Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
RM America
’68 Ford Sets Record, ’36 Mercedes Falls Short At Pebble Beach
August 20, 2012Records fell at the high-value vintage car auctions around the Pebble Beach Concours over the weekend, but they weren’t the ones that had been expected. A 1968 Ford GT, used by Steve McQueen in the making of “Le Mans,” became the most expensive American car ever sold at auction when the gavel came down at $11m, including buyer’s premium. A magnificent 1936 Mercedes 540K Special Roadster that had been anticipated to be the weekend’s star fell short, however, selling for “just” $11.7m, including premiums.
Read more...The Most Unusual Car Collection In The World?
August 07, 2012None of the cars in Denmark’s Aalholm Automotive Museum meet what RM Auctions rather delicately calls “strict criteria.” In other words, their condition is no match for the legions of pristine vintage automobiles that will be gliding into Pebble Beach in a couple of weeks. All the same, the Aalholm is a remarkable collection of over 200 vehicles from all the world, ranging from an 1899 De Dion-Bouton motorized tricycle (est.$56,000-$75,000) to a 1958 Trojan Cabin Scooter (est. $620-$1240) to a 1963 Ferrari 20 GT/E (est. $56,000-$68,000).
Read more...Al Capone’s 1928 Bulletproof Cadillac
July 18, 2012Given the company he kept, Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone had more need than most for a bulletproof car. So he arranged for his 1928 Cadillac V-8 Town Sedan to be armored with nearly 3000 pounds of asbestos-wrapped steel plating. When it appears at RM’s St. John’s auction on July 29, it’s expected to ell for $300,000-$500,000.
Read more...1941 Chrysler Indy 500 Pace Car At Amelia Island
February 15, 2012Not surprisingly, there are some stunning cars in the lineup for RM’s Amelia Island auction next month. Among the rarest is a 1941 Chrysler Newport Dual Cowl Phaeton by Le Baron, one of only 5 ever produced. This example, designed and built in just 90 days, was the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 in 1941. Formerly owned by Walter P. Chrysler Jr., it’s expected to sell for $1.5m-$2m.
Read more...One-Off Ferrari Leads Scottsdale Sale
January 19, 2012The rarest—and likely most valuable—of the 10 Ferraris that RM will be offering at its two-day auction beginning this evening in Scottsdale, Arizona is a 1957 410 Superamerica Coupe by Scaglietti. It’s a one of a kind example that the factory built for favored Ferrari client Dottore Enrico Wax. After a two-year restoration, the car won Best in Class at the 1990 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Distinguished by its delicate and highly unusual little fins, the Superamerica is expected to sell for $1.75m-$2.25m.
Read more...1894 Steam Motorcycle Falls Short Of Record
January 17, 2012Commentators predicted that a 1894 Roper Steam racer might break the $520,000 world record auction price paid for a motorcycle, set in 2008 by a 1915 twin-cylinder Cyclone. That didn’t happen. All the same, the Roper sold for $425,000 at RM America’s Las Vegas motorcycle auction on January 12-14.
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