Tag Archives: rm sothebys

EB110 Super Sport

Posted on by
1

1995 Bugatti EB110 SS

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | September 7, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This is one of the best super cars ever. It has the looks, it has the name, and it certainly has the speed. Romano Artioli’s Bugatti took shape in 1991 when production of the EB110 started in Italy. The original, “base” EB110 GT lacked the rear wing, as far as styling cues go. But the real difference was the power unit.

The Super Sport packs a punch with its quad-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-12 making 610 horsepower (a 50 horsepower bump over the GT). This put it right there with the McLaren F1 in terms of 1990s horsepower superiority. Top speed is an insane 216 mph. It can hit 60 in 3.2 seconds – which is still impressive 20 years later.

But the best thing has to be the looks. It just screams “super car” with proper scissor doors and bright yellow paint. It’s all around classic super car design. Bugatti would go broke in 1995 after just 33 EB110 SSs had been built – for a total count of 139 EB110s.

This is one of the last built and has had two owners since new, with the first being in Japan. RM seems to always find at least one fantastic super car for their London sale and it’s not going to get much better than this. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $965,888.

August 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. I

Posted on by
Reply

We now move into August, which, of course, means Pebble Beach. But first we head a little inland to Reno, Nevada for Barrett-Jackson’s sale where seemingly everything was in some way a “custom” except this, the top seller 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible which brought $214,500. Complete results can be found here.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Of the Pebble Beach sales, Bonhams is the first up in our rundown. All of our feature cars sold with the Ferrari 212 Cabriolet being the biggest money maker, at $2,200,000. The Veritas was next at $907,500. The top seller overall was this 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Alloy Berlinetta for $8,525,000.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The cool American Fiat sold for $130,000. Our two featured Aston Martins were both big money cars. The 2-Litre Sports sold for $781,000 and the Vanquish Roadster Prototype went for $660,000. Check out the complete results here.

Mecum’s Monterey sale is next. A previously-featured Duesenberg failed to sell at this sale but our featured Ruf CTR2 sold for $300,000. The top sale was this gorgeous-in-orange 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S for $2,300,000. Full results can be found here.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

RM Sotheby’s had a three-day sale in Monterey this year, including a special Thursday night sale of what they billed as the “Pinnacle Portfolio” – a collection of super cars from a single owner. They sort of advertised it as a separate sale, so we’ll run it down separately. The top seller there was a 1964 Ferrari 250LM that went for $17,600,000.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The two cars we featured from this sale brought big bucks. The Pope’s Enzo went for what has to be a record for the model: $6,050,000. And the wonderful McLaren F1 went for a mind-boggling $13,750,000. I remember when you could find one of those on a dealer lot in the late-90’s for under $1,000,000.

The rest of RM’s sale was also huge. Seemingly every other car was either a “prototype” or some rare one-off variant that features a distinction that the factory never even made. Regardless, there was a tie for the top sale between a 1953 Jaguar C-Type Lightweight (first below) and a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione Tour de France (second below). Both sold for an astounding $13,200,000.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Many of our feature cars were no slouches either. The Ferrari 275S sold for $7,975,000. Other million dollar cars included the Aston Martin Speed Model for $1,155,000, this sale’s Duesenberg for $1,595,000, and the Jaguar Supersonic for $2,062,500.

The beautiful Aston Martin DB9 Centennial Spyder went for $693,000 and the Pungs-Finch brought $852,500. The Chevy CERV-I and the Bizzarrini P538 both failed to sell, while the Adler Rennlimousine disappeared from the catalog. Full results for both of these sales can be found here.

Ferves Ranger

Posted on by
Reply

1973 Ferves Ranger

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | London, U.K. | September 7, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

When your name is Carlo Ferrari and you want to build your own car… well, you can’t exactly call them Ferraris. Instead, you come up with Ferrari Veicoli Speciali, or Ferves. The Ranger is based on the original Fiat 500 and 600. It’s a diminutive off-roader and the engine is at the rear.

That engine is a 499cc straight-twin from the 500 and it puts out all of 18 horsepower. Bits of the Fiat 600 make up the suspension. The cars were built starting in 1966 and lasting through, apparently, 1973. Only 600 were built and only 50 are thought to remain.

You’re looking at what has to be the nicest Ferves Ranger in the world. It will seat four and does have four-wheel drive. Yes, there is a folding windshield and convertible top. Those little go kart wheels should just cut through the mud. At any rate, you could have a lot less fun for a lot more money in other cars. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in London.

Update: Sold $44,845.

