Packard Sightseeing Bus

1912 Packard ATD 3-Ton Sightseeing Bus

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2015

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Packard built some of the finest American cars of all time – but they also built commercial vehicles, especially in the pre-WWI era and immediately following the war. They offered chassis in a variety of configurations and tonnage. The ATD was introduced in 1911 and could be had as a fire engine, platform truck, or cab & chassis combo.

This gorgeous sightseeing bus is immaculate – but then again, how would it get dirty? It’s not exactly the easiest thing to cruise around town in and probably doesn’t see the light of day all that often. The engine is a 7.1-liter T-head straight-four making 24 horsepower. Top speed is probably slightly faster than walking pace, considering the sheer size of this vehicle and the lowly power rating.

It seats 42 people and may have been used as a tour bus around Yellowstone National Park (apparently motorized vehicles weren’t actually allowed on park roads 100 years ago). It’s the only surviving example and was once in the Otis Chandler collection (it’s coming from Ron Pratte’s collection this time around). It brought nearly half a million dollars when it left Chandler’s collection in 2006. That seems like a good number this time around. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $291,500.

September 2014 Auction Highlights

We’ll start with a few leftovers from August. First, Rick Cole Auctions’ Monterey results, where the better-late-than-never top sale went to this $23,000,000 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport. The auction brought some crazy results and you can see them all here.

Photo - Rick Cole Auctions

Photo – Rick Cole Auctions

Moving on, we have Auctions America’s fall Auburn sale, where our featured SJ Duesenberg topped the sales at $1,265,000. The Duesenberg II failed to sell. Most interesting goes to this 1920 Packard 3-Ton Grocer’s Truck for $47,300.

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Both of our featured concept cars sold, the wild Ford EX for $96,250 and the Explorer Sportsman for $15,675. And the Star Sedan was stolen for $8,250. Check out full results here.

On to Silverstone’s Salon Prive sale where our featured Ferrari Daytona Spyder came out on top at $3,711,510. My pick of the show would be this 1956 Austin-Healey 100M Le Mans Roadster for $243,685. Check out full results here.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Now we move to RM’s London sale where our featured “Tour de France” Ferrari 250 GT was the top sale at $8,119,188. The Bentley Continental GTZ sold for under its estimate at $391,961. Most interesting goes to this 1937 BMW 319 for $233,310.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Our featured 1909 Hotchkiss sold for waaaay below its estimate for only $65,327. And the awesome Jaguar XJR-15 brought $363,964 – outselling an XJ220 offered at this same sale. Check out full results here.

It’s been decided that all auction highlight posts from here forward will only run down five auctions at a time. So Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale will be the final sale for this post. For more auction results, stay tuned!

The top sale here was this 1920 Vauxhall E-Type 30-98 Two-Seater by Grosvenor Carriage Co. for $390,976.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

As far as our feature cars, the Minerva came out on top selling for $66,726. The Unic Taxi brought $44,484 and the Swift Cyclecar $33,826. Interesting cars were easily topped by this 1986 Interstyl Hustler Huntsman 6 for $18,556. Check out full results here, but don’t expect to find anything nearly as weird as this.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

A Pretty Packard

1935 Packard Super Eight Coupe Roadster

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

So there’s really nothing super exotic about this Packard. But when I looked through the catalog for this sale, it caught my eye. It’s just pretty, isn’t it? Packards are quite stately as-is, but this one – and maybe it’s that deep ruby red paint – I really like.

The Super Eight appears to have been new for 1933 as a deviation of the then-three-year-old Eight. The engine is a 150 horsepower 6.3-liter straight-eight. These are still usable cars… although the wonderfully styled rear-hinged doors aren’t something you see much of anymore.

The car was actually restored decades ago but has been freshened and detailed more recently. It still looks excellent. This Series 1204 Coupe Roadster should sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Michigan.

Update: Sold $181,500.

Packard Super Eight

1940 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Convertible Sedan by Darrin

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Packard 180, as it is sometimes known, is more correctly called a Custom Eight Super One-Eighty. The model was new for 1940 and was Packard’s top-of-the-line offering. The chassis and engine were the same as the One-Sixty, but the One-Eighty was more luxurious. It was essentially a replacement for the ultra-grand Twelve.

The engine is a 5.8-liter straight-eight making 160 horsepower (which was more than Cadillac’s V-8 in 1940). A number of different bodies were offered, but Howard “Dutch” Darrin’s are perhaps the nicest of all Packards produced immediately prior to WWII. This four-door Convertible Sedan is quite a bit rarer than any of its two-door counterparts. It is estimated that less than 20 Convertible Sedans like the one you see here were built and only nine remain.

