Tag Archives: Bonhams

One-Off Hampton

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1931 Hampton 16HP Open Sports Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 10, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Hampton Cars was a British automobile manufacturer that existed from 1912 into the 1930s. It’s kind of remarkable that this is the first car from this marque that I can recall coming up for auction in the last decade. And they were around for about 20 years!

The company was originally founded by William Paddon in 1912, but they were out of business by 1915, with very few cars built. Hampton reappeared in 1919. Four years later they were selling 300 cars a year, but bankruptcy followed in 1924… and again in 1925. They reformed once more but were done for good sometime around 1930. About 1,100 Hampton cars were built, and only five are thought to exist. Well that explains that.

This particular car was built in 1931 after Hampton’s final bankruptcy. It was constructed by/for former company GM William Milward. Right before they went out of business, they planned to produce 50 independently sprung chassis and ordered 100 engines from Rohr in Germany. Only one such chassis arrived before both Hampton and Rohr went out of business.

So Milward left the company upon its demise, taking all of the parts with him. This car was the result. It’s powered by a 2.3-liter inline-eight paired with a ZF gearbox. It has known ownership history since new, having been with the current owning family since 1961. The car has not been used in some time, so it’ll need a recommissioning. The estimate is $30,000-$35,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Pope-Hartford Race Car

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1910 Pope-Hartford Model W 50HP Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Pope-Hartford was the longest-lasting of all of the marques of Colonel Albert Augustus Pope. The first cars were sold in 1904, and the brand continued on through 1914. In 1910, they offered a Model T, with the Models W and Y following for 1911.

Power in the Model W is from a 6.4-liter inline-four that made about 50 horsepower. The car is thought to have received its racing-style body prior to WWII. It was purchased by early sporting car collector Lindley Bothwell in the 1950s and raced in that decade at the Santa Catalina Island and Pebble Beach Sports Car Races.

Bothwell died in 1986, and his collection was not dispersed until 2017. Prior to that, this car was used in the movie Seabiscuit, presumably where the horse’s owner fills his horse barn with pre-war racing cars and then later removes them again in favor of horses. It’s a quick scene, but there is some real eye candy in it. The pre-sale estimate here is $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $445,000.

Jomar Mk II

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1956 Jomar Mk II

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Jomar was founded by Raymond Saidel, who inherited a sports car dealership in New Hampshire in 1950. The first Jomar cars, the creatively named Mk I, were based on Dellow chassis from England wrapped in aluminum bodies and powered by tiny Ford engines.

The Jomar Mk II of 1956 used a TVR chassis and a Coventry Climax engine. This example is the third Mk II built and features a 1.1-liter Coventry Climax engine rated at about 85 horsepower. The body is in aluminum, and it’s been restored and updated with a few modern safety features for historic racing.

This car actually competed throughout the U.S. in 1957 and 1958 and has more recently seen time on track during events such as the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. The pre-sale estimate is $80,000-$120,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Curved Dash Olds

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1903 Oldsmobile Model R Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

This is the car that revolutionized automobiles. Ransom E. Olds built his first Curved Dash prototypes in 1900, and customer deliveries started late the following year. For 1902 and 1903, the cars were officially dubbed the Model R, but many similar Oldsmobiles built through 1907 are widely collectively known as “Curved Dash Oldsmobiles” (CDO).

1903 was the company’s best up to that point, with 3,924 cars produced. The CDO was built on an assembly line using interchangeable parts instead of everything being a one-off crafted by hand. This put Oldsmobile in the #1 sales position in America, with Cadillac a distant second, nearly 1,500 units behind.

Power is from a single-cylinder engine displacing 1.6 liters and producing seven horsepower. The cars have a strong following and are used often by enthusiastic owners. The pre-sale estimate is $65,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $30,240

166 Inter Cabriolet

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1949 Ferrari 166 Inter Cabriolet by Stabilimenti Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The 166 Inter was Ferrari’s first real road car, and it was built in limited numbers (just 38 were produced) from 1948 through 1950. We’ve featured one of them before, but naturally that one was used in competition.

This car does not look like a race car. It isn’t even immediately recognizable as a Ferrari either. Part of it is the restrained two-door cabriolet body by Stabilimenti Farina, and the other is the very demure beige paint. This car was hand built over a nine-month period that ended in October 1949. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter Colombo V12 that made about 110 horsepower.

