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April 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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First up is Coys Techno Classica sale in Essen, Germany. The top sale was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing for $1,183,640. Our featured ZiL 114 sold for $44,856 while the EMW 327 failed to sell. Click here for full results.

Moving on, we head to Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach sale where a 2006 Ford GT was the top sale at $319,000. Ford GT’s are almost no-brainer top sale cars at many auctions today. It’s crazy how quickly they’ve doubled in price.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Our featured International R100 Pickup sold for $22,000. Find full results here. Mecum’s Kansas City sale had a similar result with, you guessed it, a 2005 Ford GT being the top sale, at $255,000. Our featured Crosley Fire Truck failed to meet its reserve. Click here for full results.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Now we’re off to RM Sotheby’s sale of the Andrews Collection in Texas. There were some amazing American cars from the 1930s in this sale, namely Packards and Cadillacs. Our featured Packard, the beautiful Sport Coupe sold for $2,200,000. We also featured a Cadillac, a ’58 Eldorado Prototype. It sold for $324,500. Both Duesenbergs brought big money – the Bohman & Schwartz Town Car sold for $3,630,000 and the Disappearing-Top Roadster $3,520,000.

The top sale was this 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Cabriolet by Pininfarina for $7,645,000.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Buick Blackhawk brought $363,000. The Kurtis 500 by Allied sold for $220,000. With Kurtis, another Indy Car builder from the 1950s/1960s, Watson, was represented at this sale, too. Their 1960 Roadster brought $577,500. A previously featured Lincoln design study sold for $1,210,000. Click here for full results.

Finally, Worldwide Auctioneers held their Houston Classic on April 25th. Our featured Moretti failed to sell, which paved the way for a silver 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to be the top sale at $715,000. Our three featured barn finds sold for way below their estimates, with the Rattler coming in at only $9,900. The Imperial did a bit better, bringing $13,750. And the Flint Touring went for $12,100.

Ferrari 212 Export

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1952 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Lake Como, Italy | May 23, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

What’s great about these old Ferraris is that they were built for sport but are totally street-able. They are sports cars. But there’s nothing outrageous about them and they look like an early post-war convertible car from Europe.

The 212 Export (which differs from the 212 Inter, which was marketed as Ferrari’s grand touring model while the Export was being built as a racing car) was built in 1951 with a at least a couple finished in 1952. This is actually the final 212 Export to be bodied by Touring and is one of only 28 ever built. It is powered by a 160 horsepower 2.6-liter V-12.

This car has period race history, including:

  • 1952 Targa Florio – 10th (with Baron Luigi Bordonaro di Chiaramonte)
  • 1953 Targa Florio – 16th (with Bordonaro)
  • 1956 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Edouard Margairuz)

Those are some pretty important races and it’s 1952 Targa Florio finish is most impressive. The car spent 30 or so years in the hands of American owners before being shipped to its next owner in Madrid. It then moved to London before returning to the States, where it resides today. It was restored years ago but looks great. It’s eligible for nearly every great historic racing event and will command a nice sum at auction. Click here to read more and here to see more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,593,600.

Raindrop Caddy

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1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Raindrop Prototype

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The third generation Cadillac Eldorado was new for 1957. Back in these days, car manufacturers were making styling changes for every model year. It’s when Detroit was king and the money was a-flowin’. This car is a very special Cadillac – not only is it an Eldorado Biarritz, it is a GM factory prototype.

It started life as a 1958 Eldorado Biarritz, the top trim of Cadillac’s halo model. GM updated it with many upcoming 1959 features, including the over-the-top tail fins that made the ’59 Caddy so iconic. The interior is one-of-a-kind but the engine is a standard Series 62 335 horsepower 6.0-liter V-8.

It’s a boat, for sure, but it has a very special feature, dubbed “Raindrop.” The system uses a humidity sensor that detects water in top-down driving. When a few drops trip the sensor, the top of the trunk separates and slides away, allowing the roof to fold up and close automatically. Even the windows roll themselves up. It’s a fascinating piece of engineering.

This car was given to Harley Earl when he retired and he used the car around Florida in his later years. It was subsequently restored and is being offered with a pre-sale estimate of $600,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Update: Sold $324,500.

