Auction News Network

Beckham’s Speedboat From Olympic Ceremonies To Sell

Of the numerous creative touches at the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics this past summer, probably the most popular was the Queen’s appearance as a skydiving partner to 007 actor Daniel Craig. Only a bit less attention-getting, however, was the entrance of  soccer star David Beckham, who piloted a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame on the last leg of its journey down the Thames. Now Bonhams has announced that it will auction the boat, a 2008 Bladerunner BR RIB 35, at its Brooklands sale on December 3^rd. The cost to its new pilot is expected to be around $403,000.

Paul McCartney’s DB5 In London Auction

When Sir Paul McCartney ordered his brand new Aston Martin DB5 in 1964, he specified that the car be fitted with musical notes stitched into the leather seats, as well as a Phillips record player. At the time, it set him back $5,900. When the DB5 appears at auction later this week in London—minus the musical notes, eliminated in a restoration—RM is expecting it to sell for around $621,000, or more than 100 times its original cost.

Update: Paul McCartney’s car fell a bit short of expectations, selling for $496,613. The auction’s star, an alloy-bodied 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, stalled below its reserve at $3,876,000, and failed to find a buyer.

Oldest Surviving Vauxhall At Bonhams

Vauxhall, the British motorcar manufacturer now owned by GM, began life in 1857 as a builder of pump and marine engines. By 1903 the company was making cars, beginning with the 5hp—yes, 5—open two seater that Bonhams will offer in London next month. Ordered new by Vauxhall’s managing director, the car passed into the hands of family the next year that has retained ownership for more than a century. Believed to be the oldest surviving Vauxhall, it’s expected to bring $96,000-$128,000 at the November 5^th sale.

Update: The Vauxhall well above estimates, for $151,000.

One Owner 1925 Brough At Bonhams

Brough Superior motorcycles of any sort are rare. To come across a 1925 example that’s been in the same family since new is extraordinary. The unrestored SS-80 “barn-find” that Bonhams will offer at its autumn Stafford auction in the U.K. has been off the road since 1930. Eight decades later, it’s expected to sell for $89,000-$122,000.

Vintage Racers Lead Goodwood Auction

Once, the Invicta was the leading competition for Bentley. The English cars were ahead of their time, rakishly low and expensive, and the company that produced them a victim of the Depression. Only about 1000 Invictas were produced between 1925 and 1936. The example that Bonhams will offer at its annual Goodwood Motorcar Auction on September 15^th is a 1931 4 1/2-Litre S-Type Low-chassis Tourer ‘Bluebird.’ The product of a three-year restoration, it’s estimated at $870,000-$1.1m.

’68 Ford Sets Record, ’36 Mercedes Falls Short At Pebble Beach

Records fell at the high-value vintage car auctions around the Pebble Beach Concours over the weekend, but they weren’t the ones that had been expected. A 1968 Ford GT, used by Steve McQueen in the making of “Le Mans,” became the most expensive American car ever sold at auction when the gavel came down at $11m, including buyer’s premium. A magnificent 1936 Mercedes 540K Special Roadster that had been anticipated to be the weekend’s star fell short, however, selling for “just” $11.7m, including premiums.

Steve McQueen Motorcycles At Pebble Beach

The frequency with which the late, great Steve McQueen’s cars and motorcycles appear at auction is a measure of the sheer volume of toys the passionate motorist collected in his lifetime. MidAmerica will offer the two latest McQueen bikes to hit the auction market over the Concours weekend in Pebble Beach. One is a pristine 1938 Triumph Speed Twin, which McQueen’s friend Bud Ekins restored at his shop in North Hollywood. The second is an unrestored 1940 Indian Inline Four that comes with a certificate of authenticity. MidAmerica didn’t release estimates for either bike.

