Tag Archives: rm sothebys

Jensen-Ford

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1936 Jensen-Ford Tourer

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Brothers Richard and Alan Jensen began building car bodies (officially) in 1934. That’s when their company was founded that bore their name. Their company is best known for the Interceptor and Jensen-Healey sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s.

Among their first ventures was a limited run of Jensen-Ford four-seat convertibles. Powered by an 85 horsepower 3.6-liter Ford V-8, about 30 of these very pretty Tourers were built between 1934 and about 1936. Only three of these were left-hand-drivers (this among those three) that were exported to the U.S. One of them was owned by Clark Gable.

This car underwent a six year restoration that was completed in 2013. It’s a beautiful car – one not many people have heard of and it should appeal to Ford and British car collectors alike. It’s one of the first British-built/American-powered factory hot rods. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $247,500.

1900 Créanche Voiturette

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1900 Créanche Type A Voiturette

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 3, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Créanche was a French automobile manufacturer that existed in the very early days of automobiles. There were so many manufacturers of that period, many of which built just a handful of cars. Some lasted for a few years, like this one, which operated from 1899 through 1906.

Most of their cars were De Dion-powered and by 1904 the company offered five different models. This one is powered by a four horsepower, 477cc single-cylinder engine. This example was restored from an original car and the body was reconstructed to match the original in 1972.

This is one of two known survivors of the Créanche brand. It comes from a private Swiss collection (as do three other very interesting cars from this sale). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $56,240.

Porsche 918 Spyder

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2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Supercars are changing. With a shift to environmentally-friendly cars and ever-tightening emission regulations, automakers are having to adapt. To build wild, desirable cars, they’re having to go hybrid. But it’s not all bad, as an electric motor adds power.

In this case, there is a 4.6-liter V-8 engine making 608 horsepower mounted behind the driver. Additionally, there are two electric motors – one of them (that makes 154 horsepower) drives the rear wheels in conjunction with the gas engine and 7-speed transmission. The other electric motor drives the front wheels directly with another 125 horsepower. That is a total of 887 horsepower. Not too shabby.

The 918 Spyder launched for the 2014 model year and 918 units were built through June of 2015. This car has a lot of options, including the insanely-priced $80,000 Weissach package that adds a lot of carbon fiber in place of other trim, reducing the car’s weight by 99 pounds. That’s almost $809 per pound. If Colin Chapman worked off of that pricing scheme, he would’ve been the richest person alive.

This 1,500 mile example is an instant classic. It will always be collectible and they aren’t impossible to come by right now. But that won’t always be the case. Get it while you can. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale. (Also, Barrett-Jackson has an identical car for auction across town).

Update: Sold $1,595,000.

Cadillac Town Car

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1942 Cadillac Series 60 Special Town Car by Derham

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

At first glance, this car screams “owned by the head of a movie studio but never actually driven by that person.” Taking a step back and thinking about the larger story of the time, we see that America had just been attacked and that this was one of the final new cars built by Detroit prior to the war.

In fact, this car is one of just two Derham-bodied Town Cars on Cadillac’s Series 60 Special chassis for 1942. The engine is a 150 horsepower 5.7-liter V-8. The car started life as a Series 60 Special Imperial Sedan (which was a mid-range Caddy for ’42) and then it was shipped to Derham in Pennsylvania to be converted to this chauffeur’s machine you see here.

It was delivered new to someone in New York and the present owner acquired it in 1974 and restored it. It’s a fairly unique machine in that most Cadillacs were bodied in-house by this point – and most Post-War Cadillacs were too, making this the last of its kind. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $79,750.

Siata 208S

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1954 Siata 208S Spider by Motto

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Siata began life in Turn in 1926 when Giorgio Ambrosini began selling aftermarket performance bits for Fiats (so yes, there was a tuner scene in the 1920s). The company’s first original model was introduced in 1948 and they continued to build cars up through 1970. This is their finest work.

Sure, it may look a little AC Ace-ish but they were contemporaries from different parts of Europe. The 208S was produced in 1953 and 1954 only. It is powered by a 125 horsepower 2.0-liter alloy V-8 engine from Fiat (the famous “8V’ engine).

Only 56 examples of the 208S were built and this is the final of 33 Motto Spiders. This car has known ownership since 1956 and has been the recipient of two restorations, the most recent of which occurred in 2011. Since then it has appeared at some major Concours shows around the world (Pebble Beach, Kuwait, Villa d’Este), taking awards home in the process. It could be the nicest example anywhere. And it can be yours for between $1,500,000-$1,900,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s New York lineup.

Update: Sold $1,650,000.

APAL-Porsche

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1962 APAL-Porsche 1600 GT Coupe

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

APAL, or Application Polyester Armé de Liège, was an automobile company that operated in Liege, Belgium from 1961 through 1998, when they relocated to Germany. Most of the cars produced by the company over the years are either kits or replicas.

