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Business has been quieter in the classic car world since the
Pebble Beach weekend extravaganza in the middle of August. Most
dealers report slower trading, not unusual for this time of the
year in Europe when most people are just returning from their
summer holidays.
Kicking off the month of September was Bonhams' inaugural sale
at the Goodwood Revival Meeting, without doubt Europe's premier
gathering of historic cars and collectors. Now in its fifth year,
this was the first time that the event had hosted an auction and
saw Bonhams reprising their role of official auctioneer which
they have enjoyed at Goodwood's Festival of Speed for the past
ten years.
Centre stage went to the Holthusen collection of Lagondas, probably
the best in the world and highlighted by the
1939 V12 Le Mans team car. This exceptional piece of British
motoring history was acquired for £710,000 plus premium
by one of Europe's most important motor museums. Although well
above the pre-sale estimate of £500,000 - £600,00,
it represented good value in the author's opinion. The Holthusen
Collection was a 100% sell-out with all the cars finding new homes.
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Another eagerly awaited Lot was the "as discovered"
1955
Jaguar D-Type, which had spent its entire life in New Zealand
where it had been owned since 1964 by a local paint company foreman,
recently passing to his police officer son upon his father's death.
Sporting various shades of paint but refreshingly untouched, this
greatest of British sports-racing cars was sold for £440,000
plus commission. I only hope that the new owner will be brave
enough not to touch the cosmetics, because there aren't many D-Types
left in such wonderfully tired condition.
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One of the surprises of the sale was the very pretty Ferrari
212 Export Cabriolet by Vignale, hammered down for a staggering
£270,000 plus premium (estimate £150,000 - £200,000)
after a battle which saw no less than eight telephone bidders
competing for it. Believed to have been supplied new to film director
Carlo Ponti in Rome (Sofia Loren's husband) this fresh-to-the-market
Ferrari was sold by the executors of the late David Clark (long
term custodian of the only original Ferrari P4) and was acquired
by a well-known American collector.
Also worth mentioning was
Donald Campbell's beautiful navy blue AC Aceca, sold for well
above estimate at £38,000, and a humble
Fiat Multipla which achieved £5,600 - at that price,
it is probably worth taking an extended shopping holiday in Italy
to buy some more!
Just two days later Bonhams set up camp at the Beaulieu Autojumble,
but this was a popular sale and little of value was on offer.
For their tenth September fixture Christie's as usual hosted
bidders in their South London premises at Nine Elms. A number
of cars had been consigned from a Japanese collection including
a decent looking Mercedes-Benz
300SL Gullwing which bettered its very conservative pre-sale
estimate of £80,000 to achieve £115,000 under the
hammer. These classic sports cars still represent excellent value
considering their importance in motoring history and the number
of events for which they are eligible. The Gullwing is after all
still the original 'supercar'.
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The owners of the two
Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Limousines on offer, perhaps encouraged
by recent records achieved for examples of the model with pop
star or aristocratic connections, were probably disappointed at
Christie's. One sold for a new low of £30,000, whilst the
other appears not to have found a buyer. The market for these
leviathans is fickle and their usability somewhat limited for
mere mortals. Overall, this was not one of Christie's most successful
sales of recent times but nonetheless a respectable number of
Lots seem to have found new homes.
Two major events were planned for the weekend of 21st September,
the first of these a sale organised by Coys of Kensington during
the first Le Mans Historic 24 Hour Race meeting. Having attended
the event, I can say that on the whole it was a great success
and deserves to continue, but the auction was not. An uninspiring
selection of entries, several of which had already failed to sell
at other auctions, were displayed at the old Le Mans museum in
the circuit in-field. Attendance was poor and Coys were hampered
by a French auctioneer who clearly knew little about cars or Coys'
clients. Despite her dull monotone, Coys did well to despatch
a Porsche 962 which had achieved second place at Le Mans, and
a Ford GT40 (which shares its chassis no. with a French owned
pretender to the same identity) which Coys had purchased themselves
for the sale… As of yet no prices are available, as Coys appear
to have a policy of not releasing these for a month after the
sale. Results
List
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1986 Porsche 962
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Another highlight, an Aston Martin DB2 with period racing history
which appeared to have spent the last three decades either buried
in someone's garden or with the world's worst storage company,
generated much interest and was rumoured to have attracted a six
figure commission bid prior to the sale. At the last minute, however,
Coys announced that the car had been withdrawn from the sale and
would be offered in a future auction. No explanation was given.
Later that same day RM returned to their now traditional Waldorf
Astoria setting in New York, which has to be one of the most evocative
(and costly) venues for a motor car auction. Heading the line-up
were the beautifully restored open headlamp
Ferrari LWB California Spyder recently part-exchanged by a
French dealer for an unrestored 250 LM from RM backers Symbolic,
plus a Ferrari 400 Superamerica from the same source.
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Other highlights included a bizarre Lagonda
rebodied to resemble the Tulipwood Hispano Suiza, a spectacular
1938
Buick shown at the Paris Salon that year, plus a one-off Wingho
Triposto built on a Porsche 911 platform.
It will be interesting to see whether RM can replicate Christie's
recent success with one-off show cars - a bandwagon which is already
disappearing into the distance in my opinion.
By the same token, will RM be able to shift the 1999 Rolls-Royce
Stretch Limousine formerly owned by Nicolas Cage? "I bought
the car from Nicolas Cage" carries some street cred but "I
bought the car from the guy who bought it from Nicolas Cage"
is not quite the same thing. As of yet we have no results for
RM's sale but these are expected soon. Results
List
Despite lower levels of activity this last month the message is
the same: good quality cars, especially those fresh to the market,
sell quickly if priced correctly. As we enter the autumn and the
pace of sales slows down a little, everybody is waiting to see
whether the current political situation pushes collectors to sit
on the fence or invest in tangible assets such as motor cars
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