Tag Archives: rm sothebys

Waterhouse-Bodied Packard

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1930 Packard Deluxe Eight Series 745 Convertible Victoria by Waterhouse

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Packard’s eight-cylinder line of cars was their bread and butter for decades. In 1930, at the dawn of the Depression, Packard offered four takes on the Eight: the Standard, Speedster, Custom, and Deluxe. The latter was their top offering, available in Series 745 form only.

This specified a 145.5-inch wheelbase and a 106-horsepower, 6.3-liter inline-eight. Eleven factory body styles were offered in addition to whatever you could get an independent coachbuilder to whip up for you.

This car was bodied by Waterhouse, who were based in Massachusetts. It was restored in the 1980s, purportedly in colors found under layers of newer paint. It’s a striking combination that, coupled with Woodlite headlights, really grabs your attention. No estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $637,500.

A6CGS Monofaro

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1950 Maserati A6GCS 2000 Race Car by Fantuzzi

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The A6GCS was among the final models designed by the Ernesto Maserati before the family company was taken over by the Orsi family. The A6 1500 was a road car that went on sale in 1947. Meanwhile, the sporting derivative, the GCS was also launched that year.

The A6 1500 gave way to the A6G 2000 in 1950, which is why this GCS is equipped with a 2.0-liter inline-six. It wears open-wheel coachwork by Fantuzzi and is one of 14 or 15 to have been built.

It was delivered new in Brazil, where it won its class at a race at Interlagos in 1951. It remained in South America until being discovered in the early 1970s as a project and taken to the U.K., where nothing of note happened to it. It would be restored in San Francisco, remaining with its owner there for over 20 years before being purchased by the current owner in 2004.

No estimate is provided, but this is stated to be one of eight surviving examples. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,088,500.

Veyron Grand Sport

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2009 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Grand Sport was sort of the convertible model of Bugatti’s Veyron. It launched in 2009 and was sold alongside the coupe model for two years before the coupe was discontinued. Grand Sport production continued through 2015, with 150 built.

It’s powered by the same quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 that made 987 horsepower. Okay, so it’s not a true convertible. It’s more of a targa. Top speed was limited because of this – to a paltry 229 mph with the roof off.

This car was originally finished in black blue metallic but was refinished by the factory in black and red. Just shows you how Bugatti customers are. Can’t find the color you like? Pay the manufacturer to essentially re-do the more-or-less brand new used car you just bought. Seven figures here we come. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 643 F1

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1991 Ferrari 643

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 643 was a mid-season replacement during Ferrari’s 1991 Formula One campaign. It debuted for drivers Alain Prost and Jean Alesi at the 1991 French Grand Prix, where Prost ended up on the podium.

The car is powered by a 3.5-liter V12 capable of 710 horsepower. This chassis, #127, has the following competition history:

  • 1991 French Grand Prix – 4th (with Jean Alesi)
  • 1991 British Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Alesi)
  • 1991 Australian Grand Prix – 6th (with Gianni Morbidelli)

It was also a test car for the team at various tracks throughout the season. It was later refreshed by Ferrari before going to a South African collection. From there, it was restored under German ownership in 2016 and is now being offered by RM in Europe. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $4,062,706.

1912 Hispano-Suiza

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1912 Hispano-Suiza 15/20HP Coupe de Ville

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February, 1 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Cars today are pretty uniform. Barely anything aside from grille shape and badging differentiates one blob pod from another. But back in the early days of the automobile, things were much less standardized and much more freeform. Some cars from that era are rolling identity crises.

Take this relatively grand Hispano-Suiza. It looks like it’s riding on a truck chassis (though to be fair many large cars of the era essentially were), with a truck-like engine compartment housing the 2.6-liter inline-four that made approximately 30 horsepower when new. The 15/20 model designation was based on taxable horsepower.

Moving rearward, there is an open driver’s compartment with a folding windscreen in front of an enclosed passenger compartment. It’s like three different people designed three different parts of the car and pasted it together. But that’s how you spelled luxury in 1912. The 15/20 model went on sale in 1909, and about 500 were built through 1914.

These cars were launched when Hispano-Suiza only had a Spanish factory, and before they opened their more famous French arm. The catalog here states that the car was restored over a six-year span, but doesn’t say when that was. It is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info.

