The Bonhams sale of Collectors’ Motorcycles and Motor Cars held in association with the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Banbury Run on Saturday 15th June saw some 100 lots sold for a combined total of £1.51 million.
Strong prices were achieved for many of the vehicles on offer, with a number sold well above pre-sale estimate.
Motorcycles
Highlights among the motorcycles sold included two restoration projects offered from deceased estates. A 1928 AJS 349cc K7 that had been in storage since the 1960s and was offered for total restoration sold for more than 10 times its £1,000 estimate at £10,580, while an incomplete c.1951 Norton 490cc ES2/International stored since the late 1970s/early 1980s realized £7,130 against the same estimate. Another restoration project – a 1921 ABC 398cc – achieved more than double its £2,500 estimate at £5,290.
Top-selling motorcycle lot was a restored 1907 NSU 460cc that had been on display in the Dover Transport Museum, which achieved £13,800. A restored 1939 Ariel 995cc Model 4G ‘Square Four’, meanwhile, sold for £13,225.
Trials bikes always do well at Bonhams Oxford and this year was no exception, with a trio selling well above their estimates: the ex-Brian Povey 1959 James 199cc Commando achieved £3,220, while a 1961 Francis-Barnett 249cc Model 85 made £1,840, and a c.1960 Triumph 199cc Tiger Cub sold for £2,760.
Motor Cars
Highlights among the motor cars on offer at the sale included 100 per cent sold at £413,540 for The Leven Collection, a private collection of 19 cars. Notable results within the collection included a combined total of £133,400 for three Jaguar E-Types, and the £18,630 realized for a 1992 Ford Sierra Cosworth Sports Saloon against an £8,000 to £10,000 estimate. A highly original 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi QV Targa Coupé, meanwhile, more than doubled its £25,000 estimate to sell for £54,050.
Top-selling motor car lots were a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Sports Saloon at £133,660 (estimate £60,000 – £80,000), a 1953 Bentley R-Type Special Roadster which achieved £74,300 against a £50,000 to £60,000 estimate, and a 1952 Cisitalia (by Auto Italia) ‘Nuvolari Spyder’ that also realized an above-estimate £68,700.
Meanwhile the 1988 Jaguar XJ-S V12 Convertible that was first owned by Sarah, Duchess of York, sold for £13,800, and a 1966 AEC Routemaster RML Double-decker Bus sold for £19,550.
John Polson, Specialist in the Bonhams Motor Car Department, said: “Once again, our Oxford sale was a great success. It was well-attended and we had good depth of bidding in the room. People were even bidding from outside the packed saleroom.”
For a full list of results from this sale visit: www.bonhams.com/auctions/20928.
