Bonhams Paris Highlights

Posted on February 13, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Bonhams’ recent sale at Rétromobile in Paris featured some very interesting old cars – some of the most interesting of which did not sell. Unfortunately, due to the flood of Arizona auction results we’ve been posting, we were only able to feature one of the many awesome rides available at this sale. It was the 1928 Amilcar C6, which, coincidentally, did not sell.

Top sale of the auction went to this 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT:

A DB4GT is the perfect package of styling and performance from the early 1960s. It’s stunning design is brought to you by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan and it packs 302 horsepower underneath the hood. Only 75 were built and it brought the highest price I’ve ever seen for a DB4 (or any later Aston Martin) at $1,330,000.

A stunning 1935 Delage D8-105 Sport Coupe by Autobineau that looks ready to trounce all comers on the manicured fairway at Pebble Beach sold for $423,000.

There was also a Delahaye, a Talbot-Lago, a 1921 Bugatti Type 23 Brescia and a few custom Bentleys – all to suit your appetite fro pre-war beauties. But there were also things to be had that could be driven, not to mention afforded. Take this 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa that sold for about $16,600.

There was a collection of seven Morgans spanning the 1930s through the 1960s that crossed the block. Only one (the newest, a ’67 Plus Four) sold.

Of the more obscure (or just plain rare) cars sold, this 1905 Darracq Flying Fifteen was a knockout at about $235,000.

There was also a 1963 Apal-Porsche 1600, which was a fiberglass re-body of a Volkswagen Beetle with Porsche 356 running gear (only 30 of the 150 built had the Porsche powertrain). It sold for $36,000.

Now for something that isn’t red, a 1964 Renault Dauphine Gordini.

This was a car popular on racetracks back in the 60s, dominating 1.0 liter classes, winning its class at the Mille Miglia and the 12 Hours of Sebring. This is a road model with a 25-year-old restoration that can be enjoyed for $12,000.

Alvis built cars through the late 1960s but some of their large saloons and drophead coupes from the 1930s are quite striking – especially those with a two-tone color scheme, like this 1937 4.3-Litre Long-Bonnet Sports Saloon by Mayfair Carriage Co.

This is one of two Alvis 4.3s built by Mayfair and the only survivor. It’s pretty amazing. And for $119,000, well bought.

Another British car was this somewhat snub-nosed (and, dare I say, dorky?) looking Daimler:

It’s not a car you see too often, a 1956 Conquest Century Drophead Coupe. It has a 2.4 liter six making about 100 horsepower. It’s a fairly diminutive Daimler (check out our Barrett-Jackson feature car, the largest British car ever made) but it’ll do 90 mph and for $25,700, I wouldn’t complain.

This 1966 Jaguar FT Coupe is one of the rarest Jaguars you’ll find this side of a XJ13. It was a specially ordered four-seat coupe built by Bertone for the Italian Jaguar importer. Only two were made and it is quite striking. I don’t envision getting another opportunity at owning one for quite some time. It sold for $117,900.

Like low-volume cottage industry British sports cars? Then try this 1964 Diva GT D-Type.

Diva GTs were built from 1962-1966 and this one has known competition history from new. It is eligible for vintage racing events and looks like fun. It sold for $83,000.

Finally, from the “look how good-looking that car is” file, we have this 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. Alfas have always been gorgeous, but I love this car more than most. And in blue it just pops. For $62,000, I wish I would have grabbed it.

For complete results, check out Bonhams website here.

Mecum Kissimmee Highlights

Posted on February 8, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Mecum Auctions held their first event of 2012 not in Arizona, but in Kissimmee, Florida – where the weather is also nice. There were a bunch of rare muscle cars crossing the block including the top sale, a 1963 Shelby Cobra Dragon Snake.

This was the 93rd Cobra built and one of only eight Dragon Snakes modified for drag racing by Shelby. Because this car won so many drag races in its day, it is the winningest competition Cobra in history. It cost $8,990 new (a lot) and sold for $850,000 at auction (also a lot).

There were also two ultra-rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88s – a convertible and a coupe.

These are the must-have ’69 Corvettes and you could have bought the pair. The convertible sold for $610,000 and the coupe was a comparative bargain at $270,000.

But it wasn’t all muscle cars. Of the top ten sales of the auction there were two gorgeous Packards. The first was a 1941 180 Darrin Victoria Convertible – one of 35 built. It has the Super Eight 180 engine and a good looking red and tan color combo. It sold for $220,000.

