March 2016 Auction Highlights

March 2016? Sort of. Let’s start with some leftovers from last month. First, Auctionata’s classic car sale from February where this 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL was the top sale for $113,150. Click here for more.

Photo - Auctionata

Photo – Auctionata

The next piece of coverage is also from the end of February: it’s Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale – the road car half. The top sale was this 2004 Porsche Carrera GT for $595,500.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Our only feature car, the 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 Evo II, sold for an outstanding $407,500 – more than the lightning-hot Countach that was also offered here. Click here for more results.

Onward to Brightwells’ first sale of the year. The featured Bedford CA sold for $5,975. Two cars tied for the top sale at $105,325. They were this 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.7 Coupe

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

…and this 1934 Bentley 3½-Litre Tourer.

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

The other feature car was the FSO Kombi that sold for $1,700. Click here for complete results. Now we are on to Amelia Island and the first sale held down there was that of Bonhams. The top sale was our featured Bugatti 57SC for $9,735,000. The Maserati Biposto was another big seller, bringing $1,001,000. The Thomas Flyer was close to the million dollar mark, bringing $825,000. Interesting cars include this beautiful 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe for $458,700.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

A previously-featured pre-1900 Armstrong sold for $483,400. And the Sabra GT brought $93,500 while the Cunningham went to a new home for $275,000. Click here for complete results. And finally, Mecum’s Kansas City sale. We didn’t feature anything from it, but this 1968 Shelby GT500KR Fastback was the top sale at $210,000. Click here for the rest of their results.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

February 2016 Auction Highlights

Continuing with our Rétromobile coverage, we have RM Sotheby’s Paris sale. Our top-selling feature car was the 1896 Raynaud for $149,980 while the top sale overall was this 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico by Pininfarina for $3,292,050.

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

All of our other feature cars sold, with the Abarth bringing $131,200, the Créanche $56,240, the Bardon $106,200, and the Vallée $93,700. Click here for more from RM.

The other major sale held in Paris in early February was that of Artcurial. The top sale was the staggering amount of money paid for the Ferrari 335 S: $35,075,200. That puts it #2 (currently) all-time on auction sales. Artcurial claims a record but puts an asterisk on it with something about it being the highest amount paid in Euros. Okay. Other million dollar sales included the Bugatti EB110 Race Car for $1,055,133 and the Ferrari Testarossa Spider for $1,355,870. The Bugatti EB112 failed to sell and a previously-featured Bugatti Brescia brought $400,683.

The five coachbuilt classics we featured all sold, with the Salmson bringing $207,019, the Delahaye $180,307, the Graham-Paige $186,985, the Talbot-Lago $293,834, and the Renault $86,814. Another coachbuilt car is our “most interesting:” this 1952 Delahaye 235 Coupe by Chapron for $333,903.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Another coachbuilt feature car, the Georges Irat, sold for $64,109. Rounding it out, the Sizaire-Naudin brought $133,561, the Facel Vega $560,968, and the Citroen half-track $40,068. Click here for full results.

Moving on, Christie’s James Bond sale saw the Aston Martin DB10 bring about $3,500,000. And next up, H&H Classics’ first sale of the year, where this 1959 Triumph TR3A was the top sale at $31,290.

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

Our featured Birchall McCoy brought $2,222. Click here for more results. And finally, for this post, we have the first half of Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale that saw a bunch of competition cars cross the block. We didn’t get to feature anything from here but this 1964 Ford Falcon FIA race car was the top seller at $93,640. Click here for full results and to see what’s still for sale.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

190 Evo II

1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 28, 2016

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

We’ve recently featured a Mercedes-Benz 190 Evolution I. That car was the 1989 homologation model for DTM. This, the Evolution II, came a year later and looks more or less the same other than a larger rear wing. It has all the looks of a road-going DTM machine. It’s a pretty extreme body kit for what was supposed to be a sensible sedan.

The engine here is a 2.5-liter straight-four making 235 horsepower – a substantial enough increase over the Evo I. Top speed is 155 mph. Only 502 of these were built and all sold out immediately upon going on sale.

This is car 262 and it only has 1,723 miles on it, making it essentially brand new. It should bring between $200,000-$225,000. That’s a lot of money for a 26-year-old car that originally sold new for $80,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $407,500.

November 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

We’re back with some auction highlights, including Osenat’s sale held on November 8th. Our featured Berliet was hammered away for $11,300. The top sale was this 1961 Porsche 356 Roadster for $169,075. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Speaking of Porsche, Coys held an all-Porsche sale back in September. We didn’t feature anything from it, but this 2006 Carrera GT sold for $941,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Now we move back to November with Mecum’s Anaheim sale. Our featured Franklin sold for $13,500. The top sale was this 2005 Ford GT for $270,000. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show kept the trend of mid-engined supercars as the top sale with a 1991 Jaguar XJ220 selling for $478,350.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Our odd, featured Range Rover Convertible brought $51,250. Click here for full results. And finally, on a fun note, Bonhams recently held a sale of entertainment memorabilia and two cars were offered as a part of that. Only one of them sold and it was this 1963 Volkswagen Beetle that was used in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. It brought $86,250.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

October 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

Back again for more highlights from October, beginning with H&H Classics’ sale at the Imperial War Museum. They had two high-profile Ferraris on auction at this sale and one of them, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, was far and away the top seller at $11,383,680.

