The NOCO GB40 jump-start device ready to start an engine | NOCO Company
One consistent problem with classic cars, especially those rarely driven, is the condition of the starter battery. We all know the drill, trying to keep the battery alive via trickle charges and such, yet it seems that the most likely cause of getting stranded somewhere is a dead battery.
When the battery sits in your old car doing nothing, sometimes for months on end as winter takes hold, it tends to go flat. You might jump start the car in the garage figuring that a long drive for lunch will recharge it, only to find yourself outside the restaurant with a pair of jumper cables in your hand begging for help. We’ve all been there.
The NOCO Company, which has been around for more than a century making electrical equipment, has developed some advanced battery-charging and jump-starting devices that could help. The company calls the product lineup Genius Boost.
The GB40 is small but powerful | Bob Golfen
One of them is the NOCO GB40 jump starter, which is small enough to keep in your glove box and powerful enough with its lithium battery pack to jump start a 6-liter V8 engine, the company says.
I tried it out on a dead battery in an MGB with a considerably smaller four-cylinder engine and it rocked, providing cranking power for a number of attempts to get the balky engine started. NOCO says the device is good for 20 jump starts per charge, but obviously that must vary depending on how much load you put on it.
The GB40 would be something you could tote along with you all the time since it will hold its charge until you need it, according to the product literature. If it gets low, it will warn you with an LED readout so you can recharge while you drive via a cigarette lighter adapter. Or you can recharge at home, although oddly, while NOCO supplies a USB cord for recharging, it fails to include a plug for a wall socket. I had to dig one up so I could charge GB40 for its initial tryout.
The device emphasizes safety, notably that it won’t spark if you accidentally touch together the two battery leads while it’s turned on, and it will alert you and cut power if you hook it up to the battery with the polarity reversed. I gingerly tried out both those user errors, and it worked as advertised by not sparking or shocking me.
While NOCO says the device will provide 1,000 amps and more than 7,000 joules of charging power for a 12-volt battery, enough to start a 6-liter gas engine or a 3-liter diesel, I read some online posts by those who dispute the actual amperage output. NOCO counters that it’s the available joules that provide the starting power, not the amps. There were also some online complaints that the charger loses power when cold, which is typical of lithium batteries.
Still, the little jump starter seems like a viable means for dealing with a dead battery without calling AAA. It’s good glove-box insurance not only for yourself but for anyone else you might encounter on the road who needs a jump, including your classic car buddies.
It also can be used for recharging other devices, such as your cell phone, and it has a bright built-in flashlight.
Being an old-car guy, I would like the GB40 better if it had a setting for 6-volt systems as well as 12-volt. And that little detail of not having a wall plug included in the box kind of put me off.
The GB40 jump starter is priced around $125, which is about what a good car battery costs these days. There are also several smaller models for less money and some bigger, more-powerful versions for more.
NOCO GB40 Genius Boost jump starter
Dimensions: 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, 2 inches deep Weight: 2.69 pounds Output: 1,000 amps, 7,035 joules Price: $124.95 retail Available from: Check www.no.co for local dealers, or Amazon.com
Artist said Steve McQueen appeared in a dream, suggesting graphic novel based on ‘Le Mans’ movie | Garbo Studio illustrations
Artist Sando Garbo claims that Steve McQueen appeared in a dream in 2013 and told Garbo to create a graphic novel based on McQueen’s epic Le Mans movie. Three years later, Garbo and his team have produced that book. Based on images being shared with the media, Steve McQueen in Le Mans is a lushly illustrated, 64-page, 2-pound hardcover book that might have served as a finely detailed storyboard for the actual movie.
Copies of the book, done in partnership with CBS Consumer Products, Greenlight (which represents the McQueen brand) and ACO (owner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race), are $32 and available in several languages, including an English edition, from Switzerland-based Garbo Studio.
Drawings are finely detailed to remain faithful to the movie
“In 1971, a movie came out unlike anything seen before,” notes the news release from Garbo Studio. “Le Mans had minimal scripted plotlines, used real footage of the 1970 race that took place a year previously and launched Steve McQueen to a new level of epic stardom.
“Four decades after its release, the movie is still a defining icon for those who live for auto racing, such as Sandro Garbo. And now, the movie and the man behind it come back to life, through a legendary new graphic novel.
“Steve McQueen in Le Mans is not just a re-telling of the movie’s story, but a perfectly fitting tribute to the ‘King of Cool’.
