Auctions auto news

Auctions: Elegant classic Ferrari and Talbot-Lago to headline at Pebble Beach

RM Auctions only just finished pulling in record numbers at its event in Monaco, but it's already gearing up for the next event set to take place during Pebble Beach weekend in Monterey, California.

Headlining the Canadian specialist auctioneer's catalog for the August event are the rare 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Berlinetta and the timelessly elegant 1938 Talbot-Lago Teardrop Coupe pictured together above.

Considered by some to be one of the world's most desirable Ferrari classic road car, this particular 410 Sport Berlinetta is the second of just four built and the only fixed-roof coupe. Chassis 0594 CM features bodywork by Scaglietti in ivory with blue leather. It will be making its first appearance both in North America and at auction, having only traded hands a few times between private European collectors until now.

The Talbot, meanwhile, is one of only five of its kind built (of four remaining) and the only such coupe built upon a four-seat chassis. The winner of several concours, this particular example of French art deco in motion is expected to fetch $2.5 to $3.2 million. Scroll down for the full press release and peruse the high-resolution images of the two cars together in Monaco for a sneak preview.

Continue reading Elegant classic Ferrari and Talbot-Lago to headline at Pebble Beach

Auctions: 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa sells for $6.4M in Monaco

Few marques get auto collectors riled up quite like Ferrari, and of classic Ferraris, few are as highly sought-after as the legendary Testa Rossa. We're talking, of course, about the 50s-era roadster (as opposed to the 80s-era cheesegrater supercar), and the originals continue to fetch top dollar (or euro) whenever and wherever their fortunate owners are willing to part with them.

That when and where came this past weekend in Monte Carlo during the Historical Grand Prix of Monaco where RM Auctions sold some highly desirable classic metal. Topping the list was the rare 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider you see here, one of only two built, which sold for a whopping €5,040,000 - equivalent to over $6.4 million at today's exchange rates. That's considerably more than the $4m four-cylinder 500 TRC that RM auctioned last year, but substantially less than the record $12m it garnered for a 250 TR in 2009.

Of course the Testa Rossa wasn't the only car sold at the event, which brought in an astonishing €33.5 million (~$43m) in sales on 87 percent of all lots sold. In fact it wasn't even the only Ferrari represented there, though it was the most expensive by a wide margin. A 1966 Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder and a 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder 'Tuboscocca' (one of only 12 Vignale Spyders produced) each fetched €2.5 million ($3.2m), a rare factory Daytona Spyder brought in over €1 million ($1.3m), the car which Michael Schumacher drove to the 2000 Formula One World Championship and that Ferrari hydroplane each brought in over €800k (about a million greenbacks).

Other notable racing machinery sold at the auction included a Peugeot 908 LMP (which won several Le Mans Series races), a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 GT3 (raced by Blancpain CEO Mark Hayek in the Super Trofeo series), a Ferrari FXX Evoluzione and a pair of Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP racing bikes. Follow the jump for all the juicy details and scope out the headline Testa Rossa in the high-res image gallery above.

Continue reading 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa sells for $6.4M in Monaco

Auctions: Pebble Beach winner going up for auction in August

How much is a Pebble Beach 'Best in Show' car worth? We're about to find out. A 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet (that's quite a mouthful) is looking for a new home and is headed to auction at RM's Monterey sale in August. The car underwent an extensive restoration in 2001 and debuted at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it took home first prize. Since then, the Horch has gone on to win many other accolades including the Best in Show at the New York City Concours (2005), the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance (2006), the Glenmoor Gathering (2008), and the Ault Park Concours (2009).

So what makes this particular car so special? Horch, one of the original four German automakers of the Auto Union that lives on today as Audi, produced some of the most luxurious vehicles in the early part of the century. The 853A Cabriolet, one of the company's last efforts, is widely considered one of the most beautiful cars of its era and came with many modern features including vacuum-boosted hydraulic brakes, overdrive in all four gears, and a unique hydraulic jacking system. This particular example features unique coachwork by Erdmann & Rossi and is one of just three known to currently exist.

You can read more about the 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet and the auction in RM's press release after the break, and you can see our photos of the car at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the gallery above.

