Tag Archives: sedan

1925 Star Sedan

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1925 Star Model F-25 Sedan

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | August 29, 2014

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

There have been quite a few car companies going by the name “Star,” but only one was founded by Billy Durant after he left GM. It was an assembled car, built using pieces made by other manufacturers. The Star was the affordable line of Durant Motors, built to compete against the Model T.

Production started in 1922 and the company was phased out in 1928. The four-cylinder model was dubbed “F-25” for 1925 only and it was the last year Star built only four-cylinder cars (a six was introduced alongside it for 1926).

This car has an older restoration, but it is simple and attractive. And usable. I saw a similar car for sale a few years ago for about $8,000 and not buying it remains one of my biggest automotive regrets. This one is nicer and should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from AA’s Auburn sale.

Update: Sold $8,250.

Duesenberg J-173

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 16-17, 2014

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Yay! Finally a Duesenberg at auction – it’s been a while. In fact, this is the only Duesenberg being offered during the Pebble Beach-weekend sales. What is fantastic about this Model J is that it is all-original.

The 6.9-liter straight-eight puts out 265 horsepower at a low-revving 4,200 rpm. This thing is just a big, tall-geared locomotive. And it was about the most luxurious thing you could buy in 1929. This car was bodied by Murphy, Duesenberg’s most-popular coachbuilder. The convertible sedan is both elegant and sporty, and it was the most-popular style.

First used as a demonstrator, J-173 has bounced between owners recently after spending 60 years in the same family. It’s remarkably original and a natural shoo-in for any preservation class awards you would want to win. You can buy it for between $1,350,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Did not sell.

Packard Super Eight

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1940 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Convertible Sedan by Darrin

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Packard 180, as it is sometimes known, is more correctly called a Custom Eight Super One-Eighty. The model was new for 1940 and was Packard’s top-of-the-line offering. The chassis and engine were the same as the One-Sixty, but the One-Eighty was more luxurious. It was essentially a replacement for the ultra-grand Twelve.

The engine is a 5.8-liter straight-eight making 160 horsepower (which was more than Cadillac’s V-8 in 1940). A number of different bodies were offered, but Howard “Dutch” Darrin’s are perhaps the nicest of all Packards produced immediately prior to WWII. This four-door Convertible Sedan is quite a bit rarer than any of its two-door counterparts. It is estimated that less than 20 Convertible Sedans like the one you see here were built and only nine remain.

This car was sold new in Illinois. The restoration was completed in 1994 and the car was soon acquired by Otis Chandler. It now comes from the Richard & Linda Kughn collection with a pre-sale estimate of $225,000-$300,000. It’s incredibly rare and one of the more gorgeous four-door sedans you will ever see. You can see more here and check our more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $236,500.

Aston Martin Lagonda Prototype

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1969 Aston Martin Lagonda Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Newport Pagnell, U.K. | May 17, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

You’re looking at the first 4-door Aston Martin. The Lagonda Rapide was David Brown’s attempt at reviving the Lagonda marque, which Aston Martin acquired in 1948. The Rapide lasted from 1961-1964. But that was a Lagonda. In 1969, Aston itself hand-built a prototype four-door version of their two-door DBS V8 and called it the Lagonda. This is that car.

It uses the same 5.3-liter V-8 from the DBS making about 315 horsepower. The Lagonda entered production in 1974 and it was short-lived, ending the following year. Only seven ended up finding homes. This was Sir David Brown’s personal car.

The Lagonda would change shape for 1976, taking on a boxy, angular form that is much more well-known (although, not necessarily more well-liked). The design of this car actually reminds me of a Monteverdi sedan I filmed last year. At any rate, this is the prototype for a run of only seven cars – so it is exceptionally rare. And being David Brown’s personal ride only adds to it. The pre-sale estimate here is $540,000-$640,000. Click here for more info and here for more the rest of Bonhams’ Aston Martin sale.

Update: Not sold.

Duesenberg SJ-494

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1934 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Another beautiful Duesenberg for sale at another top auction. This is a supercharged Model J (or “SJ”) and it is one done originally by Duesenberg – as many Model Js have been converted to this more desirable variant years later.

