Tag Archives: rm sothebys

August 2020 Auction Highlights

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The auction world started picking up steam in August, with most houses turning to online or partial-in-person sales. First up is Silverstone Auctions, where this 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV sold for $2,503,366.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The one-off RA4 Vanguard failed to sell, but the Zenos brought $26,506 and the Benova $41,231. More results are available here.

Next up is Gooding & Company, a sale from which we featured two cars. Both sold. The Duesenberg brought $1,012,000, and the VLF sold for an undisclosed amount, WHICH IS LAME. You should assume they paid $15,000 for it, and then refuse to buy it from (presumably) whoever is about to try and flip it for an insane profit (based off of that $15,000 number). The top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose for $3,080,000. Go here for more results.

Photo – Gooding & Company

Bonhams’ “Quail” sale was held in Los Angeles this year. The cars with the four largest estimates all failed to sell (including the Offener Tourenwagen), leaving this 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder atop the heap at $2,232,500.

Photo – Bonhams

The Grid-Porsche didn’t seller either. The Adams Probe sold for $184,800, and the Mason Tourist King brought $201,600, which seems strong. Check out the other cars that sold here.

RM’s Monterey sale also shifted to the internet (they called it “Shift/Monterey”). The top sale was a 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive for $4,290,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

To start, a BMW M1 Procar we featured a while back sold here for $913,000. The Duesenberg from this sale sold for $781,000, and the Fiat Wonderful Coupe brought $181,500. All of our feature cars actually sold, which I guess means they were well-selected. The Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 sold for $176,000, the Edwards America convertible $148,500, and I’m pretty sure a previously-featured Fiat 1100 Allemano cabriolet sold for $158,000. Complete results are available here.

H&H had another online sale this month, and two of the cars we featured from last month failed to sell again (see: Willys-Knight and Renault). The good news is that the Hupmobile found a new home for $32,396. The top sale was actually this 2007 Jaguar XKR (with crazy low mileage) for $36,814. More results can be found here.

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Finally, the FAM cabriolet prototype was withdrawn from the otherwise all-motorcycle Bonhams auction.

Chalmers Model 11

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1912 Chalmers Model 11 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-5, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Many early car companies were started by engineers or industrialists. Chalmers was founded by a sales guy (sort of). The short version is the Thomas car company would become the Thomas-Detroit car company in 1906. Hugh Chalmers was a high-up at National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio, and he was a helluva salesman. He was lured to a struggling Thomas-Detroit in 1908.

One of the conditions was that the name be changed to Chalmers-Detroit (sorry, E.R. Thomas). By 1910, they dropped the “Detroit” and were known simply as Chalmers through 1924. Chalmers had officially merged with Maxwell in 1922 after a being sort of common-law married for the previous few years. Walter Chrysler bought out Maxwell/Chalmers in 1923, and the rest is history.

1911 was actually Chalmers’ best year when they were the 8th largest automaker in the U.S. The 1912 range consisted of four models, including the 30-horsepower, 3.7-liter inline-four-powered Model 11. This large tourer is expected to bring between $18,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $10,750.

Epperly Indy Roadster

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1961 Epperly-Offenhauser Indianapolis

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-5, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Quin Epperly is another legendary mid-century name associated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His cars first showed up at the 500 in 1955 and would continue to run there until the mid-engined revolution took hold.

This car is another Offy-powered roadster, originally equipped with a 255ci inline-four. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1961 Indianapolis 500 – 33rd, DNF (with Don Branson)
  • 1962 Indianapolis 500 – 5th (with Bobby Marshman)
  • 1963 Indianapolis 500 – 28th, DNF (with Bud Tingelstad)

Like so many other Indy roadsters, it was once part of the Bob McConnell collection for a number of years. It has been restored to its 1962 500 livery. It really looks the part of bad-ass Indy roadster, doesn’t it? The pre-sale estimate is $350,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $407,000.

Kurtis 500B

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1953 Kurtis 500B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-5, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Frank Kurtis was a legendary race car designer, and his 500B was an iteration of his earlier 500/500A cars. They first hit the track in about 1953, and they would be competitive for a few years thereafter, although they would eventually be topped by later, greater cars.

It’s powered by an Offenhauser inline-four, and the competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1953 Indianapolis 500 – 10th (with Jimmy Davies)
  • 1954 Indianapolis 500 – DNQ (with Davies)
  • 1955 Indianapolis 500 – 3rd (with Davies)
  • 1956 Indianapolis 500 – 28th, DNF (with Al Herman)

This car was formerly part of the Bob McConnell collection, and it wears its 1955/1956 “Bardahl Special” livery. Only eight examples of the 500B were built, and this was the last. It’s an Indy podium finisher and is expected to bring between $350,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $550,000.

July 2020 Auction Highlights

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Jumping right in, Artcurial’s Monaco sale saw this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL lead the way at $1,621,037.

Photo – Artcurial

The Venturi we featured sold for $65,501. Other cars that sold can be viewed here.

