RM Auctions is one of the auction houses that comes to Scottsdale, Arizona, at the start of each year to sell a selection of top classic cars. We present some of the highlights of this year’s sale by the Canadian auction house, which has been in the market for 35 years and which set a personal record in 2014 by selling cars worth a total of USD 470 million. It will be holding two auctions at Scottsdale this year, on January 15 and 16.
1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Shooting Brake
We have rarely seen a “first lot” at an auction with so much charisma and cool. It’s impossible to pass by without stopping, looking and dreaming, at least for few minutes, of a country picnic with a charming lady and a couple of happy golden retrievers. Based on Sir Henry Royce’s very last creation, the renamed chassis and engine of the Phantom II were originally equipped with a Weimann fabric body. This was too fragile for the second owner, so the car was recovered – still in the early ‘30s – with its alluring wooden shooting brake, or station wagon, body. Always well kept by VIP owners and museums, it was restored in the USA in the 1980s. It’s reliable and could be driven around still, but bear in mind that it won’t do more than three kilometers on one liter of fuel. The estimate, but without reserve, is USD 80 – 100,000, so this could represent a relatively inexpensive way of adding something very unusual to the collection.
Photo Credit: Patrick Ernzen ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions
1993 Bugatti EB110 GT
This is a very iconic “youngtimer”. It’s very difficult to imagine that the EB 110 supercar is close to achieving classic status, but here we are. Ultra-modern when released, it could still easily compete with much younger cars in term of looks and technology. Fast, easy to handle, 12 cylinders with 4 turbo, reliable and beautiful to look at, this is the sixth of only 139 GT built. It has had one owner from new and still has only 8000 kilometers on the clock, making it one of the least used EB 110s ever. Originally dark green in color with a grey interior, it was repainted and retrimmed in Japan where the car lived until few months ago when it was shipped to the USA. It has an estimate of USD 575-775,000, which is probably a little too optimistic considering the non-original colors.
Photo Credit: Pawel Litwinski ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions
1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
This is something special: this 904, chassis number 904-107, was the second-to-last one built, and one of just four “series 2” 904 Carrera GTS ever made. 904s are considered the best example of Porsche manufacturing and technology of the period, and one of the most beautiful Porsches to look at. The history of this car is very well documented, a plus for any racing car and especially for a 904. In 1965, just after it was made, the car was shipped to Iceland by the Volkswagen dealer. It had a reinforced chassis, center-filling gas tank, short doors with pull up plastic windows, upgraded brakes and a slight Kamm ducktail. In 1967 it went back to Germany, and then sold in the USA to a racer who used to drive it to and from events. Inevitably for an active racing car, it suffered some body damage and mechanical failures, and these were repaired more in the spirit of fixing than restoring or preserving originality. After its racing life it was sold and then used for more than 30 years as a road car, gaining some comfort additions and a 911 engine along the way. In 2005 the car was totally restored in the UK by DK Engineering, who used as many original parts as possible. The car still has a 911 engine installed now, but a Type 587/3 engine, which is correct for the period and model, is included in the sale. It was originally a spare engine, and is apparently ready to be installed and used. If you love to race classics and are a Porsche collector, this could be the right car for you – as long as you can afford the USD 1.5-2 million estimate.
Photo Credit: Simon Clay ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions
1964 Ferrari 250 LM
This is the jewel in the crown of the two-day auction. A perfectly restored, Ferrari Classiche certified 250 Le Mans with a wonderful racing history, the very first Ferrari Sport to be equipped with a rear mounted engine. The fact that the engine is the 12-cylinder, 3.2 liter version of the 250 family adds yet more interest and historical value. The 9th of only 32 built, this car, chassis 5899 GT with matching number engine, was delivered new to the Scuderia Filipinetti Swiss team. Completed on June 3, 1964, it was painted in Rosso Cina with panno (fabric) Blue seats. Its first outing was at the Sierre-Montana-Crans hill climb in August 1964, driven by Ludovico Scarfiotti. It won the race, and then won again with Nino Vaccarella the following week at the Monza Coppa InterEuropa. Its third race, the 1000 Km of Paris saw drivers Vaccarella and Jean Guichet retiring because of a broken radiator, and the car, after being shown at the Geneva Motor Show, went to a new owner. This was an architect from Zurich, Werner Biedermann, who registered it with Zurich plates and raced it under the Ecurie Basilisk badge, winning 10 of the 15 races he took part in it. On October 16, 1965, during practice for the SAR Engelberg Hill Climb, the car suffered an accident and rolled onto its roof. It was sold to third owner, another Swiss Hans Illert, who fixed the car and made some modifications, including a new body, originally taken from a 906 Porsche Carrera 6 and then adapted. He shortened the chassis before successfully racing the car in minor events for another 2 years. In 1967 a new owner installed a 4-liter 330-P engine, and kept the “250”, now renamed as a 330 LM-P (“P” for Porsche…) on the track until 1970, when another accident heavily damaged the Porsche body. Luckily the owners kept the original engine throughout the ‘70s, and from 1977 to 1981 the car underwent a proper restoration at the Ferrari Assistenza Clienti department and at the William Vaccari restoration shop. After an incredible list of owners, spread all over the world, at the end of the 1990s the car finally went to the Dino Cognolato and Corrado Patella workshops to be restored again, bringing both body and engine back to their former glory – and to very original specifications. In 2000, 5899 GT went back to racing, in historic events, and in 2005 it gained Ferrari Classiche certification before being displayed at factory’s Galleria Ferrari in Maranello. It has raced and been shown at Concours events ever since. It has an estimate of USD 9.5-12.5 million.
Photo Credit: Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions
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