Published: Mar 12, 2012

Cord L-29 Stars in Amelia Island Auction: Sells for $2.42 Million

The one-off model was sold for $2.42 million; a disappointment for a Bugatti Type 46.

A 1929 Cord L-29 Special Coupe by The Hayes Body Corporation was biggest hit at the annual Amelia Island Weekend auction, which was held on March 10th and 11th. The rare American car aroused great interest among bidders in the crowd and bidders by phone and online. It was soon sold for $2,420,000 - the highest price of the weekend. This Cord also happens to be a one-off design statement by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, and is recognized as the most significant L-29 in existence.

Cord L-29 Stars in Amelia Island Auction: Sells for $2.42 Million

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It is an outstanding example of Classic Era styling and there was applause from the crowd when it was finally sold. The L-29 has a 125hp, 298.6 CID L-head inline eight-cylinder engine, front-wheel drive, three-speed selective sliding-gear manual transmission, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. A 240hp, 2,953 cc V-12 engine 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale came in second place after it was sold for $1,430,000, in middle of its valuation range. Only four examples of this Pininfarina Berlinetta coachwork were produced.

Its first proprietor was a member of the Agnelli family and the car was ordered with unique features such as a telescopic steering wheel, high bolster seats, twin fuel tanks with twin fillers and a custom lowered driver's window crank. The engine is mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with unequal-length A-arms and coil springs, live rear axle with parallel trailing arms and semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. This car also has a tradition of winning a few awards in famous Concours events. Its latest success came a few weeks ago, winning the 2012 Most Elegant Ferrari at the Cavallino event.

A 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Superprofile Coupe came in third place with a price of $1,017,500 - more the $200k less than the lowest sum of the valuation. It is equipped with a 140hp, 5,359 cc SOHC inline eight-cylinder engine with three valves per cylinder, three-speed manual gearbox, front semi-elliptic leaf springs and rear inverted quarter-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel, cable-operated drum brakes. A 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage Convertible, one of the seven original Vantage-powered DB5 Convertibles produced, brought in an impressive $1,210,000, smashing the previous record for a DB5 Convertible sold at auction.

There was also a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster sold for $990,000, a record price for this particular model at an auction.