May 2013 Auction Highlights, Part I

There were a number of big-time auctions in May – led off by Auctions America’s Auburn Spring sale. We’ll start with interesting cars, which was topped by this 1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia. It has a Ford V6 and is a running car and sold for only $9,570.

1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia photo 1983LincolnQuicksilverbyGhia_zps76785824.jpg

Our featured Hudson Commodore 8 Convertible sold for $51,700. Top sale went to this 1930 Packard Super Eight Model 745 Dual-Cowl Phaeton fro $198,000. Check out full results here.

1930 Packard Super Eight Model 745 Dual-Cowl Phaeton photo 1930PackardSuperEightModel745Dual-CowlPhaeton_zps42b4ff3a.jpg

Next up is Bonhams’ annual Aston Martin sale. The top sale (by far) was our featured DB4GT Bertone “Jet” which sold for $4,897,334. Our other featured car, the DB7 V12 Prototype sold for $34,663. One car whose price really caught my attention was this 2000 SWB Vantage Volante Special Edition which brought $609,924. These things were always expensive and I never really understood why. There were a number of really high-dollar cars and an apparent 100% sell-through rate. Check out complete results here.

2000 Aston Martin SWB Vantage Volante Special Edition photo 2000AstonMartinSWBVantageVolanteSpecialEdition_zps03c9cde3.jpg

Next up (and I’ve just decided to split May’s auction highlights into two posts) was Mecum’s Indianapolis Spring sale. The top sale was our featured Shelby GT500 Super Snake for $1,300,000. This sale had some odd results – including $107,500 for a Buick GNX and $1,000,000 for one of the handful of Shelby GT500 replicas used in the Nicolas Cage version of Gone in 60 Seconds

The next (third) highest sale was for this multi-award winning Corvette. It’s a ’67 427/400 Corvette Convertible and, judging by the price, is one of the nicest Corvettes in existence. It’s a black and blue car (Tuxedo Black with Blue interior), which is exceedingly rare. The price? $610,000.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/400 Convertible photo 1967ChevroletCorvette427-400Convertible_zpse66953d7.jpg

Another cool Corvette was this 1991 Callaway Convertible. It has a 400 horsepower engine and a 1990s-teen-bedroom-poster-worthy bodykit. It sold for $135,000.

1991 Chevrolet Corvette Callaway photo 1991ChevroletCorvetteCallaway_zps8f1913b2.jpg

Dana Mecum must have sold his soul to the devil, because he has become the king of getting limited-production muscle cars to his auctions. Like a ridiculous amount of rare cars. That, and there seem to be more Mopars at Mecum auctions than there were built in the late 60s and early 70s. For example, this 1966 Dodge D-Dart Lightweight. It is one of 50 built (and one of two at this sale!). It sold for $26,000.

1966 Dodge D-Dart Lightweight photo 1966DodgeD-DartLightweight_zps9500d45c.jpg

And going back a little farther, we find this 1941 Plymouth PT125 Pickup that sold for $14,500.

1941 Plymouth PT125 photo 1941PlymouthPT125_zps2bab4e44.jpg

Of our other feature cars, the Torino King Cobra and Camaro ZL1 both failed to sell. The L72 Chevy Biscayne with just 720 original miles sold for what has to be a model record of $165,000. Check out full results – including more rare muscle cars – here.

The final part of our “Part I” post for may takes us through Silverstone’s International Trophy Sale. Our featured Maserati Merak with custom coachwork by Saurer sold for $69,000. Top sale here went to this 1964 Ferrari 330GT for $134,900. Check out complete results here.

1964 Ferrari 330GT photo 1964Ferrari330GT_zps1203f6aa.jpg

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2013 Highlights

Barrett-Jackson’s auction is so big in Scottsdale, Arizona in January – and it’s so well publicized (not to mention live results) that it makes it easy to catch all the action. And last year we found it necessary to split up the highlights over two posts (and weekends). This year, the first three days were kind of lackluster with regards to interesting cars (plus I don’t have the time), so I’m combining them into a single post.

The top sale for the first three days (charity cars notwithstanding) was a pitifully photographed 1968 Shelby GT500 KR that sold for $108,900. We only featured one car from these three days, a 1906 Success Highwheeler, which sold for $33,000.

Overall, the top sale was the first Batmobile ever made. Built by George Barris around the 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept car, this Batmobile has been in his possession since the end of filming when he bought it for $1. There are a lot of replicas out there, but this is the first one. It sold for $4,620,000. I would describe this price as bat$&!t crazy. Those replicas don’t sound so bad now.

1966 Lincoln Batmobile #1

One of the other most eye-popping results that will be making people rethink whether or not they will be keeping theirs was this 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 Convertible for $357,500.

