Tag Archives: race cars

Hudson Indy Car

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1932 Hudson Indy Car

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

Photo – Gooding & Company

The “Junk Formula” was an era of the Indianapolis 500 that lasted from 1930 through 1937. It allowed for a much wider variety of cars at the track, which had the effect of increasing field sizes. It also encouraged race car builders to use production car parts. A mechanic from Saginaw, Michigan, named Jack Mertz decided to build his own Indy car. Using a Hudson chassis, he bodied this car himself.

Under the hood is a 4.2-liter inline-eight capable of 150 horsepower. Mertz then drove the car from Saginaw to Indianapolis to enter the 1932 race. But he arrived too late and missed the field. The following year, Mertz sold the car to a Detroit car dealer named Lawrence Martz, who then named the car after himself. The competition history for the “Martz Special” includes:

  • 1933 Indianapolis 500 – 15th, DNF (with Gene Haustein)
  • 1934 Indianapolis 500 – 30th, DNF (with Haustein)

It actually crashed during the ’34 race, and by the end of the decade the trail of this car went cold. That is, until the 1970s when it was discovered. The restoration was done in the early 1980s, and the car was shown at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours. It is now expected to bring between $250,000-$350,000 and will sell without reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $291,000.

Lola T-90

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1966 Lola-Ford T-90

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

Photo – Gooding & Company

The mid-1960s were a time for change at Indianapolis. The mid-engined revolution was in full swing by ’66, and the previous year was the first time that a majority of the field was made up of rear-engined cars. The British cars were back in force in 1966, with Lola leading the way with their Ford-powered T-90.

Three T-90s were built, and all three were on the grid at the 1966 Indy 500. This is one of two powered by a 4.2-liter Ford quad-cam V8. Fuel injected, it makes about 425 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, 90/2, includes:

  • 1966 Indianapolis 500 – 6th, DNF (with Jackie Stewart)
  • 1966 Langhorne 150 – 3rd (with Al Unser Sr.)
  • 1966 Fuji 200 – 1st (with Stewart)

As most old race cars do after their time on track is finished, this car passed around between a few owners. In this case some of them believed this to be the ’66 500-winning car of Graham Hill. The current owner bought it under that assumption in 1995. After much research, it was discovered it was not. In 2017, the car was restored back to its Bowes Seal Fast Special livery that Stewart ran in 1966.

It’s got a pretty interesting history and the 100% right look of an early rear-engined Indy car. The pre-sale estimate is $1,000,000-$1,400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale. Also… can we take a second to ponder the insanity that Stewart finished SIXTH and was still not running at the end of the ’66 500? The fifth-place finisher wasn’t running either. Talk about attrition…

Update: Not sold.

GT40 Mk IV

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1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 13, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

The Ford GT40 is one of the coolest cars of all time, but it also has kind of a convoluted history. The first cars, the Mk I, were produced in England. The Mk II cars were built in California by Holman-Moody and featured a huge 7.0-liter V8. The Mk III was a road car only.

Then there was the Mk IV. It developed out of Ford’s J-car program, which saw the use of lightweight bonded aluminum honeycomb panels. They beefed the chassis up a bit when they officially made it into the Mk IV and added a heavy NASCAR-style roll cage. It featured the 7.0-liter V8 from the Mk II, which made about 485 horsepower in this car. The Mk IV was built in the U.S. by Kar Kraft, the same company that assembled Boss 429 Mustangs.

The body was redesigned to be longer, with a long low tail that made the car slippery through the air. At Le Mans in 1967, the Mk IV hit 212 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Ford used the Mk IV in only two races: the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring and the ’67 running of Le Mans. It won both.

Serial numbers for the Mk IV all started with J. There were 10 complete cars built in period, with this, J9, being the second-to-last. Two additional chassis were constructed, and they were later turned into complete cars down the road. J9 was at one point bodied as an open-cockpit Can-Am car in the spirit of a Chapparal. It was tested by Mario Andretti in period.

Ford eventually sold the car for $1 to ex-Shelby American team mechanics, who retained it in its Can-Am glory – stored away – until 2012. At that point, it was restored with a Mk IV body and sold to its current owner. It’s useful in historic events and is estimated to sell for between $3,000,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ewing Dean Van Lines Special

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1960 Ewing-Offenhauser

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 12-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Wayne Ewing worked for A.J. Watson in the body department, and in 1960 he designed and built his own Indy Roadster. The car would be sponsored by long-time open-wheel team owner Al Dean, owner of moving company Dean Van Lines. His race cars were dubbed “Dean Van Lines Specials” and driven by some pretty big names, including A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

