Tag Archives: race cars

Honker II

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1967 Holman-Moody Ford Honker II

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ralph Moody was a NASCAR driver who ran 47 races in four seasons between 1956 and 1962. In ’56, he won four races driving for Ford and their chief mechanic, John Holman. When Ford pulled out of NASCAR in 1957, the two teamed up and bought Ford’s former Charlotte workshop, forming Holman-Moody. By the mid-1960s, they were the American racing powerhouse, with cars they built dominating NASCAR.

They also dabbled in sports car racing, entering Sebring in 1962 with a Ford Falcon. They wanted to compete in Can-Am, so the Honker II was built for that purpose. It’s powered by a 6.2-liter V8 with Gurney-Weslake cylinder heads. Paul Newman put up the cash to have the car campaigned in the 1967 Can-Am season with Mario Andretti behind the wheel. In five races, the best result it managed was an 8th position.

Newman later used the car in the film Winning. It sat in the Holman-Moody workshop until the mid-1980s, when the company had it restored in its original Passino Purple. The car sold at a Gooding auction in 2013 for $200,000. I’d think the price has gone up significantly since then. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $285,920.

Prost F1

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1999 Prost-Peugeot AP02

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Alain Prost won four Formula One World Championships before tossing his hat into the F1 ownership ring. He purchased the Ligier F1 team in 1997, just before the season started, and rebranded it Prost Grand Prix. The following year, the team secured a deal to be supplied with factory Peugeot engines.

The AP02 was 1999’s car, and it was powered by a 3.0-liter Peugeot V10 making about 785 horsepower and revving to 17,000 rpm (!). The team had a decent 1997 season, a poor 1998 season, and an okay 1999 season. Things went south quickly thereafter, and it was all over after the 2001 season. The assets of Prost (and Arrows engines) were bought by a group called Phoenix Finance, but they never made it to the grid.

The competition for this chassis, 03, included:

  • 1999 Australian Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Olivier Panis)
  • 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix – 6th (with Panis)
  • 1999 San Marino Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Panis)
  • 1999 Monaco Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Panis)

It was used as a test car after that. It now wears the team’s 2000 paint scheme and 2001 sponsor livery. The engine is not currently installed, but is included, along with the gearbox. You can read more about it here and see more from this collection here.

Update: Sold $195,332.

Riley-BMW Daytona Prototype

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2012 Riley-BMW Mk XXVI

Offered by Mecum | Chattanooga, Tennessee | October 15-16, 2021

Photo – Mecum

Daytona prototypes were a cool era of American sportscar racing. Basically the Grand-Am, then IMSA, version of an LMP1 car, they were the top dog in Grand-Am and American-based sports car racing starting with their debut in 2003. This is actually a third-generation DP, which debuted in 2012 and lasted through 2016.

This era was more creative than previous generations, as those tended to all look like the same block of soap with wheels. The third gen featured this Riley chassis and the Corvette DP, which looked different enough to be recognizable on its own.

Riley Technologies was founded in 2001 by Bob Riley (of race car constructor Riley & Scott) and his son Bill. The Riley DP chassis were pretty successful, being competitive from 2003 through 2016. This car features a way-too-busy livery and is powered by a 5.0-liter BMW V8.

It’s an ex-Michael Shank Racing car and comes with two spare engines. Its specific race history is unknown. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: ?? Not listed as sold or not sold. So presumably sold and Mecum is hiding the result from everyone.

The Last Ol’ Yaller

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1963 Ol’ Yaller Mark IX

Offered by Bonhams | Newport, Rhode Island | October 1, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Max Balchowsky opened a shop in Hollywood in the late 1940s and soon found himself modifying European cars with big American V8s. In the early 1950s he was on track in SCCA events. In the mid-to-late ’50s, he built two Old Yeller race cars that were mostly junkyard specials. Disney told him to change the name, so all following cars were called “Ol’ Yaller”s.

This car, number nine, was the final such special built. It features a custom tubular steel space frame and a 6.6-liter Buick V8 rated at 310 horsepower. It was apparently raced by Ronnie Bucknum at some point, and was later crashed.

It was subsequently restored to its original spec. One of the Ol’ Yallers appeared in the Elvis movie Viva Las Vegas (which has some pretty excellent 1950s car spotting scenes). These really never change hands – and this one is being offered out of the Petersen Museum collection. It is expected to fetch $150,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $162,500.

McLaren MP4-17

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2002 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-17

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Moritz, Switzerland | September 17, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

McLaren-Mercedes was a pretty solid chassis/engine combo in Formula One about 10-20 years ago. The MP4-17 was actually used in two slightly different configurations over two seasons. There was the initial car (later retroactively dubbed “MP4-17A”) that was used for 2002, and there was 2003’s updated car, the MP4-17D.

