Auto Pioneer’s Hill Climb Championship Racer To Be Offered at No Reserve

The 1947 Steyr-Allard racer owned by the legendary Sydney Allard, one of America’s greatest automotive pioneers, will be sold at No Reserve during the 38th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan. 11-18, 2009. Considered the most famous of all Allards, the race car captured victories worldwide and blazed a path followed by American heroes like Carroll Shelby and Briggs Cunningham. Hailed as “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions™,” the Scottsdale auction and lavish lifestyle events will feature a diverse mix of the world’s most desirable collector vehicles. The historic sale of the Allard will be captured as part of SPEED’s nearly 40 hours of live, high-definition coverage of all six auction days.

“This is a car with a fantastic pedigree that can be enjoyed at a Concours or historic racing event,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “Sydney Allard is considered the first to combine a British chassis with an American or German V8 to create a car with outstanding reliability and power to weight ratio.  This was the formula later followed by Briggs Cunningham and then Carroll Shelby, who also raced an Allard before going on to build the iconic Cobra.  Some could argue that this championship Allard set the stage for some of the greatest sports cars in the world.”

This race car is the most documented, race winning and famous Allard of all time. Sydney Allard drove the Steyr-Allard in the British Hill Climb Championship for five years. He finished third in 1947, third in 1948, first in 1949, second in 1950 and third in 1951. The Allard held class and outright records at all hill climb courses and sprint events that it competed in during the period. The car could have been even more successful, but Sydney Allard’s other racing commitments, such as coming in third at Le Mans in 1950 and winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952, kept him from entering all of the hill climb events. After being sold in 1952, it competed in numerous races until the early 1960s.

The car was built using a set of altered production Allard J1 chassis rails fitted with tube and channel cross-members. The front suspension was the standard Allard Bellamy split axle but with the radius rods behind the axle and pivoting in line with the front axle pivot points.

Barrett-Jackson to Auction Sydney Allard’s Championship Car

With engine choices limited in the post World War II period, Sydney chose a lightweight, air-cooled Austrian Steyr V8 that was used in WWII armored cars. Allard modified it for competition and the engine developed 150 horsepower at 4,000 rpm with the finished car weighing only about 1,600 pounds.

“It’s been said that the car’s layout was determined by having Sydney sit on a soapbox on the workshop floor,” noted Davis. “They propped the V8 and gearbox on a wooden box to approximate the correct height, with broomsticks acting as axles for the front and rear wheels to create the 100 inch wheelbase. The car’s dimensions were then written in chalk on the factory concrete floor and construction began following the chalk outline.”

In 1994, the car was fully dismantled and a long, six year restoration process was completed. The car is currently in 1949 Hill Climb championship winning configuration with the coil sprung De Dion rear end, rear tubular shock absorbers, rear inboard brakes with Alfin drums and rear wheel drive. It is also complete with documentation, spares and a unique Allard battery cart. Since restoration, it has competed regularly at numerous hill climb events and continues to receive invitations to special events such as the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it won its competition class.

The 1947 Allard will be joined by approximately 1,000 collector vehicles and automobilia to be sold at the historic Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. Lifestyle attractions will also return to Barrett-Jackson in January in the form of luxury vendors, galas and fashion shows. Barrett-Jackson’s trendy night-spot, “The Garage,” will be the site of exclusive gatherings throughout the event.

About The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Barrett-Jackson specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners, astute collectors and automotive enthusiasts around the world. The company produces the “World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions™” in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Fla. and Las Vegas. For more information about Barrett-Jackson, visit www.barrett-jackson.com or call (480) 421-6694.

What makes a vintage car? Most of the time, there are three characteristics that all vintage cars possess: a story, history, and custom coachwork. This 1935 Duesenberg SJ Town Cabriolet has all these. It’s just one of the 36 cars that were supercharged by its manufacturer. This car is probably one of the fastest and most elegant of its kind back in the 30’s. With only 36 built, seeing one is quite rare on that era, even more so now that more than 70 years has passed. To see one, I guess you have to hang out with millionaires and billionaires, or at least go where they go. With lady luck on your side, you might get a glance of one of the most expensive cars in the world.

Time Magazine featured the 1935 Duesenberg SJ Town Cabriolet in its cover in 1936. The caption, “The Costliest Car in the United States is the Duesenberg, a Cord Product.” How’s that for history? How much was it’s original price? Sources say it’s more or less 20,000 USD. In the 1930’s, that’s an astounding amount of money only for a car. That amount may not look that much now, but in the 30’s, that’s a lot of cash.

Photo by: Venom82

Photo by: Venom82

It was commissioned by Ethel Mars, heiress of Mars Candy Company. Sounds familiar? Mars candy bars are still around today. Yup, it’s that Mars. Ethel Mars requested a custom design and build. The elegant and stylish look of the exterior is just a part of the 20,000 USD cost, the interior and the engine complete it. I bet the interior design and the materials used were first class. With a car as expensive as this, it’s foolish to expect otherwise.

With the selling price of this car, one could’ve bought 4 Bugatti Veyron’s. Several reasons make it available only for millionaires - or more likely billionaires. Only 50 1931 Bentley 4.5L were made, this car being one of the 43 left from the 50 cars made. It has a boattail body, colored mostly green, with a supercharged engine, earning the nickname Green Hornet. Another reason is that this is just one of three wherein the coachwork was done by a fellow called Gurney Nutting, apparently one of the most famous coachworker in the 30’s.

This vintage car that sold for at least 4.5mil USD is said to have a leaky engine. Additionally, it has ripped seats, fading painwork, and a somewhat ratty top. Some of you might wonder why it was sold for so high a price when it isn’t perfect. Here’s the reason: being in the condition it is now, it’s more authentic, more original. Perhaps collectors don’t like retouches and restorations.

Photo by: peterhut. Note: Not the actual car, but this photo is of the same make and model.

It doesn’t have any history worth mentioning. Unlike other expensive vintage cars that won races, or were designed for a specific famous person, this 1931 Bentley is just that. But it’s rare, and it authentic, with all the scars of its more than 75 years of battle with time. It made the list of the Top Ten Most Expensive Cars when a UK vintage car collector named Bill Klein bought it for his wife.