With the added perk of super-rarity, the Bentley Continentals of the Sixties remain among the most sought-after of the marque’s classic cars. Gooding & Company’s 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance® auction is offering a rare left-hand-drive 1961 Bentley S2 two-door saloon with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner that exemplified this model’s divergence from the parent company. It has a pre-sale estimate of $400K-$500K.
Bentley was born racing, and while most of its 100+ years have been spent away from the track, the company is going back with one of the 1929 Bentley Blower Continuation Cars it has built. The car, created using blueprints and 3D scans of an original car in Bentley’s Heritage Collection, will compete at three major historic automobile races through September. Bentley is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of its sixth and final victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a limited-edition series of 48 “Le Mans Collection” Continental GT and GTC models.
While the “Imperial” and “LeBaron” names became diluted on mainstream Chrysler cars in more recent history, the two had once created great American luxury together. LeBaron was America’s most distinguished designer of the period, creating bodies for the world’s top luxury automakers. The early 1930s Chrysler Imperials designed by LeBaron are among America’s most beautiful classics. Marjorie Merriweather Post, who owned General Foods Corporation, must have thought so when she purchased this 1933 Chrysler Imperial CL Dual Cowl Phaeton. Bonhams is offering the car at its Amelia Island auction, with a $375K-$450K pre-sale estimate.
BMW’s Z8 is the kind of car that many wish BMW would build again. Two of those cars – a standard BMW Z8 and the Alpina version, called the BMW Alpina Roadster V8 – recently sold earlier this month at RM Sotheby’s Miami auction. Offered by two different owners, and both with under 23,000 miles, each car sold for exactly the same price: $229,600. Read the backstory on the Z8 and the Alpina Roadster.
You might remember Lamborghini’s LM002. One of the first people to purchase an LM002 back in the 1908s was Sylvester Stallone, of “Rambo” movie fame, which inspired the vehicle’s “Rambo Lambo” nickname. Since that era, you may have always wanted to own this V-12, three-ton off-road monster that goes from 0-60 in under 8 seconds, and carries a 75-gallon fuel tank. At its Miami auction in December, RM Sotheby’s is offering a 1991 LM002, with under 6,000 miles on the odometer, which is #279 out of 328 made. Putting this Rambo Lambo in your driveway is guaranteed to make a statement to the neighbors.
Among the most desired special editions of the Porsche 911, option code M491, “Tublo Look” is at the top of the list for most aficionados. The Bonhams Quail Lodge auction in August will offer a 1987 Turbo Look Carrera, with a “Slant Nose” front end design, believed to have been installed for the original owner. It’s all Porsche steel, not a fiberglass knock-off, with a pre-sale-estimate of $80,000 — $120,000, with no reserve.
Here are our “Cars to Watch” for the Gooding & Co. auction at Amelia Island, which features a rare 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C_SS “Teardrop” Coupe, which has a pre-sale estimate of $10 million. This auction promises to be comfortable, casual, fun, and yet classy.
RM Sotheby’s returns to Amelia Island with yet another expertly curated auction docket for 2022 with 99 cars offered and a focused selection of choice collectibles and artworks preceding them.
Think you’re “a very good driver” like Raymond Babbitt? Here’s your chance to own the 1949 Buick Roadmaster from “Rain Man,” the 1988 film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. The car has been owned by Hoffman for 34 years, and is now offered by Bonham’s at its Scottsdale auction, with a pre-sale estimate of $150k – $250k.
