April 2024 - US auction previews
18 April, 2024
Gooding & Company will sell a further tranche of cars from the Mullin Collection on 26 April, with all 115 lots offered at no reserve. Highlights include a 1938 Bugatti Type 57 C Aravis 'Special Cabriolet' that was originally owned by Bugatti Works driver Maurice Trintignant and raced at the 1939 Grand Prix du Comminges (estimate $2,500,000 – 3,500,000). One of only two Gangloff-bodied examples built on the supercharged chassis, it entered the Mullin Collection in 2002, undergoing a three-year restoration that was rewarded with a first in class at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2005.
The Collection’s 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet is expected to fetch $2,500,000 – 3,500,000, while a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster that was regularly exercised by the late Peter Mullin since the mid-1990s is listed at $1,000,000 - $1,300,000.
[ Gooding & Company’s Mullin Collection Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Brass-era cars dominate the catalogue at Bonhams’ Gilded Age auction in Rhode Island on 27 April, led by a 1908 Napier Type 23 A 45hp Tourer with a pre-sale estimate of $750,000 – 850,000. The Napier is joined by one of three surviving 1912 Isotta Fraschini Tipo PM Roadsters, restored around 2011, it has been owned by the consignor since 2015 during which time it’s been given an engine and gearbox rebuild (estimate $410,000 – 460,000).
[ Bonhams Gilded Age Sale – auction catalogue here ]
A single-marque Porsche sale gets underway at the same time at Broad Arrow Auctions, held in partnership with Air|Water in Costa Mesa. Star attraction is a 1969 908/02 Longtail Spyder that finished first in class and third overall at the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours in the hands of Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko (estimate $4,750,000 – 5,750,000). Other notable competition cars include a 1976 934 Turbo RSR that was restored by Kremer Racing in 2010 (estimate $750,000 – 950,000), and a 1986 962 that was campaigned by Dyson Racing during the 1987 IMSA championship, with wins at Road Atlanta and Road America (estimate $600,000 – 800,000).
The sale features a number of blue-chip road cars among the 57 entries, headed by a barely-used US-delivered 2015 918 Spyder Weissach with only 457 miles (estimate $2,700,000 – 3,200,000); a 1988 959 Komfort with Canepa upgrades and less than 8,600 miles is $2,100,000 - $2,400,000; and a 29,650-km 1996 GT2 that was sold new in Germany is catalogued at $1,700,000 – 2,000,000.
[ Broad Arrow Auctions Porsche Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Classic car auction price estimates for: Bugatti | Hispano-Suiza | Mercedes-Benz | Napier | Isotta Fraschini | Porsche
From leading auction houses: Gooding & Company | Bonhams|Cars | Broad Arrow Auctions
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