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Auctions: 1959 Vespa ACMA is the ultimate road-rage vehicle

If you've never laid eyes on a Vespa ACMA, allow us to introduce you. Manufactured for use in World War II, the scooter came equipped with a small cannon designed to launch rocket-propelled grenades.

Soldiers found an advantageous firing position, deployed stabilizers, plucked a grenade from a stylish wicker basket and fired upon the enemy, which, we should point out, was probably rolling happily along in a tank. Vespa ACMA, thy name is David. For obvious reasons, ACMA examples are plenty scarce. You can still find them, though, and if you want one to call your very own, we have good news for you.

The ACMA-obsessed crew over at Hemmings found an original example stored at a Messina military camp for the past 30 years. While the cannon has been deactivated, the rest of the Acma is in original and complete condition right down to the khaki green paint. If you like what you see, you'd better get your check book ready. This particular version is up for auction with an estimated final bid of $16,000 to $20,000. Head over to the COYS auction site for more information.

Auctions: Why did this Mini sell for over $65,000?

There's good reason this Mini more than doubled it's pre-sale estimate, and it's not because Neil Armstrong once drove it. No, Lot 307 at Bonhams' Hendon, U.K., sale was bid up to $65,100 because it's an exceptionally rare early Mini, just the eighth of the iconic cars ever manufactured, according to the auction company.

The seller was clearly able to capitalize on the current collector car trend of finding unrestored survivor cars - those gems that have somehow escaped not only the ravages of time and oxidation, but five decades of enthusiastic collectors armed with an attitude that tearing it down to the base metal and building it back up, "better than new," is the only way to enjoy vintage iron. The auction company advertised this 1959 Austin Seven (the Mini name wasn't applied to the Austin version until 1961) as the oldest unrestored Mini, saying that only three earlier cars are known to exist, one of which is in the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust museum.

Unrestored cars have achieved their recent popularity in part because they serve as records of how the cars originally came from the factory. Production standards in the '50s and '60s were much more lax than they are now, and written records can be hard to come by, hence the need for cars like this to direct historians and restorers alike.

The Mini, of course, is one of the most popular cars of all time, remaining in production with few changes from 1959 through 2000. Over 5.3 million of the cars were produced over that period, before BMW shut down production to launch its modern version of the car.

Scroll down to read Bonhams full catalog description.

Continue reading Why did this Mini sell for over $65,000?

Auctions: eBay Find of the Day: Neil Armstrong's '67 Corvette

How much would you pay for a derelict '67 Chevrolet Corvette with a 427? If you said about thirty grand, you'd be in the ballpark - but that would still be all the money in the world for a barn find like this 'Vette. The owner admits the car hasn't run in over 30 years and she (the car, not the owner) clearly needs to get involved in a serious relationship with a body man.

But what if we told you that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, the hero of the NASA Apollo program, and by all accounts a genuine good guy, was the first owner of the car? How much would that make it worth? Better hope your guess has six digits in it, because bidding on eBay Motors for this derelict but potentially highly collectible car has already shot past $120,000 - and has yet to meet the seller's reserve price.

Before readying the checkbook, however, we might suggest actually reading the seller's ALL CAPS description. It's a wonderful tale that starts with the car being provided by Rathman Chevrolet, the famed dealership that leased Corvettes to astronauts for $1 per year. A NASA employee allegedly bought the car after Armstrong turned it in and the seller claims he's hounded that NASA employee for 30 years trying to buy the Corvette, but it was only two months ago that he claimed his prize. There's a whole lot more to the story, including buying a carburetor in Texas and wanting to turn the car into a National Corvette Restorers Society "Survivor."

The bottom line, however, is that the seller is now trying to flip the Chevrolet, without much in the way of evidence that the car belonged to Armstrong, at least that's presented in the eBay Motors auction. Perhaps we're just being skeptical, but before spending over $100,000 on a car for which the majority of the purchase price is for its provenance, we'd like to see more in the way of authentication than one Protect-O-Plate photo. Since Neil Armstrong is still alive, we hope that whoever winds up restoring this Corvette does a more thorough job of vetting and presenting its history.

eBay Find of the Day: 1967 Pontiac GTO Monkeemobile

Say what you will about The Monkees, but the guys in the band had great taste in automobiles. Take the Monkeemobile, for example. Built off a 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible, the custom featured genuinely interesting bodywork and some wild engine bolt-ons. If you're a fan of 1960s pop and yearn to relive the genre's glory days, eBay Motors may have what you need. A recreation of the 1967 Monkeemobile has showed up for auction. This particular replica was built by Dakota County Customs using an four-speed GTO, just like the original.

