Bonhams motorcar specialists announced that the Vauxhall 30-98 discovered in Arlington, Virginia is an important “long lost” Brooklands racing car, belonging to Dr. Bobby Beaver.
Marque experts confirmed that this car was one of very few Vauxhalls campaigned at the British racing circuit Brooklands, where it competed successfully between 1933 and 1935 in the hands of a Dr. Bobby Beaver. The car is expected to realize between $60,000-80,000 when offered for sale at Bonhams’ Greenwich Concours d’Elegance Auction on June 6th.
“All the signs of the car, even in its dilapidated condition, pointed to the car having some sort of racing history, but to discover that the car was one of the best known and most successfully campaigned Vauxhalls at the legendary Brooklands Motor Circuit in the 1930s makes this a remarkable find. To think that it could so easily have been scrapped!” said Rupert Banner, VP of Bonhams New York Motoring Dept., who unearthed the car last fall.
Chassis no. OE 264 would have been the last word in sporting vintage tourers when it was delivered new in 1926, however by the 1930s, the car would have been a bit outdated. Instead, it had a new life ahead of it. Its torquey 4½ litre engine made it a perfect long distance racer at Brooklands, the prime venue in the ’30s for such cars. Dr. Beaver progressively developed the car -lightening it, improving its brakes and performance. On one particular occasion he even tried supercharging the car, though this proved ineffective. Later, the car passed through a handful of racing enthusiasts: Guy Warburton, Tony Brooke, and then Dick Whitworth. Each raced the car, but it was thought to have vanished during the war years.
As it happens, this was not the case. It seems that the car was merely re-registered under a separate identity. When registered in 1948 it was listed as being ‘built from spares’ for which taxes were considerably less. From this point it was owned by Major Alan Romero, who was posted to the U.S. and brought the car with him, when he returned to the UK. He sold it, and it passed through a few further owners before arriving with the late Richard C. Bull in 1963. Mr. Bull always intended to restore the car and tried endlessly to work out its history, but his research hadn’t proved fruitful, and the mechanical work was never begun. The car sat under a tarpaulin outside his home in Arlington, VA until his death last year.
Bonhams specialists were alerted to the car’s existence at the Hershey Auto Swap Meet last October, consulting on whether it was worth saving or whether the car should be scrapped. It was quickly established that the car was a 30-98 Vauxhall – one of the finest sporting cars of the 1920s, and of significant importance to collectors. But the earlier history remained a mystery until further research was completed with marque historians in the U.K., when the car’s fascinating racing history emerged. In 2007, Bonhams sold a restored example of the model for $350,000.
The Dr. Bobby Beaver Brooklands special, along with more than 50 additional fine collector motorcars for all tastes will go on the auction block on Sunday June 6th, at noon. as part of the annual tradition at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance event. The Bonhams great white tent will be clearly visible at the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park on the Harbor of Greenwich, CT. Illustrated catalogs will be available on-line at www.Bonhams.com/greenwich in the coming weeks, and available for purchase via phone, fax or on site, during preview days: Saturday, June 5th 10:00 am – 5pm, and Sunday, June 6th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. The auction catalog is $45.00 (plus s & h), and admits two to the Bonhams previews, auction and the two-day Greenwich Concours d’Elegance.
For further information on the Vauxhall or other lots, contact specialists Rupert Banner, on the east coast, (212) 461-6515, and on the west coast, Mark Osborne(415) 391-4000. For further information on the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, please contact Bruce and Genia Wennerstrom at (203) 618 0460 or at www.GreenwichConcours.com.