“What makes this graphic novel so appealing is the love and effort Sandro and his colleagues invested in it,” the news release continues, “making sure that every detail was carefully crafted and depicted the story at its best.”
Noting that a graphic novel is more a work of art than a comic, Garbo said, “We’re really trying to push the quality of this graphic novel, as well as the endearing motivation behind it. It’s a volume that will delight any fan of classic automobiles, racing or the work of McQueen.”
Pre-war racing legend Hellé Nice poses on a Bugatti grand prix car | Miranda Seymour archive
It’s not every day you get to drive a million-dollar Bugatti. Author Miranda Seymour remembers well the day when Bugatti restoration expert and preservationist Tim Dutton let her have a chance behind the wheel of a sought-after 35S model.
“Tim took me out in one on the open road, told me it was being sold for a million the next day, and then he let me drive it,” she recalled excitedly. “The feeling of exhilaration is like no other, especially if you are out on the road, ducking between trucks and trying to get the hang of having a gear shift outside of the car.”
Author Miranda Seymour
Bugattis feature heavily in Seymour’s motorsports biography of a French racing great. Some 20 years after the passing of Hellé Nice, one of the world’s most influential racing drivers of the 20th century, she finally got her due tribute in a beautifully written 2004 biography by Seymour called The Bugatti Queen.
Coming to center stage before this year’s fourth annual Arizona Concours d’ Elegance at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, Seymour will discuss her account of Nice, who broke records throughout the 1920s and 1930s and played an influential role in paving the way for women in motorsports.
The Concours will welcome Seymour as part pf a panel discussion, “Legends: Pioneer Women in Racing,” on Saturday, January 14, at the Biltmore, led by moderator and racing star Lynn St. James, who will also speak. The third panelist is Janet Guthrie, the first woman to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
Seymour’s 2004 biography of Nice, formally Helene Delangle, details Nice’s colorful life as a dancer, a model and a legendary race driver who rose to fame for her success in the Grand Prix racing events of her time. Bugatti Queen is one of many acclaimed published works by Seymour, who lives in London and Nottinghamshire, England.
Seymour is a visiting professor at Nottingham Trent University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her skills as a writer are readily seen in the reviews of her work, which critics have called engaging, riveting and elegant.
Hellé Nice at the wheel of a Bugatti racer | Miranda Seymour archive
Bugatti Queen represents more than three years of research on a subject that was not generally well known. Hellé Nice, born in 1900 and raised in a village outside Paris, spent her early career as a model and dancer. Her fast-paced life took her to the ski slopes until she damaged her knee. Nice turned to professional automotive racing in the late 1920s and won her first title in 1929 at an all-female Grand Prix in an Omega-Six.
She set a world land speed record for women, breaking down barriers in what historically was a male-dominated sport. Nice developed a friendship with Jean Bugatti and for a large part of her racing career drove a Bugatti Type 35C. Her racing success continued into the 1940s, when she broke records in endurance trials that still stand today.
Seymour’s inspiration for the book came from her interest in recovering a fascinating life that had been largely forgotten.
“Writing about women who’ve been given a raw deal is what always interests me,” she said, adding that she adores Nice’s absolute fearlessness. “She was the only woman who drove on those old fairground tracks in the U.S. where so many died. And always laughing.”
Digging up information for the biography wasn’t easy, but Seymour took to the streets to travel the same areas where Nice had lived, to visit the home in which Nice lived, and to network with anyone who knew or was related to Nice. Eventually it paid off. A breakthrough happened when she got her hands on a chest packed to the brim with articles, film clips and photographs.
Seymour discovered a trove of Hellé Nice photos | Miranda Seymour archive
“It felt like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” she said.
Miranda Seymour’s book is said to offer a “gripping account” of motor racing in Europe and America. Literary Review said Hellé Nice would be “proud to have her story so eloquently and sympathetically retold.”
Miranda’s dream was to be given a Bugatti, but the closest she’s gotten so far is a collection of scale models, and her drive in the 35S. Many of the world’s automotive enthusiasts can relate to such a predicament. Meanwhile, she enjoys motorsports and especially the people involved with it.
Miranda says her next published work will be a book about Lord Byron’s wife and his daughter, Ada Lovelace. “I really do have Lord Byron’s ring on my finger,” she said. “His family lived in my home for a hundred years and Ada used to visit it. I’ll be wearing it in Arizona – of course.”
