Possibly considered the last great “barn find”, a 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante is going up for auction. The ultra-rare Bugatti was released from its fifty-year old cocoon last year, and now will sell for multiple millions of dollars at Bonhams’ "Retromobile" auction the February in Paris. This Type 57S Atalante is one of seventeen made, and a less rare Type 57C Atalante sold for $7.92 million back in August.
British noble and racer Earl Howe originally purchased this Type 57S Atalante. He kept the car for about eight years, and then it spent the next decade floating through multiple owners. In 1955 Harold Carr, an English surgeon, purchased the car.
Carr did not own the Bugatti long before parking it in his garage and never driving it again. Although Bugattis were rare in 1955, they would not reach superstar status for many more decades. Even in 1965 $85,000 bought a collection of thirty Bugattis, but that was considered an exceptional deal.
Sometimes this car was referred to as lost during its over fifty-year absence from daylight, but the reality is that any car of this caliber always has enthusiasts tracking it. "I have known of this Bugatti for a number of years and, like a select group of others, hadn’t dared divulge its whereabouts to anyone,” said James Knight, international head of Bonhams’ motoring department.
Carr passed away in 2007, leaving the Bugatti to his family. Until this point, his family had no idea of the value of the now dusty but only mildly decayed car. "We just can’t believe it. It’s worth so much because he hasn’t used it for fifty years,” said Carr’s nephew.
Movie cars can sometimes be a tough sell. Many times they are just normal cars plucked off the assembly line or a dealer lot, given a fresh coat of paint, and put right to work. Such is the case for this car used in the 2001 flick The Fast and the Furious.
Fans of the classic film (classic for cars, not acting) will instantly recognize this Mitsubishi Eclipse. There were multiple copies made for the movie and four survived. This example was used for exterior shots, so there is no modification to the interior or engine. This means if the winning bidder is not only treated to the luxury of mid-90s plastics, but the standard 140 hp 2.0-liter four cylinder engine will also likely be embarrassed by anything made this decade.
The auction is currently at $17,000, and there are no bids. If this were just some normal 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse, then the value wouldn’t even reach $4,000. So are the ass prints of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel (or more likely multiple stuntmen pretending to be them) worth an extra $13,000?
Lee Iacocca, the man who brought Chrysler back from the brink in the 80s, wanted to merge Chrysler into a larger company called Global Motors. He believed that taking U.S. manufacturing strength, European style, and Japanese build quality, would make the perfect cars. This is defiantly what he didn’t have in mind.
This is for those who’ve decided that the perfect vehicle is one that incorporates an almost twenty-year-old German design with 80s American “we’re bring quality back, really!” engineering. Although it looks like a Mercedes 600SL from the previous generation, it just a 1990 Chrysler LeBaron with a bad German accent. The possible saving grace of the car is it uses a 3.0-liter V6 engine from Mitsubishi that Chrysler was passing off as its own.
While it may look tempting to pick this up for between one and two thousand dollars, do a little more digging on the internet. A genuine Mercedes 300SL from the same era can be had for a few grand more. Those cars come with a 228 hp six-cylinder (versus about 140 hp in the LeBaron), making this example a LeBaron even George Costanza can resist.
So before this car rattles off into the sunset, hopefully to never be heard from again, let’s give it a fitting name. How about Chrycedes? Mercesler? No wait…it’s definitely the Red LeBaron.
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Carroll Shelby first made a prototype car back in 1968 called the "Green Hornet". It was a testbed for a fuel injection system as well as an independent rear suspension. Because it was one-of-a-kind prototype, it is a very valuable collector car today. Valuable enough that Carroll Shelby authorized a stock 1968 Mustang to be made into an official reproduction called the "Black Hornet".
The Black Hornet carries the same 428 Cobra Jet V8 engine as the original Green Hornet making 335 hp. The car also features Edelbrock aluminum heads, a top-loader 4-speed transmission, power steering, power brakes, and Shelby 10-spoke wheels. According to the builder, "XP500 CSS ’Black Hornet’ is identical to the Greent Hornet just after it received disc brakes but prior to the Colonic EFI or independent rear suspension."
Now the Black Hornet is on its way to the auction block for a good cause. Starting on December 2nd eBay will carry the car at a minimum bid of $100,000, and all proceeds go to help the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation.
Plenty of car collectors dream that the car fertilizing their backyard looks a little different from the rest because it is something special. While usually they’re wrong, there is an occasional jackpot disguised as a rust pile. Such is the case for one eBay seller of a 1963 Pontiac LeMans, who originally thought this was not much more than a used-up racer with plexiglass windows and an odd rear-end suspension. What he soon discovered was that this was one of only six LeMans factory racers.
Pontiac in 1963 made six Tempest wagons and six LeMans Tempest sedans specially designed to go racing. Although the cars carried a 326 badge, the engine was a Super Duty version of the 421 cubic inch V8. The official factory rating was 405 hp, and that was considered to be well underestimated. General Motors put a ban on all factory racecars in 1963, so these were the last Super Duty cars to squeak out the door.