Built for the band's 45th anniversary and the final Monkees tour last year, this Monkeemobile is faithful down to every last detail. Unfortunately, the trumpet exhaust poking out of the front fender wells and the massive gold-flake blower are for show only. Seems fitting.

If you like what you see, this machine is up for bid in Richfield, Minnesota with two days left on the auctions. So far, bidding as whipped up to $60,000 with the reserve not met. Head over to eBay Motors to have a look.

Followup: "Abandoned" $1M Ferrari Enzo not up for sale after all?

Remember that Ferrari Enzo that is still sitting in a Dubai police impound lot for "reasons that have never been clear"? It was meant to be auctioned this week, but it wasn't, and the Dubai authorities added some information to the Enzo's backstory that boils down one word: Interpol.

Unpaid traffic fines are thought to have lead to a British businessman abandoning the seven-figure Ferrari almost two years ago. After numerous reports of the Enzo being headed to auction - which lead to numerous calls from big spenders trying to buy it outright, Dubai police said the Prancing Horse is on the notice list at the International Criminal Police Organization. Vehicles flagged by Interpol are said to usually be the subject of theft investigations, and according to Emirates 24|7, the police commander says the Enzo and nine other flashy rides were "seized as they were part of thefts."

That means that the next time you see pictures of the mummified Ferrari, you'll know why it's still there and not up for auction. And seeing how long international criminal cases can take to resolve, you'll know why it's probably going to be there for a while.

Auctions: eBay Find of the Day: 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko Turbo

You've never seen a 1981 Yenko Camaro? Maybe that's because only 19 were made and they usually sell for well north of what a new Camaro will cost you from your local Chevrolet dealer.

One gorgeously restored, matching numbers example is up for purchase on eBay Motors for the eye-watering Buy-It-Now price of $180k. But please consider the car's claimed history and stat sheet before passing judgement.

As the legend goes, in 1969, Yenko Chevrolet of Murray, Pennsylvania took a 12-year break from modding Camaros. But low compression '80s engines got under the skin of Don Yenko, and in 1981, the tuning legend proceeded to cram a turbocharged, four-barrel, 350 V8 under the hood of the second-generation car. Horsepower on the rare Yenko is unclear, but it should definitely be way more than the stock Z-28's meager 175 hp. Reports suggest this was to be Yenko's final big build, and the owner of this eBay find says this one is the very last 1981 Yenko produced.

On top of all that, the Charlotte, North Carolina seller says that the car has fewer than 30k miles, some of which were supposedly put there by curious automotive journalists. The winning bidder will get the original build sheet, window sticker and a production intent letter signed by Don Yenko.

Report: Abandoned Ferrari Enzo to be auctioned in Dubai

Based on the cars that usually feature in the videos we get from Dubai, we can't really call the tale of this Ferrari Enzo that outrageous. Pictures of the dusty stallion have been zooming around the Internet while the real thing sat in a police impound lot for reasons that have never been clear - rumors ranged from it being hot goods in transit to China, to a casualty of the authorities for having been caught doing insane speeds on the Emirates Road.

According to a story in the Daily Mail, the truth is a bit more prosaic: the owner was a British businessman who couldn't pay traffic fines and who knows what else almost two years ago, so he abandoned the limited-edition thoroughbred to its fate. The police are going to send it to auction with 128 other vehicles, 23 of which are other luxury vehicles that were each burdened with fines anywhere from $26,761 to $27,225.

Most of the auction fodder was owned by companies; only 18 were individually owned. The auction is expected to be the biggest Dubai has ever held, but folks who bid on the Enzo should read the terms carefully: we can't see anyone abandoning million-dollar car for a $27,000 fine, so there's likely another payout lurking somewhere in order to take ownership. In addition to the cleaning bill.