Originally intended for the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, this 1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport racer wasn’t finished in time for the race. Instead, 1950 Le Mans winner Louis Rosier purchased the car for the 1951 race, in which he drove it with the 1950 Formula 1 champion, Juan-Manuel Fangio. After 92 laps an oil tank failure caused them to withdraw. For the past 54 years, the car’s had just one owner, who campaigned it in historic races. At RM’s Monaco sale next month, it’s expected to sell for $1.5m-$1.98m.An even more valuable entry at the May 12th sale is a 1966 Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder race car by Carrozzeria Sports Cars. Only 18 examples of the model were produced. This one was actively campaigned before undergoing a thorough restoration. With only four owners from the new, the last since 1970, it is estimated at $2.9-$3.7m.
Talbot-Lago, Ferrari Racers At RM Monaco
April 12, 2012
Winston Churchill’s Daimler Sells In Germany
April 30, 2013Between the years of 1944-49, and thus throughout his tenure as Prime Minister in World War II, Sir Winston Churchill’s ride of choice was a stylish 1939 Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupe. Incongruous as it may seem for an automobile that belonged to the man who led his country’s battle against the Third Reich, the roadster turned up on German eBay, where it set off a bidding frenzy that ended with a price of $621,500. That was, according to the Online Mail, about 16 times what a DB18 might be expected to command.
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100 MPH Without Brakes: Steve McQueen’s 1914 Indian At Bonhams
April 12, 2013Of all the motorcycles owned by Steve McQueen—and there were many—one of the more unusual is the 1914 Indian Board Track Racer that Bonhams will offer at its Stafford sale in England later this month. Produced for one of the first pine-board motordomes in the country, it was fitted with neither brakes nor throttle. Racers went all out, powered by a 4hp, 500cc engine, reaching speeds of 100mph. Restored by Indian specialist Stephen Wright, McQueen’s bike is estimated at $34,000-$43,000.
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Duesenberg Leads Boca Raton Concours Auction
February 22, 2013In its day, the ultra-sleek 1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton had few rivals for style, luxury, engineering or power. More expensive than a Rolls Royce or Hispano Suiza, fewer than 500 were made, making the cars’ owners members of a very exclusive club that included Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and William Randolph Hearst. The example that Bonhams will offer tomorrow at the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance belonged to the wife of Duesenberg’s owner, E.L. Cord and has been featured in numerous movies. Restored to show standards, it comes to the auction without an estimate, generally a sign of high expectations.
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Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
