Auctions

News from the main auction houses around the world

– Bonhams –

Bonhams raised over £3.87 million at its Goodwood Revival sale on September 18 with over 85 per cent of cars sold by lot. While the Touring-bodied 1966 Aston Martin DBSC coupé sold for £320,500 – £20,000 above the estimate – there were also some strong results in the automobilia sale. Included in this was Sir Stirling Moss’ 1957 British Grand Prix-winning Herbert Johnson helmet that went for an impressive £23,000, an Aston Martin DBR2 child’s car (£14,950), a pair of Jim Clark’s Dunlop racing overalls (£3565) and the racing goggles and Herbert Johnson helmet used by Tony Rolt during his victorious drive in the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours (£11,500).

In its October 6 sale of travel photography Bonhams is auctioning images of the first cars to cross the Himalayas into Tibet in 1907. The album, which is believed to have belonged to an army mechanic, is estimated to sell for £600-800 and features an 8hp Clement brought as a gift for the Panchen Lama, the second-highest ranking Lama after the Dalai.

Bonhams hosted its most successful sale to date at the Beaulieu Autojumble on September 12. With 96 per cent of lots by value sold, the auction house raised £2.15 million. Headlining the sale was a 1932 Delage D8 ‘Faux Cabriolet’ coupé which sold for £112,600, more than double its estimate, while King George VI’s 1939 Lanchester 32hp straight-eight limousine achieved a solid £29,325.

– RM Auctions –

RM’s annual London-based sale is fast approaching and already the auction house has plenty of lots lined up for the October 28 event. A 1950 Aston Martin DB2 team car which came third at Le Mans, won its class in the Mille Miglia and was used as marque owner David Brown’s private transport is among the lots, with an estimate of £300-400,000. To find out more about the car, see our feature on p72.

A 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra (CSX 3006), which Bob Bondurant and Chris Piper used to win the 1966 Ilford 500 at Brands Hatch, is a last-minute consignment. It carries an estimate of £700-800,000.

Other interesting lots include one of only five 1962 Chaparral I sports cars (£250-£325,000), a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 (£175-225,000), a rare 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I ‘Jarvis Torpedo’ (£500-800,000), a 1977 Lola T70 MkIII coupé (£480-510,000), the only right-hand-drive 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster ever built (£450-500,000) and cars from the Edgar Schermerhorn collection.

The only 3-litre 1963 ATS 2500 GTS sports car ever to be sold at auction is also going under the hammer. One of just eight made, chassis 004 is rumoured to be the last example assembled. It has been invited to take part in next year’s Villa d’Este Concours on Lake Como, Italy. RM expects bids to exceed £500,000.

On October 8/9 RM will host its Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey sale, involving more than 100 cars. One of these is a 1949 Belanger Special Indy Roadster (£90-120,000) built in 1930 – although now restored to 1949 specification – which competed every year at Indianapolis until 1950. The car will appear alongside the engine for a front-wheel-drive Miller (£90-110,000), which has been in single ownership since the 1930s.

In our last issue we reported that the 1931 Miller V16 only reached £336,372 at RM’s Monterey sale on August 13-15, and therefore failed to sell. Since the auction, however, the car has been sold for £361,000. Total sales for the event finally exceeded £21m, with an 86 per cent sell through.

– Coys –

The Coys Padova auction is taking place on October 24 at the Auto Moto d’Epoca event. Gregor Wenner, who runs Coys’ Italian department, expects more than 100 cars to go under the hammer. So far a 1958 Ferrari 250GT (£350-400,000) and a 1972 MV Agusta motorbike (£30-35,000) have been confirmed alongside a 1948 Fiat 1100 Vignale Superleggera coupé (£30-35,000).

As Motor Sport closed for press, Coys was also holding a sale in America on September 19/20 in association with the Leake Auction Company. It was set to feature more than 500 cars including 51 Jaguars, 14 Bentleys and a 1975 Lamborghini Urraco P250. Many of the cars have no reserve – for more details see next month’s issue.

– Shannons –

The Australian auction house sold more than £250,000 worth of number plates at its Spring Classic Auction in Melbourne on August 31. The top seller was ‘878’, which went for an impressive £47,700.