This chassis (#06) debuted in 2002 and was later upgraded to “D” spec. Power is from a 3.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V10 good for 845 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 2002 European Grand Prix – 3rd (with Kimi Raikkonen)
  • 2002 British Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 French Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 German Grand Prix – 11th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix – 4th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2002 United States Grand Prix – 3rd (with David Coulthard)
  • 2002 Japanese Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 Australian Grand Prix – 1st (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 San Marino Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2003 Spanish Grand Prix – 20th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2003 Monaco Grand Prix – 7th (with Coulthard)
  • 2003 Japanese Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)

The car was also used as a test car here and there. Once its competitive career was over, the car was backdated to “17A” spec, in which it currently exists. It is expected to sell for between $2,200,000-$2,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,136,444.

Stafford Special

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1936 Stafford Single Seater

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

This one-off single-seater special is sort of like the British version of an early-1930s “junk formula” Indy car. Except that instead of having history at Indianapolis, this car has history at Brooklands. But first, the story of its creation.

It was built by Rodney Stafford between 1936 and 1938 utilizing a specially built Blaker Engineering Company chassis and a supercharged 1.5-liter Meadows inline-four. The aluminum body work was shaped in the aerodynamics of the day and is pure function.

It competed at Brooklands, before the war broke out, against the likes of Bugattis, Maseratis, and Altas. Its competition history picked back up after the war and continued throughout the 1940s. This one-of-one period race car carries a pre-sale estimate of $90,000-$115,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Beaulieu 2022.

Minardi M198

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1998 Minardi-Ford M198

For Sale by RM Sotheby’s | Thurleigh, U.K.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Giancarlo Minardi’s Formula One team first appeared on the grid in 1985. In their first 46 races, the team saw at least one car running at the finish only eight times. While they were more reliable in later years, they weren’t much more successful. The team’s best finish was fourth, which happened three times. But they did have a pretty loyal fanbase. The team lasted through the 2005 season, and their new owners rebranded the team as Toro Rosso for 2006.

The M198 was their chassis for the 1998 season, which saw drivers Shinji Nakano and Esteban Tuero on the team. This chassis was the first one built, and it is powered by a 3.0-liter Ford Zetec-R V10 that made about 710 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1998 Australian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Shinji Nakano)
  • 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Nakano)
  • 1998 Argentine Grand Prix – 13th (with Nakano)

After that, the car was refinished in the team’s 1999 livery and used as a show car. It still wears that scheme today. Since 2011, the car has been restored and used at events. It’s now for sale with an asking price of about $579,000. Click here for more info.

Lorraine-Dietrich Race Car

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1905 Lorraine-Dietrich CR2 Two-Seat Sports Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 4, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Lorraine-Dietrich built cars and airplane engines after branching out from railway locomotives in the late-19th Century. Bollée-designed cars were first, beginning in 1896 under the De Dietrich marque. The brand become Lorraine-Dietrich in 1905, and automobile production lasted through 1935.

Racing had always been a part of the company. In fact, they won Le Mans twice in the early years. The company was involved in racing as early as about 1903. This car was built to replicate the period factory racers. It’s a true 1905 chassis, but the body was added in the 2000s. Power is from a 8.6-liter inline-four rated at 60 horsepower.

It certainly looks the part of an Edwardian race car, and it is apparently quite usable too. There are similar cars from this brand around, although I’m unsure of their provenance or originality. This seems like a good way to get pretty close to the real thing. The pre-sale estimate is $110,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $190,955.

Porsche Indy Car

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1990 March-Porsche 90P

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

Porsche North America contested three Indy Car seasons: 1988, 1989, and 1990. The company used specially built March chassis and then stuck their own powerplant behind the driver. For 1990, they had a brand new chassis designed, dubbed the 90P.

Power is provided by a turbocharged 2.6-liter Porsche V8 capable of 725 horsepower. Porsche’s two drivers in 1990 were Teo Fabi and John Andretti, the latter of which piloted this chassis, #5. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1990 Indianapolis 500 – 21st, DNF (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland – 5th (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Molson Indy Vancouver – 5th (with Andretti)
  • 1990 Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver – 6th (with Andretti)

Actually, John Andretti drove this car in all but two of the 1990 points races. He finished 10th in the championship. The car was sold by Porsche to a collector in 2017, and then this car passed to the current owner the following year. It’s a ready-to-go historic open-wheel car with a pre-sale estimate of $350,000-$500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $346,000.

Kurtis 500C

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1953 Kurtis 500C

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

When it comes to classic Indy cars, not much beats a Kurtis-Offenhauser. The 500C was introduced either in late 1953 or early 1954. Only nine were built. Despite their build date, the cars were raced for years at Indianapolis – as late as about 1959.

This particular car is interesting in that it started out as a 500C that debuted at the Speedway in 1954. It ran there through 1957, including:

  • 1956 Indianapolis 500 – 8th (with Rodger Ward)

After 1957, it was sold to a different team, who had Eddie Kuzma cut the car up and update it with Kuzma parts. At that time, the Kurtis chassis was discarded and ultimately purchased by someone who would go on to have it restored in the 1980s to as it was in 1956. So, from that first original car, there are now two cars, one of which is still a Kurtis. Kind of weird, but that’s what happens.

Power is from a 4.2-liter (255ci) Offenhauser inline-four estimate to produce 400 horsepower with Hilborn mechanical fuel injection. The car is expected to sell for between $250,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $257,600.