Broad Arrow's First Audrain Auction Brings a Stutz Bearcat, Twin 300 SLs and More to Newport

Elizabeth Puckett Elizabeth Puckett |
— 5 min read
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1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat offered at Broad Arrow Auctions' Audrain Auction

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New England's collector car calendar just got a lot more interesting. Broad Arrow Auctions has released the full digital catalog for its inaugural Audrain Auction, set for Friday, October 2 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. It's the Hagerty-owned auction house's first year as official auction partner of the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, and its first sale in the Northeast, and it is arriving with a catalog that covers more than a century of great automobiles.

The sale features 65 lots, and here's the part that should get bidders' attention: roughly 75 percent of them are offered without reserve. That means real buying opportunities alongside the headline cars, which range from a Brass Era racer to modern European supercars. Broad Arrow Senior Car Specialist Jakob Greisen summed up the pitch nicely, saying the catalog offers "something for every collector alongside a fantastic weekend in Newport."

Newport has hosted Audrain since 2019, and the town's deep racing history makes it a natural fit. We've covered Audrain sales before, including when a Bugatti Chiron topped the Bonhams|Cars Audrain sale at $5.7 million, and Broad Arrow's arrival should add even more energy to the week. Here are the cars we're most excited about.

1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat

The star of the show may be the oldest car in it. The 1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat (Lot 116, estimate $1,750,000 to $2,000,000) was America's definitive performance car of its day, essentially a street version of the Stutz that earned the "Car That Made Good in a Day" nickname at the 1911 Indianapolis 500. It's about as raw as motoring gets: two bucket seats, a bolster fuel tank, a monocle windscreen, and no doors or weather protection at all.

What makes chassis 2250 so special is its paper trail. It is one of the rare pre-1915 Bearcats with a continuous history back to the day it left Indianapolis, and past owners include Winthrop Rockefeller and William F. Harrah. Add an AACA National First Place award, and this is a blue-chip piece of American automotive history.

1930 Cadillac V-16 All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood

1930 Cadillac V-16 Series 452 All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood
1930 Cadillac V-16 Series 452 All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

From the Classic Era comes a 1930 Cadillac V-16 Series 452 All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood (Lot 146, estimate $225,000 to $275,000). Cadillac's 452-cubic-inch overhead-valve V-16 made 175 horsepower almost silently, and its engine bay was dressed up by Harley Earl's Art and Colour Section. This early, East Coast-delivered example has long-known ownership history and looks fantastic in two-tone pale green and black over a brown Bedford cord interior. For the money, it may be one of the best values in the sale for anyone eyeing CARavan tours and other classic motoring events.

A Pair of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe in black
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

Few cars pull a crowd like the 300 SL, and Broad Arrow is bringing both body styles. The matching-numbers 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe (Lot 153, estimate $1,600,000 to $1,800,000) is finished in black over black leather with blue plaid cloth seat inserts, a wonderfully period combination. Better yet, it benefited from more than $100,000 in mechanical restoration work by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center USA in 2025.

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster in black
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

Its open-top sibling, a matching-numbers 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (Lot 150, estimate $1,150,000 to $1,350,000), is a U.S.-market car, also in black over black leather. It comes with a silver-painted hardtop, reproduction fitted luggage and a documented ownership chain through the Gull Wing Group Register. Either car would be welcome at the world's top driving events. If you love these cars, check out the restored 1955 300 SL Gullwing Broad Arrow offered in Las Vegas.

1967 Bizzarrini GT America 2+2 Prototype

1967 Bizzarrini GT America 2+2 Prototype
1967 Bizzarrini GT America 2+2 Prototype. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

For something truly unrepeatable, look at the 1967 Bizzarrini GT America 2+2 Prototype (Lot 158, estimate $400,000 to $500,000). This one-off was shown at the 1968 Turin Motor Show and was built to add rear seats to the GT America without losing its grand touring spirit. Power comes from a 355-horsepower, 327-cubic-inch Corvette V8, and it wears Champagne Metallic over brown leather. It's a surviving piece of Giotto Bizzarrini's engineering vision, and it's being offered publicly for the first time.

Modern Performance: Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG and Alfa Romeo

2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia in Bianco Avus
2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

The modern side of the catalog is led by a 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia (Lot 117, estimate $500,000 to $650,000), the road-legal track weapon developed with input from Michael Schumacher. This one is finished in Bianco Avus with Nero Scuderia stripes over a Tessuto interior, is well documented and recently had a major service at Ferrari of New England. We've seen how much love the 430 Scuderia gets from enthusiasts, and this livery makes it even more appealing.

2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe in matte Alanite Grey
2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

A fitting modern bookend to the 300 SLs is a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe (Lot 109, estimate $425,000 to $475,000). This low-mileage U.S.-market car wears optional designo Alanite Grey Magno matte paint over a designo Exclusive Classic Red leather interior, a combination that looks spectacular with those gullwing doors open.

2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione in Rosso Competizione
2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Photo: Broad Arrow Auctions

Rounding out the group is a 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione (Lot 111, estimate $350,000 to $425,000), one of only 84 coupes sent to the U.S. from a worldwide run of 500. It's finished in Rosso Competizione over tan woven leather, has been with a single private owner since 2011 and showed just 904 miles when it was cataloged. Cars like this rarely come up, especially in this condition.

How to Attend or Bid

Preview days are Thursday, October 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, October 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the auction starting at 4 p.m. EDT on Friday. The full catalog, event details and history files for every car are available at broadarrowauctions.com, where you can also register to bid or speak with a Broad Arrow car specialist. With a no-reserve-heavy catalog and a lineup this varied, Broad Arrow's Newport debut looks like one of the must-watch sales of the fall. For more from the auction house, see our coverage of the hypercar holy trinity at Broad Arrow's Zoute Concours Auction.

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