This car was sold new in Illinois. The restoration was completed in 1994 and the car was soon acquired by Otis Chandler. It now comes from the Richard & Linda Kughn collection with a pre-sale estimate of $225,000-$300,000. It’s incredibly rare and one of the more gorgeous four-door sedans you will ever see. You can see more here and check our more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $236,500.

The 1999 Packard

1999 Packard Twelve Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Packard is one the most revered American automobile manufacturers of all time. Their glory years were from their founding by James Ward Packard and his two partners in Warren, Ohio, in 1899 up through their huge pre-war touring cars and limousines. They built some of the finest cars money could buy. Unfortunately, their post-war fortunes were not as grand. They merged into Studebaker and the marque disappeared for 1959 (after two years of selling re-badged Studebakers).

Or did it? Well, yes, it did – but that didn’t stop the new owners of the Packard trademark – Packard Motor Car Company of Phoenix, Arizaon – from constructing this “new” Packard in 1999. The styling is unique and has little bits of classic Packard styling added in (like the grille). It’s a four-door luxury sedan prototype in working order – a concept car for the road. The styling can be polarizing for some, but I don’t really mind it as it reminds me of the kind of crazy era of concept cars that proliferated through the 1990s. I’m thinking “Chrysler Thunderbolt” here.

The coolest part is that this car is all-original. It’s not a re-bodied Lincoln or something like that. The chassis is aluminium. It has four-wheel drive. The engine is a 8.6-liter V-12 making 573 horsepower. It’ll hit 60 mph in only 4.8 seconds. Not bad for a sedan – from 1999.

This car popped up on eBay in 2009 and I don’t know the outcome, but it hadn’t met its reserve by the time it hit $125,000. So I’m guessing they want more. On the plus side, should you choose to spend it, you’ll have the newest Packard on the block. Read more here and check out more from RM here.

Update: Sold $143,000.

April 2014 Auction Recap

April was kind of a busy month for auctions, so let’s get to it. First up is Silverstone’s Restoration Show Sale, where the top sale went to this half-complete 1962 Facel-Vega HK500 restoration project. It sold for $107,500.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

It was an interesting sale and I suggest you check out the full results here. Then we’ll move over to Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach sale where the top sale was a charity car (so we’ll ignore it). But the top actual sale was this 1935 Packard Twelve Model 1207 Coupe Roadster by Dietrich – one of the last bodied by Dietrich. It sold for $330,000.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Most Interesting goes to one of the first lots of the sale, this 1978 Puma GTE for only $6,270.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Also interesting (and yellow) was this 1988 Pegasus. The Pegasus was a re-worked Trans-Am but were actually titled as unique cars. Only 25 were built and this one cost someone $33,000.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

The final car I’ll showcase from this sale was the 1994 Chevrolet Highlander Concept (which is actually a 1992 Chevrolet S-10). It sold for $7,920. Check out full results here.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Now on to Mecum’s Houston sale. The top sale there was our featured Ford GT40 Prototype for a cool $7,000,000. Our featured Locomobile and Cadillac failed to sell – and so did the Dragonsnake Cobra, even though it was bid to $1.1 million. Cool cars were topped by this 1934 Cadillac Fleetwood V-12 All-Weather Phaeton for $165,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Another great, old car was this 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Huntington Limousine by Brewster. It brought $145,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Our featured Edsel Bermuda sold for $55,000. Check out complete results here. Earlier in April, Mecum held one of their tractor sales, and we featured five from this sale. Here’s the rundown:

  • Minneapolis 12-25 – Not sold
  • Rumely Oilpull L 15-25 – $10,500
  • Minneapolis-Moline Jet Star Orchard – $14,500
  • Rumely Oilpull X 25-40 – $20,000
  • Bull Little Bull – $81,000 – top sale of the auction

Complete results can be found here. Now we move on to H&H’s Imperial War Museum sale. The top result here was this 1969 Aston Martin DB6 for $265,300.

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

Our featured AC Greyhound brought $73,850. And the Marmon Speedster we featured almost doubled the high end of its estimate, selling for an awesome $90,300. Click here for full results. And finally, Mecum’s Kansas City sale, where this 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback brought $220,000 to be the top seller.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

We didn’t get the chance to feature anything from this sale, but two past feature cars did sell here, including a 1920 Cadillac for $24,250 and a very rare Abbott-Detroit Roadster for $35,000. Click here for full results

