Sotheby's sells all three Bertone B.A.T. cars for $14.8 million

 

TOP NEWS Sotheby's sells all three Bertone B.A.T. cars for $14.8 million Classic Driver They are known as the “Holy Trinity of car design” — the visionary Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica or B.A.T. cars designed by Franco Scaglione for Bertone in the 1950s. Now the three cars that have been carefully kept by a single owner were offered among masterpieces of modern art by Mark Rothko, Frank Stella and Jean-Michael Basquiat during a Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York. Estimated at $14 to 20 million, the three cars were finally sold for $14,840,000 to the highest bidder. We are convinced that the striking trio will be a crowning achievement of any collection of cars and art. (Image: RM Sotheby’s) READ MORE .CLASSIC CAR & RACING NEWS Auction analysis: Jaguar continuation cars have become collectible stars ClassicCars.com Recently, RM Sotheby’s held a single-consignor auction in Elkhart, Indiana, and sales numbers at this live and online sale were strong, with many of the cars selling for record figures. The auction was no reserve and generated $44,385,420 in commerce. Among the many spectacular cars at the auction were three standouts from Jaguar — an XKSS, D-Type, and an E-Type Lightweight. All the more interesting was that they were all Jaguar continuation cars, and with the exception of the E-Type Lightweight, they were the first to come to the auction market since they were built. READ MORE Jay Leno sheltered this rare $2.25 Million Shelby Cobra from California's wildfires Robb Report If there’s one person built to babysit a $2.5 million Shelby Cobra, it’s Jay Leno. The former “Tonight Show” host is a noted auto enthusiast and also has one helluva garage. This prompted Putnam Leasing to ask Leno to shelter its prized four-wheeler in the wake of the devastating California wildfires. Leno, of course, obliged. He gave the rarity a temporary home and also featured it in an episode of CNBC’s “Jay Leno’s Garage.” (Image: RM Sotheby’s) READ MORE

Doubts arise about recent record-speed run ClassicCars.com Back in mid-October, we were among the news outlets reporting that the SSC Tuatara “hypercar” had exceeded 331 mph in a record-setting run on a closed straight stretch of Nevada highway. Since then, several people have studied the video of the run and come to the conclusion that the vehicle didn’t actually achieve that speed, and faced with such evidence, SSC North America founder Jerod Shelby has issued a video statement saying that he, too, doubts the claimed achievement and is making plans for another run in hopes to verifying his car is the fastest production car in the world. READ MORE Two incredible Group B rallying icons to drool over this November Classic Driver While Silverstone Auctions’ sale on Nov. 13 has plenty of tempting rally cars to bid on, here are Classic Driver’s two favorites from motorsport’s monstrous Group B era. READ MORE 10 cool SUVs you can import now Autoweek Tired of owning one of five identical SUVs in your own neighborhood? Thanks to the 25-year-rule, you can privately import a vehicle from the not-so-distant past, something hailing from around the dawn of the internet age. There are plenty of 4x4s from this dial-up time period that are still on the roads today, and some of them have been very reliable. What's more, some are in this country already looking for owners, after having been brought in from Japan or Europe. (Image: Nissan) READ MORE Click the images below to join the various VRL owners' groups in the VRL community Mercedes wins record seventh consecutive constructors' title ESPN Mercedes has made Formula One history by becoming the first team to win seven consecutive constructors' titles. With four races left to run in 2020, the team's 1-2 victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday made it mathematically impossible for rivals Red Bull to win this year's title. The 2020 season has been one of the team's most dominant to date, with 11 victories from 13 races so far and pole position in every qualifying session. READ MORE Author Dill takes readers inside early days of American auto racing Vintage Motorsport Looking at the polished industry of auto racing today, it’s hard to imagine the bygone era of its birth — a time of unprecedented American innovation and risk-taking by business entrepreneurs and hard-driving men looking for adventure, financial gain and to make their mark on a changing world. A new book by Mark Dill immerses readers in that time by telling the story of racing’s American origins through actual historical accounts of the races, machines, drivers and other central figures who created an entirely new sport in the early 1900s — when horses and railways were still the most common forms of transportation. READ MORE Less is more, more or less: What it's like to attend a socially distant Barrett-Jackson auction Hemmings The weather broke just in time for another car event in Arizona: the three-day Barrett-Jackson auction at its Westworld home base, in Scottsdale. The house sold nearly $25 million in cars and petroliana, with 100% sell-through thanks to mandatory no-reserve status on everything that crossed the block. We’re used to seeing Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas in October, so this homecoming seemed an odd move, particularly as it’s so close to the annual January extravaganza. That was the point, though: This three-day event was a trial for next year’s nine-day event, a dry run to prove that January’s festivities could be pulled off without devolving into a COVID superspreader event. READ MORE As VW teases the new Golf R, we remember the first R32 Hagerty Volkswagen is launching the latest Golf R this week, the most powerful Golf in history and the latest in a line that began in 2002 with the R32. The new R, based on the Mk. 8 Golf, is set to pump out 333 hp from its EA888 turbocharged two-liter engine and will drive all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. A Golf R Plus with over 400 hp is also rumored. However, if it wasn’t for the success of the very first R32, these all-wheel-drive über-Golfs would never have existed. READ MORE

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