December 2015 - UK auction highlights
18 January, 2016
While the top lot at Bonhams 6 December sale was John Young’s 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ which sold for £898,333 (estimate £1,000,000 – 1,300,000) the biggest surprise of the sale was the incredible price of £427,100 paid for a 1960 Jaguar XK 150 Drophead Coupe which had a pre-sale estimate of £100,000 – 150,000. The left-hand drive concours condition car saw fierce bidding with the final result setting a new world record for the model.
Two cars from the Gordon Willey Collection soared past their pre-sale estimates; the ex- Rob Walker 1964 Aston Martin DB5 sold for £516,700 (estimate £400,000 – 450,000) and a 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer was bought by a British bidder in the room for £667,900 (estimate £400,000 – 500,000).
Austin-Healeys from the Arthur Carter Collection went under the hammer with Donald Healey’s personal car, the 1953 100/'100S' Coupé, selling for £639,900 and ‘SMO 746’, and a 1959 ex-Works 3000 Rally/Modsports Coupe, achieving £191,900 (estimate £140,000 – 200,000). Other noticeable highlights included a 2005 Ferrari 575 Superamerica, one of only 43 manual cars built, which outstripped expectations and made £611,900 (estimate £370,000 – 430,000) and a 1937 Lagonda 4½-Litre LG45 Rapide Tourer sold for £785,500 (estimate £500,000 – 700,000).
Bonhams’ second sale of the month saw a number of well sold Bentleys topping the charts; a 1926 3 Litre with coachwork by Vanden Plas, one of only 42 Light Tourers built, changed hands for £281,500 (estimate £190,000 – 220,000); a rare four-light 1958 Continental S-Series Flying Spur smashed its estimate to take £186,300 (estimate £90,000 – 100,000); and a 1939 4¼ Litre Drophead Coupe did likewise, selling for £253,500 against a pre-sale estimate of £140,000 – 160,000.
Elsewhere, strong results also included; a 1971 Jaguar E-Type 4.2-Litre V8 Supercharged Roadster by Beacham, converted from a 2+2 Coupe, sold for £95,580 (estimate £55,000 – 65,000); a 1938 HRG Le Mans Sports Project made £68,700 (estimate £30,000 – 40,000); and a 24,200-mile 1995 Aston Martin Vantage realised £130,300 (estimate 100,000 – 120,000).
Bonhams rounded off the year with a charity auction on 16 December for the sale of the two-millionth Series Land Rover and Defender produced. The one-of-a-kind Defender sold for £400,000 to a bidder from Qatar, making it what is thought to be the most valuable production Land Rover ever to be sold at auction.
The vehicle was built in May 2015 with unique features including; an engraved map of Red Wharf Bay, where the design for the original Land Rover was first drawn in the sand, a 'No.2,000,000' badge, and Ebony Windsor leather seats featuring the 'Red Wharf Bay' graphic. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Land Rover's humanitarian and conservation partners: the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the Born Free Foundation.
Coys’ 1 December sale saw over 50 cars going across the block. The star attraction, a 1969 Mercedes-Benz SSK Count Trossi ‘Evocation’, built to the original specifications by OH Classic Cars, sold for £352,800 (estimate £600,000 – 750,000).
A 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, the subject of an older restoration and colour change, made £235,200 (estimate £230,000 – 265,000); a left-hand drive 1982 Ferrari 512 BBi, estimated at £210,000 – 250,000, sold for £205,000; and a 25,200-km 1996 Ferrari F512M changed hands for £168,000 (estimate £170,000 – 220,000).
Other notable highlights included; a 46,000-mile 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo achieving £73,480 (estimate £50,000 – 60,000); a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, which was the subject of a recent $150,000 restoration, sold for £71,250 (estimate £40,000 – 60,000); and a restored 1969 Aston Martin DBS fetched £107,080 (estimate £75,000 – 90,000).
A 1995 Ferrari 348 Spider, showing just 34,285kms, sold for £42,625 at Classic Car Auctions’ 5 December sale (estimate £40,000 – 45,000). One of only 1,090 348 Spiders produced, this left-hand drive car had a cambelt service and other works carried out in February 2014, at a cost of some £5,200.
Top sale at H&H’s Chateau Impney auction on 9 December was a 1936 Bentley 4¼ Litre with Gurney Nutting pillarless coupe coachwork, which made its low estimate of £180,000. A 1960 Jaguar XK 150 S 3.8 Drophead Coupe, one of just 69 right-hand drive examples produced, sold for £168,000 (estimate £150,000 – 180,000), whilst a 1971 Aston Martin DBS V8, which has been off the road since 2001, smashed it estimate going for £85,880 (estimate £34,000 – 38,000).
With the star cars failing to find buyers at Barons’ 15 December auction it was a 1978 Aston Martin V8 convertible (converted by Daytona) that topped the sales charts, fetching £49,667 against a pre-sale estimate of £55,000 – 60,000. A 1965 Sunbeam Alpine Series IV, that had been the subject of a nut and bolt body-off restoration, just pipped its high estimate, selling for £13,555.