Kremer 917

1981 Porsche 917 K-81

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Porsche’s 917 is one of the most legendary race cars of all time. It was produced in quite a few variations after its 1969 introduction, including the quite famous 917K and the ultimate evolution: the 917/30.

Porsche stopped racing the 917 after the 1973 Can-Am season and moved on to the 936 for 1975. However, in 1981, Le Mans changed their rules and it sort of opened the door for the 917 to return to the 24 Hour. Porsche themselves didn’t have much interest, but Kremer Racing did. With the support of Porsche, they built a new 917 to Group 6 specifications and dubbed it the 917 K-81.

It’s a Kremer aluminum spaceframe chassis underneath similar to that of a Porsche-built 917, and it is powered by a 5.0-liter flat-12. The competition for this chassis consists of:

  • 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans – 38th, DNF (with Bob Wollek, Xavier Lapeyre, & Guy Chasseuil)
  • 1981 1000km Brand Hatch – 26th, DNF (Wollek & Henri Pescarolo)

Not super successful, and after Brands Hatch, that was it for the 917. The current owner acquired this car in 2011 and used it at various track days. The 5.0-liter engine was rebuilt recently, and the whole package has an estimate of $3,800,000-$5,500,000. Click here for more info.

Koenigsegg Agera RSR

2016 Koenigsegg Agera RSR

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Dubai, U.A.E. | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Koenigsegg Agera was produced between 2010 and 2018. An R model was offered during that time, as was an S and RS. The RS was sold between 2015 and 2018 and broke the record for the world’s fastest production car with a top speed of 278 mph. Just 27 examples of the RS were produced.

It is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 that made 1,160 horsepower. Three examples of the RSR were produced as part of the run of 27 RS cars – all of them for the Japanese market. Differences from the RS include a top-mounted rear wing and a shorter intake scoop for the targa top.

This, the second of the three RSRs, has about 625 miles on it and carries an estimate of $2,800,000-$3,400,000. More can be found here.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

2023 Aston Martin Valkyrie Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Dubai, U.A.E. | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Valkyrie is one of these new-era supercars with complicated Formula One-style hybrid powertrains that languish in a development period for years before finally coming to market long after everyone’s initial excitement has worn off. The Valkyrie name was chosen after a bunch of other code names were used following the car’s 2016 (!) introduction.

Or maybe it was more of a tease than in introduction. Anyway, production didn’t commence until late 2021. They said they will only build 150 of these with a retail price of about $3,500,000 when new.

Power comes from a 6.5-liter V12 that has been tweaked by Cosworth to produce around 1,000 horsepower. Additionally, it has an electric boost system that can add another 160 horsepower. Aston has since added a track-only variant as well as an open-top Spider.

The estimate on this one is $2,900,000-$3,300,000. Click here for more info.

CLK GTR GT1

1997 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR GT1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is, ostensibly, the racing variant of Mercedes’ C208 CLK-Class. Except that the true racing variant of the C208 was the CLK DTM. The GTR was an entirely different animal, sharing just the “CLK” name and a loose interpretation of the front grille and headlights. The CLK GTR was so extreme that it had to be homologated as its own thing, of which 20 road-going coupes and six roadsters were built. They were the most expensive new cars in the world when they were sold in the late ’90s/early ’00s.

The racing versions were pretty special as well. Initially campaigned in the 1997 FIA GT Championship, the cars proved somewhat successful and were replaced by the CLK LM by the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans and later by the doomed CLR for 1999.

Power is provided by a 6.0-liter V12 that made 600 horsepower, and the competition history for this chassis (004) includes:

  • 1997 FIA GT 4 Hours of Nurburgring – 1st (with Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig)
  • 1997 FIA GT 4 Hours of Spa – 2nd (with Schneider and Alexander Wurz)
  • 1997 FIA GT 1000km Suzuka – 7th (with Schneider, Wurz, and Aguri Suzuki)
  • 1997 FIA GT 3 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Schneider and Ludwig)

It was sold by Mercedes-Benz to its current and only private owner in 2015. It’s a pretty big deal from a golden era of GT racing – this car competed against McLaren F1 GTRs and Porsche 911 GT1s, etc. The action closes on this one in two days. Find out more here.

March-Alfa Romeo

1990 March-Alfa Romeo 90CA

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

March Engineering built their first CART open-wheel race car in 1981 after being around Formula One since 1970. The 1990 90CA would be their last chassis to compete at Indianapolis. Only three 90CA chassis were built.

Two of them were powered by Alfa Romeo engines for that year’s 500. It was a turbocharged 2.65-liter V8 that made about 700 horsepower. The competition history for this car, 90CA-001, includes:

  • 1990 Indianapolis 500 – 13th (with Al Unser)

For the rest of the season the car was campaigned by Roberto Guerrero in various races, also for Patrick Racing. This car represents the last time either March or Alfa Romeo competed at Indy. And it was driven by one of the best ever at the Speedway. The estimate here is $80,000-$120,000. Click here for more info.

