Tag Archives: rm sothebys

1905 Maxwell

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1905 Maxwell Model L Tourabout

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Jonathan Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe set up the Maxwell Motor Company – initially the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company – in New York in 1904. Production of automobiles started in 1905, with the Models L and H being available that year. The Model L was only available as a two-passenger Tourabout and carried over into 1906.

Power is provided by a flat-twin that put out about eight horsepower. The cars retailed for $750 in their inaugural year before undergoing a $30 price hike the following year. Just 833 Model Ls were built over the two-year run.

This car was restored about 13 years ago and was purchased by its current owner in 2015. Maxwell was an important early car company, and this is about as early as an example as you are likely to find. It has an estimate of $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $34,100.

’35 Cadillac V8 Convertible Sedan

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1935 Cadillac V-8 Model 355-D Convertible Sedan by Fisher

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Cadillac’s 355 series of V8-powered automobiles was produced between 1931 and 1935. These were grand-looking cars with 2/3 or half of the cylinders of the very-similar-looking V12 and V16 cars also offered around this time. In 1934, the cars were restyled to look quite a bit more modern, and that’s what you’re seeing here.

There was an immense number of body styles offered by the factory, with the bodies either built by Fisher of Fleetwood. Two different Fisher-bodied convertible sedans were offered: the Series 10 (on a 128-inch wheelbase) or the Series 20 (on a 136-inch wheelbase). The catalog does not differentiate, but it looks long.

Power is from Cadillac’s 5.8-liter V8 that made 130 horsepower. This car was delivered new in Washington, D.C. It’s the rear wheel spats that make this such an eye catcher. It’s sleek and, for 1935, quite modern. Now it has an estimate of $125,000-$150,000. More info can be found here.

Ol’ Yaller Mk VII

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1961 Ol’ Yaller Mk VII

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Max Balchowsky was a race car driver (and stunt driver) who built a series of sports racing specials in the 1950s and ’60s. Nine cars were built – all called Old Yeller or Ol’ Yaller. This one was the 7th.

It was produced by Balchowsky in 1961, his most prolific year in which four Yallers were constructed. This one was sold new to Don Kirby in New York and subsequently raced in SCCA events. It was delivered new with a Devin body and was fitted with 327ci Chevy V8.

A restoration was carried out in 2009, and it retains that 5.4-liter motor. It’s one of three Yallers intended for Chevrolet power and is said to be one of just a few still set up for road use (though it has history on classic road rallies too). The pre-sale estimate here is $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $307,500.

Stutz DV-32 by Rollston

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1933 Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria by Rollston

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 1930s we weird. Everyone was broke, yet American car companies turned out their very best work. Some of the top American cars built came from this era: Packard Twelve, Duesenberg Model J, Auburn Twelve, Pierce-Arrow V12, Lincoln K, Cadillac V16, Marmon Sixteen, and this, the Stutz DV-32.

It was produced between 1932 and the end of Stutz production in 1935. The engine was a 32-valve 5.3-liter inline-eight that made 156 horsepower. It wasn’t a V12… or even a V16. But it could still do 80 mph.

This car was bodied by Rollston of New York and has known history back to 1952. It was later in the Harrah collection for over 20 years. It now carries an estimate of $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,517,500.

Ferrari F2001B

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2002 Ferrari F2001B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 16-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s F2001 was a dominant car in Formula One. Michael Schumacher won eight races in an F2001, securing the driver’s and constructor’s titles. For the start of the 2002 season, Ferrari tweaked the prior year’s chassis and dubbed it the F2001B. This car was used by Schumacher for the first two races of the 2002 season and the first three for teammate Rubens Barichello.

This chassis, #215, was a success right out of the gate. It’s competition history consists of:

  • 2002 Australian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher, from pole)

Schumacher won the title again in 2002, using the F2002 for the rest of the season. They used 3.0-liter screaming V10s during this era. This car is one of likely two built, and it’s a race winner to boot. You can read more about it here.

Update: Withdrawn.

Zagato Tour de France

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1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Tour de France by Zagato

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well here is a big-boy Ferrari. So big in fact that RM will not even run it across their block in Monterey this year. Instead they are going to the “Sotheby’s Sealed” format, which, I guess, just takes the fun out of watching people bid.

The long-wheelbase 250 GT started out with the 250 Europa, and the “Long Wheelbase Berlinetta” debuted in 1956 and acquired the nickname “Tour de France” after the cars competed in the 10-day Tour de France race. Just 77 were built through 1959, most of which were bodied by Scaglietti based on a Pinin Farina design.

