May 2019 - UK auction previews
7 May, 2019
Bonhams will host its 20th Aston Martin sale on 19 May at The Wormsley Estate, with a 1963 DB4 Series V Convertible leading the entries (estimate £680,000 – 750,000). Chassis DB4C/1092/R is one of just 70 examples produced, and comes complete with an Aston Martin Assured Provenance certificate following a recent engine rebuild at Aston Martin Works.
The top three is rounded off by a brace of DB5s; a left-hand drive 1963 model carries a guide of £625,000 – 700,000, while a 1964 example in Silver Birch over black hide which has just emerged from a c.£200,000 restoration is £620,000 – 680,000.
The sale also features three Zagato models. A 43-mile 2019 Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake (estimate £625,000 – 750,000), a one-of-52 1986 V8 Vantage Zagato showing less than 5,000 miles from new (estimate £420,000 – 480,000), and a 2,030-mile 2004 DB AR1 Roadster (estimate £300,000 – 350,000).
The only DB Mk III saloon to be built with an automatic transmission has a pre-sale estimate of £85,000 – 115,000. The left-hand drive car was supplied new to California and is now in need of complete restoration.
The first of Silverstone Auctions’ two sales on 11 May at Heythrop sees an 8,600-mile 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder conversion top the inventory, listed at £500,000 – 575,000. The UK-delivered right-hand drive Berlinetta was converted to a spyder by the renowned Richard Straman Coachworks in California, at the request of its first owner in 1978. The car spent the majority of its life in Australia, returning to the UK in 2008 where some £70,000 has been lavished on its upkeep at marque specialists.
Jaguars are much in evidence at the second sale. Highlights include a pair of XJ220s, headed by a 700-mile 1995 right-hand drive example at £325,000 – 375,000; a 1973 E-Type Series III V12 Roadster which underwent a four-year restoration in 2000 at Classic Motor Cars is listed at £80,000 – 100,000; and an elegant 1954 XK 120 Drophead Coupe presented in British Racing Green over green suede is £75,000 – 85,000.
A 1950 Aston Martin DB2 – one of the 49 Series 1, three-grille, "Washboard" examples – which picked up third place at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours is estimated at £475,000 – 550,000.
Other notables include a 1960 AC Aceca (estimate £110,000 – 130,000); a 1935 Bentley 7.4 Litre V12 Special, built by the Bentley/Rolls-Royce specialist Alan Padgett in the late 1980s (estimate £100,000 – 115,000); and a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 which featured on the 2013 Royal Mail postage stamp issue celebrating “The best in British car manufacturing” (estimate £675,000 – 750,000).
Star attraction at Brightwells’ 15 May sale is a well-maintained 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL with an estimate of £85,000 – 95,000. Owned by its present keeper – a retired engineer – since 2009, the car is supplied with a rare factory hardtop and a history file dating back to 1974.
Left-hand drive machinery on offer includes a 104,700-km 1993 Porsche 928 GTS which was imported into the UK from Dubai in 2018 (estimate £26,000 – 29,000); a 1988 Lancia Delta Integrale 8V which has resided in the UK since 1998 (estimate £19,000 – 22,000); and a 1967 Citroën DS 21 Pallas with recent bills totalling £4,000 for service and maintenance works (estimate £18,000 – 20,000).
Brightwells have also consigned a 1954 Swallow Doretti, owned by the vendor since 1971 and restored at a cost close to £40,000 (estimate £55,000 – 65,000); plus a 1966 Sunbeam Tiger, the subject of a meticulous restoration in 2011 by its then owner Brian Postle of the Sunbeam Spares Company – one of the foremost Tiger experts (estimate £50,000 – 55,000).
1960s Aston Martins top the big-ticket entries at Historics’ sale on 18 May, led by a 1968 DB6 Volante which was recently restored over an eight year period (estimate £590,000 – 670,000). A four-owner 1964 DB5 in Silver Birch over black hide is estimated at £525,000 – 575,000, and a 1960 DB4 with known provenance from new and bills of c.£39,000 from Aston Martin Works over the past three years is £380,000 – 410,000.
Restoration projects on offer include a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT which was originally UK supplied to Avis Rent-A-Car and is currently in a dismantled state – having been stripped in 1976 and stored for 40 years in preparation of a stalled nut-and-bolt rebuild (estimate £135,000 – 165,000); and the ex-Dickie Stoop 1959 Lotus Elite which took part in practice for the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours (estimate £45,000 – 55,000).
Low-mileage one-owner cars at Classic Car Auctions' sale on 25 May include a 5,710-mile 2010 Ford Focus RS (estimate £28,000 – 32,000); a 1999 BMW Z3M Roadster with only 6,000 miles from new (estimate £28,000 – 32,000); and a 38,000-mile 1974 Jensen Interceptor which has been stored for 40 years (estimate £18,000 – 22,000).
Elsewhere, a left-hand drive 1968 Fiat Dino is in the catalogue at £25,000 – 30,000, a 1990 BMW M3 is £34,000 – 38,000, and a 1988 Porsche 911 Turbo showing 70,000 miles has an estimate of £55,000 – 65,000.
Classic car auction price estimates for: Aston Martin | Ferrari | Jaguar | AC | Bentley | Mercedes-Benz | Porsche | Lancia | Citroën | Swallow | Sunbeam | Lotus | Ford | BMW | Jensen | Fiat
From leading auction houses: Bonhams | Silverstone Auctions | Brightwells | Historics | Classic Car Auctions
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