On The Auction Block:1969 Plymouth Mod Top Barracuda.

Welcome to another chapter of my "On the Auction Block" series where i showcase a number of highlighted cars that were up for grabs at the 2011 Palm Beach Collector Car auction March 18, 19, and 20. This time we have a 1960s Mopar muscle car ingrained with the "Flower Power" movement of the decade. A combination of Detroit power, and Woodstock style....

Its a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda "Mod Top", one of the select Plymouth and Dodge models cars, which came with a distinctive floral patterned interior as well as, in some cases, a floral patterned soft top roof.

According to the Mopar Mod Top and Interior Registry, in 1969 over 900 Barracudas were given the Mod treatment. The line up also included the later model 1970 'Cuda as well as the Plymouth Satellite, the Dodge Dart, and the Dodge Coronet/Superbee.

Yet another unsold car at the auction. Hope one day it finds an owner, because this is one "groovy" car.

On the Auction Block: Fast and the Furious 69 Dodge Charger and 69 Yenko Camaro SYC.

Welcome to the second chapter of my "On The Auction Block" series, in which i will post some of the highlighted cars featured at the 2011 Palm Beach Collector Car Auction, March 18, 19, and 20. For this entry i have more Hollywood to show. The flipside however is that instead of these cars being owned by stars, these cars were movie stars themselves, being featured in two of the Fast and the Furious car films.

Car number one is the flat black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T which was driven by Vin Diesel in the 4th movie "Fast and Furious", and intended to be the reincaration of the Charger, wrecked in the first film.

From the outside the car looks like they've combined the front end of a 1970 car and the rest from a 69. Those who have seen the movies will notice the differences between the two. The first one looked complete and had the proper chrome grille surround from the 1970 Charger. On this one the grille is replaced with wire mesh and the surround painted in the same flat black as the body.

The interior of the car would make you feel like your in a NASCAR. There is none. There is only one bucket seat, a sheet metal dash, and a roll cage. Thats it. Seems a bit......unfinished.

Car number two is a clone of a 1969 Yenko Camaro. This car is sort of a star but isn't. It wasn't listed as the blue Yenko featured in "2 Fast 2 Furious", but it is, by apperance a perfect replica of the car won and driven by Paul Walker's character in the film.

Exterior wise the car is painted in the same blue paint with the same white Yenko graphics. It even features the SYC lettering on the hood and seats like the movie Yenko did.

Unlike the Charger, the Camaro's interior is definitely all there and all original. It may be a clone of a Yenko but it definitely has got the right looks.

Again, like the LaSalle there was no sale to be had for these two cars. Its a shame because i sure would love to have a piece of movie history.

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.

The Sharpie Lamborghini: When Paint Just Wont Cut It.

Normally when you want a car to stand out visually, the idea of a custom paint job comes to mind, often using colors not usually offered in a manufacturers paint brochure. Some paint jobs feature airbrushed designs that look like they'd be more at home on someones forearm. Others feature custom flames or tribal graphics.

But what if your different? What if the idea of using paint comes off as too played out to you? What if you want to go a different route in changing the look, to ensure that no other car will match it? A Miami car dealership owner thought just that, and when his idea was finished......it looked like this...

This is the "Sharpie Lamborghini", quite possibly the only one of its kind in the world. It was the brain child of Brett David, CEO of Prestige Imports, a Miami based luxury car dealership. David, wanted to create a car that would challenge the established beliefs of the custom car world.

Starting with a silver Lamborghini Gallardo, he commissioned a local graffiti artist, who created a custom design from bumper to bumper, including the windows. What separated this from other custom paint jobs was that it was done, as its name implies, entirely with Sharpie ink.

Since its debut in 2007, the Sharpie Lamborghini has been the official mascot for Brett David's Lamborghini of Miami dealership and has appeared at numerous car shows including the Palm Beach Supercar weekends. Its definitely a one off car, and one that i don't see being duplicated anytime soon.

A Truly one of a Kind Ferrari: Ferrari P4/5.

Now it has been said that there's never been a cheap Ferrari. Whoever says that, is totally right. Ferraris have always been uber expensive super cars only accessible by people who could afford one, mostly playboys or millionaires. However, Ferraris are production cars just like Fords, albiet a bit more limited. As a result you can, if you save enough, buy an Italian drivers car from a company with a legendary racing pedigree.....or can you?

This car, the P4/5 is a Ferrari. It was designed by Ferrari's go to designer Pininfarina to resemble a 1960s Ferrari 330 P4 LM racer from the future. Its a beautiful machine and sadly this is the only picture iver ever taken of it.

The thing is though, this car cannot be bought from Ferrari, nor was it produced by them. It started out as a million dollar Ferrari Enzo supercar. Its owner, a NY car collector took the car and commissioned Pininfarina to make a retro body for the existing chassis. It was completed and unveiled in 2006 at the Pebble Beach Concours. I was able to get this shot at the 2007 Palm Beach Supercar Weekend.  This car is truly one of a kind and is too complex for Ferrari to make into a production car.

Pity, because its heaven on wheels.