An alloy-bodied 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing will be among the headline consignments for the RM Auctions London 2012 sale, scheduled for 31st October at Battersea Evolution in London.
“There is always high anticipation for our London sale,” says Max Girardo, Managing Director, RM Europe. “We never fail to deliver a world-class catalogue of exceptional cars, and with the market having remained strong throughout 2012, we look forward to staging another wonderful sale in the UK.”
The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is the 20th of 29 alloy-bodied examples built by the factory. Chassis 198043-5500786 was originally delivered new to a Swiss industrialist, finished in white and red leather interior. It now sports a silver exterior with red leather interior (Estimate: £2,500,000–£3,200,000).
Joining the Gullwing at the RM Auctions London 2012 sale is an alloy-bodied 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti Berlinetta Tour de France, chassis 1335GT (Estimate: £1,800,000–£2,400,000). One of just 36 single-louvre examples, 1335GT was specially ordered for racing and delivered new with a competition engine to Casimiro Toselli, who went on to pilot the Ferrari in numerous races through 1960. It then passed through a well-documented chain of collectors, remaining, for the most part, in Italy. The subject of a professional restoration, 1335GT boasts a pedigree that includes multiple entries in the Mille Miglia retrospective over the years, in addition to a display at the 50th Anniversary of Ferrari in Rome and Maranello.
Other Ferraris at the sale include a matching-numbers, well-documented 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Ellena Coupe, chassis 0861 GT (Estimate: £250,000–£320,000); a 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, chassis 13653 (Estimate: £240,000–£300,000); and a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS, chassis 07861 (Estimate: £350,000–£400,000).
RM’s London sale will also lift the hammer on a series of British automobiles, led by a 1952 Bentley Continental R-Type Fastback Sports Saloon, chassis BC7A. BC7A was the very first R-Type Continental unveiled to the public at the 1952 London Motor Show. Freshly restored and presented in Broken White with red leather, exactly as it was in 1952, BC7A is the seventh Continental built and therefore belongs to the ‘A’ series cars, notable because of their lightweight features (Estimate: £575,000–£675,000).
Another British automobile is a 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupe, chassis 32 MS, with coachwork by Carlton. Formerly the property of the Duke of Sutherland, chassis 32 MS is one of just 281 short wheelbase Continentals produced (Estimate: £275,000–£375,000).
Beyond these individual, private entries, RM announced a 22-car collection currently owned by Dutch collector, Wim Zegwaard. Among others, the collection features no less than five Chevrolet Impala Convertibles, two Chevrolet Bel Air Convertibles, and three American Fords, including a Fairlane Galaxie 500 Convertible, a 1956 Thunderbird Convertible, and a 1966 Mustang 289 Convertible. The collection also boasts European classics, with entries as varied as a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL through to a 1991 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston and culminating with a 2008 Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4.
For additional information, visit rmauctions.com or call +44 20 7851 7070.
[Source: RM Auctions; photo: Tom Wood © 2012 courtesy RM Auctions]
