The purpose of this article is to look at sixteen cars that were recently auctioned and various auction houses, such as Barrett-Jackson, Russo & Steele, etc.  We will look at the car and the particulars and give an opinion on whether it was a good deal or not for the buyer.

The first car we will look at was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas, October 2008.  The car is a 2003 Saleen S7 that sold for $237,000.  It was the third highest selling car at the Las Vegas auction.  The car auctioned had a red exterior with a black exterior and boasted a ridiculous twin turbo 750hp, aluminum 8 cylinder engine.  Having seen one of these beauties up close and personal at the 2006 NYC Auto Show, it is definitely a piece of art, however the interior even with handcrafted leather with sueded accents, AC, power windows, power doors and AM/FM/CD/DVD with retractable 7" in-dash LCD screen still has too much of a race car look and feel.

Good Deal/Bad Deal:  The details of this car do not seem to match up with the history of Saleen.  The S7 debuted at the Monterey Historic races on August 19, 2000 and from 2000 until 2004, the S7 was a naturally aspirated V8 engine with 550 horsepower.  It was not until 2005, the S7 Twin Turbo, which featured a more powerful twin-turbo system that boosted engine power to 750 horsepower and the top speed to an estimated 250 mph, replaced the naturally aspirated V8.  However, Barrett-Jackson sold the car as a 2003 S7 Twin Turbo with 750hp, but made no mention in their write up that the car was a prototype or special order.  In either case, the buyer got a screaming deal.  If indeed it is a twin turbo, the car is extremely rare, if not one of a kind, because of the twin turbo in 2003, the 2005-2006 twin-turbocharged versions sold, brand new, for $585,296.  If the car is a naturally aspirated version, the buyer still got a good deal; there is a similar naturally aspirated car on the DuPont Registry being offered at $450,000.

The next car, the Jaguar XJ220 is an incredibly fast supercar.  The XJ220 held the record as the world’s fastest production car from 1992-1994, the car was clocked at 217mph.  It lost the record to the legendary McLaren F1.  Jaguar’s idea with the XJ220 was to produce a supercar that would compete against cars such as the Ferrari F40 and the Porsche 959. The car originally was supposed to contain a V12, but when it went to production a V6 was installed which caused numerous lawsuits and the eventual demise of the XJ220.  The XJ220 was auctioned at the 2008 Las Vegas edition of Barrett-Jackson and sold for $137,000.  The car auctioned was blue with a dark grey interior and is propelled by a twin-turbo 6 cylinder engine that boasts 542hp.  There were only 280 XJ220’s made, this car is #91.

A local collector owns a XJ220 and after seeing and hearing the car, this is one car that should be on everybody’s must see, drive and own list.  The XJ220 originally sold for $625,000 to initial customers like Elton John and the Sultan of Brunei.  Currently on Ebay there is a 2004 with a “Buy It Now” price of $210,000 and the DuPont Registry has a listing for a 2003 for a mere $249,000.  The buyer at Barrett-Jackson, who bought the car for $137,000, appears to have made a great deal.  The car seems to already have approximately $75,000 of equity.

Also sold at the Las Vegas Barrett-Jackson auction was a 1949 MG TC Roadster Race Car.  It was the most expensive car sold, it went for $285,000.  The car was the first car that Carroll Shelby drove in a road race, a race that he won.  The car is green with a green interior and powered by the original 4-cylinder 1250cc engine that produces 100+hp.  A non-race version of the MG TC was produced from 1945-1950 and produced 55hp.

Good Deal/Bad Deal: Granted, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own an important piece of automotive history.  However, it is this writer’s belief the individual overpaid for the car.  While it was the first car that Shelby raced, he is not known for MG’s, nor has this car been in his possession for at least 20 years, it was part of the Syd Silverman collection.  At the 2007, Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, Carroll Shelby’s personal 1969 GT500 convertible, which he owned since it was brand new, was sold for $675,000 to house builder and car collector goliath, Ron Pratte.  Is the MG TC worth 42% of his personal GT500 convertible?  In this writer’s opinion – an emphatic NO!

The car that garnered the 9^th highest price at the Barrett-Jackson 2008 Las Vegas auction was a 1970 426 HEMI Cuda with a “Plum Crazy” (purple) exterior and a white interior.  The car is 1 of 284 HEMI 'Cudas ever built and is fully restored.  The car sold for $187,000.

Good Deal/Bad Deal: For some reason the HEMI Cuda’s are cult collector cars, they are like Picasso and Da Vinci works in the motoring world.  However, in their original days they were plagued with poor assembly quality and lackluster sales.  The cars originally sold for about $5500.  It is a good deal when you consider that 1970 HEMI convertibles (only 12 made) are selling in the millions.  There is a classified ad on Hemmings for 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe (non-hemi), however it is the only 1970 Gran Coupe manufactured with Burnt Tan metallic paint, tan interior and the Gator Grain vinyl top and that car is selling for $54,900.  Additionally, a 1970 Plymouth Cuda 440/6 Convertible sold at the Russo & Steele Monterey auction for $190,000.  Therefore, the HEMI Cuda is a good deal if the buyer is reliving his high school days or intends to keep the car for a long time.  However, in this economy, it seems the buyer paid too much.

Here is a car that sold at the Barrett-Jackson 2008 Las Vegas show that surprising only went for $209,000.  The car is a 1938 Packard Victoria 2-door convertible.  The exterior and interior of the car are both red.  A 12- cylinder engine that produces 175hp with a 3-speed transmission powers the car.  The are is 1 of 11 ever produced, is a CCCA National First Place winner, and has been in the Packard Circle of Champions.  The convertible Victoria was priced at $5,320 when new.   

Good Deal/Bad Deal: Due to the outstanding condition of the car and the limited numbers, it is this writer’s opinion the buyer made a very wise purchase.

At the 2008 Russo and Steele Monterey Auction, a 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Jota sold for an astonishing $2,000,000.  The original Lamborghini Jota has an interesting story.  It was sold on February 8, 1972 to Alfredo Belponer, a Brescia-based collector.  The local dealer overseeing the transaction decided it was a good idea to take his customer's car out for a drive to show a colleague just how fast it could go... good fortune has it that they didn't kill themselves (or anyone else for that matter!), but the poor Jota was wrecked beyond repair, with its remains burned to the ground.  Once customers heard about the Jota, they requested their own "Jota".  Lamborghini could not justify the expense of building a series of Jotas, so they offered an upgraded SV model instead.  This model, known as the SV/J, featured upgrades to the engine, suspension components, exterior and interior.  One of these cars, chassis #4934, was built for the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.  The Shah stored this car under armed guard with another SV in Royal Palace in Tehran.  After he fled the country during the Iranian Revolution, his cars were seized by the Iranian government.  The SV/J was sold into Dubai in 1995.  In 1997 this car was sold via a Brooks auction to Nicolas Cage, at US$490,000, becoming the model's highest ever price sold in an auction.  Cage sold the car in 2002.  This Jota, Serial Number 4892 is that car on display here, built on July 13, 1971.  However, the odd thing is of the five examples of the Miura SV/J built by the factory while the Miura was still in production, two were built new (chassis #5090 and #5100) and three were converted from existing SVs (chassis #4934, #4860 & #4990).  All of these still exist.  Chassis #5100 is however is the only SVJ to feature the dry sump lubrication system as per the mechanics of the original Jota #5084.  Further Miuras were subsequently upgraded to SVJ specifications (trying to imitate the real factory SVJs) by various garages of Switzerland, USA and Japan.  Therefore, it is not clear that car was actually converted to a Jota by Lamborghini.

Good Deal/Bad Deal: Not sure, is it or is not a Jota that was converted by Lamborghini and not a garage in Switzerland, USA or Japan?  This was also the highest price car at the Russo and Steele Monterey auction.

Also sold at the Russo & Steele auction for a cool $1.5 million was a 1974 Ferrari 365GTB/4 "Daytona".  In 2004, the Daytona was voted top sports car of the 1970s by Sports Car International magazine.  Similarly, Motor Trend Classic named the 365 GTB/4 and GTS/4 as number two in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time".  

This red convertible with a tan interior that is a multiple Ferrari Club of America Platinum level recipient and one of the finest restored authentic Spyders ever presented, as evidenced by the long history of world-class awards.  Notable accolades include many first in class awards at national Concours d' Elegance events from Newport, Los Angeles, Palos Verdes, Concorso Italiano and the Ferrari Nationals at Watkins Glen.

Good Deal/Bad Deal:  There is no questioning the supreme condition of the car and based on that we are going to call it a fair deal.

Here is a car with an interesting history that was sold for $850,000 at the 2008 Monterey Russo and Steele auction.  It is a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 CSX3012 Roadster.  CSX 3012 was invoiced to Shelby American on 1/11/65 from AC Cars, Ltd, and a Shelby American Work order #15067 was opened on 2/4/65. It was invoiced on 4/20/65 to Valley Mercedes Benz Service, 14104 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA. as "1 427 Cobra, Chassis No CSX3012" at the cost of $9,700.00.  Painted Astral Silver, a color often used in Mercedes racing cars, 3012 was picked up at Shelby American by company owner Lothar Motschenbacher.  The racing linage of CSX 3012 featured its debut race at Riverside on May 2nd, 1965, then campaigned at the following weekend at Laguna Seca, three weeks later in Santa Barbara, a month later in Pomona, and at the Mid-Ohio USRRC event in early August of 1965.  Late in 1965, Motschenbacher traded the car back to Shelby American, taking a 1965 Ford Country Squire Wagon and $7,000 in return for the Cobra.  After a thorough clean up, the car was sold on 12/7/65 to J.D. Hurt.  He, however, did not choose to take delivery until the following spring, and agreed to allow Shelby American to rent CSX3012 to MGM Studios for use in the Elvis Presley movie Spinout.  Records indicate an insurance claim for damage to the car while at MGM and Hurt's deposit was applied to another Cobra.  CSX 3012 was once again repurchased by Shelby American and was invoiced on 4/5/66 to Donald Peckman. Peckman rebuilt the car and raced it during the 1966 season, painted white with a thin Blue stripe down the center of the car.  Raced in Riverside and featured in a Car and Driver editorial, which stated it as being the best-appearing and fastest Cobra at 1966 ARRC.  Early in 1967, Charles T. Oseid purchased the Cobra in the name of his company.  Sterling Automotive Mfg. Co. Oseid continued to race prior to an unfortunate accident while being transported on a trailer in the early 1970's.  Following this incident, the car was dismantled with Oseid retaining the salvageable parts and most importantly the ownership MSO document he obtained from Peckman.  

In 1985, George Stauffer purchased the MSO and various parts to 3012, and had Brain Angliss of AutoKraft in England rebuild the car utilizing a new chassis and aluminum bodywork.  The finished car, painted dark green, was sold prior to its actual completion in the summer of 1988 to George Gillett, and then in 1992 it again changed hands to vintage racer Jim Philion.

Good Deal/Bad Deal: What is cool about this car is that it is a concours quality car with complete documentation.  However, it is bothersome that the car in not all original, as indicated in the write up it was rebuilt utilizing a new chassis and aluminum bodywork.  Overall, a fair price but they are my favorite car.

By Jim Murray

Jim is a freelance writer.

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