Tag Archives: sports

Mercedes 10/40/65 Sports

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1924 Mercedes 10/40/65PS Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Mercedes didn’t team up with Benz until 1926. But before that, Emil Jellink’s Mercedes produced some fine cars. Finer than most Benzes. Mercedes launched the 10/40hp in 1921 and would update it to the 10/40/65hp in 1924, the model’s final year of production.

Power is provided by a 2.6-liter inline-four that was rated at 65 horsepower with the supercharger engaged. This car was sold new in Germany and remained in Romania from essentially new until 1989, with about 30 years of that on museum duty.

It was 1989 that it came back to Germany and then the U.S., where it was restored in 1991. It was originally bodied as a cabriolet and now wears “SSK-lite” sports bodywork. It has an estimate of $100,000-$180,000. Read more here.

JBM Sports

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1947 JBM 3.9-Litre Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | April 16, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

This may look like a kit car from the 1980s that was trying to approximate a post-war sports special. But it actually is a post-war sports special. Jim Boothby was an RAF pilot during the war and established Jim Boothby Motors (JBM) in 1946.

The JBM Sports used surplus Ford V8 engines and refurbished pre-war Ford V8 chassis. Body work was done in the cycle-fendered style of the day. This car has a 3.9-liter Ford V8 that was built in Canada in 1949. It’s estimated to make 110 horsepower.

Only about eight examples of the JBM sports car were built through 1950. The company even had plans of entering Formula One, but they never came to fruition. This is the only survivor. It has an estimate of $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $23,929.

Turner 950 Sports

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1960 Turner 950 Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | April 16, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Jack Turner’s sports car company operated in Wolverhampton, England, between 1951 and 1966. One of their early models was the 950 Sports, which debuted in 1956. Turners were sold as turn key cars or in kit form.

The 950 Sports was very similar to the earlier A30/803 models except that it had a 948cc inline-four lifted from the Austin A35. It also had hydraulic brakes with optional front discs. The body is fiberglass, and this one is from after the 950 redesign of 1959, and it kind of resembles an Austin-Healey Sprite.

This one has period racing history and was restored in the 1980s/1990s. It now has an estimate of $30,000-$42,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $15,483.

Ocelot Mk-8A

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1981 Ocelot Mk-8A Sports 2000

Offered by Mecum | Chicago, Illinois | October 15, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Larry Schneider and Gene Davis built about 20 Ocelot race cars out of the Madison, Wisconsin, area from about 1968 through 1981. The cars were built to target the SCCA D Sports Racing (DSR) class. The car featured here is utilizes a tube-frame chassis and fiberglass bodywork.

This is the only Mk-8A built, sort of at the end of the road for new Ocelot cars. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter Ford inline-four mounted behind the driver. It’s got a Hewland four-speed gearbox and comes with a bunch of spares.

This car has been active all over the Midwest, having been last on track about a year ago. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $14,000.

Dexter Sports

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1906 Dexter Two-Seat Sports

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | July 18, 2022

Photo – Osenat

Constructions d’Automobiles Dexter was founded by Auguste Faure as a spinoff of his Lyon-based bicycle company that dated back to the turn of the century. Dexter cars were produced from 1906 through 1909. And right up front, Faure wanted to prove his cars’ worth by taking them racing.

All of the cars he built – which was not many – had big powerful engines, and most of them were competition examples. This particular car is a reconstruction of a period racing car, one of two of its kind built. It’s powered by a 6.5-liter inline-four, with each cylinder in its own block, that was good for 120 horsepower. Most of the company’s other cars made at least 100 horsepower.

Dexters came with four-speed transmissions and dual carburetors in 1906. Uncommon stuff for the day. This chain-driven racing car means business and completely looks the part. It’s got an estimate of $125,000-$155,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Sunbeam-Talbot 2-Litre

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1947 Sunbeam-Talbot 2-Litre Sports Tourer

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | April 27, 2022

Photo – H&H Classics

Sunbeam-Talbot existed as a marque between 1935 and 1954. It was formed when the Rootes Group merged Sunbeam and Talbot together. By the mid-1950s, Talbot-Lago‘s existence made things confusing, so Talbot was dropped from English-built cars and Sunbeam existed for decades to come.

