Tag Archives: touring

Maserati 3500 GT Coupe

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1960 Maserati 3500 GT Coupe by Touring

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 22, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The 3500 GT debuted at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, with production of a Touring-penned coupe starting later that year. Spyders followed, as did some coachbuilt examples. Eventually a limited-run 5000 GT also joined the Maserati lineup before both cars were supplanted by cars like the Sebring and Mistral.

This car was sold new in January 1960 to a Swiss-born racing driver in California. It returned to Italy in 2007 and was later restored in Austria. It’s finished in white with a contrasting burgundy roof over a tan leather interior.

Power is provided by a 3.5-liter inline-six that was rated at 217 horsepower. Not overpowered for sure. Fuel injection would come along later and increase output by some degree. But this was a grand tourer, not a race car. If you’re in the market, this one will likely set you back $150,000-$190,000. More info can be found here.

Update: Sold $157,439.

1912 Michigan

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1912 Michigan Four-40 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Michigan Buggy Company of Kalamazoo has one of the more colorful histories of any short-lived pre-war auto manufacturer. They first car debuted in 1904, and it was a small single-cylinder buggy without reverse. Regular production of a more typical automobile started in 1911.

But it’s amazing they sold any cars at all. Most of the officers at the company were involved in some kind of fraud. In 1912, the company offered two models: the Four-33 and the Four-40, the latter of which is powered by an L-head Buda inline-four that made 40 horsepower. It wasn’t really a bad car either.

Michigan ceased production after 1913, and the factory was eventually bought by the United States Motor Car Company, and their Greyhound would be built there. The car shown here has been restored and now has an estimate of $50,000-$70,000. Click here for more info.

Overland Model 82

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1915 Overland Model 82 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Claude E. Cox founded Overland in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1903. The company spent a few years in Indianapolis before settling in Toledo in 1909, which was a year after it was purchased by John North Willys. Willys was able to increase Overland production significantly, and for most of the 1910s, they were America’s #2 o4 3 automaker.

Their 1915 catalog offered three models, the Model 81, 80, and 82. The Model 82 was the largest of the three and was powered by a 5.0-liter inline-six rated at 50 horsepower. It was only offered as a seven-passenger touring car.

This restored example has been under current ownership since 2017 and is a pretty nice example of what was a common, larger mid-priced car in 1915. It has an estimate of $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $20,900.

1912 Marquette

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1912 Marquette Model 25 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This was the first time the Marquette marque was introduced under General Motors. Billy Durant bought up Rainier and Welch-Detroit, both of which were making pretty nice cars. But both were losing money. He propped up the Marquette-Buick name to use on race cars before the Marquette road car debuted in 1911.

It was very closely related to the Rainier, making it a pretty nice car that would’ve retailed for about $3,000 in its day. A Model T was about $650. Around the time that this car got off the ground, Durant lost control of GM, and the new people in charge scuttled the marque. GM would bring the Marquette name back for 1930 as the one-year-only companion make for Buick.

This Model 25 Touring is powered by a 40-horsepower, 6.8-liter inline-four and is one of only a few known to exist. It has an estimate of $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $38,500.

1906 Tourist

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1906 Tourist Model K Touring

Offered by Mecum | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | July 26-29, 2023

Photo – Mecum

Tourist is a rare example of a California-based car company and was a product of the generically named Auto Vehicle Company of Los Angeles. It existed from 1902 to 1910. When the funding ran out, the Auto Vehicle Company reverted to being a dealership for Firestone-Columbus, Warren-Detroit, and Columbus Electric cars, while their factory and tooling was sold off to make the Beardsley electric car.

A range of models were offered by Tourist, including trucks. In 1906, when the company was making about 500 cars a year, they offered the Model K and the four-cylinder Model M, both in five-passenger touring car form only. The Model K is powered by a 3.2-liter flat-twin making about 20 horsepower.

This restored example was part of a collection and is one of but a few of Tourist cars remaining. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $27,500.