The other Packard is a very mean and sporty looking 1930 Eight Model 745 Waterhouse Victoria. If I could’ve taken one car from this sale home, this would be it:

Big pre-war Packards never really had much of a sporting air about them. But this one kind of does. Maybe it’s the slightly cambered front wheels or their hot rod look, but this car says “I want to go fast.” This is one of three known to exist. $225,000.

For complete results, visit Mecum’s website.

RM in Arizona Highlights

Posted on February 3, 2012 by classiccarweekly

RM’s big sale in Arizona (almost two weeks ago… we’ve kind of had a backlog of auction results to publish and they were the last to publish their results online). As I’m looking back at it, we featured a number of cars from this auction including their top seller: this 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica that sold for $1,815,000. The second highest-selling car was the first car we featured, the most fantastic looking BMW 507 Roadster I’ve ever laid eyes on. It sold for $990,000. RM sold 90% of their cars for a total of $25.6 million.

A trio of pre-1905 American cars all sold, including our featured 1901 Duryea Four-Wheel Phaeton that was purchased by Mr. Car Crazy, Barry Meguiar for $96,250. Also sold were the 1903 Waverely Electric Surrey for $110,000 and the 1903 Stearns Suburban for $82,500. One of two cars we featured that did not sell was the 1913 Pathfinder Touring car, which was bid to $90,000.

A giant 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Town Car Concept sold for $258,500, missing its reserve by $50,000. This car came from the John O’Quinn collection and had gone unsold at at least one other RM event.

From the 1950s we featured a 1953 Nash-Healey and a 1954 Allard K3. The Nash-Healey brought $71,500, just short of my projection and the Allard was a relative steal at $57,750 – less than half of what a similar car (or the same one) was listed as “for sale” for a few months back.

Other pre-war cars that sold were the very rare Brewster-Knight that sold for $88,000. And that wonderful, purple Isotta Fraschini sold for $407,000 – dead on what I said it would bring (no I’m not bragging). Also sold was this amazing 1937 Cord 812 SC Sportsman Convertible Coupe. One of 64 – yours for $385,000.

Supercar fans could have had their choice of our featured Tom Walkinshaw Racing prepared 1993 Jaguar XJ220 S that sold for $230,000. Or the always popular Ferrari F40, this a 1991 model that brought an astounding $781,000.

The other Ferrari we featured, a 1983 512 BBi sold for $96,250. And the other Jaguar, a 1967 Series I E-Type went unsold. There was another very rare old Ferrari at this sale, a 1952 342 America Coupe Speciale by Pinin Farina – one of six built and one of only three coupes built by Pinin Farina. It sold for $632,500.

There was a Duesenberg Model J sold at this sale and I’ve said previously that we’d feature every Model J Duesenberg that comes up for sale if at all possible. Well, we ran out of time before the sale. Once we clear the backlog and get caught up we’ll be sure to have a rundown of that car.

For complete auction results, click here.

Gooding Scottsdale Highlights 2012

Posted on February 2, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Gooding & Company’s Scottsdale auction featured some major cars selling for some major cash – $39,833,900 all told. It was also one of the more successful auctions in recent memory, with only two cars going unsold for not meeting their reserves. Top sale at this auction was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing. Mercedes-Benz built 29 aluminum-bodied 300SL coupes and this is number six. This is as desirable as Gullwings come and it exceeded it’s estimate by $1.5 million, selling for $4,620,000.

Also, somewhat shockingly, every car we featured here on this site from Gooding’s auction sold. The 1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe sold for $2,640,000, which was the third highest at the sale. Second place went to the 1959 Ferrari 250GT California Spider – a car that Gooding seems to find one of for each of their sales. Where are these things coming from? It brought $3,905,000.

Other million dollar sales included the 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV we featured a few weeks ago, selling for $1,100,000. There was also this matching-numbers 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 which sold for $1,200,000.

The final million dollar sale went to this awesome 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast which was hammered away for $1,100,000. It’s one of only 36. It has 400 horsepower – more than just about every muscle car of its day – but the shape of it is so much sleeker than a GTO or Mustang. Super fast indeed.

Two cars that Gooding promoted heavily in the lead up to the auction also showed well. There was a brilliant green 1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS Spyder which split its pre-sale estimate, selling for $880,000.

Also, this 1969 Iso Grifo 7 Liter – one of only 66 Grifos built with the 7.0 liter V8 making more than 400 horsepower. A 1960s supercar in crazy purple paint? Yes, please. It satyed nearer its lower estimate at $352,000.