There were a few other million dollar cars, starting with this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL that was purchased new by Clark Gable. It originally didn’t meet its reserve on the block but was sold shortly after for a slightly lower price. It sold for $2,035,000.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

The next million-dollar car was one of our feature cars. The 1934 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Beverly Sedan sold for $1,430,000. There was another Duesenberg at this sale, that we featured a while back, that failed to meet its reserve. Another feature car that failed to sell was the Shelby EXP 500. The other car that came from Craig Jackson’s personal collection was the 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible that sold for $1,320,000. Another top sale was this 1929 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Castagna Roadster for $1,320,000.

1929 Isotta-Fraschini Tippo 8A SS Castagna Roadster

Our featured Chrysler Diablo Concept car sold for $1,375,000. Another concept car was this 1954 Packard Panther Convertible that sold for $825,000.

1954 Packard Panther Convertible

More million-dollar cars: this 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Owens/Corning race car sold for $1,100,000.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Owens/Corning Racecar

There was also a pair of 1940s French beauties that crossed the million-dollar mark. First, this 1949 Delahaye Type 175 Saoutchik Coupe de Ville sold for $1,210,000.

1949 Delahaye Type 175 Saoutchik Coupe de Ville

Then there was this 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Gran Sport by Franay that brought $2,035,000.

Of our three other feature cars, Fatty Arbuckle’s Pierce-Arrow failed to sell. The incredible Ruxton Sedan was stolen for $275,000. And the Hudson Italia sold for $396,000. There was another Isotta-Fraschini at this sale, a 1925 Tipo 8A S Boattail Roadster by Corsica. It sold for $935,000.

1925 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A S Boattail Roadster by Corsica

There was also this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Dick Harrell 427 that sold for $253,000.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Dick Harrell 427

This 1927 Bugatti Type 38 with Four-Seat Open Tourer coachwork by Lavocat et Marsaud sold for $715,000.

1927 Bugatti Type 38 Four-Seat Open Tourer by Lavocat et Marsaud

And finally, one of my favorite cars from this sale was this 1913 Fiat Tipo 55 Speed Car that brought $198,000. Which is less than it would have had it been sold elsewhere, I would bet. You can check out full results here (the final day of the auction is still on-going as I write this).

1913 Fiat Tipo 55 Speed Car

Bonhams Preservation Sale Highlights (10/12)

Bonhams held a really interesting sale at the Simeone Foundation in Philadelphia on October 8, 2012. Many of the cars were unrestored survivors but not offered from the Simeone Foundation itself (unfortunately). And some of them were quite interesting, the most interesting of which, I think, still has to be the Woods Mobilette cyclecar that we featured. It sold for $48,300. Our featured Hahn pickup failed to sell. Top sale went to a one-owner 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona for $357,000.

The “interesting sales” portion of this sale consisted of, well… most of the sale. This 1960 Facel-Vega Excellence Sedan is pretty rare and the price showed it, even in “used-car” condition, at $159,000.

But old cars were the name of the game. And barn finds at that. Check out this 1928 Packard Custom Eight Series 4-43 7-Passenger Touring and how, well, creepy it looks. Love it. It sold for $36,000.

And they got even older still: this 1903 Knox Model C Runabout was the oldest car that sold and it brought $69,000.

This 1917 Crane-Simplex Model 5 Dual-Cowl Victoria had wonderful Phaeton coachwork by Farnham & Nelson and is the type of car people dream about coming across in an old garage somewhere. It has never been restored – just preserved, which was the name of the game here and it’s incredible the kind of cars they found that hadn’t been restored. This one sold for $208,500.

Our two other feature cars both sold: the 1904 Buckmobile Runabout for $46,000 and the 1910 McIntrye High-Wheeler for $37,950. Another car I kind of liked was this 1913 Hupmobile Model 32 convertible. It looks gigantic for being a two-seater. It sold for $32,200.

This barn-fresh 1931 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A with Lancefield Faux-Cabriolet coachwork was offered publicly for the first time since 1961. It sold for $186,500.

Not everything was priced exorbitantly. There were some steals to be had. Were I there, I would have definitely bid on this 1926 Buick Standard Six Model 20 Coupe – and probably right up to its $6,900 sale price.

And there were other cars that were just as attractive – in both style and price. You can check them all out here. In any case, this sale proves that there are people who love cars in original condition – even if that means unsightly rust and/or wear. Over-restored cars are pretty on TV or on the lawn at Pebble Beach. But those cars aren’t any fun and they are completely devoid of personality. Give me an 80+ year old car with scrapes and dings and chipped paint and torn seats over some trailer-queen exotic any day.

