Just because you're madly in love with a classic car doesn't mean you have to make it the centerpiece of your living room. That's what the actor Josef Meinrad did with his Rolls Royce Silver Shadow from 1966, but as interior decoration goes, a car is hardly for everyone. Even so, the 62 two-, three- (the FMR-Messerschmitt bubble car!) and four-wheeled beauties scheduled to take to the stage at Dorotheum's classic car sale on October 21 all deserve to find loving homes. Once again the "Classic Cars" auction takes place in the context of Classic Expo Salzburg.
 
The auction's arguably most prominent gem is a proverbial lady in red who answers to the name Giulietta. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato, numbered 93 of 210, travelled directly from the factory floor to Switzerland and its initial owner in 1961. It has been in the possession of its current owner since 1979. The superfast and extremely rare work of Italian art has an estimated value of 340,000 to 440,000 euros.
 
The cream-coloured Mercedes-Benz 300 S convertible from 1952 too is in a class of its own. It's numbered as 28 of 203 cars produced of this particular model. From 1951 to 1955, Mercedes manufactured a total of 560 300S cars - a production series that included roadster and coupes as well as convertibles. 300S was conceived to replace Mercedes' famous compressor cars of the 1930s and has remained to this day a shining example of sheer luxury and elegance (€ 480,000 – 620,000).
 
The 300 S will be flanked at the auction by a number of other exclusive cars from the Mercedes family, among them a 190 SL (€ 110.000 – 150.000) and a specimen of its successor, the 230 SL (€ 75,000 – 95,000), both of which are Austrian owned and have impeccable provenances. The offer also includes two Jaguar E-Type cars and a 1973-dated BMW 3.0 CSL with a price estimate of 180,000 to 240,000 euros. Above all, Porsche fans will be in for a treat in Salzburg. Practically every Porsche model to have left the factory from production start to the turn of the century is up for grabs at the auction, including not least the stylish 356 A Cabriolet (€ 130,000 – 170,000), the original 911 from 1965 (€ 160,000 – 220,000) and the rare anniversary model from 1993 (€ 110,000 – 150,000).
 
Specifically italophile car fanatics will have the exclusive opportunity to bid for two Ferraris, a Testarossa and a 328 GTS, or a fine specimen of the Maserati Bora, which singlehandedly raised the bar for sport cars in the 1970s (€ 130,000 – 170,000). Among the exotically inclined car aficionados, the Iso Rivolta 300 GT is certain to cause a stir. Manufactured in the Italian city of Bresso in 1964, the slick coupe Gran Turismo is the perfect combination of ravishing Italian design with affordable American engineering (€ 70,000 – 100,000).
 
The auction's most senior catwalk model, a Darracq Type R 10/12 HP (€ 40,000 – 55,000), is no less than 111 years old, while the youngest, a VW Beetle Última Edición from 1993, the very last production year (€ 24,000 – 32,000), has a mileage of merely 28.1 kilometres, making it practically a brand new car.
 
One of the more peculiar vehicles to go on sale is the GAZ-12 ZIM from 1954, a model best known for its glorious past as the former Russian state carriage. This particular specimen has furthermore featured in two motion pictures by movie director Florian Henckel von Donnersmark, who was awarded an Oscar in 2007 for his film "The Lives of Others" (€ 28,000 - 42,000).
 
The first vehicle to come under the hammer on October 21, however, is an Austrian gem (and once the worst fear of all criminals): The Steyr-Puch 700C constabulary car. The following day, October 22, Dorotheum will auction off 20 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer, the last sale of its kind by Dorotheum. As a prelude to this auction, three Steyr-Puch Haflinger - the Pinzgauer's predecessor - will be offered for sale: A standard version, a communal design version and one of only 10 remaining vehicles used for training purposes.
 
The automobilia auction is an online auction only. It ends at 6 PM on October 21.

CLASSIC CARS - AUTOMOBILIA - PINZGAUER
Classic Cars auction Saturday, October 21, 2017, 4 PM
Pinzgauer auction Sunday, October 22, 2017, 1 PM
Online auction Automobilia: www.dorotheum.com/onlineauctions end of auction October 21, 2017, 6 PM
Viewing from October 20, 2017
Location Classic Expo Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Am Messezentrum 1, Hall 9
Specialist Wolfgang Humer, Tel. +43-1-515 60-428, oldtimer@dorotheum.at