The Legends: Pioneer Women in Racing,” discussion on Saturday, January 14, is one of three panel discussions taking place on the eve of the Arizona Concours d’Elegance. Starting at 10 am will be the annual Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA) preview of the collector car auctions happening that week, then the Legends panel at noon, followed at 2 pm by “Drive: The Passion Driving Race Team Owners,” also moderated by Lyn St. James with featured guest and Bobby Rahal.
The fourth annual Arizona Concours d’Elegance, January 15, 2017, hosts more than 90 exceptional vintage automobiles competing for awards in 17 classes as well as coveted Best-of-Show. Featured classes for 2017 honor Lincolns of the Classic Era, the Cars of Ettore and Jean Bugatti, and Coachwork by Vignale.
All net proceeds from the nationally recognized Arizona Concours, as well as generous donations from participants and spectators, will benefit Make-A-Wish® Arizona, the founding chapter of the international organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
For more information or to purchase tickets to the 2017 Arizona Concours d’Elegance, visit the concours website.
1967 Aston Martin DB6 has been upgraded to Vantage specification | Bonhams photos
An updated 1967 Aston Martin DB6 and a 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT each sold for more than $400,000 as Bonhams Motoring Department wrapped up its 2016 schedule with its December Sale last week. The sale produced £3.839,388 ($4.87 million) in transactions from the auction of collector cars, motorcycles and automobilia.
The ’67 DB6 was a four-owner car that was restored in 1997 and updated to Vantage specification. Aston Martins were popular with bidders, taking three of the four top-sales spots and four of the top-10.
The ’71 Dino originally was the Earls Court Motor Show display car and early on was owned by Formula I team owner Rob Walker. The car was restored in 2009-10 and showed only 52,000 miles on its odometer.
Top 10 sales, Bonhams’ December Sale
1918 Stutz Bearcat roadster sells for $270,646
1967 Aston Martin DB6 4.2-liter sports saloon to Vantage specification, $454,529
1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT coupe, $419,168
1966 Aston Martin DB6 sports saloon (automatic), $273,475
1938 Aston Martin 2.0-liter 15/98 sports tourer, $250,481
1918 Stutz Bearcat rumble-seat roadster, $270,646
1972 Porsche 911S 2.4-liter coupe, $256,501
1934 Alvis Speed Twenty ‘SB’ tourer, $132,026
1952 Jaguar XK120 roadster by Fender Broad, $113,638
1964 Jaguar Series 1 3.8-liter coupe, $112,224
1992 Aston Martin Virage Volante 6.3-liter convertible, $109,395
(Prices include buyer’s premium.)
Bonhams’ next collector car sale takes place January 19 in Scottsdale, Arizona, followed a few days later by the company’s annual Las Vegas vintage motorcycle auction.
The Edsel Corsair has been restored to what looks like new condition
Everybody knows the story of Edsel, the premium car division created by Ford in the late 1950s that was such an abysmal failure that its very name became shorthand for any kind of notable product disaster. (Note: esteemed Classic Car News editor Larry Edsall’s name is spelled differently, so he gets a pass.)
Yet there are those contrarian souls who gravitate toward Edsels as collector cars because they are rare (Edsel sales were not so hot, and as once-unappreciated cars, survival today is spotty), because they look quite distinctive, and since they were basically Fords under their skin, they are reasonably good cars despite their public disgrace.
Edsels have risen in the eyes of collectors
The Pick of the Day represents the pride of the fleet, a totally gorgeous 1959 Edsel Corsair convertible that anyone – contrarian or not – should be proud to drive and show.
“Beautifully restored!” raves the St. Ann, Missouri, dealer advertising the Edsel on ClassicCars.com. “This magnificent motorcar was just purchased from Southern California where it was beautifully preserved and maintained. This Corsair is one of only 1,343 built and one of less than 100 known to exist today. It is finished in its original factory colors; this example would be the perfect candidate to add to any prominent collection.”
The Corsair convertible does look fairly spectacular in the photos with the ad, gleaming in two-tone Snow White and Blue Aqua that evokes the palette of the ’50s. The car is lavishly equipped with luxury features of the day, including the 332 cid “Express V8” engine hooked up with a “Mile-O-Matic” automatic transmission, power steering, power convertible top, push-button AM radio and cool-looking spinner hubcaps in matching blue.
