Hobbycar

2002 Hobbycar B612

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 24, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

The Hobbycar is an amphibious car produced in France by Hobbycar, a company founded by Francois Wardavoir. The B612 was introduced in 1992, and 52 were produced before the company went out of business. They also had a second model called the Passport.

The engine is a Peugeot 1.9-liter turbodiesel inline-four that developed 92 horsepower. Once in the water, hydrojets provide propulsion. Steering on water is by joystick as well. It has seating for four, but it has no top – and once it’s in the water, there’s only about four inches between the waterline and the side of the craft. So… don’t take it out in a storm. Or a slight breeze.

These are pretty rare, and I’m not sure I’ve seen one come up for sale publicly in the last 10 years. It should bring between $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $34,707.

Amphicar

1966 Amphicar 770

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s one I can’t believe we haven’t covered yet. The Amphicar was designed by Hans Trippel and produced by the Quandt Group in Germany between 1960 and 1965. The model was dubbed the “770” because it would do seven knots on the water and 70 mph on land.

A few different engines were used throughout production. This car is powered by a 1.5-liter Triumph inline-four that was capable of up to 75 horsepower. The same engine drives the car on land or water, and once you splash down, the engine drives a pair of reversible propellers. The car could even drive itself back out of the water.

Amphicars are remarkably usable. They can be found in waterways throughout the world every year (I once saw one on the back of a large private boat in Paris. It’s the ultimate dinghy). And I think their continued use is a wonderful sign of how well made they were. Only 3,878 were produced in total, and it seems like there’s always a few for sale somewhere. This one is selling at no reserve in Indiana. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $128,800.

RM Auctions Monaco 2012 Highlights

If you like auctions where there are a lot of million dollar cars, then RM Auctions’ May 11-12, 2012 sale in Monaco should bring a smile to your face as a stunning 13 cars sold for more than $1 million. The top sale was one of our feature cars – the 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider that sold for $6,526,800. The next two top selling cars were also feature cars here on the site: the 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder Tuboscocca sold for $3,263,400 – which was the same price brought by the 1966 Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder. The next highest-selling car was a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A that brought $3,009,590.

After that, another of our feature cars, the amazing 2007 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Le Mans race car sold for $2,175,600. Then another amazing performance car: a 2006 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione, which is basically a track-only Enzo on steroids, sold for $1,733,288.

Continuing down the list, we come across a few more feature cars. First, the 1969 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 which sold for $1,595,440. Then the 9th Ferrari built, the 1948 166 Inter Spyder Corsa – hammered away for $1,307,950. Then we have the other Alfa Romeo prototype race car, the 1968 Tipo 33/2 Daytona selling for $1,305,360. Also selling for $1,305,360 was yet another Ferrari, a 1971 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder.

The next top-selling car – er, thing – was also the top selling boat of the sale (there’s a sentence I’ve never written). It’s also a Ferrari – or, at least, Ferrari-powered. It’s called a 1953 Timossi-Ferrari “Arno XI” Racing Hydroplane. It’s actually pretty amazing, looking like a WWII fighter plane with a hull instead of wings. And it’s powered by a 4.5-liter Ferrari Formula One V-12 engine making over 600 horsepower. It’s insane and sold for $1,124,060.

The other two million dollar cars were also Ferraris. The 1968 330 GTS sold for $1,102,304 and the 2000 F1-2000 ex-Michael Schumacher Formula One car brought a paltry $1,044,288. See if you can figure out which picture is which.

Other interesting sales include this 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by Brockman. The body is solid copper – therefore you should not park it in a bad neighborhood. It sold for $203,506.

Some of our other feature cars were the 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider – which did not sell. The record-holding 1978 Rondeau-Cosworth sold for $464,128. This rare 1976 Lancia Stratos Stradale sold for $387,982.

We featured a pair of other Lancias: the 1995 Hyena, which sold for $116,032; and the 1964 Sport Prototipo Zagato, which brought $246,568.

The first day of this sale included a giant collection of Ducati motorcycles. The highest price realized for any of them was $325,757 for this race-winning 2010 Desmosedici GP10 CS1 with MotoGP rider Casey Stoner.

Another interesting sale was this 1953 Siata Daina Sport 1800 that sold for $224,812.

For things more affordable, you could have had this tongue-twister of a Mercedes – a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 200 W21 Sonnenscheinlimousine – for $36,260.

Our other two feature cars, the 1994 Bugatti EB110 GT and the ex-Fangio 1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport failed to meet reserve and did not sell. Finally, the true odd-ball of the auction, the 1951 Piero Taruffi “Italcorsa/Tarf II” Speed-Record car sold for $116,032. You can read about its unique history via that link.

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