Bonhams Greenwich 2015 – Auction Report

Lot # 268 1967 Triumph GT6 MkI Coupe; S/N 1KC1075L; Engine # KD7382E; Red, Silver hood stripe/Black cloth; Estimate $10,000 – $15,000; Modified restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $17,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $19,250. No Reserve. Dual Zenith carbs, Minilite wheels, Yokohama tires, Stebro exhaust, dual mirrors, Nomex racing bucket seats with racing harnesses, roll cage, leather-wrapped steering wheel, wood shift knob, power windows, later Autometer gauges, carbon fiber dash, aftermarket Pioneer stereo. – Competition restoration done during the 1990s. The work included stiffening the frame, a replacement engine, heavier duty frame and suspension, roll cage, fuel cell and aluminum radiator. Although it was finished in 2001, it was never raced and has reportedly been driven less than 1,000 miles since completion. The older repaint is very good and still shiny, but there is a big scuff in front of each rear wheel and cracks around the driver’s side door handle. Very good chrome. Imperfect door fit. Very good interior. This is a neat car for vintage tours or rallies and not all that expensive, but the carbon fiber dash and modern gauges just do not look right in a vintage Triumph. – Apparently, the anachronistic interior didn’t put people off and this car achieved a very big number for a GT6 in any condition. It’s had a lot put into it, so hopefully the new owner will at least get his money’s worth with competition use.

Lot # 269 1960 Lancia Appia Cabriolet, Body by Vignale; S/N 812014479; Engine # 814004646; Ivory,/Tan leather; Estimate $40,000 – $60,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $48,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $52,800. With Reserve. Blaupunkt multi-band radio, chrome wire wheels, Goodyear blackwalls. – Fair older repaint with minor corner cracks. Good major chrome, wavy bumpers. Good older upholstery and interior trim. Dull exterior aluminum trim. Doors don’t close quite flush. Engine compartment is restored but driven. It is a better car than all the picky comments imply. Remained in the same Italian family until 2012, when it was fully restored in Portugal. It has been enjoyed on the open road since, but is still a very strong car. – With its Michelotti-designed body this Lancia could be a Triumph, but it is much more imaginatively designed and built under the skin even if with only 53hp it isn’t going to win any drag races. It got plenty of positive attention both during the preview and on the auction block and brought a healthy price that is still a good value for the Appia Cabriolet’s style and sophistication.

Lot # 270 1946 Volkswagen Type 11 Beetle 2-Dr. Sedan; S/N 1061937; Olive Green,/Green vinyl; Estimate $75,000 – $125,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $60,000. With Reserve. Hub caps, blackwall tires, Dunlop Weathermaster tires on the rear, mismatched 4 ply tires on the front, bucket seats, trafficators. – Dull repaint over the original red with numerous scratches on the nose and front fenders. Small dent on the tip of the nose. Several chips on the doors. Wavy bodywork on the driver’s side. Scratched window glass. Chips painted over on the tail. Very good seat upholstery. Missing steering wheel center cap. Built at the Wolfsburg factory while it was still under British military supervision. The Beetle was not sold in the US until 1948, and this one was brought over by a US serviceman and displayed in a Boston-area VW showroom since the 1970’s. Other than an old repaint, it’s mostly original and barely used. It could be the oldest Beetle in the country and that’s the main thing it has going for it. Its condition is that of a fairly ratty old Beetle, but its significance is huge. – It’s hard to put a value on a car like this except that it’s above the reported high bid. It is a dream car for Beetle collectors, but Beetle collectors rarely have high five or six-figure money to satisfy their collecting urges. It should go right on a transporter and head to Monterey when it will meet a more appreciative audience.

Lot # 271 1971 Porsche 911T Targa; S/N 9111113033; Engine # 6117592; Sepia Brown,/Tan vinyl; Estimate $45,000 – $55,000; Unrestored original, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $65,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $71,500. No Reserve. 2195/125hp, dual Weber carbs, 5-speed, Fuchs wheels, Michelin tires, tinted glass, Blaupunkt AM/FM stereo, original tool roll and owner’s manual. – Some light scratches on the front fenders, a handful of rock chips on the nose, a large chip right below the Targa hoop on the right side that shows rust coming through, a chip on the right rear fender and a touch up on the driver’s side door. Good roof vinyl. Small dent in the right front fender and another on the driver’s side door. Excellent interior. Used but clean engine bay and underbody. A two-owner, mostly original model Targa represented as 34,605 miles and two owners from new. It’s a very solid case of preservation, but it has suffered its fair share of nicks over the years. – Somewhere between a time capsule and a restoration project, this well maintained, known mileage, two owner 911T fixed window Targa brought serious money, particularly for a car painted (how Seventies) Sepia Brown. The Greenwich bidders paid a deserved premium for preservation and the seller should be ecstatic over the car’s reception here.

