Articles

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo Cabriolet

January 19, 2012
Written by Barrett-Jackson

This significant vehicle currently resides in the Blackhawk Collection.

Società Milanese Automobili Isotta, Fraschini & C. was founded on January 27, 1900. The firm was focused on the assembly of Renaults before advancing to production of its own namesake automobile. Early on, they focused on production of high horsepower cars: veritable fire-breathers that achieved notoriety in the crucible of racing. Of early note is Isotta’s victory in the 1908 Targa Florio. In 1919 the firm established itself as a luxury manufacturer with the introduction of the Tipo 8, which became the first production car to feature a straight-eight engine. The successor to the 5.9-Liter Tipo 8, the 8A, had a 7.3-Liter straight-eight that could easily propel the car to cruising speeds of well over a hundred miles an hour.

Like other luxury marques, the Isotta-Fraschini was offered as a running chassis with grille, bumpers and fenders that would be sent off to be clothed with coachwork produced by the finest craftsmen of the day. The length of the massive 8A engine lent itself to a long hood and cowl that became signatures for the model. Carrozzeria Castagna gained serious traction after it began producing automobile bodies in the early 1900s, and soon bodies by Castagna were frequently finding their way onto the most exclusive chassis of the day including Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg and of course, Isotta-Fraschini.

Chassis #1540 is a long-wheelbase Tipo 8A with this gorgeous Cabriolet coachwork by Castagna. It was first displayed at the prestigious 1930 New York Auto Salon at the Hotel Commodore, a show that would later evolve into the renowned New York International Auto Show. Subsequently known as “The Commodore,” approximately 10 similar examples were constructed, of which this is one of two known to survive. With massive yet well-balanced proportions, the word “sporting” is an understatement. Highly appealing are the distinctly European dual rear-mounted spare tires, as is the stylish 1920s look of the squared-off windshield pillars and rear of the convertible top. “The Commodore” also has a number of bespoke finish details like the gorgeous radiator stone guard with a unique cubist chrome overlay, sunburst inserts on the rumble seat moldings and the highly detailed running boards with chrome ribs.

1939 Packard 1707 Convertible Victoria Saturday Lot #5006.1

January 19, 2012
Written by Barrett-Jackson

This significant vehicle currently resides in the Tom Crook Collection.

The V12 engine occupies a unique place in pre-war American technological progress, and although the V12 and its long banks of spark plugs are mostly a memory, the attraction lives on.

Innovative minds at Packard designed and built a V12 engine in 1916, the “Twin Six,” which is widely regarded as the first V12, and 23 years later Packard released its last V12.

Because of the complexity and cost to build a V12, the company limited production to special orders from customers who appreciated the engine’s smoothness, tremendous power and distinctive sound.

The V12, also manufactured by other luxury car builders, was well suited for the large, heavy and lavish cars of the pre-war era. The engine length was also the main factor in designing the long, flowing hoods that characterized this era of automobiles. The engine could run slower than powerplants with fewer cylinders, which prolonged engine life.

These engines are a rarity. Packard built only 446 of them in 1939, and 17 of those engines were installed in the even rarer Packard 1707 Victoria Convertible, which was unveiled at the 1939 National Auto Show at the Grand Central Palace in New York City. Parts of that auto show were televised by Philo Farnsworth, who many attribute as the inventor of television.

1947 Bentley Mark VI Coachworks By Franay

January 19, 2012
Written by Barrett-Jackson

The spectacular automobile was built for the 1947 Paris Auto Show and claimed best-in-show awards at early post-war Concours d’Elegance on the European continent. From 1990 until 2006, it was owned by Gary Wales, a well-known car collector and restoration specialist, under whose care the elegant car won an additional 50 awards.

In the 1930s, France was the center of the automotive universe — at least as it involved art deco styling with teardrop-shaped and ornately trimmed coachwork. Here the likes of Figoni et Falaschi, Saoutchik, Franay, Bugatti, Chapron, Labourdette, and even Americans “Dutch” Darrin and Tom Hibbard were enhancing the definition of “French curves.”

