Tag Archives: sport

5 American Classics from Bonhams

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1923 Dort 25-K Five-Passenger Sport Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Like Moon, Dort was an automobile manufacturer from the 1920s that featured solid rims on a lot of their cars. It was a company that was co-founded by Billy Durant (and Josiah Dort) as the Flint Road Cart Company in the 1880s. Dort started building cars in 1917 (Durant had already jumped ship). Josiah Dort died in 1923 and 1924 was the final year for Dort automobiles.

The 25-K is powered by a 3.2-liter straight-six. It was Dort’s big car and the five-passenger Sport Touring was one of eight body styles offered. This particular car was once owned by William Harrah and JB Nethercutt. It should sell for between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,700.

1917 Briscoe Model B 4-24 Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Benjamin Briscoe was a big name in the early days of the automotive industry. He was the first major shareholder of Buick. He was half of Maxwell for a time as well. He founded his own car company in 1914 after the failure of the United States Motor Company – an early conglomerate of manufacturers, a sort of precursor to General Motors.

Briscoe built four-cylinder cars through 1921. This 24 horsepower example sports five-passenger touring body style that is simple yet attractive. Briscoes are pretty rare today and for $18,000-$24,000, this is a good chance to acquire a piece of motoring history. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $28,600.

1908 International Model A Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

International Harvester is best known for their agricultural equipment and tractors. Today, as Navistar International, they build trucks. But when they first got in to road-going vehicles, high-wheelers were their strong suit. Their 1907 vehicles were very basic, but this 1908 is a little more advanced.

The Model A was the only model offered in 1908 – in runabout form only (be it two or four passenger, like this one). This car uses a flat-twin making 14 horsepower. It’s all original, which is amazing because these cars were popular in the most rural of areas. This one should bring between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $74,800.

1919 Cleveland Model 40 Two-Passenger Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

There have been more than a handful of automobile companies that carried the name “Cleveland.” All of them were based in – you guessed it – Cleveland, Ohio. This Cleveland (the longest-running company with that name) built cars that were essentially smaller versions of the Chandler (and Chandler denied any relation). The company popped up in 1919 and lasted through 1926.

The Model 40 was built in 1919 and 1920 and uses a six-cylinder engine making 45 horsepower. That’s a lot, actually, considering that this example exists in two-passenger Roadster form. It’s a hot rod – tiny and powerful. Only 4,836 examples of the Model 40 were built and this one should provide its new owner with some inexpensive fun for between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $7,700.

1916 Mecca Thirty Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Jackpot. We love when cars like this come up for sale. If you’ve been following along, we’ve featured a couple of batches of rare, old American cars from manufacturers that weren’t around for very long. And this one was not around long at all – just two model years. The first year was a stillborn cyclecar. Series production occurred in 1916 only.

This car, with its 3.1-liter straight-four making 23 horsepower, sports a five-passenger touring body style – the largest offered by Mecca. This is thought to be the only surviving Mecca automobile. A rare treat indeed. It should bring between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $13,200.

Dort Touring

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1923 Dort 25-K Five-Passenger Sport Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Like Moon, Dort was an automobile manufacturer from the 1920s that featured solid rims on a lot of their cars. It was a company that was co-founded by Billy Durant (and Josiah Dort) as the Flint Road Cart Company in the 1880s. Dort started building cars in 1917 (Durant had already jumped ship). Josiah Dort died in 1923 and 1924 was the final year for Dort automobiles.

The 25-K is powered by a 3.2-liter straight-six. It was Dort’s big car and the five-passenger Sport Touring was one of eight body styles offered. This particular car was once owned by William Harrah and JB Nethercutt. It should sell for between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,700.

The 3rd Place Car from the 3rd Race at Le Mans

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1925 Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6 Le Mans Torpedo Sport

Offered by Bonhams | Chantilly, France | September 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

At one time, Lorraine-Dietrich shared as many 24 Hours of Le Mans victories as did Bentley (actually, they won it two years in a row, so they had more victories than did Bentley. And Porsche. And Audi. Combined). Sure, that year was 1925, the year in which this car competed – and its sister car won – the famed 24 hour race. It was the event’s third such running. Lorraine-Dietrich could trace its automotive roots back to 1896. Their last cars were made in 1935.