Another purple exotic was the 1927 Bugatti Type 38A Tourer by Figoni that we featured. It brought a hefty $495,000. Among our other featured cars, the 1967 Trident Clipper V8 was a steal, missing its estimate entirely and selling for $39,600. Our final feature car was an unbelievable 1937 BMW 328 which was well bought for $517,000. Another rare BMW sold there too, this 1958 507 Roadster. While not as good-looking as the car offered by RM across town, it still rang up a hefty $962,500.

Other interesting sales included a 1938 American Bantam Roadster which far exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $35,000-$55,000 and ended up selling for $90,200. Cute sells.

There was also an ultra-rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe. The car is a survivor – unrestored in Monaco Orange with less than 18,000 original miles. This was the king of Corvettes in 1969 – the L88 option got you more horsepower than a ZL1. This car was rated at 430 horsepower but likely put out more like 560. It doesn’t play around. And neither does its hammer price of $451,000.

And from the fun-file: this 1963 Volkswagen Beetle Sunroof Sedan – which sounds pretty normal from the name of it. Until you see it:

This car was featured in the film Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. There are desirable, well-optioned Volkswagens, but people are going to recognize this one. And for $66,000 ($15,000 below it’s pre-sale estimate) it’s going to be a lot of fun. For full results click here.

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Highlights Pt. II

Posted on January 31, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – but especially Saturday – are the big days at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona. The past few years have seen this event be strictly a No Reserve auction with every car that crosses the block selling, but this year there were some heavy-hitters in the auction’s new “5000 Series” of classics that did in fact have a reserve. And not all of them were met – like the 1955 Flajole Forerunner we featured a few weeks ago: it was a no-sale.

A few of the other cars we featured did sell – and for a boatload of money. The 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A by Castagna sold for $1,100,000. The 1928 Daimler Double Six P.1.50 Limousine brought $1,155,000. The 1930 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Town Car was hammered sold for $1,045,000. Another “bargain” was the 1954 DeSoto Adventurer II which sold for $1,430,000. Keep in mind, all of this happened within about an hour’s time.

One car we didn’t feature was this 1947 Bentley Mark VI by Franay:

It came from the collection of collector Ron Pratte and sold for $2,750,000, which was just barely more than I was going to offer to pay for it. The other mega-sales included the 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow. The live television broadcast of the auction showed an overhead shot of the Silver Arrow and the lines of that car are actually perfect. It is breathtaking. It sold for $2,200,000. And the top sale of the entire auction was the 1948 Tucker Torpedo (also from Ron Pratte’s collection) which was hammered away for an astounding $2,915,000 – about three times my estimate of $1 million.

The only other million dollar sale was this all-original 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing:

$2,200,000 brought this car home. It only had 4,149 original miles on it and was one of 146 Gullwings built that year. Other highlights from Saturday included a 2009 Devon GTX – one of just two produced. It’s a Dodge Viper-based supercar that went out of production as quickly as it entered it because the Viper was axed just after the GTX was announced.

A 650 horsepower American supercar that was originally supposed to cost $500,000 sold for $220,000.

Another car that has started to interest me a little more is this Chevrolet Corvette 2003 Commemorative Edition built by Advanced Automotive Technologies. It’s a standard 2002 Corvette with a custom built body. Coachbuilding isn’t quite as vogue as it used to be but I think over time these cars won’t depreciate wildly like some other “customs.” It sold for $66,000. Another one sold on Friday for $88,000.

And of course ultra-rare muscle cars are the order of the day at Barrett-Jackson. Among Saturdays highlights was this barn-find (yet mechanically “refreshed”) 1965 Shelby GT350. I hope whoever bought it doesn’t restore it – although they paid a pretty penny for it at $385,000.

Another rare Ford was this 1969 Ford Talladega Prototype. This car was built by Ford for Ford. It’s the only red Ram Air Talladega built. Regular Talladegas aren’t something you see everyday, much less a factory prototype. $137,500 sale price. Oh, and do everyone a favor. If you’re going to sell your car at auction and you‘re responsible for the photography: get a quality camera.

Friday also had its share of highlights including the Nash Bridges Cuda we featured. Last time it sold it was right at about $150,000. This time it sold for $88,000. Other interesting Friday cars included this 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air III Convertible ($158,400).

There were a pair of ultra-rare and very famous 1960s drag cars. First, this 1964 Ford Thunderbolt sold for $242,000.

And right after that crossed the block, this 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Super Stock rolled across. It’s an actual “Mr. Five & Fifty” drag car built by Hurst for Chrysler. It also sold for $242,000.

