Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Alfa Romeo’s 1900 was, at its core, a small sedan (two- or four-door) produced through the entirety of the 1950s. But as Italy is a land of style, there were a fair number of coachbuilt versions also constructed.
The most sought-after of these are on the 1900C (short-wheelbase) platform. This is a rare two-door custom body on the 1900L (long-wheelbase) chassis. The base 1900 was powered by a 1.9-liter inline-four rated between 80 and 90 horsepower depending on configuration.
This is the only one of at least nine Ghia-bodied 1900 coupes produced on the lungo chassis. Originally blue, the car was sold new in New York. It next appeared in California in 2006, having been shown at Pebble Beach that year. Restored, it carries an estimate of $200,000-$250,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
By 1909, Pierce-Arrow was at its zenith of automotive greatness. Few cars were better, among them, other models in the Pierce range. The Model 36 was their entry-level six-cylinder car that year (below it was their lone four).
The 5.9-liter inline-six was rated at 36 horsepower. Pierce-Arrow also sold 40-, 48-, and 60-horsepower sixes in 1909. This particular car is among approximately 10 survivors of the model, and it was rescued out of a Long Island junkyard in the 1940s.
The current recreation body was produced during a 2002 restoration. It is said to replicate the factory three-passenger Runabout, which was among seven styles offered on the model’s 119″ wheelbase. The estimate now is $200,000-$300,000, and more info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025
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Zust was a manufacturing company in Italy that was founded by Roberto Zust. They started off making tools and branched into other areas that required technical expertise. So when they moved into cars, launching their first in 1905, they made them well.
Their first car was the 28/45, which they built through 1908, and it is powered by a 7.4-liter inline-four that made 45 horsepower. It has a four-speed transmission and chain drive. These are sometimes called the Italian Mercedes, as they were well built machines.
This car is thought to have participated in the 1907 Targa Florio and wears coachwork by Cesare Sala. It is one of five Zust cars built before WWI that are known to survive. Zust was acquired by OM in 1917 and phased out. RM notes that Zust (which apparently still existed in some non-automotive fashion after 1917) sold this car to a wrecking yard in Germany in 1946.
It remained there until 2016, when it was restored. It now has an estimate of $800,000-$950,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025
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Things were weird in F1 in the 2010s. In 2010 and 2011 there was a Lotus Racing F1 team that was not directly affiliated with Lotus Cars. It was a Malaysian-owned team that licensed the use of the Lotus name. Their cars were green and yellow.
Meanwhile, in late 2010, the actual Lotus car company purchased part of the Renault F1 team. So, for 2012, that team would been known as Lotus-Renault. Also for 2012, Tony Fernandes, the guy who was running the green-and-yellow Lotus Racing F1 team, also had purchased Caterham, a company that has produced Lotus replicas for decades.
So for 2012, the new Lotus-Renault debuted (with their black and gold cars) and the old Lotus Racing team re-debuted as Caterham F1, with still-green cars. Caterham disappeared after the 2014 season. The Lotus name would continue through the 2015 season, when the team would revert back to Renault branding.
So, the team’s car for the 2013 season was the E21, which would’ve had a 2.4-liter Renault V8 and a KERS system. Output was 750 horsepower. The E21 was kind of a success, winning on debut in Australia. This car is without an engine and is being sold as a roller. This car, chassis E21-04, has the following race history:
2013 British Grand Prix – 5th (with Kimi Raikkonen)
2013 German Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
2013 Hungarian Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
2013 Belgian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Raikkonen)
2013 Italian Grand Prix – 11th (with Raikkonen)
2013 Singapore Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Romain Grosjean)
2013 Korean Grand Prix – 3rd (with Grosjean)
2013 Japanese Grand Prix – 3rd (with Grosjean)
2013 Indian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Grosjean)
2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 4th (with Grosjean)
2013 United States Grand Prix – 2nd (with Grosjean)
2013 Brazilian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Grosjean)
Since then, the car has been retained by the team, which is now known as Alpine. They are selling it. It has an estimate of $365,000-$465,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
People setting speed records sort of started happening as soon as there was a car. After WWII, things got a little more serious when guys started strapping jet engines to some wheels and heading off for the salt flats in Utah.
The first Spirit of America looked like a jet without wings. Craig Breedlove ran it at over 400 mph in August 1963. The FIA wouldn’t recognize it because the car only had three wheels. In October that year he ran 526 mph with the car, but ended up in a pond at the end of the run.
