Tag Archives: rm sothebys

iC Modulo M89

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1990 iC Modulo M89

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 14, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

iC is an abbreviation for “Italian Cars,” a company founded by Italian designer Carlo Lamattina. The goal with this particular model, which is like a late-80s Polaris Slingshot, was to prove that three-wheeled vehicles could be exciting and/or fun to drive.

The rear-mounted powerplant here is a BMW K75S-sourced 750cc inline-three that made about 75 horsepower new. The body is made of carbon-fiber- and Kevlar-reinforced plastic. Top speed was almost 125 mph.

The current owner of this car, former F1 champion Nigel Mansell, was gifted this car by its designer after taking pole at the 1992 Italian Grand Prix. This example was the first of what was at least a few produced. It’s selling at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $22,427.

Isdera Spyder

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1989 Isdera Spyder 036i

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 14, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Isdera, the elusive German boutique carmaker, has been around since the early 1980s. They have not produced many cars since then, but the ones they have are all pretty outrageous and striking. The Spyder was their first model, going on sale in 1982.

The first Spyders were 033i variants with 1.8-liter Mercedes-Benz inline-fours. Then came the 033-16, with a 2.3-liter engine. In 1987, they launched the 036i, which featured a 3.0-liter Mercedes inline-six making 217 horsepower. Only 14 Spyders total are believed to have been built, which each one taking 12 months to complete.

This car was modified and updated by Isdera in 2011, basically restored in different colors and fitted with a 276-horsepower, 3.6-liter AMG inline-six. Isderas rarely change hands, especially at auction. You can read more about this one here.

Update: Not sold.

Fiat 1100 Cabriolet

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1950 Fiat 1100 Cabriolet by Stabilimenti Farina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 25-26, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Fiat’s 1100 was primarily known as a tiny family sedan (or wagon) that was produced from 1953 through the end of the 1960s. Before that there was another, different 1100. That model offered in a variety of body styles between 1937 and 1953. The car you see here was from the tail end of the earlier model.

This cabriolet we have here is one of more than a few coachbuilt examples and was bodied by Stabilimenti Farina, which was related to Pinin Farina in that it was founded by Battista’s uncle and employed him before he left to launch his own company. The Stabilimenti closed in 1953.

The 1100 was powered by a 1.1-liter inline-four rated at 35 horsepower. It may not look super flashy or ahead-of-its-time, but this was a classy car in Italy in 1950. And it’ll probably get you into quite a few fancy shows today. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Cunningham C-3 Cabriolet

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1953 Cunningham C-3 Cabriolet by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There aren’t too many Vignale-bodied American cars, but the Cunningham C-3 is one. But there aren’t too many Cunningham C-3s, either. Only about 24 C-3s were built, all Vignale-bodied. Apparently another dozen or so chassis were built, and some of those were completed individually later on with bodywork limited only by their builders’ imaginations.

Power is from a 5.4-liter Chrysler Hemi V8 that made 220 horsepower when new. C-3 coupes are more common, and just five cabriolets were built. It’s definitely Vignale styling, and it’s another example of American muscle with a sleek Italian body – a common theme of performance cars of the 1950s and 60s.

This was a New York car when new and was shown at Pebble Beach as early as 1956, appearing there most recently in 2015. It was even owned by Briggs Cunningham’s daughter at one point. The pre-sale estimate is $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,215,000.

356 Carrera Zagato Speedster

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1960 Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Philosophical question: if a car is produced by a manufacturer and later sent to a coachbuilder, what is the maximum length of time between those two acts to where the car is still considered what it is claimed to be? Most would agree that an Aston Martin DB4 tweaked by Bertone a few months after it was built is just fine.

But what if you take a 1960 Porsche 356B and send it to Zagato in 2016 for a new body? Is it still a coachbuilt 1960 356? That’s what we have here. There was a Porsche-Zagato Speedster raced in 1958 and 1959. That car no longer exists. In the 2010s, an American collector persuaded Zagato to recreate that Speedster. There was also a coupe version produced. In all 18 were built, and only one of the Speedsters ended up with a 1.6-liter Carrera flat-four.

This car, which is a real, Zagato-bodied 356 (though it just so happened it was bodied in 2016), carries an estimate of $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $472,500.

Davis Divan

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1948 Davis Divan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well it’s about time one of these comes up for public sale. I mean, there were only 13 built and only a dozen survive, but they are popular three-wheeled weirdos. The Davis Motorcar Company of Van Nuys, California, was founded by Glenn Davis and only existed for two years: 1947 and 1948.

Their product was the Divan, which was based on a Frank Kurtis-built custom that Davis purchased after WWII. This is the third Divan built, the first two being prototypes, making it the first “production” example. Power is provided by a Hercules inline-four good for 47 horsepower. Most of the other cars got 63-horsepower Continental fours.

It is a convertible with a removable hardtop. It also featured disc brakes and pop-up headlights. This car spent most of its life in Michigan, being restored in 2011. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $125,000.

550 GTC

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2003 Ferrari 550 GTC

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari turning their road-going cars into competitive race cars had kind of been a rare event since… well, the 1960s. Sure, they had “Challenge” race cars where 348s and F355s would compete against each other, but it’s not like they were taking them to Le Mans.

That sort of changed with the 550 Maranello. While Ferrari themselves weren’t outright building racing versions of the 550, some privateer teams were. The cars appeared in a few different classes/forms across a variety of series worldwide. We’ve already featured an ex-Le Mans GTLM version, and this is a GTC. The GTCs were “factory-built” in that Ferrari actually partnered with N-Technology to build two cars, both of which were constructed in 2003, after 550 Maranello road car production ceased. The other example is still owned by Ferrari.

Power is provided by a 5.5-liter V12. The competition history for this chassis included:

  • 2003 24 Hours of Spa – 27th, DNF (with Philipp Peter, Fabio Babini, and Boris Derichebourgh)

The following year it won the Italian Speed Hill Climb championship in the GTM category. The engine was rebuilt in 2016, and the current owner bought it the next year. It’s been restored to its Spa livery and now carries a pre-sale estimate of $2,300,000-$2,850,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Devin C

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1959 Devin C

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 27, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Devin Enterprises of Southern California was one of America’s leading kit car companies of the 1950s. Various models were offered, including a couple of turn-key ones. In late 1961, they introduced the C, which used a Corvair-sourced engine.

In this car, which was a turn-key factory-built example, power comes from a Corvair flat-six, the size of which isn’t even mentioned in RM’s auction write-up. Apparently, back in the day, this car was used by the Granatelli brothers for supercharger testing at Bonneville. Pretty awesome. It also appeared at drag strips, setting a quarter-mile time of 12.44 seconds at 109 mph in period.

The current non-supercharged engine was installed during a 2010s restoration. RM estimates that about 21 Cs were built, with about 19 remaining. This one carries a pre-sale estimate of $70,000-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $78,400.

Ferrari Meera

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1983 Ferrari Meera S by Michelotti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 2, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s 1970s/80s 2+2 line consisted of the 365 GT4 2+2, the 400, and the 412. They all looked pretty much the same but gradually evolved between 1972 and 1989. If you look closely, you can tell that this one-off car, built for a member of the Saudi royal family, started out as a 1983 400i.

The car was re-styled by Giovanni Michelotti, and it was the last Ferrari he ever worked on. Power is from a fuel-injected 4.8-liter V12 rated at 306 horsepower when new. Top speed was 149 mph. Just 883 automatic-transmission 400is were built. But this is the only one styled like this.

It underwent a quarter-of-a-million Euro restoration by Ferrari Classiche in 2010 and is now offered via RM’s Paris sale out of Dubai. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $489,434.

Duesenberg J-448

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 27, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It is known that eight Derham Toursters were built on the Duesenberg Model J chassis. This is the fourth that we have featured in the last decade. There have been three other Tourster-style rebodies up for sale in that time as well. So with this car coming to market, you could have had eight in your stable.

The Model J is powered by a 265-horsepower, 6.9-liter inline-eight. The Derham coachwork was styled by Gordon Buehrig, who described it as his favorite Model J. It’s essentially a five-passenger touring car with rear suicide doors and a secondary roll-down windscreen for the rear-seat passengers.

These are sought after cars, even among the Model J crowd. This one was once owned by Andy Granatelli and was restored by RM. It’s been in a private collection for the last 20 years. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $3,415,000.