Something from the quirky side was this 1929 Ford Model A Snow Bird built by B.P. Arps Company of Wisconsin. This was something that was done back in 1929 and there are multiple of them out there. It could have been yours for $66,000.

In 1987, Buick took their not-your-daddy’s-Regal Grand National and souped it up to 276 horsepower and 360 lb-ft torque and called it the GNX. They built 547 of them and recently that have become the most collectible American car of the 1980s. This time capsule example with only 1,200 miles on it sold for $88,000. For a 1980s Buick.

The only thing truly odd to cross the block on Sunday was this 1971 Kelsen Sports Rider Electric. It was a street-legal microcar built in from 1963-1973 in California. There were a number of companies who built similar vehicles and I’m not sure I’d drive any of them on the street. A golf course, maybe. When new in 1971 it cost $1,295. It sold on Sunday for $1,540. It’s not really appreciation if you’ve had to sit on it for 40 years to make $250. I used to have a ’92 Century – maybe I should have held on to it and used it to start a retirement fund.

There were also hundreds of other interesting cars. Check out full results at Barrett-Jackson’s website.

Bonhams Scottsdale Highlights

Posted on January 27, 2012 by classiccarweekly

We featured a few cars from the January 19, 2012 Bonhams auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of them, this 1967 Fiat Abarth TC Berlina Corsa, sold for just under it’s auction estimate at $46,800. One of the big sales of the auction was this 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Transformal Phaeton by Hibbard & Darrin.

Once owned by actress Marlene Dietrich, it sold for $524,000. The car was given to her as a gift from director Josef Von Sternberg. The coachwork is slightly unusual with the convertible top that comes down between the windows. Interesting and pretty cool.

Another top sale was the 1924 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8 Torpedo Phaeton that we featured last two weeks ago. Estimated between $425,000-$525,000, it ended up in the middle at $447,000. Two more of our feature cars did not sell: the 1967 Porsche 906 factory race car and the 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Sedan. So if you missed them, there’s still time!

However, the interesting 1954 Cramer Comet that we did feature fell right in the middle of it’s pre-sale estimate of $100,000-$150,000 at $122,500. It has a 1350 horsepower Allison aircraft V12. Somebody’s going to have some tire-melting fun.

The top sale of the auction goes to this 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet C. This 180 horsepower German beauty is a very desirable car. RM Auctions sold a few pre-war Mercedes “K” cars back in Monterey for millions and millions of dollars. Comparatively, this was a steal at $667,000.

And look at the detail of the dashboard. These cars are magnificent.

And finally, the final car we featured from this auction was a 1947 Delahaye 135M Three-Position Drophead Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi. It blew the doors off its estimate of $250,000-$350,000 and sold for $474,500. Looking back, that estimate was pretty conservative given the ravenous appetite for pre-war French classics (not to mention anything containing the name “Figoni et Falaschi”) that existed only a few years ago. Times and tastes change and auction houses have to be aware of that. But in this case it seems that good taste prevailed.

For complete results, please check out Bonhams website here.

Barrett-Jackson: First Half Highlights

Posted on January 26, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale, Arizona auction is so massive, packed with over 1,000 cars. They roll cars across the stage and hammer them sold starting on a Tuesday and go every day through Sunday. The big cars (like they ones we’ve featured from them) usually go Friday, Saturday, and (to a lesser extent) Sunday. But there are still hundreds of interesting cars that more or less go unnoticed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The shadow of million dollar concept cars and ultra-rare muscle cars blots out the shiny patina on the cars of the first half of the auction week. So we present some of the more interesting standouts from the first three days.

First up is this 1981 Pontiac that was used on NASCAR’s road courses in the 1980s. It is a race-winning car having been raced by Tim Richmond, Morgan Shepherd, Richard Petty, and Al Unser Sr. Valvoline-liveried cars have always looked great and with this car’s history (and the fact that it is still being used in historic racing) makes the $25,300 (with buyer’s commission) purchase price seem worth it.

Above is a 1968 Ford Mustang High Country Special – 1 of 251. The High Country Special was essentially a California Special but sold in Colorado. Basically a trim and appearance package and in this case it didn’t do anything for the price, selling for $13,750.

There were also a number of itty-bitty microcars for sale in the first three days. There was a Vepsa 400, some Isettas, and this 1959 Goggomobil TS-250 Coupe. This car is in original condition with a 247cc two-stroke engine that will take this car up to 50 mph. It brought $27,500.