March 2014 Auction Highlights Part I

The first weekend in March was an eventful one for car auctions – and shows, with the Amelia Island Concours going on. But before we get to Amelia Island, let’s cross the pond and check out Bonhams’ Oxford sale highlights. The top sale there was this 1964 Bentley S3 Continental Coupe by Mulliner, Park Ward. It sold for $124,601.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured MG NB Cresta Tourer failed to sell. And our featured BSA Scout doubled the lower-end of its estimate, selling for $20,249. Style-wise, I think the coolest non-feature car was this 1962 Ford Consul Capri Coupe which sold for $14,464. Check out full results here.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Now we get to Amelia Island and first up is Gooding & Company, where our featured Porsche 907 Longtail was the top sale at $3,630,000. The other 24 Hours of Daytona-winning Porsche, the 1983 March 83G, failed to sell. Cool cars were topped by this 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster once raced by Pedro Rodriguez. I’ve seen this car in person before and it is cool. It sold for $462,000.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Another cool featured Porsche was our 356 Carrera 2 that sold for $550,000. This 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Lightweight brought an eye-popping $1,402,500.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Another great German car was this stunning green 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster. This was as cheap as I’ve seen a 300SL in some time and the color combo makes it an even better deal at $946,000.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Our featured Voisin failed to sell. The Madame X V-16 Cadillac brought $264,000. And the 1909 Alco Runabout sold for $280,500. This sale also featured a very nice BMW collection. One of the lesser-seen modes was this 1958 BMW 501 A. It sold for $121,000. Check out full results here.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

And finally, on to RM’s Amelia Island sale. The top selling car was easy to spot beforehand – our featured Figoni et Falaschi Delahaye sold for $6,600,000. The deal of the sale was our featured Kissel White Eagle Tourster which sold for only $60,500! Somebody made off like a thief with that car. Congratulations.

Cool cars were topped by this beefy 1974 Iso Grifo 7-Liter coupe for $440,000.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Our featured Locomobile Speedster sold for $126,500. There was another Locomobile at this sale, this sporty 1919 Model 48 Roadster by Merrimac. It brought $143,000.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Our featured American De Dion sold for $115,500 and the all-original B.N.C. race car $181,500. This 1965 Shelby GT350 R race car is the “winningest” Shelby race car of all time, notching 17 straight wins in the late-60s. It sold for $984,500.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The only featured Duesenberg from the Amelia Island weekend sold for $1,567,500. And finally, there was this 1937 Packard 120 Pickup. It was custom built well after 1937 but it’s been around for a while and looks like the trucks Packard dealers used to use. It sold for $93,500. Check out full results here.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

2014 Scottsdale Highlights II

The next auction we’ve got results on is RM’s annual Arizona sale. The big winner there was, no surprise, a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider for $8,800,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Our featured Chaparral did not sell while our featured, all-original, Duesenberg brought $2,200,000. Our other featured top-seller was the Porsche RS 61 for $2,750,000. The only other feature car that cracked the million dollar mark was the Hispano-Suiza J12 and it only hit $1 million with the buyer’s premium added on: $1,045,000. Interesting cars were topped by this 1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen for $60,500.

1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen

Another cool car was this 1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau that also sold for $60,500.

1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau

I really liked this 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward. It looks awfully regal and makes me want to hire a chauffeur (even if it’s for my Honda daily driver). It sold for $440,000.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward

A previously-featured Abarth race car brought $46,750. The OSCA 750S sold for $660,000. This 1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron looks like a lot of fun. It brought $242,000.

1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron

And finally, our featured Fiat 8V by Ghia sold for $946,000. Check out full results here. Next up is “Super Saturday” at Barrett-Jackson (and also, Sunday – which is still going on as I write this). The top sale of Barrett-Jackson’s entire sale was our featured 1967 Chevy L88 Corvette Coupe for $3,850,000. Another top seller was this 1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra which went for $1,650,000.

1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra

The featured Duesenberg from this sale sold for $1,430,000. Another mega-bucks Corvette was the ultra-rare ZR2 we featured. It crossed the block for $495,000. For the same price, you could’ve bought this 1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport (which I think I’d much rather have).

1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport

One car that didn’t stand out to me until I read the lot description (and saw it cross the block on live TV) was this 1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy that was customized at the request of its original owner, Rudolph Valentino. It sold for $264,000.

1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy

The featured Plymouth Belmont Concept car failed to meet its reserve and thus did not sell. You can check out full results here.

2014 Scottsdale Auction Highlights Pt I

Well I’ll start by saying I missed one auction in December. It was Osenat’s sale that closed out the 2013 auction calendar. The top sale there was this 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by Hooper. It went for $68,500.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by HooperThe coolest car from this sale was this cheap 1932 Peugeot 201C that sold for a paltry $8,905. You can check out full results here.