The lavish dashboard looks factory fresh
From an era when upscale cars were heavily laden with chrome, the Edsel gleams with the shiny stuff, notably the complex grille and wraparound bumpers. The boxy tailfins are subtle, while mighty designer swooshes adorn the big car’s flanks.
The overall styling has mellowed with the passage of years; originally, that horse-collar grille center was derided as shockingly weird. Hackneyed comedians of the day yucked about Edsels looking like they were sucking lemons. Today, not so much.
Considering its apparently superb condition, the Edsel convertible seems fairly priced at $49,900. And the next owner would find there is an active nationwide club network of like-minded Edsel enthusiasts who find much to love in what once was considered Ford’s folly.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day
Acura’s MDX gets a makeover for the 2017 model year | Acura photos
Now that it’s three years into its third-generation, Acura’s MDX sport utility vehicle has undergone a midlife makeover: New “diamond pentagon” grille up front, the AcuraWatch suite of safety and “driver-assistive” technologies, updated standard luxury and technology features, including LED lighting, real wood interior trim, surround-view camera system, and more, including six — count ‘em, six — USB charging ports in the Advance trim package.
Oh, and the president-elect will be happy to learn that these big SUVs are built right here in the U.S. of A., either in Lincoln, Alabama, or East Liberty, Ohio.
V6 provides nearly 300 horsepower
The 2017 MDX I’ve been driving recently is, indeed, one of those with the Advance trim package, which for the 2017 model year brings along with it real wood interior trim, two extra USB ports, 20-inch alloy wheels, bi-directional keyless remote engine starting, second-row captain’s chairs with a center console, power folding side mirrors, heated steering wheel, surround-view camera system, HD traffic data, LED fog lamps — and that’s just the new-for-‘17 stuff.
The surround-view camera system is a very nice feature to have on a big SUV and can be helpful when it comes to entering or extracting the vehicle from a parking place, since it shows you just how close you are to obstacles you may not be able to see from the driver’s seat.
I also like the way the power-folding exterior mirrors retract when the vehicle is parked.
Lots of luxurious seating
On the other hand, I absolutely hated the motion-adaptive electric power steering that is part of the new and standard on all MDXs AcuraWatch suite.
Here’s how Acura describes this technology:
“The system incorporates driving stability technology that initiates steering inputs that prompt the driver to steer in the correct direction during cornering and in slippery road conditions. Using vehicle speed and steering angle data, Motion-Adaptive EPS works with Vehicle Stability Assist and Electric Power Steering to detect instability in slippery road conditions both during cornering and under braking and automatically initiates steering inputs aimed at prompting the driver to steer in the correct direction. This advanced technology supports the driver’s action in operating the vehicle more safely and comfortably.”
Maybe. But my experience was that if I decided to apex a turn or to change lanes without using my turn signal, the steering system fought my inputs to the wheel and did its best to discourage my maneuver.
Sorry, Acura, I think the driver should be able to drive the car, and if there’s no traffic in the immediate area to notice whether or not I’m using turn signals, I think I should be able to drive into the next lane without nanny technology not only scolding me, but pushing back against my steering efforts.
View from the cockpit
It could be that there’s a switch to turn off the system. I didn’t bother to look. I just parked the advanced technology and drove my trusty old pickup truck the rest of the week.
The Aluma tilt-bed trailer presents a gentle slope for loading the Porsche 356 | Bob Golfen photos
The assignment to perform a product review on a car-hauling trailer initially seemed kind of loopy. A trailer is a trailer, right? You load up your classic car, tow it to where you’re going, then unload it. So what’s to review?
A little bit of research ahead of time convinced me that Aluma’s all-aluminum tilt-bed trailer was well worth checking out because it seems like the perfect accessory for anyone’s old-car hobby. The attraction here is that the tandem-wheel 8216, 8218 and 8220 Tilt models feature a bed that pivots in its entirety, providing a gradual slope for loading without the usual steep ramp to climb or a high-center point to scrape or get stuck on.
I showed up at Big Tex Trailer World in Mesa, Arizona (no, I did not make that up) in my 1962 Porsche 356 Super Coupe to test the trailer. Granted, the Porsche is not the biggest nor the heaviest sort of collector car, but it’s what I have.
On board the Aluma trailer behind the optional rock shield and tool box
The affable general manager at Big Tex Mesa, Loren Biehl, gave me the general tour and demonstration of a 8218 Tilt model with an 18-foot bed. Big Tex also stocks the 8216 Tilt, which has a 16-foot bed. The test trailer was equipped with a diamond-plate rock shield – a must for a hauling a nice old car – and a large tool box.