These cars would do speeds approaching 140 mph – which is insane considering it was 1934. Power was up to 320 with the supercharger attached to the 6.9-liter straight-eight engine. This car lost its supercharger at one point and has a dual-carb setup on it, good for almost 400 horsepower. Could you imagine doing 150 mph in this car!?

The car was owned by it’s first lady owner for about 10 years, appearing in a film during that time. It has had many owner since – including a former president of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club. The restoration is old but the car holds up incredibly well. This is the only LeBaron Convertible Sedan attached to an SJ – if you thought it wasn’t rare enough already.

Pre-sale estimate is $1,500,000-$1,750,000 and you can find out more here and see more form RM in Amelia Island here.

Update: Sold $1,567,500.

Minerva Convertible Sedan

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1931 Minerva Model AL “Windswept” Convertible Sedan by Rollston

Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2013

1931 Minerva Model AL Windswept Convertible Sedan by Rollston

Minerva is one of the great makes of the 1930s. They built big, powerful, imposing cars for the rich elite. The cars came adorned in the fanciest coachwork from the most respected of coachbuilders. This particular Minerva meets all of the above criteria.

Dutchman Sylvain de Jong started manufacturing bicycles under the name Minerva in Antwerp, Belgium in 1897 before moving onto automobiles. In 1930, the Model AL was introduced. It uses a 6.6-liter sleeve-valve straight-eight making between 120-130 horsepower. The wheelbase of 152 inches was one of the longest you could get, giving the folks at Rollston a lot of room to work with when crafting this exquisite “windswept” convertible sedan. The “windswept” referring to the distinct “in-motion” look the car has when sitting still – the sharp angle of the doors, A & B pillars and roofline.

Rollston provided some of the most expensive coachwork you could buy in the 1930s and the Minerva AL chassis was also near the top of its own list. In fact, it was so expensive, only about 50 were ever built and you had to have deep pockets to get one. This car was purchased new by the son-in-law of R.J. Reynolds (of tobacco fame). Over the years, it has maintained its exclusive price, with a pre-sale estimate of $900,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Scottsdale.

Update: Did not sell.

Update II: Sold, RM Auctions, New York, 2013: $660,000.

Ruxton Sedan

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1931 Ruxton Model C Sedan

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2013

The idea for the Ruxton came from Archie Andrews, who was on the board of Hupmobile. He named the car after William Ruxton, an investor he was hoping to attract to the car. Ruxton said no and sued for the use of his name. It didn’t matter – Ruxton was founded in 1929 and was out of business by early 1931.

The car was designed and backed by New Era Motors Inc of New York City. While the design was original, the company lacked the capital to undertake production themselves. The cars ended up being built in one of two locations: either at the Moon plant in St. Louis or by Kissel in Hartford, Wisconsin. It was a front-wheel-drive car – aimed directly at Cord – that used a 100 horsepower 4.4-liter Continental straight-eight engine.

The design was sleek and sporty looking – it lacked running boards and its rakish design made it look quick while their paint schemes were intended to make them look longer. The headlights are some of the coolest on any car ever (called Woodlight headlights) – although they don’t provide much light – make sure you’re home by dusk!

Moon went bankrupt before production really got going and Ruxton tried a hostile takeover of Kissel and the Kissel family shut their business down to prevent it – forcing Ruxton out of business after production had been underway for only four months. Only 300 to 500 cars were built. Two were Phaetons, one was a Town Car and the rest were split between Sedans and Roadsters. Only 19 total are known to still exist, only eight of those being sedans. This is a very rare car and it’s one of the best Depression-era cars and one of the greatest American cars ever built. You can read more here and see more from Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, here.

Update: Sold $275,000.

Duesenberg J-310

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1935 Duesenberg Model J Sedan by Derham

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | August 30-September 2, 2012

Okay, one more Model J to close out Duesenberg Week. This one is still available for you to purchase, coming up for sale at Auctions America’s Auburn Fall Sale here in a few days. This car has a somewhat convoluted history and is, like many Duesenbergs, a combination, of sorts, of two separate cars.

The body, the Derham Sedan style you see here was originally attached to J-551. The owner didn’t like the new aerodynamic design updates and waterfall grille and had Duesenberg reinstall the 1929-style grille and trim bits to the car.

