October 2018 - UK auction previews
2 October, 2018
The star attraction at H&H’s Imperial War Museum sale on 17 October is a 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre 'Le Mans' Style Tourer, estimated at £750,000 – 850,000. Chassis NX3457 was delivered to its first owner – the three-time Le Mans winning ‘Bentley Boy’ Woolf Barnato – sporting open Vanden Plas four-seater coachwork; later to be rebodied in the style of a Le Mans car during an extensive refurbishment in the 1980s. The 4½ Litre was recommissioned at a cost of some £28,000 after the current vendor’s purchase in 2011 and notably retains its original registration ‘GU 1927’, along with matching chassis, engine, gearbox, steering box, bonnet, front axle and rear axle numbers.
Another stand-out Bentley is a three-owner 1937 3½ Litre Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe with a remarkable 15,500 miles from new. This time-warp car has been well preserved by its sympathetic custodians and even retains its original Bentley Motors guarantee, covering letter and cardboard tube dated 11th March 1937 (estimate £450,000 – 550,000).
Highlight among the 11 Jaguar E-Types set to go under the hammer is a 1961 3.8 'External Bonnet Lock' Roadster with an estimate of £340,000 – 380,000. ‘655 MYC' is one of the first 56 examples supplied to Jaguar’s UK dealers as demonstrators, and has recently received a ‘nut and bolt' refresh by renowned marque specialist XK Engineering.
A two-owner 1991 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton carries a guide of £32,000 – 38,000. The car is number 209 of 320 and has covered some 48,400 miles from new, spending the majority of its life since 2000 in storage.
Early entries at Brightwells’ 24 October Bicester Classic sale include a rare right-hand drive 1972 De Tomaso Pantera, delivered new to Jersey and now showing 76,391 miles (estimate £45,000 – 60,000); a 1930 Frazer Nash Super Sport which served as a works demonstrator and press car, and competed in the 1930 Brooklands JCC members day meeting (estimate £150,000 – 180,000); and a 1933 Lagonda 3-Litre Tourer with circa £50,000 of improvements and upgrades since the vendor’s purchase in 2000 (estimate £80,000 – 100,000).
A 1970 Ford Escort Lotus Twin Cam has been consigned to SWVA on 26 October, estimated at £29,000 – 30,000. The car was originally supplied new by Dagenham Motors and has covered just 167 miles since a meticulous restoration was completed.
Classic car auction price estimates for: Bentley | Jaguar | Vauxhall | Lotus | De Tomaso | Frazer Nash | Lagonda | Ford
From leading auction houses: H&H | Brightwells | SWVA
Read through the rest of our classic car previews for more information about our auction collections. Check out our online resource for upcoming classic car auction events and classic car auction results around the world.