Cavallino Rampante - Prancing Horse

On 17 June 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna where he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Count Francesco Baracca, an ace of the Italian air force, who painted a horse on the side of his plane. Baracca was Italy's top ace of World War I, with 34 aerial victories. The Countess suggested Ferrari should use the horse on his cars, saying that it would bring him luck.

Baracca's luck ran out on June 19, 1918 when he was hit by ground fire on a strafing mission. Baracca's burnt remains were recovered from where they lay, four meters from the wreck of his Spad VII aircraft.

Ferrari has used the cavallino rampante on official company stationery since 1929. Since the 1920s, Italian race cars of Alfa Romeo, Maserati and later Ferrari and Abarth were (and often still are) painted in "race red" (Rosso Corsa). This was the customary national racing color of Italy. Stud farm in Italian is scuderia.

1930 Duesenberg Model SJ Rollston Convertible Victoria - $2.9m

Chassis Number: 2293 / Engine Number: J-272 / Body Number: 516-4435. The only early Rollston Convertible Victoria to be Supercharged from the Factory. Known ownership history. Shown at the 2012 Concours d'Elegance of America at St. Johns. Shown at the 2015 Cobble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Factory Supercharged 420 CI inline 8-cylinder engine with 320 HP. Factory 3-speed manual transmission.

The Model J Duesenberg has long been regarded as the most outstanding example of design and engineering of the Classic Era. It was introduced in 1929. At $8,500 for the chassis alone, it was by far the most expensive car in America. The delivered price of many Duesenbergs approached $20,000, a staggering sum when a typical new car cost $500.

The car made $2.9m at Mecum in 2021.

1966 Yenko Stinger

The 1966 Yenko Stinger Corvair is a special edition of the Chevrolet Corvair, modified by Chevrolet’s Central Office (COPO) and further enhanced by Yenko Chevrolet. It was built to compete in SCCA racing. The Stinger’s most powerful model, the Stage III, featured a turbocharged engine producing over 220 horsepower.

YS-050. No. 50 of the first 100 Yenko Stingers built in 1966. Comprehensive mechanical and cosmetic restoration. Stage II 190 HP 6-cylinder engine 10.1 compression. High performance stinger camshaft. Four carburetors. Dual exhaust. 4-speed manual transmission. 3.55 rear axle. Iconic White and Blue finish. Black bucket seat interior with full instrumentation.

Yenko offered four stages of tune for the $3,520 Stinger. Stage II bumped power to 190 hp for an extra $500. A rear-mounted, quad-carb, air-cooled six-cylinder engine was mated to a four-speed manual transmission. In January 2020 an uber top end stage III Stinger made $220k.

Stinger drivers won ten SCCA Divisional Championships between 1966 and 1995.

A handful of Stage IV cars @ 240 horsepower were produced. They were the same as Stage III but lightened, stripped and fully SCCA equipped for D Production (DP) competition.

1965 Ferrari 275 GTS by Pininfarina

The Ferrari 275 is a series of front-engined V12-powered grand touring cars with two-seater coupé and spider bodies produced by Ferrari between 1964 and 1968. The first 275 series cars were powered by a 3.3L dual overhead camshaft Colombo 60° V12 engine producing 260–320 hp. An updated 275 GTB/4 was introduced in 1966, with a revised four overhead camshaft engine producing 300 hp. The 275 series were the first road-going Ferraris equipped with a transaxle and independent rear suspension.

In all, 474 275 GTB/2’s were built between 1964 and 1966 in three basic series.

This example is the 189th of 200 built and appeared at RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi It failed to change hands on a $1.6m - $1.8m estimate.

‘World’s best Packard’ - $3.7m

A rare and exquisite Dietrich-bodied 1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria, which won Best of Show at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, returned to the Monterey Peninsula for RM Sotheby’s flagship auction held August 24-25 2018 at Monterey. It is one of 4 survivors and carried an estimate of $4.5m to $6m.

The car was powered by Packard’s 473-ci V12. The body was built by Dietrich and featured rear-hinged or “suicide” doors.

The well-known Packard Twelve made $3.7m. That price may be a bargain. Gooding & Company, at their August 2015 sale in Pebble Beach, sold an 1108 sedan for $3.6m (SCM# 266315), and earlier in 2015, RM Auctions sold an 1108 coupe for $4.1m. This is a more desirable Packard than those two cars.

2022 Ford Shelby GT500KR 60th Anniversary - $242k

1 of 60 limited production U.S. 60th Anniversary Editions KRs for 2022. 60th Anniversary badging exclusive to 2022. 1 of 2 Eruption Green Metallic GT500KRs produced. Supercharged 5.2L/900 HP V-8 engine. CSM no. 22KR0031. Shelby painted Star White Metallic hood stripes. Shelby back seat delete with painted Eruption Green Metallic harness bar. 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. Carbon fiber hood, front splitter, rear diffuser and gurney flap, KR exclusive GT500KR Recaro leather seats. Tuned Magneride suspension.

Powered by a supercharged 5.2L Predator V-8, the 900-plus HP modern muscle car features a 3.8L Whipple supercharger, Shelby high-performance coolant reservoir and a 3-inch Borla/Shelby cat-back exhaust. A 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission delivers rapid shifts, while the Shelby-tuned MagneRide suspension and Outlaw G-Force axle provide track-ready handling. The 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 had a starting MSRP of $102,145. This example changed hands at Mecum.

Porsche 550 RS Spyder

The Porsche 550 was a racing/sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956. The first three hand built prototypes came in a coupé with a removable hardtop. The first raced as a roadster at the Nurburgring Eifel Race in May 1953 winning its maiden race.

90 mid-engined Porsche 550s were produced, and it quickly established dominance in the 1.1 and 1.5 liter classes.

In its first version it made 108 hp at 6200 rpm and a maximum torque of 89 lb⋅ft at 5000 rpm.

The Type 550/550 A is powered by an all aluminium 1,498 cc (1.5 L; 91.4 cu in) naturally aspirated air-cooled 4 cylinder boxer engine known as the "Fuhrmann Engine." It uses double overhead camshafts on each cylinder bank, driven by vertical shafts, actuating 2 valves per cylinder. The engine is equipped with twin 2-barrel Solex PJJ Carburetors and dual ignition with two separate ignition manifolds and two ignition coils.

Perhaps the most famous Porsche 550 was James Dean's "Little Bastard", numbered 130 (VIN 550-0055). This photo was taken hours before Dean was killed in the car.

Of the 90 examples, 43 were built as non-race, customer cars. The first 550 had a fully synchronized 4-speed gearbox. Starting in 1956, a five-speed gearbox was used. The Porsche team raced the 550 with outstanding success. The car was known as the 'Giant Killer' for a reason. It took down the greats like Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar.

The 550 is among the most frequently reproduced classic automobiles.

In 2012 a 1955 Porsche 550/1500 RS Spyder sold for $3.685m at Amelia Island setting a new record price. Advertised as "one of the most genuine 550s in existence" at least two bidders agreed. Pre-auction estimate for the 550 Spyder was $2.2-$2.6m.

In Feb 2019 a 1956 Porsche 550 RS Spyder made €3 at RM Sotheby's