Category Archives: Uncategorized

Grifo Targa

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1970 Iso Grifo Series I Targa

Offered by Bring a Trailer | December 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

The Iso Grifo is perhaps the most muscular of all of the Italian/American hybrid muscle cars. Sure, it’s a two-door coupe and a sports car. But it has angry lines and big American V8s. That’s a muscle car.

The Grifo has an interesting history, as discussed here, and went on sale in 1965. This is one of 330 Series I cars built, just 14 of which were targas. Power is from a 5.7-liter Chevrolet V8 rated at 300 horsepower.

It was cosmetically overhauled in Europe in the early 2000s and received mechanic work in the years following its importation to the U.S. These are very rare big-dollar cars. You can read more about it here.

Duesenberg J-121

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Miami, Florida | March 2, 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are not many cars better than a sweep-panel dual-cowl phaeton. This one carries a relatively low engine number and was delivered new to Philip K. Wrigley, he of gum fame. It was originally delivered with Murphy convertible coupe coachwork, to which Mr. Wrigley added over 10,000 miles before deciding he wanted a dual-cowl phaeton.

But not just any such phaeton, he wanted the specific body on a family friend’s Duesenberg. But he didn’t want their car. So a body swap was arranged. Oh to be rich during the Great Depression. This chassis retains its original 265-horsepower, 6.9-liter inline-eight.

The Wrigleys sold it back to Duesenberg in 1936. The current restoration was completed in 2004, and it’s finished in all black, which is an interesting choice (but apparently the original look). It has an estimate of $2,650,000-$2,850,000. More info can be found here.

Vauxhall PA Cresta

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1959 Vauxhall Cresta

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Brooklands, U.K. | November 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

The Cresta was Vauxhall’s executive car, the largest in the lineup when it went on sale in 1954. The second generation, the PA, arrived three years later in 1957 sporting very American styling, with tailfins and chrome galore.

Between 1957 and 1962, 81,841 examples of the Cresta were built between the four-door sedan and wagon. For the first few years of production, the cars featured a 2.3-liter inline-six carried over from the previous generation. It made 82 horsepower. A 2.7-liter unit would appear in 1961.

It took five years to restore this example, which is one of just 32 still registered in the U.K. It’s big by British standards, and stylish too. The estimate is $22,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Carden Cyclecar

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1920 Carden Cyclecar

Offered by Mecum | Online | December 2023

Photo – Mecum

Carden Engineering launched their cyclecar amidst the craze of the 1910s. It went on sale in 1914 and was designed by John Carden, who would later design tanks. This couldn’t be farther from that.

The company returned after WWI with a new design in 1919. Later that year Carden sold the design off and came up with something else, which he also sold and would eventually be produced as the New Carden from 1922 through 1925.

This car is powered by an air-cooled (apparently flat?) twin that shares its casting with the gearbox. About 1,000 of these were built, and this one is definitely in project status, coming off of static display. Click here for more info.

Neckar St. Trop

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1965 Neckar St. Trop Coupe

Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | November 26, 2023

Photo – Aguttes

NSU sold Fiats under license beginning in 1929 under the NSU-Fiat marque. NSU sold the Heilbronn, Germany-based factory to Fiat in 1932, and in 1957, then name Neckar replaced NSU-Fiat as the marque until it ceased existing in 1971.

All Neckars were just re-badged versions of something else, in this case the already-obscure OSI 1200, which was a Michelotti-styled variant of the Fiat 1200 Spider. It’s got a Fiat 1.2-liter inline-four.

Aguttes says 280 convertibles and 70 coupes were built, all of which apparently by OSI and then branded differently for various markets. The pre-sale estimate is $27,000-$38,000. Click here for more info.

Marathon Delivery Van

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1980 Marathon C360 Delivery Van

Offered by Mecum | Online | December 2023

Photo – Mecum

Marathon Electric Vehicles produced a lone road-going vehicle between 1976 and 1981. The company was based in Montreal, and their C-300 was a kind of odd, open-top Jeep-type thing that resembled, well, a Volkswagen Thing.

