Bonhams|Cars celebrated its 30th anniversary collector’s cars auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (Friday 14 July) with some significant sales to mark the very special milestone.
It was back in 1993 that the auction house – recently rebranded as Bonhams|Cars – staged its very first sale at the inaugural Festival and, emphasising the success of the partnership, today’s impressive sale was 66th held at Goodwood’s portfolio of world class events.
In total 240 lots of came under the hammer, commencing in the morning with 150 lots of automobilia and concluding with 90 lots of collector’s cars in the afternoon.
In total, the 30th anniversary Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale made £10.65 million.
The undoubted highlight was the sale of the totally unique 2007 Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Competition Coupé for £3,319,000. The stunning racer was created by the Swedish supercar company to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – plans that were halted by a change to the technical regulations.
Another standout sale saw a dismantled 1964 Aston Martin DB5 – as made famous by James Bond – find a new owner keen for a total restoration project for £326,000, well above its highest estimate.
Other notable highlights included the successful sale of two Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercars: a Roadster for £327,750 and a ‘Crown Edition’ Coupé for £379,500. Their popularity, once again, emphasising strong strength of demand for more recent high-performance exotica.
Outstanding results among the morning’s Automobilia Sale were a wonderful selection of scratch models by Gerald Wingrove MBE, many selling for around £20,000, once again well above their highest estimates.
“Being the 30th anniversary of our very first auction at Goodwood, we were really hoping for a significant sale and so we are, of course, thrilled to have sold the Koenigsegg for such an outstanding price,” said Tim Schofield, Head of Motoring in the UK at Bonhams|Cars. “It is a true unicorn supercar, which was hard to value, but I feel that the price we achieved is well worthy of its remarkable stature.
“Elsewhere, there was plenty of interest in the intriguing Aston Martin DB5 project car and I would like to wish the new owner all the very best with what I’m sure is going to be a wonderfully challenging and rewarding restoration.”
Previewing Bonhams|Cars’ next Goodwood sale – coming at The Revival in early September – a hugely significant consignment that will be one the highlights at that auction was unveiled and displayed in the Festival of Speed sale room. The iconic Martini-liveried RSR Coupe ‘R7’, is one of the most illustrious racing Porsches having finished a remarkable fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973.
Also whetting appetites for the Revival Sale, the second production Land Rover built – 1948 chassis 860002 – was also on show alongside Mario Andretti’s 1978 world championship winning Lotus-Cosworth Type 79, which be coming under the hammer at Bonhams|Cars’ high-profile On The Grid Sale at the Yas Marina Circuit during the season-ending FORMULA 1® ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX.
Also on show was a Ford GT kindly loaned by world-famous automotive and social personality Shmee150 adorned with a special livery designed by British pop artist and visual maximalist Lhouette. The original artwork will be sold in Bonhams’ Pop X Culture auction in London on 18 October to raise funds for mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
Bonhams|Cars’ next sale is The Quail Auction taking place in California on 18 August with its next UK sale set for the Beaulieu National Motor Museum between 2-3 September – a week before the revered RSR comes under the hammer at the Goodwood Revival Sale (9-10 September).
