1961 Ferrari 250 GTE
Sold at: $226,100
SN2697GT: Off-white over blue leather
interior. 240-hp, 2953-cc V-12; four-speed manual transmission. Poor cosmetics
throughout. Poor to very poor paint. Some rust in the rocker panels and door
bottoms. Most chrome is surprisingly good. Original and quite tired interior,
although new stuffing could bring the seats back to life.
1961
Ferrari 250 GTE
The story behind the sale
Often derided as the “family Ferrari,” the
250GTE was a production car from a company that mostly made bespoke vehicles.
With room for four in its two-plus-two body, a 250GTE was never as sexy or as
desirable in the marketplace as other Ferraris built alongside it in Maranello.
Ten years ago, you could fill every square
foot of your garage in decent 250GTEs for just a fraction of this price. Don't
believe us? A sample of listed cars from random Ferrari Market Letters in
2003 includes a “perfect,” concours-winning, not-street-driven-since-restoration
example with an asking price of $89,000; a “very original” late-serial-number
car with a $62,500 dealer price; and a “mechanically sound, no rust” GTE for
$50,500.
Quite literally the nicest thing you could
say about this car was that the engine compartment was well detailed. This
far-from-restored beater is creeping up on a quarter of a million dollars. A
truly nice, high-quality car would no doubt well exceed $300K.
1963 Volkswagen Beetle
Sold at: $16,279
1963
Volkswagen Beetle
SN 5623104: Pearl white over brown cloth.
40-hp, 1192-cc flat four; four-speed manual. 68,125 kilometers. Very good paint
and chrome. Inside is as original, with excellent seats, dash, and fittings.
Not exceptionally low miles, just well preserved and cared for.
A nicely done, unmolested example of a
European-delivery Beetle that thankfully wasn’t tarted up with recently
acquired “period” accessories like so many cars seen at auctions in America. On
the Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Baby Bear scale, this Beetle is just right. Sold for
more than its $8000-to-$10,000 estimate - and deservedly so.
1970 Maserati Ghibli Spyder
Sold at: $416,024
1970
Maserati Ghibli Spyder
SN AM11SS1161: Celeste blue with black top
over senape leather 330-hp, 4719-cc V-8; five-speed manual. Just over 41,000
miles. Options include A/C, power windows, and power steering. Very well-done
paint. Excellent brightwork and convertible top. Borrani wire wheels could use
a polish. Excellent leather, great dash, one small tear in the “mouse fur” dash
top. Overall, this is very close to a superstar car; you would have to work to
find a nicer example.
It’s been a wild ride for European exotics
from the 1960s and ’70s recently, and most of that ride has been straight up.
Two-seat cars more than four-seaters, V-8s more than straight sixes, but
anything with a top that goes down has been breaking records. This is fully
$100,000 more than might have been expected less than one year ago. Now it
looks like $450,000 or even more might be the next step on the value ladder for
Ghibli Spyders.
1945 Ford GPW
Sold at: $18,088
1945
Ford GPW
SN 255795: Olive drab over green vinyl.
60-hp, 134 cubic-inch in-line four; three-speed manual. Excellent paint. All
trim and military fittings are in good to excellent shape. Gauges and seat
materials are correct in style and in good condition.
Most World War II-era Jeeps came from
Willys, but Ford built about 278,000 examples, including this one. GPW was
Ford’s designation for “General Purpose Willys.” No matter the manufacturer,
only a small portion of the production survived; some are still serving active
duty in regular civilian use, and others are in museums.
1977 Dodge D150 Adventurer SE
Sold at: $15,375
1977
Dodge D150 Adventurer SE
SN D14BD7S151065: Two-tone blue over blue
cloth and vinyl. 220-hp, 440-cubic-inch V-8; automatic. 32,041 miles.
Well-preserved - still wears Pennsylvania inspection stickers from two decades
ago. Very good paint. Good bright work. Very clean interior. Features
period-style accessories, including a CB radio and lots of lights.
Consigned by a Dutch owner, this Adventurer
looks every bit the low-miles example and was a great slice of Americana in
London. It sold for a good bit more than the high estimate but still isn’t a
bad deal for the end user. Let’s hope the buyer is a fan of the color blue.
1966 Iso Grifo coupe
Sold at: $208,012
1966
Iso Grifo coupe
SN 660115GL: Gunmetal gray over blue
leather. 425-hp (est.), 327-cubic-inch V-8; four-speed manual. Modified with
racing parts, including quick-fill fuel-tank neck, emergency on/off switches,
roll bar and fire suppression system. Fair paint, door-gap issues, good bright work.
Iso was a small Italian manufacturer that
built some great, and often beautiful, cars in the 1960s and early 1970s. Those
cars were of European design and equipped with American V-8s, which was also
the formula for the Grifo. Now recognized as one of the most desirable
small-build-quantity cars from the 1960s, the Grifo continues to increase in
value. This one likely would be worth more with the racing gear removed.
2005 Mercedes-Benz CL500 custom
Sold at: $57,882
2005
Mercedes-Benz CL500 custom
SN WDB21S3751A042982: Red over beige
leather interior decorated with 24-karat gold emblems, Alcantara, and Swarovski
crystals and fabric. 302-hp, 5.0-liter V-8; automatic. Completely customized by
AG, which named the car Excalibur. A well-executed custom with good build
quality but just a tad over the top. Excellent paint, very good trim, excellent
upholstery.
Rolling on thirties, baby! Well, at least
the rear wheels are thirty inches in diameter; the fronts are twenty-fours. The
inside looks as if someone got hold of a rogue BeDazzler and went crazy -
there’s more crystal than an entire season o/Toddlers and Tiaras. It gets a 10
for imagination but substantially lower marks for good taste.
