Tag Archives: Bonhams

Citroen SM Prototype

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1972 Citroen SM Prototype Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2012

Photo – Bonhams

The Citroen SM grand tourer was introduced in 1970. This coupe version using the same mechanicals – mid-front-engined layout with front-wheel drive – was built by Frua for the 1972 Geneva Auto Show. It has the same 2.7-liter V6 making 170 horsepower. The engine was designed with help from Citroen-owned Maserati (which they acquired in 1968).

This car is one-of-a-kind and in original, un-restored condition with about 26,000 miles on the odometer. It has been privately owned since it left the auto show circuit in 1972. This is a rare chance to acquire a one-off prototype. The pre-sale estimate lists this car at $180,000-$240,000. For the complete catalog description, click here.

Update: did not sell.

Re-bodied Bugatti 57C

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1938 Bugatti Type 57C ‘Cäsar Schaffner Special Roadster’

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2012

The Bugatti Type 57 was the most popular Bugatti model that the company ever made. It was produced from 1934 until 1940 and there were some very limited editions that are very desirable today – such as the 57SC Atlantic. The 57C, as seen here, featured the 3.3-liter straight-eight – but with a Roots-type supercharged added on, for a total output of 160 horsepower.

This car, chassis 57.577, was originally a Gangloff-bodied Stelvio cabriolet. In the 1960s, it was acquired by Cäsar Schaffner who restored it and, in the process, decided to restore it to the specifications of a different chassis number. So, while 57.577 retains its original chassis (although it was shortened) and engine – it does not retain its original body. The new body was in the style of a Type 57S by Corsica. It looks nice, but you have to question, today, what would be more valuable? A Bugatti with its original body, or a Bugatti with a sort of replica body?

In any case, this car has been freshened over time and is quite nice and it’s eligible for all of the historic events it would have been had the Gangloff cabriolet body remained. It is priced confidently with an estimate between $420,000-$580,000. And if you’re still not quite sold on it, check out the back of this thing:

Pretty nice. For the complete catalog description, click here. And for more on Bonhams in Monaco, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Bonhams Stafford Motorcycle Sale Highlights

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The “Important, Vintage and Collectors’ Motorcycle” sale, held this past weekend by Bonhams at the Staffordshire Country Showground, featured a handful of big-money bikes that rolled across the block. The stunning top sale went to a 1934 Brough Superior SS100 that sold for $394,000.

The two motorcycles we featured, the 1953 Ferrari 150cc Super Sport and the 1928 Windhoff 764cc Four, did not sell. It seems we are back to our old ways of being able to pick out the motorcycles that won’t meet reserve. Other insane sales included a 1939 Vincent-HRD Series A Rapide that brough $366,000.

The Ferrari that we featured might not have sold, but a different “Ferrari” bike did. This particular motorcycle is a one-off, 500cc model built by David Kay Engineering with full blessing of Piero Ferrari, Enzo’s son. It sold for $139,000.

There were about 150 other motorcycle sold at this sale, including a few more $100,000+ Vincents. For complete results, check out Bonhams’ website.

1980 Ferrari Sedan

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1980 Ferrari Pinin

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2012

Ferrari’s new FF two-door shooting brake seemed to rile some purists when first revealed – for why would their beloved car company build a wagon? Well, the same thing happened when Porsche built, first the Cayenne and then the Panamera. Lamborghini has taken the wraps off it’s new SUV concept – as have Bentley and Maserati. But for Ferrari to think beyond two doors, I fear, would be too much for most purists to handle.

Enter Pininfarina, possibly the most famed of all Italian design houses – and the one most closely associated with Ferrari. In 1980, Pininfarina celebrated 50 years of coachbuilding and they did it by building this four-door Ferrari – and Bonhams claims it is the only Ferrari sedan in existence (the Sultan of Brunei has a few Ferrari four-door wagons, but no sedan that anyone is aware of).

The car was introduced at the 1980 Turin Motor Show with a 5.0-liter V12 out of a Berlinetta Boxer. Only in this case, the engine was in the front instead of the rear. The car appeared at a few more auto shows in 1980 and 1981 and then Ferrari removed the mechanicals and the display car was eventually sold to the Belgian Ferrari importer, who showed the car in 2005 for the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina.

The car was sold in 2008 and the new owner commissioned Ferrari to re-install the drivetrain so the car could be driven. Another 360 horsepower 5.0-liter V12 was installed and the car was finally driven in 2010.

If you’ve always dreamed of owning a Ferrari sedan, this is bound to be your only chance. The current owner paid €176,000 for it at an RM Auction in 2008 and then paid God-knows-how-much to get it running. The pre-sale estimate this time around is $660,000-$790,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and for more on Bonhams in Monaco, click here.

Update: did not sell.

