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An auction packed month of May saw Bonhams hold their first sale
in the Boston area, setting up shop at the Brookline Transport
Museum where gusting winds blew down the auction marquee the night
before the sale! Despite the weather the event was well attended
and packed with 'discoveries' fresh from long-term museum display,
including a delightfully tired Bugatti Type 49 Coupe, which looked
suspiciously like a Bristol 400 from the rear! It flew past its
estimate to sell for $93,800.
Generally speaking, unrestored gems of this ilk did very well,
but it was also reassuring at last to see a Ferrari Boxer finding
an appreciative home, this time a 1974 example landed for $78,400.
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Highlight of the sale was undoubtedly the little Osca MT4 which
drew a deserving bid of $266,500. The same car would probably
have sold for half this amount just five years ago - usability,
aesthetics and pedigree are the key words today, and the Osca
had them all.
Much anticipation was reserved for the 'no reserve' sell-off of
the bankrupt Prost F1 team's cars which came under Hervé
Poulain's hammer on 6th May at the Palais des Congres in Paris.
Despite development costs which would make even a telecoms billionaire
think twice, F1 cars of the modern era have traditionally been
hard to sell for less than pennies in the pound of their original
value.
There are virtually no events for them, you need a team of engineers
with electronics degrees just to start the engine, and most collectors
well-heeled enough to afford one cannot reconcile sitting in it
with the side effects of gourmet cuisine.
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Nonetheless media and public interest in the sad fate of the
last 100% French owned F1 team was great, and the
ex-Alesi 2000 car achieved a resounding Euros 240,000, closely
followed by Trulli's 1997 mount at Euros 210,000. There were some
bargains too however, namely 1996 and 1997 cars, both without
engines, which sold respectively for Euros 30,000 and Euros 29,000.
The most remarkable result of the sale, and it could only happen
in France, was the Euros 36,000 paid for a 4-wheel drive Citroen
2CV in immaculately restored condition, almost twice the price
of the last one sold by Poulain three years ago.
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The next major auction fixture took place at Aston Martin's venerable
Newport Pagnell factory on 11th May, where Bonhams held their
annual sale devoted to the renowned British marque. The frenzy
surrounding Aston Automobilia may have died down (at Bonhams'
first A-M sale an enamel sign made £15,000) but the factory
was absolutely packed with bidders who knew what they wanted.
Undoubted highlight was the limited edition SWB Vantage Volante
of which just eight were built in 2000 for special clients. This
supercharged beast was knocked down for even more than it cost
its first owner, at just over a quarter of a million GB£.
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Non-Sale Cars from the Leyba Collection
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All the cars from the Robert Leyba collection (eight in total)
were sold and even the child's Virage Volante Junior doubled its
estimate at £12,500, a lot of pocket money for most but
perhaps not for the offspring of an Aston owner.
'Fireworks were expected for the head-to-head sales of Coys and
Bonhams in glamorous Monte Carlo during the weekend of the Grand
Prix Historique, but in the event buyers were prudent and, while
some cars set new price levels, others seemed good value or did
not sell.
Coys sale on the Friday evening drew the usual trade biased crowd
but seemed subdued. Although it is very difficult to verify their
results (many cars were run up to over the bottom estimate and
then declared as not sold, whilst others were declared as sold
and subsequently turned out not to be), it appears from a quick
calculation that approximately 40% of the cars actually changed
hands. Perhaps buyers were put off by the lack of information
in the catalogue or the large number of estimates marked "Refer
Department".
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In the event the most expensive car sold was the ex-Works Austin
Healey for which its owner of 30 years will be doubtlessly be
pleased to get Euros 171,750 - not a bad investment.
The Bugatti Type 51 which had originally been entered for this
sale was, not surprisingly, withdrawn (see my February article)
and a pair of 6 cylinder Alfa Romeos of questionable provenance
also failed to sell.
The Ferrari SWB trumpeted in early advertising turned out to
be a replica (but sold anyway) and the Alfa Romeo 8C which has
done the rounds was knocked down as sold, but turns out not to
have been. No official results have yet been published.
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