BMW 501 V8

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1958 BMW 501 V8 Sedan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 26, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 501 was BMW’s first new post-war car, as everything it sold up to this point was based on pre-war designs. Amazingly, this first fresh post-war car went on sale in late 1952. It was produced for a decade (although six-cylinder cars were only available through 1958) and in a few different body styles, including as a sedan, coupe, and cabriolet.

There were also various variants, including versions marketed as the BMW 2.6, 2600, and 501 V8. The 502 went on sale in 1954, just after the introduction of this, the 501 V8.

The 501 V8 was powered by a 2.6-liter V8. The difference between this model and the similarly powered 502 was that the 502 was a more luxurious car. Otherwise, they were mostly the same. Just 5,914 examples of the 501 V8/501 2.6/501 2600 were built through 1962. This restored example is expected to fetch between $90,000-$100,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $64,400.

Chiron Profilee

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2022 Bugatti Chiron Profilee

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In an effort to actually produce the full planned run of cars, supercar manufacturers tend to keep pumping out new special editions that are “must haves” for collectors/people with too much money to keep for a short time before moving on to something else. Bugatti is no different, as there were quite a few different versions of the Chiron, despite production being limited to only 500 units across the board.

So Bugatti set out to create one, which they called the Profilee. It has some aerodynamic updates, including a pretty cool rear wing/spoiler thing in the center. It’s powered by the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine as the other Chirons are, with 1,479 horsepower available like the Pur Sport model. It got revised gearing and an increased redline, which enabled it to hit a limited top speed of 236 mph.

The Profilee never even made it to production, as the Chiron’s 500 units were spoken for before they got it finalized, so this was the only such example completed. RM is offering it on a bill of sale, presumably because it’s never been registered. I’d wish the buyer good luck, but they’re never going to drive it anyway. It’ll either get locked away somewhere or flipped at auction/sold privately about 18 months from now. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $10,866,247.

ZL1 Corvette

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1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 Convertible

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 26, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It can be tough to remember which Corvettes are supposed to be the king of them all. Around this time you had L88s, ZR1s, ZR2s, and ZL1s. The ZL1 was sort of a step up from the L88. It designated an aluminum-block 7.0-liter V8 with a aluminum cylinder heads, a redesigned crankshaft, improved connecting rods, revised pistons, and larger exhaust valves.

It required that you order a base Corvette – which was about $4,400 for a 1969 convertible. Then you had to add on the L88 option, which was just over $1,000. The ZL1 option could then be had on top of that for another $3,000. And that blacked out the options for A/C, power steering, a radio, a heater, and power windows. Pay more, get less.

But you also got more, horsepower anyway. Output was somewhere around 460 horsepower. Apparently only two were ever ordered, with this one being the only one delivered to a retail customer. RM estimates this one will bring between $2,6000,000-$3,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,140,000.

Senna LM

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2020 McLaren Senna LM

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The McLaren Senna went into production in 2018 for the 2019 model year. They planned to make 500, and who knows if they actually have. The Senna is supposed to be a supercar, but it’s really a track car for the street. How many road cars come with a push-to-drink system?

Anyway, in 2020, McLaren Special Operations introduced the Senna LM, which is the “track-focused” version of the already fairly-track-focused Senna. It still has a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, but its been tweaked a bit to produce 814 horsepower. Body work is also shared with the base Senna, but with a few extra bits in carbon fiber and revised aerodynamics.

RM says that just 20 were produced and only seven in McLaren’s Papaya Orange. This is a European-market example, and it’s basically brand new with like 25 miles on it. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,778,214.

Chiron Sport

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2019 Bugatti Chiron Sport

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Miami, Florida | December 10, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Chiron is the last of its kind. The last full-out gasoline-burning chaser of speed. It debuted in 2016 and followed up on the Veyron with a version of that car’s quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16. In 2018, Bugatti introduced the Sport variant, which is said to be “track-focused.” It’s like 40 pounds lighter than the base Chiron, which already weighed 4,400 pounds. Hard to think anything that heavy really belongs on a track.

But I guess, if you have to overcome some heft, an output of 1,480 horsepower would help do the trick. This was the same output as the base car. You were basically paying an extra $400,000 for the Sport, which brought some carbon-fiber bits, a stiffer suspension, and a torque vectoring system.

This is one of 60 Chiron Sports built. Well, Bugatti said they would build 60, but who knows if they actually did. What’s fun is that you can forget zero-to-60 times and instead note that it will hit 100 mph in 4.4 seconds, which is crazy. The pre-sale estimate is $3,000,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,305,000.