RM had a “European” online sale a week before having an “American” version, which is kind of weird, but I guess it you’re going to bundle cars together, you might as well do it by where they are located, or at least by what continent they are located on. Anyway, the Inaltera prototype sold for about $440,902. The top sale was $1,685,805 for this alloy-bodied 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB. Final results can be found here.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Onward to H&H Classics’ online sale. The two feature cars we had from this sale failed to find new homes and were re-consigned to H&H’s next sale in August (they were this Renault and this Willys). The top sale was this 1965 Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupe that brought $66,032. More results are available here.

Photo – H&H Classics

Bonhams’ MPH online sale is up next. The Lagonda V12 we featured failed to sell, but the Le Zebre went for $12,503. The top sale was this 1927 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model that sold for $294,205. Click here for additional results.

Photo – Bonhams

And, finally, we have RM’s other online sale, the American one. We only featured one car from this one, the Alfa Romeo RZ, and it sold for $61,600. Top sale honors go to this 2005 Ford GT. All $291,500 of it. Final results can be seen here.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Vignale Wonderful Coupe

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1958 Fiat 1200 Wonderful Coupe by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | August 14-15, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well get to this car’s name in a second, but first: the 1950s were kind of a weird time, as it turns out. American car companies wanted their cars to look Italian, and Italian car companies, apparently, wanted their cars to look American. Look at this car’s styling. It’s like they bolted a Fiat front clip onto a Packard Hawk.

The Fiat 1200 was built in sedan and convertible form between 1957 and 1961. Power is from a 1.2-liter inline-four that made 54 horsepower. This car was styled by Michelotti, and, sure enough, it says “Wonderful” on the fenders. Kind of amusing. The coolest part is that it’s a targa. The roof panel pops off, like so:

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It’s thought that as few as three of these were made. You can read more about this restored example here, and see more from RM Sotheby’s here.

Update: Sold $181,500.

Ferrari 365 GT 2+2

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1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | August 14-15, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 365 GT 2+2 (of no relation to the 365 GT4 2+2, which was the first of the “400” line of cars) was Ferrari’s followup to the successful 330 GT 2+2. Introduced in 1967, the 365 GT 2+2 would also be relatively successful, with Ferrari building 809 examples through 1971. In Ferrari-speak, this means they were churning them out.

Styling was by Pininfarina, and the car has a faint pretty strong 500 Superfast look to it. Power is from a Colombo V12 – the 4.4-liter engine put out 320 horsepower. They did build 14 drop-top versions, the 365 California. But they cost 10 times as much as one of these.

That’s right, this car is one of the least expensive entry points into classic Ferrari ownership (and by classic, I mean before everything got all boxy). The estimate on this car is $150,000-$180,000. Not bad for a 60s-era Ferrari. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $176,000.

Edwards America Convertible

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1954 Edwards America Convertible

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | August 14-15, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Sterling Edwards’ eponymous car company managed to produce just six-ish cars during its short run. But they were pretty. The America was available as a coupe and convertible. Two coupes were made, three convertibles were completed, and the sixth body was stolen and likely scrapped.

This is car number one. It was constructed using the frame from a Henry J and an Oldsmobile Rocket V8 engine. The body is fiberglass, and other parts were sourced from existing cars of the era, including Studebaker headlight rings and Mercury taillights.

When new, this car was said to cost $4,995. Not cheap in the day – almost two grand more than a Corvette. This example received a mechanical restoration in 2003 and was purchased by the consignor in 2013. It can now be yours, as it’s selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $148,500.

Moskvitch 400-420

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1951 Moskvitch 400-420

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-6, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Moskvitch was a brand of automobile produced by the Soviet Union beginning in 1946. The first cars were actually built at a former Opel plant in East Germany. Production continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and afterward under a privately-owned company until 2002. Somehow, Volkswagen currently owns the brand name.

The cars were reliable and low-cost by Soviet standards, although they were not always easy to get. The 400 was based on the pre-war Opel Kadett and went on sale in December 1946. The “400” meant that the car was powered by a 23-horsepower 1.1-liter inline-four, and the “420” meant that it was a sedan.

Other body styles were offered, and the model was ultimately succeeded by the short-lived 401 in 1954. Between the 400 and 401, 247,439 examples were produced. I have no particular history on this car, as this post is being written well in advance of RM’s catalog going online. But, these are rarely seen in the U.S. (or even Western Europe), and this one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $5,225.

Alfa Romeo RZ

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1993 Alfa Romeo RZ

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | July 23-30, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It’s always fun when a manufacturer rolls out an unnecessary, limited-edition specialty car. Think of things like the Lancia Hyena, the Alfa SZ/RZ, and even the Chevy SSR (I like them, leave me alone). They just make life more interesting.

The Alfa Romeo SZ, or Sprint Zagato, was built between 1989 and 1991. It was a hardtop coupe and 1,036 were built. The RZ, or Roadster Zagato, was offered from 1992 through 1994 and only 278 were built. It’s boxy, distinctive, and the suspension is based on the Alfa 75 IMSA car. It is apparently quite the driver’s car.

Power is from a 3.0-liter V6 rated at 207 horsepower. The roadster could hit 60 in 7.5 seconds, which doesn’t sound all that quick, but hey, it’s only got 207 horsepower. It’s a momentum machine, capable of great gobs of grip. This example is a rare sight in the U.S. and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $61,600.