Touring-Bodied Bristol

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1949 Bristol 401 by Touring

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | April 8, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

Here is, however unlikely, another coachbuilt Bristol 401. When Bristol switched from aircraft to cars after the war (or at least, partly), they had a guy on board named H.J. Aldington, formerly of Frazer Nash. Frazer Nash was the British BMW importer before the war. So it’s easy to see how BMW influenced these early Bristols.

Aldington wanted Bristol to use Touring’s Superleggera coachwork on their new cars. Approximately 10 were bodied by Touring before Bristol decided to just use their old-school ash framing. That said, the factory-bodied 401s looked pretty much like this. Touring also reused parts of this design for the Alfa Romeo Freccia d’Oro.

Power here is from a 2.0-liter inline-six that made about 85 horsepower. This car has been mostly restored but has a little work left to do. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Touring-Bodied Alfa 6C 2500 Super Sport

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1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Coupe by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 2500 was really the best iteration of Alfa’s long-lived 6C line of cars. The 6C 2500 was introduced in 1938 and resumed production after the war, living on until 1952. Various versions were offered, including the Super Sport, which was available from 1939 through 1951.

The main Super Sport model was the coupe, of which 413 were built. This one carries attractive coachwork by Touring. It rides on a shortened 2,700mm wheelbase and was powered by a 2.4-liter inline-six good for 110 horsepower. Top speed was just over 100 mph.

This one led the sad life of many cars of this era: it was acquired in Europe by a US serviceman (awesome) and brought back to the U.S. It eventually worked its way up through tiers of collectors (less awesome) before someone spent half a million and seven years restoring it. It’s too bad regular people can’t buy cars of this caliber like they used to and that some dude who had “three other examples” had to keep hoarding. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Northern Touring

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1907 Northern Type C Touring

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 4, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Northern Manufacturing Company was founded by Charles King and Jonathan Maxwell, both of whom had previously worked for Oldsmobile. Their first cars, powered by singles, were sold in 1902. Twins followed in 1904, and four-cylinder cars would join the lineup in 1906.

The Type C was offered in 1906 and 1907 as the two-cylinder offering. The flat-twin here made 20 horsepower when new. This is a fairly large car for just two cylinders. They also built a five-passenger limousine in this model range, in addition to a runabout and another touring car.

Northern merged with the Wayne Automobile Company in 1908, and the combined company was quickly acquired by E-M-F. Maxwell had left in 1903 (to form Maxwell, which would become Chrysler), and King left after the acquisition and would form his own eponymous company. Studebaker would purchase E-M-F a few years later.

We’ve featured a few single-cylinder Northern runabouts before, but this is the first “big” Northern on this site. It should sell for between $21,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $54,107.

1914 Overland

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1914 Overland Model 79TE Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Model 79 was one of two products sold by Overland in 1914, the other was the Model 46. The Model 79 was offered in three body styles: a roadster, coupe or touring, the latter of which cost $950 when new.

Power is provided by a 35-horsepower inline-four. This one was sold new in Wyoming to a sheep rancher. In 1914, cars had been on sale for a bit, approximately 14 years. Yet, this was the first car for the family of its first owner. Makes you wonder when the last hold outs finally converted to automobiles.

Touring cars from this era are just great, and this one is no exception. It’s actually being sold by the family of its first owner – and at no reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $45,100.

Haynes Model 27

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1914 Haynes Model 27 Touring

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

Elwood Haynes was a pioneer in the American automotive industry, having built one of the earliest cars in the country and having designed the first American car that could be mass produced. In 1904, he parted ways with the Apperson brothers and set out on his own.

The Haynes Automobile Company last until 1925, and in 1914, the company’s range consisted of three models. The Model 27 was the largest, powered by a 50-horsepower, 7.7-liter inline-six. Three body styles were offered, including this seven-passenger tourer, which is believed to be one of two Model 27 tourers to survive.

This example remained in the family of the original owner until the 1980s and remained in Iowa until 2007. It later won a preservation class award at Pebble Beach and is now being sold at no reserve with an estimate of $100,000-$130,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $112,000.