September 2015 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

We’re still in September and there’s still a lot of auctions. First up, Mecum in Dallas. The top sale was actually a charity car, a 2015 Ford Mustang GT by Petty’s Garage for $535,000. Our featured Panoz AIV brought $30,000. The top non-charity car was this 1992 Ferrari 512 TR for $295,000. Click here for complete results.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Next up, Bonhams’ liquidations of the Frederiksen Collection in Ebeltoft, Denmark. The top sale was our featured Duesenberg for $2,664,538. The Maybach would’ve been the top sale, but it didn’t meet its reserve. Other million dollar sales included the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Skiff for $1,117,387 and the 1914 Mercedes for $1,401,031. We’ll call this 1924 Lincoln Model L Convertible by LeBaron very well bought for $46,414.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI exceeded its estimate, bringing $550,098. The Cadillac V-16 Convertible Sedan sold for $429,764. On the less-expensive side of things, the Woods Electric sold for $94,548 and the Renault Victoria went for $120,333. Click here for more results.

Barrett-Jackson’s annual Las Vegas sale was held near the end of September. The top sale was the first 2016 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R that was auctioned for charity. It brought $500,000. The top non-charity car was this 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe for $330,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - Barrett-Jackson

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Auctionata of Germany held a Ferrari-only sale in Berlin. The top seller was this 1991 Ferrari F40 for $1,217,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - Auctionata

Photo – Auctionata

Finally, Bonhams’ Preserving the Automobile sale in Philadelphia in October – one of our favorite sales of the year. The top seller was a previously-featured Wanderer W25 K Roadster for $319,000. Two of our feature cars failed to sell: the Napier and the Stearns. The most interesting sale has to be this ex-Museum of Science and Industry (of Chicago) 1835 Brathwaite and Ericson “Mississippi” Locomotive for $220,000. It’s believed to be the oldest Southern locomotive in existence and was used by both the North and South during the Civil War.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our other feature cars all sold, with the Cleveland Roadster selling for only $7,700. Had I been in Philadelphia for this sale this car would currently be in my garage. Here’s the rest of them:

Click here to see all of the results from this sale.

Top 10 – Best-Looking SUVs

Sport utility vehicles (and their half-breed cousins, crossovers) are known for their functionality and not necessarily their looks. But sometimes looks and functionality can cross and create a good-looking SUV. So here we have our Top 10 Best-Looking SUVs of all time (according to us – but please tell us why we’re wrong). Honorable mention goes to the 2004-2007 Buick Rainier, 2008-Present Buick Enclave, 2004-2006 BMW X5 4.8is, and 2012 Jeep Liberty Limited Jet. Here we go:

#10 – 2015-Present Volvo XC90

2015_Volvo_XC90_Front

Just introduced, the new XC90 is squarish in the most Swedish way. Which is a good thing. It’s Volvo’s biggest vehicle and power comes from a range of turbo’d 2.0-liter straight-fours. It’s the first all-new Volvo since being taken over by the Chinese and it should do Sweden proud.

#9 – 2011-Present Dodge Durango

2011_Dodge_Durango_Citadel_--_06-16-2011

The Dodge Durango was always sort of odd looking (hideous second-generation especially). So they took 2010 off to regroup and came back with what really is a nice-looking three-row SUV. While it’s still a tall vehicle, the greenhouse is much shorter than previous versions, giving it a sleeker look. Plus, you can get them fairly decked out. Power comes in the form of either a 3.6-liter V-6 or a 5.7-liter V-8 good for 290 and 360 horsepower respectively.

#8 – 2007-2013 BMW X5

x5

The BMW X5 has always been kind of sporty. It was BMW’s first foray into the land of off-roaders and this second-generation model is more muscular than the first gen model and not quite as creased as the one that they sell now. Honestly, the six-cylinder and V-8 models look better than the “sporty” M variant, which has ridiculous-looking air inlets below the headlights.

#7 – 2010-Present Lincoln MKT

mkt

This wagon can be somewhat polarizing. Lincoln has this sort of waterfall-grille thing going on across its model line, but these can actually be head-turners if you’re sitting in traffic. They looks especially good in black and that little kink in the glass at the back of the rear doors is a nice touch. Power comes from a 3.7-liter V-6 or the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, which is good for 355 horsepower.