Over the next year and a half or so, Breedlove had this car designed. It had four wheels and a GE J79 jet engine from an F-4 Phantom II. In November 1965, Breedlove hit 600 mph in this car, which was the record that would stand until 1970. It was Breedlove’s fastest run of his career. After that, the car ended up in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, who is now selling it on an estimate of $500,000-$1,000,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2025
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Paige-Detroit was a healthy car company in the early 1920s. While they weren’t on the level of Pierce-Arrow or Packard, they did sell luxury cars, and in 1922, they decided to enter the lower end of the market.
They did so by way of their company president, Harry Jewett, who started a lower-priced marque that carried his last name. The Jewett was aimed at Studebaker and Nash. The Model 18-22 was 1922’s model, which was offered as a touring car or a sedan.
Power is from a 4.1-liter inline-six that was rated at 50 horsepower. This particular car is coming from the Clive Cussler collection. Cussler’s first automotive purchase was, apparently, a Jewett, which he bought at age 13. This was a late-in-life purchase to relive those early years. The estimate is $20,000-$30,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
In addition to being a tuner of Fiats, Abarth also built some cars of their own. One such car was a racer known as the 207A. Abarth also decided to offer a road-going version of this car, and they called it the 208A. The coupe would get the name “209A.”
This particular car was sold new in the U.S. to members of the DuPont family. It then remained under second ownership from the mid-1970s until the 2000s. It was later mechanically restored. The engine is a 1.1-liter Fiat inline-four that made about 66 horsepower.
Styling highlights here include the exhaust, which hugs the right-side panels below the doors. Good stuff. Styling was done by Michelotti. Only a dozen of this series were built, with just one example of the open and closed road cars being produced. This one has an estimate of $600,000-$700,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Chevrolet’s first production car was 1911’s Series C. In 1914, they split their ranges between four- and six-cylinder cars. The Series H-2 was dubbed the “Royal Mail” and was sold for 1914 and 1915 (and the H-2 1/2 was offered in 1916). These were Chevy’s first four-cylinder cars.
The engine was a 2.8-liter inline-four that was rated at 24 horsepower. It cost $750 when new. This example was restored prior to being purchased by Bill Harrah in 1974. It was later donated to the Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Museum in 1998. Clive Cussler purchased it in 2012.
Those are some notable collections. Early early Chevrolets are hard to come by. This one has an estimate of $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Ferrari didn’t compete in the 1968 sports car season because of a rule change that outlawed any engine over three liters. Porsche developed the 917 for 1969, taking advantage of a loophole in the rules. Enzo had just sold half of Ferrari to Fiat and now had the money to take the fight to Porsche for the 1970 season.
So for 1970, Ferrari debuted the 512 S, of which 25 were produced. Seventeen of these 25 cars competed in the 1970 endurance racing season, with this car being the only example delivered new in Giallo. It went to Ecurie Francorchamps in Belgium, delivered new as a 512 S. Under that guise, it competed in:
1970 1000km Spa – 8th (with Derek Bell and Hughes de Fierlant)
1970 24 Hours of Le Mans – 5th (with de Fierlant and Alistair Walker)
1971 24 Hours of Daytona – 38th, DNF (with de Fierlant and Gustave Gosselin)
During 1970, it was used during the filming of Le Mans. After the ’71 Daytona race, the car went back to Europe to become one of 15 examples that were upgraded to 512 M specification. The 5.0-liter V12 was lightened and now made 610 horsepower. Aerodynamics were improved with lower bodywork. The car was completed in time for:
1971 24 Hours of Le Mans – 18th, DNF (with de Fierlant and Alain de Cadenet)
The car ran a few other races, including a Can-Am race at Watkins Glen. It’s been in various collections, including the current one since 2018. The estimate is $9,500,000-$12,500,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2025
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Pagani Zonda debuted in 1999, and one-off variants still pop out of the factory today. In 2005, the company launched the Zonda F, which was named in honor of Juan Manuel Fangio. The car was the most-different variation of the Zonda theme up to that point.
It was powered by the same 7.3-liter Mercedes-Benz-sourced V12 from the Zonda S that was enhanced to make 594 horsepower in F spec. Zero to 60 passed by in 3.4 seconds on the way to a claimed top speed of 214 mph.
An F Roadster premiered a year later, with just 25 examples of both body styles produced. This car is #16 amongst the coupes, and it now has an estimate of $10,000,000-$13,000,000. Click here for more info.