Ex-Ferrari Alfa Romeo

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1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spyder

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 11, 2012

Photo – Bonhams

Enzo Ferrari founded his race team, Scuderia Ferrari, in 1929 and the team entered its first race in 1930. It was the Mille Miglia and they entered three cars. This was one of them. It’s competition history includes the following:

  • 1930 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Luigi Scarfiotti and Guglielmo Carraroli)
  • 1930 Coppa Gran Sasso – 5th (with Scarfiotti)
  • 1930 Coppa Pierazzi – 4th (with Scarfiotti)
  • 1931 Mille Miglia – 6th (with Scarfiotti and Piero Bucci)

The car was used on the road by Scarfiotti for a while before he sold it back to Alfa Romeo. It was registered in Italy until the mid-1930s and then it’s history goes dark. That is, until 1960 when it was rediscovered (in Modena) and restored. The body is probably new (and not the original supplied by Zagato) but in period style but it retains the original mechanicals and chassis. It is also said that five of the pistons on this car are marked with an “SF” – the early Scuderia Ferrari marking, making this the oldest car with such markings.

The 6C was produced by by Alfa Romeo from 1925 until 1954, with the 1750 model seen here produced only from 1929 through 1933 in six different “series.” This is a Series IV model with the same 1752cc straight-six as previous series. However, this was the first 1750 model available with a supercharger, increasing output to just over a claimed 100 horsepower. Of the 2,635 6C 1750s built, less than 200 were Series IV Gran Sport models.

Early Alfa Romeo’s like this are quite valuable on their own, but adding in the significance of this being one of Scuderia Ferrari’s first three race cars, it only makes it more so. The pre-sale estimate is listed at $1,100,000-$1,200,000. For the complete lot description, click here and to see more of Bonhams’ Monaco lineup, click here.

Update: Not sold.

1901 Darracq

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1901 Darracq 6.5 Two-Seater

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 30, 2012

Earlier this week we talked about Alexandre Darracq and how he founded the company that would ultimately become Gladiator – and how that company was intertwined with Adolphe Clément’s automotive exploits as well as those of Charles Chetwynd-Talbot. Well, after Darracq left Gladiator, he founded Société A. Darracq near Paris. The first car designed and built in-house by Darracq arrived in 1900 which was a 6.5 horsepower single-cylinder car of 785cc, such as the 1901 model you see here.

This car was found in France in the 1960s and brought to England where it was restored and has been well known in Veteran car circles since. The body is a period style, but not original. It’s been well kept and is eligible for the all-important London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

So, knowing that this company was founded by Alexandre Darracq, what other names did it go by during it’s existence? Good question. In 1902, the cars were introduced in Germany where they were sold as an ‘Opel Darracq’, in conjunction with Adam Opel and his company. This partnership lasted for but a few years and Darracq began looking for other markets, particularly car-hungry England.

In 1919, Sunbeam merged with Clément-Talbot, the English importer of the French Clément-Bayard cars (see the Gladiator post from Monday for more on this). This created Sunbeam-Talbot, and cars were sold under this name. In 1920, Darracq merged with Sunbeam-Talbot to form Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq (or STD Motors, which is a less-than flattering name). There were cars badged as ‘Talbot-Darracq’. When STD went bust in 1935, the factory and company was acquired by A.F. Lago, beginning the Talbot-Lago make. The name of Alexandre Darracq, who had cashed out in 1913, slowly evaporated from the automotive landscape and was long gone by the time Simca swept up Talbot-Lago in 1958.

The detailed history of the early automotive industry is fascinating and this is a car from a company that played a pivotal role. The pre-sale estimate is $87,000-$100,000. For the complete description, click here and for the rest of Bonhams at the RAF Museum, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

1910 Gladiator

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1910 Gladiator 12/14hp Type P Series 51 Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Hendon, U.K. | April 30, 2912

The Gladiator Cycle Company was founded in 1891 by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq. From here the history of the marque becomes complicated: in 1896 Darracq sold the company to a group of Britons including Harvey du Cros. Darracq then went on to found the automobile company that bore his name. Meanwhile, Gladiator merged with Clément Cycles – which was founded by Adolphe Clément. The Clément-Gladiator company built it’s first car in 1896. In 1903, Adolphe Clément resigned to start Clément-Bayard and build cars of his own.

Gladiator produced cars under the name “Gladiator,” as well as “Clément,” simultaneously.  At the same time, Adolphe Clément began selling his new, French-built Clément-Bayards in England under the name Clément-Talbot. There were other Clément-dash-somethings as well, but we won’t go into them now.

