RARE BRITISH RACING CAR LEADS FLAGSHIP LONDON BOND STREET SALE
1955 Austin Healey 100S Sports Racing Two-Seater, estimate £550,000 – 650,000
A 1950s Austin-Healey 100S with significant in-period competition history –– is in pole position at the forthcoming Bonhams Bond Street Sale on 4 December.
‘EVV 106’, a 1955 100S Sports Racing Two-Seater, with an estimate of £550,000 – 650,000, is one of 55 purpose-built racing cars produced to celebrate the Austin-Healey 100’s third-place in the 1954 12 hours of Sebring endurance race.
This example, one of only four destined for the home market – with the majority welcomed in the USA, its target market – also enjoyed much success in domestic club racing, with its various privateer owners at the wheel.
Acquired new by successful gentleman driver David Shale, the 100S had its racing debut at the Goodwood motor circuit before winning at Silverstone and Aintree and gracing the podium at Brands Hatch on its way to placing second in the 1956 Autosport Championship.
The 100S was campaigned by subsequent racing driver owners including the ‘King of Brands’ Tony Lanfranchi – a prolific racer who later competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and enjoyed race wins in the Formula 3 and Formula Libre series – before the car was retired in 1962.
Purchased by noted Austin-Healey collector Arthur Carter, its custodian for 42 years, it has since been owned by private collectors and has appeared in many historic events including the Goodwood Revival meeting and the Mille Miglia retrospective. The 100S is now offered by the vendor, its seventh owner, who successfully bid for the car at a previous Bonhams sale.
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “Bonhams has had the privilege of handling many important Austin-Healeys and the 100S is one of the rarest and most sought-after models. We are delighted to be reunited with EVV 106 in New Bond Street.”
1933 Bugatti Type 46S Two-door Coupé, coachwork by James Young, estimate £350,000 – 500,000
Lining up with the 100S is a car formerly owned by another speed king, a 1933 Bugatti Type 46S Two-Door Coupé, with coachwork by James Young, estimate £350,000 – 500,000. The Type 46S, said to be the favourite creation of engineer Ettore Bugatti, exemplifies Bugatti’s fast and exciting touring cars produced in the firm’s golden era, with the supercharged 5.4-litre engine capable of top speeds exceeding 100mph. It is also one of the rarest Bugatti models, with only 18 units being produced.
The example offered was the first to be imported into the UK and was bodied as a two-door coupé by James Young coachbuilders. Among its enthusiast former owners were Colonel GM Giles, founder of the Bugatti Owners Club in Britain, and Charles Burnett III, the former land-speed record holder, and heir to family interests in Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, who inherited the car from his father, Charles Burnett II.
Burnett Senior had just missed purchasing the car from a dealer in 1956 but spotted it driving down London’s Oxford Street six months later, so flagged it down and offered to buy it from its new owner. The car is offered with a spare engine he purchased as new some years later, which had been hidden in the Bugatti factory during the Second World War.The Bugatti has been the property of the Burnett family for 65 years and is offered from the family trust into which it passed upon Charles Burnett III’s untimely death in 2018.
The boutique Bond Street Sale will present 30 collectors’ motor cars, as well as motorcycles and a selection of automobilia at Bonhams’ flagship New Bond Street saleroom, with other highlights including:
1965 Aston Martin DB5, estimate £500,000 – 600,000
1965 Aston Martin DB5, estimate £500,000 – 600,000. For many enthusiasts, the DB5 is the quintessential Aston Martin – and the first to be driven by the cinematic James Bond. This four-owner car was rescued as a barn-find seven years ago, following more than three decades off the road, and was the subject of a four-year, £400,000 specialist restoration, bringing the car to its present concours ‘Bond-worthy’ condition.
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SC Coupé, estimate £380,000 – 440,000
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SC Coupé, estimate £380,000 – 440,000. With its Sindelfingen coachwork and hand-finished tan leather interior, the 300SC is one of only 200 examples of the marque’s flagship model of the 1950s. Restored in the 1990s, the 300SC was previously displayed in Turkey’s Key Museum.
1928 Bentley 6 ½ – Litre Tourer, estimate £300,000 – 400,000
1928 Bentley 6 ½ – Litre Tourer, estimate £300,000 – 400,000. One of only 21 short wheelbase variants of the ‘Silent Six’, this Bentley competed in the first all-Bentley race at Brooklands in 1936 and the following year’s Lewes Speed Trials. Together with a 1930 Bentley 4 ½-Litre Vanden Plas-Style Tourer, estimate £250,000 – 350,000, and a 1937 Jaguar SS 100 3 ½ -Litre Sports Tourer (£200,000 – 300,000), it is offered from the collection of its late owner and has been carefully stored for the past 25 years.
1953 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Series III Coupé, estimate £80,000 – 120,000
1953 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Series III Coupé, estimate £80,000 – 120,000. This Pinin Farina-designed Gran Turismo, first owned by the late controversial Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi, has been extensively restored by the vendor in the 1990s, including numerous upgrades.
Ex-London Motor Show 1961 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide Saloon, estimate £50,000 – 80,000, no reserve
The Ex-London Motor Show 1961 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide Saloon, estimate £50,000 – 80,000, no reserve. Reviving the famous Lagonda Rapide name, the luxurious four-door sports saloon was intended by Aston Martin owner David Brown to be the most mechanically advanced car available, offering effortless acceleration to 130mph. This Rapide, the factory demonstrator and development car, is also the only example of the proposed Mark 2 series.
1964 René Bonnet Djet II Coupé, estimate £35,000 – 50,000
1964 René Bonnet Djet II Coupé, estimate £35,000 – 50,000. This French rarity is one of 181 examples produced of the revolutionary sports car, the world’s first mid-engine production car.
The Bond Street Sale
The Bonhams Bond Street Sale will take place on Saturday 4 December, starting with automobilia and UK registration numbers at 2pm with the motor cars sale to follow.
The sale will be a traditional live auction, with bids accepted from clients in the saleroom (respecting social distancing and all local COVID-related guidelines), online and via the Bonhams App. Absentee and telephone bids are also encouraged.
All lots will be available to view on Friday 3 December 9am – 5pm and on Saturday 4 December from 9am to 3pm. Contact: ukcars@bonhams.com for further details and to register.