Kurtis 500 Coupe

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1955 Kurtis 500 Swallow Coupe by Allied

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Ft. Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Frank Kurtis began building race cars in the 1930s. They were midgets and the first one he built was for himself. But he was good at it – and people recognized that. His cars were so good that Frank Kurtis was the first non-driver inducted into the National Midget Racing Hall of Fame. After WWII, he tried his hand at fiberglass road cars and would go on to build five Indy 500-winning roadsters.

The Kurtis Kraft 500 was a racing car – an Indy Roadster. They built a (barely) fendered road version as well. What we have here is a KK500 racing chassis. The body is by a company called Allied that built bodies, specifically near-copies of the Cisitalia 202. It’s a short-wheelbase car and uses a 5.2-liter V-8 from a Lincoln that has been tuned to make 257 horsepower.

The car was built to compete in the legendary Carrera Panamericana, but the 1955 race was cancelled. It would, however, get to compete in the 1990 version of that race and some other vintage events as well. It’s one of only two Allied-bodied Kurtis cars known to have been built and should sell for between $140,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $220,000.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Scottsdale 2020.

Buick Blackhawk

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2000 Buick Blackhawk

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This extremely long-looking convertible hot rod was actually built by General Motors to celebrate 100 years of Buick. Even though the Motor Division wasn’t founded until 1903 (the year public sales began), David Dunbar Buick founded his company in 1899, building engines and prototypes.

The car was built to showcase the best things Buick had done in the past century. In 1938, GM designer Harley Earl created what was essentially the first “concept car” – the Buick Y-Job. This car takes some of its design inspiration from that car – and also the 1940s Buick Roadmasters.

The engine is a 463 horsepower 7.5-liter V-8 from a 1970 Buick GS Stage III. It went on the auto show tour in 2001 and was very popular. After the shows, it went back to the GM Heritage Collection until GM had to thin it out during bankruptcy. It was then sold to the current owners at a Barrett-Jackson sale in 2009 for $522,500.

As it was a show car, it wasn’t really well-engineered. So the new owners made it derivable. It’s a fantastic piece of Buick (and GM) history and is a true factory custom show car. It is expected to bring between $300,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from The Andrews Collection.

Update: Sold $363,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kissimmee 2022, $385,000.

Watson Indy Roadster

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1960 Watson-Offenhauser Indianapolis Roadster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

A.J. Watson and Fred Offenhauser are two legendary names associated with the Indianapolis 500 – names that, to Indy faithful, are right there with Foyt and Unser. Watson built his first car (for himself) in 1947. In 1955 he modified a Kurtis KK500C which ended up winning the 500. In 1956, Watson built his first Indy Roadster from scratch. He would go on to build only 22 more.

This car was built in 1960 and was run for a few years thereafter. Its competition history includes:

  • 1960 Indianapolis 500 – 30th, DNF (with Len Sutton)
  • 1960 Milwaukee 200 – 1st (with Sutton)
  • 1961 Indianapolis 500 – 19th, DNF (with Sutton)
  • 1961 Milwaukee 200 – 2nd (with Sutton)
  • 1962 Indianapolis 500 – 31st, DNF (with Allen Crowe)

The ’62 500 was the final race for this car (because it was crashed), which didn’t fare too well there. It is powered by a 4.2-liter Offenhauser straight-four. The car was discovered in the early 1980s and was restored thereafter to its 1961 Indy livery. It has been back to Indy since (driven by Sutton in some warm up laps) and was displayed at the NHRA museum.

Watson Roadsters are very rare – even more so in private hands. This one should bring between $700,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $577,500.

March 2015 Auction Highlights

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The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance occurred in March, and with it, a slew of amazing sales, the first being Bonhams’ auction. The top sale was this much-ballyhooed (and rightfully so) 1930 Cord L-29 Town Car by Murphy for $1,760,000.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Of our feature cars, the top seller was the Stutz Super Bearcat for $1,012,000. The Templar Touring brought a more reasonable $60,500. Two cars failed to sell: the Thomas and the Wanderer.

The “French-Front” Oldsmobile sold for $94,600 and the 1911 EMF went for $242,000. And last but not least, the Wills Sainte Claire sold for $151,250. Click here for full results.

Next up is newly re-branded RM Sotheby’s and their Amelia Island sale, where the top seller was out featured Ferrari 400 Superamerica for $6,380,000. Other million dollar feature cars included the 427 S/C Cobra for $2,117,500, the Jaguar XJR-9 for $2,145,000, and a previously-featured Duesenberg that proves a paint job can go a long way. It sold for $1,155,000.

