Tag Archives: pope hartford

First-Year Pope-Hartford

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1904 Pope-Hartford Model B Rear-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Gooding & Company | Lynchburg, Virginia | April 7, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

Pope-Hartford was one of several automobile manufacturers under the Pope Manufacturing Company umbrella. It was the longest lived, lasting from 1904 through 1914. The company’s first two products in 1904 were the Model A, a runabout, and the Model B, the tonneau as shown here.

The Model B actually carried over into 1905 as well. It’s powered by a 2.1-liter single that was rated at 10 horsepower at a leisurely 900 rpm. It cost $1,000 when new. The catalog states it was, perhaps, sold new to McKinley/Roosevelt’s Secretary of State.

It’s been under current ownership since 2019, four years after it won a preservation class award at Pebble Beach. It now has an estimate of $75,000-$100,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $103,600.

Pope-Hartford Race Car

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1910 Pope-Hartford Model W 50HP Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Pope-Hartford was the longest-lasting of all of the marques of Colonel Albert Augustus Pope. The first cars were sold in 1904, and the brand continued on through 1914. In 1910, they offered a Model T, with the Models W and Y following for 1911.

Power in the Model W is from a 6.4-liter inline-four that made about 50 horsepower. The car is thought to have received its racing-style body prior to WWII. It was purchased by early sporting car collector Lindley Bothwell in the 1950s and raced in that decade at the Santa Catalina Island and Pebble Beach Sports Car Races.

Bothwell died in 1986, and his collection was not dispersed until 2017. Prior to that, this car was used in the movie Seabiscuit, presumably where the horse’s owner fills his horse barn with pre-war racing cars and then later removes them again in favor of horses. It’s a quick scene, but there is some real eye candy in it. The pre-sale estimate here is $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $445,000.

Pope-Hartford Limousine

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1910 Pope-Hartford Model T Limousine

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Albert Pope attached his name to a lot of car companies. The Pope-Hartford, for instance, was built in Hartford, Connecticut between 1904 and 1914. It was one of the more successful marques with the Pope brand. Imagine if General Motors name each car after the city it was physically assembled in. It would be insane.

With some amount of balls, Pope branded their 1910 car the “Model T,” and it is powered by a 4.9-liter inline-four rated at 40 horsepower. It wears a Limousine body, though it was also delivered new with a separate touring car body. That delivery is interesting because the first owners were in Uruguay, of all places.

More interesting is that the first owner was the Uruguayan ambassador to the Vatican. Yes, that’s right, the actual Pope is thought to have ridden in this Pope. It has bounced around the U.S. over the last few decades (including a period where it was local to where I currently reside) and is said to have never been fully restored. It should bring between $160,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

November 2017 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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We’re starting this post off with a fascinating liquidation sale brought to us by Bonhams. They auctioned off the Lindley Bothwell collection of historic motorcars. The top sale, as predicted everywhere, was the unbelievable Peugeot Grand Prix car for $7,260,000. The other million dollar cars we featured were the Mercedes-Simplex for $1,072,500 and the Benz racer for $1,870,000.

Of the cars we featured, the only one that was remotely affordable was the Crestmobile that sold for $39,600. As far as interesting sales, this 1910 Pope-Hartford Model W 50HP Racer takes the cake, selling for $264,000.

Photo – Bonhams

The rest of our feature cars all sold. The twin-cylinder Packard sold for $423,500, the Austro-Daimler $176,000, and the Clement-Panhard $60,500. Click here for complete results, including quite a number of model trains and even some horse-drawn streetcars.

Half a world away, H&H Classics held their final automobile sale of the year. The biggest sale went to this 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe for $240,442. The Austin Prototype we featured failed to find a new home. Click here for complete results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Next up, Osenat’s final automotive sale of 2017. There were a few cars worthy of being featured from this sale, but we ran out of time. Blame Lindley Bothwell. The top sale was this 1972 Dino 246 GT for $297,145. Click here for more results.

Photo – Osenat

Sotheby’s sold one of Michael Schumacher’s F1 cars, specifically this 2001 Ferrari F2001, at a Contemporary Art Auction in New York. Kind of weird as F1 cars are more functional than they are art. Anyway, it brought an impressive $7,504,000.

Photo – Sotheby’s

Finally, Mecum in Kansas City. The top sale here was this 2005 Ford GT for $265,000.

Photo – Mecum

The Stellite we featured a while back sold again, this time for $3,750. My personal offer of $4,000 still stands. Email me and I’ll buy it. Click here for the rest of their results.

1904 Pope-Hartford

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1905 Pope-Hartford 20HP Model D Two-Cylinder Side-Entrance Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | October 30, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve featured a number of Pope-related automobiles lately. The Hartford was one of five Pope-branded automobiles, the others being the Tribune, Waverley, Toledo and the very short-lived Robinson. The Columbia from last week was also originally a Pope-owned company.