Then came World War II, and in its aftermath the focus of automotive design shifted across the Atlantic Ocean to Detroit, where big fins and jet fighter-inspired air scoops and chromed afterburner outlets took styling in a very different direction.

But not everyone in France was willing to accept such change. One industrialist in particular wanted to demonstrate to the world that despite the turmoil of the war, the French were still on top of their game and well on their way to a complete post-war recovery. So that industrialist commissioned Carrosserie Franay of Levallois-Perret, Seine, to showcase classic French artistic and metalworking skills on, remarkably, a British vehicle, a 1947 Bentley Mark VI convertible.

Jean-Baptiste Franay had been a saddle maker and later the shop foreman for Henri Binder, a Paris-based carriage maker who became a constructor of bodies for the new-fangled motorcar. In 1903, Franay established his own coachbuilding business. Franay’s son, Marius, joined his father after finishing his formal education, and took over the business when Jean-Baptiste, then in his early 60s, died in 1922.

2007 Shelby’s

January 19, 2012
Written by Barrett-Jackson

In January 2006, the Ford Motor Company offered the bidders at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale an opportunity to own the very first 2007 Shelby GT500 off the assembly line.

Sure, the winning bidder would have to wait a while to claim his or her car, but they’d get to do it right at the assembly plant in Flat Rock, Mich. Oh, and there might also be some other perks of winning the bid.

Amazingly, neither Ford nor Barrett-Jackson would make any money off this car. Ford was donating the car, and Barrett-Jackson was forgoing its usual fees because the car was being auctioned to raise money for charity, in this case, for the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation.

This new 2007 Shelby GT500 was a modern interpretation of the legendary GT500, a car Shelby launched in 1967. As a prototype for the production car rolled into position on the block in early 2006, Shelby himself was there along with Edsel Ford II — the great-grandson of Henry Ford, the grandson of Edsel Ford and the son of Henry Ford II. The two had first met at LeMans when Edsel II was 16 and traveling with his father, sometimes called Hank the Deuce.

Back in the 1960s, Shelby and Hank the Deuce were both more than ticked off at Enzo Ferrari. But with his Ford-powered Cobras, Shelby would beat not only Ferrari’s best but also Chevrolet’s heralded Corvette in production sports car racing. With the Ford GT40 program, he also helped Ford beat Ferrari at LeMans. Shelby and Ford also worked together to soup-up Ford’s Mustang and turn it into a winner on the race track and on the street.

1955 Studebaker Speedster 2 Door Hardtop Saturday Lot #5009.2

January 19, 2012
Written by Barrett-Jackson

This significant vehicle currently resides in the Gordon Apker Collection.

Chevrolet had finally put its small block V8 engine into the Corvette, and had shown Corvette-based concepts wearing Oldsmobile and Pontiac badges and styling cues. Ford had introduced its new two-seat Thunderbird. Chrysler didn’t have a production sports car, but had unveiled concepts for that genre including the Special Sports Coupe and the Falcon, the Dodge Granada and first in the Firearrow series, and the Plymouth Explorer.

Kaiser had actually beaten GM in the fiberglass body-building race with its sliding-door sports car, the Darrin. Were that not enough, Jaguar’s XK 120 was tearing up country roads and road racing tracks. And, of course, there were MGs — TDs and the new TF — Triumphs, Porsche 356s, and 250 GT and 375 America Ferraris.

By the mid-1950s, sports cars — or at least two-seaters that looked like sports cars — were all the rage among America’s post-war driving enthusiasts.

Studebaker was desperate to participate, though the historic but financially struggling automaker from South Bend, Ind., simply couldn’t afford to tool up an all-new and purpose-built model. So it did the next best thing. It rolled out the Studebaker Speedster, a car built only for the 1955 model year.

Articles

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo Cabriolet

1939 Packard 1707 Convertible Victoria Saturday Lot #5006.1

1947 Bentley Mark VI Coachworks By Franay

2007 Shelby’s

1955 Studebaker Speedster 2 Door Hardtop Saturday Lot #5009.2

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