The internet has exploded with articles covering the upcoming Rudi Klein sale, including my own brief highlight of the NSU ro80 Pininfarina 2+2 from Friday. I will cover that auction in due time, but feel there are a couple of events that could be overlooked amid the hubbub of the Junkyard auction. Bonhams’ Audrain Concours Sale and RM Sotheby’s Hershey auction in early October may offer a chance to pick up a bargain classic before the driving season ends. In this week’s Market Monday, I’m highlighting a handful of cars expected to sell from $15,000-$100,000.

Since there are fewer days of fair weather driving ahead than behind, Fall can be a great time to pick up a bargain. I’ve selected five cars from the upcoming Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s auctions that I believe could be great buys, either because they are guided at a reasonable estimate or are being offered at no reserve.

One of 100 cars offered by Nieman Marcus in a pretty clever marketing stunt to promote the new BMW Z3, this James Bond Edition roadster is estimated at $15,000-$25,000. Crucially, it’s being offered at no reserve. I’ve always liked the Z3, and they’re cheap cars with regular ol’ Z3s selling between $9k-13k. An 8,000 mile James Bond Edition Z3 sold for $22,007 on Bring a Trailer back in 2020 and another on Cars and Bids in 2021. A slightly awkward-looking trunk rack and mileage discrepancy might deter bidders on this one, so if you want 007-branded floor mats, this could be your chance to get them cheap.

Did you know Lancia made a water-cooled flat-4 engine? The engineering powerhouse that was Lancia offered a boxer engine in its Flavia sedan, which was renamed later to the 2000. The coupe is quite fetching in design and also quite affordable, but if you need a weekend driver to take apple picking or picnicking this Fall the 4-door Berlina might be a great choice. It’s also the same style car used in the movie Rush. Sold at no reserve and guided at $15,000-$20,000, this could be a your chance to pick up a practical and innovative Italian beauty for a reasonable price.

RM Sotheby’s is offering up two BMW 2002 sedans in their upcoming Hershey auction, and both will be sold at no reserve. The 2002Ti put out almost 20 more horsepower than the base 2002 via dual carburetion and higher compression. Not too many of these cars show up at auction, as the base cars and turbo-charged and fuel injected cars seem more prevalent. Both cars are guided at $30,000-$40,000, which I find optimistic given their condition. One or both of these cars may be overlooked at the pre-war and American iron-heavy Hershey sale. Keep an eye on these Roundies!

Never offered in the United States, the 365 GT4 2+2 replaced the 365 GTC/4, which is a beautiful car, but wedge cars were coming into fashion, and Ferrari obliged. The 400, 400i, and 412 are more common, and mostly with an automatic transmission. This car, with its 5-speed transmission, metallic red paint and worn original interior needs some refreshing mechanically. Even so, a manual V12 Ferrari with 6 Weber carburetors for under $100K is an exciting prospect. Even better, this car is offered at no reserve, so it could sell for even less than its low estimate of $75,000.

If sold near its low estimate of $90,000, this car could be a nice buy. A few issues may hold it back, including incorrect finishes on various trim pieces, a worn interior and a replacement engine. Like my own car, it’s been given an SC powerplant with badging to denote the upgrade, but it wasn’t built as an SC Cabriolet from the factory. Originalists may therefore steer clear, paving the way for a buyer who would like a drop-top early Porsche for a decent price. 

With the Audrain Museum’s interest in OSCAs, I’m not surprised to see one up for auction at Bonhams’ Audrain sale. This is apparently one of two cars shown at the Turin Motor Show with styling highly influenced by the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. cars. This car’s lineage to those cars—including its design penned by the same man: Franco Scaglione—certainly influenced its estimate of $400,000-$500,000.

In the Slant Nose 911 Turbo world, the Cabriolet beats the Coupe hands-down in overall value, which is opposite what you’d expect in the broader 911 market. This 911 Turbo Slant Nose at the upcoming Audrain Concours Sale offers another look at the Rad-era market. My data puts the average price of a 930 Turbo Slant Nose Cab at $264,000. This one is guided at $350,000-425,000, or well above the average thanks to its low miles. The last 8,000 mile Slant Nose Cab sold for $390,000 in August, so this car should do well.

With the electric vehicle declared by many as the future of the automobile, I wonder if historic examples of EVs will become elevated in the marketplace. Here we have a 1916 Detroit Electric, one of 13,000 electric cars built by the Anderson Electric Car Co. from 1907 to 1939. These cars were slow with only a 20mph top speed, but were quiet and well-liked by their owners. This is a rare, operable version and is guided at $85,000-$115,000. Hershey is the right venue to sell this antique EV, and it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this lot.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!