As we type, the season-opening Mecum Kissimmee sale is under way. And in just a few weeks’ time it all kicks off again with the annual auction bonanza in Arizona – the Scottsdale sales.
This year, Barrett-Jackson, Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s are lining up with events, so we’ve picked some of the top lots from each. What are you in for?
Barrett-Jackson
Barrett-Jackson’s eight-day extravaganza takes place on January 19-27, 2025 at WestWorld of Scottsdale. You can expect the usual mix of domestic legends and international exotica, which this year is led by the above 2014 Pagani Huayra. Offered at no reserve, it’s fitted with the Dallara-designed Tempesta Package upgrade, which incorporates adjustable Öhlins dampers, special front splitter, rear diffuser and redesigned underbody for maximum downforce. Coming from the Garage X collection, which contains everything from a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV to a host of 1980s and 1990s modern classics (including BMW M3 E30s and Mercedes-Benz 190E Evos) plus JDM machines. No estimate for the Huayra has been released at the time of writing.
Barrett-Jackson had great success with its Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing last year, achieving the highest price for a non-alloy car. This year’s offering comes from the Robert O’Connor Collection, and is one of 311 Gullwings produced in 1956. Chassis 198.040.65000165 is finished in its original combination of Graphite Grey over light grey, and has new leather upholstery on the seats, dashboard and side panels. Ordered new by George Sterner of York, Pennsylvania via Max Hoffman, it would remain in the family until 1978.
It retains its original engine, which has been completely reworked with new pistons, valves, valve guides, bearings and timing chains, while the fuel-injection system has been rebuilt as well. The original radiator has been recored, and there are new thermostats for the engine and injection system, plus new flexible oil and fuel lines. Twin electric fuel pumps bypass the original but intact mechanical fuel pump. The brakes have been rebuilt, and the transmission has new bearings and a rebuilt shift mechanism. The suspension and tyres have also been refreshed. No estimate was released as this article was written.
This 1989 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer was completed in June 2023 and has just 600 miles on the clock.Finished in paint-to-sample Green Blood Dark, it has 24k gold Porsche lettering and Singer scripting, plus nickel-plater bumperettes and mirrors. Inside there’s Baseball Glove premium leather sourced from Connolly’s Monza collection, plus green markers and nickel trim for the gauge set and a Momo Prototipo steering wheel. The engine is a 4.0-litre flat-six with Ed Pink camshafts, a ceramic inlet plenum and an Emtron ECU, while the suspension is two-way adjustable via Öhlins. It’s being offered at no reserve.
Bonhams
Bonhams comes to the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa with 127 lots on Saturday, January 25. We’ve already brought you one of the highlights – the ex-Arthur Miller Land Rover – but there’s plenty more to see in a wide-ranging auction that take in Group A racing Nissan Skylines to gleaming Americana, and everything in between
The above 1956 Ferrari 250 Europa GT (chassis 0427 GT) is the last 250 Europa GT built, and was exhibited at the 1956 Brussels Motor Show. Originally painted Grigio Metallizzato with a Verde roof, it was first delivered to Jacques Swaters of the Garage Francorchamps stable. Swaters kept the car until 1957, when fellow Belgian W Nilens acquired it and subsequently raced it in the Grand Prix de Spa. It went to the US in 1966 under the care of Jude Holcombe & Richard F Merritt of Bethesda, Maryland.
After a stint in another US collection, it returned to Europe in the 1990s, before returning across the Atlantic via Bruce Milner of Los Angeles. It later joined the collection Scott Kreins of Saratoga, California, and was cosmetically restored by Perfect Reflections. The engine was rebuilt by Patrick Ottis, and Vintage Automotive Upholstery set to work on the interior. After restoration, it would be seen at The Quail and Cavallino Classic Palm Beach, before changing hands to an East Coast collector.
It’s currently being offered by a Swiss collector. It has Ferrari Classiche certification denoting that it sports its original chassis, engine, body, suspension, brakes and other major components, while the gearbox is certified as having been replaced with an original period unit, which has been recently rebuilt. No estimate has been released.
Bonhams is offering a 1956 300 SL Gullwing in the sale – a German-market silver example (chassis 6500063), which passed through the collections of Don Stern and Charles Schwager, but it is another Mercedes-Benz that we’re pulling out here. The 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet was a bit of good news for Bonhams last year, with a couple of above-high estimate results – so this 1971 example will be an interesting early barometer of the market.
It certainly has a story behind it – it was purchased by Maxine Duckworth, who picked it up from the factory for a continental European tour, racking up 3548 miles before it was shipped home to Los Angeles. Maxine passed away in 1998, and the 280 SE would remain in the family until 2004. It then passed to a new owner from Southern California, who had the car restored by Autobahn Autobody and Thornton’s Auto Upholstery, alongside Jeff’s Mercedes Service of West Los Angeles. Just 1322 were built; no estimate has been released.
