Classicnotes – February 2013

• Coys rounded off a successful year with their final auction of 2012, “True Greats”, on December 4th, at Westminster, London, with sale results now nearing £4 million, and many new record auction prices achieved for the year in the UK.  Among the many cars sold was a BMW 328 for £494,600, as well as two Lamborghini Miuras for £421,800 and £260,000.

• The 2012 Bonhams auction at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate realized just short of £1.1 million from 65 motor cars, 100 motorcycles and more than 300 lots of automobilia. In the motorcar section, a “barn-find” 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Coupe restoration project exceeded expectations to sell for £68,700, more than double its pre-sale estimate. Other lots that sold well included a 1950 Delahaye Type 135M Coupe for £55,200 and a 1933 MG Midget J2/J4 Sports for £44,850. Meanwhile an eight-seater 1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Shooting Brake, once used as an ambulance, sold for £35,667. Among the more unusual lots at the auction, a c.1945 Military Field Kitchen beat its top estimate to sell for £2,300, and a 1951 Guy Otter Pantechnicon Panel Van complete with livery from the Silentnight Company realized £12,075.