Tag Archives: rm sothebys

Mercedes “SSK”

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1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK Roadster by Sindelfingen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The catalog description for this car… does not seem to tell the whole story. Daimler themselves lists a production of 33 combined units of SSK and SSKL cars. The Mercedes-Benz SS saw a total of 111 units. Mercedes goes on to claim that production numbers for any of the “S” models of 1927 through 1933 are difficult to ascertain as cars were being built and rebuilt, with engines swapped around and chassis being shortened.

So RM is saying (I think?) that this car is one of seven examples of the SS that were modified by Mercedes with a shorter chassis. So, yes, it is a short-wheelbase SS (or SSK). But it’s not an actual SSK. Very few original SSKs remain, and most of the extant examples are just shortened SS cars. The price here reflects that. This car has a lower estimate than the stock SS in the sale, at $1,450,000-$2,200,000. A true SSK could bring 5-10x that value.

The car does have a supercharged 7.1-liter inline-six that was capable of over 200 horsepower with the supercharger engaged. It is said that the car was built in 1929 and first owned by a privateer German racer who took the car to the U.S. in the 1930s. It spent over 50 years in the U.S., being restored around 1983. Around 1994, it was restored again in Germany, with the chassis having been replaced at that time (so there’s part of the value loss). You can read more here and draw your own conclusions.

Iso Grifo A3/L Spider

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1964 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider Prototype by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Iso Grifo A3/L was designed by Giotto Bizzarrini for Renzo Rivolta. Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, the A3/L coupe had an aggressive, muscular stance. They even developed an alloy-bodied race car, the incredibly sleek A3/C. This was the convertible variant of the road car – the lone drop-top prototype.

It says it has a “Corvette engine” – later Grifos got a 5.4-liter Chevrolet 327 V8. So who knows I guess (but it sounds like it’s a 427). Buy it and surprise yourself. This car was initially shown at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show and was later sold to an American. It came into its current collection in 1980 and has been hidden away since.

By 1965 things had soured between Bizzarrini and Rivolta, with the former going on to produce the Bizzarrini A3/C, and Rivolta selling the Iso Grifo GL. This car has an estimate of $700,000-$1,000,000. More info can be found here.

W06 SS by Corsica

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1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SS Roadster by Corsica

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Mercedes-Benz W06 is one of the best things the company ever produced. It started with the Model S, which evolved into the SS, or Super Sport (and later the revered SSK). The SS was offered in three guises between 1928 and 1933: the 27/140/200, the 27/160/200, and the 27/170/225. Between all variants, just 111 were produced.

Those different numbers come from the car’s 7.1-liter inline-six, which was equipped with an engageable Roots supercharger. So that naturally aspirated 140 horsepower jumped to 200 horsepower if you pushed the throttle to the floor. As is typical of late, RM’s catalog is light on details as to which engine this has, but based on the model year, it is probably the 140-200 horsepower variant.

As we’ve discovered with other Benzes of the era, when sold in the U.K., the cars were given slightly different model names. In this case “710 SS” (based on displacement) in lieu of SS 27/140/200. The original body on this car was damaged in an accident, and it was re-bodied by Corsica prior to 1934. In 1979, it set a record as the most valuable car ever sold at auction in $320,000. Now it has an estimate of $3,850,000-$4,950,000. Click here for more info.

1902 Haynes-Apperson

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1902 Haynes-Apperson Two-Cylinder Surrey

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Haynes-Apperson was an important pioneer in the American automotive industry. Elwood Haynes built one of America’s first cars (though he would long claim the first) and partnered with the Apperson brothers of Kokomo, Indiana, to found Indiana’s first car company.

Production started in 1898, and they sold a few hundred examples of their 7/8-horsepower twin in 1901. In 1902, the company expanded the line to two models, both twins: the small eight-horsepower runabout and the 12-horsepower car available as a phaeton or surrey, the latter of which is pictured here.

The car cost $1,800 new, and the two-cylinder engine displaced more than four liters. It carries chassis #74 (though it’s unclear how they were numbering their cars) and is thought to be the oldest operational Haynes-Apperson. A former Harrah collection car, it has run the London-to-Brighton route multiple times. It now has an estimate of $175,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.

Delahaye 135 S

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1936 Delahaye 135 S

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | November 2, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Grand Prix racing in the 1930s was a pretty competitive era with various countries flinging their best automakers into the field. France had Delage, Bugatti, and Delahaye all competing at one time or another, and Delahaye’s brightest car of the period was the 135, which it took racing in the form of the 135 S.

Just 20 examples of the 135 S were built, and this is the second-to-last. It was campaigned by Delahaye themselves. It competed at Reims with Alberto Divo behind the wheel and later changed hands that season in the U.K., becoming a vehicle for Prince Bira, who won the 12 Hours of Donington in it. Other entries included:

  • 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans – 8th (with Ian Connell and Rob Walker)
  • 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans – 24th, DNF (with Tony Rolt and Guy Jason-Henry)

That 1949 race ended with the 3.6-liter inline-six failed… as no one had rebuilt it since before the prior Le Mans. The car continued to race into the mid 1950s. In 1970 it was purchased by Rob Walker, who raced it in ’39, and restored. It’s remained with his family since. The car now has an estimate of $1,300,000-$1,950,000. More info can be found here.

