Auctions America Auburn Fall Highlights

Posted on September 15, 2012 by classiccarweekly

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.

RM Pebble Beach 2012 Highlights

Posted on September 1, 2012 by classiccarweekly

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.

Barrett-Jackson Orange County Highlights

Posted on July 15, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Barrett-Jackson’s 2012 Orange County sale had some big numbers, but nothing quite as big as they had back in Scottsdale in January. We didn’t feature anything from this sale either, for various reasons, but top sale went to this 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback.

It sold for $253,000. Other muscle cars included a pair of cool Mopars, starting with this 1966 Plymouth Hemi Satellite. This thing is a sleeper – it looks really boring car your grandmother might drive, but it packs a punch with the Hemi underhood. It brought $64,900.

The other Mopar looks a little meaner, but it lacks that “Hemi” tag. It’s a 1968 Dodge Super Bee, which sold for $51,150.

Interesting is something Barrett-Jackson usually excels at and there were a few interesting choices at this sale, starting with this pair of pickups. This 1955 Chevrolet 5-Window NAPCO Pickup brought $23,650. NAPCO is an acronym for Northwestern Auto Parts Company, a company that began producing 4×4 conversion kits for GM vehicles around 1950. So this custom truck was actually customized back when it was new, thus making it far more interesting than something done last week.

The other truck is another Dodge, a 1953 M37 Power Wagon. While automakers tout their latest creations as “tough trucks,” I’d bet that this thing could take more abuse than anything you can go get off the lot. It sold for $24,750.

While muscle cars and customs usually rule the show, there were classics to be had – and cheap. This 1918 Paige Six-55 Series 4 Touring Essex Limousine (long enough name for you?) sold for only $12,650. I’m assuming the seller was hoping for more, as it was listed as having had President John F. Kennedy ride in it in 1960.

And finally, when was the last time you passed one of these on the interstate? It’s a 1973 Volkswagen 412. The two-door wagon bodystyle (some say three-door wagon, but who has ever used the rear hatch as an actual door?) was only produced from 1972-1974. This one sold for $5,500.

For complete results, click here.

Nash Bridges ‘Cuda

Posted on December 23, 2011 by classiccarweekly

1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda Convertible

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 15-22, 2012

If this car looks familiar to you, then I am glad to say we share similar taste in 1990s primetime television cop shows. This was one of five ‘Cudas prepared for the CBS series Nash Bridges starring Don Johnson. Of the five built, it was the one personally retained by Johnson after production wrapped in 2001. He sold the car at Barrett-Jackson in 2003, where it was purchased by the current owner.

In the show, the car was supposed to be a 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible – of which only 11 were built. There was a time in the past five years where a Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible would cost you a cool $2 million. I’m not sure that price would stand today.

But that’s another story. This car is actually equipped with a 340 V8 (5.6 liter) and it’s a 1970. It was one of 64 convertibles built for the Canadian market in 1970. It’s also an automatic – Don Johnson couldn’t be expected to drive, carry on a scripted conversation, take direction from a camera car, and shift, could he? In fact, Johnson did much of his own driving on the series, particularly when doing a dialogue scene and driving through San Francisco (and never hitting a red light!). Apparently, this took a lot of skill – keeping appropriate pace with the camera car and being able to be heard over wind and engine noise. Yes, I’ve watched DVD commentaries of Nash Bridges.

I remember this car selling in 2003 for almost $150,000. Part of me just can’t imagine it bringing that much now. You could probably get a real Hemi coupe for close to that price. The muscle car bubble did burst, despite what certain places will tell you. This is not a $150,000 car. Don’t get me wrong, I want it – bad. But I’m a gigantic fan of the show and Nash Bridges’ ‘Cuda is a car I’ve loved from first sight. You’d really have to love the show to pay more than double what this car is worth, were it any other 340 ‘Cuda Convertible.

More info on the lot car be found here. More on the auction here.

Update: Sold $88,000.

Mecum Kansas City Highlights

Posted on December 13, 2011 by classiccarweekly

The Mecum muscle car show recently traveled through Kansas City, Missouri. The top sale of the auction was this 1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible.

The restoration on this car was completed in 1997, meaning it isn’t Concours-fresh so it can definitely be driven. It sold for $165,000. Other interesting cars include a 1953 Buick Skylark Convertible seen here:

Finished in its original, attractive color, Ridge Green, this fully-optioned, 188 horsepower Skylark sold for $120,000. The other big sale was an awesome, white 1970 Plymouth Superbird with a 440 Six Pack which brought $122,500. More info on the sale and results can be found at Mecum’s website, here.