Auctions America Auburn Fall Highlights

Auctions America’s 2012 Fall Auburn auction featured a boatload – perhaps two boatloads – of cars. The top sale was our featured Duesenberg Model J Derham Sedan for $456,500. Second place went to another local product, a 1932 Auburn 12 Boattail Speedster for $275,000.

1932 Auburn 12 Boattail Speedster

The next highest selling car is kind of a weird one. It’s a recreation of a three-axle Mercedes-Benz Type G4. These monstrous automobiles were originally built for the Germany military and high-ranking Nazi officials. What you see here is one of three faithful re-creations of said cars that was offered at this sale. Two sold, one did not. All were built from scratch at a very high cost. This one brought $269,500 – much less than you could acquire a real one for (if you were to even be able to find one).

Recreation G-4 W131 Grosser Six Seven-Passenger Convertible Sedan

Other interesting sales including this 1944 Demag Half-Track for $93,500.

1944 Demag IE SPW SDKFZ 250/5 Neu Art

This 1990 Pulse Litestar was one of 360 built. It’s four-cylinder engine was capable of 100 mpg and doing 140 mph. It sold for $22,000.

1990 Pulse Litestar

One of my favorite muscle cars (although I prefer the convertible option) is the 1967 Plymouth Hemi GTX. There was one at this sale and it sold for $47,300.

1967 Plymouth Hemi GTX

One car that is quite fascinating is this 1952 Packard Pacifica Concept. The car was designed in 1952, but never built. In 2001, someone found the drawings, bought some 1951 Packards and set about building this very attractive retractable hardtop. It sold for $88,000.

1952 Packard Pacifica Concept

And finally, the coolest car of the whole sale has to be this 1977 GAZ Chaika M-13 Limousine. These cars were based on 1950s Packard designs and were used by the upper echelon of the USSR Communist Party. These are very rare in the United States and about as quirky of a production car as you can find. A time warp to the Cold War, it sold for $40,700.

1977 GAZ Chaika M-13 Limousine

For complete results, click here.

Aalholm Automobile Collection Sale (RM Auctions, 8/12/12)

RM Auctions no-reserve sale of the Aalholm Automobile Collection in Nysted, Denmark was one of the most awesome sales of the year, opportunity-wise. There were some obscure old cars to be had and, although they were all museum cars they were still able to bring some serious money. None of the cars appeared to be in concours-level condition and some were hardly better than barn finds, but most just seemed to have been sitting in their current state for years if not decades.The top sale was a 1938 Maybach Zeppelin DS8 Roadster for $1,687,000.

There are also a boatload of other cars I wanted to feature, but the proximity of this sale to those at Pebble Beach precluded this. So, instead of a feature article of each of them, here’s a rundown (with photos) of the more interesting cars. First, this pair of three-wheelers. This yellow 1934 BSA Model 9 sold for $10,200.

1934 BSA Model 9 Three-Wheel Runabout

And our featured 1921 Darmont-Morgan sold for $41,700. There was also a pair of nearly-identical microcars, both license-built versions of the Isetta. First, this 1958 Trojan sold for $9,200.

Then its German cousin, the strangely purple 1963 Heinkel Kabine sold for $18,500

A couple of other German cars included this 1939 Adler 2.5-Litre Convertible by Karmann for $64,900.

1939 Adler 2.5-Litre Convertible by Karmann

This 1931 DKW F1 Roadster brought $16,700.

1931 DKW F1 Roadster

One of my favorites from this auction is this 1926 Hanomag 2/10 PS “Kommissbrot.” It sold for $27,800.

1926 Hanomag 2/10 PS “Kommissbrot”

This 1965 NSU Wankel Spider was one of the few post-1960 cars at this sale. It sold for $55,600.

1965 NSU Wankel Spider

A couple of the German cars on offer were also military vehicles. The most interesting of which was this 1939 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. It’s amphibious, although, from the photos, I’d say it might need a little attention paid to it before the new owner takes it out for a swim. It sold for $139,100.

1939 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen

This 1940 Horch Kraftfahrzeug 15 Command and Control Car was also on the expensive side, bringing slightly less than the VW at $111,300.

1940 Horch Kraftfahrzeug 15 Command and Control Vehicle

The final military vehicles may not have ever been used by the military at all. It was produced in the inter-war years, but in all likelihood was used by some military or other. It’s a 1926 Citroen Kegresse Half-Track and it’s awesome. It sold for $38,900.

c. 1926 Citroën Kegresse Half-Track

There were plenty of other French cars at this sale and many of them started with the letter ‘D.’ Like this 1904 Delahaye Surrey-Top Tourer for $111,200.