This Model D was built at the end of 1904. The Model D was only built for the 1905 model year and uses a two-cylinder engine making 20 horsepower. This was the only body style offered.

The current owner acquired the car in 2005 and restored it that year as well. The paint and interior were refreshed in 2014 when the car took part in the London-to-Brighton run. This car looks great and is a fine example of pre-1905 American motoring. It should bring between $120,000-$130,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $126,000.

Pope-Hartford Portola Roadster

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1913 Pope-Hartford Model 31 Portola Roadster

Offered by Auctions America | Santa Monica, California | July 18, 2015

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

When one thinks of early 1910s sports cars, names like Stutz, Mercer, and even Marion spring to mind. But not necessarily Pope-Hartford. Yet, of all the companies that bore the name of Albert Pope (and there were many!) this is perhaps the sportiest.

The Model 31 was built in 1913 only (Pope-Hartford only lasted from 1904 through 1914) and the Portola Roadster was the sporty variant, named for Oakland, California’s Portola Road Race. Pope-Hartford did do some factory racing, just not in this particular event.

It is powered by a 40 horsepower 4.9-liter straight-four. This restoration on this car finished in 1999 and it has covered a remarkable (and kind of saddening) 200 miles since. It should sell for between $175,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $181,500.

August 2014 Auction Recap

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August was a record-setting month for the classic car industry. The first sale of the month was Auctions America’s California sale where this 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster topped the numbers at $1,155,000.

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Our featured Chrysler Plainsman sold for an impressive $176,000. You can check out full results here.

We didn’t feature anything from Barrett-Jackson’s Reno sale, and frankly I don’t have the time to sift through their site looking for highlights as the process there is just too clunky. So we’ll move on.

Auctions in August of course means Monterey and Pebble Beach. We’ll start with the star of the weekend: Bonhams and their Ferrari 250 GTO which ended up bringing $38,115,000, an all-time record price for any car at auction. It’s an appropriate price for the car, and not the stratospheric number many predicted. It’s a good sign. We featured a number of cars from Bonhams, including this Kissel Kar, which sold for $140,800. The other Ferrari we featured, the 1978 321 T3 F1 car sold for $2,310,000. And the other F1 car, the Brabham-Cosworth, sold for $1,034,000.

Our featured Porsche 908/03 failed to sell. Our pick for the most interesting non-feature car that sold goes to this 1913 Pope-Hartford Model 31 Portola Roadster for $192,500.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our other feature cars both sold: the Speedwell brought $869,000 and the 1908 Napier $1,034,000. Check out full results here. Next up, Mecum in Monterey, where this 1961 Ferrari 250 Series II Cabriolet was the top seller for $2,250,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

None of our feature cars broke the million dollar mark, although the Kremer-Porsche was close at $930,000. A Duesenberg we featured a long time ago and failed to sell a couple of times before, finally sold here for $1,425,000. The Shelby Turbine car failed to sell, as did the Lester-MG.

Two cars we featured a long time ago that failed to sell also turned up at this sale and failed to sell again. They were the Delage Aerosport and a 1910 Locomobile. The Avia III race car we featured from a dealership was offered here, but it too failed to meet its reserve. The one-off Lazzarrino did sell, for $135,000. Check out full results here.

RM’s Monterey sale was just as impressive as Bonhams. The top seller was the #2 of the weekend, the 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale, at $26,400,000. The Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider brought $1,017,500. The Ferrari F1-2000 sold for $1,804,000. But the Ferrari 333 failed to sell, as did the March-Cosworth. The AAR Eagle-Santa Ana sold for $104,500. What a choppy paragraph.

Cool, non-feature cars were topped by this 1962 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Vignale for $764,500. RM also sold the prototype of this model for considerably more, making this seem like a deal.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype brought $6,930,000 and the Lancia PF200 C sold for $1,100,000. This 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 Paxton Prototype was a car I wanted to feature but didn’t get a chance to. It sold for $572,000.

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Our other three feature cars were all much older. The amazing 1926 Rickenbacker sold for $946,000. The Stevens-Duryea went for $302,500 and the 1911 Mercer Raceabout, $2,530,000. Check out full results here.

Next up, Gooding & Company: $15,180,000 took home this top-selling 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Our top feature car was the Maserati 250F for $4,620,000 and the Alfa Tipo 256 was right behind it at an even $4,000,000. Our featured Duesenberg and Ferrari 330 GT Speciale both failed to meet their reserves. The AAR-Toyota Eagle GTP brought $1,045,000. Check out full results here.

