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The Roadmaster was Buick's top-shelf nameplate in 1940, and the Sport Phaeton was about as rare as the lineup got. This 40-years-family-owned 1940 Buick Roadmaster Model 71C Sport Phaeton is live on Hagerty Marketplace, and the auction is set to end Friday, November 6, at 3:15 p.m. EST.
One of 238, and one family's car for four decades
According to the listing, Buick built only 238 Sport Phaetons for 1940, a four-door convertible with seating for six that sat in the Series 70 Roadmaster range. This one has been with the seller's family for more than 40 years. The seller says it has been in storage and not driven since at least 2025, and it comes with a clean Wisconsin title in the name of the family trust.
That is a different story from a car dragged out of a collapsing barn, and the listing does not pretend otherwise. What it offers is a long, continuous ownership history on a body style most people have only seen in a museum or at a Concours lawn.
What it has under the hood and what it needs
Power comes from Buick's 320-cubic-inch "Fireball Eight" straight-eight, rated at 141 horsepower when new, paired with a three-speed manual with column shift. Underneath are independent coil-spring front suspension and hydraulic drum brakes, which were advanced for the era. The black paint over burgundy vinyl is described as wearing its age, and the listing says the odometer shows 8,000 miles with the actual total unknown.
The seller is upfront about the flaws. The tan convertible top is a replacement fitted at some point, the lighter is missing, the paint and chrome show wear throughout, and there is some corrosion underneath. In the seller's words, the sides are straight and clean, and he describes it as a car that looks good from ten feet away, with a quite nice interior. A Sonomatic AM radio is still in the dash, and both original convertible top center posts are included with the sale.
Worth knowing before you bid
This is the second time the car has appeared on Hagerty Marketplace. The listing says it was offered there in December 2025, so anyone interested should dig into the earlier run and ask the seller what changed. The listing carries 105 photos, and Hagerty notes that the information is supplied by the seller and that bidders are responsible for their own due diligence. When we checked, there were no bids yet.
For more pre-war cars with long ownership histories, see Ernie Ball's 1930 Lincoln Model L, which he kept for about 50 years, a 1941 Plymouth P11 business coupe that reportedly sat under blankets in a Kentucky basement, and the 1937 Cord 812 with its "electric hand" gearbox. If it is the storage angle that gets you, there is also the 421-mile 1979 Trans Am that sat for 47 years.
You can see the full photo gallery and bid on the 1940 Buick Roadmaster Sport Phaeton at Hagerty Marketplace.
