H&H set a new world auction record price on Wednesday July 22nd 2009 by selling a 1961 AC Ace 2.6 for £209,000. Hotly contested both on the phone and in the room, the ex-London Motor Show Car soon tore past its pre-sale estimate of £140,000 – £180,000 and is destined for a new life overseas. Attracting almost as much interest, the pretty 1926 Bugatti Type 23 ‘Brescia Modifie’ and handsome 1937 Alvis Speed 25 SB Cross & Ellis Tourer sold to European collectors for a guide price shredding £148,500 and £85,800 respectively.
All three pre-WW2 Rolls-Royces on offer were secured by UK buyers. The one family and 47,500 miles from new 25/30hp H.J. Mulliner Saloon made £33,000, while the 20/25hp Park Ward Coupe fetched £28,600 and the 20/25hp Park Ward Salamanca elicited £20,900. A somewhat daunting restoration project, the latter’s price was boosted by its documented usage during Winston Churchill’s official April 1946 visit to Aberdeen. British enthusiasts also accounted for the 1937 Talbot BG 110 Speed Tourer (£63,140), 1966 Alvis TF21 Saloon (£20,350) and 1935 Rover Speed 14 Streamline Coupe (£19,250).
Possibly the most viewed car at the auction, the 1998 Porsche 550 Spyder Evocation took £18,795 or just over half the £36,850 achieved by the 1998 Ferrari F355 GTS (complete with F1 Paddle Shift transmission). Extremely sound albeit somewhat scruffy, the one lady owner and 15,000 miles from new 1968 Skoda 1000MBX commanded £2,090, while new homes were also found for a stunning 1987 Lotus Esprit HC (£10,780), tidy 1969 Jaguar E-type 4.2 FHC (£16,500) and late entered 1972 Aston Martin V8 (£18,700). Well travelled, the one family from new 1972 Volkswagen Type 2 Camper Van drew £9,900, while among the more everyday fare the four MG B Roadsters and three Morris Minors all changed hands too.
Ten of the eleven motorcycle entries sold with best price of the day going to the 1980 Ducati 900 ‘Hailwood’ Replica (£14,300) followed by the 1953 Vincent Comet (£9,680), 1961 Norton Special (£7,150) and 1967 Triumph T120R Bonneville (£5,060). In the Automobilia section, a run of Brooklands Yearbooks went for £2,587.50, while a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost mascot cost its new owner £1,462.50; the same amount being paid for a pair of Carl Zeiss Jena headlamps. Other notable results included a Raymond Sommer autograph (£506.25) and some lovely early Lancia literature (£450).
Overall the July 21st-22nd event grossed in excess of £1.1 million taking H&H’s auction sales total for the year so far to more than £4.5 million. The company’s next auction will be held on September 15th-16th 2009 and is currently spearheaded by the ex-J.H.T. Smith 1934/37 MG K3.
For more information and images please contact H&H on [email protected] or lo-call 08458 334455. The prices quoted above include buyer’s premium but not the VAT thereon.