27 dream cars for sale this week

Our top picks from the 2019 Scottsdale auctions

Looking to start 2019 with a splurge? Good news! This week sees the first big classic car auctions of the year take place, with Scottsdale, Arizona transformed into a wonderland of Ferraris, Porsches, Mercedes and more.

In fact, such is the choice on offer, there’s every chance you might miss the bidding for your dream machine. Which is where we come in.

Being helpful sorts, we’ve trawled through all the catalogues to find the coolest, slickest, rarest and most exciting lots on offer at Scottsdale. All you have to do is raise your hand.

1993 Bugatti EB110 GT

A 552bhp Bugatti with a quad-turbo V12? Take our money! Sure, it’s not as sleek as the Veyron that succeeded it, but the EB110 was an incredible car all the same – and we’d happily drive home this 1993 number that’s up for grabs at the Gooding & Co sale.

One of just 84 built to GT spec, the silver machine has spent most of its life in Japan, and is expected to fetch upwards of £650k ($800k) at the hammer.

1993 Jaguar XJ220

From a 110 to a 220, this next lot is another zinger from ’93 – a pristine example of Jaguar’s low-numbers performance weapon.

Launched in 1991 and built to the tune of just 275 cars, the XJ220 was capable of hitting 100mph in 7.9s and carrying on all the way past 200mph – earning it the badge of ‘world's fastest production car’, at least until the McLaren F1 came along, 

This left-hand drive number has done just 9000km since new and could sell for as much as £390k ($500k) at the RM Sotheby’s sale on Thursday (17 January).

1964 Ferrari 275GTB Prototype

If most of the Scottsdale lots are dream cars, this one’s got to be heaven: the first Ferrari 275GTB ever built.

Kept by the factory for testing and development, the one-off V12 racer wasn’t treated with kid gloves: Ferrari’s Experimental Department prepared the 265bhp stunner for the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally, where it got sideways like the best of them on the snowy mountain roads.

After that? It entered private ownership, latterly spending 25 years stabled with the same owner, shielded from public view. Now, it’s set to fetch anywhere between £4.7m and £6.3m ($6-8m) at the Gooding sale.

1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

No list of dream cars would be complete without a Mercedes 300SL – and this one at the Gooding auction is a proper stunner: stabled with only three owners since new, the high-speed '60s cruiser is one of just 210 specified with an alloy engine and disc brakes. But really, just look at it. What a beauty – and its 250bhp engine is equally beguiling.

Sure, it hasn't got those iconic Gullwing doors, but with the top down on the autobahn, there are few places we'd rather be – if only we had the £1.6m ($1.75-2.25m) it's expected to sell for.

1963 Porsche 356B Carrera 2 GS Cabriolet

OK, so $50k might sound like a lot of money for a 130bhp drop-top – however handsome – but back in its heyday, the Carrera 2 GS was the fastest Porsche you could buy, not to mention the most expensive.

Only 300 or so were built, including this highly original number finished in a dashing shade of red, selling with Bonhams after 30 years with the same owner. The price? Up to £1m ($1.3m).

1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K

Prefer your performance cars 85-years-old and exquisitely finished? Try this dashing Mercedes 500K – a 1934 cruiser equipped with a supercharged 5-litre engine, a bespoke aluminium body and all-independent suspension.

The cost for such luxury? Bonhams estimate it will sell for between £780,000 and £1.1m ($1-1.4m). Bargain.

1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II

It might have almost bankrupted BMW, but the German marque’s mid-century roadster is a bona fide stunner – and, with just 252 ever built, it’s also properly rare.

For example, this concours-quality Series II number from ’58 – complete with five-speed gearbox, period-correct engine and factory hardtop – could fetch as much as £2.4m ($3m) at the RM Sotheby’s sale. Told you it was rare.

1964 Porsche 904GTS

What’s better than a rare competition Porsche with original bodywork, chassis and suspension, a period racing record and a fetching green paint job? One that was owned by Hollywood legend Robert Redford.

As if by chance, just such a car is up for grabs at the Bonhams Scottsdale sale. You can expect this shapely Stuttgart machine – which competed in period in California – to sell for upwards of £1.1m ($1.4m).

1958 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super

Alfa’s first production car, the 1900 was designed by the Italian marque to be bodied by the biggest design houses of the day – the result being a model that came in many shapes and sizes, from exquisite tourers to purposeful sports cars.

For contrast, there’s a unique 1900C SS Coupé listed with Gooding – but we prefer this all-aluminium one-off, bodied by Autotechnica del Lario.

Taking cues from a host of contemporaries, the 2-litre machine sporting machine is novel, arresting and yours for around £300k ($400k) at the Worldwide sale.

1967 Aston Martin DB6 MkI Volante

There’s plenty of exotic fare on offer at Scottsdale and much of it is British – from enticing E-types to lesser-spotted Austin-Healey machines – but who can resist the allure of the graceful GT that is the DB6?