The whereabouts of only four of the twelve racers, including this one, are currently known. Many are feared destroyed at the hands of hard racing or unknowing owners. All were considered a dominant racing force, so all are prized by collectors today. The end price for this Super Duty, even without engine or transmission, was $226,521.
What would you get when you mix an old hag known for fast moves and a younger, but proper, British gent? It’s not Madonna and Guy Ritchie, but rather the custom built "Mentley Insanne". In 2002, Andy Saunders purchased a 1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo with light front end damage and transformed into what is now known as “Mentley Insanne”. Every panel, except for the hood, was modified and in addition to the handmade custom work, parts of nine different cars were employed. The current generation Range Rover being the most obvious.
Custom work includes the roof was lowered 76 millimetres, and ends in a glass landau top from the panoramic roof of a Mercedes-Benz 280SL. Range Rover front and rear lights are incorporated as well as side air vents. Although the grille seems to be untouched, it actually has been lowered and widened. Thankfully, what hasn’t been changed is the Bentley’s the 6.75-liter 328 hp turbocharged V8 engine.
The car is set for bidding at the RM Auction next Thursday (October 29). If this Frankenbentley seems like something you’re interested in, then have about 20,000 to 25,000 pounds ready (about $31,000 to $39,000). But before bidding we suggest you get your eyes checked.
Jay Leno is one of the ultimate car guys. If it’s fast, unique or just beautiful, he wants it (if he doesn’t have it already). He is proud of his large collection of Duesenbergs (an ultra-rare classic for the ultra-rich, like a supercar of today.) Unfortunately he may have one less in his collection if a lawsuit does not end in his favor. Leno is being sued over his rare 1931 Duesenberg Model J by the estate of its former owner.
The car was previously owned by former Macy’s executive John Straus, who passed away this May. His estate alleged that in 2005, after Straus rejected Leno’s offer to purchase the Duesenberg, the comedian entered into a “sham” transaction with the garage where the car was stored. According to reports, the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls-Royce were auctioned to recover $29,000 in unpaid parking fees. Leno reportedly paid $180,000 for the Model J sedan and someone else purchased the Rolls-Royce.
Straus’ estate believes that the fees were made up so that the garage could sell the cars. The suit now values those cars at $1.7 million. Under conflicting reports, the estate is searching for monetary damages, return of the cars or both.
To complicate this story further, Leno described how he came to own this Duesenberg in the 2007 book The Hemi in the Barn. In this account, Leno finds the car lying dormant in the garage for seventy years. It reads as if Leno bought the car directly from Straus to help pay for the delinquent parking fees.
So what’s the real story? Did Leno conspire with the garage for the rare car? Is it Leno’s car fair and square? That’s up for the courts to decide. But any way you look at it, this story is a real Duesy.
The picture above is Leno with his Model X Duesenberg
For the man who has the trouble with too many women in his life, I present the Volksaru (Subawagen just sounds to natural for this unholy combination.) Because even if she’ll still talk to you after seeing the 1985 Subaru GL front end, the Volkswagen rear will ensure that you won’t get laid.
This creation actually includes two completely separate drivetrains (front engine, front-wheel drive and rear engine, rear-wheel drive) and two separate transmissions so, as the owner puts it, “if one of them were to fail or not work, the other one can take over and replace it.” Which means this is the perfect car for long trips, as long as you can fit the luggage in the back seat.
Although this is two cars in one (almost literally), I’m a little reluctant to call this over $20k reserve vehicle the “deal of the day”. But the one benefit of ownership is you can put the put the Subaru in first gear, the Volkswagen in reverse, hit the gas, and see if you can’t tear the thing apart and send this unholy union back to the hell from which it came.
This maybe the only wagon that kids wanted to drive when they grew up. If you were one of them, and you have an extra $45,600 (as of this afternoon), then eBay can get you an official a fully-restored Ghostbusters 1959 Cadillac Miller Meteor Ecto-1.
The vehicle is one of the three cars authorized by Sony/MGM: there are two cars used for the movies and this one was built for the Universal Studios Florida theme park (so you don’t have to worry about getting rid of that Dan Aykroyd smell.) Under the hood there is a Chevy 350 engine connected to a turbo 400 transmission, making the car fine for driving around your town, but the 5000 lbs weight (21 feet long and 10 feet tall) will probably ensure you won’t win any races. So all you Bill Murray fans hurry up, the clock is ticking!
A Ferrari 250 GTO just took the honors of being the world’s most expensive car after it was sold for $28.5 million. The car is now in England with its new owner, and you can imagine he wants the exact location of his new treasure to remain secret.
There were only 39 GTOs ever produced (most cars in its class have over 100 examples produced at the time,) and most experts agree that the 250 GTO is one of the most most desirable Ferraris ever.
The 250 GTO is powered by a 3 liter (180 cubic inches) engine, a version of the Gioacchino Colombo short-block designed V12. All engines were tested on a dynomometer and found to achieve between 290 to just over 300 horsepower, peaking at around 7500 rpm. The car is capable of a top speed of 174 mph and makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 5.4 seconds.
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