This car was similar to the dominating Watsons of the era, but had some slight differences. It featured a 4.1-liter (252ci) Offenhauser inline-four mounted ahead of the driver. This car went out and won the pole for the 1960 Indy 500 in its first try. Its competition history includes:

  • 1960 Indianapolis 500 – 21st, DNF (with Eddie Sachs)
  • 1961 Indianapolis 500 – 2nd (with Sachs)
  • 1962 Indianapolis 500 – 3rd (with Sachs)
  • 1963 Indianapolis 500 – 8th (with Chuck Hulse)

That’s a pretty impressive Brickyard resume, especially considering it won the pole in ’61 as well. After 1963, the car remained in the Midwest, where it was modified into a super modified. It wasn’t until nearly 1980 that a future owner realized what the car actually was and set out to restore it. The engine is now a 4.4-liter (270ci) Offy.

This car has participated in many shows and events and has had two long-term owners since 1982. The auction catalog lists this as a “1961” – it was apparently restored to its 1961 spec. Anyway, you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $500,000.

Delage Grand Prix

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1927 Delage 15-S-8 Grand Prix

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Delage is probably best remembered for some of their swoopy coachbuilt models of the 1930s. But as early as 1908, the company was involved in grand prix racing. They introduced an impressive grand prix car in 1914 that would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 that year.

They took the war off, as well as the following five years, before returning to the track. New rules in 1926 led Delage to design the 15-S-8, a car powered by a supercharged 1.5-liter inline-eight. It was an engineering feat, with twin-cam heads and two-stage blower. Horsepower was about 170 at a screaming 8,000 rpm. That’s a lot of revs for 1927.

For 1927, they company took their 1926 cars and tweaked them a bit. Four 1927 examples were produced, with this being the last. Changes included relocating the exhaust and shifter. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1927 Grand Prix of ACF Montlhery – 3rd (with Andre Morel)
  • 1927 Spanish Grand Prix – DNF (with Morel)
  • 1927 British Grand Prix at Brooklands – 3rd (with Albert Divo)
  • 1929 Indianapolis 500 – 7th (with Louis Chiron)
  • 1930 French Grand Prix – 6th (with Robert Senechal)
  • 1931 Italian Grand Prix – 9th (with Senechal)
  • 1931 French Grand Prix – 5th (with Senechal)
  • 1933 Eifelrennen – 1st in class (with Earl Howe)
  • 1933 Avusrennen – 3rd (with Howe)

That’s a pretty impressive resume, mostly because was competitive for nearly a decade (it saw regular competitive use through 1935). After WWII, two of the four Delage 15-S-8 race cars were acquired by the same guy who also bought some spares. He ended up assembling three complete cars by mixing and matching parts. This car’s history since is described in more detail here. You can read more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,000,000.

1961 Scarab

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1961 Scarab Formula Libre

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It requires a lot of money to successfully to take on the establishment in the world of auto racing. And even then success is not guaranteed. In the case of the Scarab, there was certainly money behind the effort. Lance Reventlow was the sole heir to the Woolworth fortune.

Venice, California, was home to Reventlow Automobiles Incorporated, builder of the Scarabs. There were both Scarab sports cars and open-wheel cars, including one that raced at the 1960 Formula One U.S. Grand Prix. Since that didn’t go so well, and because new rules came about in 1961, Reventlow decided to focus his efforts to less restrictive forms of open wheel racing.

This car was fabricated by Phil Remington based on a design by Eddie Miller, nephew of Harry Miller. It was fitted with a Buick/Oldsmobile 3.0-liter V8 breathing through four Weber carburetors for an output of about 300 horsepower. It took aim squarely at the new Intercontinental Formula rules.

But then the rules changed again, and this car was ineligible. Instead, this Scarab entered a 1962 Formula Libre race in Australia. With driver Chuck Daigh, the car finished fourth after drivers Jack Brabham, John Surtees, and Bruce McLaren – and ahead of Stirling Moss.

It was restored in 1997 and has since participated at both the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Hillclimb. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $196,000.

Ferrari 512 BB LM

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1981 Ferrari 512 BB LM

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari has had historical success with prototype racing cars (though none in a while), but their success with taking their road cars and turning them into race cars has been pretty spotty. Sure, the 550/575 had GT racing versions, and they’ve been a little more serious since the 458, but nothing really mind-blowing. Or that famous. Well, until you get back to this car.

Ferrari’s 512 BB went on sale in 1976, and the fuel-injected 512 BBi replaced it in 1981. Luigi Chinetti (the famed American Ferrari importer and founder of NART, the North American Racing Team), had been running home-grown 365 GT/4 BB-based race cars in the late 1970s. When they finally ran out of steam, Chinetti convinced Ferrari to develop a racing variant of the 512. Ferrari built four Series 1 cars in 1978. In 1980, they introduced the Series 3 512 BB LM. Sixteen examples were built, and this is number 10.

