Pebble Beach revs up to sell the world’s greatest cars

This Sunday sees the 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, one of the highlights of the classic car year where hundreds of the world’s rarest, most beautiful cars compete to be named best in show. Last year’s winner was a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, first owned by King Shah of Afghanistan.

But for those more interested in becoming a potential future winner, the focus of the week will be the Pebble Beach Auctions on Friday and Saturday (presented by Gooding & Company) and the chance to lay hands on their own piece of automotive history. The 200 lots span 1908 to the present, taking in classic European marques Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Jaguar, and US icons such as the Ford Thunderbird, Cadillac Phaeton, semi-timbered Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Challenger.

The headline car is a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider (estimate $16mn to $20mn). One of only five long-chassis 8C 2900B Touring Spiders still thought to exist, the car is a previous Concours d’Elegance winner, having taken first in its class at the 2000 event. It hit the headlines two years ago when it was stolen from a car park in South Carolina en route to a restoration in Maine – a $50,000 reward was offered for information and the car was eventually found by the FBI.

Other exceptional lots include a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider (estimate $15mn to $17mn) that served as the official parade car for Kimi Räikkönen during the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix; a 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport Spider (estimate $6mn to $8mn) that, after a distinguished racing career, was bought by Andy Warhol; a one-of-a-kind 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe Speciale (estimate $4.5mn to $6.5mn) commissioned by Princess Lilian de Réthy of Belgium, second wife of (and former governess for) King Leopold III of Belgium; and the first ever Porsche 935 (estimate $4.5mn to $5.5mn), a prototype of the model that went on to win at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring.

Further highlights of the sale:

1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante

estimate $9mn to $11mn

Only 42 of the 57S were built. The “C” in this particular model’s name means that it was a supercharged version producing around 200hp, making it one of the fastest production cars built before the second world war.

1938 Delahaye 135M Torpédo Roadster

estimate $2mn to $3mn

French marque Delahaye’s wildly curvaceous take on its 135M, with roadster-style coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi, was first seen at the Paris Motor Show in 1936, and popularised the style known as French Curves. It’s thought that only five of the 11 Torpédo Roadsters built still exist. This model was discovered at the home of a scrap dealer in the Algerian mountains in 1992.

1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

estimate $2mn to $2.5mn

The P400 S was first shown at Torino Motor Show in 1968, and with a top speed of 168mph was in 1970 judged the fastest road car by Road & Track magazine. This example had three owners in Turin before it was shipped to the US in the early 1980s, where it lived, undriven, in the sitting room of a car enthusiast’s modest East Rockaway home. When it was sold earlier this year, the house had to be part-demolished to get it out.

1914 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Alpine Eagle Tourer

estimate $3.5mn to $4mn

This highly modified, lightweight Silver Ghost was created by aviator and coal baron’s son James Radley to race in the gruelling Alpine Trial of 1914. He won by a large margin and a week later clocked 98mph at Brooklands race track in Surrey. The car was subsequently sold and shipped to the US. It passed through many hands before a farmer bought it and used it as a tractor, before relegating it to a shed where it sat derelict for 60 years. Now fully restored, it has won many accolades at concours and participated in the 100th anniversary running of the Alpine Trial in 2013.

1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage

estimate $5mn to $6mn

At the time this car was built, sports car design was changing, with engines moving from the front to the middle of the car. Still, Maserati’s chief engineer Giulio Alfieri persisted with the traditional front engine, creating an extraordinarily light “Birdcage” chassis, and the car went on to succeed for many years at the top levels of racing. This example is one of just 17 made. 

1914 Sunbeam Tourist Trophy Race Car

estimate $1mn to $1.4mn

A very rare survivor of the pre-1918 racing era, this is one of just three 1914 Sunbeam Tourist Trophy models in existence. After the first world war it was rebuilt on a new chassis to be sold as a road car, but a subsequent owner restored it to its original Tourist Trophy specs. 

Pebble Beach Auctions, 16 August (4pm PDT) and 17 August (11am PDT); public view 14 to 17 August, Pebble Beach Parc du Concours