The 2-Litre was available from 1939 to 1948, with a break for the war. Power is from a 1.9-liter inline-four capable of 56 horsepower in post-war spec. Three body styles were offered, including this tourer, which was restored in the 1980s.

There were 1,306 examples of the 2-Litre built, and just eight are known to exist in the U.K. This one carries an estimate of $20,000-$26,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $22,029.

Kieft Sports

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1954 Kieft 1100 Sports

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

Photo – Bonhams

Cyril Kieft founded Kieft Cars in Wolverhampton, England, after WWII. His first car was a Formula 2 machine that debuted in 1950. F3 cars followed, and that’s where their major success was found. It didn’t hurt that one of their drivers was Stirling Moss.

In 1954, Kieft showed a small two-seat sports car. It was based around a Coventry-Climax engine (a 1.1-liter FWA inline-four) and featured fiberglass bodywork. The cars were very low and could hit 110 mph thanks to the 72-horsepower engine.

Only six were built, the first of which ran at Le Mans. This car ran sports car races at Silverstone, among other places, and a later example competed in the Targa Florio. This one was restored in the last dozen or so years and now carries an estimate of $130,000-$170,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $140,746.

Kougar Sports

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1968 Kougar Sports SB

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 12, 2022

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Kougar Cars was founded by Rick Stevens in 1979 in the U.K. So why is this car listed as a 1968? Well, that’s just what it’s titled as, since the car that gave its life for this Kougar to be born was built in 1968.

There were a lot of less-than-stellar kit cars available circa 1980, but the Kougar wasn’t based on a Beetle pan. Stevens offered a tubular chassis designed to incorporate the suspension and drivetrain from a Jaguar S-Type sedan. The bodywork was especially sporty given the time, and Historics likens it to the Healey Silverstone or Frazer Nash TT Replica of decades prior.

This car is powered by a 4.2-liter Jaguar XK inline-six and apparently carries the chassis tag (and probably suspension components) from a Daimler SP250. The pre-sale estimate is $50,000-$59,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $43,140.

BMW 3/15 Sports

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1931 BMW 3/15 Ihle Sports

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | December 11, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

So we’ve talked about Dixi before and how it was an Austin Seven built under license in Germany. BMW purchased Dixi in late 1928, and Dixis were re-branded as BMWs the following year. They still called them BMW Dixi, although they’d drop the Dixi name sometime around 1930.

This post-Dixi 3/15 was produced in 1931 and was actually coach-built by Gebruder Ihle Karrosseriebau of Bruschal, Germany. It’s a sporty, light two-seater with BMW’s signature twin (not-quite-kidney) grilles.

Power is from a 747cc inline-four, but the power rating is uncertain, as it is not clear if this coachbuilt example was based on a DA-2/4 chassis (15 horsepower) or DA-3 Wartburg chassis (17 horsepower). The DA-3 was the sports version of the 3/15, but a coachbuilt example could’ve come from any model. At any rate, this is a great little early BMW, and for $13,000-$20,000, it seems like a historic bargain. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $37,726.

Atalanta Sports

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1937 Atalanta 2-Litre Sports

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

The British sports car, exemplified by post-war cars from Triumph, MG, and the like, was not something new that appeared in the 1950s. The British liked the idea for decades before that. Tiny, short-lived marques like Atalanta, Arab, Frazer Nash, and Squire were the forefathers of the TR6, MGB, and Austin-Healey Sprite.

The Atalanta was built between 1937 and 1939 in Middlesex, England. The company was founded by Alfred Gough, an engine-builder for Frazer Nash, as well as Peter Crosby, Peter Whitehead, and Neil Watson. They hand-built their cars, and they were expensive. But look at it. It has all of the style of an SS Jaguar.

Only 20 cars were built in total, and three engines were offered, including a Lincoln-Zephyr V12 in 1938. Most cars had a Gough-designed 1.6- or 2.0-liter inline-four, and this car has the latter. It made 98 horsepower when new. This car is one of only two short-chassis examples produced. It’s also one of only two 2.0L Atalantas built.

This is a great little car and is welcomed at events such as the Le Mans Classic. It is expected to bring between $400,000-$530,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $392,413.