ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR THE BONHAMS MOTORING DEPARTMENT

ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR THE BONHAMS MOTORING DEPARTMENT

Bonhams final motor car sales of the 2018 were held in London at the beginning of December and realised £8.5M. The results brought a satisfying conclusion to a record-breaking year. Bonhams has held 18 motor car sales and five motorcycle sales this year in no fewer than six countries. World auction records were achieved for both marques and models throughout the year.

Bonhams Motoring Highlights of 2018

• Bonhams took the record for the most valuable British car ever sold at a European auction when 1961 Aston Martin ‘MP209’ DB4GT Zagato ‘2 VEV’ sold for £10,081,500 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale. In the same sale, a world record was set for a BMW at auction when the ex-John Surtees 1957 BMW 507 Roadster sold for £3,809,500. The 1932 Alfa Romeo Tipo B Grand Prix Monoposto achieved £4,593,500.

• At the Las Vegas Sale in January, Bonhams took the record for the most valuable motorcycle ever sold at auction when the ex-Tony McAlpine, Jack Ehret, Australian Land Speed Record-Breaking 1951 Vincent 998cc Black Lightning sold for $929,000

• At the Bond Street Sale, the 1958 BMW 507 3.2-Litre Series II Roadster owned by Count Albrecht Graf von Goertz, the model’s designer, sold for £2,367,000 and the 1924 Vauxhall 30/98 OE Velox Tourer ordered new by the Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir sold for £437,000, a world record for the model at auction.

• A 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder sold for $5,170,000 at the Scottsdale Sale in January. The 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider for $2,640,000.

• Bonhams sold the largest-ever collection of Fords in a single-owner on-site sale at our 100% sold Den Hartogh Collection in the Netherlands, led by a world record for the 1905 Ford Model B at €419,750.

• News of the ‘Bond’ 1965 Aston Martin DB5 that featured in Goldeneye was spread across the globe. It sold at the Festival of Speed Sale for an impressive £1.9M.

• The 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross owned and ridden by Steve McQueen in On Any Sunday was one of the star lots at Bonhams first sale at the Barber Museum, Alabama. It sold for $230,500.

• Both Stafford Motorcycles were record-breaking. The Spring edition set records for the most valuable Clymer Münch ‘Mammoth’ at auction (£154,940) and in the Autumn, the 1925 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 Sand Racer Project became the most valuable Brough project at £264,500. Both sales saw more than 90% of lots sold.

• 1926 Bentley 3-Litre Red Label Speed Model sold at Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais for €701,500 a world record for the model.

• The 1993 McLaren MP4/8A used by Ayrton Senna at his final Monaco GP sold at the Monaco sale for €4,197,500 and his first Monaco Grand Prix car, the 1984 Toleman TG184 that sparked his rivalry with Prost sold for a record €1,610,000.

• The London to Brighton Sale enjoyed a sell-through rate of more than 95% and included a world record price for a Darracq at auction. The 1903 24hp Model JJ rear-entrance tonneau sold for £599,640

• At Quail Lodge, highlights included the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sports Roadster ($3,578,442) and the 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione ($3,525,000).

• The biggest ever Zoute sale in Belgium achieved several model world auction records, including the 1962 Aston Martin DB4 ‘Series V’ Vantage (€1,121,250), the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Pininfarina Coupé (€989,000) and the 1973 Citroën DS23 IE Décapotable (€425,000).

James Knight, Group Motoring Chairman at Bonhams commented, “Every area of the Motoring Group – by geography and category – has shown growth, whether it be by volume, success, auction records or new sales being added to complement our existing sales calendar.”