Lot # 273 1968 Mazda Cosmo 110S Coupe; S/N L10A10419; Orange,/Black vinyl, Houndstooth cloth; Estimate $150,000 – $200,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $115,000. With Reserve. Twin rotor Wankel, 982/110hp, 4-speed, RHD, silver wheels, hubcaps, trim rings, fender mirrors, power antenna, cassette stereo, later Sony cassette under the dash. – Fresh, sound repaint over old white paint, but consistently badly masked. Pitted fender mirror chrome, scuffed bumpers, good original interior. A rare car but in mediocre condition. – It was a crowd-pleaser in Greenwich, drawing plenty of admiring looks and close inspections of a car most of the people there had never seen in the metal. That close inspection, however, didn’t work to the Cosmo’s advantage, showing up the sloppy masking and pitted chrome that did nothing to reassure bidders of the underlying quality of the potentially expensive mechanical function below the surface. They stopped bidding at a prudent price; the seller held out for more and now the car will become more Cosmo-politan as it heads out in search of a buyer enthusiastic enough to discount the presentation, or await adjustment of the consignor’s expectations.

Lot # 274 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster; S/N 12104010025037; Engine # 12192110002980; Black,/Red leather; Black cloth top; Estimate $135,000 – $150,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $141,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $155,100. With Reserve. CD stereo, body color wheels with hubcaps and trim rings, whitewall tires, comes with its original unrestored hardtop. – Lightly soiled but very good original upholstery. Excellent repaint and chrome. Old undercoat with some rusty fasteners. Pitted door handles. Orderly engine compartment has been competently restored, then driven a little. Weber carbs. A sound and very presentable cosmetically restored driver. – Cataloged with Solex carburetors, they have been replaced by appropriate (and more reliable) but incorrect Webers. Described as a 2 year restoration, it must have been sitting in a corner of the shop for most of that time and then rushed to completion before being driven enough to take off whatever restoration luster may have been present. It’s a mediocre 190SL, but that is even at $155,100 factored into the price.

Lot # 275 1954 Buick Skylark Convertible; S/N 7A1090773; Carlsbad Black, Chrome wheel well scallops/Blue leather, Light Blue inserts; White vinyl top; Estimate $80,000 – $100,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $65,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $72,050. With Reserve. Chrome wire wheels, bias ply whitewalls, chrome wheel well scallops, Dynaflow, P/S, P/B, P/W, power seat, signal seeking radio, dual outside mirrors. – Good older repaint with a small crack at the left trunk corner, hood edge chip and checking on the passenger’s door. Underbody was done like new but has been driven. Upholstery, particularly on the driver’s seat, is worn and surface cracked. Top is old, liner is older and torn. Window seals are original, hard and deformed. Never a show car and even farther from it now. – Sold by Christie’s in Tarrytown in 2000 for $68,150 with 1,100 more miles showing on its odometer here, it is otherwise as sold fifteen years ago, just older, and that makes the price it brought here appropriate. Really good ’54 Skylarks are six-figure cars, and this one can be but only after much work and expense. It is better to preserve, drive and enjoy it (and get rid of the chrome wheel well scallops, which are gaudy beyond belief.)

Lot # 280 1958 Vespa 400 Transformabile; S/N 8252; Engine # 18258; Blue,/Dark Blue leather; Black vinyl top; Estimate $20,000 – $30,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $13,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $14,850. No Reserve. Air-cooled 2-stroke engine, single Solex carb, hub caps, folding Transformabile roof, suicide doors, luggage rack. – Pretty good older paint with some cracks and chips around the drip rail. Very good interior. Restored in 2011 and now presents a bit noticeably better than driver quality. – Vespa did in fact try their hand at making a car in a short-lived experiment from 1957-1961. The cars were actually built in France and featured unibody construction as well as independent suspension at both ends. The number of scooters Vespa has sold is approaching 20 million, making the 28,000 Vespa 400 automobiles sold seem extremely rare. With the microcar market fairly strong, this car brought a healthy price, but it was still less than the cost of restoration and less than half of what a comparable and much more common Isetta would go for.