During the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este weekend, 25 May, RM Auctions announces stunning consignments for its sale. First time in 108 years, unique 60HP FIAT will be presented to the collectors as the rare opportunity for buying a piece of motoring history.
On Lake Como best offer will be the 1905 FIAT 60HP Five Passenger Touring Car, built especially for American-based brewing magnate August Anheuser Busch. The example on offer is the second of just 20 chassis manufactured, the first having been supplied to Anheuser Busch’s friend, Kaiser Wilhelm II, of Germany. Often thought of as one of the first true, cost no object supercars, this mighty FIAT was ordered through the American importer Hollander and Tangman, and the completed chassis was delivered to the luxury coachbuilder Quimby, in New Jersey.
1905 FIAT 60HP Five Passenger Touring Car
Spectacularly extravagant and expensive in period (it cost in excess of $20,000, a staggering sum in 1905), chassis 3003 is offered for sale publicly for the first time in 108 years, having lived most of its life within a few miles of its very first home. This FIAT now represents the only one of its kind left in the world. It have original paint, brasswork, upholstery and mechanics and with its aluminium clad body it is in excellent running condition.
1933 MG K3 Magnette
Among other interesting offer also stands out the supercharged, six-cylinder MG K3 Magnette. The 1933 MG K3, chassis K3001, offered at RM’s upcoming Lake Como sale is the most famous of all. Not only is it the first production K3 built, but it is the world famous ex Earl Howe 1933 Mille Miglia works team car. A total of 33 K3s (plus two prototypes) were built, the origins of which was the brainchild of Earl Howe, who persuaded MG to build the three team cars for the Mille Miglia with his financial backing. With the aim of defeating the dominance of Alfa Romeo and Maserati in the legendary race, three K3 team cars were driven in the race, with chassis K3001 driven by Earl Howe and H.C. Hamilton. One of the other K3s, driven by Lurani, won the class, with Howe and K3001 claiming a strong 2nd place. The performance of the MG K3s in the Mille Miglia that year is still seen by many as one of the British motor industry’s finest sporting achievements of the period. In recent years, K3001 has continued to compete on the international scene, having participated at the Monaco Historique Grand Prix, the Le Mans Classic, and at the Goodwood Revival. This incredible, rare, and well documented piece of pre war motorsport history is expected to reach between $720,000-$780,000.
1927 Type 37 Grand Prix
Also RM is preparing a four fabulous examples of Bugatti for its May sale. Joining the previously announced 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Coupé Superprofilée is a 1927 Type 37 Grand Prix, a 1929 Type 40 Roadster, and a 1937 Type 57 Ventoux. The Type 57 Ventoux, chassis no. 57524, is a simply stunning example of classically elegant Grand Routier styling, and it was fully restored in 2006. He is estimated at $380,000–$520,000. The 1929 Type 40, chassis no. 40845, was delivered new to its first lucky owner in Paris in August 1930. Sporting the delightful and rare Jean Bugatti Roadster style of coachwork in classic red and black, only 39 Type 40s of this style were manufactured in period. It is estimated to fetch between $320,000 and $390,000. Last, but by no means least, of the recently consigned Bugatti trio, is the 1927 Type 37 Grand Prix, chassis 37254, surely one of the most iconic and classically beautiful racing cars of the 1920s. It boasts a fascinating early history, having been originally delivered new to London, England, before exported to Asia, where it spent time in China, Malaysia, and Singapore, enjoying some minor competition in period. In more recent decades, the car returned to Germany and competed in the 1972 Mille Miglia, before returning to its spiritual home in France, where it has resided ever since. This very original Bugatti is expected to achieve between $980,000–$1,300,000.