We featured a ’71 Ford Torino GT from Mecum’s Kissimmee auction (which we’ll run down in the next week or so). This is a 1971 Ford Torino GT Convertible and it is awesome. Torinos don’t get the same muscle car love that Mustangs, Mopars and Chevelles get but this might have just become my favorite-looking muscle car. Maybe it’s because I’ve overlooked it for so long – so it looks fresh, but I want it. Too bad I don’t have $37,400 to throw down for it.

One of my other favorites is the 1998 Panoz A.I.V. Roadster. The A.I.V. (Aluminum Intensive Vehicle) was the “new” version of the Panoz Roadster. It features a 4.6 liter Ford V8 making 305 horsepower. It only weighed 2,500 lbs. Plymouth stuffed a V6 in the Prowler. I think of this car as having the performance the Prowler should have. Not necessarily the car the Prowler should have been (the styling of that thing is pretty good). But so is this. It just looks like a blast to drive. Could have been yours for $49,500.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: a 1968 Mitsubishi J23A Japanese Military Jeep. Actually, you don’t see many 1968 Mitsubishi’s period or any pre-1970 for that matter. Foreign military vehicles are something that don’t appear at American auctions all too often so this would have been an excellent time to pick one up. And for $7,150, you could hardly afford not to.

There were a number of other pre-1970 Japanese classics available. When new, Japanese cars were never perceived as being future classics. Well, that attitude made pristine examples 40 years later relatively hard to find. And restoring a $7,000 car isn’t exactly solid economics. My favorite was this 1972 Datsun 510 Wagon (I like wagons). I should have grabbed it for the $8,525 it sold for.

There are customs-o-plenty at Barrett-Jackson: resto-mods, resto-rods, other things that start with “resto” and rhyme with “mods.” And then there are insane customs. Like this “Hot Rod Hearse:”

If it entered production, I imagine the slogan would be something along the lines of “Be The First Person to the Graveyard!” It’s pretty crazy but unfortunately it is not street legal. It sold for $17,600.

Classic trucks are becoming quite collectible and auction houses realize this and try and grab the best of them to offer. One make you can never go wrong with is Diamond T. They made mostly commercial trucks but also produced a few pickups for “regular people.” They’re among the best-looking old-school trucks you can buy. Like this 1949 201 that sold for $51,700:

And finally, from the Fun File is this 1931 Ford Model AA Tanker. In Texaco livery, it would make a great static display parked near historic pumps or other automobilia. It’s quite rare but, nevertheless, I recommend driving it – it only cost $44,000.

For complete results, click here.

Auctions America Las Vegas Highlights

Posted on January 25, 2012 by classiccarweekly

The other big motorcycle auction in Sin City was brought to you by Auctions America (January 12-14, 2012). The big talk of this auction was the 1894 Roper Steam Motorcycle that we featured over a month ago. It was supposed to break all motorcycle auction records when it sold. Unfortunately, it did not sell – nor did a number of other high-profile motorcycles offered at this sale.

That said, there were still some significant money changing hands and some bargains to be had as well. One that qualifies as both was this 1910 Flying Merkel V-Twin Belt Drive. Flying Merkels are extremely rare and valuable: the pre-sale estimate on this one was $175,000-$200,000. It sold at no reserve for $77,500. A steal and the second highest price paid for a motorcycle at this auction. The distinction of Top Sale went to a 1964 Ducati 250 F3 Corsa at $81,200 that once belonged to 4-time Grand Prix motorcycle champion Walter Villa (this is according to their published results online. I read a story at AutoWeek.com that said the Merkel was the top sale).

One of my favorites from this sale was this 1926 Cleveland Fowler powered by a 600cc four-cylinder engine – of which just 100 were made. This one supposedly belonged to Steve McQueen – a name that increases the value of just about anything its attached to, especially things with wheels and engines. There didn’t seem to be any documented proof of this connection but the legend worked its magic: the bike sold for $76,160.

Pretty good lookin’, eh?

There were BSAa and Triumphs too numerous to count, but there was also the occasional bizarro-bike. Like this 2010 Confederate Fighter P120 – one of 50. Looking like it rode off the set of Terminator, it packs 160 horsepower and an all-aluminum monocoque. I’m guessing it rides about as scary as it looks:

There were a number of Harleys for sale in Las Vegas – and a bunch of “Anniversary” models from the manufacturer who is king of anniversary models (seriously, every 5 years). My Harley pick of the auction is this 1990 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy – one truly awesome looking bike. There is something about the styling of this Harley that stands out above the rest. I don’t know… but I think something about it’s $10,080 sale price is attractive too. Ah, the air of affordability!

