile that was included for some reason but will stick with cars, particularly this 1934 Humber Sniper 80 Golfer’s Coupe that brought $41,609. Click here for all of the results from this sale.

Photo – Brightwells

Matra Murena

1981 Talbot-Matra Murena

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 20, 2018

Photo – Osenat

The Bagheera was a 2-door sports car produced by Matra (technically Matra-Simca, then Talbot-Matra once Chrysler Europe sold out to PSA). The successor to that car was this, the Murena, which was technically marketed as the Talbot-Matra Murena but is often referred to simply as the Matra Murena. It was available from 1980-1983.

Different specifications were available, and this example is a base trim car with a 1.6-liter straight-four capable of 88 horsepower. Top speed was 113 mph, so consider it more of a hot hatch than a die-hard sports car.

It’s an interesting little car from a dying manufacturer. There was no successor to the Murena, as it was Matra’s final original road car. Only 5,640 of the 10,680 units produced had the 1.6-liter engine. This is a cheap way to buy an unusual classic sports car and get into the car collector world. It should bring between $9,000-$11,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

July 2018 Auction Highlights

Our July auction highlights begin with Bonhams sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We featured two Brough Superior road cars that both sold, with the 3½-Litre Saloon bringing $42,367 and the one-off V-12 $68,091. The overall top seller was this 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato for a whopping $13,264,951. The “regular” DB4GT we featured failed to sell.

Photo – Bonhams

The Marendaz Special also failed to meet its reserve. The other two cars we featured both turned out to be million dollar sales with the Blower Bentley bringing $2,654,569 and the Bugatti Super Sport hammering sold for slightly more at $2,691,410. Click here for complete results.

Osenat held a sale of a private collection and this 1963 Citroen ID 19 Cabriolet was the top sale at $62,172. Click here for more results.

Photo – Osenat

On to H&H Classics’ Pavilion Gardens sale where the Bond Equipe we featured was no match for the top sale, selling for $4,577. That top sale? $98,938 paid for a dusty 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe.

Photo – H&H Classics

The Beauford and McLaughlin both failed to sell. You can find more results here.

Now it’s time for Silverstone Auctions’ Silverstone Classic Race Car Sale. The top sale, which was one of just a handful of cars to find new owners, was this 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk I for $73,884. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

And finally, into August, Worldwide Auctioneers liquidated Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum in Shipshewana, Indiana. The top sale was the 1952 “Fabulous Hudson Hornet” NASCAR race car that sold for $1,265,000. The next big-dollar feature car was the Hudson Town Car. It brought $313,500. We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1936 Terraplane Series 61 Panel Delivery that sold for $115,500.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

The Dover Mail Truck achieved $55,000 and the Essex Touring Car brought $26,400. More results can be found here.

June 2018 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

Bonhams held back to back sales the first weekend of June. In addition to their Aston Martin sale, they also had their sale at the Greenwich Concours. While the 1907 Thomas-Detroit we featured was an incredible bargain at $61,600, the top seller was this slightly more expensive 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible for $1,450,000.

Photo – Bonhams

The National Model 50 we featured brought $147,840. Both cars from Carroll Shelby’s personal collection that we featured sold, with the Ram Prototype bringing $33,040 and the V-8 Can-Am $100,800. The Panhard and Lozier both failed to sell. Click here for complete results.

Next up, we have the second of Osenat’s June sales. This was a more traditional sale. The Matra we featured sold for $24,462 and the top sale was $322,023 for this 1930 Bugatti Type 49 Roadster (it’s kind of an assembled car so the year is sort of a guess). More results can be found here.

Photo – Osenat

Onward to Barrett-Jackson’s Northeast sale. The top sale here was a charity combo lot: $1,000,000 for the last production Viper and Challenger Demon.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Meanwhile, back in Reality Land, the Whippet we featured sold for $13,970 and the Model T-based Mercury Speedster $24,200. Click here for complete results.

On the complete other side of the country we’ve got Mecum in Portland, Oregon. Shockingly, this Mecum sale saw a 2005 Ford GT take top sale honors, this one bringing $214,500.

Photo – Mecum

The Gardner Radio Special we featured failed to sell. Click here for more results from Portland.

And now Brightwells’ Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The Bitter SC we featured failed to meet its reserve and the Buckler was withdrawn. The top sale was this 1935 Riley Amilcar Special that brought $175,581. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Brightwells

June 2018 Auction Results

Bonhams leads off our June results rundown with their Aston Martin sale, held in Reading, England, this year. The top sale was this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible for $1,179,543.

