April, 1997 issue

The Ben Rose Collection of magnificent motor cars, each with a rich and fascinating provenance will be the centerpiece of the auction. Mr. Rose, who is over 80 years old, until last year raced each of his cars in the thoroughbred spirit that they were meant to be driven, going wheel to wheel with other vintage cars.

In order to keep his cars in meticulous condition, Mr. Rose had a climate-controlled glass and steel pavilion built for his collection, set in the woods of Highland Park near Chicago. The one-of-a-kind "garage" was featured in the 1986 movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," starring Matthew Broderick.

A Chicago-based fabric designer, Mr. Rose found creative expression through various outlets: first through his business and then through music (he was a trombonist in the Navy Band). He became a car enthusiast in the early 1950s with the purchase of a Porsche 356 convertible and began collecting cars from the pre-war era some 20 years later.

The highlight of the collection is Mr. Rose's favorite car, an exquisite 1927 Type 35B Bugatti (estimate: $400,000-$600,000) which he added to his collection after a 10 year search. The tiny, blue, classic car, owned and raced by the well-known French female racing driver Mme. Hell-Nice, and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1927, has a super-charged 8-cylinder, 2.3 liter engine and a top speed of over 130 mph.

The Type 35 Bugatti has the distinction of winning more races than any other race car in history. Mr. Rose has the original Bugatti factory invoice, as well as a number of period photographs of Mme. Nice racing her car -- all of which will be included in the sale.

A magnificent 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C-1750 Testa Fissa team car (estimate: $350,000-$550,000) is another highlight from the collection. Mr. Rose purchased the car from famous racer Count "Johnny" Lurani from Italy. The Alfa Romeo 6C-1750, with its 1.75 litre supercharged engine, was one of the most potent and effective sports racing cars of its period. The Alfa Romeo factory produced only six racing engined cars with a special eight main bearing crankshaft design and a fixed head, or tessa fissa. These six cars were entrusted to the top drivers of the time - Mr. Rose's car was driven by the famous Campari to finish first in its class and second overall in the legendary 1931 Mille Miglia, behind Caracciola's Mercedes SSK, which had, in comparison, a massive 7.2-litre supercharged engine.

In addition to the Bugatti and Alfa Romeo, the Rose Collection includes a very desirable 1937 Frazer-Nash BMW 328 (estimate: $100,000-$125,000), once the property of England's famous car collector, Lord Howe. The BMW 328 made its racing debut -- which it won -- at the German Eifelrennen in the summer of 1936 and went on to become not only a magnificent rally and racing sports car, but also a superb everyday road car. Unfortunately, the Second World War put an end to the production of these fantastic cars after only 462 were sold.

Also offered in the auction is the spectacular 1948 Cisitalia Coupe 202 Mille Miglia, an example of which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (estimate: $50,000-$70,000). The Cisitalia, designed by Dante Giancosa and Giovani Savonuzzi, and outfitted with an aluminum multi-tubular space frame chassis, created a whole new era of the sports car in Italy, where races were specifically organized for this type of car. The 1948 cars were available in 1,200 c.c. (as opposed to 1,089 c.c. as in previous years), mainly to meet competition from the French Gordinis.

A pre-auction viewing will take place on Thursday, April 24 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Friday, April 25, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m. - noon. The auction will be held on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. Lyndhurst is located at 635 South Broadway, Tarrytown, approximately one-half mile south of the New York State Thruway (I-87) at the Tappan Zee Bridge on US 9. To purchase a catalog call 1-800-395-6300.