The model is the 15CV B3-6 which uses a 3.5-liter straight-six making somewhere from 85 to 100 horsepower. This was a factory Lorraine-Dietrich race car and its race history includes the following:

  • 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd (with Henry Stalter and Edouard Brisson)
  • 1925 24 Hours of Spa – 5th (with Stalter and Brisson)

So, a very successful, early racer that continued racing with the factory through 1926 and was still competitive a decade later in the hands of privateers. Strangely, in 1949, the car was taken apart and used as farm equipment, but thankfully it was rescued and restored.

The restoration was completed in 1997 but it still looks great. Imagine how fun this would be at historic racing events. It’s entirely unassuming – unless you knew, you’d never be able to guess that this thing finished on the podium at Le Mans. It should bring somewhere in the huge range of $650,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Giannini Sport Prototype

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1968 Giannini Sport 1300 Prototype

Offered by Coys | Nurburgring, Germany | August 8, 2015

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Attilio and Domenico Giannini were brothers who founded a garage in Rome in 1920. They began as part of the Itala service network and entered their first race car, an Itala, in the 1927 Mille Miglia. They later turned their attention to tuning tiny Fiats – and they were very successful (even though the original business closed in the 1960s and the brothers split, each opening their own company). Domenico’s new company is still around, wrenching on Fiats.

This car, a one-off, was built by Giannini before the original company closed its doors. It features a 1.3-liter flat-four. It’s likely the only Giannini product powered by a Boxer engine that still exists. It was a race car, and the aluminium body is very reminiscent of a Lotus 23.

This car has been in a private collection for nearly 40 years and this is the first time it has ever been offered for sale on the open market. It is expected to bring between $110,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Coys’ lineup.

Update: Not sold.

H.E. Short-Chassis Six

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1929 H.E. 16/60 Short Chassis Sport Tourer

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | May 13, 2015

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

H.E. – which stands for Herbert Engineering – was a short-lived British car company that was founded shortly after World War One. It was a car with sporting intentions and was offered in a variety of styles and engines. Looking at it, it is decidedly Bentley-esque.

The engine is a 2.3-liter straight-six making about 60 horsepower. The introduction of this six-cylinder engine was a last ditch attempt to keep the company afloat, but they would close their doors anyway in 1931. This 80 mph tourer was the fastest car the firm built.

H.E. only built 61 six-cylinder cars and only three were Sport models like this. It’s the only short chassis 16/60 left and has known history since the 1950s. It’s really a fantastic car. Consider it a steal over a 3-Litre Bentley. Especially as this one is likely to go for between $135,000-$140,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams Goodwood, June 2016 $131,338.

Grégoire Sport Cabriolet

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1958 Grégoire Sport Cabriolet by Chapron

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 6, 2015

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Jean-Albert Grégoire founded Tracta in France in 1926. They built some beautiful, rare, front-wheel drive luxury cars up through 1934. The company may have closed before the war, but Grégoire showed off this highly-styled Sport Cabriolet in 1955 with a body by French coachbuilder Chapron.

It is powered by 2.2-liter supercharged flat-four making 120 horsepower. The car is, like Grégoire’s Tractas before it, front-wheel drive. It’s a rare, attractive car with 1950s engineering and a coachbuilt body from an era past.

Less than 10 of these were built and this one was owned by the same family for the first 50 years. It should sell for between $120,000-$155,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial in Paris.

Update: Sold $152,817.

Beautiful 370 S Mercedes

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1932 Mercedes-Benz 15/75HP Mannheim 370 S Sport Roadster

Offered by RM Auctions | London, U.K. | September 8-9, 2013

1932 Mercedes-Benz 1575HP Mannheim 370 S Sport Roadster

I think this is a very attractive car. I actually like it a little more than I do those swoopy 500K roadsters. This, the Typ Mannheim 370 S was a version of the Mercedes-coded W10 that was introduced in 1929. It uses a modified version of an earlier Ferdinand Porsche-designed chassis and a 3.7-liter straight-six making 75 horsepower.

The 370 S was the fourth iteration of the W10, being produced from 1930 through 1933. It used the shortest wheelbase of all the cars in the series and was only available in roadster or sport cabriolet form. This one was born as a Sport Cabriolet but was converted to a roadster when restored between 2004 and 2006.

