Tag Archives: 1935

Caracciola’s 500K

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1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Coupe by Sindelfingen

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Los Angeles, California | October 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are coachbuilt classics and then there are coachbuilt classics that were originally owned by factory racing superstars. That is the case here. This car was built for and originally owned by Rudolf Caracciola, who was three-time European Grand Prix champion in the 1930s. Oh, and a Nazi party member.

The 500K was powered by a 5.0-liter straight-eight making 100 horsepower or 160 with the supercharger engaged. Most of the cars built were open with only a handful of coupes built. Mercedes described this as a “Roadster-Limousine,” a term of which neither of its component words make sense.

Caracciola owned the car until the late 1930s, and it later made its way to the U.S. via abandonment in Ethiopia (as cars do). It was restored in the 1960s and finished second at Pebble Beach in 1966. In 1979, it was purchased by junkyard hero Rudi Klein, who showed it at least once before parking it in a barn around 1980. It hadn’t seen the light of day since – until now anyway. It will now sell, likely as a project, for a pretty spectacular number. Read more about it here.

Talbot 75

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1935 Talbot 75 Sports Saloon by Darracq

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 2024

Photo – Bonhams

There were French Talbots and there were British Talbots. This is an example of the latter, if you couldn’t tell by looking at it. It looks just like many other British luxury cars of the 1930s, be they from SS (Jaguar) or whoever.

The Talbot 18-70 of 1930 through 1932 was given a displacement increase of their straight-six to 2.3 liters. These cars were referred to as the Talbot 70 or 75. It’s unclear when this car was built, as Bonhams doesn’t list a model year.

It is said to have been ordered new by the British ambassador to Spain but never delivered. Its first owner bought it in 1936, and it remained in their family until 2009. It was restored in 1998 and now has an estimate of $33,000-$39,000. More info can be found here.

Voisin C28 Clairiere

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1935 Voisin C28 Clairiere Berline

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well, once the world found out that the Mullin collection was getting dispersed, we all should’ve prepared ourselves for some Voisins to come to market. This C28 is one of two known with “Clairiere” coachwork, a style that was introduced on the earlier C25 chassis.

The C28 is powered by a 3.3-liter Knight sleeve-valve inline-six rated at 110 horsepower. Of the two known to exist, the other is locked away forever in the Schlumpf hoard in France. So if you want one, this is it.

It has known ownership from knew, having been first delivered in Berlin in 1936, despite being titled as a 1929. It was owned by the Voisin family in the late 1990s and came into the current collection in 2010. The catalog carries a very reassuring disclaimer that the car has been in storage and “may not be currently operational.” So, you know, maybe it runs. The estimate is $350,000-$450,000. More info can be found here.

’35 Cadillac V8 Convertible Sedan

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1935 Cadillac V-8 Model 355-D Convertible Sedan by Fisher

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

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Cadillac’s 355 series of V8-powered automobiles was produced between 1931 and 1935. These were grand-looking cars with 2/3 or half of the cylinders of the very-similar-looking V12 and V16 cars also offered around this time. In 1934, the cars were restyled to look quite a bit more modern, and that’s what you’re seeing here.

There was an immense number of body styles offered by the factory, with the bodies either built by Fisher of Fleetwood. Two different Fisher-bodied convertible sedans were offered: the Series 10 (on a 128-inch wheelbase) or the Series 20 (on a 136-inch wheelbase). The catalog does not differentiate, but it looks long.

Power is from Cadillac’s 5.8-liter V8 that made 130 horsepower. This car was delivered new in Washington, D.C. It’s the rear wheel spats that make this such an eye catcher. It’s sleek and, for 1935, quite modern. Now it has an estimate of $125,000-$150,000. More info can be found here.

Lancia Augusta

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1935 Lancia Augusta Sedan

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | December 3, 2022

Photo – Brightwells

The Lancia Augusta was a small car produced by the company between 1933 and 1936. Offered mainly as a four-door sedan, the car was also built at Lancia’s French factory. French-built cars were called the Belna and could be had with fancy coachbuilt bodies.

Power is from a 1.2-liter V4 rated at 35 horsepower. In all, 17,217 Augustas were built before the model was replaced by the Ardea. Despite its entry-level-ness, the Augusta never really took off in Italy, and it’s sales numbers were dwarfed by the Fiat 508 Balilla.

This one was restored in the 1970s and has known history dating back to the ’60s. Another mechanical refresh was carried out in 2012, though the car is said to need a little recommissioning before use. It has an estimate of $14,000-$17,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $15,946.

Miller-Ford

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1935 Miller-Ford

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

Photo – Gooding & Company

Few names are as synonymous with Indianapolis as Harry Miller. Maybe Andy Granatelli would be up there for people in the know. And Tony Hulman. Well, all three are in play here, but let’s start with this: legendary Indy car designed Harry Miller was approached by Preston Tucker to design an Indy car around a road car-based engine. This was the “junk formula” era.