 #6 – 2001-2006 GMC Yukon XL Denali

yukon

Anything GMC-related that has the word “Denali” appended to the end is going to be a nice ride. The GMT800 line of GM SUVs were better looking than their more recent counterparts because they just aren’t as over-the-top rap-star looking. These were really nice Suburbans, essentially, and the newer ones just seem like dumbed-down Escalades.

#5 – 1980-1989 Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota_Land_Cruiser

This big boxy truck from Toyota goes a little farther back than everything else on our list thus far. Toyota has been in the SUV game a long time – going back to the 1951 BJ (there was a Toyopet SUV before that, too). The J60 Land Crusier went from supreme off-roader to on-roader with off-roading capability. But doesn’t it just look like it wants to play in the sand? Engine choices were a variety of straight-sixes.

#4 – 1992-1993 GMC Typhoon

92typhoon

No doubt the rarest SUV on this list with just 4,697 produced, the GMC Typhoon (and its sister car, the GMC Syclone pickup) were factory hot rod versions on more mundane trucks. It invented the sporty-SUV segment. It’s powered by a turbocharged 4.3-liter V-6 making 280 horsepower. Car & Driver compared the performance of this truck to that of the Ferrari 348. And it looks pretty good too.

#3 – 1990-Present Mercedes-Benz G-Class

g63

At 25 years old, the current G-Class might be most familiar to you as the choice ride for Russian mobsters and all-around European bad guys. Available in a huge range of versions since its introduction, the Geländewagen can sometimes look quite nice, although the hot rod G63 AMG version above is a little overwrought with add-on bits. But the G63 is intense: 537 horsepower from a twin turbo 5.5-liter V-8. And it’s only the second-most powerful version!

#2 – 1990-2015 Land Rover Defender

defender

As old as the G-Wagen above, the similarly-styled Land Rover Defender is one of the more serious SUVs money can buy. As posh as Land Rovers have become, they are still the most capable vehicles on earth. This truck is available in three different wheelbases and we particularly like the long-wheelbase versions, like the one above. Don’t even ask about powertrain options.

#1 – 1984-1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Photo - Christopher Ziemnowicz

Photo – Christopher Ziemnowicz

AMC-era Jeeps (Wrangler not included) are some of Jeep’s best-ever looking products. The wood-grain panels on the side really set this apart. Woodie wagons sort of stopped being cool in the 1950s and everything that came after about 1951 was a sort of dorky station wagon driven embarrassingly by your parents. Except for this. This is the only acceptable wood-paneled car produced after 1955. And it will likely become one of the most collectible SUVs ever built.

Hidden Treasure

I was recently invited into an old garage that the new owner has been cleaning up for some time. The story is a couple of guys bought it in the late 1950s and began just piling old cars (sometimes in pieces) in a two-level garage near Cincinnati. It was one of many properties they had. When the owner of this place passed, a car guy from a new generation bought it and everything in it. He’s been clearing it out, selling some stuff but keeping the interesting bits.

The former owner once worked at a Packard dealership and when it closed he ended up with the leftover stock. One of the most interesting finds in the basement of the garage were these NOS Packard bits:

SONY DSC

The boxes might look worn, but this stuff was never used.

There were shelves and shelves of parts including even more Packard parts that may have been 60+ years old but had never been used:

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This was one of a few shelves of newly organized parts

There was actually an entire pre-war Lincoln chassis hanging from the ceiling and a bunch of Lincoln parts in the basement:

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That’s a big Lincoln chassis… strapped to the ceiling. There’s some nice Pierce-Arrow fenders and doors up there too.

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Pictured: pre-war Lincoln. Some assembly required.

There was an old box in the basement full of papers and some digging returned cool finds:

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Checks going back to the late 1920s. This one is from 1932.

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A small advertisement on the back of an order sheet for radiator repairs in the 1930s.

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This thick leather-bound book featured some Pontiac sales literature that appeared to be from around 1940.

What’s fascinating about this sort of place is that they are becoming harder and harder to find. It’s not often you unearth a treasure trove of old car stuff. And even though this one has been cleaned and straightened, it’s still really interesting.

And check this out, hanging on the wall is the body (body number attached) from a Maxwell. The Selden tag is still affixed, dating it to pre-1911.