Photo – Bonhams

Another convertible, the DB MK III we featured, sold for $523,694. Click here for more results.

Next up, H&H Classics at the Motor Sport Hall of Fame. The overall top sale was this 1960 Bentley S2 Continental Drophead Coupe that brought $146,421. The GSM Delta we featured failed to meet its reserve. Click here for complete results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Onward to Mecum in Denver. The VW Samba Bus was the third top seller, bringing $118,250. The #1 sale was this resto-mod 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible (in Plum Crazy!) for $181,500.

Photo – Mecum

The Asquith Shetland brought $13,200. Click here for more results.

Osenat held back-to-back sales, one of which appeared to be a collection of old cars recently pulled out of a large warehouse. There was some interesting stuff here and the largest sale was this 1931 Renault Type TG1 Nervastella Sport Sedan by Million-Guiet. It went for $148,031. Click here for more results.

Photo – Osenat

Finally, Brightwells’ Modern Classics sale. We didn’t feature anything, but this 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL350 was the top sale at $25,209. Click here for all of the results.

Photo – Brightwells

Matra 530LX

1972 Matra 530LX

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 17, 2018

Photo – Osenat

Matra was more than just a car company. In addition to automobiles, they built missiles, computers, boats, and satellites. Their first car was the Djet, an evolution of the earlier Rene Bonnet Djet. New for 1967, the 530 series was their next automotive endeavor.

If you’ve never seen one of these in person, they are quite striking. They look so unusual – even at car shows when surrounded by other rare vehicles. This car features a mid-mounted, 78 horsepower 1.7-liter V-4 from a Ford Taunus that drives the rear wheels. It is a targa, meaning the roof section is removable, leaving both front and rear glass in place. It does have room for four, though rear seat passengers better be small or very understanding.

The 530LX was produced from 1970 to 1973, when the entire line was discontinued. It differed from earlier models in that it featured a slight re-design from Michelotti. This was the most popular 530 model built, with 4,731 units produced. This rare yellow bird should bring between $21,000-$26,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,462.

May 2018 Auction Highlights

We’ll start with one from April: Worldwide Auctioneers in Houston, Texas. The one car we featured, the Ford Prodigy Prototype, sold for $2,200. The top sale was this 1965 Shelby GT350 that brought $363,000. Click here for full results.

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Osenat held a sale on May 1st and there was a collection of Bugattis that crossed the block. This Bugatti, a 1925 Type 35B, sold for $625,084 – the most of any car at the sale.

Photo – Osenat

We featured two of the other Bugattis and they both sold. The Type 46 Coupe De Ville sold for $459,937 and the Type 57 Galibier Sedan brought $516,615. The Porsche 914/6 Prototype and a previously-featured Talbot Sedan failed to sell. More results can be found here.

Off to Monaco where there were three sales this year. The first was from Bonhams and the ex-Aryton Senna McLaren Formula 1 car was the top seller going for $5,009,296. The other ex-Senna F1 car, the Toleman TG184 brought $1,921,374. The two Ferraris we featured, the 625 TF and the F1/87, both failed to sell. We’ll award most-interesting to this 1955 Jaguar XK140 SE with a special one-off body by Michelotti.

Photo – Bonhams

It was essentially a barn find project. They had an estimate of around $50,000 on this car and it blew that out of the water, selling for charity at $425,447. Well sold! Click here for more results from this sale.

Next up in Monaco, RM Sotheby’s. The top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB for about $2,526,125.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Our biggest dollar feature car was the Benetton B192 that brought $960,929 (the sales numbers from this sale are all estimates as I’m doing currency conversion a week late. Sorry. I went on vacation). The other F1 car from this sale, the Jordan 199, brought $284,447. The Ferrari Sergio would’ve been the biggest dollar car here, but it failed to sell. As did the Gilco. Another Ferrari, our previously-featured 328 Conciso, sold here for $128,811. Click here for more results.

Keeping with the Ferrari theme, Silverstone Auctions held an all-Ferrari sale the day before their May Sale. We featured a 550 Barchetta and it’s been listed as “Result to Follow” for a week now, so we’re calling it “maybe sold maybe not but we’ve got to ‘go to press,’ as it were.” Otherwise, the top seller was this 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona for $721,929. Check out complete results here.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions