Tag Archives: rm sothebys

Glockler-Porsche

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1954 Glockler-Porsche 356 Carrera 1500 Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Walter Glockler was a Volkswagen and Porsche dealer based in Germany. He had a number of Porsche-based specials built between the late 1940s and mid-1950s. This is actually the last of the six of them. In 1954, he acquired a replacement 356 Pre-A chassis to build his only coupe-bodied special.

It is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cam flat-four (from a Porsche 550 Spyder… a car that owes its existence to a Glockler special) that was fitted in the 2000s. This car was originally intended to compete in the 1954 Mille Miglia, but was not finished in time. Instead it took part in a French/Italian road rally.

It later spent time at the Porsche factory before being exported to the U.S. It went back to Germany in the 90s and was restored the following decade (when the engine was swapped). This is an interesting piece (it even has Glockler-Porsche badging), and should bring a decent sum. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 512 BB LM

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1981 Ferrari 512 BB LM

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari has had historical success with prototype racing cars (though none in a while), but their success with taking their road cars and turning them into race cars has been pretty spotty. Sure, the 550/575 had GT racing versions, and they’ve been a little more serious since the 458, but nothing really mind-blowing. Or that famous. Well, until you get back to this car.

Ferrari’s 512 BB went on sale in 1976, and the fuel-injected 512 BBi replaced it in 1981. Luigi Chinetti (the famed American Ferrari importer and founder of NART, the North American Racing Team), had been running home-grown 365 GT/4 BB-based race cars in the late 1970s. When they finally ran out of steam, Chinetti convinced Ferrari to develop a racing variant of the 512. Ferrari built four Series 1 cars in 1978. In 1980, they introduced the Series 3 512 BB LM. Sixteen examples were built, and this is number 10.

Ferrari didn’t run the cars themselves but sold them to various independent racing teams to operate. The S3 LM was powered by a 5.0-liter flat-12 making 480 horsepower. This car was the last Ferrari sold to or raced by Chinetti’s team, and its competition history includes:

  • 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans – 23rd, DNF (with Alain Cudini, Philippe Gurdjian, and John Morton)
  • 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans – 9th (with Cudini, Morton, and John Paul Jr.)

It was supposed to appear at Le Mans in 1983, but the team folded before that could happen. Instead, the car bounced between a series of collections and has been active in historic racing. No pre-sale estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold.

Byers SR-100

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1956 Byers SR-100

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | June 23-30, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 1950s was the golden era of fiberglass. And Jim Byers took full advantage of it in El Segundo, California, in 1955 when he designed the SR-100. This body was constructed of fiberglass and was meant to fit over a 100-inch wheelbase. He sold the molds to Victress in 1960.

Approximately 25 bodies were produced in that time, and only 10 are known to still exist. This one is fitted on a modified 1949 Ford chassis and features independent suspension. Power is from a 4.3-liter Chevrolet V8 that is mounted behind the front suspension, which technically, I guess, makes this car mid-engined.

It’s a pretty great example of a rare, cool, old sports car. The pre-sale estimate is $60,000-$70,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

McLaren MP4-25

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2010 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Silverstone, U.K. | July 17, 2021

Photo – RM Sotheby’s (OBVIOUSLY)

Booo your lame watermark, RM Sotheby’s. I have no patience for that kind of old-school internet garbage. Anyway, this one-car auction will be a pretty remarkable opportunity for some well-heeled individual to acquired the first-ever F1-race-winning car driven by Lewis Hamilton to come to market.

The dude has won 98 races. 98! And that’s as of this writing… he’ll probably have a few more by the time this thing sells. But this isn’t one of the boring, show-killing Mercedes Silver Arrows, this is a McLaren. From back when Lewis actually had to try. The 2010 season was a good one. Five drivers won races, but it was kind of a toss-up as to who would win every week. Vettel won the championship with Red Bull, but Alonso was right there in a Ferrari. Hamilton was fourth in the driver’s championship, just ahead of his teammate Jenson Button.

The MP4-25 was powered by a Mercedes FO 108X 2.4-liter V8. Hamilton won three races in 2010, including the Turkish Grand Prix in this car. It is unclear what other races it competed in, as RM has yet to publish a full lot description. The pre-sale estimate here is $5,000,000-$7,000,000. It’s also unclear who is selling the car and how, if it isn’t McLaren themselves, it escaped the factory’s control. The world in which a random person propositions a major F1 team to purchase a previous season’s race-winning car is quite a different world than the one in which I spend my days. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $6,503,035.

Alfa 155 Touring Car

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1996 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI ITC

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Milan, Italy | June 15, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 155 was Alfa’s cool, boxy sedan in the 1990s. It was actually produced between 1992 and 1998, and Alfa took it racing in the early part of the decade. We’ve featured a homologation prototype of a 155 race-car-for-the-road in the past.

The 155 V6 TI was campaigned in DTM and the International Touring Car Championship between 1993 and 1996. This is a factory race car powered by a 490-horsepower, 2.5-liter V6. It’s also got four-wheel drive and can hit 60 in 2.5 seconds as well as 185 mph on the straights. Just imagine it bouncing over curbing at Europe’s most famous race tracks.

This particular chassis competed in the 1996 International Touring Car Championship with driver Nicola Larini, who won races with it at Mugello and Interlagos. The current owner bought it in 2018 and had it prepped for the DTM Classics Series at an insane cost. So it’s ready to go. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $940,300.

Koenigsegg CCR

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2004 Koenigsegg CCR

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Milan, Italy | June 15, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Koenigsegg produced three prototypes of its first car, the CC, before entering production with the CC8S in 2002. Two years later they upped the ante with the CCR, which was an evolution of the CC8S with revised braking and suspension systems. Aerodynamic updates, bigger wheels, and engine upgrades were also part of the package, which made the CCR one of the most outrageous supercars of the 2000s.

Built between 2004 and 2006, the CCR is powered by an 806 horsepower, twin-supercharged 4.6-liter V8. It was capable of hitting 60 in about 3.2 seconds on its way to a record-breaking 245 mph.

Only 14 examples were produced, and this is number three. It was the first CCR unveiled to the public and is finished in Lava Orange over a pretty decent-looking interior for a low-volume, upstart supercar manufacturer from 2004. No estimate is available, but it sure won’t be cheap. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $946,974.

1911 Winton Touring

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1911 Winton Model 17-B Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | May 22, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Alexander Winton’s company is one of my favorites. Winton was one of America’s first automobile manufacturers, and by the 1910s, they were a producer of some of America’s finest cars. Six-cylinder Wintons arrived in 1908 and became the mainstay of their lineup until the end of the company in 1924.

The Model 17-B was Winton’s sole 1911 offering. It was powered the same 7.5-liter inline-six that stuck around for 1912’s 17-C. Horsepower was rated at 48. Seven body styles were offered from the factory, including this $3,408 five-passenger touring that was delivered new in Pittsburgh.

Restored a while back, this car has been used in historic tours since the 1950s. It’s a pretty grand piece of pre-WWI American automotive art. It should sell for between $200,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $318,500.

Rolls Phantom II Special Brougham

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1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Brougham by Brewster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Eschen, Liechtenstein | June 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Phantom II was Rolls-Royce’s follow-up to the, wait for it, Phantom I. It was the “big” Roller, more powerful and greater in stature than the smaller 20/25 and 25/30 models offered during the 1930s. The Phantom II was sold between 1929 and 1936. Only 1,680 were made.

It is powered by a 7.7-liter inline-six that made approximately 120 horsepower. This particular car carries a one-off body by Brewster featuring an open driver’s compartment with a raked, vee’d windshield as well as a closed passenger’s compartment. A removable roof panel over the driver continues the rake of the windshield for a very aerodynamic front end. Well, a very aerodynamic middle section of the car, because that hood is long.

The rear of the body featured caning on the exterior as well as a sunken floor, gold-plated hardware, and wood trim. It was ordered new by the wife of a wealthy architect and spent time between their Washington D.C. and Newport, Rhode Island, homes. Quite the life.

This magnificent Rolls is estimated to sell for between $1,450,000-$1,950,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,715,671.

March 811

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1981 March-Ford-Cosworth 811

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | May 22, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

March Engineering debuted on the Formula One grid in 1970. Their best years were their early years, and they left after a points-less 1977. March reappeared in 1981, and then packed up their ball again and went home after 1982. They reappeared yet again in 1987 and raced as Leyton House Racing in 1990 and 1991 before a final season as March in 1992.

The 811 was their car for the 1981 season. It featured a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth DFV V8, which on this example was recently rebuilt. The competition history for this chassis, 811-05, includes:

  • 1981 Spanish Grand Prix – 16th (with Derek Daly)
  • 1981 French Grand Prix – 19th, DNF (with Daly)
  • 1981 German Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Daly)
  • 1981 Austrian Grand Prix – 11th (with Daly)
  • 1981 Dutch Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Daly)
  • 1981 Italian Grand Prix – 12th, DNF (with Daly)
  • 1981 Canadian Grand Prix – 8th (with Daly)

It was later campaigned in the 1982 British Formula One championship and in the final few races of the 1982 Can-Am season, during which it was modified to look more like a sports car. It was restored to its 1981 F1 glory in 1988 and has been active on the historic circuit. It is expected to bring between $300,000-$400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $335,000.

Chenowth Indianapolis

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1961 Chenowth-Chevrolet Indianapolis

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | May 22, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Once upon a time, there was a company called San Diego Steel Products, and they made exhaust headers. It was owned by a guy named Chuck Chenowth, and he wanted to go racing at Indianapolis. He built an Indy roadster and stuffed a 4.2-liter Chevrolet V8 up front in an era when an Offenhauser-powered Anything dominated each race. Bold move.

It’s got Hillborn fuel injection and a Lehman front-drive unit to operate the fuel and water pumps as well as an Offenhauser gearbox and Halibrand wheels. The body was actually designed by Don Kuzma, another legendary name of the period. The Chenowth name is still around, although primarily associated with off-road racing today.

Unfortunately, this car never made a 500. It failed to arrive for the 1960 race and failed to qualify in 1961. It was more successful on the USAC short-track circuit, where it was driven by the likes of Tom Sneva, Mike Magill, and Greg Weld. It was restored near Cincinnati in the 1980s and is now offered with an estimate of $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $156,800.