Archive for the ‘For Sale’ Category
November 4th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Ferrari, For Sale
I bet you thought your toter-home tow rig was as good as it could get. You’ve got the tools, the clean floor, a lcd tv and comfortable bed. Compared to this open-air spartan antique, it’s a palace. Just look at this thing. No covered protection of your racing car. No kitchenette. No queen-sized bed. No Playstation. None of it.
But it’s not even worth comparing which is cooler. Not only is this transporter a living piece of history. It’ll attract more attention than 90% of the Ferraris that will park next to you at the next race weekend. Now that is saying something for a repurposed delivery truck.
Of course, when Carrozzeria Bartoletti rebodied the Fiat sometime between 1957 and 1959, it’s status as an auto racing icon and object of desire saved it from the fate of the other Fiat trucks on the line that day. This transporter hauled a whole lot of Ferrari racing machines during it’s tenure as both Ferrari Factory transporter from 1959 to 1965, and later for the SEFAC Ferrari team from 1965 to 1970. 11 years of Ferrari’s gliding gingerly up and down those ramps. 11 years of schoolboys and their fathers pressing their noses against their car windows as they passed it on the highway; a GTO or Sharknose perched precariously on her roof. 11 years of dreams. 11 years of amazing.
More info—including complete ownership history from new—on Talacrest Ltd.’s Lot Detail Page.
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October 26th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Ferrari, For Sale, Racing Ephemera
This Australian ebay seller has a 1:1 scale wood Ferrari 365 V12 up on the auction block. Twin Barrel Webers included! Tifosi syndrome causes people to do some unusual things. “Buy it now” at AUD $6,000.
via
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October 19th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
Master restorers Hall & Hall have this gem of an etceterini among their current stock. It’s a remarkable little machine. I’m particularly drawn to these early Italian sporting models that so wonderfully combine the best in American hot rod aesthetic with the small sporty stance and maneuverability of European racers. It’s a combination that has long been neglected, and deserves a reexamination. Somewhere along the way, American hot rodders decided that straight-line speed and horsepower was the goal, and the road-racing hot rod has virtually become a thing of the past.
The Danese was built around an Alfa-Romeo sourced 2500 6-cylinder. Nardi, as always, worked his engine tuning magic to up the 6C’s output to 150hp. Fitting the engine and transmission low in the frame rails, the car was a light handling, but relatively powerful little machine. The low mounting of the engine also allowed coachbuilder Rocco Motto to wrap the Danese in this lovely aluminum body that accentuates the low, lean silhouette of the bonnet despite the relative bulk and height of the engine.
This example, chassis 948-11 has race history on both sides of the Atlantic. Delivered to Count Felice Trossi, the car competed in the Mille Miglia piloted by Francesco Beneventano in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia in 1948 and 1949. The ’49 Mille had Nardi’s business partner—and the car’s namesake—Renato Danese in the passenger seat!
After some time spent in Argentina, the car found it’s way to California and into the hands of Gordon Cooper. Cooper bored out the engine, upping the horsepower to 200. Additional modifications, including these distinctive twin grilles for the oil cooler, made 948-11 a competitive machine on the West Coast. It was during Cooper’s time with the car that Motor Trend tested her. Shortly thereafter, the car made its way into Luigi Chinetti’s collection, who held the car for more than 20 years.
Today, Hall & Hall offers the car in remarkably good shape. The car has been restored it’s original configuration. Cooper himself provided the original grille, having swapped it for a more open grille to provide better breathing during his time with the car. More information on 948-11 on Hall&Hall’s stock detail page
The daughter of Gordon Cooper, Danese (named for the car!), has collected a selection of photos of her parents’ adventures with 948-11 during their time racing the car in the 50′s. Click on over to her Flickr for more. Outstanding!
More on Nardi at Etceterini.
Utimate Car Pages has a fairly well detailed history of 948-11, including a rumored Fangio test drive!
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September 14th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
I love when a basket case returns to such marvelous shape.
After a hectic racing season in 1964, this lovely machine was unceremoniously retired; boarded up in an Italian garage; and hibernated for 35 years. That story is nothing new; many of the cars we’ve showcased here have shared a similar fate. Thankfully, when the car was rediscovered in 2002, having been completely disassembled along the way, it was lovingly brought back to the condition you see her in today. Better yet, the restoration was almost entirely carried out using the original parts—miraculously not misplaced once removed from the car. And although the original engine was separated from the chassis, it was quickly found a reunited with the frame. The FIA has signed off on the authenticity of the bits and pieces when the car was stripped down a subsequent time for inventory and vintage racing preparation.
She’s presented today in the livery she wore in ’64. It was a busy year for the Zagato, with appearances at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the Nürburgring 1000km, the Tour de France, and other stops on the World Sportscar Manufacturer Championship. This green is so very out of the ordinary for Alfas, and it’s always refreshing to see an Italian in colors other than red. It makes a rare machine seem even more unique and precious. This flat tail era of sportscar design, particular in Italy, sits at the very pinnacle of sportscar design. Somehow it combined an attitude of brutish utilitarianism, but manages to remain elegant; even delicate.
