When Bonhams last UK motoring sale of 2007 ended late in the evening on December 3rd at Olympia in London, the auction total had soared to a massive £8.5-million pounds – making it the highest ever UK motoring sale for the company.
Many world records were broken, including the highest price paid at auction for both a pre-1905 car and a Rolls-Royce. The oldest Rolls-Royce in the world – a 1904 10hp Two-Seater – made a staggering £3,521,500. The result set a world record price for a car made in Britain.
It's also the highest price ever paid at auction for or a Rolls-Royce or a veteran car (pre-1905).
This historic motor car sold to a private UK collector, on the telephone, who successfully outbid two people in the room and two other telephone bidders. It is the only Rolls-Royce old enough to take part in the prestigious London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, and will stay in the UK.
The price achieved by Bonhams more than doubled previous world records, which were £1.76-million for a veteran car (1884 De Dion Bouton) and £1.48-million for a Rolls-Royce (1912 Silver Ghost Double Pullman Limousine).
The 1904 Rolls-Royce 10hp Two-Seater was first exhibited at The Paris Salon in the late Autumn of 1904. The car was displayed at the Olympia Show in London in February 1905, and, appropriately, returned to Olympia after some 102 years to be sold by Bonhams.
This car's historic value wasn't always recognized. "It turns out that during the second world war they used to park old cars in open fields so that troop transport planes could not land on them. At one of those sites, this car was discovered when it was already 40 something years old. You would be astounded how well these cars run and how civilized they are," according to Bob Austin, PR director for Rolls-Royce in the US.
Other world record prices achieved by Bonhams last night were:
£298,500 for a Bugatti Type 30 – the 1926 Type 30 Tourer with coachwork by Lavocat and Marsaud
£106,000 for a Lagonda V12 Saloon – the 1938 Lagonda V12 4,480cc Short Chassis Sports Saloon, originally owned by Francis Curzon, the Fifth Earl Howe, CBE, PC, VD;
£136,800 for a Lotus Cortina - the ex-Team 1965 Ford Lotus Cortina MkI Saloon, driven by motor racing legends Jim Clark, John Whitmore and Jack Sears.
£29,900 for a Norton International – the 1947 Norton 490cc International Model 30, originally the property of the late George Formby OBE
Other moments of the sale featured a 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6B made £397,500 against its pre-sale estimate of £250,00-300,000; Alan Sugar’s 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloon fetched £144,500 (shown in the picture here); His Majesty King Edward VIII’s abdication car, a 1936 Buick made £100,500; and the registration number “FLY 1” – sold on behalf of the family of Sir Freddie Laker, who pioneered low-cost transatlantic flights – fetched £62,000.
James Knight – the International Group Head – commented, “The market is still strong for the top end; veterans – again were 100% sold. We had 10 people primed to bid on the 1904 Rolls-Royce with three people still participating as the price approached £3m, demonstrating a particular strength in depth for this historic motor car. This record breaking Sale caps a thoroughly successful and indeed record-breaking year for the UK division of our world-wide motoring department.”
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