Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 2024
The first generation of the Bentley Continental GT entered production in 2003. The original engine was Bentley’s kind of insane W12 powerplant. A V8 joined the lineup for the second generation, and both engines carried over to the third gen, which debuted in 2017. Bentley also announced that the W12 would cease production after 2024.
Bentley had some special editions of the Continental GT ready to celebrate, but perhaps the biggest celebration would be this car: the limited-production Bacalar, which is a coachbuilt special built by Mulliner. It retains the 650-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 of the Continental GT it is based upon.
Just 12 of these were built, and this is the final one. The car does not have a roof, and it’s not legal in the U.S. This one is here on a “show or display” exemption and will cost its next owner between $2,200,000-$2,700,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 9, 2021
The Rolls-Royce Corniche, as a model, was around from 1971 through 1995. The name reappeared in 2000 for a few years as well. The convertible versions made from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s are the epitome of South Florida old lady-ness in my mind.
But what we have here is from the first generation of Corniche production, which lasted from 1971-1987. And it’s not a Rolls-Royce. No, this is an example of some high-end badge engineering. The Bentley Corniche was produced as a coupe and convertible, and the coupe was discontinued alongside the Roller coupe in 1981.
Somehow, in 10 years, there were only 69 Bentley Corniche two-door sedans built. The Bentley convertible version lasted until 1984, and only 77 of those were made. They are extremely rare, even when compared to the Rolls-Royce version (which totaled over 4,000 in the same period). The car is powered by a 6.75-liter V8 making 237 horsepower. Top speed was about 118 mph.
So why did they sell so few? Well, Bentley was kind of faltering at the time, and it was just considered a “cheaper” version of the Rolls. Not so much anymore. The rarity factor makes these sought after, and this one carries an estimate of $55,000-$69,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Gooding & Company | Online | January 28-February 5, 2021
The 8-Litre was the best (and final) model produced by Bentley before being taken over by Rolls-Royce. Just 100 examples were produced between 1930 and 1932, and only 78 are known to still exist. And this is one of them.
It was originally fitted with a Weymann close-coupled saloon body, but that was removed and replaced in the early 1960s. The chassis was shortened at this time, and coachbuilders Hoffman & Burton were enlisted to build a sporting body. They came up with this striking pointed-tail two-seater.
Aside from the rarity, the powerplant is the big story here. As the model’s name suggests, the inline-six displaces eight liters and produced 220 horsepower. This one appears to have known history since new and carries an estimate of $550,000-$825,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co.
Jumping right in, Artcurial’s Monaco sale saw this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL lead the way at $1,621,037.
The Venturi we featured sold for $65,501. Other cars that sold can be viewed here.
RM had a “European” online sale a week before having an “American” version, which is kind of weird, but I guess it you’re going to bundle cars together, you might as well do it by where they are located, or at least by what continent they are located on. Anyway, the Inaltera prototype sold for about $440,902. The top sale was $1,685,805 for this alloy-bodied 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB. Final results can be found here.
Onward to H&H Classics’ online sale. The two feature cars we had from this sale failed to find new homes and were re-consigned to H&H’s next sale in August (they were this Renault and this Willys). The top sale was this 1965 Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupe that brought $66,032. More results are available here.
Bonhams’ MPH online sale is up next. The Lagonda V12 we featured failed to sell, but the Le Zebre went for $12,503. The top sale was this 1927 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model that sold for $294,205. Click here for additional results.
And, finally, we have RM’s other online sale, the American one. We only featured one car from this one, the Alfa Romeo RZ, and it sold for $61,600. Top sale honors go to this 2005 Ford GT. All $291,500 of it. Final results can be seen here.
The Wolverine Can-Am car we featured sold for $99,254, and the Rochdale brought $31,194. Click here for more results.
Up next we have RM’s Saragga Collection sale in Portugal. All of our feature cars sold, led by the Denzel and the HRG, which sold for $345,025 and $181,745 respectively. The overall top sale was $746,297 paid for this 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Tourer.
Back to Bonhams for their inaugural “MPH” sale, which I think was a one-day online-only auction. Not really sure, as it wasn’t explained clearly on their website. The Brooke ME190 failed to sell, while the overall top sale was a tie. Both this 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth (below) and this 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 K13 SOV Prototype (second below) sold for $61,032 each. Full results can be found here.
The Chrysler New Yorker we featured was withdrawn from the sale, but you can look through the rest of the results here.
Finally, we have one more from Bonhams: their Swiss supercar sale, including a bunch of cars confiscated from the son of an African dictator. Fun! Our feature feature car was the overall top sale: the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, which sold for $8,330,076. The Lagonda Taraf failed to sell. In the spirit of over-the-top supercars, Most Interesting goes to this 2010 Lamborghini Reventon Roadster that found a new home for $1,966,823.
We pick up in March at Mecum’s Phoenix sale. They took to the desert a few months after everyone else and managed to move this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T/ Hemi Convertible for $1,430,000.
Next up we have a sale from Aguttes in Paris. The Salmson we featured didn’t sell (perhaps it was the scandalous model name), though this swoopy 1935 Fiat 508 CS Balilla Aerodinamica managed to squeeze $225,620 out of someone in the audience. Final results can be found here.
Onward now to H&H Classics’ sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. The Bristol 406 we featured sold for $44,045, and the 1939 Imperial brought $14,681. The top sale was $579,934 for this barn find-condition 1936 Bentley 4.5-Litre Vanden Plas Tourer. More results are located here.