The trailer seemed robust and very well-built. Biehl pointed out the sold construction methods, such as the tongue-and-groove fitment of the bed into its framework rather than just being screwed down. As large as this trailer is, it only weighs 1,500 pounds, according to Aluma, plus the weight of the shield and metal tool box, probably just a couple hundred pounds more. The maximum gross vehicle weight, i.e. with a vehicle on board, is 7,000 pounds.
The trick part came when we loaded the Porsche. Biehl loosened a lock-down fitting on the trailer and then walked rearward until his body weight was enough to pivot the bed, which eased down on its hydraulic system until its rearmost edge was touching the pavement.
I drove the Porsche onto the tilted bed and slowly throttled it up the modest incline. Biehl instructed me to be ready for the “tipping point,” when the weight of the car would be forward enough to pivot the bed back onto its frame rails. The Porsche, being a rear-engine car, had to go fairly far forward before the bed started coasting downward, which it did slowly and softly.
The fender removes quickly and easily for door-opening egress
With the Porsche loaded, Biehl relocked the fitting. He also showed the locking valve for the hydraulic system should you want to keep the bed in a certain position. With the bed locked down, I could roll the Porsche rearward to balance the load over the axles.
One nice feature of this trailer is designed for those among us who have loaded a car only to discover that the trailer’s left-side fender blocks your door so you can’t get out: the fender can be removed quickly via a pair of large wing nuts. Of course, you still require the foresight to remove the fender before you load the car.
To deter potential car thieves, there’s a pair of holes drilled in the thick aluminum structure where you could insert a padlock to prevent the bed from being tilted and the car rolled off.
The 18-foot trailer was certainly more than I would need for my 13-foot-long car, so I would probably go for the 16-foot model, which also weighs 75 pounds less. Whichever, I was impressed by the quality of the Aluma trailer and the simple solution it presents for loading your precious classic car cargo.
Biehl said the 8218 Tilt test trailer with its accessories would cost around $7,500 at Big Tex, which is a nationwide chain of trailer stores. But whoever is planning to put this present in your Christmas stocking would need to check prices at local dealers, or visit the Aluma website.
Aluma 8218 Tilt trailer specs:
Weight: 1,475-1,600 pounds Dimensions: 16-, 18- or 20-foot beds, 81-inch bed width Gross vehicle weight: 7,000 pounds Price: Approximately $7,000 to $9,000. Available from: Check www.alumaklm.com for local dealers
The American Motors AMX/3 Monza shows its BIzzarrini influence | Gooding
Despite American Motors being long gone, it still can make an impression. In fact, one of its extremely special prototype vehicles won best in class earlier this year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a first for AMC.
Other than the AMC faithful, few are acquainted with the AMX/3, an experimental mid-engine sports car built in the late 1960s with input from BMW, ItalDesign and Bizzarrini. The Detroit automaker was trying to instill some excitement into its lineup, and the exceptionally low-profile and aerodynamic AMX/3 was the result of a program led by AMC design director Dick Teague.
The AMX/3 during testing at Monza | AMC archive
The Bizzarrini connection is what won the AMX/3 Monza its 2016 Pebble Beach first prize in a special class at Pebble Beach honoring the cars of the Italian sports-car marque. The recently restored AMX/3 was picked by the judges as the best of the Bizzarrini bunch, a new high-water mark for an American Motors product. This car became known as the Monza after it achieved a top speed of 170 mph in testing at the famed Italian race track.
But like so make great prototypes and other dream cars, the AMX/3 never went into production, AMC pulling the plug on the program because of anticipated high cost and federalization issues. Just six of the experimental coupes were built.
The Pebble Beach-winning 1969 AMX/3 Monza will be one of the featured lots at Gooding & Company’s 10th annual Scottsdale auction in January, taking its place among exotic high-performance cars that will highlight the sale. With its bronze finish and terrific styling by Giotto Bizzarrini, the AMC should be a standout during the Arizona Classic Car Week of auctions, shows and parties. The car is valued at $900,000 to $1.3 million.
1969 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast
Gooding in Scottsdale will feature a number of limited-production performance cars from the 1960s and ’70s.
