BONHAMS WORLD RECORD-BREAKING SINGLE-OWNER LONATI SALE SEES AN INCREDIBLE £1.3 MILLION OF MOTORCYCLES SOLD

 

 

BONHAMS WORLD RECORD-BREAKING SINGLE-OWNER

LONATI SALE SEES AN INCREDIBLE £1.3 MILLION

OF MOTORCYCLES SOLD   

 

 

• Day one of Bonhams Stafford sale saw the incredible single-owner Lonati Collection of sixty rare motorcycles realise £1,331,535, with 91% of machines sold
• Indian motorcycles headed the sale, taking 40% of the top ten spots, lead by the 1930 Indian Model 402 Four Motorcycle Combination which smashed its pre-sale estimate, soaring to £97,700, setting a new world record for the model
• Day two of Bonhams Stafford Sale continues Sunday 18^th October

 

 

An incredible single-owner collection of sixty rare motorcycles sold for £1.3 million on the first day of Bonhams Stafford Sale.

 

“We’ve got an incredible selection of rare and exciting machines at the Stafford Sale, kicking off with the astonishing single-owner Lonati Collection, which today realised £1.3 million,” said Ben Walker, International Director for Bonhams Collectors' Motorcycles. “Indian motorcycles sold well, with the 1930 Indian Model 402 Four Motorcycle Combination smashing its estimate, soaring to £97,700, the top lot – and a new world record - for today’s collection.” 

 

Elsewhere from Indian, a 1914 Indian 7hp Big Twin sold for nearly double top estimate, realising £46,000, and the 1905 Indian 2¼ ‘Camel Back’ flew above estimate to achieve £40,250. 

 

“Today’s sale was a resounding success. Bonhams have a long established reputation for successfully handling single-owner collections, with the Italian Lonati Collection Sale further cementing that status,” said Malcolm Barber, Bonhams co-chairman. “We witnessed strong international bidding, with several American clients travelling to the sale, and many European bidders in the audience and on the telephone. We now look forward to tomorrow’s auction, with more than 150 incredible motorcycles still to go under the hammer at Bonhams Stafford Sale.”  

 

Stored in an astonishing private museum of motorcycles, the highly prized Lonati collection celebrates American marques from across pivotal points in motorcycle manufacture. Highlights of the sale include a 1910 Pierce 688cc Four, sold for £63,100, a 1930 Henderson1,301cc Model KJ ‘Streamline’ Four, sold for £49,450, a 1930 Harley-Davidson 1,200cc Model V, sold for £34,500, and the 1911 Flying Merkel 498cc 'Racing' Motorcycle, sold for £33,350.

 

1930 Indian 1,265cc Model 402 Four-cylinder Combination, sold for £97,700

 

 

The Lonati Collection began with Tiberio’s son, Francesco, who has a great love for motorcycles. With his enthusiasm for the machines, coupled with knowledge of his father’s likes, Francesco managed to persuade his father to purchase his first motorcycle – a civilianised 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA. This first motorcycle ignited a passion, and soon Mr. Lonati expanded to a vast sixty motorcycle collection, all housed in a private museum at the Santoni factory in Brescia, Italy.

 

From left: 1910 Pierce 688cc Four sold for £63,100