Now we hop back across the channel for Osenat’s March sale, where the top overall sellers were two of our feature cars: the Gardner-Serpollet at $282,946 and the early Delahaye at $175,157. We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1951 Simca 8 Sport that could’ve been yours for $33,684.
We wrap up in Ft. Lauderdale with RM Sotheby’s where this 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $3,080,000.
Our feature cars all found new homes, with the Stutz Blackhawk leading the way at $55,000. The Lotus Esprit was next, selling for $50,600, and both the Biscuter and Goggomobil microcars sold, at $4,675 and $20,350 respectively.
Feature cars from auctions past included this Packard Clipper station wagon that sold for $56,100 and this Mochet microcar for $7,590. Click here for final results.
We stay in Britain for Brightwells’ Leominster sale where our lone feature car, the Jaguar XJS Monaco, failed to sell. The top seller was this 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS for $75,101. Click here for additional results.
Onward now to Amelia Island and Bonhams, where we featured a lot of interesting cars. Remarkably, only one of them didn’t sell according to Bonhams’ results: the 1910 Pope-Hartford that was supposed to be offered without reserve. Not sure what’s going on there.
Relative deals consisted of the $62,720 Columbus and the $60,480 Crow-Elkhart. A previously-featured 1904 Knox sold here for $252,000. Final results can be found here.
We also featured quite a few cars from the RM Sotheby’s sale in Amelia Island, including some we featured from past sales like this 1924 Isotta Fraschini, this V-12 Cadillac, this AAR Eagle – all three of which failed to sell. The big-dollar Bugatti failed to find a new home as well. The overall top sale was the 1930 Duesenberg we featured. It sold for $1,650,000. We will award Most Interesting to this wicker-bodied 1911 Napier 15HP Victoria that brought $156,800.
Of our feature cars, the OSCA 1600 GT sold for $489,000 and the Kurtis $263,200. A previously-featured Abarth 207/A went for $362,500. Click here for complete results.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 17-18, 2018
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Before we get into the coachbuilt rareness of this car, let’s start with a little model background. The Bentley Turbo R was a sedan introduced in 1985 and was produced in several iterations through 1999. It was sold in two wheelbases initially, long and short. An updated model went on sale in 1995, and the limited-edition Turbo S was sold in 1995.
In 1996, the short-wheelbase cars ended production. Prior to that, long-wheelbase cars were sold as the Bentley Turbo RL. After 1996, they were all long-wheelbase and the “L” was dropped. That’s a long-winded way to tell you that the car presented here is a long-wheelbase Turbo R. But (intrigue!) it’s a coupe. Bentley ever only sold it as a sedan.
That’s where Hooper comes in. The coachbuilder, with a longtime association with Bentley and favored car-crafting masters of the British Royal family, built this two-door aluminum-bodied coupe. Still powered by a 296 horsepower, 6.75-liter turbocharged V8, the car features streamlined coachwork and a bespoke interior. Only five were built, and this car – the fourth built – was used in Hooper’s advertising. It’s one of two left-hand-drive examples and is being sold from the Calumet Collection. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
We’re starting off our second October auction rundown with one of Bonhams’ most interesting sales of the year: their sale at the Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia. Even with a bunch of weird old classics on hand, the top sale was still a 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 for $215,040.
H&H Classics held a sale in October, and the Honda S800 we featured sold for $17,615. The overall top seller – by a very wide margin – was this 1929 Bentley 4.5-Litre Le Mans-style Tourer for $1,115,638. Click here for final results.
Onward to Osenat’s Automobiles de Collection sale where the Matra Murena we featured failed to find a new home. The catalog here was on the smaller side and the top sale was this 1972 Land Rover Range Rover for $45,067. Click here for more results.
Photo – Osenat
Finally, we stay in Europe for Brightwells’ Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The Frazer Nash we featured ended up being the top seller, bringing $265,436. That means we get to award Most Interesting. We’d like to hand that to a Soviet SA-6 SAM missile that was included for some reason but will stick with cars, particularly this 1934 Humber Sniper 80 Golfer’s Coupe that brought $41,609. Click here for all of the results from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | July 13, 2018
Photo – Bonhams
The first Bentley was the 3-Litre model. In 1927, W.O. Bentley increased the displacement of the car and it became the 4½-Litre (the larger 6½-Litre was already on sale). These cars competed at Le Mans with the legendary “Bentley Boys” at the helm. One of them won it in 1928.
Then in 1929, Bentley and one of his engineers, Amherst Villiers, strapped a supercharger to the 4.4-liter straight-four. The Blower Bentley was born and it was an instant legend, setting several speed records. Horsepower jumped to 175 compared to the 110 from the normal car. Speeds of 100 mph were easily achieved, even on open roads.
This car originally carried a sedan body – one of three such cars delivered. Bentley had to homologate this model for racing, so 50 had to be built (and they were). This was the last of the first batch of 25 cars. The second owner wrecked it in 1935 and when Bentley rebuilt it, the engine was split from the car and fitted to a 3-Litre chassis. In 1984, the owners of the car decided to put it back the way it was supposed to be.
They sourced as many of the original parts as they could including the correct engine. It was re-bodied in Vanden Plas Tourer form and the project wrapped up in 1993. With two owners since, this rare and highly desirable Blower Bentley should bring between $2,700,000-$3,300,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup.