Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 30, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Pagani Zonda was first introduced in 1999. It seems like forever ago. And it was. The first chassis has already gone through a restoration. It’s successor, the Huayra, went on sale in 2012. But Horacio Pagani kept producing limited-edition (mostly one-off) Zondas for customers through 2017.
This car, which is the 131st of 140 Zondas built, was special-ordered by a private customer. It’s based on the Zonda Cinque but has some different parts and is one of Pagani’s “760-Series” Zondas, which are all bespoke, one-off creations (and some of them, which are still being constructed, are actually built using earlier Zondas as donor cars).
Power is from a 749 horsepower 7.3-liter V12. It was delivered in 2018 to its first owner, who is now selling it. I guess customizing a supercar can only hold your interest for so long. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 30, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Sometimes design houses will build concept cars on behalf of a manufacturer. ItalDesign used to do it, along with Pininfarina and even Zagato, as was the case here. It was built in conjunction with Lamborghini and was ultimately intended to slot in Lambo’s model lineup below the Diablo.
Only one functional prototype was built (this car), and it borrows the Diablo VT‘s chassis and all-wheel-drive system. Power is from a 5.7-liter V12, and the car weighed significantly less than the one it was based on, thanks to carbon-fiber bodywork and a lack of doors. That’s right, the entire front section, windshield included, flips forward to allow entrance to the two-seat cabin.
It debuted at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show and was acquired by its current owner in 2000. The car was last shown and driven in 2008. You can see more about it here, and see more from RM here.
We start in October with Worldwide Auctioneers’ liquidation of the Corpus Christi Old Car Museum. The overall top sale was the Apollo 3500 GT Spider we featured for $506,000. We will award Most Interesting to this heavy-duty 1972 Chevrolet C50 Pickup that brought $23,100. Full results can be found here.
We featured quite a few cars from RM’s Hershey sale, mostly because they were selling off an amazing collection of weird old cars. Here’s a list of results:
Bonhams’ Zoute sale always has a decent collection of European classics, which were led by this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy for $3,203,900. The F40 we featured sold for $1,025,248. Final results are available here.
Photo – Bonhams
And we’ll go back to RM Sotheby’s for their London sale. A pair of our feature cars didn’t sell, including the Ferrari 412 T1 and the Noble M600. This 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S was the overall top sale at $1,600,969.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Arrows A21 we featured (there were two in this sale) brought $92,194, which was just slightly less than the other one. And the Wiesmann brought $103,257. More results are available here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann started a company in 1988 to build a classic-style roadster. That came to fruition in 1993, and from there, the company moved from neo-classic-esque open roadsters to something bordering on an insane supercar wrapped in a classically-styled package.
Their first closed car was the GT, which went on sale in MF4 guise in 2003. This two-seat coupe is powered by a 4.8-liter BMW V8 that puts out 367 horsepower. That’s enough power to propel this little thing to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds on the way to a top end of 180 mph. After 2010, the MF4 broke the 400 horsepower barrier. I saw one of these parked on the street in Switzerland. They are great-looking cars.
More extreme versions were offered, but this example represents the classic Wiesmann GT before they went power-crazy. Production lasted until 2013 when the company went bankrupt. They’ve since been purchased by a group of investors, but it is unclear if production will resume. Between 1988 and 2013, Wiesmann built about 1,600 cars. This one should bring between $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Arrows Grand Prix International was an active F1 team between 1978 and 2002. They never won a race, and by 2000 they weren’t in the best position on the grid, literally and figuratively. Drivers Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa managed a best result of 4th all season.
The A21 was their car for 2000. Originally, it was powered by a 3.0-liter V10 from Supertec. Now it has a 3.0-liter Cosworth AC V8, which is probably much more reliable, even if it was built 25 years ago. The AC carried a rating of about 500 horsepower when new. The competition history for this chassis includes:
2000 Belgian Grand Prix – 16th (with Pedro de la Rosa)
2000 Italian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with de la Rosa)
And that was it for A21 chassis no. 05. It was later rebuilt after the accident at Monza and is now being offered alongside another A21 at RM’s sale. It’s like a turn-key F1 team from 20 years ago. Get after it! Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
The Wolverine Can-Am car we featured sold for $99,254, and the Rochdale brought $31,194. Click here for more results.
Up next we have RM’s Saragga Collection sale in Portugal. All of our feature cars sold, led by the Denzel and the HRG, which sold for $345,025 and $181,745 respectively. The overall top sale was $746,297 paid for this 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Tourer.
Back to Bonhams for their inaugural “MPH” sale, which I think was a one-day online-only auction. Not really sure, as it wasn’t explained clearly on their website. The Brooke ME190 failed to sell, while the overall top sale was a tie. Both this 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth (below) and this 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 K13 SOV Prototype (second below) sold for $61,032 each. Full results can be found here.
The Chrysler New Yorker we featured was withdrawn from the sale, but you can look through the rest of the results here.
Finally, we have one more from Bonhams: their Swiss supercar sale, including a bunch of cars confiscated from the son of an African dictator. Fun! Our feature feature car was the overall top sale: the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, which sold for $8,330,076. The Lagonda Taraf failed to sell. In the spirit of over-the-top supercars, Most Interesting goes to this 2010 Lamborghini Reventon Roadster that found a new home for $1,966,823.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | October 24, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Noble M600 breaks the rule of not featuring any cars on this site that are still in production. The M600 went on sale in 2010 and is technically still available, although the company has only sold about 30 examples thus far. But because they’re so rare, and only God knows when they’ll actually stop making it, I decided to feature it anyway.
Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 from Yamaha that is actually based on a road-going Volvo V8. It’s capable of 650 horsepower, depending on which mode you’ve selected from the dash-operated Road/Track/Race settings menu. All that power can push the car to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds on the way to a 215 mph top speed. It’s a legitimate supercar.
The CarbonSport edition you see here features an exposed carbon fiber body that is colored maroon. This car has only delivery mileage on it and is the ninth CarbonSport car produced. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Before becoming Gasmobile, cars produced by the Automobile Company of America were called American. But that was just in 1899, and Gasmobile-branded cars of one, three, four, and six-cylinders were sold during various parts of 1900 through 1902.
1902 was when they really went wild with a diversified product lineup, which was part of the cause of their financial undoing. Four different body styles were offered on the three-cylinder chassis, including the $2,000 Stanhope. Power is from a nine horsepower inline-three.
This Gasmobile was formerly part of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg museum. The restoration dates to the late 1970s, and it completed the London-to-Brighton run in 1983. It is now selling at no reserve with an estimate of $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Hershey.
Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 11, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
The first Ferrari “supercar” was the 288 GTO. But let’s be honest, it looks like a 308 GTB. The F40 is truly the first balls-to-the-wall Ferrari supercar. And it’s about time we featured one.
Only 1,311 examples were produced between 1987 and 1992, and it was one of the final cars approved by Enzo himself, which is part of the reason it is so special. As time has gone on, these cars have become more appreciated, more expensive, and sadly, much less used.
Some of that is due to it being a not super-friendly road car. Power is from a rear/mid-mounted twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V8 rated at 471 horsepower. The Pininfarina-designed body is made of composite materials and aluminum. It’s light. Sixty arrived in about four and a half seconds, and the car topped out just shy of 200 mph at 197. Unlike many of its F-car supercar brethren, there were racing versions.
This Italian-delivery example should bring between $870,000-$1,100,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019
1906 White Model F Touring
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Thomas White‘s sewing machine business gave way to steam cars in 1900. The company was a pioneer in their field, but they ultimately saw the light and phased out steam cars in favor of gas-powered vehicles in 1912.
This 1906 Model F Touring was the second-cheapest car White offered in 1906 after the Model F Runabout. At $2,800, it wasn’t cheap. But the White was one of the more popular – and more well-built – steam cars of their day. This one looks great but would look better with a convertible top. It should bring between $40,000-$60,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $96,250.
1917 Chandler Type 17 Seven-Passenger Touring
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Frederic Chandler worked for Lozier before he jumped ship in 1913 with a few of his fellow employees to form his own company. The Chandler was a hit and lasted through 1929, when it was acquired by Hupmobile and quickly phased out.
There were a lot of cars “in the middle” of the American market in the 1910s and 20s. Chandler was one of the better ones in that class. This 1917 model is powered by a 27 horsepower 4.4-liter inline-six. Five body styles were offered, and the seven-passenger touring sold new for $1,395. This time around it should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $18,700.
1923 Gardner Model 5 Five-Passenger Sedan
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The most interesting thing about this Gardner sedan, to me, is thinking about who purchased it in 1923. No one in 1923 knew that GM, Chrysler, and Ford would still be around 100 years later. But surely someone assumed Gardner would’ve been. After all, it was a well-regarded company from St. Louis that built a fair number of cars. It’s just hard to imagine someone wandering down to their local Gardner dealer and plunking down the cash.
Gardners were built from 1920 through 1931, and the company sort of inched upmarket each year, with their final offerings bordering on luxury cars. Kind of like Chrysler. But back in ’23, they were just another middle-class marque. The Model 5 could be had in a few styles, the sedan selling for $1,365. It kind of looks like a taxi and is powered by a 43 horsepower inline-four. It is expected to bring between $20,000-$30,000. But I bet it goes cheaper than that. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $13,200.
1930 Marquette Model 35 Five-Passenger Phaeton
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
GM’s “companion make” philosophy in the 1920s and 1930s gave us Pontiac and LaSalle. Both of which were relatively successful. In fact, Pontiac was so successful that GM killed off the brand that spawned it, Oakland. So they figured they’d give Buick a companion. And they did: Marquette.
It only lasted for a single model year. Six models were offered, all priced right at about $1,000. All Marquettes are powered by a 3.5-liter inline-six good for 67 horsepower. The Model 35 Phaeton sold for $1,020, and this is one of 889 such cars built.
In all, Marquette production totaled 35,007 before GM killed it off. This rare survivor should bring between $15,000-$25,000, which seems like a steal. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $15,950.
1933 Terraplane Deluxe Six Model KU Sedan
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
I was excited to feature an Essex. But I forgot that Hudson killed off the Essex marque in favor of Terraplane beginning in 1933. So instead of featuring a final-year example from Essex, we’re featuring a launch-year example of the Terraplane.
Terraplane offered six and eight-cylinder cars in 1933 that were essentially down-market Hudsons. A slew of body styles were offered, and the sedan cost $655 when new. A 3.2-liter inline-six good for 70 horsepower provided the oomph. This is a handsome car in good colors. It’s well-trimmed, with chrome bumpers and four suicide doors. The best part is it is usable and is expected to fetch only $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
