Tag: auction

A Smoking Aston

1996 Aston Martin shooting brake complete with humidor to be sold at auction

One of just three 1996 Aston Martin V8 coupé shooting brake conversions is to be offered for sale at auction by Bonhams in May.

The car’s most unusual extra is this humidor

The left hand drive, automatic 1996 Aston Martin V8 Sportsman estate offered is presented in British Racing Green with matching interior trim and “plentiful walnut embellishment”. Ordered as one of a pair by two Swiss brothers, the car was rebuilt by the factory in 1999 and then sold to a French art collector based in Monaco.

Upgraded with a satellite navigation system, the vehicle has covered just 13,000 miles from new and is described as being “a very clean car”. Auctioneers Bonhams have set an estimate of £300,000 to £350,000 ($384,000 to $449,000, €358,000 to €418,000 or درهم1.4 million to درهم1.6 million) and will offer the vehicle at their 13^th May sale at Aston Martin’s Newport Pagnell Works Service.

April 21, 2017
Five of the Best – Auctions America Auburn Spring

Five of the best lots on offer at the Auctions America Auburn Spring, Indiana sale of classic and modern cars and military lots

From 11^th to 13^th May at the Auburn Auction Park in Auburn Spring in Indiana, USA, Auctions America will sell a vast range of cars and military lots. Here, we choose our five favourite lots on offer:

1920 Ford Model T Coupé – £6,500 to £8,100 ($8,000 to $10,000, €7,600 to €9,400 or درهم29,400 to درهم36,700)

With over 16.5 million built between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Model T stands at the eighth most sold cars of all time. Undoubtedly the first affordable car produced, an example from 1920 provides an affordable way to start a classic car collection. The example offered also reflects the sentiments of Henry Ford (1863 – 1947), whom once said: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”.

1930 Cunningham V8 33286 Hearse – £64,600 to £80,700 ($80,000 to $100,000, €75,600 to €94,500 or درهم293,800 to درهم367,300)

A perfect mode of conveyance for the Addams Family or Ozzy Osbourne, this hearse was built by the James Cunningham & Sons Company of Rochester, New York. It has a cathedral like coffin compartment featuring carved wood and has been owned by three generations of the Peterson family, owners of the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home business of Dearborn, Michigan. The firm was established in 1873 but is about to close down.

1941 Packard One-Eighty Convertible Victoria by Darrin – £302,800 to £343,200 ($375,000 to $425,000, €354,300 to €401,500 or درهم1.4 million to درهم1.6 million)

Finished in cream over saddle leather with a dark chocolate canvas top and period-appropriate wide whitewall tyres, this striking convertible is described as being in “excellent driving condition”. It was delivered new to Houston, Texas and was the creation of Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin (1897 – 1982), a polo playing airline owner turned automotive designer.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/390 Coupé – £80,700 to £100,900 ($100,000 to $125,000, €75,600 to €118,100 or درهم293,800 to درهم459,100)

“One of the most special Corvettes ever made”, this Marlboro Red coupé is presented in original and unrestored condition. It has only had two owners from new and has covered just 27,000 miles in its fifty year life.

1992 AM General M998 Humvee – £12,100 to £16,200 ($15,000 to $20,000, €14,200 to €18,900 or درهم55,100 to درهم73,500)

Featuring a 6.5-litre engine and definitely something Arnold Schwarzenegger would love, this cargo-troop carrier has a gross vehicle weight rating of 3.9-tonnes. It certainly could go anywhere and requires “no further demilitarization”.

April 10, 2017
81 Miles From New

1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500 that has been driven just 81 miles and stored in a Knightsbridge garage since new to be auctioned for 1,000% more than a normal example of its age

A Mercedes-Benz with a difference is to be auctioned on its twenty-first birthday on 12^th April. The car to be offered is an SL500 that effectively has covered an average of just 3.9 miles per year during its lifetime and it is presented in “virtually new condition”.

Offered by Coys of Kensington, the Imperial Red with Mushroom leather two-seat roadster was bought from Normand of Mayfair and was only recently recommissioned after spending the vast majority of its life locked in a Knightsbridge garage.

