By Jon Alain Guzik
The Hollywood Reporter
The Auctions America event, which will be held next weekend in Burbank, also wild feature custom Hot Rods once owned by Nicolas Cage and a convertible driven by David Lee Roth in his “California Girls” video.
A pristine collection of cars with a deep and storied Hollywood lineage will be auctioned off next weekend, Aug. 1-3, in the heart of Burbank during the Auctions America sale.
“In developing the Burbank auction, we knew that the ties to Hollywood would be a primary focus as people are really interested in the cars of the stars,” said Alexander Weaver, car specialist at Auctions America. “Also, Burbank is the epicenter of car culture, and it’s pretty special we’re having the auction here.”
While there are a lot of non-Hollywood cars to choose from the more than 400 cars at auction — like the cherry 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider (est: $75,000-100,000) or the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible (est: $180,000-220,000) — the real action at the Auctions America have some pretty heavy Hollywood heritage.
For instance, there is the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (est: $600,000-800,000) which was given to Robert Stack by Desi Arnaz after winning Stack won an Emmy for The Untouchables. Or the pristine 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow (est: $75,000-100,00) driven by Steve McQueen in the original The Thomas Crown Affair. For the two-wheel McQueen fanatics, there is a 1946 Indian Chief Motorcycle (est: $75,000-125,000) owned by the actor whose prices on his memorabilia have been skyrocketing over the last five years.
For any Nicolas Cage fans out there, there are two custom Hot Rods once owned by the actor, a tricked 1933 Ford Custom Victoria built by Boyd Coddington (est: $40,000-50,000) and a Chip Foose-built 1932 Ford (est: $225,000-2750,000) that is dubbed “Lil’ Foose Coupe” and was featured in Cage’s Gone in 60 Seconds.
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For those who crave a little less speed, there is a 1963 Studebaker Avanti R-1 Coupe (est: $35,000-45,000) once owned Dick Van Dyke. The Avanti is a perfect car to drive to brunch at the Polo Lounge or a round at Bel-Air.
No car auction is complete without a few oddballs in the lot, like the custom 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spider (est: $100,000-125,000) used by Michael Jackson in a mid-’80s Pepsi commercial or, for the non-faint at heart, the 1951 Mercury Convertible (est: $35,000-40,000) driven by David Lee Roth in his infamous “California Girls” music video. DLR’s Merc was built by the one and only George Barris, designer of 1960’s TV version of the Batmobile and is a great value. That’s not to mention the 1968 “General Lee” Dodge Charger used as a stunt car in 2005 movie Dukes of Hazzard (est: $15,000-20,000). All three cars are worth their weight in kitsch.
Paul Walker of Fast and Furious fame has two cars at the auction, a covet-worthy 1974 BMW 2002 tii Touring Alpina (est: $45,000-55,000) and a super-clean 1995 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition (est: $20,000-30,000).
When asked which cars were his favorites, Weaver said, “For Hollywood cars, it would have to be the 300 SL Roadster. Even if it wasn’t a Hollywood car, it’s still a fantastic car to own and drive.”
And his favorite non-industry related car at auction, “It’s the 1985 Renault R5 Turbo II (est: $25,000-35,000), I saw one on the streets in Europe when I was 10 with my father, and it’s been close to my heart since.”
For those who can’t catch the auction in person, there will be live coverage on cable net NBC Sports and, of course, Jay Leno will be giving color commentary during Saturday afternoon’s festivities. Seems you can’t keep Leno away from cars in Burbank, even ones that aren’t his.
