RM Auctions 15th annual Arizona sale generates more than $45.5 million in sales with 85 percent of all lots sold
Two-day sale features exceptional offering of 125 automobiles, one boat and one motorcycle
Ten automobiles achieve million-dollar plus results with multiple new auction records set
Top-seller: 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider sells for an outstanding $8,800,000
Full results are now available online at www.rmauctions.com
RM Auctions, the world’s largest collector car auction house for investment-quality automobiles, kicked off its 2014 auction season on a fantastic note once again this week, realizing an impressive $45,563,450 million in sales* with 85 percent of all lots sold at its 15th annual Phoenix, Arizona sale.
Within a beautiful setting and stunning presentation at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, the results represent a new high for the international auction house in Arizona. The two-day sale saw ten million-dollar-plus transactions and numerous auction records set, headlined by the top-selling 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider. Reflecting RM’s international clientele and the global appeal of the well-established event, bidders hailed from 20 countries around the world.
Editor’s Note: Two automobiles were of particular interest to Audi aficionados. These included Lot #4, a 1960 DKW Schnellaster Kastenwagen 3-6 delivery van and Lot #67, a 1966 NSU Wankel Spider. Specific details on each can be found below.
“RM Auctions continues to prove that the combination of great cars, knowledgeable clients and a beautiful auction venue is a winning formula for both buyers and sellers,” says Ian Kelleher, Car Specialist, RM Auctions. “This year’s two-day sale was an unqualified success and set a terrific benchmark for the entire Arizona auction week, not to mention a fantastic start for the 2014 auction season.”
Top sale honors went to the highly desirable 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider, chassis 1055 GT with coachwork by Scaglietti, selling for an incredible $8,800,000 before a packed auction room, making it the most valuable car ever sold in Arizona auction week history. The 11th of only 50 long-wheelbase California Spiders ever built, 1055 GT goes to its new owner in remarkably well-preserved condition. Continuing RM’s outstanding track record for the sale of important Ferraris at auction, additional Ferrari highlights from the two-day sale include: the beautifully restored 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L ‘Lusso’, chassis 5215 GT, which sold for $2,447,500, setting a new record for the model at public auction; a wonderfully preserved 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, chassis 8349, which sold for $1,815,000; and a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS, chassis 08353, which sold for $1,485,000.
Additional impressive million-dollar-plus sales include the brilliantly restored, ex-Bob Donner and Don Wester 1961 Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder, taking the number two spot at $2,750,000. Representing the diverse roster of automobiles, a 1930 Duesenberg Model J ‘Disappearing Top’ Convertible Coupe, offered for public sale for the first time since new, sold for a fantastic $2,200,000.
Lot #4: 1960 DKW Schnellaster Kastenwagen 3=6 (Sold for $60,500)
Chassis no. 22524620
Engine no. 66157370
42 bhp, 896 cc two-stroke, water-cooled inline three-cylinder single Solex 40ICB carburetor, four-speed ZF front transaxle, four-wheel independent suspension with a transverse front leaf spring and rear trailing arms and torsion bar, and hydraulic four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 108.3 in.
Two-and-a-half-year nut-and-bolt restoration
Versatile, economical, and useable
One of two known restored examples in the U.S.A.
Class award at the 2013 Forest Grove Concours
After a downpour at the 1955 Pebble Beach road races, the staff at Road & Track decided that they needed a vehicle to serve as a combination mobile office, galley, and bunk for future West Coast races. They looked at a Wells Cargo trailer and a Ford wagon; a Fiat Multipla; a Volkswagen Kombi (bus); a Chrysler Town & Country wagon; and Alfa Romeo’s “Romeo” Camper. But what they actually bought for their new “Pressmobile,” as it said on the side, was a DKW 3=6.
DKW had been the largest European motorcycle manufacturer before World War II, and it was a two-stroke specialist, so it was little surprise that their 3=6 followed the trend. Even the name, “3 equals 6”, is a subtle boast about the powerplant, which has three cylinders that give the performance of a small six. Volkswagen’s Micro Bus, however, was probably the closest competitor. At the time, it would have been notably smaller and lighter and correspondingly less expensive. The DKW made up for its weight disadvantage with 42 horsepower and 57 foot-pounds of torque, yielding “enough ‘steam’ to pull a much heavier Karavan along at a better rate,” said Road & Track. They also noted that the torquey, high-revving two-stroke would burn rubber in first gear, while also being able to cruise comfortably at 60 mph. Its best quality, however, was its handling on the open road, “which can only be described as amazing.” Add tremendous reliability—one tune-up and a single loose wire in Road & Track’s first 9,000 miles were the only work required—and ahead-of-its-time features, like a curbside door with five feet eight inches of headroom, a flat floor, and front-wheel drive, and the DKW is a look forward at the minivans that were to come decades later.