This 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 is the 37th such model built, and has covered 33,000 miles from new. It was first ordered by an American travelling in Italy, Ben Johnson. He drove it around Europe before having it shipped to the US, but he passed away shortly afterwards. It then spent much of the 1970s in storage, until it was acquired by Dr Dean Aberman, who kept the car until 2015.
It was then treated to a no-expense-spared restoration from the likes of Jeff Stephan, Debbie Motors, Palmer Coachworks, Hot Rods and Hobbies, BB Stile and Ed Pink Racing Engines, among others. The engine, the original, has been fully rebuilt with forged short-skirt graphite-coated pistons, and the chassis was structurally enhanced to improve both handling and body fit. It was displayed at the Miura’s 50th anniversary at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, where it won best restored example (2016), and in 2023, won Best Miura and Best in Show at the Concorso Italiano. No estimate has been released at the time of writing.
RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s is bringing 104 lots to the Arizona Biltmore on Friday, January 24. Leading the sale is this 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’; one of only 28 single-louvre covered-headlight examples. Chassis 0933 GT was built for two-time Italian National Road Racing Champion Casimiro Toselli, who used it in several hillclimbing events in 1958. He won the Pila hillclimb in October, and travelled to the Venezuelan Grand Prix a month later for a 754km point-to-point race, in which he finished fourth.
The 250 GT was then sold to Venezuelan Mauricio Marcotulli, who used it in road racing – he won the 1959 championship in this car, and then took part in the first round of the 1960 World Sportscar Championship at the Buenos Aires 1000km. it finished 11th overall and third in class. It was then sold to France, but customs problems meant it spent five years in storage before being sold to Christian d’Epenoux, who then sold the car to Pierre Bardinon of the Mas du Clos Ferrari museum. It later passed through the hands of Comte Frédéric Chandon de Briailles of Moët & Chandon fame for a brief period in the late 1970s, before returning to Bardinon’s hands. Since 1983, owners have included three-time Le Mans competitor Dominique Bardini, André Binda and Michel Seydoux.
Chassis 0933GT currently has an unstamped correct-type engine fitted (the original is thought to have expired during Marcotulli’s ownership), although the car retains its original bodywork, gearbox and rear-axle units. It is believed that the Ferrari factory fitted upgraded engine components in 1960, and the replacement block is fitted with the original timing case. The car is estimated at between $3.5m and $4.5m.
This 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante is a very late production example built to a unique long-tail design. Chassis 57828 was ordered by Louis Dupont of Oran, Algeria, and bodied by Gangloff because Atalante production from Carrosserie Bugatti ceased. After being kept in Algeria during World War Two, it was re-registered in Oran in 1952, before being moved to Paris in 1954 and sold a year later, to Georges Combe.
After 22 years, Combe sold the car to Hervé Charbonneaux of the eponymous museum. During its time there, it was fitted with a replacement cylinder block, before being sold to Ton Meijer of the Netherlands. He then sold it in 1999, to Eric Albada Jelgersma. In 2006 it joined the collection of the Petersen Automotive Museum, where it has remained for the past 14 years. It’s estimated at between $1.75m and $2.5m.
This 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Convertible Victoria is one of only two vintage Bentleys bodied by American coachbuilders. It was constructed by the Walter M Murphy Company of Pasadena, California, on behalf of sugar heir and investment firm magnate Conrad H Matthiessen Jr. Its story in Matthiessen Jr’s care is unknown, but for whatever reason it was found in the silver town of Zacatecas, Mexico in 1948 by Bill Rivas. It had been abandoned after its then owner ran out on his hotel bills, and was kept in the establishment’s garage. It was then shipped to Mexico City, but the restoration didn’t really get started. It was sold ten years later to Ignacio Cuenca, who installed a Diamond T truck engine, although the original motor was retained.
In 1969 it was spotted by Don Weber in an advertisement; he spent two years negotiating its sale. It was then restored by British firm Hofmann & Mountfort over four years, at which point the original engine was returned to the car. It was later sold to Norman Herstein of Seattle, and it passed through several owners before the current vendor acquired the car in 2012. It was then restored again by RC Moss of Bedford, England. It’s since been displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (winning second in class). One of 100 8 Litres built, and among just 13 surviving original open cars, it’s estimated at between $2.75m and $3.25m.
Further details
For more information on the Barrett-Jackson sale, head here.
For more information on the Bonhams sale, head here.
For more information on the RM Sotheby’s sale, head here.
