Bonhams will return to Monaco on 13 May 2016 to present an auction of 40 motor cars. Coinciding with the Monaco Grand Prix Historique, Bonhams’ sale will be held at the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel overlooking the Grand Prix circuit’s famous ‘Station’ hairpin.
“Already renowned in motorsport circles for its annual Monaco Grand Prix and Monte Carlo Rally, the glittering Mediterranean Principality is now to host the Bonhams Monaco Sale,” said James Knight, Bonhams Group Motoring Director. “The auction will be carefully curated, tailored to offer only the most desirable models to the market.
The headline offering at the Bonhams Monaco 2016 sale will be the ex-Works Team 1952 Jaguar C-Type raced in period by Stirling Moss. Chassis XKC 011 was built new for the Jaguar Works racing team early in 1952. After making its racing debut at Silverstone in May of that year, driven by one-time pre-war Brooklands star Peter Walker, it was fitted with special longnose/longtail aerodynamic bodywork for the Le Mans 24 Hours. There it was co-driven by Stirling Moss and Peter Walker, but failed to finish.
Reverting to the standard body form, it was again co-driven by Moss and Walker in the 1952 Goodwood 9-Hours race, finishing 5th, before Walker set best times in both the Shelsley Walsh and Prescott hill climbs. World War Two hero Major Tony Rolt drove it to victory in the September Goodwood Meeting.
In 1953, XKC 011 was campaigned by Stirling Moss and ‘Mort’ Morris-Goodall in the Mille Miglia, and by veteran driver/journalist Tommy Wisdom in the Targa Florio. The car’s Works Team career concluded with Moss finishing 2nd in heat, and 4th in the final of the 1953 British Empire Trophy race which took place at Douglas, Isle of Man.
The following year the car achieved further success, when it was loaned from Jaguar Cars Ltd to Belgian team, Ecurie Francorchamps.
After it was sold from the Works, the car became one of the most raced C-Types on the British club racing scene, owned and driven by Michael Salmon, Gordon Lee and Robin Sturgess. It finally passed into the current vendor’s family ownership in March 1963, and it has been maintained ever since.
Knight continued, “This very special sports-racing car is not only an ex-Stirling Moss ex-Works team entry, it is also in wonderfully original condition, and is offered direct from the family that has owned it for 52 years. Research indicates the car is fully original, remaining un-restored since the day it left the Works team in 1955.”
The Bonhams Monaco 2016 auction will be staged 13 May at the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel in Monaco. Returning to Monaco for the first time since 2010, Bonhams’ sale will be held the same weekend as the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. For more information, visit: Bonhams.com/Cars.
[Source: Bonhams]
