In its last wartime mission, a training flight in 1944, the Spitfire fighter plane with the call sign NK-K didn’t fare well. It crashed and its Australian pilot perished. Since that time, its parts have been assembled in a fuselage and cockpit display that a local English scout troop used for promotional purposes. This weekend, the English auctioneer Historics at Brooklands will auction the historic plane—or what remains of it—in a sale at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey, where it’s expected to fetch $190,000-$237,000.The auction is primarily a sale of vintage English automobiles, with a number of rarities, among them a 1936 Riley Falcon 12/4 Sports convertible (est. $72,700-$86,900), a 1934 Humber Snipe 80 ($20,500-$25,300), and a 1934 Hillman Aero-Minx Streamline Tourer (est. $37,900-$45,800). Aston Martin collectors, however, will doubtless focus their attention on the remarkable 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage in the sale. Fully restored, with an odometer reading just 10,500 miles, it’s anticipated to realize as much as $221,000.
Over $200,000 Expected For Spitfire Remnant
February 16, 2012
100 MPH Without Brakes: Steve McQueen’s 1914 Indian At Bonhams
April 12, 2013Of all the motorcycles owned by Steve McQueen—and there were many—one of the more unusual is the 1914 Indian Board Track Racer that Bonhams will offer at its Stafford sale in England later this month. Produced for one of the first pine-board motordomes in the country, it was fitted with neither brakes nor throttle. Racers went all out, powered by a 4hp, 500cc engine, reaching speeds of 100mph. Restored by Indian specialist Stephen Wright, McQueen’s bike is estimated at $34,000-$43,000.
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Duesenberg Leads Boca Raton Concours Auction
February 22, 2013In its day, the ultra-sleek 1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton had few rivals for style, luxury, engineering or power. More expensive than a Rolls Royce or Hispano Suiza, fewer than 500 were made, making the cars’ owners members of a very exclusive club that included Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and William Randolph Hearst. The example that Bonhams will offer tomorrow at the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance belonged to the wife of Duesenberg’s owner, E.L. Cord and has been featured in numerous movies. Restored to show standards, it comes to the auction without an estimate, generally a sign of high expectations.
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George Lucas’ Tucker May Fetch $2m
February 19, 2013The Tucker motor car company produced just 51 examples of the Tucker 48, known as the Torpedo, before going out of business in 1949. Characterized by its suicide doors and distinctive center headlight, which was conceived to move in tandem with the steering wheel, the 1948 car was the creation of visionary Preston Tucker, whose struggles were chronicled in a 1988 film directed by Francis Coppola and produced by George Lucas. The 1948 example that RM will offer in Amelia Island next month has its own story, having been owned by Lucas himself. The product of an extensive restoration, it’s expected to sell for $1.5m-$1.9m.
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Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