Only 195 370 S cars were built in total and apparently only seven of them carry roadster bodies like this. This style of elegant and sporty early Mercedes-Benz is quickly becoming my favorite MB style of all time. I want this triple black 370 S roadster. It should sell for between $1,115,000-$1,480,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,208,900.

S/N: 87123.

1971 Bizzarrini Prototype

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1971 Bizzarrini 128 Sport Barchetta

Offered by Russo & Steele | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2013

1971 Bizzarrini 128 Sport Barchetta

Ever seen this car before? Me neither. Giotto Bizzarrini was active in automotive design and engineering back in the day. Specifically, he got his start at Alfa Romeo in the mid-1950s. He wasn’t there long before he jumped ship to Ferrari (you can thank him for the 250 GTO). In the early-1960s, he worked for Iso Rivolta.

In 1964, he left Iso and founded his own company, Bizzarrini S.p.A. He wanted to build race cars and as an aside to that, he built precious few road cars. This lasted until 1969. Strangely, however, once his company shut down, Bizzarrini continued to churn out cars – and still does today – mostly one-off prototypes. In the early-1970s, he built a pair “single-seat competition barchettas” – and this is the prototype (the other is a race car).

Though titled as a 1971, the car was built in 1972 and shown at the 1972 Turin Motor Show. The engine is a 1.3-liter straight-four from Fiat. It makes 130 horsepower and can power the car up to 140 mph.

The race car variant is in the Italian National Car Museum in Turin – making this 128 the only one in private hands. And it can be yours. No pre-sale estimate is available. Click here for more info and here for more from Russo & Steele in Monterey.

Update: Sold $77,000.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Retromobile 2019, $110,907.

Cadillac Military Roadster

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1914 Cadillac Model 30 Military Sport Roadster by Schutte

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 27, 2013

1914 Cadillac Military Sport Roadster by Schutte

Well this car got lucky. I wouldn’t have featured it, but some auction houses are taking their sweet time publishing their online catalogs (thank you, Mecum, for being on the ball!). Anyway, at the last second, I chose between this and another car. Why’d I pick this over the other? Two reasons: 1. I asked somebody to pick for me. And 2. This car has been in the same family for 98 years! So when was the last time you saw one like this come up for sale?

Let’s talk about that 98 years: first of all, incredible. Secondly, this is not the original body on this car. The Cadillac Model 30 was introduced in 1909. It uses a 6.0-liter straight-four engine making 40-50 horsepower. In 1915, the Model 30 was given a V-8. The original body was a roadster body. But during WWI, the Schutte Body Company displayed a range of new bodies at the New York Auto Show.

So the owner, whose car was a little long-in-the-tooth style-wise, liked what he or she saw. The so-called “Military Sport” body was installed on this car between 1917 and 1919 (so it’s pretty close to original). It was called that because it was popular with military officers during the war. It was basic and “patriotic” due to its use of few materials (and lack of features).

This is the only Cadillac known to have a Military Sport body on it. The restoration is brand new and it’s in excellent, usable condition. Here’s a chance for a one-of-a-kind car. It should sell for between $125,000-$175,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s St. John’s sale.

Update: Sold $110,000.

Lincoln Model K Sport Phaeton

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1931 Lincoln Model K Sport Phaeton

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 27, 2013

1931 Lincoln Model K Sport Phaeton

This beautiful Lincoln Model K is from the first year of K-Series production, 1931. The cars would be made through 1939 and offered for the beginning of the 1940 model year. All cars built in the first year were offered with the 145 inch long wheelbase.

The engine was an improved version of Henry Leland’s original 6.3-liter V8 that was introduced 10 years prior. It made 120 horsepower and would be replaced for 1932. The body on this thing is gorgeous though. It’s a dual-cowl phaeton built and designed by Lincoln and it very much rivals some of the great coachbuilt bodies of the era.

This car was restored for the first time in 1975 and again in 2005. It was acquired by the current owners shortly thereafter and expertly maintained since. It has been shown at numerous shows and has only covered 23 miles since its restoration (!). I understand show cars and why they are so babied, but this thing begs to be driven. It’s amazing sitting still and cars always look (and sound and smell) better in motion. It is expected to sell for between $125,000-$175,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at St. John’s.

Update: Sold $165,000.