Of the time warp car, Chris Routledge, CEO of Coys of Kensington, remarked:

“This is a car with a fantastic story. Purchased as a birthday present and driven only 81 miles before the [female] owner lost the keys and never drove it again. It even comes with a letter written by the owner’s butler verifying its mileage and its provenance”.

“Had she not lost the keys and used it regularly, we estimate it would now be worth between £5,000 to £7,000 ($6,200 to $8,700, €5,900 to €8,200 or درهم22,800 to درهم31,900), but the fact that it has kept such a low mileage and has not been driven in more than twenty years makes it worth between £45,000 and £55,000 ($56,000 to $68,000, €53,000 to €64,000 or درهم205,000 to درهم251,000)”.

“What happened with the keys remains a mystery but the car comes with new keys for the new owner”.

April 10, 2017
Narrow in Knightsbridge

Tiny 2.5-foot deep Knightsbridge “corridor house” sells for £810,000 at auction

Yesterday, at an auction in London, a 2.5-foot deep (at its minimum) and 3-foot deep (at its maximum) mews house sold for £810,000 ($1 million, €936,000 or درهم3.7 million) despite being nothing more than a very long corridor.

Extending to 275 square foot in total and 65-foot long, 1B Ennismore Gardens Mews needs “complete refurbishment” but has potential for a first floor extension. The single-storey freehold property, which was owned from the 1950s to 2010 by a lady named Linda Wildoner, is certainly one of the smallest houses in Knightsbridge and could definitely be described as a curiosity.

Linda Wildoner (1916 – 2010) outside 1B Ennismore Gardens Mews, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HX with Sir Martyn Poliakoff CBE (born 1947)

Miss Wildoner, an Austrian who moved to London after the Second World War to take care of Sir Martin Poliakoff and his family, died in 2010 and yesterday’s sale was carried out at the behest of her executors.

Of this extraordinarily weird property, Chris Coleman-Smith of auctioneers Savills told the Mail Online:

“You see narrow houses, but this is something completely different… It is on a prime, crème de la crème mews on Knightsbridge. It is a superb, picturesque mews. One of the top addresses”.

“It is very basic and will need a complete refurbishment. It is brilliant. It is weird and wonderful and I’ve not come across anything like it. Someone will create something fantastic here. In a cobbled mews in Knightsbridge it is a great opportunity”.

March 30, 2017
Taxi!

Rare 1938 Austin taxi to be auctioned; it is one of just four known to survive

On 29^th March, the very day Theresa May taxis towards Brexit and triggers Article 50, H&H Classics will auction a 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

Offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)., the quirky landaulette hooded vehicle features a retractable roof, roof rack and taxi meter. It has a red interior and an 1842 cc engine.

The maroon and black vehicle was used in London before the Second World War and up until 1955, participated in the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Run in 1964 and then was left in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent until the 1980s. Restored and returned to the road in 2003, the car is described as being in “presentable” condition.

March 27, 2017
Taxi!

Rare 1938 Austin taxi to be auctioned; it is one of just four known to survive

On 29^th March, the very day Theresa May taxis towards Brexit and triggers Article 50, H&H Classics will auction a 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

Offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)., the quirky landaulette hooded vehicle features a retractable roof, roof rack and taxi meter. It has a red interior and an 1842 cc engine.

The maroon and black vehicle was used in London before the Second World War and up until 1955, participated in the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Run in 1964 and then was left in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent until the 1980s. Restored and returned to the road in 2003, the car is described as being in “presentable” condition.

March 27, 2017
A Musical Roller

Rolls-Royce previously owned by musicians Kenney Jones and Vangelis to be auctioned

A 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III drophead coupé complete with ‘Chinese Eyes’ quad headlights that was owned by the drummer Kenney Jones and the electronic musician Vangelis is to be sold at auction next week.

The mid-metallic blue with beige hide interior stunner, which has been “recently unearthed from a London garage”, was one of a vast collection of cars owned by Stepney born Jones – a member of Small Faces, Faces, The Who, The Law and The Jones Gang – in the 1980s. The Conservative supporting, polo club owner sold the car to Vangelis in 1993 and in an interview with Luxurious Magazine remarked: “I had to downgrade to an Audi Q7 which was big enough to hold [my six children]”.

