The RM sports and classic car auction is one of our favorite events during the Monterey weekend. The laid back atmosphere and incredible selection of cars makes the event a perennial occurrence on our schedule. This year's event was particularly impressive, especially the selection of classic Ferraris. No less than eight surpassed the million dollar mark (seven actually sold), capped by the $4.51 million dollar sale of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB. Others breaking $1 million were a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 ($1,925,000), 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamica, and a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder ($1,485,000). A beautiful 1956 Ferrari 250 GT TDF Berlinetta had a top bid of $3.9 million but didn't meet the reserve.
The Monterey weekend is packed with events for every type of car enthusiast. While the majority will go to simply look at the cars, a select few will make the trek to Northern California to possibly put a new car in the garage. There are no fewer than five different auctions during the weekend - RM, Russo and Steele, Bonhams & Butterfields, Gooding & Company, and Kruse. Hundreds if not thousands of cars will cross the auction block, from Shelby Mustang GT-H Convertibles to a multi-million dollar Jaguar racing prototype. Inside Line's Ken Gross has put together a list of the ten best cars up for sale at the Monterey auctions, and it has us drooling in anticipation of seeing the cars in person. Included are the following: 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atalante, 1906 REO Model A Touring, 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder, 1960 Jaguar E2A, 1939 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS, 1969 Porsche 908/2, 1957 Chrysler Diablo Concept, 1954 Bentley Continental R, 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV, and 1973 Ferrari Daytona Spyder.
There are hot rods, there are hot rods, and then there's "Um... what is that?" Tom Cramer, an ex-GI and mechanic in Omaha says, "I wanted to see what would happen if you put a really high powered engine in a chassis." Sound familiar? That was in 1953. So he found a fresh 12-cylinder 1,710-cubic-inch Allison airplane engine that produces 1,350-hp/1,500 ft-lb and got to work.
The body of the Cramer Comet was Frankensteined from De Sotos, Dodges, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Studebakers, Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Fords. Part of the tubular chassis is made up of four-inch refrigerator tubing filled with coolant that runs to a rear-mounted radiator. The engine is mounted in reverse and is heavily insulated -- it gets hot in there. Power is sent through a drive shaft mounted between two truck universals and on to a four-speed transmission. The top speed is said to be 160 MPH, which is low for so much power, but probably sensible considering it's hand built.
Check out that center console. To start the car, the driver (pilot?) sets the throttle quadrant to ten-percent, cranks the fuel mixture to full rich, turns the spark lever to retard, flips the master switch, turns the magnetos on, turns the fuel boost and primer switches on, flips the starter control first to energize and then to on. And then it's time to fly, hopefully not in the literal sense.
Tom didn't get rid of the car until 1991 and it's now up for auction for the first time at this year's Sport & Classics of Monterey held by RM Auctions August 15 and 16. It's expected to fetch up to $300,000. Even if you don't plan to buy, you should check out the gallery of high-res photos below for evidence of how powerful elbow grease is.
This past weekend a new record was set for the highest amount paid for a car at a vintage auction by a 1961 Ferrari California Spyder selling for $10,894,900 after auction fees. The sale was at RM Auction's second annual "Ferrari Leggenda e Passione" auction in Maranello, Italy, and the obviously wealthy buyer was popular British radio host Chris Evans.
While we aren't experts on the classic car market, we can't help but think this sale was the result of a "gotta have it" mentality by Evans with no regard for the actual value of the vehicle. The initial estimate from RM Auctions was nearly half the sale price, and the fact that the car was previously owned by actor James Coburn seems somewhat inconsequential. While there's no doubt that Evans snagged an incredibly beautiful vintage Ferrari, we think he could have got his hands on a California Spyder for much less.
Back in January we brought you news of the first Ferraris being lined up for auction by RM's second annual event at the Fiorano test track in Maranello. With the event now quickly approaching on May 18, a mouthwatering roster of rare thoroughbreds is materializing.
In addition to the one-off four-door Pinin prototype and pair of 250 GT California Spyders, a rare 1951 212 Inter PF prototype (pictured above) once owned by Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman (after whom Ferrari named the color Grigio Ingrid) will be up on the auction block. Other notable lots include a rare original 1971 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder, a 2001 550 Barchetta, and one of the special 612 Scagliettis from the Magic India Discovery tour, along with several Daytonas, Dinos, 250 GTs, 275s and F40s, a pair of Enzos, and numerous modern F1 cars and GT racers. Follow the jump for the entry list at time of publication, but with the list constantly growing, be sure to check out the RM Auctions website for updates.
The 13th Amelia Island Concours -- called by some the Pebble Beach of the East Coast -- will begin on March 7th at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island in Florida. Held on the last two holes of the Ritz's golf course, this year's event will host 250 rare cars from private collections and museums, the traditional RM Auction, and will also be GM's splashdown as the first event of the General's 100-year anniversary. It will include the auctioning or appearance of three one-of-a-kind vehicles, and a Trans-Am rumble honoring Parnelli Jones. And who doesn't like the sound of a Trans-Am rumble?
RM Auctions will host its gavel-thumping vintage motor car extravaganza the day before the Concours, on Saturday. Among the cars on offer will be two one-of-a-kind Fords commissioned by Edsel: the 1934 Model 40 Ford Special Speedster, and the heart-front 1934 Brewster Ford Town Car. The Speedster has been to the Concours twice before, but this year it's driving up on the block to find a new home. Edsel Ford got the for it from a trip to Europe -- like a few of us today, he decided he wanted a car with a "Continental look." The boattail speedster was designed with Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie, and Edsel liked it so much he used it as his personal car until he died. It's expected to fetch... a lot -- RM doesn't even list a reserve price.
more ...
