Around the houses, November 2010

NEWS FROM THE MAIN AUCTION HOUSES AROUND THE WORLD

Bonhams

Bonhams has had a busy couple of months with sales at Beaulieu, Reims and Goodwood. The annual Revival auction is a highlight of the company’s calendar, as it attracts a great selection of competition cars and automobilia. Sadly the star lot, a 1926 Bugatti Type 35B, didn’t reach its estimate of £300-400,000, but the 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 (below) sold well for £188,500.

Some of the most impressive figures came from the automobilia section of the sale as the registration ‘8XK’ sold for £20,700, a Mercedes-Benz W125 children’s car went for a staggering £23,000 and a set of Robert Kubica’s OMP Renault F1 overalls (left) fetched £1495.

On September 11 Bonhams broke a world sales record at its Weekend de l’Excellence Automobile in Reims when it sold an Aston Martin DB5 Vantage for £345,120. This was one of 17 left-hand-drive cars built to Vantage specification and had just two previous owners.

RM Auctions

RM has confirmed a number of interesting lots as it gears up for its annual Battersea sale on October 27. The first is the only four-wheel-drive Formula 1 car to win a race – the Ferguson P99. Motor Sport reunited the car with Sir Stirling Moss at Oulton Park, where the pair won the 1961 Gold Cup (see feature on p40). The P99 is expected to sell for £475-575,000. A very original C-type, chassis XKC-015, is also going under the hammer in London and is expected to fetch between £1.9-2.4 million. This particular car was raced by Masten Gregory in America and won the Golden Gate Nationals, the Offutt Field Nationals and The Thompson National, all in 1953. With all the events the car is eligible for, including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Le Mans Classic and Mille Miglia retro, there will no doubt be a number of bidders.

Also confirmed is a 1954 Tojeiro-Bristol that was raced by Chris Threfall and Jim Fiander in the ’50s (£160-225,000), a 1968 Chevrolet L89 Corvette raced by Rhoddy Harvey-Bailey (£100-140,000), a 1928 De Soto Indianapolis racer (£35-45,000), a 1935 MG PAB that was raced at Le Mans by the factory in 1935 (£110- 160,000), and a 1907 Itala Grand Prix two-seater (£100-150,000).

RM’s next sale will be at that must-visit event Hershey autojumble on October 7/8 where it is selling over 120 cars and memorabilia. No race cars are listed, but buyers will be chasing the Duesenberg Model J convertible coupé (£385- 510,000), while a 1909 Stanley Steamer Model E2 (£40-50,000) is a rare sight.

Auctions America

The new event by RM Auctions on September 2-5 was considered a success after £8m worth of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia found new owners. Top seller was a 1934 Duesenberg Model JN convertible sedan by Rollston that went to a telephone bidder for £617,500.

Historics at Brooklands

The new auction house hosted its second sale on September 25 as Motor Sport closed for press. A 1956 Jaguar XK140 fixed-head competition coupé (£40-55,000), a 1963 Ford Galaxie competition coupé (£45-55,000), a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 convertible (£350-450,000) and a supercharged 1954 Triumph TR2 (£18-25,000) were all going under the hammer.

The Modena Group has joined forces with Historics at Brooklands to run a motor sport auction in December to raise funds for the Great Britain Paralympic Team. The sale is scheduled for December 10-12 and will be held “at a venue close to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire”, the birthplace of the Paralympics. Final confirmation of the dates and location will be released soon.

National Motor Museum

The museum is hosting a charity dinner on November 13 in support of AAIR (Asthma, Allergy and Infl ammation Research) which will be followed by an auction of motor sport and Formula 1 memorabilia. Lee Barfoot, whose son Neil died of asthma when he was 17, has donated the collection. The lots include a Grand Prix Winners book which has been signed by more than 100 drivers. For more information visit www.aaircharity.org.

Barons

Barons sold the ‘lost’ 1958 Aston Martin DB2/4 MkIII drophead at its British Heritage sale on September 7. The rolling restoration project, formerly the property of David Brown, had been hidden under a tarpaulin for 30 years. It sold for £206,000, over twice its estimate.