Edmond Pery, founder of APAL, was a fiberglass specialist. So his cars were all constructed of that material. The 1600 GT was based on the Porsche 356. The body is fiberglass and the chassis is Volkswagen, the wheelbase of which is a foot longer than a 356. The engine is a rear-mounted 1.6-liter flat-four making 60 horsepower.

Only about 150 of these coupes were built between 1961 and 1965 and only about 30 of those have an engine from a 356. This car is one of very few in the U.S. and has been here for quite some time. It has recently been restored and is now offered for sale. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $88,000.

300SL Sportabteilung

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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Race Car

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing” is one of the “must-have” collector cars for serious collectors. And serious collectors need only apply, because in recent years, prices for 300SLs have skyrocketed from around the $500,000 mark to an easy million. Total production of 300SL coupes was about 1,400 examples. Alloy (or aluminium-bodied) cars are highly sought after and very rare. But this is a different animal.

You’re looking at one of only four factory-prepped steel-bodied 300SL Gullwing race cars. Many Gullwings saw competition, usually in the hands of privateer weekend racers, but this is the real deal. Mercedes-Benz sent this car to their sporting department (or “Sportabteilung”) to beef it up to see what the stresses of racing did to their road car.

The engine is a 3.0-liter straight-six making an estimated 240 horsepower – more than a standard road cars. Other upgrades included a lower ride height, competition exhaust, better brakes, and more. Its factory race history is unknown, but it is believed that the car was used as a trainer by Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, John Fitch, and others.

Mercedes sold the car to a guy in Paris who entered it in the 1956 Tour de France, in which the car finished second at the hands of Stirling Moss. The father of the current owner acquired the car in 1966. It sat for 40 years and was only recently “refurbished” to road-worthy condition. It has never been fully restored. It is the first of the four Sportabteilung Gullwings and one of only two known to still exist. It will likely become the most expensive 300SL to ever publicly trade hands. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

212 Inter by Vignale

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1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe by Vignale

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This is a very stylish car, but we probably don’t need to tell you that. It looks like something you’d see parked at Villa d’Este (Good news: just read the lot description and this car has not been shown there – so here’s your very hard-to-get ticket to that show).

The 212 Inter was one of Ferrari’s earliest road cars. Only 82 were built between 1951 and 1952 and only six of those were Vignale Coupes. This was the first. The car is powered by a 2.6-liter Colombo V-12 making 170 horsepower.

This car was shown by a Ferrari dealer at the 1954 San Remo Concours d’Elegance before being returned to Ferrari and shipped to Luigi Chinetti in the U.S. (who sold it to a guy in Milwaukee). He ruined the engine and swapped it out. Fast forward to 2009 when the car was owned by an Indiana man who had it restored – and the original engine was located and put back in the car. Now the car is just about perfect – including that beautiful color combination. It can now be yours. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Not sold.

Pretty, Purple Delage

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1934 Delage D8 S Cabriolet by Fernandez et Darrin

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Delage is responsible for some of the most glamorous French cars of the 1930s. And American Howard Darrin was responsible for some of the most beautiful bodies on said French cars. This Cabriolet by Fernandez & Darrin (Fernandez was the money behind the company, Darrin the talent) is almost more of a targa – the open part of the roof is the purple piece over the driver’s compartment.

The D8 S was an upgraded version of the Delage’s large D8. The 4.1-liter straight-eight makes 120 horsepower in “S” form. The body is exquisitely styled right down to the smallest details. In short, it is beautiful.

Only two examples of the D8 S were built with this body style. It was sold new in the U.K. and was re-discovered there in the late 1970s, having not been driven since WWII. In 1983, it made its way to the U.S. and was restored in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The original colors (black and red) were replaced with this light purple – or lilac. This is an amazing example of French Art Deco automotive design. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,430,000.

Fangio’s Mille Miglia Ferrari

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1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 10, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Not sure how they do it, but RM Sotheby’s manages to bring some really rare Ferraris to market, including this ultra-rare Ferrari sports racing prototype. The 290 MM was built in 1956 only and competed in the World Sportscar Championship. It was driven by some of the biggest names in racing and in some of the biggest races. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1956 Mille Miglia – 4th (with Juan Manuel Fangio)
  • 1956 1000km Nurburgring – 3rd (with Phil Hill, Ken Wharton, Olivier Gendebien & Alfonso de Portago)
  • 1957 1000km Buenos Aires – 1st (with Masten Gregory, Luigi Musso & Eugenio Castellotti)

Those are three impressive results with some of the ’50s top drivers. The 290 MM is powered by a 320 horsepower 3.5-liter V-12 that was based on the engine from Ferrari’s Formula One cars.

This was a Scuderia Ferrari race car that finished 4th in the Mille Miglia with Juan Manuel Fangio – that alone is remarkable. That the car has never been crashed and is mostly unrestored (except for the repaint) is incredible. The team used the car in both the 1956 and 1957 World Sportscar Championship and in early 1957 the car was sold to someone in the U.S. It’s had a few owners worldwide since.

This car can be used and hopefully whatever well-heeled buyer walks away with it next month will use it at historic races. Only four 290 MMs were built. This one will bring millions. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $28,050,000.