Tag Archives: race cars

Ferrari 512 M

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1970 Ferrari 512 M

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari didn’t compete in the 1968 sports car season because of a rule change that outlawed any engine over three liters. Porsche developed the 917 for 1969, taking advantage of a loophole in the rules. Enzo had just sold half of Ferrari to Fiat and now had the money to take the fight to Porsche for the 1970 season.

So for 1970, Ferrari debuted the 512 S, of which 25 were produced. Seventeen of these 25 cars competed in the 1970 endurance racing season, with this car being the only example delivered new in Giallo. It went to Ecurie Francorchamps in Belgium, delivered new as a 512 S. Under that guise, it competed in:

  • 1970 1000km Spa – 8th (with Derek Bell and Hughes de Fierlant)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans – 5th (with de Fierlant and Alistair Walker)
  • 1971 24 Hours of Daytona – 38th, DNF (with de Fierlant and Gustave Gosselin)

During 1970, it was used during the filming of Le Mans. After the ’71 Daytona race, the car went back to Europe to become one of 15 examples that were upgraded to 512 M specification. The 5.0-liter V12 was lightened and now made 610 horsepower. Aerodynamics were improved with lower bodywork. The car was completed in time for:

  • 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans – 18th, DNF (with de Fierlant and Alain de Cadenet)

The car ran a few other races, including a Can-Am race at Watkins Glen. It’s been in various collections, including the current one since 2018. The estimate is $9,500,000-$12,500,000. More info can be found here.

VPJ-Ford

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1969 VPJ-Ford

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing was founded in 1969 by Parnelli Jones and Velko Miletich. They would compete in USAC (Indy car) and Formula One in the 1970s. Their first car was dubbed the VPJ and debuted in 1969.

Some later cars would wear the Colt moniker in USAC. This particular chassis retains a 2.6-liter Ford V8 and a Hewland four-wheel-drive system. It has been restored and is said to have been driven in period by Al Unser and Joe Leonard, although no specific race history is mentioned. The car was not used at Indianapolis.

If you like obscure old racing cars or obscure old race car technology, this is pretty hard to beat. You can read more about it here.

Laurin & Klement Sportwagen

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1911 Laurin & Klement Type S2 Sportwagen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Flying Scooters is a type of amusement park ride where you sit in a suspended (usually two-person) car that spins in a big circle amongst other similar cars. Each car has a handheld rudder that can be swung side to side to change the angle of the car.

That’s what this reminds me of. An early Czech automotive manufacturer, Laurin & Klement existed from 1895 until 1925. Auto production began in 1905, and in 1925, it was purchased by conglomerate Skoda, who renamed it after themselves. That’s how it exists today.

This car features an early form of active aerodynamics. Turning the steering wheel turned the rudder at the rear (in addition to the front wheels), which produced side force, allowing the car to corner faster. Its first owner, racer, Baron Leo Haan, fitted the device as well as the wheel covers. It’s powered by a flat-twin.

The car was purchased by the Indianapolis Speedway Museum in 1964 out of 40 years of storage. About the only thing that has changed is the fact that it was repainted many decades ago. The estimate here is $100,000-$150,000. More info can be found here.

Morris Maruader

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1971 Morris Marauder-Ford Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

George Morris worked on the Shrike and Mongoose Indy car chassis before being the chief mechanic for George Walther’s team for 1971. For that season he built this, the Morris Marauder. He actually built three Marauder chassis, apparently.

This car retains its period Dayton Steel Foundry livery and a 2.6-liter Ford V8. It was driven in period by Jim McElreath, Salt Walther, George Snider, and John Martin. Those are all pretty familiar names to anyone who followed Indy car in the early 1970s.

The car also has electronic fuel injection and an onboard starter (which has been missing from Indy cars for a LONG time). You can read more about it here.

Kurtis/Epperly Indy Car

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1959 Kurtis/Epperly-Offenhauser Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

This car was built as a Kurtis KK500 for the 1959 Indy Car season. After it ended, Quin Epperly modified it for use in 1960. What a combo of builders to have on one car. And it worked, as A.J. Foyt used it for 1960 to win the championship.

Power is provided by a 4.2-liter Offenhauser inline-four. The race history for this chassis includes:

  • 1959 Indianapolis 500 – 29th, DNF (with Jud Larson)

The car finished third at Milwaukee with Don Freeland in 1959 before Epperly got his hands on it. Foyt had podiums at Milwaukee and Trenton in 1960 in this car. It is very unclear from the catalog if it was at Indy in 1960 or not. This Bowes Seal Fast Special has a more recent restoration, and you can read more about it here.

Porsche 934

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1976 Porsche 934

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

The Porsche 934 was a racing version of the 930 Turbo built to FIA Group 4 specifications. Introduced for 1976, just 31 examples were produced over a two-year span. The cars remained competitive through the end of the decade.