But five of them escaped off to Zagato, and this car is the third of those. It has the signature double-bubble Zagato roof and is the only such example with covered headlights. It also has a 3.0-liter Colombo V12 that made somewhere around 250 horsepower. This car has period competition history, too, including:

  • 1957 Mille Miglia – 6th (with Camillo Luglio and Umberto Carli)

It was restored in the early 2000s and has been with its current owner since 1999. It’s been shown at Pebble Beach three times since, winning its class in 2009. You can read more about it here.

Update: Withdrawn.

Porsche 550 Coupe

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1956 Porsche 550A Coupe Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

RM throws out every superlative they can think of in the description for this car. It’s a little much, but the point is taken: this is an important and likely unrepeatable opportunity. Porsche’s 550 Spyder is already a legendary car, for reasons good and bad, and they command seven figures every day.

Porsche built four coupe prototypes of the 550. It’s got a slick fastback profile and is powered by a 1.5-liter flat-four. These were fully prepared race cars developed as a replacement for the 550 RS. The competition history for this chassis, 550A-0104, includes:

  • 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans – 5th, 1st in class (with Wolfgang von Trips and Richard von Frankenburg)
  • 1957 12 Hours of Sebring – 9th (with Ken Miles and Jean-Pierre Kunstle)

It also ran in SCCA races around the U.S. before being tracked down and restored by a Porsche collector in the 2000s. Since then, it’s been shown here and there. It’s got a pre-sale estimate of $5,500,000-$7,500,000, which seems low considering with 550 Spyders go for and the race history this car has. Anyway, you can found out more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Delage D6 Grand Prix

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1939 Delage D6 3-Litre Grand Prix

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The D6 was a long-lived line of Delage cars that started in 1930, took a break during the war, and returned to production afterward and on through 1953 or 1954. The D6 3-Litre road model went on sale in 1946 and lasted until the end of D6 production. It was powered by a… 3-liter inline-six. But so were other, earlier D6s.

This pre-war grand prix car is one of two constructed in preparation for the 1939 season. It’s got a 150-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-six and was campaigned in the following:

  • 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans – 2nd (with Louis Gerard and Georges Monneret)
  • 1940 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Gianfranco Comotti and Archimede Rosa)

This car was damaged during the race and was left behind in Italy. The disassembled chassis later found its way into the reserve collection of the horrible Schlumpf brothers, remaining there until 1966. The car was returned to the state you see here by a later owner in the 1990s.

It’s now got an estimate of $600,000-$750,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Kurtis/Diedt-Offy Special

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1949 Kurtis/Deidt-Offenhauser FWD Special

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 17-19, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s a handful of names that once dominated at Indianapolis: Frank Kurtis, Emil Deidt, Fred Offenhauser. Combining all three into one car? Should be pretty special. And that’s kind of what happened here.

So, what happened here was: owner Gil Pearson commissioned Deidt to build two front-wheel-drive race cars. Frank Kurtis built the body and frame, and then they stuffed a 4.4-liter Meyer-Drake-Offenhauser inline-four up front to drive the front wheels. They took it out to the Muroc dry lake bed and hit 176 mph.

It was then used in some movies before being parked with its sister car behind Gil Pearson’s house until the 1990s. It was then restored before being invited to Pebble Beach in 2001. Now it has a pre-sale estimate of $350,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Saleen S7-R

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2008 Saleen S7-R

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Mans, France | June 9, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Boutique supercar manufacturers sometimes (and rightly so) feel the need to prove their cars at the track. It doesn’t happen all that often anymore, as the cost of entry with a halfway-decent GT-class entry at Le Mans is usually prohibitive for start ups. But that didn’t stop companies like Lister, Spyker, Saleen, and others from giving it a go.

Saleen’s S7 was sold between 2000 and 2009. The racing variant, the S7-R (and not the S7 LM, which is a re-launched road car) was produced until about 2008. Initial cars were built by Ray Mallock Ltd before Saleen took over production, with the final prep work being done by Oreca. This is the final of 23 example built, and it is powered by a 7.0-liter V8 that made 600-760 horsepower depending on the state of tune.

The competition history for this chassis,082, includes:

  • 2009 1000km Nurburgring – 23rd, 1st in class (with Roland Berville, Sebastien Dumez, Laurent Groppi)
  • 2010 1000km Spa – 31st (with Gabriele Gardel, Patrice Goueslard, and Fernando Rees)
  • 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans – 13th, 1st in class (with Berville, Gardel, and Julien Canal)

After that, the car remained with its campaigner: French racing team Larbre Competition. And that’s who is selling it. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $1,421,287.