This example was rescued from a storage shed at a mining operation in southern Oregon in 1996, and an unconfirmed story says that it had been used by a hosiery salesman in the 1960s to service his route along the Pacific Coast. Assorted 3=6 models were actively sold in the U.S.A., and while no records of importation numbers have been found, it’s likely that less than 1,000 of the Kastemwagen panel trucks were sold. Today, only six are known in the U.S.A.; two of them are restored, two are complete and unrestored, and two are parts vehicles, making restoration extremely challenging.
It might not even be possible to complete another Schnellaster to this level. The consignor’s search for parts stretched over at least eight countries and three continents, including the U.S., Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, and Crete. Even the machine screws, which are used exclusively throughout the bodywork, are new old stock parts. Every mechanical component is original to the vehicle, right down to the rebuilt relays, wiper motors, turn signal switches, and voltage regulators. The factory color was duplicated from original paint that had been found on the firewall, under a panel that had not been exposed to weather, and the van was finished correctly, as per the factory, in a single color inside and out, with black fender trim, extruded aluminum brightwork, and a wood load floor. The original engine, often found seized in a 3=6 from lack of oil, was rebuilt with sealed bearings for longevity and with modern synthetic two-stroke oil, and it offers improved performance and less two-stroke smoke.
After a two-and-a-half-year restoration, this Schnellaster Kastenwagen appeared at the 2013 Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance, where it was awarded Second in Class; points were deducted for incorrect tires, which have since been replaced.
Other Schnellaster Kastenwagens can be found, but it is unlikely that any others have been or can be restored as correctly and sympathetically as this icon of the evolution of modern transportation.
Lot #67: 1966 NSU Spider (Sold for $24,200)
Chassis no. 5601908
Engine no. 50202192
54 bhp, 30.4 cu. in. single-rotor Wankel rotary engine, four-speed synchromesh manual transmission, four-wheel independent coil-spring suspension, and front disc and rear drum brakes. Wheelbase: 80 in.
The first production car with a rotary engine
Technically fascinating and fun to drive
One of the finest original, unrestored examples in existence
The beautifully styled little sporting roadster that was the NSU Spider deserves to be remembered alongside the Chevrolet Corvair and the Lamborghini Miura as one of the engineering marvels of the Jet Age. It was built in West Germany by a firm that was better known for motorcycles and microcars, and it was the first production automobile to sport Felix Wankel’s revolutionary rotary engine.
Wankel’s design replaced conventional cylinders in a block with an oval chamber, in which a triangular rotor blade turned at very high rpms. Combustion that ordinarily occurred in the cylinders actually occurred between the tips of the rotor blade in the Wankel engine, creating an amazing amount of power from a relatively tiny engine and resulting in a unique “buzzy” exhaust note. NSU’s version, which was mounted in the rear of the Spider’s sleek Bertone-styled bodywork, sent 54 horsepower to the rear axle through a four-speed, all-synchromesh transmission. Top speed was reported to be nearly 100 mph.
NSU debuted the Spider at the Frankfurt International Automobile Exhibition in 1964, and the first U.S.-specification examples, brought by Transcontinental Motors Inc., of New York City, arrived stateside a year later. Unfortunately, production would only continue through to 1966, as the Spider’s engineering was a bit too far-out, and it untested to appeal to buyers. NSU would continue working with the Wankel engine for a decade, but it would be Mazda that would make rotary power a legend in its own time.
Of the 2,375 Spiders produced, survivors are extraordinarily rare, particularly ones in good, original condition. Presented here is what may be the finest original, unrestored Spider remaining. This very rare, American-specification California car was acquired by the owner from a longtime NSU dealer, who had bought it back from the original owner. It has covered 21,000 actual miles, and it has its original paint, chrome, interior, and even the rubber mats in the floors, trunk, and engine compartment; it is complete, except for the small NSU badge on the nose. This low-mileage Milestone automobile is perfect for the Preservation Class in any concours, and it is reported to start instantly, to run perfectly, and to have been driven several hundred reliable highway miles in its current ownership.
This delightful little car, which combines fascinating engineering with wonderful originality, would be at home in any collection.
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