HomeMediaChicago museum’s V-16 Cadillac headlines RM Sotheby’s Hershey sale

Chicago museum’s V-16 Cadillac headlines RM Sotheby’s Hershey sale

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One of only six 1936 Cadillac V-16 convertible sedans, a group of elegant Packards and one of America’s most famous hot rods have joined the docket for RM Sotheby’s 11th annual collector car auction staged in conjunction with the AACA’s Eastern Regional Fall Meet at Hershey, Pennsylvania. The auction, which will include 140 vehicles, is scheduled for October 5-6.

“This year’s sale has all of the outstanding, interesting and desired classic cars one would anticipate seeing at our Hershey auction,” Gord Duff, global head of auctions for RM Sotheby’s, is quoted in the company’s news release. “A mainstay of our calendar and as much an auction destination for many enthusiasts as Pebble Beach or Monterey, we look forward to an always eventful and entertaining week at Hershey.

“Wet or dry, rain or shine, it’s where the die-hard enthusiasts come to play.”

Highlighting the offerings for the auction is the 1936 Cadillac with V-16 engine No. 51102222. The car was donated to the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago in 1949. At the time the museum had one of the nation’s best automotive collections. The museum displayed the Cadillac until 2008, when it was acquired by the consignor, who put it through a concours-quality restoration that earned a class award at Pebble Beach.

RM Sotheby’s expects the car to sell for between $700,000 and $850,000 at the Hershey auction.

Cadillac was in famed Chicago science museum until 2008 | Eric Fuller photo

The docket also includes what the auction house considers to be three outstanding Packards, led by a 1933 Twelve Convertible Victoria, which is one of only four surviving Tenth Series vehicles and worth an estimated $475,000 to $600,000.

Also being offered is a 1934 Twelve 2/4-Passenger Coupe, one of only eight known to still exist. The car retains its original body, engine and chassis, the auction company noted, and comes with provenance that includes chauffeuring Jayne Mansfield in the 1961 Indianapolis 500 parade. The car has a pre-sale estimated value of $325,000 to $375,000.

The third Packard is a 1935 Twelve Sport Phaeton that is one of only four such cars produced for 1935. The car’s pre-sale estimate is $475,000 to $575,000.

Also on the docket are a famed hot rod from the collection of the late Ralph Whitworth and a car being sold to benefit the AACA Library & Research Center.

The 1932 Ford “Pete Henderson” Roadster is the car that not only achieved 120.9 mph on the Harper Dry Lake in 1944, but that same year gained fame when it won a race against a quarter horse that had a history of being faster than the fastest cars.

The car being sold to benefit the library and research center is a 1981 Fiat 850 Spider that has been donated by Joseph and Margie Cassini, Wayne Carini and Ralph Marano. To further entice bidders, RM Sotheby’s announced that the winning bidder will find “an undisclosed amount of cash in the car’s trunk.”

Ah, but will the car’s next owner keep that cash or donate it as well to the library?

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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