Among them are two V12 Ferraris – a 1969 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy designed by Pininfarina and one of 80 aluminum-bodied lightweights built by Scaglietti, valued at $2.9 million to $3.2 million, and a 1965 500 Superfast, valued at $2.8 million to $3.2 million, one of 36 examples produced of the 400-horsepower grand-touring cars that carried an original price tag double that of the next most-expensive Ferrari.
1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale
For fans of the most-exotic performance cars, there’s the 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, a rare road-going version of Lancia’s World Rally Championship-winning race cars. Designed specifically to win rally races with a landmark body design by Bertone, and the chassis and V6 engine of the Ferrari Dino, just 492 Stratos were built.
This fully restored Stradale model in Azzuro (blue) has an estimated value of $500,000 to $600,000.
These four designer-driven performance coupes will among the collector cars offered at the Gooding auction, which takes place January 20 and 21 at Scottsdale Fashion Square.
“Produced in very limited numbers, these striking cars are special to me for their groundbreaking design and impressive performance, which make them exhilarating to drive and highly collectible,” David Gooding, president of Gooding & Company, said in a news release.
For information about Gooding’s 10th annual Scottsdale sale, visit the auction website.
The scene at Silverstone’s Salon Prive auction in 2016 | Silverstone Auctions photos
Silverstone Auctions, founded only five years ago by Nick Whale, has announced an eight-auction calendar for 2017. During its 2016 sales, Silverstone sold 445 cars for a total of more than $32 million.
Ten of those cars sold for world auction record prices, Silverstone noted in its year-end news release.
Preview at the Silverstone Classic auction
Silverstone’s 2017 calendar includes:
February 24, Race Retro competition car sale, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire
February 25-26, Race Retro classic car sale, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire
May 13, The May Sale, The Wing, Silverstone
July 27, The Silverstone Classic competition car sale, The Wing, Silverstone
July 29-30, The Silverstone Classic The Wing, Silvestone
September 2, The Salone Prive sale, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
October 21, The Porsche sale, The Wing, Silverstone
November 11-12, The Classic Motor Show sale, NEC, Birmingham
“I’m delighted that we are once again hosting auctions at these fantastic, high-profile classic car events,” said Whale, a longtime new-car dealership owner who partnered with former Formula One racer Damon Hill in BMW/Mini and Audi stores from 2001-2006.
“Over the last six years we have sold some truly magnificent classic cars, modern supercars and competition cars on behalf of our vendors, and today we have some of the biggest known classic car collectors among our customers, with a fast-growing international client base,” he added.
Race Retro is among Silverstone’s annual sales
Among the record prices paid at Silverstone sales in 2016 were £495,000 ($622,000) for a 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR, $292,500 ($368,000) for a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II, and £121,500 ($152,900) for a 1958 Lotus Elite.
“We’re extremely excited about next year’s sales and the first cars have already been consigned,” Whale added.
1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster has been to many concours since it’s 5-year restoration
Let’s get this out of the way right up front: The asking price on Pick of the Day for today is $1,995,900. But the car is a 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster, restored and rebodied by Franz Prahl on a true 500K chassis, according to the seller, a collector car museum and dealer in St. Louis, Missouri.
“Absolutely stunning in every way with Concours provenance!” proclaims the advertisement for the car on ClassicCars.com.
Car is long, low and elegant
“In the eyes of many, the Mercedes-Benz 500/540K embodies the true forward-thinking prowess of pre-war Germany!,” the seller notes. “A successor to the almost instantly famous S/SS/SSK/SSKL models of the late 20s, the 500K (internal codename W29) bowed its head in 1934 in both chassis-only and one of thirteen different factory bespoke bodystyles.
“Assembled in Sindelfingen, the factory Mercedes cars were built on one of two wheelbases with three configurations. Featuring a 5.0L Inline 8 with a Roots supercharger and standard four speed manual (five speed optional!), the 500K was a truly ferocious car. The chassis consisted of a fully independent double wishbone front end and double-joint swing axle in the back, allowing a sporting but very comfortable ride! Aesthetically perfect, decades ahead mechanically and ultra rare, the 500K represents one of the finest motorcars to ever come out of Germany!”
The seller says the car being offered is chassis No. 123686, originally delivered to a Mr. Brenninkmeyer in England, and it still carries its original 5.0-liter supercharged straight 8.
Car was in Kemp museum for several years
The car’s history apparently is unknown then until 1974, when it was purchased by Kalle Karlstrom of Los Angeles. The car went back to Europe when he sold it to another Swede. The car eventually was part of the Drottningholm Collection, but at some point left there and went back to its native Germany and to Harald Alfers, who in 1992 sent it to Switzerland for restoration.