The car featured here is a 12/14hp Type P and it features a four-cylinder engine and a four/five seat coachbuilt body by Fred W. Baker Ltd of Stourbridge. It looks nice and has a detailed ownership history. There were so many automobile marques that didn’t last too terribly long and I find them all pretty interesting. Quite a few still have examples extant, while countless marques have been lost to time. The Gladiator marque ceased production in 1920.

The pre-sale estimate is $40,000-$48,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and to see the rest of Bonhams offerings for the RAF Museum in Hendon, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

Windhoff Four

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1928 Windhoff 764cc Four

Offered by Bonhams | Stafford, U.K. | April 29, 2012

Windhoff, which began producing motorcycles in Berlin in 1924, introduced their well-engineering Four in 1927. This bike featured a number of innovations that led to it being among the most expensive motorcycles of its day – not great news considering Germany’s pre-war economic woes. With an economy in ruins, the Windhoff Four was not long for this world. Company founder Hans Windhoff pulled the plug on the Four and returned to making light twins. This was not successful either and the firm folded in 1933.

The 764cc four-cylinder makes 22 horsepower. It’s so well engineered that I want to refer to it as the “German Brough Superior.” It’s certainly priced like it.

This particular motorcycle was sold at a Bonhams auction in 2008 for £100,500. The estimate for the current sale is £100,000-£130,000 or $160,000-$210,000. Not cheap, but you aren’t likely to find another one. For more information, click here and to see the entire lot list, click here.

Update: Did not sell.

Ferrari Motorcycle

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1953 Ferrari 150cc Super Sport

Offered by Bonhams | Stafford, U.K. | April 29, 2012

That’s right, a Ferrari motorcycle. But not that Ferrari. The lot description says that Enzo was “not pleased” that the name of his new sports car company was also being used on a line of unrelated lightweight motorcycles. But, the bikes were built by (dramatic music) his brother! Could you imagine an upstart motorcycle company trying to use the Ferrari name today? Oh, the lawsuits.

Built in Milan, Fratelli Ferrari’s motorcycles rolled out of the factory from 1951 through 1954, making them extremely rare. They ranged in displacement from 123cc to 248cc. Two or four-stroke. Single or twin-cylinder. This one is “original and unrestored” and has a 150cc single.

Think you can find something with a “Ferrari” badge for less than this? Good luck. The estimate is $7,200-$8,800. For the complete lot description, click here. And to check out the rest of the line up for this Bonhams motorcycle auction, click here.

On a side not, I apologize for the images. Bonhams has shrunken their images on their new website and I really loathe finding photos outside of the official ones for fear of misrepresenting the vehicle we are featuring. It might end up that we begin to feature less vehicles from Bonhams, which would be a shame. But I’ll do my best to get you the highest quality images.

Update: Did not sell.

Bonhams Oxford Motor Cars Highlights

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Whoops. I guess we’ve lost a bit of chronology here, but the results from Bonhams’ Collector Motor Cars at Oxford have yet to be highlighted here on this site. So here we go.

First up is the top sale of the auction, a barn-find condition 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series I Coupe that used to belong to film producer Dino De Laurentiis.

It’s in pretty rough shape, but it’s still a Ferrari 250, so it sold for about $158,000. The Morris Isis that we featured here exceeded its estimate and sold for just a touch over $21,000.

The two other top sales were a pair of Series I Jaguar E-Types. The spectacular yellow one pictured here, a 1966 model with the 4.2-liter engine, sold for $142,000.

The other one, this time a red 1965 model also with the 4.2 liter engine, was formerly owned by Sir Elton John. It brought $128,000.

Other interesting cars sold at this auction included a bunch of American cars. And not your normal exports. There were a slew of 1950s Packards in various stages of disrepair and they appeared to come from the same consignor. It’s more like something you’d find in the yard of an American Midwesterner, not in such a stately place like Oxford. There was even a late 70s Trans Am, screaming chicken and all.

My other picks of the auction include this barn-find 1966 Jensen C-V8 which needs an entire restoration – although it does run as is. These cars are very rare, only about 500 were built. It brought $25,000.

Next up is this 1928 Dodge “Fast Four” Landaulette. This was the final year for Dodge’s 35 horsepower four-cylinder engine – coincidentally, the same year Chrysler acquired the firm. It’s a right-hand drive car that was bodied in England and was restored some years ago. It sold for $36,000.

Now how about this monster? It’s a 1985 Lister Jaguar XJ-S HE 7-Liter Cabriolet. There are Lister-Jaguar cars that date back to the 1950s, but this is one of about 90 Jaguar XJ-S cars modified by Lister with a 7.0-liter V12. It’s a beast and it would’ve cost you $29,000.

And last but not least, this 1937 Bentley 3.5-Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon in a wonderful, vibrant shade of blue. There’s nothing exceptional about this car (if that’s even legal to say about a Bentley), but I just really dig the look. It sold for $79,000.

For complete results, click here.