Kenney and Jayne Jones at their Hurtwood Park Polo Club and Vangelis

Secretive Chariots of Fire score writer Vangelis – born Evanghelos Papathanassiou – kept the vehicle for 23 years yet hardly ever drove it. Despite him having left it in a London garage for decades, the vehicle “runs well” and is described by its owner as having a “very good” engine and “good” coachwork, paintwork and interior trim. Factory extras fitted to the vehicle include an electrically operated hood mechanism, electric windows and a cocktail cabinet with crystal glasses and a carafe under the dashboard.

H&H Classics have placed an estimate of £150,000 to £180,000 ($186,000 to $224,000, €173,000 to €208,000 or درهم684,000 to درهم821,000) on this “decidedly avant-garde, yet majestic” coupé and will sell it on 29^th March at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

March 19, 2017
Red Rollers

Pair of striking red Rolls-Royces with Scottish connections to be auctioned at the Imperial War Museum Duxford

Rolls-Royces tend to be noticed wherever they go but a pair to be auctioned later this month are especially stand-out examples in that they both come in especially bold shades of red.

The first car, a 1990 Rolls-Royce Corniche III convertible, is offered with an estimate of £50,000 to £60,000 ($62,000 to $74,000, €58,000 to €69,000 or درهم228,000 to درهم273,000). It was built to special order for a Scottish laird and features one-of-a-kind red paintwork said to match the colour of his family’s tartan. The 27-year old automatic, 6.75-litre vehicle comes with an original set of cut glass decanters and matching glasses and has covered just 64,900 miles.

The second comes in the form of a 1935 Rolls-Royce 20/25 limousine with coachwork by Hooper & Company of Westminster, London. It is presented in maroon and black with black upholstery up front and red to the rear. Originally owned by a Mrs Margaret Abercrombie of Castlehead, Paisley, the 3.7-litre long-wheelbase car subsequently spent 39 years in the USA before returning to the UK in 2003. It is offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £26,000 ($30,000 to $32,000, €28,000 to €30,000 or درهم109,000 to درهم118,000).

The cars will be sold by H&H Classics at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire on 29^th March.

March 18, 2017
Not So Roomy

Small, single room in South Kensington to be sold for £150,000 at auction

A single room in South Kensington is to be auctioned for the staggering sum of £150,000 ($184,000, €172,000 or درهم675,000).

Curiously offered with a “reserve price not to exceed” that sum, the 205 square foot space is on the lower ground floor of 30 Queen’s Gate Gardens and held on a lease with 113 years remaining. It can be accessed from the main ground floor or entrance or via the lower ground floor entrance, has an external window and appears to have a rather large hole bashed in one of its walls.

Auctioneers Allsop will sell what could be one of the most expensive cupboards in London on 30^th March at The Cumberland Hotel in Great Cumberland Place, W1H. The agents emphasise a key selling point in stating: “There is no liability towards the building’s insurance or service charge” with this property.

March 16, 2017
An Economical Plate

Rare 1952 Austin A90 Atlantic to be auctioned complete with plate ‘GDP 137’; it is a fine example of an affordable and quirky classic

Described as an “unrestored oily-rag example”, a 1952 Austin A90 Atlantic saloon to be offered for sale by Classic Car Auctions has a design that echoes a 1946 Pininfarina bodied Alfa Romeo and comes with a number plate – GDP 137 – that might appeal to an economist.

The rare 2.6-litre car is said to be one of just thirty left in Britain and was used by present and previous owners in a number of UK rallies and driving tours on the continent also. It was given replacement brakes in 2014, had its engine professionally rebuilt in 2016 and was converted to unleaded at the same time.

CCA have set an estimate of £8,500 to £10,500 ($10,300 to $12,800, €9,700 to €12,000 or درهم 38,000 to درهم 46,900) for this quirky little Austin. It will be sold at their Practical Classics Car & Restoration Show sale at The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 1^st April.

March 12, 2017