This, the C360, was purportedly purchased by Briggs & Stratton and turned into an early hybrid test vehicle. Yes, it has three axles and sliding side doors. The body is also made out of Alucobond, which is two sheets of aluminum over a urethane-filled core. The Briggs & Stratton twin is mounted up front, and the van is missing its electric motor and batteries.

Consider it a project, but an interesting one from a forgotten early electric upstart. Check out more about it here.

DB2/4 by Bertone

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupe by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 8, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The DB2 was Aston’s first real post-war car, as they only made 15 DB1s. In 1953, the DB2 was heavily revised for a new model call the DB2/4, which would remain on sale through 1957. Three factory body styles existed: drophead coupe, two-seat coupe, and 2+2 hatchback. But a number of coachbuilt versions were also produced.

Among them are a some really striking designs by Bertone. There were seven Bertone DB2/4s in total (out of a production run of 764 total DB2/4s), and all of them were commissioned by Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt. This was the only coupe among them.

RM’s write-up makes no mention of the engine, but it’s a 2.9-liter inline-six, the larger of two engines offered during the model’s run. The restoration of the car started in 2019 and completed in time for Pebble Beach in 2023. The estimate here is $1,200,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info.

Maybach Cruisero

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2010 Maybach 57S Cruisero Coupe by Xenatec

Offered by Bonhams | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 25 2023

Photo – Bonhams

There was this weird thing in the 2000s where coachbuilt versions of luxury cars were all of a sudden something companies wanted to do. Zagato styled some Bentleys, while Touring took a stab at Maserati. Then there is this, one of the longest two-door cars ever built from short-lived German coachbuilder Xenatec.

It’s based on a stock Maybach 57S sedan, including the 133.5-inch wheelbase, that had the bodywork tweaked to just two doors. Under the hood is the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 making 604 horsepower. If a $400,000 Maybach sedan was too common for you, you could’ve shelled out who knows how much more to get a coupe – something the factory never offered.

Just eight of these were built, one of which for Muammar Gaddafi, so you’ll be in good company if you have the estimated $550,000-$650,000 to spend on this today. More info can be found here.

F40 GT

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1990 Ferrari F40 GT

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s sensational F40 went on sale in 1987 and actually hung around until the early 1990s, which is quite a while in the world of limited-run Ferrari supercars. Three of four examples were prepped by Michelotto to “LM” specification, which increased interest in customer F40 racing cars.

So to that end, nine examples of the “GT” ended up being produced. It retains a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V8 that was eventually rated for up to 550 horsepower in race spec. This particular chassis was purchased new by the designer of the Mugello race track and campaigned in the Italian GT Championship.

It competed in seven rounds in 1992 and eight the following year. The car was later taken back to its 1992 look, and it is one of 21 F40s to race in a major sanctioned series. The car now has an estimate of $3,250,000-$4,000,000. More info can be found here.

McLaren MP4/21

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2006 McLaren-Mercedes MP4/21

Offered by Bonhams | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 25, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The 2006 Formula One season was a classic Fernando Alonso/Michael Schumacher dogfight, with Alonso coming out on top. Behind Ferrari and Renault was McLaren, and this was their car for that year. Kimi Raikkonen was in one car, while Pedro de la Rosa replaced Juan Pablo Montoya in the other car midway through the season.

It was an Adrian Newey design and was powered by a Mercedes-Benz 2.4-liter V8 good for 750 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, MP4/21-2, includes:

  • 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix – 3rd (with Kimi Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Australian Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 San Marino Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 European Grand Prix at Nurburgring – 4th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Spanish Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Monaco Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 French Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)

McLaren restored the car before selling it off, and it hasn’t been used since. The pre-sale estimate is $2,500,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info.