She’s ready to race. The engine has been swapped for a vintage racing prepped motor (the original is crated and included in the sale). The running gear has been refurbished from nose to tail. Something I wasn’t familiar with, but is a fantastic setup for vintage racing, is the parallel exhaust system. Side pipes for unmuffled events, and a rear exit exhaust for sound limited races.
This jewel is surely eligible for some of the best events worldwide, and I hope that the new owner has the car out there competing with the GTOs, 904s, and the rest of her competition sisters on the vintage racing stage. More information on the dealer’s information page.
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August 11th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Classic Sportscar, For Sale
I’m not saying that well documented cars are boring. Far from it—I love a 906 or GTO with a racing victory under her belt as much as the next sportscar nerd, but there’s something about the sheer mystery of this little racing car that stirs the soul and imagination. This 1948 Fiat-Cisitalia(?) racing car is coming available at the upcoming Mecum at Monterey auction and is sure to make some unfussy buyer very pleased indeed.
The Fiat 1100 has powered so many great little racing machines, and with the very rare Cisitalia head, it’s undoubtedly even better. It’s the Cisitalia head that has likely been the source of the head-scratching on this car. So the automotive archeology begins. The Fiat 1100 was a popular engine choice in the 50s. It is fitted with era appropriate Fiat truck brakes that have been modified to lighten them consistent with the technology of the era. The cockpit, from the gauges—one giant Jaeger tachometer surrounded by smaller Sacma pieces—to wooden steering wheel are period correct. Even minor details like the brake reservoir and wiring is all perfectly appropriate for a car of this age. It all gives every indication that the car was constructed in-period and is not a recent garage-built “barn find”.
For all this lovely period craftsmanship, there’s no in-period race history. It seems unlikely that anyone would go through the trouble of welding up this custom chassis and lightening the brakes and then not race it. That seems to be the case with this machine though. There’s no apparent record of the car before it surfaced at a Florida dealer’s lot in the 1990s. The Cisitalia head seems to have always been a source of confusion though as it had at various times been assigned a Cisitalia chassis number, and described in auction catalogs as a “Cisitalia D204″, although Cisitalia never produced a car under this name.
For me though, I’m less concerned with the car’s provenance and record books than I am with how much fun it looks to drive. It looks like the 1100 Fiat engine would surely push a lightweight such as this to a speed and acceleration well into the giddy zone. The stance would make any American hot rodder envious. The Bandini-inspired cycle fenders and headlamps tucked behind the grille might even afford you the opportunity to street it. The cockpit for two makes it a wonderful rally entrant—if the lack of history will get you past the scrutineers. The straight pipes are sure to provide a lovely concert hall for the tuned engine. Even better, it is certainly going to sell for considerably less than a documented Cisitalia would.
Complete details (what there are of them) are available on Mecum’s lot detail page.
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August 6th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale, Porsche
Bonhams upcoming Monterey spectacular, Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia auction at the Quail Lodge is selling off the Michael L. Amalfitano Collection of Porsches. There’s such a stunning array Porsches that I couldn’t decide between the two star attractions.
The 910 is a highly desirable ex-factory car that, despite lacking any serious World Sportscar Manufacturers Championship wins, led the 1967 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers race with Gerhard Mitter and Lucien Bianchi. They led the race right up until the last lap when an alternator failure kept the 910s to only a 1-2-3-4 finish.
Originally raced with an air-cooled 2.2 liter flat 8, the car is currently fitted with a 2 liter 6 cylinder from when Porsche sold the car to be raced by a customer. I adore the factory Porsche team liveries of this era. The Grand Prix White bodies with bold blocks of color on the bonnets is pure utilitarian delight. Complete details on Bonhams lot detail page.
The 917 is every bit as magnificent. Campaigned by David Hobbs and Motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood, this example debuted for the Gulf Wyer team in the 1970 LeMans. The car performed exceptionally well lapping with Hobbs at the wheel at an average lap time of 3 minutes 35 seconds. Hailwood proved he was as able on 4 wheels as 2 by keeping within 15 seconds of that time. Sadly, as the rain persisted Hailwood overran the pit entry, missing the opportunity to switch to rain tires. A hundred yards later, he slid off the Dunlop Curve and into a parked car. Complete history in the lot details.
What do you think? Which would you choose?
Update:
The 910 Sold for $799,000 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium.
The 917 Sold for $3,967,000 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium. Yowza!
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July 28th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale, Grand Prix
The restoration masters at Hall & Hall call this ex-Pedro Rodríguez BRM P133 one of the most original 3 liter Formula 1 cars left. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt as Hall & Hall have no shortage of remarkable Formula car restorations under their belts. Which means they’ve seen lots of F1 cars at their worst, and in desperate need of restoration. This car, chassis P133-01, on the other hand, retains a good portion of the car as it was when Pedro crossed the finish line in 2nd place at the 1968 Belgian GP at Spa. Or 2nd at the Brands Hatch Race of Champions in March, ’68. Or 3rd at the ’68 Dutch GP at Zandvoort. Or 3rd at the Canadian GP. Or 4th at his home race in Mexico.