Pungs-Finch

Posted on by
Reply

1906 Pungs-Finch Limited Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This is a car you’ve likely never heard of. W.A. Pungs and his son-in-law, E.B. Finch, joined forces in late 1904 to create an automobile company. Finch was the engineer and Pungs was the money. They built a couple hundred cars through 1910 when, um, “familial issues” caused the two to part ways.

In 1906, they built a car called the Limited. It was available as a two-passenger Roadster or a seven-passenger Touring. This is an example of the seven-passenger Touring and it is likely the only example ever built. Henry Ford said it was the finest car he had ever seen.

This car is wonderfully engineered. It features shaft drive and hemispherical combustion chambers. The engine is an absolutely massive 10.6-liter straight-four making 50 horsepower. That’s right, each cylinder displaces almost as much as the engines in the two cars in my garage combined.

The Pungs-Finch – which really isn’t a great name for an automobile, let’s be honest – Limited Touring likely never progressed beyond this, the prototype stage. It was found and rescued in the 1950s and was once owned by Henry Austin Clark, Jr. The restoration is somewhat new, as is the body (it is a faithful recreation of the original, as the original was lost). At any rate, it’s the only Pungs-Finch in existence and, as much as I don’t want to sounds like a teenager, this car is epic. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $852,500.

July 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

Posted on by
Reply

There were a bunch of sales in July (and there’s a bunch more in August). It seems like auction houses are really packing the calendar this year. First up in this rundown is RM Sotheby’s Motor City sale. The top sale was this previously featured Duesenberg for $852,500. Both of our new feature cars sold, with the beautiful LaSalle bringing $77,000 and the Ford Explorer Concept $14,300. A car we would’ve loved to have gone home in was this 1932 Packard Eight Phaeton, which sold for $140,250. Click here for complete results.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Now we’ll jump to England for Silverstone Auctions’ Silverstone Classic, which they actually broke down into two sales – one for competition cars, and one for everything else. We’ll break it down that way too. First up, the competition cars where this 1959 Cooper Monaco took top sale honors at $342,225.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

All three of our featured F1 cars sold, with the 1983 Osella-Alfa Romeo bringing $126,360. The ’86 Osella sold for $70,200. And the engine-less Toleman TG185 went for $48,266.

We weren’t able to feature anything from the road car portion of this sale, but the high seller was a 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo LE for $249,210. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

H&H Classics held a sale at Pavilion Gardens near the end of July. We weren’t able to feature anything from this sale either, but the big seller was this 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 Coupe for $107,530. Click here to see more results, including a host of more affordable cars.

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

And finally, we bump into August with Mecum’s sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This is one of those sales where cars are sold at prices mere humans can afford. It’s great. The top sale, however, was this 1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible for $190,000. Check out full results here.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

McLaren F1 LM-Spec

Posted on by
Reply

1998 McLaren F1 LM-Spec

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The McLaren F1 is the greatest supercar ever built. Period. It was the fastest car ever built for years after it was introduced (it is still the fastest naturally-aspirated road car ever built, nearly 25 years later) and it remains a singular achievement in the automobile world. They are so rare and unlike anything else built.

Only 64 F1 road cars were built out of a total of 106. Seven were prototypes. Two were GTs. 28 were GTRs. And five were LMs. This car is the second-to-last road car built but it has since been upgraded to LM specification. It is not one of the original LMs. The LM was the road-variant of the GTR Le Mans racers.

So McLaren has this program for people in the know (that is, McLaren owners) that allow them to bring their car to the factory to be customized (or upgraded) to suit their needs or desires. This F1 went back to the factory was given an LM-spec engine: a 6.1-liter aluminium V-12 making 680 horsepower. Only one other F1 road car has this engine. It also has some aero bits in the form of the Extra High Downforce Package which includes the front splitter, the rear wing and a few other details, including the wheels.

This car is currently owned by its second owner. These have become so hard to come by and this one has the race engine and the road manners. It will command a huge sum. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $13,750,000.

Bizzarrini P538

Posted on by
Reply

1967 Bizzarrini P538

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

We’ve actually tried to feature one of these before but there was a problem. You see, there are two kinds of Bizzarrini P538s. The first batch were built by Bizzarrini in the 1960s. The other batch were built to-order by former-Bizzarrini engineer Salvatore Diomante between the mid-1970s and early 1990s. Not many of either were built. The car we were going to feature months ago was of the latter variety. But this is a true, Bizzarrini-built P538.

It was a race car that debuted at Le Mans in 1966. This wild prototype racer is powered by a 5.3-liter Chevrolet V-8 engine making 365 horsepower. At least two of these were built with Lamborghini V-12 engines.

It’s unknown how many were built in total. It is thought about eight were built by Diomante and at least four by Bizzarrini (at least two of which are V-8 cars like this one). If you’re familiar with numbers, you’ll know that “two” is super rare for just about anything. It’s been beautifully restored and price reflects its greatness: a pre-sale estimate of between $700,000-$900,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Aston Martin Speed Model

Posted on by
Reply

1940 Aston Martin Speed Model Type C

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This car looks like the grandchild of those early speed trials cars (like the Beast of Turin, the Fiat S76). While the rear is streamlined and racy, it has an abrupt shape at the front and a tall engine compartment. The headlights seem like an afterthought, located in the grille – and perhaps this is the singular feature that gives us this impression. The passenger compartment is just a way to attach a human to an otherwise monstrous machine. I think it can best be described as “chunky.”

But unlike the ridiculous 28-liter engine in the S76, this pre-war Aston uses a 2.0-liter straight-four rated at 125 horsepower. This was a competition car and the first examples were built in 1936. The last were built in 1940 – and this car is believed to be the final Aston Martin sold before the outbreak of WWII.

Of the 23 Speed Models built, only the final eight had the Type C streamlined body. This car has known ownership since new and has been restored in the past five years. When you see one of these in person, it will stand out because it’s rather different from other cars of similar vintage. This one is the prettiest I’ve seen. You can read more here and see more from RM in Monterey here.

Update: Sold: $1,155,000.

Ferrari 275S

Posted on by
Reply

1950 Ferrari 275/340 America Barchetta by Scaglietti

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This Ferrari 275 should not be confused with the gorgeous GT car of the same numerals built in the mid-to-late 1960s. The 275S was actually the first Lampedri-engined Ferrari ever built. Two were built in 1950 and they were based on the 166MM but used a new, experimental 3.3-liter V-12 from Ferrari’s new technical director, Aurelio Lampedri.

It had a body by Touring and was entered by the factory in the 1950 Mille Miglia, driven by none other than Alberto Ascari. It DNF’d, but still. After this failure, this 275S went back to the factory and was fitted with a new 4.1-liter V-12 from Ferrari’s new touring car, the 340 America. The engine makes 220 horsepower. It was then sold.

The new owners entered the car in some races. This car’s race history includes:

  • 1950 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Alberto Ascari)
  • 1951 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Gianni Marzotto and Otello Marchetto)
  • 1951 Targa Florio – DNF (with Giovanni Bracco and Mario Raffaelli)
  • 1952 Mille Miglia  – result unknown

Once it’s racing career was finished, the Touring body was replaced by this Scaglietti Barchetta. It was exported to the U.S. in 1958. It ended up being rescued from a barn in Vermont by an enterprising 15-year-old who then owned the car for over 40 years, restoring it himself and selling it in 1999.

After competing in quite a few historic events all over Europe, the current owner was able to acquire the car. This is one of only two Ferrari 257S racers ever built. It is one of only nine Scuderia Ferrari racing roadsters from the 1950s. And it was the first Lampedri-engined Ferrari to hit the track. It’s a piece of history – and one you can use. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,975,000.

Chevrolet CERV-I

Posted on by
Reply

1960 Chevrolet CERV-I

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 14-15, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

While this may look more like Jim Clark’s Indy 500-winning race car than a Corvette, rest assured, the Corvette would likely not exist as we know it without this car. This car was the creation of Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the Corvette. He was also head of GM’s High Performance Vehicle department, from which this was born.

The mid-engined bug had been around for a few years before this car came to be. And when it did, it was supposed to fit a variety of roles: it was to be eligible for Indianapolis, Pikes Peak, as well as bolster support for the coming rear-engined Corvair.

The body is fiberglass and the car has had several different engines in its lifetime. The final engine, which it currently has, is a 6.2-liter V-8 making a lot of power. How about a little history: it showed up at the 1960 Pikes Peak hillclimb and after dozens of aborted runs, they decided that hillclimbing was not the way to go.

Dan Gurney and Stirling Moss then drove the car at Riverside in demonstration laps in conjunction with United States Grand Prix in 1960 and both would’ve qualified the car for the race. But this car was never destined for competition. Instead, Arkus-Duntov thought this could be the first car to lap Daytona at 180 mph. Jerry Titus could only achieve 162. So they added a big turbocharger.

When the CERV-II came around, GM wanted to scrap this thing. But Arkus-Duntov installed the current motor and ended up doing 206 mph at GM’s proving grounds. He saved it from the crusher and eventually gave it to Briggs Cunningham who later sold it to Miles Collier.

The current owned later acquired it from Collier and restored it to the condition you see here. This is an important car. It taught GM a lot of things that went directly into the Corvette. And the spirit of performance that this car created within Chevrolet lives on to this day. It is exceptional. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2017, $1,320,000.