Sometime later, the body was removed and the engine and chassis of J-551 were used for another project. The owner of J-310 used the original body from his car (a Judkins Limousine) for a separate project as well. Well, the remnants of both J-551 and J-310 ended up in the hands of the same owner, Homer Fitterling, who mounted the Derham body you see here on J-310. So two leftovers were combined to build this car. When Fitterling reassembled it, he added the updated Duesenberg parts to the Derham body that the original owner did not care for.

This car was owned by a number of people during the 1980s and 90s and has spent the last 10 years or so in a museum, being driven on a limited basis. It is ready to be used and you will not find another one like this as the body, with the factory updates, is one-of-a-kind. Auctions America hasn’t published an estimate, but expect it to sell for north of $500,000. The complete catalog description can be found here and click here for more from Auctions America’s Fall Auburn sale.

Update: Sold $456,500.

Duesenberg J-127

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1932 Duesenberg Model J Sedan by Holbrook

For Sale at The Auto Collections | Las Vegas, Nevada

Since it is our intention to feature as many Model J Duesenbergs as possible on this site, there will come a point where there is nothing new left to say about each car. Yes, they all have the same 265 horsepower straight-eight engine. And they all have custom coachwork from various coachbuilders. Some of them have an interesting story or ownership history, which we’ll try to touch on.

Some are “just Duesenbergs” – if I can say that. This one is a sedan without any former celebrity owners. And since I’ve already exhausted just about everything I can say about this particular car, allow me to furnish the story with a brief history of Holbrook, the company the designed this sedan body.

Founded in 1908 by the merger of two small coachbuilders (one owned by company namesake Harry F. Holbrook, the other by Jack Graham), Manhattan-based Holbrook Company built bodies for all of the top firms of the period, including Rolls-Royce, Isotta-Fraschini, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, and of course, Duesenberg. At least three Holbrook-bodied Duesenbergs are known to exist. Harry Holbrook left the company in 1913 and started a competing company in 1927 while partnering with Henry Brewster, who had also left the company bearing his name (it didn’t last). Holbrook was re-organized in 1929, but it spelled disaster and the company was liquidated the following year.

So, how is it that a 1932 Duesenberg could have a body designed by a company that went out of business in 1930? Well, this chassis (#2350) was a 1932 model. It originally contained engine J-338 and a five-passenger sedan body by Derham. At some point, J-127 was installed and the body was switched to the Holbrook sedan you see here.

Price is not listed on the website but this car changed hands in 2004 for $240,000. It popped up later that year for $395,000. I’m sure the price has only increased since. You can find out more here.

1980 Ferrari Sedan

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1980 Ferrari Pinin

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2012

Ferrari’s new FF two-door shooting brake seemed to rile some purists when first revealed – for why would their beloved car company build a wagon? Well, the same thing happened when Porsche built, first the Cayenne and then the Panamera. Lamborghini has taken the wraps off it’s new SUV concept – as have Bentley and Maserati. But for Ferrari to think beyond two doors, I fear, would be too much for most purists to handle.

Enter Pininfarina, possibly the most famed of all Italian design houses – and the one most closely associated with Ferrari. In 1980, Pininfarina celebrated 50 years of coachbuilding and they did it by building this four-door Ferrari – and Bonhams claims it is the only Ferrari sedan in existence (the Sultan of Brunei has a few Ferrari four-door wagons, but no sedan that anyone is aware of).

The car was introduced at the 1980 Turin Motor Show with a 5.0-liter V12 out of a Berlinetta Boxer. Only in this case, the engine was in the front instead of the rear. The car appeared at a few more auto shows in 1980 and 1981 and then Ferrari removed the mechanicals and the display car was eventually sold to the Belgian Ferrari importer, who showed the car in 2005 for the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina.

The car was sold in 2008 and the new owner commissioned Ferrari to re-install the drivetrain so the car could be driven. Another 360 horsepower 5.0-liter V12 was installed and the car was finally driven in 2010.

If you’ve always dreamed of owning a Ferrari sedan, this is bound to be your only chance. The current owner paid €176,000 for it at an RM Auction in 2008 and then paid God-knows-how-much to get it running. The pre-sale estimate this time around is $660,000-$790,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and for more on Bonhams in Monaco, click here.

Update: did not sell.