And that leaves out entirely the car’s history with Jackie Oliver the following season. There’s no doubt the car has a brilliant history.
Hall & Hall mentions that the current owner bought the car directly from the team to enter in F1 races in 1971. They must mean Robs Lamplough, who entered the car in the ’71 Jochen Rindt trophy at Hockenheim and in Brands Hatch the same year (without much success, I’m afraid).
I’ve always thought that BRM’s 60′s livery as among the most beautiful of all time. The simple orange belt around the nose that is immediately recognizable but subtle. The dealer’s photos show the car both with and without it’s nose and rear wings. Which makes me think it’s still possible to run the car with the setup Pedro preferred in the ’68 season. See the dealer’s detail page for more.
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July 19th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale, Grand Prix
Can we already be closing in on Monterey Week? I’ve barely had time to brace myself for the enormous influx of vintage racing giddiness that it brings each year. As a result, I’ll ease into the season by showcasing this repeat visitor to the Monterey auctions—this gorgeous 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Racing Monoposto.
Gooding & Co counts this magnificent 1950 Paris Grand Prix winner among it’s featured cars for their Pebble Beach Auctions to be held on August 14 and 15. What a true beauty. This transitional immediate post-war period between the pre-war racers and the Grand Prix greats of the mid 50s is such an interesting time period for racing cars. They had much of the same visual aesthetic as the pre-war cars with their elegant boat tails and proportions that hide the enormous scale of the cars. The technology leaps of WWII were just starting to make the transition to civilian use. These immediate post-war cars present a fascinating period of technological transition. The beauty of the pre-war, mixed with the utility of the post-war.
This example, chassis #110006, wears her French blue paint with pride, having carried Frenchman Georges Grignard around 50 laps of the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry in 2 hours 05 minutes 38.8seconds to capture victory; 4 laps ahead of Louis Gérard’s Delage. The race must have been grueling indeed, only Grignard, Gérard, and fellow Delage driver Marc Versini finished the race at all. The other 8 racers all dropped out with mechanical problems (including Stirling Moss at the wheel of the #17 HWM-Alta which dropped out with a connecting rod failure). It’s no surprise that #110006 wears the livery today, with Grignard’s racing number 8 and driver identification hand-painted ahead of the cockpit. Grignard even played a part in the restoration of the car many years later when he provided the spare parts he’d kept from his campaigns with the car. I love the notion of Grignard caring for the car so many years after they’d parted.
Even without the marvelous history, this Talbot-Lago would be no less attractive. The aggressive stance that would surely strike a chord with any American hot-rodder; the bodywork and brightwork that any warbird pilot would feel comfortable in; that exaggerated steering wheel that would feel small in a bus driver’s hands – they unite in a singular display of shear racing beauty and menace. I find myself looking again and again at the simple hand-painted graphics on the car (if you can even call them graphics), just their simplicity and touch of personality communicate such romance and history. It’s simply perfect. If you were to meet Gooding’s estimated bid of $650,000-$850,000 and take this Talbot-Lago home, I’m sure you’d provide a warm and inviting home for her for many years.
Unless, of course, you were the buyer of #110006 at Bonham’s Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia at the Quail Lodge last year. The car was just as stunning as she is today, and was expected to bring an even more handsome sum, with an estimate of $1-1.3Million. Selling without reserve, though, has its risks and I’m sure there was a very disappointed owner with more than a few shed tears when the car sold for a mere $557,000.
So it’s a year later and that very lucky buyer is looking to see if their good fortune has lasted another 12 months, with an estimated $100,000-$300,000 turn on last year’s investment—not a bad return just for keeping a car in good kit for a year. I hope that this Talbot’s next caretaker doesn’t think of her as a mere investment, and that #110006 finds herself back on the track, not locked in a vault waiting for the next sale.
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June 1st, 2010 | Published by Harlo in For Sale
Kruse International Auctions had their auction license pulled by the Indiana Auctioneering Commission last week for multiple complaints of non-payment to sellers. Yikes. I wonder how this might affect the auction community and whether this experience will create a mistrust of selling at auction that will spread to other houses. Does Kruse’s poor practices taint the wider collector car auction market? Will collectors treat this is an isolated incident unique to this auction house?
Interestingly, the Kruse homepage currently directs visitors to Auburn and Leake auction houses. I don’t know that I’d happily take Kruse’s endorsement right now.
Update: Sports Car Market reports that RM will be announcing that they have purchased Kruze…
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I bet you thought your toter-home tow rig was as good as it could get. You’ve got the tools, the clean floor, a lcd tv and comfortable bed. Compared to this open-air spartan antique, it’s a palace. Just look at this thing. No covered protection of your racing car. No kitchenette. No queen-sized bed. No Playstation. None of it.