Up for grabs with Gooding is one of just 140 built in convertible Volante guise – and it’s a proper knockout in black. Yes, we’re suckers for the pull of its triple-carburettor 4-litre engine and, yes, we’d probably be too scared to take the million-dollar Mk1 to its 148mph top speed. Wouldn’t you?

1964 Citroën DS19 Décapotable

Stylish, understated and oh-so-French, this 1964 example of Citroën’s delightful DS19 drop-top isn’t the most valuable lot at Scottsdale – not by a long way – but it’s certainly up there among the most charming. 

Ahead of its time with a streamlined shell and self-levelling suspension, that Bertoni-designed bodywork cut a dash alongside more mundane contemporaries, and this restored example – estimated to fetch upwards of £120k ($150) at the Bonhams sale on 17 January – is as fine as they come.

1958 Ferrari 250GT Tour de France

Look back at auction results from the last few years and you’ll invariably see several Ferrari 250GTs at the top of the lot lists. It’s almost too predictable. Take a look at the Tour de France, though, and it’s hard not to be stirred.

A late-’50s GT with unrivalled V12 performance and clothed in gorgeous aluminium coachwork by Scaglietti, the Tour de France was a tour de force in mid-century motorsport – and this example is no exception.

Delivered new to Venezuela and raced regularly in period, it’s since become a regular sight at concours events, rallies and historic races – and goes to auction with its original body, chassis and drivetrain, as well as a raft of documents and invoices. The estimate? £4.5-5.1m ($5.75-6.5m).

1946 Fiat 1100C Spider

Italian designer Pietro Frua lent his pen to everything from Maseratis and AC machines to BMWs, Fiats and Lancias. But what was the fabled coachbuilder’s very first effort? Why, it was this – a custom-shelled Fiat 1100, finished in 1946 and debuted at Villa d’Este the following year.

Unique, gorgeous and truly one-of-a-kind, its 1.1-litre 52bhp underpinnings might not set your world alight, but as a study in automotive design history it’s unparalleled. Bonhams reckons it’ll go for between £510k and £670k ($650-850k).

1951 Maserati A6G/2000 Spider

From one Frua to another, this jaw-dropping Maserati is an exercise in mid-century Italian elegance – and we’ve told its tale before: one of just three Spiders built by the design house on the A6G/2000 platform, it was bought in the ’60s by a Mr Yorba, who raced the 2-litre stunner for several years before consigning it to storage.

Come 1997, a group of collectors fortuitously chose to dine in the restaurant where Yorba’s daughter was waitressing. The result? We ran a magazine feature on the lost and found Frua the following year – but it wasn’t until 2000 that the magnificent car got a new owner. 

Subsequently, while specialist Dr Adolfo Orsi was charting its past, the Maserati underwent an unrivalled restoration, leaving it in incredible condition today – such that it’s estimated to fetch £2.2m to £2.6m ($2.8-3.4m) with Bonhams.

1972 Intermeccanica Italia Spyder

Even million-dollar Ferraris can get samey when there are 20-odd up for grabs, so here’s something different – an Italian-American rarity produced to the tune of just 500 examples. Built by upstart marque Intermeccanica between 1967 and ’72, it paired Italian style with American brawn to sublime effect.

This particular Spyder, built in the last year of production and listed for the RM Sotheby’s sale, is in need of a little attention – but with a shell that apes the best of its domestic contemporaries and a Ford V8 under the hood, it will surely delight someone this week. RM Sotheby’s estimates it at £100k to £115k ($125k to $150k), but it’s being offered with no reserve, so could go for less.

1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2

Fancy yourself a Lambo? You could bid on the wildly ostentatious Countach 25th Anniversary Edition that’s up for grabs with Gooding, complete with superfluous but poster-worthy rear wing and 5.2-litre V12 good for 455bhp.

Or, for something more understated, you could take a punt on this 400GT – a practical, pretty and stunningly preserved example of the Italian marque’s lovely late-’60s tourer, delivered new to the US and predicted to fetch around £350k ($450k). We know which we’d choose.

1959 Lister-Jaguar

Want to share a pew with legendary racer Stirling Moss? Bag this 1959 racer at the Bonhams auction and you can do exactly that.

A sports car styled by Lister, powered by Jaguar and entered into a host of renowned events in period – from the 12 Hours of Sebring (where it was steered by Moss) to races at Watkins Glen – chassis BHL 123 is a true racing rarity.

It goes to auction in highly original, restored condition, accompanied by a raft of original parts and a history file bursting with photos and tales. Little wonder it could sell for as much as £1.6m ($2m).

1971 Lamborghini Miura SV

We make no excuses for lusting after this low-mileage Lamborghini – a fine example of the Italian marque’s gorgeous sports car in its most powerful 385bhp SV guise.

Highly original, unmodified and with fewer than 19,000 miles on the clock, examples of the first true supercar rarely come better – which might explain its £1.6m ($2.1m) upper estimate. Perhaps we’ll stick to ogling posters.