Last but not least on the Monterey peninsula, Russo & Steele. Our only feature car was the Lola-Mazda from the 80s – it brought $132,000. The top sale was this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL for $1,320,000. Check out full results here.

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

Gooding & Company Monterey 2012 Highlights

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Gooding & Company held their very successful Monterey sale last weekend. They had the top two cars in terms of selling price. The top car was this 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. It sold for $11,770,000 including buyer’s premium. It is an astounding car at a price that was more or less expected.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster

Not far behind was, not surprisingly, this 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder Competizione. This was the 1960 Chicago Motor Show Car and one of a few high-dollar Ferraris sold from the Sherman Wolf Collection. It sold for $11,275,000.

1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione

Other Ferraris from this collection included our featured Ferrari 340 MM Spider that brought $4,730,000. Also from this collection was the 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC that sold for $4,510,000.

1957 Ferrari 500 TRC

The final car from the Sherman Wolf collection also went for over a million dollars (unfortunately, do to the insanely high number of million dollar cars, those are the only ones we’re recapping in this rundown. Fortunately, these are also the most interesting cars). It was this 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO. If $1,045,000 isn’t a world record price for this model, it’s pretty close.

1985 Ferrari 288 GTO

Our other featured Ferrari, the ex-Andy Warhol 1955 857 Sport, sold for $6,270,000. And another really high-dollar Ferrari was another California Spider, this one a 1957 LWB Prototype for $6,600,000.

1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Prototype

For something other than a Ferrari, check out this 1928 Bentley 4.25-Litre Le Mans Sports Bobtail that brought $6,050,000.

1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Le Mans Sports "Bobtail"

A couple of Maseratis up next, first the ex-Jay Kay 1955 A6G/2000 Berlinetta by Frua (below). It sold for $1,650,000. And the 1959 Tipo 61 Birdcage (second below) sold for $3,520,000.

1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Berlinetta

Mercedes-Benz 300SLs were, as always, well represented. Two of them cracked the million dollar mark at this sale. Strangely, a Roadster was the highest-selling of them all. A white 1963 300SL Roadster sold for $1,595,000 and a blue 1955 300SL Gullwing sold for $1,127,500.

1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

There were three million dollar Bugattis at this sale, the cheapest of which being a 2008 Veyron at $1,182,500. Our featured 1920 Type 13 sold for $379,500. Our other featured Bugatti, the 1932 Type 55, failed to sell. A 1938 Type 57C Stelvio brought $1,292,500.

2008 Bugatti Veyron

1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio

The other Bugatti was a beautiful yellow and black 1936 Type 57 Atalante. It sold for $1,485,000.

This 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype is the second-oldest GT40 in existence. It sold for a hefty $4,950,000.

1964 Ford GT40 Prototype

Our featured – and unbelievably awesome – 1932 Daimler Double Six sold for $2,970,000. Another English car was this 1953 Jaguar C-Type which went unsold on the block but found a buyer a few minutes later with a little behind-the-scenes work from the folks at Gooding & Co. The final price was $3,725,000.

1953 Jaguar C-Type

This 1919 Miller TNT is sort of the pre-Miller Indy Car Miller Indy Car. It’s an ex-Harrah Collection car and it sold for $1,210,000.

1919 Miller TNT

One feature car that didn’t sell was the 1911 S.P.O. Raceabout. The 1960 Porsche RS60 did, however, bringing $3,465,000. Two more million-dollar Ferraris included a 2003 Enzo for $1,430,000 and a 1962 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico for $2,365,000.

2003 Ferrari Enzo

1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico

This 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV sold for $1,375,000.

1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV

Duesenberg recap time! Only the ex-Clark Gable Model JN went unsold. The Model J known as “Blue J” went for $1,980,000. The Willoughby Limousine was the bargain of the bunch at $330,000 and the Murphy Convertible Sedan sold for $522,500. And okay, I lied when I said we would only highlight million dollar cars. Here are some of the more interesting lots sold, starting with a 1970 Monteverdi HAI 450 SS Prototype for $577,500.

1970 Monteverdi HAI 450 SS Prototype

And some pre-WWI cars, beginning with this 1913 Pope-Hartford Model 33 Four-Passenger Touring Phaeton. It sold for $319,000.

1913 Pope-Hartford Model 33 Four-Passenger Touring Phaeton

This 1904 Knox Tudor Touring was the earliest car at the sale. It brought $198,000.

And this really cool 1907 Panhard et Levassor Model U2 Transformable Seven-Passenger Town Car with body by Audineau & Cie is, I guess, an early version of the “retractable hardtop.” Instead of retracting, in this case, the entire top half of the town car body comes off to turn it into a large touring car. See the “before and after” photos below. How cool. It sold for $264,000.

For complete results, click here.