Maybach SW38 Sport Cabriolet

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1938 Maybach SW38 Sport Cabriolet by Spohn

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Maybachs do not come up for sale very often. That’s because they weren’t super common in their day. In their history they only made 1,841 vehicles. And if Daimler’s 2000s Maybach resurgence taught us anything, it’s that Maybach is step up from Mercedes-Benz. And they were.

Wilhelm Maybach was an engineer supreme, and the cars that bore his name were very solid. The SW38 was offered between 1936 and 1939 and saw power from a 4.0-liter inline-six that made 140 horsepower. It could hit over 100 mph and was available in your coachbuilder’s choice. In this case, Spohn supplied the body. Maybach delivered 172 new cars in Germany in 1938.

This car was sold new to Carl Krone, of European circus fame. It was reupholstered in the U.S. in the 1960s or ’70s and was acquired by the current owner in 1989. It was then hidden in a barn until now. At some point, back in Germany in the 1950s, the engine was upgraded to a 4.2-liter unit. The car now has an estimate of $150,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.

Horch 855 Special Roadster

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1939 Horch 855 Special Roadster by Glaser

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Horch has an interesting history which we have probably discussed here before. They were a German luxury car manufacturer by the 1930s – the most luxurious of the four Auto Union marques. In 1935 they introduced the 850, which brought with it a fairly large inline eight-cylinder engine.

There were various versions, including the original 850, the uprated 851, and the uprated and shorter 951 and 951A. And then there were the sportier variants, including the original 850 Sports, the now-quite-famous 853 and 853A, and the ultimate iteration: the 855. The Horch 853 is a pretty sought after pre-war classic, but the 855 is pretty much impossible to get your hands on.

Part of that is the only built between five and seven of them. The other part is that only two remain: the 853-based prototype and this, the only production version left. It wears Special Roadster bodywork from Glaser. The 855 is powered by a 120-horsepower version of the 850’s 4.9-liter inline-eight. It had a top speed around 87 mph, weighed less than the 853, and typically had a shorter wheelbase.

This car was sold new in the Netherlands and was brought to the U.S. by a returning member of the military in the 1940s. It spent time in a museum in the 1950s, was used in at least one movie in 1959, and moved to its current collection in 1980. In 1992, Audi found out about the car and convinced its reclusive owner to lend it to them. Audi then restored it and kept it on display in their museum until this sale. You can read more about it here.

NSU Ro80 Concept

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1971 NSU Ro80 2 Porte +2 by Pininfarina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Rotary-powered cars have not been built very often, and when they have, it was usually by Mazda. But in the late 1960s, NSU decided to get in the game and produce a sedan, the Ro 80, which would remain in production through 1977 – the year in which NSU was merged into Audi.

This is NOT what those cars looked like. It’s somewhat retro-futuristic vibe is thanks to Italian design house Pininfarina. It’s a four-seater and, despite the confusing name, retains four doors. However, the rear doors are flipped around and open “suicide-style.” The rest of the bodywork is pretty modified, and the interior is very 1970s. The engine is a 995cc twin-rotor Wankel that was rated for 113 horsepower.

This concept debuted at the 1972 Brussels Motor Show and would later find its way to California, where it was purchased by the late current owner. Instead of moving to his junkyard, this car, one of the last that he purchased, was instead put on long-term display in Audi’s museum, where it remained up until this sale. There is a pre-sale estimate of $60,000-$80,000, and more info can be found here.

Caracciola’s 500K

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1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Coupe by Sindelfingen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are coachbuilt classics and then there are coachbuilt classics that were originally owned by factory racing superstars. That is the case here. This car was built for and originally owned by Rudolf Caracciola, who was three-time European Grand Prix champion in the 1930s. Oh, and a Nazi party member.

The 500K was powered by a 5.0-liter straight-eight making 100 horsepower or 160 with the supercharger engaged. Most of the cars built were open with only a handful of coupes built. Mercedes described this as a “Roadster-Limousine,” a term of which neither of its component words make sense.

Caracciola owned the car until the late 1930s, and it later made its way to the U.S. via abandonment in Ethiopia (as cars do). It was restored in the 1960s and finished second at Pebble Beach in 1966. In 1979, it was purchased by junkyard hero Rudi Klein, who showed it at least once before parking it in a barn around 1980. It hadn’t seen the light of day since – until now anyway. It will now sell, likely as a project, for a pretty spectacular number. Read more about it here.

Hispano-Suiza Type 16T

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1923 Hispano-Suiza Type 16T Roadster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 9-10, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Since Hispano-Suiza was sort of operating out of two different countries simultaneously, it was not surprising that the two almost-separate companies shared some vehicles. While the French arm of the company was producing more well-known cars as the company aged, the original Barcelona factory was still producing vehicles too.

The Type 30 of 1915 was powered by a 3.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 16 horsepower. The following year, Hispano-Suiza started produced the same car in Spain as the “Type 16T,” and it would remain available until 1925.

In that time, 956 examples were produced. Spanish Suizas are less common than their French counterparts – for instance, of those 956, only 15 are known, with just two of them being in the U.S. This one has been in the same collection for over 30 years and has an estimate of $150,000-$200,000. More info can be found here.