Tag Archives: rm sothebys

June/July 2020 Auction Highlights

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Auctions have been pretty few and far between for the last few months, and some traditional tent auctions have turned to offering cars online. One such sale was RM’s Essen sale, which was originally scheduled for late March and shifted to online-only in June. No-sales included the Puch G-Wagen.

The overall top sale was this brand-new 2020 Porsche 935 Martini that brought approximately $1,480,782.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Diablo SE30 we featured brought $259,136, the EuroBrun F1 car $99,952, and the Porsche 912 $61,699. Other sales included the Ginetta G33 for $27,147, the TVR Grantura for $19,743, the Glas 1300 GT for $17,892, the Glas S 1004 for $13,573, and the Neckar for $12,031.

Finally, on the affordable side of things, the Ginetta G20 could’ve been had for $10,180, the Panther Lima for $8,329, and the Arkley SS for a paltry $1,357. Click here for final results.

Mecum held a sale in North Carolina to liquidate a private collection. At least I think it was in North Carolina. There was some weird online bidding stuff too. Pretty confusing. At any rate, this 1969 Dodge Daytona was the top seller at $231,000.

Photo – Mecum

All of our feature cars sold (everything sold), including the Buick GSX for $140,800. The Grand Sport Corvettes brought $68,750 for the convertible and $74,250 for the coupe. Complete results are provided here.

Mecum’s annual Indianapolis sale got shifted to July this year. The overall top seller was the prototype Shelby GT350R we featured. It sold for an impressive $3,850,000. Big-money no-sales included the L88 Corvette convertible race car, the Diedt-Offy Indy car, the Chevelle LS6 convertible, and the Ferrari 275 GTB/4. The high bids for those cars are available at their respective links. Most Interesting is awarded to this 1924 Lincoln Model L Limousine for $24,750 because old Lincolns rock.

Photo – Mecum

Other no-sales included Richard Petty’s ’71 Road Runner, the Dodge Lil Red Express, the Hemi GTX, the ’53 Eldorado, and the obviously-cursed Brumos-Edition 911 GT3. The Kurtis 500H was withdrawn.

On a positive note, a lot of cars estimated to bring lesser amounts found new homes, including the Checker Marathon for $6,600, the Nash Rambler for $24,200, a previously-featured Erskine Panel Truck for $28,600, and the Zimmer Golden Spirit for $24,200. The Cougar Eliminator brought $104,500, the GT350 convertible $1,100,000, a previously-featured Shelby Series 1 prototype $115,500, and the Ferrari F512M $396,000. More results, yes there are more results, are available here.

Dorotheum’s scooter and microcar sale had some interesting vehicles on offer, including this 1963 Peel P50 that sold for $97,265.

Photo – Dorotheum

We featured five cars from this sale. Here’s how they fared:

Complete results are presented here.

Finally, Historics’ Windsorview Lakes sale, where the awesome Spyker LM85 we featured sold for $281,472. The top sale was this 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for $703,682.

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Our two other feature cars both sold, with the Humber bringing $27,443 and the Brooke Double R $24,648. More results can be found here.

Duesenberg J-169

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1929 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Sedan by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | August 13-15, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This short-wheelbase Model J is said to be one of approximately 45 built as a convertible sedan by the Walter M. Murphy Company. It was a popular choice for a Duesenberg body, and it’s easy to see why.

Power is from a 6.9-liter inline-eight that was fitted with a supercharger in the 1960s. The supercharger was an assembled unit, made up of original and reproduction parts. This is not a factory-supercharged car. Had it been, the factory would’ve claimed an output of 320 horsepower.

The history of this chassis is known back to its second owner, and it was acquired by the consignor back in 1990. Stashed away for decades, it would be a welcome sight at most shows. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $781,000.

Inaltera GTP

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1976 Inaltera-Cosworth GTP

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | July 14-22, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Jean Rondeau was a racing driver that drove open-wheel and saloon cars before moving on to sports racing prototypes in 1976 when he joined the Inaltera team. Inaltera was a wallpaper company, an industry whose natural extension is prototype sports cars to contest Le Mans.

This example, the first of three built, was the team’s test car. It is powered by a 3.0-liter Cosworth V8. Though it did not compete at Le Mans in 1976, it would enter the race the following year. It’s competition history includes:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 4th (3rd in Class), with Jean Rondeau and Jean Ragnotti

After that, Inaltera pulled out of motor racing. Rondeau ventured on, building similar cars under his own name. He would later become the only person to win Le Mans with a car bearing his own name.

This car went to Switzerland after the 1977 season along with the other two Inaltera chassis. The current owner acquired all three later that year and sold the other two, keeping this one. It is now offered with an estimate between $510,000-$625,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $440,902.

Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar

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1976 Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar

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

Photo Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

Robert G. Beaumont founded Sebring-Vanguard in Sebring, Florida, and set about producing a golf cart-inspired electric car that was street legal. The Bugeyed wedge was a design inspired by the times and featured a big safety bumper up front, side-hinged doors, and two seats.

Power is from an electric motor (the CitiCar retained much of the inspirational golf cart’s mechanical bits). Early cars had 2.5 horsepower, and the final run had a mighty six. In 1976, Sebring-Vanguard was the sixth-largest automotive manufacturer in the United States.

About 2,300 were produced between 1974 and 1977 when the design and production rights were sold to a company called Commuter Vehicles, who re-launched an updated version as the Comuta-Car in 1979. This one is all-original and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,200.

