BONHAMS MOTORS PAST THE FINISH LINE WITH A RECORD TOTAL AT FINAL SALE OF THE YEAR

Top Gear Motorcycles, Dam Busters memorabilia and a 1906 Rolls-Royce Light 20hp Tourer sold at Bonhams Important Collectors’ Motor Cars & Fine Automobilia at Olympia

 

Bonhams celebrated a remarkable £3.7 million result at their annual sale of Important Collectors’ Motor Cars & Fine Automobilia yesterday at London’s Olympia. With 95% of lots sold by value, Bonhams rounded off a tremendous year with an array of rare and valuable lots going under the hammer.

 

First in the line-up was a 1906 Rolls-Royce Light 20hp Tourer, one of only two survivors of the 17 built when the company was in its infancy and the sixth oldest Rolls-Royce remaining sold for a splendid £441,500. Following World War II, this unusual and historically significant motorcar was bought by Rolls-Royce aficionado Stanley Sears, joining his prestigious collection of veteran motor cars. When the collection was dispersed in 1983, this fully-restored model passed to Thomas Love who already owned the world’s oldest Rolls Royce (later sold by Bonhams for a record £3.5m in 2007).


Alongside this, two mopeds featured on the famous 2008 Vietnam special of BBC Programme, Top Gear generated a high level of interest. A 1967 Piaggio Vespa 150cc VBC Super (estimated £2,000-3,000) and a 1973 Honda City 50cc Chaly (estimated £1,600-2,200) sold for £2,530 and £1,955 respectively. Tasked with buying vehicles for less than 15 million Vietnamese Dong (VND), the Top Gear team purchased a series of motorcycles for their Vietnam adventure. The Vespa was the preferred ride of Jeremy Clarkson, whilst the rather incongruous Stars ‘n’ Stripes Honda Chaly, that continuously played Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA, was intended as a punishment for those whose motorbike was afflicted by repeated breakdowns. These two motorcycles were bought by the National Motor Museum in Beaulien, as a brilliant contribution to theirTop Gear exhibition currnetly on display. 

Meanwhile, a rare and quite exceptional 1963 AC Cobra 289 MkI Roadster sold for £232,500 whilst four cars from the collection of the late Ivor Silverstone sold for a very significant total of £393,200. A particular highlight of the collection was the 1953 Bentley R-Type 4.6-litre Coupé Coachwork by Abbott which sold for a staggering £109,200 (estimated £40,000-50,000).
Elsewhere the Automobilia section was the strongest to date, boasting a record total of £387,000. Amongst the lots on offer was an autographed ‘Damn Busters’ menu from the party given to No. 617 Squadron following the legendary raid on the Rhur Dams, Operation Chastise, 1943 which sold for a sky-high £5,750 (estimated 3,000-3,500). Following the recent death of the late Richard Todd OBE, who appeared as Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 film The Dam Busters, this rare piece of memorabilia is a prestigious legacy.


Alongside this, a collection of ephemera relating to the Ferrari activities of George Horne in New Zealand also caused a great stir in the auction room. This collection of press cuttings, technical literature, press releases, customs documents and letters, including those signed by Enzo Ferrari, ignited much competition. One lot in particular provoked a fierce battle between two Ferrari enthusiasts and sold for £25,300, over 25 times its pre-sale estimate of £800-1,200. Meanwhile, Captain Sir Malcolm Campbell’s BARC Brooklands 120mph badge sold for an equally impressive £5,750 (estimated 2,500-3,000).


James Knight, Group Head of Bonhams Motoring Department commented on the sale, “Yesterday’s Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia Sale caps a tremendous year for the Bonhams Motoring Department, demonstrating that the collectors’ motor car, motorcycle and automobilia sectors have maintained great strength and resilience. We are delighted with the sale result and look forward to an equally successful 2010.”

 

 

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Switzerland, France, Monaco, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 50 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.