On the Auction Block: Clark Gable's 1937 LaSalle Speedster

Now those who have been reading my blog entries will note the post i made about a super-car show in Miami called the PanAmerican Concours. Well i had originally planned to attend the event and document it here. However before i could i was told of another event called the 2011 Palm Beach Auto Auction held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center the same weekend but much closer to home.

It was an amasing show, with dozens of classic, muscle, and rare exotic cars being sold at auction. Everything from a Depression era 1930s Pontiac to a late model Maserati Quattroporte, was up for grabs. And because i took lots of pictures, i've decided to run a series of entried titled "On the Auction Block" where i showcase certain cars that stood out among the crowd.

I shall begin the series with a very special car...

This is a 1937 LaSalle Speedster. Its a 2 door, 2 seat roadster which was custom built by Hollywood Coachworks for the actor Clark Gable, as a gift from his wife, Carole Lombard. The car was in immaculate condition, as if ready for delivery.

The design of the car is unique in certain ways, especially in the rear. One may notice the lack of a trunk lid. The back of the body is one piece so as not to interupt the flowing lines of the bodywork. Instead there is a Corvette style storage area behind the seats.

The LaSalle brand was created to be a price gap filler between Buick and Cadillac. It ran from 1927 to 1942, and was powered by Cadillac engines and styled by GM design guru Harley Earl. Though smaller than its Cadillac sister cars the LaSalle was faster and more agile. During a test at GMs Milford track in 1927 a LaSalle achieved an average speed of 92 mph, a speed range usually shared by Indy cars of the period.

The Gable car sadly didn't sell at the auction as the reserve wasn't meant. Can't recall what the reserve was, but it was somewhere in the hundred grand range.