Ferrari didn’t run the cars themselves but sold them to various independent racing teams to operate. The S3 LM was powered by a 5.0-liter flat-12 making 480 horsepower. This car was the last Ferrari sold to or raced by Chinetti’s team, and its competition history includes:

  • 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans – 23rd, DNF (with Alain Cudini, Philippe Gurdjian, and John Morton)
  • 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans – 9th (with Cudini, Morton, and John Paul Jr.)

It was supposed to appear at Le Mans in 1983, but the team folded before that could happen. Instead, the car bounced between a series of collections and has been active in historic racing. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Force India VJM-04

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2011 Force India-Mercedes VJM-04

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 9, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

You don’t often see “current” F1 cars coming up for sale (although we did just feature a 2010 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes). This is one of the most recent such cars I can remember coming up for public sale. And it’s being offered directly from Force India’s successor team, what is now known as Aston Martin F1.

Force India was formed ahead of the 2008 season by Vijay Mallya after buying the Spyker team, and they were around through 2018 when the company was purchased by Lawrence Stroll and renamed Racing Point (which has since been rebranded as Aston Martin). The VJM04 was from the team’s third full season as a constructor and featured a 2.4-liter Mercedes V8 as well as a McLaren-sourced seven-speed gearbox. This car also had a Kinetic Energy Recovery System. Unfortunately, this one is a roller. No drivetrain included.

The competition history for this chassis, 02, includes:

  • 2011 Australian Grand Prix – 10th (with Paul di Resta)
  • 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix – 10th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Chinese Grand Prix – 11th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Turkish Grand Prix – 23rd, DNF (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Spanish Grand Prix – 12th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Monaco Grand Prix – 12th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Canadian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with di Resta)
  • 2011 European Grand Prix, Valencia – 14th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 British Grand Prix – 15th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 German Grand Prix – 13th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix – 7th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Belgian Grand Prix – 11th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Italian Grand Prix – 8th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Singapore Grand Prix – 6th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Japanese Grand Prix – 12th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Korean Grand Prix – 10th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Indian Grand Prix – 13th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 9th (with di Resta)
  • 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix – 8th (with di Resta)

So yeah, it ran the whole damned season with Paul di Resta. And had eight top 10 finishes and only one accident (Canada). Despite its lack of podiums, it’s still a pretty incredible machine. And it carries a nostalgic “classic” Force India livery. The pre-sale estimate is $120,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Withdrawn.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Goodwood 2022, $105,560.

Maserati Tipo 26B

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1928 Maserati Tipo 26B

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 9, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Maserati’s first car was the Tipo 26, and it was introduced in 1926. It was an evolution of a Diatto racing car that Alfieri Maserati had designed, and it won its class at its debut race: the 1926 Targa Florio.

The following year, the company introduced the Tipo 26B. They would build six examples of this open-cockpit racing car through 1930. A 26B finished third overall at its debut race: the 1927 Targa Florio. Maserati would also be represented by the 26B at the 1930 Indianapolis 500. Power is from a supercharged 2.1-liter inline-eight good for 150 horsepower and 118 mph. (This car’s restored engine now displaces 2.0 liters).

This example was purchased new by a privateer racing driver from Argentina, who had it shipped to his home country. The car competed in races in Argentina and Uruguay. It was purchased from the original owner’s family in the late 1980s and later restored in Italy.

This car should be eligible for just about any historic open-wheel race and just about every imaginable show. It should sell for between $1,300,000-$1,800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Antony Bergamot Race Car

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1929 Antony Bergamot Race Car

Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | June 20, 2021

Photo – Aguttes

Automobiles Antony was founded by Louis-Auguste Antony and was based in Douai, France, between 1921 and 1932. Antony’s money came from a family cycle-dealing business, and he was an avid racing driver after the turn of the century.

The company’s road cars were not very popular, but they did find some success on the track. This one-off race car features a lowered chassis, front-wheel-only brakes, and a chain-driven rear end. The original engine was changed based on race regulations and rotated between one (or two) Harrisard 350cc two-stroke twins or a 500cc JAP single. It now has a 500cc Triumph twin.

The Bol d’Or is an endurance race that was open to cars in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. This car competed there in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1947, and 1948, usually with Mr. Antony himself (in his 60s by ’48) behind the wheel. It had four class victories among those entries. Antony only built about 60 cars, three of which were pretty competitive race cars that he kept hidden away for long after his death. This one is expected to bring between $42,000-$66,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $49,429.