Power is from a turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six that made somewhere around 480 horsepower, depending on setup, etc. This car was initially campaigned in the 1976 German National Championship by Porsche-Kremer Racing before receiving a replacement tub. It’s later career included:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 7th, 1st in class (with Bob Wolleck, Jean-Pierre Wielemans, & Philippe Gurdjian)

The car was restored by Kremer in the 2000s and sold for $1.55 million on Bring a Trailer in 2023. Read more about it on Mecum’s site here.

Le Mans-Winning Ferrari

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1964 Ferrari 250 LM

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

We have featured a 250 LM in the past, but any car that has an estimate of “over $26,500,000” typically is something worth peeking at. This car was, until recently, on display in the basement of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum right next to the W196R streamliner. Quite a pairing.

Ferrari only built 32 of these. All but one had power from a 3.3-liter V12 that was rated at 320 horsepower. This car was the 6th example produced and was sold new by Luigi Chinetti. The car was soon after traded back in and thereafter put into the N.A.R.T. stable. It’s subsequent racing history includes:

  • 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1st (with Masten Gregory, Jochen Rindt, and Ed Hugus)
  • 1966 24 Hours of Daytona – 9th (with Rindt and Bob Bondurant)
  • 1968 24 Hours of Daytona – 48th, DNF (with Gregory and David Piper)
  • 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans – 24th, DNF (with Gregory and Charlie Kolb)
  • 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans – 8th (with Sam Posey and Teodoro Zeccoli)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Daytona – 7th (with Luigi Chinetti Jr. and Gregg Young)

It’s pretty amazing that it could place in the top 10 in a 24-hour race five years after it was built. And that it only competed in 24-hour events. Later in 1970, the car was purchased by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Until 2023, it was the last Ferrari to win outright at Le Mans. You can read more about it here.

Mercedes 17-Liter Rennwagen

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1908 Mercedes 150 HP Semmering Rennwagen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February, 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The famous Brooklands circuit in England held some… Formula Libre-style races back in its heyday. This meant that the cars were not required to meet Grand Prix regulations. So Paul Daimler built a monster 15.4-liter inline-four. The entered one of these cars at the Semmering hill climb in Austria, winning it with driver Otto Salzer

The next year they updated the two “Semmering” cars built with that engine to a displacement of 17.3 liters. Output was rated at 150 horsepower, a monster sum for the time. Salzer won at Semmering again in 1909, setting a time that wouldn’t be bested again until 1934.

The car later made its way to Australia before heading to California in the 1950s. It was sold to the pre-Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for $30,000 in 1964. It’s now offered from the museum with an estimate of $7,000,000-$9,000,000. RM says the car is a one-off, Mercedes own website says two were built. Click here for more info.

Corvette XP-64

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1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS Project XP-64

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In 1956, legendary GM designer Harley Earl bought a Jaguar D-Type (after it finished 3rd at Sebring that year). He wanted to put a Chevy V8 in the car and put it back on track. Instead, Zora Arkus-Duntov imagined what a ground-up Corvette-based racer aimed at the D-Type could be.

The car features a tubular spaceframe wrapped in a one-off magnesium body that carries some of the period Corvette looks. It has independent front suspension, inboard rear brakes, and a 283ci (4.6-liter) V8 that was slightly tuned and fitted with Ramjet fuel injection. It made over 300 horsepower.

Dubbed the Super Sport, the car would go racing, including:

  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 59th, DNF (with John Fitch and Piero Taruffi)

And before they could swap a fiberglass body on it and take it to Le Mans, GM pulled out of factory racing. It was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1967, and they are now selling it. The estimate is $5,000,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info.

Riley & Scott Mk III

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1999 Riley & Scott Mk III Series 2

Offered by Bring a Trailer | December 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

Riley & Scott: Bob Riley and Mark Scott founded their racing car constructor in 1990. They sold out in 1999 to Reynard, who went bankrupt in 2001. Bob Riley resurfaced that same year with Riley Technologies.

Mk III: debuted in 1995 and was the most famous (of only a few) products the company would offer. Iterations of the Mk III would race through 2005. Just 17 of the original Mk III were built from 1995 through 1998. Just four Series 2 cars were built in 1999 before being replaced by the Mk III C.

This car: was acquired new by AutoExe Motorsport in Japan. It’s currently powered by a 6.0-liter Ford V8. The race history for this chassis is below, but after a 1999 Fuji Speedway crash, the car was rebuilt in-house by AutoExe with the goal of being at Le Mans in 2000 as the AutoExe LMP99. That didn’t happen. It later made its way to the U.S., where it is now being offered.

Competition history: (chassis LMP-021)

  • 1999 12 Hours of Sebring – 35th (with Yojiro Terada and Franck Freon)
  • 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans – 40th, DNF (with Terada, Freon, and Robin Donovan)
  • 1999 1000km Fuji – DNF (with Terada, Freon, and Kaichi Satou)