Tag Archives: rm auctions

Mi-Val Mivalino

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1954 Mi-Val Tipo MO Mivalino

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

Photo – RM Auctions

If this Italian Mivalino looks a lot like a Messerschmitt KR-175, that’s because, essentially, it is. Metalmeccanica Italiana Valtrompio S.p.A. – or Mi-Val for short – was an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and in late 1953 they decided to build their own version of the Messerschmitt. They imported parts from Germany and threw their own engine in it and called it an original.

About 100 were built between 1954 and 1956 and about eight survive, this being the most original and complete, having covered less than 200 kilometers in its life. It was originally owned by an Italian family who also owned the oldest Ford dealership in Rome. The engine is a 171cc single-cylinder making 9 horsepower. It’ll do 55 mph and you can read more here.

Update: Sold $83,375.

Kover Microcar

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1951 Kover CK 1

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

Photo – RM Auctions

Another car of French origin, this Kover was actually made by the same company that produced the Atlas above. While its single-cylinder engine only displaces 125cc and only puts out 5.5 horsepower, it matches the Atlas’ speed of 37 mph. Only a few were made – and good luck fitting under that convertible top. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $28,750.

Grataloup

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1955 Grataloup

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

Here’s a weird one. Built by a Frenchman, last name Grataloup, of spare parts he found. It’s kind of well put together, with the engine essentially under the driver’s seat, but exposed on the right side of the body. It’s a single-cylinder Villiers two-stroke of 247cc making 7.5 horsepower. It’s normal sized twin front wheels help it reach 52 mph. It’s the only one ever built and they aren’t even sure when it was built. The man just showed up with it one day at  Citroen garage in France. Read more here and check out more of the collection here.

Update: Sold $34,500.

Peel Trident

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1966 Peel Trident

Offered by RM Auctions | Madison, Georgia | February 15-16, 2013

Photo – RM Auctions

The Peel Engineering Company is the only automobile manufacturer ever to be located on the Isle of Man. Unfortunately, that is still part of the U.K., so it won’t get its own section on our “Country of Origin” page. The Trident was the second car built by Peel and only about 45 were made, the last six of which used the 98cc one-cylinder engine making 6.5 horsepower. This is one of the last six built and has that engine. Horrifyingly, this car will do 46 mph. This example has spent most of its life in museums and is one of few extant. Read more here.

Update: Sold $103,500.

1963 Chrysler 300

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1963 Chrysler 300 Sport Series Convertible Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

Well this the last 300 offered from the Staluppi Collection and it is not a Letter Series car – although the Letter Series continued in 1963 with the “J”, 1964’s “K”, 1965’s “L”, the 1970 Hurst 300 and the 1979 300. The 1963 300J was not available in convertible form. But the 1963 Sport Series was. It was also available as a 4-door hardtop, sedan and 2-door hardtop. The Sport Series convertible still used a 6.8-liter V8 but it only put out 305 horsepower. Production was much higher – 1,535 300 Sport Series Convertibles were built  in 1963 while only 400 300Js were built in total. Needless to say, if you want to pick up most of the run of 300 Letter Series cars, then this is the sale for you. Estimate: $60,000-$75,000. You can read more here and check out more from RM’s sale of the Cars of Dreams Museum here.

Update: Sold $71,500.

300H Convertible

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1962 Chrysler 300H Convertible Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

The front-end styling remained almost the same, but the fins disappeared for 1962. This was also the first year for the non-letter series Chrysler 300 (that is just “300” without a letter and referred to as the “Sport Series”, which was available with two or four doors). Styling differences between the two separate 300 models were non-existent. It was under hood where the difference lay. Power on the 6.8-liter V8 was back up to 380 and there were a few cars sold with a high-output 405 horsepower option. Production dropped significantly now that there was a cheaper alternative that looked the same. Only 570 were built, 435 coupes and 135 convertibles. Estimate: $60,000-$80,000. More info can be had here.

Update: Sold $74,250.

Chrysler 300F

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1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

The 1960 300F again used the 6.8-liter V8. It produced 375 horsepower. A special run of “short ram” cars (15 were built) made 400 horsepower and used the transmission from the Facel-Vega. Production numbers rose for this model, which had a sort of intermediate styling between the 1959 and 1961 models – 1,217 were built, 969 were coupes and 248 were convertibles. Estimate: $175,000-$225,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $170,500.

Chrysler 300D

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1958 Chrysler 300D Convertible

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

The 1958 300D was the last of the series to use the FirePower Hemi engine – again at 6.4-liters and tuned to 380 horsepower. A special run of 35 cars were built with fuel injection and 390 horsepower. Production was way down, with only 809 being built – 618 hardtops and 191 convertibles. Estimate: $175,000-$200,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $198,000.

Chrysler 300B

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1956 Chrysler 300B Hardtop Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

This is my favorite of the 300 Letter Series cars. The look is a little refined from 1955 and power was up – the 5.8-liter V8 making 340 horsepower (or 355, depending on which engine option you chose). It was the most powerful car produced in the U.S. These are even rarer, with only 1,102 built. Estimate: $100,000-$125,000. More info here.

Update: Sold $115,500.

Chrysler C-300

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1955 Chrysler C-300 Hardtop Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | North Palm Beach, Florida | December 1, 2012

The John Staluppi Collection, also known as the Cars of Dreams Museum, is a very large collection of American cars of the 1950s and 60s (mostly). Well, the whole thing is going under the hammer at no reserve on December 1st. I really like Chrysler 300s and I wanted to feature one – but I couldn’t choose just one because there are a number of them – nine of them to be exact. They are the “Letter Series” cars – every year Chrysler tweaked the design and changed the letter at the end of the “300.”

This was the first of them, the 1955 C-300. Technically, Chrysler built it to dominate NASCAR, which it did, but they had to build road cars too. It uses a 5.4-liter V8 making 300 horsepower, hence the name. Only 1,725 were built. Estimate: $75,000-$100,000. For more info, click here.

Update: Sold $88,000.