SONY DSC

It doesn’t look like much, but that’s a piece of history.

The new owner is a lucky guy and for those of us that share the interest in the history of the automobile, it’s an interesting place. I was lucky enough to be invited in and I thank him for his hospitality. This just goes to show you never know what is hiding in that nondescript building down the street and that there is hidden treasure all around you. I’m going to try and seek out more. And hopefully someday, someone will rescue that Lincoln chassis and the rest of the parts and get it back on the road.

Lincoln MKS Concept

2005 Lincoln MKS Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

For some reason, this car is called a “2005” when it was actually introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This car was the vision for Lincoln of the future. It carried on from the earlier Lincoln Zephyr Concept from two years prior, but this car was much closer to the production MKS that went on sale for the 2009 model year.

This car does run and drive and is powered by a 315 horsepower 4.4-liter V-8. Production cars only have V-6s. You can have this design study for between $30,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $27,500.

Three Ford Concept Cars

Ford Motor Company Concept Cars

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014


 2005 Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Explorer Sport Trac was a four-door pickup based on the Ford Explorer that was introduced for the 2001 model year. This running, driving concept car was introduced at the 2005 New York Auto Show. It is powered by a 300 horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8. That’s the same engine from the SVT Cobra of that year (SVT did this truck, too).

This sport truck was never produced as you see here, but this one-off concept went into this private collection in 2010. It can be yours for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,250.


2005 Lincoln MKS Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

For some reason, this car is called a “2005” when it was actually introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This car was the vision for Lincoln of the future. It carried on from the earlier Lincoln Zephyr Concept from two years prior, but this car was much closer to the production MKS that went on sale for the 2009 model year.

This car does run and drive and is powered by a 315 horsepower 4.4-liter V-8. Production cars only have V-6s. You can have this design study for between $30,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $27,500.


2000 Ford Focus Wagon Kona Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Focus went on sale in North America for the 1999 model year (1998 in Europe). To appeal to the active lifestyle types, Ford partnered with Kona U.S.A., manufacturer of mountain bikes, to produce Kona Editions Focuses in 2000. Focuses? Focii?

The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making 130 horsepower. Production cars had bike racks on the roof. This was the pre-production prototype used to introduce the limited-edition model. It was first shown at the 2000 Los Angeles Auto Show. Only 5,000 production versions were made. This one should cost between $10,000-$20,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,250.

Lincoln Mark X Concept

2004 Lincoln Mark X Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 14-15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Lincoln has been trying desperately to reinvent itself as of late – trying to hold off a fate like that of sister company Mercury. This is the type of car it needs. The newest iteration of the Ford Thunderbird was kind of a dud. Perhaps it would have worked better as this.

The 2004 Mark X Concept is based around a Thunderbird, but has all of the Lincoln bits on it. It looks better than the T-Bird it’s based around, honestly, and uses a 280 horsepower 3.9-liter V-8.

It’s a true concept car – only one made. But it does run and drive (although getting it road-registered could be tricky – check local listings). There are a number of Ford concept cars at this sale, but this is one of the best (if not the coolest). You can read more here and see more from RM’s sale of the Sam Pack Collection here.

Update: Sold $129,250.

Car Guy History: Henry Leland

If I’m posting this, it’s probably because auction houses haven’t gotten their most current upcoming auction catalogs online – that or I decided to feature this for the fun of it. I thought I’d dig back into the history of the automobile – a topic I really love – and find some interesting tales to tell. This is the first of those…

Henry Leland

Henry Leland

Henry Martyn Leland, born February 16, 1843, is best known for founding both Cadillac and Lincoln. But before we get to how he made a career off of Henry Ford (and became one of his main antagonists), we’ll throw in a little back story. In 1870, he opened a machine shop that would later supply engines to Oldsmobile (his first taste of the automobile industry). He had previously worked for Colt (firearms) – both of these gave him insight into the use of interchangeable parts – something successful early automotive pioneers championed heavily.

Trivia tidbit: he also invented electric barber clippers.

So here’s part one of how Henry Leland made a career off of Henry Ford: Cadillac. What does Henry Ford have to do with Cadillac? Well, he inadvertently founded it. Backtrack: in 1899, Henry Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company with the backing of the mayor of Detroit, a senator, and William Murphy – father of Walter M. Murphy, who would later be a successful coachbuilder in Pasadena, California.