Tucker then got his friend Edsel Ford to persuade his dad Henry to fund it. Henry ended up making his franchised dealers foot the bill, but the project went ahead. The result was a two-seater, front-wheel-drive chassis powered by a Ford flathead V8. The bodies were built by Emil Diedt, a famous Indy car name on its own.

Ten examples were produced, but just four qualified for the 1935 Indy 500. None finished due to a design flaw with the steering. Henry Ford scooped all of them up, apparently out of embarrassment/rage, and hid them away in Dearborn. They would slowly be sold off to private customers.

This car escaped not long after, and, just after WWII, was owned by a California-based race team owner who had a 4.4-liter Offenhauser inline-four put in it in place of the flathead. Output now is estimated to be 350 horsepower. In 1948, the car was purchased by team owner Andy Granatelli, who entered it in the 1948 race. So the known competition history for this car, chassis #5, consists of:

  • 1948 Indianapolis 500 – DNQ (with Granatelli)

He actually destroyed the car in practice and it was later rebuilt. In 1949, it was purchased by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman and remained with the IMS Museum until 1993. This is a hard car to come by, and it has an estimate of $750,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $830,000.

Duesenberg J-550

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1935 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Rollston

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

It is both kind of disappointing and kind of mind-blowing that seemingly half of Model J Duesenbergs that come up for sale have already been featured on this site. This car is one of two coming out of this collection (this is the other). We haven’t featured this one before because it’s been owned by the same guy since 1967.

The Model J is powered by a 6.9-liter Lycoming straight-eight that made 265 horsepower in naturally aspirated form. This car, a 1935 model, carries one of the later engines built. There were more than a few convertible coupes put on Model J chassis, many of which by Murphy. This car is the only Rollston convertible coupe example built.

But the body wasn’t initially on this chassis, as it was previously fitted to an SJ. It has known ownership history, including time spent in Cuba, and it was purchased by the current owner in 1967, two years after it was restored. Read more about it here.

Update: Sold $4,680,000.

Bugatti 59/50S

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1935 Bugatti Type 59/50S

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | June 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Aucions

Spoiler alert: Bugatti Fridays, as has been the case here in June, will continue next week with a Bugatti Type 43 that has a replacement body and a replacement engine. This car has a similar story. And it is this: in the 1960s, a huge collection of parts was acquired by the guy who would end up putting this car together.

Among those items were four (!) Type 59 frames he brought back to the U.S. with him. The Type 59 was sort of the ultimate evolution of the pre-war Bugatti racing car. Only eight were constructed (although it is unclear how many frames were built). This car uses frame number two.

The supercharged 5.0-liter inline-eight is supposedly a special engine that was previously used in a speed record car in 1933 before being used in Robert Benoist’s 1935 French Grand Prix race car. The assembler of this car got that engine and put it in this chassis, then built a body around it that replicates Benoist’s race car. All of this was completed in the 1990s. It’s pretty amazing, really, and the auction listing notes a list of factory Bugatti parts used in the build, including the piano-wire wheels.

So it’s not that different from the Type 43 described above. It just so happens that all of the replacement bits were put on the car many decades later. This is a one-of-a-kind Bugatti with some pretty detailed history. The auction ends today, click here to see where the bidding ends up.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $500,000.

Frazer Nash-BMW 315

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1935 Frazer Nash-BMW 315 Three-Position Drophead Coupe by E. Bertelli

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | June 24, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Archibald Frazer-Nash was the British importer of BMWs beginning in 1934. They re-branded and sold BMWs in the U.K. as Frazer Nash-BMWs, but this only lasted until the outbreak of war in 1939. After WWII, Frazer Nash sold sports cars of their own design.

So this 315 model is essentially a re-branded BMW 315, which was sold from 1934 through 1937. These small BMWs were part of the 303 lineage of cars that dated back to, well, 1933. But the 315/1 was a factory roadster. This particular car is said to be one of three fitted with three-position drophead coupe coachwork by British coachbuilder Enrico Bertelli of Feltham.

Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-six that was rated at 40 horsepower when new. These were sports cars in their day, even if this one has a less-sporty body. It’s been in the ownership of the same family since new, and it’s gonna need a restoration. The pre-sale estimate is $24,500-$37,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $31,767.

SS1 Tourer

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1935 SS1 2.5-Litre Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | April 10, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Swallow Coachbuilding Company started building their own cars in 1932. The first model launched was the SS1. Bonhams quotes a total of 2,503 examples produced through 1936. SS, of course, would become Jaguar after WWII and the resulting new associated connotations with “SS”.

The SS1 was powered by a choice of inline-six engines, with this car being powered by the later, larger 2.6-liter unit. There was an SS2 that featured a four-cylinder powerplant. Output in this car was rated at 68 horsepower.

Five body styles were offered, including the tourer shown here. It remained with a single family for about 50 years, being restored early in their stewardship. Now it has a pre-sale estimate of $78,000-$105,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $73,188.