Fred Kemp, who had owned a 540K and spent 30 years in pursuit of a 500K Special Roadster, learned of the car and finally purchased the unfinished restoration project in 1995. Kemp sent the car to Franz Prahl Klassiche Automobile in Germany, where the restoration and rebody, at a reported cost of some $1.5 million, were completed in June 2000.
After a brief tour of Germany in the car, Kemp brought the car home to the Kemp Auto Museum St. Louis. Since then, the car has been displayed at Pebble Beach (2001), Amelia Island (2008), Ault Park and Hilton Head (2009), Meadow Brook (2010) and again at Amelia Island (2012).
The seller reports the Kemp museum closed in 2015.
Car carries its original supercharged straight-8
The car, showing less than 900 miles on its odometer, is offered along with a box of labeled folders with receipts, history, documentation, correspondence, concours invitations and photographs dating as early as 1992, including more than 100 of the Prahl restoration work.
The car is finished in Ivory White and tan leather with a tan top.
“This car presents a very unique opportunity to own not only one of the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz models but also one of the most stunning pre-war cars, and one that has made many ‘most beautiful cars of all time’ lists,” the seller notes.
“The car is eligible for almost any prestigious car collecting event and is among the most top-notch CCCA full classics that money will buy.”
Product review: NOCO Genius Boost compact jump starter
One consistent problem with classic cars, especially those rarely driven, is the condition of the starter battery. We all know the drill, trying to keep the battery alive via trickle charges and such, yet it seems that the most likely cause of getting stranded somewhere is a dead battery.
When the battery sits in your old car doing nothing, sometimes for months on end as winter takes hold, it tends to go flat. You might jump start the car in the garage figuring that a long drive for lunch will recharge it, only to find yourself outside the restaurant with a pair of jumper cables in your hand begging for help. We’ve all been there.
The NOCO Company, which has been around for more than a century making electrical equipment, has developed some advanced battery-charging and jump-starting devices that could help. The company calls the product lineup Genius Boost.
One of them is the NOCO GB40 jump starter, which is small enough to keep in your glove box and powerful enough with its lithium battery pack to jump start a 6-liter V8 engine, the company says.
I tried it out on a dead battery in an MGB with a considerably smaller four-cylinder engine and it rocked, providing cranking power for a number of attempts to get the balky engine started. NOCO says the device is good for 20 jump starts per charge, but obviously that must vary depending on how much load you put on it.
The GB40 would be something you could tote along with you all the time since it will hold its charge until you need it, according to the product literature. If it gets low, it will warn you with an LED readout so you can recharge while you drive via a cigarette lighter adapter. Or you can recharge at home, although oddly, while NOCO supplies a USB cord for recharging, it fails to include a plug for a wall socket. I had to dig one up so I could charge GB40 for its initial tryout.
The device emphasizes safety, notably that it won’t spark if you accidentally touch together the two battery leads while it’s turned on, and it will alert you and cut power if you hook it up to the battery with the polarity reversed. I gingerly tried out both those user errors, and it worked as advertised by not sparking or shocking me.
While NOCO says the device will provide 1,000 amps and more than 7,000 joules of charging power for a 12-volt battery, enough to start a 6-liter gas engine or a 3-liter diesel, I read some online posts by those who dispute the actual amperage output. NOCO counters that it’s the available joules that provide the starting power, not the amps. There were also some online complaints that the charger loses power when cold, which is typical of lithium batteries.
Still, the little jump starter seems like a viable means for dealing with a dead battery without calling AAA. It’s good glove-box insurance not only for yourself but for anyone else you might encounter on the road who needs a jump, including your classic car buddies.
It also can be used for recharging other devices, such as your cell phone, and it has a bright built-in flashlight.
Being an old-car guy, I would like the GB40 better if it had a setting for 6-volt systems as well as 12-volt. And that little detail of not having a wall plug included in the box kind of put me off.
The GB40 jump starter is priced around $125, which is about what a good car battery costs these days. There are also several smaller models for less money and some bigger, more-powerful versions for more.
NOCO GB40 Genius Boost jump starter
Dimensions: 7 inches long, 3 inches wide, 2 inches deep
Weight: 2.69 pounds
Output: 1,000 amps, 7,035 joules
Price: $124.95 retail
Available from: Check www.no.co for local dealers, or Amazon.com