Over 350 motorcycles sold and to browse through the full results, click here.

Bonhams’ Vegas Motorcycle Sale Highlights

Posted on January 24, 2012 by classiccarweekly

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the show on The History Channel called American Pickers, but every once in a while they come across an old Harley-Davidson or Indian that is basically a pile of rusty parts held together by some invisible force. Then they’ll offer the owner of said motorcycle (sometimes sans motor) a bundle of cash. Sometimes as much as $10,000. It seems insane. Then you see this:

That’s a 1915 Indian 61ci Board-track Racing Motorcycle. In original condition – pulled from a barn or a basement somewhere. It’s a first-year model of the 61ci Big-Twin. It sold for $67,860. Which is quite a sum for something you can’t really ride. And there were at least a dozen unrestored barn-find motorcycles that brought more than $10,000. I don’t find it absurd that people are buying them – I understand wanting something rare and original and wonderful. What I don’t understand is where are people finding these? How many treasures are still out there to be found? It’s fascinating.

Here’s my other favorite barn-find:

It’s another Indian, specifically a 1906 Indian Camelback. Everything is there and supposedly it was ridden as recently as the 1970s, although it doesn’t look it. More interestingly, it was the personal bike of Paul du Pont of the famous du Pont family and founder of Du Pont Motors and, later on, owner of Indian motorcycles. This brought $72,540.

Other highlights included these two Vincents:

The first is a 1953 Vincent Black Shadow Series C. If you’re going to buy a classic motorcycle and money is no object, I recommend a Black Shadow. The second is a 1955 Black Prince that has appeared at auction after auction waiting for the right person to come along and finally bid over that reserve price. It finally happened. The Vincents brought $122,500 – each.

There was also this beautiful 1928 Henderson De Luxe Four:

This beautiful blue bike could’ve been yours for $70,200. Finally, we have two interesting motorcycles that are both “feet-forward.” And they were built almost 100 years apart. The first is the 1921 Ner-a-Car, of which a fair number were built. You just don’t see them that often anymore.

It sold for $9,360 and was stated as having been restored at the Indian factory in the 1940s although it is currently missing its exhaust. The other interesting motorcycles is this:

It’s a 2002 Gurney Alligator. I remember reading about this when it was first built. It looks really strange and it’s feet-forward design lends itself more toward a luge feeling than riding a motorcycle. Only 36 were built and they’re pretty quick with 70 horsepower and a top speed of about 140 mph. It sold for $15,210 – slightly more than your average cheap new motorcycle – but this will start conversations much more easily.

Although the Coventry-Eagle we featured a few weeks ago did not sell, some of these results show that there is real passion alive in the collector motorcycle hobby. For complete results, click here.

Bonhams Mercedes-Benz World Highlights

Posted on December 9, 2011 by classiccarweekly

Bonhams recently held sale at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey (on the 1st of December, 2011), featured a few interesting sales. Foremost among them was the 1953 Austin-Healey 100S Prototype that was involved in the infamous wreck at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was being driven by Lance Macklin who swerved to avoid a Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar D-Type that was entering the pits. Pierre Levegh in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR struck the rear of this Healey and was launched into the crowd, killing 83, including Levegh. The car’s infamy definitely played a part in it reaching a hammer price of $1.3 million – especially as it was sold in “barn find” condition seen here:

Other highlights include the red Maserati Quattroporte we featured a few weeks ago, selling for $80,000, falling right in the middle of the pre-sale estimate. Also sold was this super unusual 1912 Lanchester 38hp Detachable Open Drive Limousine for just over $130,000.

The car was owned by a Maharajah – as it seems more and more early British motorcars are – especially those with outlandish or highly unusual bodywork. The fixed roof over the rear passengers is completely removable on this car. The wheelbase is ridiculous and the whole front of the car looks like it was smashed backwards by about five feet. Unusual indeed.

I’ve decided that we’re going to give special mention to the final lot in every sale, as that lot usually tends to not be the most valuable or unusual car sold. It’s kind of overlooked. Like Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick in the annual NFL draft). For this sale it was a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante very similar (but not exact) to the one below.

As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the most beautiful cars of all time. It’s an extraordinarily pretty car and this one was dark blue with tan interior and had 63,000 miles on the odometer. It sold for almost $47,000 with buyer’s premium.

For complete results, check Bonhams’ website here.