Archive
08/11/2020
Bargains at the RM Sotheby’s Elkhart auction
This article discusses four unique cars sold at the Elkhart auction, highlighting their features and prices. The cars include a 1969 Lotus Elite Race Car, a 1957 Jaguar MkVIII, a 1966 Fiat 850 Spider, and an ACMA Vespa 400. The Lotus Elite Race Car, equipped with a Coventry Climax engine and three Weber carburetors, was sold for $67,200, while the largely original Jaguar MkVIII with a Borg Warner automatic transmission was sold for a bargain price of $34,720. The article also features the cheapest car in the selection, the 1966 Fiat 850 Spider, sold for $15,680, and the ACMA Vespa 400, a minicar with an interesting background story, sold for $47,600, which was much higher than its estimated price of $25-30,000.
07/11/2020
The space of a morning
The Lancia D24 was a magnificent open top sports car designed by Pininfarina in the 1950s to compete with other top brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, and Aston Martin.
06/11/2020
Nice party grandma
Bonhams defied the odds and successfully held an auction of vintage cars without a physical event, widening the range of vehicles to include cars up until 1939. The sale, dedicated to the “Golden Age of Motoring 1886-1939”, sold 19 out of 34 cars (55.9%) for a total of £3,281,000 out of £4,911,000 (66.8%). The top lot was the Fowler 10HP B6 Showman “The Lion” model, which sold for £911,000, followed by a 1901 Panhard & Levassor Type A2 7hp Twin-Cylinder Rear Entrance Tonneau sold for £322,000. Other notable sales include a 1938 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupé sold for £132,250, a 1929 Bugatti Type 40 Grand Sport Tourer sold for £310,500, and an Alta 1.5 Supercharged sold for £90,850.
05/11/2020
Longboard cars
The article explores the connection between surfing and "woodies", wooden-panelled cars that became a cultural icon in the 1960s in Southern California.
04/11/2020
The excitement of the real deal
The article discusses the recent trend of auctions of individual car collections, with several auction houses having conducted successful sales in recent months. The author focuses on RM's Elkhart Lake auction, which saw 235 cars sold out of 235 on offer, generating $41.4 million in takings. The author presents their five top picks from the auction, including a 1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta by Vignale, a 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia, a 1954 Fiat 8V Coupe by Vignale, a 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport R80, and a Toyota 2000GT. The article also touches on the rising and falling trend of the historic car market and its potential future.
02/11/2020
The mysterious death of Stanley Meyer and his water powered car
The article explores the mysterious death of Stanley Meyer, an inventor who claimed to have developed a water-powered car that could travel long distances with just four litres of water.
02/11/2020
The missing wheel
This article explores the design of cars for mass production in Europe and America in the 1930s, focusing on the influence of John Tjaarda's Briggs Dream Car, which was the inspiration for both Ferdinand Porsche’s Volkswagen Beetle.
01/11/2020
The BAT cars according to Cliff Goodall
This article discusses the significance of the sale of three BAT cars at a “Modern & Contemporary Art” auction in New York. The sale of the cars is seen as a turning point for the car and world of collecting, and the article considers who may have purchased the cars, including museums and wealthy tycoons. The article also considers the sale of a unique 1954 table designed by Carlo Mollino, which set a new world record for a piece of design. The abstract of this article is that the sale of the BAT cars at an art auction in New York is an important turning point for the car and the world of collecting, and the sale of a unique Carlo Mollino table set a world record.
31/10/2020
The Giant Killer
This article discusses the Porsche 550 RS, a sports and racing car designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1953. This car, driven by a mid-mounted, 1500cc, four-cylinder, air-cooled boxer engine.
30/10/2020