Lot 6142

Auburn Fall 2020

1935 Auburn Eight Supercharged Speedster

{{lr.item.text}}

$770,000 USD | Sold

United States | Auburn, Indiana

{{internetCurrentBid}}

{{internetTimeLeft}}


language
Serial No.
851 33219 E
Chassis No.
2219
Engine No.
GH 4511
  • A well-known, original and correct example
  • Long-term enthusiast history
  • First time available publicly since 1998
  • Widely considered one of the most beautiful American automobiles
  • Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic

The example offered here is well-known as a genuine, original and correct 1935 Auburn Speedster, one of the most desirable of all Classics. Formerly owned by Alfred and Mary Foglio of Milwaukie, Oregon, it was later sold in the early 1970s to Ray and Dorothy Radford, longtime Classic Car Club of America members in Vancouver, Washington, who would maintain the car for decades. A photo that has accompanied the Auburn over the years hints at its earlier history, showing a GI standing next to the car, captioned “Joe 1944;” the photo shows spotlights and an accessory lock for the hood latch, both of which are still present, as well as a radio antenna, the patched hole for which is still visible below the dashboard.

In 1998 the car was sold to a longtime enthusiast on the East Coast, as the second Speedster that he had owned over the years. This was a very special acquisition for him, as over a decade earlier, he had taken the opportunity to acquire an original supercharged Auburn engine which became available from the Pacific Northwest. Alerted by Don Sears that the engine he owned was the original to the Radford Speedster, he jumped at the chance to buy the car and reunite it with its original matching powerplant in the course of a sympathetic mechanical restoration. To this day the Auburn retains its original firewall data plate, and the original engine retains its original data plate and stamping, as well as the correct original supercharged carburetor, air filter, and sump. The body wears an older but attractive finish in Nassau Orange, a rather striking, period-correct Auburn color that truly makes this Speedster stand out!

In its current ownership, as part of one of the country’s finest collections of Full Classics, the car has been properly sorted, with a rebuilt carburetor and adjustment of the clutch, ensuring that it runs and drives extremely well. It is an exceptionally correct, authentic and beautiful Speedster, now proudly offered publicly for the first time in over two decades.