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    vendredi 27 décembre 2013

    Auction highlight from RM in Arizona: Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider


    1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider
    RM's traditional start to the year in Arizona, this time taking place on 16 and 17 January, includes a further highlight in the form of a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider, which it's hoped will sell for between $7m and $9m...
    1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider
    The Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder and 906 Carrera (recently covered in Classic Driver) are just the start of the blue-chip classics earmarked for the RM Auctions sale. Held in Phoenix, at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, the mid-January auction is traditionally RM's annual start to the season, and there are once again plenty of gems among the 120 hand-picked lots. Perhaps the highlight of the entire sale, however, is this just-announced Ferrari, chassis 1055 GT. The 11th built of only 50 Cal 'Spiders with the long wheelbase is a matching-numbers example, factory-fitted with closed headlights.
    Renowned importer Luigi Chinetti Motors originally supplied the Spider to Fawcett Motors in Lubbock, Texas, where the first owner, a local lawyer, bought the sports car. That was in 1959. In 1962, the Ferrari saw its only appearance in motorsport, with a first in class at the Osceola Grand Prix in Geneva, Florida - driven by Ross Durant. After a restoration in the nineties, the Ferrari won a trophy at the 1994 Cavallino Classic III Concours d'Elegance and later appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours. Recently, the Ferrari's engine was rebuilt at Roelofs Engineering in the Netherlands, while the car received a full service at Ferrari in Newport Beach. Hence chassis 1055 GT should be in exceptional condition.
    Photos: Patrick Ernzen - Courtesy of RM Auctions
    The car and all other lots in RM's Arizona auction can be found at rmauctions.com.

    'Metal underwear': A glance into Peter Sellers' garage


    Sellers on the bonnet of his Ferrari 500 Superfast
    Cars played a major role in the life of Peter Sellers. Classic Driver takes a look into his garage – with the help of the man who managed his collection while the limelight shone brightest…
    That man is Richard Williams, who subsequently set up Classic Driver dealer R.S. Williams. “I got to know Peter when I was doing my Aston apprenticeship at Feltham; I then finished my apprenticeship at Newport Pagnell and was offered a job looking after his cars,” says Richard. 
    Being a celebrity in the 60s, it’s little surprise that Sellers had a thing for Ferraris. Among his collection was a 500 Superfast, a 275 GTB and a 250 GT/E, the latter making a cameo appearance in ‘The Wrong Arm of the Law’ – a film which saw another of Sellers’ cars, an Aston Martin DB4 GT, put to work as a getaway vehicle.

    Everything English

    Sellers also had a taste for Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, owning a Park Ward S1 Continental, a ‘Chinese Eye’ S3 and several Silver Clouds. But his love for traditional British machinery didn’t end there: “Peter was a huge Bristol fan, and also had several Radford Minis,” says Williams. In fact, some credit Sellers with creating the market for customised Minis, having commissioned Hooper to build him a bespoke version in 1963 – the final cost amounting to almost four times that of the standard car.
    “It’s pretty strange that out of all these cars, a 1930 Austin nicknamed ‘Old Min’ was his favourite,” says Richard. “He called me one day to ask me to deliver Old Min to Spike Milligan’s house as a present – the two were great friends. About a week later, he called me again: ‘I want you to collect Old Min from Spike’s house, I’m having it back. He’s left it out in the rain, and replaced the temperature gauge [mounted where a Spirit of Ecstasy would usually sit] with a coffee percolator’."

    From Austins to Rivas

    Williams has less fond memories of Peter’s Riva Junior boat: “I was flung off it in the bay of St Tropez,” he remembers. “It had just been put on the water, and his chauffeur was moving it clear of the mooring. Seeing me standing up, Peter took the controls and opened the throttle.” Peter was known for his pranks, having previously asked Spike Milligan to climb into the boot of his 500 Superfast with a torch to look for a non-existent squeak – perhaps as payback for the mistreatment of ‘Old Min’.
    Photos: Getty Images

    Bad and Bold Biker's Fashion Lookbook Herbst/Winter 2013


    RM to auction extraordinary racing car collection in Paris


    RM has announced some significant entries to its inaugural Paris sale – taking place during Rétromobile week 2014 – including a bevy of competition cars from the famous Harburg collection…
    Described by the Canadian auction house as including “some of the most desirable and iconic racing cars ever made”, the Harburg collection boasts no fewer than five Porsche competition cars. Among them are not only a pair of sports-racing prototypes in the form of a 917/30 (estimate: 2.2m euros plus) and a 956 (estimate: 2.2m euros plus), but also a 1964 904 Carrera GTS (estimate: 1.1m euros plus).
    Also from the collection comes Jaguar D-type chassis XKD 520 (estimate: in excess of 4.1m euros), and an ex-Phil Hill Ferrari 750 Monza Spider (estimate: in excess of 1.8m euros) which was delivered new to Luigi Chinetti Motors in 1955.
    Photos: Simon Clay for RM Auctions
    The auction will take place on 5 February 2014 at Place Vauban in Paris. For further information, please visit www.rmauctions.com.

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