Ferrari 365 California

1967 Ferrari 365 California

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s one of very few classic Ferraris we haven’t been able to feature in the last… 13 years! And there’s a good reason for that: there aren’t many of them. The 365 line of cars replaced the 330 line as well as the 500 Superfast. The 365 California was the first in the line, and it was the direct replacement for the Superfast. The later 365 GT 2+2 would replace the 330 GT 2+2 and be much more common.

The California rode on the 500 Superfast chassis and wore bodywork by Pininfarina. Power was from an enlarged version of the 330 GT’s V12 that now displaced 4.4 liters and made 320 horsepower. Just 14 were produced.

This one was sold new in California and has been with its current owner since 2006. They do not change hands often, and when they do they command a premium. The estimate here is $4,000,000-$4,500,000. Click here for more info.

Countach 5000 QV

1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s another Countach. This one is the followup to the LP500 S, and it’s called the 5000 QV, for quattrovalvole. Produced from 1985 until 1988, it was the last Countach variant to really stick mostly to the original styling before Horacio Pagani updated it for 25th Anniversary Edition duty. 610 were built.

Yes, the 5000 QV was boxier than the original LP 400. It had big wheel arch flares, impact bumpers for the U.S. market, and the big V-shaped rear wing, which was optional. There was also an optional front wing… which is one of the most insane ’80s automotive touches there was.

Power is from a 5.2-liter V12 with four valves per cylinder (hence the “QV”) that made 414 horsepower in U.S.-market trim with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection. This car has been converted to European-spec, with six downdraft Weber carburetors. When new, cars equipped like this made 449 horsepower. This car was first titled in 2018 and has less than 1,000 miles. It also has an estimate of $850,000-$950,000. More info can be found here.

Countach LP400 S

1981 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The first Lamborghini Countach was the LP400, which was produced from 1974 through 1978. These were the cleanest of all of the models – the sleekest. Beginning in 1978, the LP400 S was the only Countach you could buy, and it had fiberglass wheel arch extensions and an optional V-shaped rear wing.

The 3.9-liter V12 carried over but lost some oomph, producing 350 horsepower, which was down 20 from the earlier model. The LP400 S was produced in three series until 1982, with this car here being a Series II model. That means it had a lower ride height and smooth-face concave wheels. 105 Series II cars were built, making it the most common LP400 variant.

Just 237 LP400 S cars were built in total. This one has had five owners and was refreshed in 2022. It now has an estimate of $700,000-$800,000. Click here for more info.

NSX-R

1996 Honda NSX-R

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Honda NSX, sold in the U.S. as an Acura, went on sale for the 1991 model year. It famously had Ayrton Senna as one of its development drivers. It didn’t take long for Honda to want to up the ante a bit over the standard road car.

One year, to be exact, before they brought out the NSX-R, a hardcore version of the NSX. Weight was the name of the game, and they stripped 265 pounds out of the car via the sound deadening, A/C, stereo, and traction control. It got a competition suspension, a revised final drive ratio, and a balanced crankshaft.

Otherwise, the 3.0-liter V6 was unchanged. In manual-transmission setup it made 270 horsepower. Production ended in late 1995, with this being among the last of the 483 units built. All were badged as Hondas, and none were sold new in the U.S. This car has less than 12,000 miles and has an estimate of $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Rigling-Duesenberg

1933 Rigling-Duesenberg Race Car

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Miami, Florida | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Herman Rigling and Cotton Henning were chassis builders during the “Junk Formula” years at Indianapolis. And their racing chassis were logged as “Rigling” in the Indianapolis 500 box scores. The junk formula was supposed to ensure stock-ish engines (in some cases, very stock). No superchargers, limited displacement, etc.

That said, you could still build a scratch-built racing engine and meet the criteria. Enter August Duesenberg, who built a beauty that this car first ran with at Indy in 1931. This car’s Indy 500 history includes:

  • 1931 Indianapolis 500 – 35th, DNF (with Babe Stapp)
  • 1932 Indianapolis 500 – DNQ (with L.L. Corum)
  • 1933 Indianapolis 500 – 13th (with Willard Prentiss)
  • 1934 Indianapolis 500 – DNQ (with Harold Shaw)

Let’s keep in mind that this was running at Indy during Duesenberg’s glory years. For 1933 the car used an engine from a Duesenberg Model Y road car. That engine was damaged by a later owner, who tried to adapt it to accept a Model J engine. That project was never completed.

After a late-90s/early-00s restoration, during which the car was fitted with a Duesenberg Model A engine, it relocated to its current collection in 2011. There are not many Duesenberg-powered race cars out there anymore, and even fewer in private hands. This one has an estimate of $500,000-$700,000. More info can be found here.