December 2020 - UK auction previews
7 December, 2020
Bentley Continentals head the catalogues at Bonhams’ two December sales, with an elegant 1953 R Type set to cross the block at its Bond Street HQ on the 16th with a guide of £550,000 – 700,000, and a 1962 S2, one of 41 with coachwork by James Young, going under the hammer five days earlier at Bicester where it is listed at £80,000 – 120,000.
[ Bonhams MPH December Sale – view auction catalogue here ]
The 20-car London sale also features a 1969 Mercury Cougar XR-7, believed to have been used for the ‘barn scene’ in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (estimate £100,000 – 150,000); a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 4.2-Litre which remained with its first owner for 41 years (estimate £600,000 – 650,000); and a Ferrari Classiche-certified 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC (estimate £425,000 – 525,000).
[ Bonhams Bond Street Sale – view auction catalogue here ]
Brightwells final sale of the year will be a timed online auction that closes on 10 December. Star attraction is a left-hand drive 1954 Jaguar XK 140 Drophead Coupe, delivered new to the USA where it remained until purchased by the consignor in 1988. The car has covered just 600 miles since emerging from a five-year nut-and-bolt restoration in 1993 and carries an estimate of £80,000 – 90,000.
Other highlights include a left-hand drive 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL, understood to have had just two American owners from new (estimate £37,000 – 39,000); a 1987 Ford Capri 280 Brooklands showing 69,600 miles (estimate £18,000 – 20,000); and a six-owner 1983 Volkswagen Golf GTi – converted to right-hand drive – with a comprehensive history file supporting its 22 service stamps (estimate £12,000 – 15,000).
[ Brightwells December Sale – view auction catalogue here ]
A recently-recommissioned 1987 Ford Sierra RS 500 with only 12,047 miles tops the entries at Classic Car Auctions’ live online sale on 12 December, catalogued at £100,000 – 120,000; while the top three is rounded off with a 1979 Aston Martin V8 Volante, restored by marque specialist RS Williams in 1998 (estimate £90,000 – 110,000), and a 1964 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Coupe, converted to right-hand drive after returning to the UK in 2014 (estimate £70,000 – 80,000).
Among the German machinery on offer, an unmolested, one-owner, 88,000-mile 1990 BMW 325i Sport with dealer-fitted Alpina wheels is £20,000 – 25,000, and a 50,200-mile 1989 Audi Quattro 10v presented in Panther Black/black leather is £40,000 – 45,000.
[ Classic Car Auctions December Sale – view auction catalogue here ]
Historics returns to Ascot for its re-scheduled end of year auction on 12 December, COVID restrictions forcing a change of date and venue to maintain its record in 2020 of hosting all sales with the public in attendance. A brace of Ferraris with Classiche certification leads the 196-car roster; a left-hand drive 1973 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, bought by its previous owner in 2015 when the asking price was £775,000, is offered with a guide of £390,000 – 450,000, and a 1972 Dino 246 GTS, regularly exercised by the consignor since its purchase in 2004, is £240,000 – 310,000.
[ Historics December Sale – view auction catalogue here ]
British classics dominate the early entries at H&H’s 16 December Buxton sale, where a 52,000-mile matching-numbers 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 Coupe is listed at £45,000 – 55,000; a 1974 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible with some 63,000 miles is £30,000 – 34,000; and a 1986 Bristol Britannia, factory-serviced up to 105,000 miles in 2001 and subsequently at Cropredy Bridge, is £25,000 – 30,000.
Classic car auction price estimates for: Bentley | Mercury | Aston Martin | Ferrari | Jaguar | Mercedes-Benz | Ford | Volkswagen | BMW | Audi | Rolls-Royce | Bristol
From leading auction houses: Bonhams | Brightwells | Classic Car Auctions | Historics | H&H Classics
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