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

Both our feature cars sold, with the Pope-Tribune bringing $86,240 and the Rally $125,910. Click here for full results.

Next up, from the French Riviera Classic, Stanislas Machoïr’s sale. Our featured Cadillac NART Zagato failed to sell. The top seller here was this 1973 Porsche 911S for $148,700. Click here for full results.

Photo - Stanislas Machoïr

Photo – Stanislas Machoïr

Thirdly, we move to Silverstone Auctions’ Porsche Sale. The top sale was this 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring for $630,340. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Next up, Worldwide Auctioneers’ sale of the Ron Brown Estate Collection in Fredericksburg, Texas, where this 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda was the top seller at $220,000. Complete results are here.

Photo - Worldwide Auctioneers

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

And finally, one of our favorite sales of the year, Bonhams’ London-to-Brighton sale. The top seller was this 1903 Clement Model AC4R Rear-Entrance Tonneau for $637,979. Of our feature cars, the MMC sold for $79,383 and the Stanley $61,742. Everything else was over $100k – including a previously-featured Winton for $199,416.

We’ll award “Most Interesting” to one of two sellers we didn’t feature: this 1904 Darracq 8HP Two-Seater that brought $113,947.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Pope-Hartford sold for $126,000. The Star went for $141,463, the Columbia $121,950, and the Albion $225,647. Click here for full results.

August 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

We’ll continue where we left off last time: Pebble Beach, specifically, Gooding & Company’s sale. The top dog here was a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold for $16,830,000. Our featured Ferrari 250 GT Speciale “Shark Nose” wasn’t far behind at $16,500,000.

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

And honestly, not too far behind that was the Porsche 956, selling for $10,120,000. The Fiat Eden Roc, which came in without an estimate, surprised us a little, selling for a healthy $660,000. The 1912 Packard brought $280,000 and a previously-featured Delage failed to sell. Complete results are right here.

Up next is Russo & Steele’s sale where our featured Dual-Ghia sold for $412,500. The top seller was this 2005 Porsche Carrera GT Coupe for $781,000. Check out full results here.

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

Now let’s move into September, a month front-loaded with awesome auctions. Bonhams’ Beaulieu Sale was held on September 5th and the top sale was this 1929 Bentley 4.25-Litre Sports Saloon by Mulliner project for $1,059,594.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

We featured a bunch of cars from this sale and the only one that didn’t sell was the Frazer Nash Colmore. Here’s the rundown of all our featured cars that sold, from least expensive to most:

Click here for complete results. Actually, Bonhams held two sales in two different countries on the same continent on the same day. Their other sale, the inaugural sale at the Chantilly Concours in France. The sell-through rate wasn’t outstanding, with three of our feature cars (the Lorraine-Dietrich, Bugatti and Aston Sportsman) all failing to sell. The top sale was our featured Maserati Boomerang for $3,714,522. Interesting sales were led by this 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet C for $678,861. Click here for full results.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

And the last sale of this rundown is Silverstone Auctions’ Salon Privé sale. We unfortunately weren’t able to feature anything from this sale, but the top seller was this 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante that brought $1,368,000. Click here for the whole catalog with results.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

July 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

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

Osella-Alfa FA1G

1986 Osella-Alfa Romeo FA1G

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | July 23, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Here’s another Osella-Alfa Romeo (and if anyone thinks this might not be a G model, you could be correct… leave a message below if I’m wrong). Except this one is from the Turbo Era and it looks a little more traditional. The engine is still an Alfa Romeo, but instead of a V-12, it has a 1.5-liter straight-four that’s been turbocharged.

This car was raced by Piercarlo Ghinzani all season and it’s only finish was 11th place at the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix (which was the best finish for the team that season). He has owned this car since and the engine has been rebuilt by Alfa Romeo and has less than 200km on it since completion. It should sell for between $95,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

S/N# 01.

Update: Sold $70,200.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Spa 2017.

Toleman TG185

1985 Toleman TG185

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | July 23, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Toleman Motorsport was a racing team from the U.K. founded by Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge in 1977. They moved up into F1 for 1981 and would actually be the team that Ayrton Senna got his start with. The TG185 was the team’s car for 1985 – their final season before selling out to team sponsor Benetton.

It was powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged Hart straight-four making 800 horsepower. This car was driven by Piercarlo Ghinzani and it retired from every race it started. The unreliable Hart engine is no longer around, but this roller could house a Cosworth V8 pretty easily. It should sell for between $55,000-$70,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $48,266.

Osella FA1E

1983 Osella-Alfa Romeo FA1E

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, U.K. | July 23, 2015

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

Osella is an Italian racing team whose roots go back to founder Vincenzo Osella racing Abarth cars in Italian hillclimbs in the 1960s. He began building cars under his own name in 1974 and the first Osella car (which was actually an F2 racer) was entered in Formula One in 1980. A full factory effort would also be undertaken that season.

In 1983, Osella featured factory Alfa Romeo race engines. This one’s a 3.0-liter V-12 and this car was raced by Piercarlo Ghinzani. It’s only race finish was 11th at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix. It has been owned by Ghinzani since and has been completely restored and is more or less ready to go. It should sell for between $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $126,360.