The Detroit Automobile Company built about 20 cars and went bankrupt and was dissolved in January 1901. In November of that same year, after Henry Ford had some minor racing success, he was able to convince some men (including William Murphy, again) to back him. Thus, from the remnants of the Detroit Automobile Company, the Henry Ford Company was founded. The following spring, Ford got into an argument with his backers. They gave him $900, the rights to his name, and showed him the door.

1900 Detroit Delivery Truck

1900 Detroit Delivery Truck. the first car built by a henry ford-owned company.

Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and we all know how that went. But the Henry Ford Company still had to be dissolved. Henry Leland was brought in to appraise the tooling and factory so it could be liquidated. Leland appraised everything and then offered his unsolicited advice: don’t liquidate – start a new company. He then offered them the idea to build a car using an engine he had developed for Oldsmobile. William Murphy said “Okay!” and quickly renamed the Henry Ford Company “Cadillac.”

1903 Cadillac Model A

1903 Cadillac Model A. built by leland-owned cadillac using the leland-desgned single-cylinder engine he developed for oldsmobile.

Cadillac was building cars by the end of 1902, before Henry Ford got his “Third Time’s A Charm” thing going. In 1905, Leland merged his machine shop into Cadillac. He also introduced interchangeable parts. In 1909, Leland sold Cadillac to General Motors for $4.5 million and remained a GM executive until 1917. That’s how Leland made his first fortune off of Henry Ford.

Now for Round 2: In 1917, World War I was in full swing. GM was still in the control of its founder, William Durant (who deserves his own Fun History Lesson). Durant was a pacifist and did not want to make anything for the military. Cadillac had been asked by the government to build Liberty aircraft engines. Durant refused. So Leland walked out.

And what did he do? He took the $10 million contract from the government and founded the Lincoln Motor Company with his son. He named it “Lincoln” after his hero, Abraham Lincoln – the man he voted for in 1864 (okay, so Leland made his second fortune off of the government, and not necessarily Henry Ford). When the war ended, Leland retooled the factory to build luxury cars. By 1922, the retooling had taken its toll and Lincoln was out of money – but their factory was worth about $16 million.

1922 Lincoln L-Series Touring

1922 Lincoln L-Series Touring. The L-Series was designed by lincoln under Leland ownership and remained in production long after he left.

Henry Ford sent in a bid of $5 million to buy Lincoln, which was rejected by a judge. He upped it to $8 million – the only bidder on the insolvent company. Ford was still bitter at Leland for his success with Cadillac and wanted to pay as little as possible for Lincoln – just to demoralize the Lelands. The $8 million mostly went to pay of creditors, but Leland (and his son, Wilfred) remained as employees – not to run the company as originally promised by Ford, but to get it to a point where it wouldn’t go bankrupt again – i.e. throw quality out the door to save costs, which was, quite possibly, Leland’s most-loathed thing about the then-current automobile industry. A couple months later, an executive acting on Henry Ford’s authority, showed up to force Wilfred to resign. When Henry Leland realized Henry Ford was directly responsible for this, he, again, walked out as well.

Remarkably, both companies founded by Henry Leland still survive 100 years later – and I’m pretty sure he’s the only person to hold that distinction. Sure, he didn’t make a fortune from Henry Ford the second time around, but he did force Ford (out of spite) to spend $12 million (there was additional $4 million tax bill tacked on). Henry Leland had to be one of Henry Ford’s biggest adversaries for a majority of his career. And for that, he should be considered an automotive hero (let’s be honest, for all of Ford’s successes, he wasn’t exactly a saint).

In any case, Henry Leland (and his son, Wilfred) were engineers. They held quality above all things. And they were among the last of their kind. The companies they founded were transferred into the hands of penny-pinchers who wanted to build the most for the least. During Leland’s reign, Cadillac become known as “The Standard of the World” and there was a reason for that. Henry Leland is one of my automotive heroes – if for nothing else, than being a thorn in Henry Ford’s side for over 20 years.

