Around the houses, December 2010

NEWS FROM THE MAIN AUCTION HOUSES AROUND THE WORLD

Historics at Brooklands
Historics held its second sale on September 25 at the Brooklands Museum during which it sold some interesting cars including a 1933 Singer Nine Le Mans for £30,731 and the ‘barn find’ 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk1 2.6-litre competition saloon, once owned and raced by Noel Cunningham-Reid, for £63,000.

Although 50 per cent of the lots that went under the hammer failed to sell, despite many cars receiving interested bids, the sale did gross £779,950, which will do the auction house’s reputation no harm at all ahead of its next sale on December 4.

Historics was due to announce various cars just after Motor Sport closed for press, but had confirmed an ex-works 1968 Ford Escort Twin Cam (above) with an estimate of £70-£90,000. This particular car, BEV 782G, was first seen on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1969 when it was navigated to a respectable fourth place by current FIA president Jean Todt. ‘BEV’ was then used by Hannu Mikkola in the San Remo Rally and Roger Clark at the Circuit of Ireland, where he won. The car won again next time out at the 1969 Welsh Rally with Ove Andersson driving and is currently in Group 6 specification after a full rebuild. When you consider that Historics at Brooklands sold an ex-works rally MGB at its inaugural sale on June 2 for £141,922, it won’t be surprising if this Escort goes for well above its estimate.

Coys
Coys witnessed much the same as Historics at Brooklands at its Ascot sale on October 2 after selling only 50 per cent of lots on the day. Thanks to various cars changing hands immediately afterwards, the figure when Motor Sport went to press was 38 cars sold out of 65. Two Bentleys reached staggering prices (a 1937 Derby 4¼ Mulliner drophead coupé at £181,680 and a 1952 MkV1 for £83,000), while a 1959 Arnolt- Bristol went for £95,000.

RM Auctions
RM had a very successful Vintage Motor Cars event at Hershey’s famous autojumble on October 8 when it posted over £5.5 million in sales and sold all of the 297 lots offered. A 1929 Duesenberg Model J convertible reached an impressive £473,746 while ‘brass era’ vehicles sold well, with a 1903 Packard Model F rear-entry tonneau going for £236,840. “We are thrilled with our results at the Hershey sale, particularly the 100 per cent sell-through,” said CEO and founder of RM Auctions Rob Myers. “The brass era vehicles were the toast of the sale, there was some lively bidding and many of the lots exceeded expectations.”

RM has two more sales this year – Automobiles of London on October 27 and the Milton Robson Collection on November 13 in Gainesville, Georgia. The former is fast becoming one of the UK sales of the year and will be covered in detail next month.

Shannons
A selection of original photographs (above) – all number one of their respective limited series of 250 prints – of Australian racer Peter Brock will be sold at the Shannons Christmas Party with the Clubs event in Melbourne on November 27. The photos are expected to fetch £300 each and all the proceeds will go to two charities nominated by the guest of honour Sir Jack Brabham.

Mecum
On November 6 American auction house Mecum will oversee the sale of the Bob McDorman Collection. The auction will see Chevrolets produced as early as 1915 go under the hammer as well as related memorabilia and parts. Included in the auction are a 1915 Chevrolet Royal Mail roadster, a couple of 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z11 Indy pace cars and a 1986 Corvette Coupe that American TV host and comedian Johnny Carson once owned. All estimates are available on request.

Between September 16 and 19 Mecum sold more than £8 million worth of cars at its St Charles auction. More than 950 cars went up for sale over the four days and although only 56 per cent of them sold, a rare 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible did find a new home for a staggering £138,770.

Sotheby’s Australia
Sotheby’s will hold its first public tender exhibition of cars from November 12-15 in Double Bat, New South Wales. A 1929 Bentley 8-litre, a 1937 SS Jaguar 100 and a Jaguar XK13 replica have all been confirmed. The lots are available to buy through the tender process.