1904 Delahaye Surrey-Top Tourer

Then there was a 1900 Decauville Roadster for $204,000.

1900 Decauville Roadster

And this 1909 Delaunay-Belleville Belvalette for $269,000.

Don’t forget the biggest of early French automakers, De Dion-Bouton, who were well represented at this sale. I really liked this 1909 Tourer for $78,800.

And another French ‘D,’ the somewhat less-spectacular 1925 Donnet Type G Saloon that sold for a comparatively diddly $16,700.

1925 Donnet Type G Saloon

One of our feature cars was French, the out-of-this-world 1896 Léon Bollée. It sold for $129,800. Another unusually laid-out car is this super-rare 1902 Lacroix de Laville La Nef tyicycle. It sold for $60,200.

c. 1902 Lacroix de Laville La Nef Tricycle

Panhard et Levassor was also represented. Of the two offered, this 1908 Type X1 Coupe Chauffeur by Rothschild was the more impressive. It sold for $153,000.

1908 Panhard & Levassor Type X1 Coupé Chauffeur by Rothschild

And, of course, Renault. This 1925 Type NM 40 CV Coupe de Ville by Kellner brought $278,200.

1925 Renault Type NM 40 CV Coupé de Ville by Kellner

And this 1903 10 CV Limousine sold for $222,500.

Other cars of note included this 1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges Tourer. It was the second-highest selling car of the auction at $871,700.

1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges Tourer

This very strange (I’ve never seen one before) 1954 Arnott Lea Francis Sports sold for $55,600.

1954 Arnott Lea Francis Sports

American cars at this sale included this 1906 Cadillac Model M Light Touring for $70,400.

c. 1906 Cadillac Model M Light Touring

There was also this 1927 Falcon-Knight Sedan for $20,400.

1927 Falcon-Knight Sedan

There was a 1902 Holsman High-Wheel Runabout. It went for $48,200.

1902 Holsman High-Wheel Runabout

This 1914 Packard 2-38 Seven-Passenger Touring car looks great in two-tone blue. It brought $102,000

1914 Packard 2-38 Seven-Passenger Touring

Another car more than 100 years old is this 1902 Rambler Model C Runabout. It was hammered away for $64,900

And this simple-looking 1915 Metz Model 25 Touring sold for $18,500.

Our other feature cars were the 1906 Ford Model N and the 1914 Benz 18/45 Four-Passenger Runabout. The Ford sold for $37,000 and the Benz $370,900. Now on to the weird stuff. We’ll start with this Russian copy of a Cadillac. It’s a 1954 Zim Limousine. It was sold in a lot of five cars, so judging what the buyer thought they were paying for this could vary on which car he/she actually wanted. But a fifth of the lot price comes out to $742. A steal.

1954 Zim Limousine

Next up is the 1905 Invisible Eight. It was not built in 1905, as it has a modern chassis and a Flathead Ford V8. It’s weird, that’s what it is. It cost $46,300.

And finally, a really fun car. This 1965 Hannibal Eight Special was one of four built for the film The Great Race, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and a stunning Natalie Wood. The Hannibal Eight was driven by Jack Lemmon’s character, Professor Fate, throughout the movie. It sold for $77,900.

For complete results, click here.

Mecum Kissimmee Highlights

Mecum Auctions held their first event of 2012 not in Arizona, but in Kissimmee, Florida – where the weather is also nice. There were a bunch of rare muscle cars crossing the block including the top sale, a 1963 Shelby Cobra Dragon Snake.

This was the 93rd Cobra built and one of only eight Dragon Snakes modified for drag racing by Shelby. Because this car won so many drag races in its day, it is the winningest competition Cobra in history. It cost $8,990 new (a lot) and sold for $850,000 at auction (also a lot).

There were also two ultra-rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88s – a convertible and a coupe.

These are the must-have ’69 Corvettes and you could have bought the pair. The convertible sold for $610,000 and the coupe was a comparative bargain at $270,000.

But it wasn’t all muscle cars. Of the top ten sales of the auction there were two gorgeous Packards. The first was a 1941 180 Darrin Victoria Convertible – one of 35 built. It has the Super Eight 180 engine and a good looking red and tan color combo. It sold for $220,000.

The other Packard is a very mean and sporty looking 1930 Eight Model 745 Waterhouse Victoria. If I could’ve taken one car from this sale home, this would be it:

Big pre-war Packards never really had much of a sporting air about them. But this one kind of does. Maybe it’s the slightly cambered front wheels or their hot rod look, but this car says “I want to go fast.” This is one of three known to exist. $225,000.

For complete results, visit Mecum’s website.