2014 Scottsdale Highlights II

The next auction we’ve got results on is RM’s annual Arizona sale. The big winner there was, no surprise, a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider for $8,800,000.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Our featured Chaparral did not sell while our featured, all-original, Duesenberg brought $2,200,000. Our other featured top-seller was the Porsche RS 61 for $2,750,000. The only other feature car that cracked the million dollar mark was the Hispano-Suiza J12 and it only hit $1 million with the buyer’s premium added on: $1,045,000. Interesting cars were topped by this 1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen for $60,500.

1960 DKW 3=6 Schnellaster Kastenwagen

Another cool car was this 1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau that also sold for $60,500.

1905 Reo Two-Cylinder Five-Passenger Detachable Tonneau

I really liked this 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward. It looks awfully regal and makes me want to hire a chauffeur (even if it’s for my Honda daily driver). It sold for $440,000.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville by Park Ward

A previously-featured Abarth race car brought $46,750. The OSCA 750S sold for $660,000. This 1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron looks like a lot of fun. It brought $242,000.

1935 Lincoln Model K Convertible Roadster by LeBaron

And finally, our featured Fiat 8V by Ghia sold for $946,000. Check out full results here. Next up is “Super Saturday” at Barrett-Jackson (and also, Sunday – which is still going on as I write this). The top sale of Barrett-Jackson’s entire sale was our featured 1967 Chevy L88 Corvette Coupe for $3,850,000. Another top seller was this 1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra which went for $1,650,000.

1963 Cooper Monaco Shelby King Cobra

The featured Duesenberg from this sale sold for $1,430,000. Another mega-bucks Corvette was the ultra-rare ZR2 we featured. It crossed the block for $495,000. For the same price, you could’ve bought this 1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport (which I think I’d much rather have).

1955 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport

One car that didn’t stand out to me until I read the lot description (and saw it cross the block on live TV) was this 1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy that was customized at the request of its original owner, Rudolph Valentino. It sold for $264,000.

1926 Packard Eight Model 443 Phaeton by Murphy

The featured Plymouth Belmont Concept car failed to meet its reserve and thus did not sell. You can check out full results here.

Lincoln Quicksilver

1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 23, 2013

1983 Lincoln Quicksilver Concept by Ghia

So what in the world do we have here? Actually, this car has shown up on this site before – it was sold at Auctions America’s 2013 Auburn Spring auction earlier this year, where it brought $9,570. And it’s set to cross the block again.

The Quicksilver was actually built by Ghia in Turin at Ford’s request. Ford debuted the futuristic (minivan? crossover? wagon?) at the 1983 Geneva Auto Show. The car was a hit and Ford toured the thing all over the world, hitting auto shows until 1986.

The car sits on a stretched version of an AC 3000 ME (a very rare British sports car from the era) chassis and uses a mid-mounted 2.8-liter V-6. It seats five and is fully functional, albeit not road-legal. It would be a most-amusing car to own and weird out everyone in town. Absolutely no one would be able to guess what it is. And it can be yours for somewhere in the neighborhood of ten grand. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum’s sale.

Update: Sold $27,000.

One-Off Lincoln Concept Car

1955 Lincoln Indianapolis by Boano

Offered by RM Auctions | New York, New York | November 21, 2013

1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Executive Study by Boano

This outlandish-looking Lincoln was designed and built in Italy by Gian Carlo Boano. There are some aircraft-inspired design elements that really take you back to the golden age of concept cars: the 1950s. I love the exhaust (even though the aren’t even functional and don’t match the number of cylinders under the hood).

What is underhood is a 200 horsepower 5.6-liter V-8. The car debuted at the 1955 Turin Auto Show and Ford purchased it from Boano right after. Ghia had a successful run with Chrysler in the 1950s and Boano wanted the same thing with Ford. Ford offered Boano a 10-year contract after this car was built, but Boano decided to partner with Fiat instead. So much for that.

The car has had a few owners since it left Ford’s ownership and was owned by one man for over three decades. The restoration was completed a little over 10 years ago and the car was shown at Pebble Beach in 2001. This has to be one of the most stylish Lincolns ever built. It will command a pricey sum. The pre-sale estimate is $2,000,000-$2,500,000. For more info click here and for more from this awesome sale, click here.

Update: Not sold (high bid of $1,550,000)

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s, Andrews Collection 2015, $1,210,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019, $1,105,000.