Spring 2020 Auction Highlights

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Well, the world is a mess, and most auction houses have postponed or canceled more or less every scheduled auction that was scheduled to be held anytime in late March through… well I don’t even know yet. It’s mid-April as I begin typing this post, and the calendar has more or less cleared out through May and into June (Edit: it took until June to wrap this up).

But! There are still some results to cover, beginning with H&H Auctioneers’ late March sale, which was pretty much the last one to get in before everything went haywire. The top seller was this 1938 Lagonda LG6 Drophead Coupe that brought roughly $237,510 (this was the day that the markets tanked, so the exchange rate was at its lowest in a long time).

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Jensen CV8 we featured brought $46,980, and complete results are available here.

RM Sotheby’s shifted their entire Palm Beach sale to online-only, and the top sale ended up being this 1996 Porsche 911 GT2 for $891,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Intermeccanica Murena GT was withdrawn from the sale. More results can be found here.

H&H also had a sale in late April, even after things were shutting down. The top sale at this abbreviated sale was this 1967 Ford Mustang GT, and it sold for approximately $75,277.

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Austin sedan we featured sold for $10,949. More results are available here.

Osenat was one of the first houses to hold a mid-COVID (“mid” because it ain’t over yet) sale. The Panhard we featured didn’t sell, but the overall top seller was this 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S that sold for $950,518. Click here for additional results.

Photo – Osenat

Bonhams held an online sale at the end of May that included a Frazer Nash, an Allard L-Type, and a Lamborghini Urraco that we featured. Only the Lambo sold (for $75,178), and the top sale was for this 1966 Aston Martin DB6 that brought $184,400. Complete results are available here.

Photo – Bonhams

Auto Union 1000 S Coupe

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1963 Auto Union 1000 S Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Auto Union was a group of German car brands under one umbrella. But strangely, there were never very many cars sold under the Auto Union marque. In fact, in most markets, the 1000 was the only car ever offered by the brand.

It replaced the DKW 3=6 and looked very similar to that car. Power is from a 981cc inline-three making 50 horsepower. It was produced between 1958 and 1965 and could’ve been had as a sedan, coupe, wagon, or, in SP form, a sports car.

These are very rare in the U.S., even though over 170,000 of them were built. The 1000 was eventually replaced by another DKW product as Auto Union continued to waver on its branding strategy. This example is in great shape and will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $27,440.

Porsche 912

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1965 Porsche 912

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online/Somewhere in Europe | June 3-11, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is a car I like. Comically undervalued until recently when their prices started to climb, the 912 was an entry-level model situated below the 911 and was built between 1965 and 1969. Porsche built over 32,000 of them during that time.

It’s a 911 look-a-like powered by a 1.6-liter flat-four, instead of a flat-six like the 911. With 102 horsepower on tap, the 912 was lighter than the 911 and was a great handler. We’ve actually featured a 912 prototype, which was based on a 356, the car whose gap the 912 filled in Porsche’s lineup.

They aren’t rare cars (although the Targa variant is rarer than the coupe by some margin), but they carry all of the contemporary 911’s attractive lines at a steep discount. This one is estimated at $57,500-$79,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $61,699.

TVR Grantura

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1961 TVR Grantura Series II

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online/Somewhere in Europe | June 3-11, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Remember the Griffith? That insane short-wheelbase coupe powered by a huge Ford V8? Well, this is the AC Ace to the Griffith’s Cobra. TVR’s Grantura was built in a number of series between 1958 and 1967. No V8s here – these were all four-cylinder-powered.

Series II cars were built between 1960 and 1962, and like other Granturas, they feature a fiberglass body and mechanical parts from other cars on sale at the time. Some cars used bits from Volkswagens, MGs, Triumphs, or Austin-Healeys. This car is powered by a 1.6-liter inline-four from an MGA. That was a factory option.

With this engine, which produced 79 horsepower in the MGA, the Grantura was capable of 98 mph. Approximately 400 Series II cars were built, making it the most popular of all Granturas. This right-hand-drive example should bring between $27,000-$38,000 when it sells at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,743.

E-Type Lightweight Continuation

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1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Continuation

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Well, we featured examples of Jaguar’s D-Type and XKSS continuation cars, so why not round it out with this E-Type Lightweight? All three of these are coming from the same collection, so somebody obviously had an “in” with Jaguar Classic.

Jaguar wanted to build 18 lightweight versions of the E-Type for use in competition in 1963, but they only manage to complete 12. The remaining six went into production in 2014. Differences from the standard cars included aluminum body panels and aluminum engine block for the 3.8-liter inline-six (that was now rated at 300 horsepower).

This car is not a replica, and it wasn’t built using an existing E-Type as a base. It’s a fresh, brand new, Jaguar-built E-Type Lightweight. This was the first continuation car built and was used by Jag as a promo car. It’s only covered about 700 miles since new. It’s now offered at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,710,000.

Fiat 8V by Vignale

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1954 Fiat 8V Coupe by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Can you believe that Fiat didn’t built a V8 until they introduced the 8V in 1952? They didn’t produce any eight-cylinder engines until that time, and the only reason the model is called the “8V” is because they didn’t want to get in a tussle with Ford over the use of “V8.”

Between 1952 and 1954, Fiat produced just 114 examples of its 2.0-liter V8-powered 8V. Power was rated between 104 and 125 horsepower depending on which iteration of the engine the car received, although the catalog is short on that detail.

This is the 80th example produced, and it features dramatic bodywork from Vignale. It was produced as a follow up to a Michelotti-penned show car called the Demon Rouge. 8Vs are never cheap, and short of a Supersonic, this is about the best-looking example I’ve seen. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.