This was the 16th Ferrari road car built, and it has been restored. There is now a pre-sale estimate of $1,800,000-$2,200,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Alfa 6C Record Car

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1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Testa Fissa

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Alfa Romeo’s 6C 1750 was a very successful racing car in its day, racking up victories at the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, 24 Hours of Spa, and Grands Prix all over Europe. If it had speed on track with other cars, why wouldn’t it have speed on a track by itself?

This car is believed to have been ordered new by a Brooklands racing driver as a rolling chassis that was test driven at the factory before being returned to the U.K. Once there, it was fitted with an aluminum body co-designed by three-time Land Speed Record holder George Eyston. The Alfa’s supercharged 1.7-liter inline-six made 102 horsepower in Gran Sport “Testa Fissa” form. This one is rated at 140 horsepower with some slight modern modifications.

Eyston set multiple records in the car during 1930 at Brooklands. A later owner removed the body, which had been damaged by that point, so the one it wears today is a recreation. This beastly looking Alfa is a throwback to the days of insanely dangerous speed record chasing. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Alfa 1900C by Ghia-Aigle

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1956 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint Barchetta by Ghia-Aigle

Offered by Bonhams | Gstaad, Switzerland | July 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Who needs doors? Certainly not Giovanni Michelotti, who designed this car while working for Ghia-Aigle. Carrosserie Ghia S.A., Aigle, started out as a subsidiary of Ghia but based in Aigle, Switzerland. It became independent in 1953 and employed Mario Boano, Michelotti, and Pietro Frua at different points. Ghia-Aigle closed in 1988.

Alfa Romeo’s 1900C was a short-wheelbase version of the 1900, which itself was sold from 1950 through 1959. The styling of this chassis was inspired by Riva speedboats. It is one of about 10 1900Cs bodied by Ghia-Aigle.

Power is from a 2.0-liter inline-four rated at 115 horsepower in Super Sprint spec. This one has known ownership history, with original delivery in Switzerland and a long time spent off the road. It’s expected to sell for between $300,000-$400,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $322,338.

VW Beutler Coupe

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1959 Volkswagen Beutler 1200 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | Gstaad, Switzerland | July 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

This coachbuilt beauty is one of 28 constructed by the Beutler brothers, coachbuilders based in Switzerland. It’s based on a Volkswagen Beetle and was designed and produced before the Karmann Ghia. Basically, Beutler saw the potential for a rear-engine sports car based on VW mechanicals before VW did.

The engine is a 1.2-liter flat-four good for 31 horsepower. So “sports” car is a bit optimistic. But nothing Volkswagen made was “fast” until much later. The engine is mounted out back in a lovely upholstered compartment.

The issue was that this cost more than a Porsche 356 when new (and 2.5 times more than a Beetle). This car was restored over an 11-year period ending in the 2000s. It hasn’t been used or shown much since, and it now carries an estimate of $80,000-$120,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $161,755.

Force India VJM02

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2009 Force India VJM02

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | June 24, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The current Aston Martin F1 team, who came into existence after sort of acquiring/taking over the Force India team, has been selling off leftover Force India cars. And why not? This, I think, is the third in the last few years.

The VJM02 was the team’s second car and was powered by a 2.4-liter Mercedes-Benz V8, which this car no longer has. It was used for the 2009 season, during which Force India employed drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil. The competition history for this chassis, #1R, consisted of testing events with Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Bertrand Baguette.

So it may be a roller, but it’s an otherwise complete modern F1 car from just before the KERS era (KERS was optional in 2009, and Force India did not use it). The estimate is $74,000-$110,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $59,564.

Frazer Nash-BMW 315

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1935 Frazer Nash-BMW 315 Three-Position Drophead Coupe by E. Bertelli

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | June 24, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Archibald Frazer-Nash was the British importer of BMWs beginning in 1934. They re-branded and sold BMWs in the U.K. as Frazer Nash-BMWs, but this only lasted until the outbreak of war in 1939. After WWII, Frazer Nash sold sports cars of their own design.

So this 315 model is essentially a re-branded BMW 315, which was sold from 1934 through 1937. These small BMWs were part of the 303 lineage of cars that dated back to, well, 1933. But the 315/1 was a factory roadster. This particular car is said to be one of three fitted with three-position drophead coupe coachwork by British coachbuilder Enrico Bertelli of Feltham.

Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-six that was rated at 40 horsepower when new. These were sports cars in their day, even if this one has a less-sporty body. It’s been in the ownership of the same family since new, and it’s gonna need a restoration. The pre-sale estimate is $24,500-$37,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $31,767.