Huge Classic Car Collection Split Between Two Florida Auctions

Filed in archive Auctions , Chrysler , Deusenberg , Did you know on February 15, 2010

It's not unusual for several cars from one owner to appear at a classic car auction, but the consignments from the estate of John O'Quinn are so many that they've been spread between two major Florida events. 55 examples of the late Mr. O'Quinn's collection will be on the block at RM's Amelia Island auction on March 13th, with an additional 150 to be sold at the annual Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale, March 26th-28th, also presented by RM. A lifelong car enthusiast, Mr. O'Quinn had a tremendous passion for the hobby and assembled a world-class collection. Remarkable not only for its size and diversity, the O'Quinn Collection also contained one of the world's largest holdings of Duesenbergs.

I've chosen to feature two cars from these events that are at opposite ends of the scale in size and value because I have an emotional, if rather distant, relationship to each. The car seen above is a 1931 Chrysler CG Imperial Convertible Victoria by Waterhouse. I may be stretching a point here, but it appeals because my very first automobile was a 1931 Chrysler. (No, I'm not that ancient, but when purchased a 31 Chrysler was just an old car, not a collectible. I paid $75, later sold it to a wrecker for $25.) Many years before, my uncle Harvard had owned a Chrysler Imperial which was allegedly used for nefarious pursuits. I won't elaborate except to say that he was also involved in rum-running during the prohibition years. Mr. O'Quinn's car has a125 bhp inline eight-cylinder engine with a four-speed manual overdrive transmission and is brought to a halt by four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Designed by the brilliant Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, the Imperial Convertible Victoria is as elegant as any Deusenberg or Rolls-Royce and would be my first selection at Amelia Island.



I'd move on to Fort Lauderdale for my second choice because I personally love small cars that can be tossed around by the seat of one's trousers. This charming Vespa 400 may be tiny and it may not be quick, but it delivers more smiles per mile than any of the great classics that Mr. O'Quinn chose to collect. Of course Vespa is a name best known for Italian scooters but the company also made four-wheelers in the "microcar" class produced, oddly, in France. A replica of the 400 featured in Disney's recent release "When In Rome," this 1957 Vespa 400 was one of two restored by the Lane Motor Museum in Tennessee to coincide with the film's opening in theatres last month. The four passenger coupe had a rolltop roof, all-independent coil spring suspension, and hydraulic brakes. With sports car handling it did well in rallies, often beating Fiat in the 500cc class. A few thousand were sold in the United States for about $500 less than a Volkswagen Beetle.

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