by Mike –

This race car transporter was sold recently in Monterey by RM Auctions for $990,000. This must be one of the most storied race car transporters in history.

This was a transporter for the Lance Reventlow Scarab team and later the Carrol Shelby Cobra team. Carroll Shelby took over the Reventlow operation, including the facility and people when Reventlow lost interest in racing. Shelby then used these resources to create the great Shelby Cobra.

And oh, yeah it was used in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans! What better provenance could a transporter have with Reveltlow, Shelby and McQueen?

The only thing better would be if Enzo Ferrari himself had driven it across Europe once on his way to Le Mans transporting a batch of Ferrari 250 GTOs.

Here is a summary from the RM catalog:

• Commissioned as Formula One racing car hauler by Maserati racing team
• Used by Lance Reventlow’s Scarab racing team
• Subsequent use by Carroll Shelby’s race team, transporting Cobra Daytona coupes
• Utilized by David Piper, as well as Alan Mann and Lotus racing teams
• Featured in McQueen’s Le Mans
• Extraordinary, two-year, 8,000 hour restoration, culminating in Monterey Historics and Pebble Beach unveiling
• Finished in period-correct Shelby team livery

11.5-liter Leyland turbocharged six-cylinder industrial diesel engine, five-speed transmission, triple axle, and drum brakes.

The RAI printed on the boxes must stand for Reventlow Automobile Inc.

These pictures were taken at the Carmel Concours on the Avenue.

I met the owner (seller) of this transporter at The Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance where he was driving one of the original Reventlow Scarab race cars.

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