Another previously-featured car that showed up at this sale is the 1932 Marmon HCM Prototype. It brought $429,000. I’m going to call out this 1952 Kurtis 4000 that finished 5th at the 1952 Indy 500 as most-interesting non-feature car. It sold for $495,000.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

On a related note, the Miller 91 brought $770,000.  And the beautiful Stutz DV-32 sold for $522,500. Check out full results here.

The third Amelia Island sale (well, second if you’re going by the calendar… third in our rundown) is Gooding & Company’s sale. The top seller was a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that has been in the same family for 40 years. It brought $3,300,000.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The top seller of our feature cars would’ve been the Maserati 200 SI, but it failed to sell (as did the Duesenberg from this sale). Instead, it is the AAR-Toyota Eagle for $660,000. The March-Cosworth went for $231,000 and the first Lotus ever sold to a customer sold for $247,500. Check out full results here.

Bonhams had another sale in March, in Goodwood. The top sale was our featured Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe for $695,854. The other Frazer Nash failed to sell. Interesting cars included this 1961 Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero Record Monza by Zagato for $94,089.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The H.R.G. Le Mans sold for $243,444. And the Audi Quattro Rally car sold for $368,210. Click here for full results.

And finally, Osenat’s March sale, in which our featured Aryathis failed to sell. The top sale was this 1939 Citroen Traction Avant 15/6 Cabriolet for $661,435. Click here for full results.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

A Beautiful Packard

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1934 Packard Twelve Series 1106 Sport Coupe by LeBaron

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This car is a stunner. The Twelve was Packard’s crowning achievement. The Twin Six reappeared in Packard’s lineup in 1932 with the “Twelve” moniker used exclusively from 1933 on. 1939 would be the model’s final year – an impressive feat considering that many of its rivals did not last nearly as long.

The engine is a 7.3-liter V-12 making 160 silky smooth horsepower. The particular engine in this car is one of the first two V-12s built for the Eleventh Series cars (1934 was the Eleventh Series). This car was specially bodied by LeBaron in gorgeous Sport Coupe form. It sits on a special, short chassis that was reserved for select few Packards.

Only four LeBaron Sport Coupes were built and this one was on the Packard stand at the 1934 New York Auto Show. After the show season, the front end was updated by Packard to reflect the slightly restyled 1935 Twelfth Series cars. It wasn’t sold to its first owner until 1939.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Look at that profile view. Tell me it isn’t perfection. Being beautiful and only one of four built, it has led a fairly privileged life. It was restored in the 1980s, but as you can see, it still looks brilliant, especially in this dark green. If you want to see more, look here. And for more from this sale, here.

Update: Sold $2,200,000.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2023.

Ferrari 333 SP

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1998 Ferrari 333 SP

Offered by RM Auctions | Pebble Beach auction weekend | August 15-17, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions
Photo – RM Auctions

The 333 SP is an interesting Ferrari. The Scuderia hadn’t gone sports prototype racing in a long time and with this car, they kind of still didn’t. Dallara designed the chassis (and built nine of the cars) and Ferrari never fielded a factory effort with the cars, instead selling them to privateers so they could campaign them.

The engine is a 4.0-liter V-12 making 650 horsepower. This is the most-successful 333 SP built, with the following achievements:

  • 1998 24 Hours of Daytona – 1st (with Arie Luyendyk, Mauro Baldi, Giampiero Moretti and Didier Theys)
  • 1998 12 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Theys, Moretti and Baldi)
  • 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans – 14th (with Theys, Moretti and Baldi)

The car still has its MOMO livery (MOMO being the company Daytona winner Giampiero Moretti founded). It is one of 40 ultimately built (Ferrari built five in addition to Dallara’s nine. Michelotto built the rest). RM didn’t publish an estimate, but you can read more here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $3,400,000.

Enger Runabout

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1909 Enger Model B High-Wheel Runabout

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Frank J. Enger set up shop in Cincinnati in 1909 to build high-wheelers. More traditional touring cars followed in 1910, but the company folded in 1917 after Frank’s suicide in his office. This high-wheeler is from the first year of production.

The Enger high-wheeler was actually a normal car but with big wheels. It’s pretty much the original donk. Three models were offered that year, and the Model B was the least expensive at $1,600. It’s powered by a 14 horsepower flat-twin. This one should bring between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale. Also, I really want this car.

Update: Sold $45,100.