Winston Churchill’s Land Rover

On his 80^th birthday, Land Rover presented Sir Winston Churchill with a unique Series 1 model, outfitted with a particularly wide rear seat to accommodate his aristocratic girth. With a chauffeur at the wheel, Churchill used the car to explore the 300 acres of his Kent estate, Chartwell, which is now owned by the National Trust. At his death, the car passed to Churchill’s son-in-law. Still in its original configuration, with just 12,932 miles, the 1954 Rover is expected to sell for $78,000-$94,000 at Cheffin’s Vintage sale in the U.K. on October 20^th.

RM Offers Horch, Ferrari & Talbot Lago Rarities At Pebble Beach

Merely wanting a Horch motorcar wasn’t enough. Prospective buyers of the early German competitor to Mercedes had to demonstrate they had enough in the bank to reflect well on the brand.  Accordingly, the manufacturer—a precursor of the Audi—produced few automobiles. For example, Horch made only five Second Series Special Roadsters–one for Herman Goring–of which three exist. The 1938 example that RM Auctions will be offering at its Monterrey auction over the Pebble Beach Concours weekend has still another bonus: the 854A Special Roadster by Erdmann & Rossi won Best of Show at Pebble Beach. It’s expected to realize $6m-$8m.

Clark Gable’s Duesenberg At Pebble Beach

The celebrity cars continue to roll towards Pebble Beach. The latest to emerge at the Gooding auction on August 18-19 is Clark Gable’s 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe. One of only 10 JN’s built, and specially modified for Gable with a raked windshield and other upgrades, it’s the car in which he and his wife, actress Carole Lombard, drove up the West Coast to Vancouver. The Special Award winner at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the automobile was also featured in the 1938 film “Merrily We Live.” The JN comes to the sale without public estimate.

George Clooney’s Tesla, Jay Leno’s Fiat At Pebble Beach

When Tesla introduced its high-performance electric “Signature 100” roadster in 2008, George Clooney was the eighth person to buy the car. This summer he’s selling it for charity at Gooding’s Pebble Beach auction. At the time he purchased car 0008, it sold for around $100,000. Four years later, it’s estimated to bring as much as $125,000 at the August 19^th event. Proceeds will benefit the Satellite Sentinel Project, which is dedicated to preventing a return of civil war between Northern and Southern Sudan.

Ultra-Rare Ferraris From Wolf Collection At Pebble Beach

Sherman M. Wolf was a pioneer in pocket pagers, who assembled an extraordinary collection of vintage cars during his lifetime. A born tinkerer, he also collected antique clocks and radios, but he was a particular devotee of rare Ferraris, which—unlike most collectors—he maintained himself.  Next month at Pebble Beach, Gooding & Co. will offer four of his cars, led by a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, which alone may fetch as much as $9m.

Al Capone’s 1928 Bulletproof Cadillac

Given the company he kept, Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone had more need than most for a bulletproof car. So he arranged for his 1928 Cadillac V-8 Town Sedan to be armored with nearly 3000 pounds of asbestos-wrapped steel plating. When it appears at RM’s St. John’s auction on July 29, it’s expected to ell for $300,000-$500,000.

Tom Mix’s Rolls At Blenheim Palace Sale

Few vintage cars can match the Hollywood history of the 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Playboy Roadster that Coys is offering in its auction at Bleinheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill.  At one point silent screen star Tom Mix owned the car, which went into the Warner Brother’s movie fleet after his death. Over the next 30 years, it was seen in such films as “Giant,” “The FBI Story,” and “Inside Daisy Glover,” with Robert Redford behind the wheel.  At the July 14^th auction, it’s expected to sell for $171,000-$202,000.

Bentley Sells For Record $7.9m

Bonhams was anticipating stellar results at its Goodwood Festival of Speed vintage car sale, and the auction house wasn’t disappointed. A 1929 ‘Birkin’  4 1/2 –litre Bentley became, at $7.9m, the most expensive British car ever sold at auction. Close behind was the record $7.4m that a buyer paid for “The Corgi,” a 1912 Rolls-Royce ‘Silver Ghost’ Double Pullman Limousine. All told, the 20^th anniversary sale in the Uk brought in $34.5m.