On December 1, 2018, Bonhams once again held an exclusive end-of-year auction at its prestigious headquarters at 101 New Bond Street. On offer were 29 classics worth around £21 million. However, British buyers were reluctant to buy, with only around a third of the vehicles being sold, although acceptable bids were received for the others.
British dominance on offer
Around two thirds of the vehicles came from Great Britain, with 9 Aston Martin, 6 Jaguar and one Lagonda, one Lister, two Rolls-Royce and one Vauxhall as well as a Cooper-Chevrolet from the island going under the hammer. 5 Ferraris (including a Dino), a Citroën, an Arnolt-Bristol (half British) and a BMW 507 completed the list.
While Jaguar and Aston Martin did moderately well, bidders showed less interest in the five Ferrari sports cars on offer. None of them were sold
The Maharaja's Vauxhall flying high
Indian princes don't always drive Rolls-Royces, a Vauxhall may also be the right car. At least that's what the last Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Sing, thought and bought a 30-98 in 1924. In order to satisfy him, the Vauxhall had to be as symmetrical as possible, which required, among other things, a second handbrake on the passenger side and a door that was not otherwise provided for. At least it did without a second steering wheel, but not without an aluminum body.
The Vauxhall was now offered for £ 330,000 to £ 390,000 and it turned out to be a real high-flyer. The highest bid was ultimately £ 380,000, which including surcharge/commission (15%/12%) ultimately meant a purchase price of £ 437,000 (EUR 493,810, CHF 559,360).
Lack of favorable bidding for valuable racing cars from the island of
The most expensive cars on offer were three with Jaguar roots, starting with the XJR6 WEC Group C racing car from 1985, the Lister-Jaguar Knobbly from 1959 and the XJ220C Competition Coupé. They all wanted to be worth between £2.2 and £2.8 million.
In the end, none of these three racing cars could be sold, with bids ranging from 72 to 78 percent of the median estimate.
Three out of nine Aston Martin cars sold
With nine cars, Aston Martin has the largest contingent. There is at least one car from almost every era, with the most expensive estimate being the DB6 4.2 Litre Short Chassis Volante, actually a DB5 from 1966, for which £1.4 to 1.6 million was expected.
But nobody wanted to go that high, and the bids dried up at £1.35 million, which was not enough for the consignor.
Nevertheless, the 1958 Aston Martin DB Mk III Drophead Coupé was sold for £ 408,250.
And the elegant DB5 from 1964 also found a new garage for £ 743,000 (EUR 839,590, CHF 951,040), as did the DB7 Zagato.
Superfast, but not super in demand
The Ferrari 500 Superfast Series II from 1966 with chassis number 8459 SF is not only super-fast, but also super-rare. As is well known, only 12 Series 2 examples were sold and the design is still a stunner today.
The £1.3 to £1.7 million asking price therefore seemed quite realistic, even though it was a right-hand drive example. But apparently the British saw it differently, no one wanted to bid more than £ 1.05 million. The car remained unsold.
Successful - BMW 507 and an open-top goddess
The BMW 507 from 1958, chassis 70100, was left-hand drive. As one of 252 cars built, this example has the distinction of having once belonged to Count Albrecht von Goertz, the designer of the car, albeit not as a new but as a used car. £ 2.1 to 2.2 million was estimated for the red 507.
It finally found a new owner for £ 2'37 million (EUR 2.67 million, CHF 3.03 million), making it the most expensive car at the auction.
The right-hand drive Citroën DS 21 cabriolet by Henri Chapron was somewhat less rare, but hardly less desirable. The factory cabriolet was estimated at £ 150,000 to £ 180,000 and passed into new hands for £ 172,500 (EUR 194,925, CHF 220,800).
The exotic 1954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide with Bertone bodywork also achieved a solid result, selling for £ 264,500 (EUR 298,885, CHF 338,560).
To summarize, it can be said that despite the low sales rate, quite acceptable bids were received for practically all the cars, with an average bid of 81% of the median estimate and individual values ranging between 61 and 106%. However, because only two cars were offered without a reserve price and the consignors obviously had high expectations, the total turnover ultimately amounted to only £ 5.1 million instead of the expected £ 20.8 million. I wonder if this was due to fears of a hard Brexit?
Offered and Sold Vehicles
The following table lists all offered and sold vehicles with estimated prices, highest bids, and sale prices. The price conversion was made at the exchange rate valid on the auction day. All information is provided without guarantee.
| Lot | Car | Year | £ Est from | £ Est to | £ HP | £ SP | CHF SP | EUR SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jaguar XK150 'S' 3.4-litre Coupe | 1959 | 60'000 | 80'000 | 60'000 | 69'000 | 88'320 | 77'969 | -1.43%
|
V |
| 02 | Aston Martin DB7 Zagato Coupé | 2004 | 250'000 | 300'000 | 220'000 | 253'000 | 323'840 | 285'890 | -8%
|
V |
| 03 | Vauxhall 30/98hp OE Velox Tourer | 1924 | 330'000 | 390'000 | 380'000 | 437'000 | 559'360 | 493'809 | +21.39%
|
V |
| 04 | Jaguar F Type Project 7 Roadster | 2016 | 150'000 | 200'000 | 130'000 | N | ||||
| 05 | Aston Martin V8 Vantage X-Pack Sports Saloon | 1988 | 270'000 | 340'000 | 240'000 | N | ||||
| 06 | Aston Martin DB MkIII Drophead Coupé | 1958 | 480'000 | 680'000 | 355'000 | 408'250 | 522'560 | 461'322 | -29.61%
|
V |
| 07 | Aston Martin Vantage V600 Le Mans Coupé | 1999 | 425'000 | 475'000 | 380'000 | N |
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All information is provided without guarantee.
Legend: Column S = Status (V = Sold, N = Not sold, Z = Withdrawn, U = Under reserve)
Est = Estimate, HP = Hammer Price, SP = Sale Price
