By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on December 27, 1997
Original Article: AP ONLINE

LOS ANGELES (AP) For sale: exotic antique car owned by silent film star Rudolph Valentino and a rip-roaring race car driven by “Home Improvement” star Tim Allen.

A 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo roadster commissioned by Valentino and built in Italy for $25,000, along with Allen’s yellow-and-white 1995 Saleen Mustang, go on the auction block with about 800 other cars Jan. 15-18 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many great cars offered at one time,” Craig Jackson, president of the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction, said Saturday.

The Valentino car was to be auctioned in a silent bid sale. How much it may draw was a complete mystery because no accurate current value could be estimated, Jackson said.

Allen drove the souped-up Mustang for the Saleen/Allen RRR Speedlab Team.