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series I

So rare and storied that Bonhams won’t reveal the price estimate, the history of this 1954 Ferrari racer is barely believable: 11th of 12 first-series Mondials built by the house of the Prancing Horse, it was steered in period by the likes of Phil Hill and John von Neumann – both racing legends in their own right – then subsequently stabled with, among others, playboy Porfirio Rubirosa. Even Hollywood icon James Dean was photographed admiring it in the paddock after one race.

It arguably belongs in a museum, yet the 2-litre machine is going under the hammer at Scottsdale. What it’ll fetch is anyone’s guess, but you can bet the number will have a lot of zeroes after it.

1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom V State Landaulet

Fancy making like a head of state? This one-of-five Rolls-Royce Phantom V – commissioned by the Romanian government and bodied by Mulliner Park Ward – has been used twice by Queen Elizabeth II on state visits, goes to auction in highly original, unrestored condition and packs every extra imaginable, including a cocktail bar and wine cooler. 

Can’t stump up the £1million ($1.3m) minimum RM Sotheby’s estimates it will fetch? Also listed with RM Sotheby’s from the same collection is a bespoke Silver Spirit, commissioned by an Australian charity and equipped with all sorts of options, but never used by the Queen – hence the lower estimate of just £215k ($275k).

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS2.7 Touring

Recognisable by its ducktail wing, Porsche’s RS2.7 was a race-bred featherweight with classic 911 looks and blistering performance. In Touring guise? It kept the performance but added a dose of comfort, making it arguably the perfect sports car all-rounder – and ultra-desirable today.

This 1973 number carries its original chassis, engine and gearbox – but it’s the everyday drivability that makes it most appealing, with 81,000km on the clock and some tasteful upgrades by the current owner. Winning it at the RM Sotheby’s auction will cost you somewhere in the region of £350k ($450k).

1986 Ford RS200 Evolution

What do you do once you’ve built enough roadgoing cars to homologate your rally car for the monstrous Group B category? You build an even faster one and sell 24 of them for the road.

That’s exactly what Ford did with the RS200 Evolution – a blistering, brutal 600bhp machine that rocketed into the record books as the fastest accelerating road car in the world in the mid-’80s.

This is one of those 24, listed with RM Sotheby’s and expected to sell for more than £400k ($500k). Too expensive? There’s also a ‘standard’ RS200 going under the hammer, with a lower estimate of £215k ($275k).

1957 Ferrari 250GT Coupé Speciale

A Ferrari fit for a fairytale, the last Prancing Horse in our list is also the most expensive, and for good reason: this 250GT wears a custom shell crafted by Pinin Farina for Princess Lilian de Réthy – a commoner who married the Belgian king during World War II and, in the mid ’50s, helped Enzo out of a tyre-supplier bind.

What’s more, it was later gifted by the princess to renowned heart surgeon Dr DeBakey, before going on to enjoy a comprehensive restoration. Stabled with the current owner for two decades, this is the first time it’s been offered at auction in 20 years.

The price for such a storied machine? A princely sum of between £8.6m and £10.1m ($11-13m). 

1948 Tucker 48

A pure slice of ’40s Americana, they simply don’t make cars like this any more – from its trio of headlights to the space-age lines to the jukebox grille.

Just 51 of Preston Tucker’s V8 machines were built before the whole venture went bankrupt, and this stunning blue number is one of them. Completed in 1948 and sold at the firm’s insolvency auction, it was recently restored for a second time. RM Sotheby’s has put an estimate of around £1.2m ($1.6m) on the iconic motor.

1925 Bugatti Type 35A Grand Prix

Want an unrestored, one-of-six Bugatti from 1936? Better head to the Gooding sale, where £850k ($1m) could bag you a gorgeous Type 57 in Two-Light Ventoux guise.

Alternatively, for a 1925 Grand Prix racer from the same marque, it’s Worldwide’s auction you want – where an even rarer, race-proven and restored Type 35A is predicted to fetch anywhere between £1.5m and £1.9m ($1.9-2.4m). It's your choice.

1993 Vector Avtech WX-3 Prototype

As low-numbers startup supercars go, the Vector W8 is probably one of the best known – but this isn’t the W8. This is its planned successor, the WX-3 – a 1000bhp slice of supercar lunacy, styled like, well, nothing else.

First shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1992, the mad machine never made it into production. Instead, the only ever coupé example and its roadster variant – shown a year later – were retained by company founder Jerry Wiegert.

Both are up for grabs at the RM Sotheby’s sale in Scottsdale and they’ll set you back something like £390k ($500k) apiece. The real question, though, is would you drive it?

1977 Lotus Esprit Series 1

Last of the lots is a lovely Lotus Esprit – not the rarest nor the most exotic of motors, but we can’t help but love those set-square Giugiaro lines, chunky rear tyres and appealing pop-up lamps. 

With an all-’70s interior of ‘Oatmeal cloth and brown Marcasite’, this 1977 example of the brawny British sports car spent 30 years with its original owner before going on to enjoy a 1000-hour restoration – though it still retains the original Oxford Blue finish.

Fancy it? With an upper estimate of £78k ($100k) at the RM Sotheby’s sale, it's a steal.