August has again arrived, and the collector car auctions of Monterey Classic Car Week will soon be providing the industry with its annual reality check. The five main auction companies will all stage showcase sales during the week, each with its own selection of desirable machinery over a broad range of eras and styles.
Perhaps foremost among the featured offerings is RM Sotheby’s presentation of the sister car to the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1 — not only the twin, but chassis No. DBR1/1 (above, Tim Scott photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s). The culmination of David Brown’s desire to win Le Mans, the DBR1 was a purpose-built competition car developed by AM’s racing design chief, Ted Cutting. It boasted a lighter, faster 3.0-liter engine than its DB3S predecessor, bolted into a small-tube spaceframe chassis. The gearbox was a new semi-dry sump, five-speed transaxle, and the brakes were cast-iron Girling discs with groundbreaking light alloy calipers.
DBR1/1 made its race debut at Le Mans in 1956, driven by Tony Brooks and Reg Parnell, but retired in the 23rd hour with engine bearing failure. It was subsequently driven by men named Carroll Shelby, Roy Salvadori, Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham. In 1959 it won the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers driven by Moss and Jack Fairman, which helped Aston Martin secure the 1959 World Sportscar Championship — the first for a British manufacturer.
Immaculately presented down to the last detail, and the most correct of all five examples built, DBR1/1 is offered with its final Works-fitted engine, and is currently equipped with a bespoke, completely correct, reproduction engine manufactured by Aston Martin specialist Richard Stewart Williams.
DBR1/1 will be joined in Monterey by three additional significant competition Aston Martins: a 1935 Ulster Competition Sports, chassis no. B5/549/; a 1959 DB4GT, chassis no. DP199 (a development prototype) widely considered the most important non-Zagato DB4GT; and a 2006 DBR9, chassis no. DBR9/9.
“This is the most significant group of Astons ever to come to auction,” said Barney Ruprecht, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “It is a true privilege to be entrusted with the sale of all four remarkable cars. From the Ulster — the pinnacle of pre-war competition — to the founding member of the DB4GT family, the ultimate Aston in the DBR1, all the way through to modern times with the DBR9, the group represents the complete lineage of Aston Martin competition history.”
Among the many other exceptional cars offered by RM Sotheby’s at the Portola Hotel and Spa, 2 Portola Place in Monterey, will be a number of classic Ferraris, both street and competition, including 13 from the Ferrari Performance Collection. Preview sessions will take place Wednesday through Saturday, with the actual sales commencing at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evenings. For further information about any and all of these cars, please visit www.rmsothebys.com
• A 1965 Shelby Cobra, a 1966 McLaren M2 Can-Am car and a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT PF are among the highlights of Russo and Steele’s Monterey 17 auction, which will commence at 290 Figueroa Street, adjacent to Fisherman’s Wharf in downtown Monterey, on Thursday, August 20, with a “Kick-off reception” between 3 and 5 p.m. that day, especially for credentialed bidders, consignors and VIPs. The auction itself will then take place Thursday through Saturday evenings, beginning at 5 p.m. sharp, following daily 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. public previews.
The Cobra is a Mark II version with a 289-cid Ford V8, one of 580 fitted with that engine between 1962 and 1965. The consignor has owned it since 1975, and states that it was used as a factory demonstrator. The car received a complete body-off restoration by McCluskey Ltd. in 2012-2014 that included a complete new skin. A five-speed transmission was installed for touring, but the original rebuilt aluminum Borg Warner T-10 transmission and linkage are available. The engine has been replaced with a 6-bolt block, but the high-performance heads, manifold and “Wedge” bell housing have been retained. The original heater/defroster and an optional Paxton supercharger with mounts and small air box are also available, along with the top bows and frame.
The McLaren Can-Am car is chassis 30/10, which was originally powered by a Ford engine and raced at Nassau SpeedWeek by Peter Revson. In 1967 it was converted to Bartz Chevrolet power, which remains in the car. Driven in period by Jerry Entin, the car has been restored by renowned Can-Am restoration experts Ike Smith and Chris Hines of Arrowlane. It has all its current FIA paperwork, HMSA Handbook and participated in this spring’s Long Beach Grand Prix Can-Am reunion.