1932 Peugeot 201C

Because they’re already done and posted, I’ll go ahead and cover the first few days (Tuesday-Friday) of Barrett-Jackson. Also – a big thank you to Barrett-Jackson for posting your results as you go. It’s awesome. The top sale over these first few days was actually a charity car – this 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Copo Coupe for $700,000. It is serial #1 of 69.

2014 Chevrolet Camaro COPO

Of non-charity cars, the top sale was this 1957 Ford Thunderbird “E” Convertible for $330,000.

1957 Ford Thunderbird E Convertible

As far as interesting cars, I’m always a fan of Plum Crazy Mopars and this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible fits the bill. It brought $104,500.

1970 Dodge Challenger RT Convertible

Also cool, this 1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth sold for $16,500. The rest of the good stuff all crosses the block tonight. You can check up-to-the-minute results here.

1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth

And the other part of our Part I coverage will be Bonhams Scottsdale sale. The #1 seller there was this 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta for $3,190,000.

1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta

Our featured Simplex failed to sell. The Figoni et Falaschi Bentley brought $605,000. Cool cars included this amazing all-original 1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring for $144,100.

1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring

I like the low, mean look of this 1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann. It sold for $264,000. Our featured Thomas Flyer sold for $275,000.

1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann

Our featured Intermeccanica Omega brought $73,700. And finally, the how-could-you-not-show-it, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton that sold for a seemingly reasonable $1,430,000. You can check out full results here.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton

Final Highlights from Monterey 2013

Two auctions left to cover. First, Gooding’s Pebble Beach sale put up some big numbers. Frankly, I’m really bored with million dollar Ferraris. And Mercedes Gullwings don’t do anything for me. Instead of listing the 30 (yes, that’s right) cars that hit the million dollar mark, I’ll just show what’s interesting. I will, however, show you the top sale, which was this 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 14-Louver Berlinetta for $9,460,000.

1957 Ferrari 250 GT 14-Louver Berlinetta

The next two highest selling cars were pretty interesting. First, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante went for $8,745,000.

1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante

And then this. This result actually made me shout an expletive when I saw it. It’s a 1997 McLaren F1. A year or two ago, one sold for $2 million, which was way more than any other F1 before it. I remember 10+ years ago when these things were at exotic car dealerships around the country with a price tag of $800,000. This one sold for an astounding $8,470,000. This is a big deal. These cars will never be attainable ever again for mere millionaires. They have proven to be exquisitely collectible.

1997 McLaren F1

Feature cars! The Hispano-Suiza J12 was withdrawn from the sale. A previously featured and early Duesenberg Model J brought $2,365,000. The Ferrari F40 LM brought $2,090,000. Two other Ferraris failed to reach their reserves: the Ferrari FXX and the Ferrari 400 Superamerica. Cool cars? How about this ex-Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello Grand Prix-winning 2002 Ferrari F2002? It sold for $2,255,000.

2002 Ferrari F2002

I really like this pre-Jaguar 1932 SS1 Coupe for $154,000.

1932 SS1 Coupe

Other feature cars sold: the Gurney-Weslake AAR Eagle brought $3,740,000. The Voisin C25 sold for $1,925,000. Gooding & Company, like RM Auctions, also sold a Ferrari N.A.R.T. Spider. This one happened to be a 365 GTB though, and “only” brought $720,000.

This huge 1914 Packard 1-38 Five-Passenger Phaeton was one of my favorite cars of the entire sale. It sold for a healthy $467,500.

1914 Packard 1-38 Five Passenger Phaeton

This ex-Harrah Collection 1915 Cretors Model C Popcorn Wagon was the first car cut from my “to be featured” list when time ran out. It sold for $374,500 – almost $100,000 more than the top end of its pre-sale estimate.

1915 Cretors Model C Popcorn Wagon

This 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione was one of the stars of the show. It was hammered away for $4,840,000. It’s the only one like it left.

1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione

And finally, I thought this 1929 Bentley Speed Six Grafton Coupe by Freestone & Webb looked pretty sporty. But the price was a little too-sporting for my wallet: $2,860,000.

1929 Bentley Speed Six Grafton Coupe

Check out full results here.

And last but not least, Russo & Steele’s Monterey sale. Our featured Bizzarrini Prototype sold for $77,000. The top sale was this 1949 Ferrari 166 Inter Berlinetta by Stabilimenti Farina for $1,050,500.

1949 Ferrari 166 Inter Berlinetta by Satbilimenti Farina

Interesting cars were topped off by this 1935 REO Speed-Wagon Model 6AP Pickup. It sold for $110,000. Check out full results here.

1935 REO Speed-Wagon Model 6AP Pickup