Some 760 lizards contributed their skins to the interior of the striking roadster...

Some 760 lizards contributed their skins to the interior of the striking roadster, originally ordered new by New York tycoon Charles A. Levine. Mr Levine commissioned it – but never took delivery, citing ‘business reversals’ as the reason for cancelling the order. After exhibition at the 1929 New York Auto Salon, and at Mercedes’ New York showroom, it was later sold to its first owner, a director of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company.

In more recent years it has been in the hands of only a couple of collectors, before being restored by experts Paul Russell & Company and making an award-winning debut at Pebble in 2012. This year, the car was also seen at the Villa D’Este Concorso D’Eleganza.

As dramatic as it looks, it’s just one of many exceptional cars to be offered by RM at its 2013 Monterey week sale, to be held on 16-17 August. All entries can be viewed in the Classic Driver database.