In 1958, Enzo Ferrari asked Pinin Farina to design a simple and classic 250 GT coupé as a series production offering that would help him stabilize his company. The resulting car was introduced at Milan later that year, and 335 near-identical examples were built by 1960. The 250 GT PF was powered by the famed Columbo V12 that produced 250 horsepower, and this particular car is a matching-numbers example, number 261 of the 335 produced, that was originally finished in Cassa Grigio Argento with chassis number 1659GT and body number PF 27857. The original owner sold the car in 1976, when it was repainted silver and the engine rebuilt. A comprehensive record of ownership and the service and body work performed will accompany the sale. The 250 GT has proved to be one of the most desirable of all touring Ferraris, and finding an example as fully documented as this one is truly rare.
For complete information about these and the many other cars Russo and Steele are bringing to auction in Monterey, please visit www.russoandsteele.com
• Mecum’s Daytime Auction will take place August 16 through 19 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa, on the Del Monte Golf Course, 1 Old Golf Course Road. The gates will open daily at 8 a.m., with the sale beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, then Thursday through Saturday at 10 a.m.
Among the 600 featured vehicles will be several desirable Ferraris, including a 2003 Enzo, a pair of LaFerraris, a 1965 275 GTB Long Nose and two 365 GTB/4 Daytonas, one a 1971 racecar and the other a 1972 roadcar. Also crossing the block will be: a 1958 Lister-Jaguar “Knobbly;” a pair of Bugatti Veyrons; several Porsche 935 racecars and a road going 959; a 2015 McLaren P1; a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C High Sport; a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722S Roadster; and a 2007 Maserati MC12 Corsa; not to mention a 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan, a 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita and a 1930 Cadillac Series 452 V16 Coupe that will be sold at no reserve. For complete information please visit www.Mecum.com
• A number of truly historic racing cars will be among the lots offered at Bonham’s annual auction at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, in Carmel, California, on Friday, August 18. This year’s sale has been given the unofficial title of “Year of the Race Cars” as the listing includes the Team Cunningham Le Mans Jaguar Lightweight E-Type, the Juan Manuel Fangio multiple GP-winning Maserati 300 S, the Coppa Sant Ambroeus-winning Ferrari Tour de France, the most successful chassis from the Lotus Powered by Ford Indycar era, the Lotus 34 that claimed pole position at Indy and posted four Indycar wins in the hands of Jim Clark, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt, a collection of Group B rally cars and the first U.S.-imported McLaren F1.
The rally cars come from the estate of a prominent enthusiast, and this long-term, single-owner collection includes Group B Homologation cars from Lancia, Peugeot, Ford and Audi, all offered without reserve. There will be three Lancias, a 1975 Stratos HF Stradale, a 1983 Rally 037 Stradale and a 1985 Delta S4 Stradale, as well as a 1985 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, a 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 and a pair of 1986 Ford RS200s, one an Evolution model, the other a “standard.”
For more complete information about these and all the other significant cars being offered, please visit www.Bonhams.com/Quail
• Gooding & Co. is again serving as the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and this year is able to offer an example of one of the most iconic racecars ever constructed, the legendary Porsche 917. The 1970 917K on offer, chassis 917-024, is a masterpiece of racing engineering and, as a Gulf Porsche, carries one of the most recognizable liveries in motorsport history.
Chassis 917-024 was first used by Porsche during the 1970 Le Mans Tests, where it was piloted by Brian Redman and Mike Hailwood. Following the testing at Le Mans, Nürburgring and Ehra Lessien, 917-024 was sold to Porsche factory driver Jo Siffert, who leased the car to Steve McQueen’s Solar Productions for use in the making of the seminal film Le Mans (1971). Following its Hollywood stint, 917-024 remained in Siffert’s private collection until his passing. Chassis 024 led his funeral procession, which was reflective of the 917’s importance in his life, before being sold to a private collector in Paris in the mid-1970s, when it effectively disappeared from view.
It re-emerged in 2001 from a warehouse outside Paris in one of the greatest “barn find” discoveries ever. Covered in dust and still in its Gulf livery from Siffert’s ownership, 024 was remarkably untouched after more than two decades in hiding. Even the original space-saver spare, Firestone fuel cell and Firestone Super Sports GP tires were still in place. The recent beneficiary of an exceptional restoration by Swiss specialist Graber Sportgarage, it is presented from a private European collection as one of the most significant 917s in existence, and easily one of the finest racing cars ever to come to public auction.
The Gooding & Co. Pebble Beach Auctions will take place Friday, August 18 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, August 19 at 11 a.m. at the Equestrian Center, on the corner of Stevenson Drive and Portola Road, in Pebble Beach, California. There will be a public preview each day from Wednesday, August 16 to Saturday, August 19. For complete information about this and all of Gooding’s other offerings — including several significant Ferraris, please visit www.goodingco.com
