On, July 13, Bonhams held its annual Festival of Speed sale, its 50th ever auction at Goodwood. A total of £32,046,159 was achieved, with several world records broken in the process.
The most valuable lot of the sale was the exquisite ‘2 VEV,’ the ex-Essex Racing Stable, 1961 Aston Martin ‘MP209’ DB4GT Zagato which achieved a staggering £10,081,500, making it the most valuable British car ever sold at European auction. It sold in the room to a European buyer.
Setting the world record for the most valuable BMW ever sold under the hammer at auction was the John Surtees CBE, one owner from new, 1957 BMW 507 Roadster which realised £3,809,500 against a pre-sale estimate of £2,000,000-2,500,000. After a tense and lengthy bidding exchange, the motor car sold in the room to a European buyer.
Classic racing cars were popular throughout the sale, with the dual-use Grand Prix racing and road-going ex-Scuderia Ferrari 1932-34 Alfa Romeo Tipo B Grand Prix Monoposto selling for £4,593,500. Newer models also performed very strongly, with the 2012 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Coupé selling for an estimate-beating £2,045,500 to a buyer in the room.
Aston Martin was the favoured marque of the day, with the 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Sports Saloon that starred in the James Bond film GoldenEye exceeding its £1,200,000-1,500,000 estimate and achieving £1,961,500. The buyer was SKYSCAPE, the education and entertainment company focused on the world of espionage and secret intelligence.
British marques performed incredibly strongly throughout the sale, with the 1931 Bentley 4½-Litre Supercharged Tourer ‘Blower’ – 1 of the 50 originally built – selling for £2,017,500.
Other highlights included:
* 1960 Ferrari 250 GT PF Coupé sold for £583,900
* The Tulip Rally class winning,1954 AC Ace Roadster sold for £404,700
* The 1977 Porsche 911S that starred in The Bridge sold for seven times its pre-sale estimate, achieving £141,500 with proceeds going to WaterAid.
James Knight, Bonhams Motoring Chairman and the auctioneer for the sale, commented:‘We are simply blown away by today’s results. This is our 50th sale at Goodwood – which happens to coincide with the silver anniversary of The Festival of Speed – and it was the perfect celebration of classic and collectors’ motor cars. The world records that we set today are indicative of the continued market desire for the historically significant motor cars with impeccable provenance such as ‘2 VEV’ and the John Surtees BMW 507.’
