Gooding Auction Joins Throng of Car Auction Mega-Events in January
Here's a sampling of the collector-car hobby in four very different (and differently priced) cars from Hispano-Suiza, Peugeot, Tucker, and Volkswagen.
For whatever reason, and weather is probably a big part of it, Scottsdale, Arizona, is Auction Central for collector cars and memorabilia in January, with no fewer than six major classic-car auction events. Gooding & Company's is not the largest or flashiest—see Barrett-Jackson for that—but it offers plenty of fascinating and collectible sheetmetal as part of the full auction experience. This year's Gooding auction takes place January 17 and 18 in the Phoenix suburb, and we selected a representative few of the nearly 140 cars that will cross the block. The rest you can see on the Gooding auction site.
1932 Hispano-Suiza J12 Dual-Cowl Phaeton
Lot 143
Estimated selling price: $1.5–$2.0 million
SOLD: $2.4 million
This delicious example from the mind of the legendary Marc Birkigt is one of approximately 10 surviving open J12s of 114 total built; two of this car's four previous owners include Briggs Swift Cunningham and Miles C. Collier. The coachbuilder was Henri Binder of 31 rue du Colisée in Paris, who showed admirable restraint in this car's design compared with his more flamboyant French competitors of the period. Details include center-hinged doors, a flat-folding phaeton top, and a full windshield for the rear cowl. The front and rear compartments are finished in eyeball-searing red leather.
Under the hood is a 9.4-liter V-12 that is fed by twin Solex downdraft carburetors. Output is 220 horsepower at 3400 rpm and a beefy 465 lb-ft of torque at 1700 rpm. When tested in the day, Autocar used words including "astonishing" and "amazing" to describe the experience. Its zero-to-60 time of 12 seconds made it something of a hot rod for the time.
This particular J12, chassis 13016, was discovered by Cunningham in Paris in 1954 at a garage that specialized in Hispano-Suizas. Handwritten notes from Cunningham—who knew a thing or two about cars, having owned a Bugatti Type 41 Royale and a Type 55, for example—state: "This is one of the best cars ever built. Even surpasses the Rolls-Royce in workmanship and engineering."
The estimate for this exquisite piece of automotive royalty is $1.5 to $2.0 million.
1960 Peugeot 403 Estate
Lot 47
Estimated selling price: $15,000–$20,000
SOLD: $38,080
This jaunty little French station wagon offers surprisingly modern technology when its American-made competitors were still flaunting giant V-8s and acres upon acres of uninterrupted sheetmetal. The engine is a 1468-cc four-cylinder with a cast iron block and an aluminum head, steering is rack and pinion, the transmission is a column-shifted four-speed manual, and the front suspension is independent. A roof rack, roomy cargo area and folding rear seats make for a surprisingly utilitarian wagon.
The price range is estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 and there is no reserve. Buy this and you are practically guaranteed exclusivity at the Cars & Coffee of your choice.
1948 Tucker 48, Lot 121
Lot 121
Estimated selling price: $1.8–$2.2 million
SOLD: $2.0 million
The story of Preston Tucker and his ill-fated eponymous company is the stuff of automotive legend, and when one of the cars makes it to auction, it is noteworthy. This car—chassis 1034—is the thirty-fourth of 51 built and is one of the 23 Tucker automobiles that were included in the court-ordered liquidation of the company's hard assets in October 1950. It sold for $2200 to James Anderson, owner of a Packard dealership in the Minneapolis area. Some of the automotive innovations that the Tucker offered include pop-out, shatterproof windshield panels, a perimeter frame, a padded dash above the front-passenger crash compartment, seatbelts, and a locking parking-brake handle to deter theft.
This Tucker was used in the 1988 film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, starring Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker. Gooding & Company state that 1034 is one of the finest examples of the Tucker extant, and has estimated its price accordingly, at $1.75 million to $2.25 million.
1962 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Lot 4
Estimated selling price: $40,000–$60,000
SOLD: $50,400
A wonderfully well-preserved example, in exclusive one-year-only Pacific Blue. Believed to have just four owners from new, this Beetle boasts rare performance features—a Judson supercharger and an Abarth exhaust—which help squeeze an estimated 45 horsepower from the 1192-cc flat-four engine. The car also is equipped with an Akkord German "picnic" radio that can slide out of the dash and a rare Hazet "Tourist" tool kit that fits in the center of the spare tire.
With an estimated price of $40,000 to $60,000 and selling without reserve, this Beetle cabriolet could be a relatively affordable way to join the hobby.
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