RM's Auction to coincide with the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
As we build toward the end of another year and in the wake of a radical and far-reaching UK Budget and in anticipation of the US Presidential Election, it is interesting to see how the classic car market is holding up.
In straightforward sales terms, RM Sotheby’s sale at the weekend must rate as a success but in any sale, there are winners and losers – and we have to say that there were a few Feltham Astons that could be categorised in the latter category.
But the first item on note is the profound sense of déjà vu – for years, Bonhams have been prominent around the London to Brighton run. Bowls of chilli for cold participants in a Bonhams marquee on Madeira Drive and later, London auctions. Now RM Sotheby’s have taken the baton on but the faces are familiar with Malcom Barber and Sholto Gilbertson conducting the sale.
Malcolm had overrun with what appeared to be a very successful and lucrative Automobilia Sale - £144,000 including premium for a 1965 crash helmet worn by Graham Hill stood out - and Malcolm carried on with the early veteran car lots then passed onto Sholto with a message that the pace of the auction would change – and it did. The presence of these two stalwarts may offer some reassurance but they both hover on the border of over familiarity with their personal association with certain lots – it is important to maintain a professional distance when such huge sums of money changing hands.
A Brough Superior Motorbike was one of the early misses along with a tidy looking Honda NSX and the first of the Astons, a GT2 Racer whose bid of £415,000 was not enough to make the sale. That contrasted with a great result for the following Oscar helped by its rare manual gearbox. There were a lot of “No Reserve Lots” and there were three Feltham Astons that were in that category but failed to excite the crowd.
Those who follow the Byron International Auction Reports will know that we can look back at when all three of those cars went through the Works Service Sale in 2014 – the LHD DB2 made £39,100 on Saturday, the LHD DB Mark III £40,250 and the DB2/4, £28,750 (all including premium) – their 2014 prices were respectively £130,300. £163,900 and £107,900 – all three required restoration but we would respectfully suggest that perhaps an auction was not the ideal route to market!
The DB2 Drophead by Serra was rebodied in 1961 and ,not original, the price of £138,000 incl. premium was okay while the DB4 Series IV Vantage made a creditable £426,875 incl. premium. Equally good the DB Mark III Drophead delivering £297,500 incl, premium although its Works Restoration would probably cost more nowadays!
There were two DB5’s in the sale – first up was a red car which we knew as a Concours winner when we sold it in 1999, but appeared to have a rather dubious retrim which may have accounted for the price achieved of £376,250 incl. premium.
Contrast that with the second, green model which, to the apparent surprise of the rostrum, drew an enthusiastic maiden bid of £500,000 (£567,500 incl. premium) – the car was last seen with Nic Mee which gives an idea of the likely quality but perhaps a lower maiden bid may have delivered a cheaper car!
Another Aston “miss” was a well presented DB4 Convertible with emphasis from the rostrum on its DB4GT engine – it was supplied with a GT engine, but not this one - an original engine may have delivered a better result.
The final Aston Martin contribution to the afternoon was a rather sad looking DB6 Automatic Saloon that sold for £85,100 incl. premium
There was an exciting and varied inventory for this sale with the star, a rather fine Jagur XKSS – in spite of a specially commissioned film short featuring Top Gear’s Chris Harris, the car remained in the unsold column with a top bid of £8,000,000.
From the Aston Martin perspective, it was a bit of a disaster for the three Feltham cars that we have highlighted, but otherwise, we can look positively on the rest – for example, the V8 “X” Pack had no substantive history but made £241,250 incl. premium, although the automatic transmission may have stopped it going higher.
Perhaps we cannot optimistically reflect on a market recovery but the green shoots are showing through.
For full results, follow this link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11LN9xB1komJUlb85B3GckV11PSccrtCo/view?usp=sharing
© Byron International
