Car auction at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Bonhams Motoring Department has unveiled the line-up for its annual auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester which will take place on Friday July 12.
Goodwood Festival of Speed.Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Leading the way is the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 in which five-time Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio won two grands prix on his way to his second World Drivers’ Championship.

Other headline cars include the 1955 Maserati 300S Sports-Racing Spider that finished third in the 1955 Sebring 12-Hours (estimate £3.5m - £4.5m) and a 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 ‘Le Mans’ Tourer that was originally owned by the 3rd Viscount Ridley (£1.4m - £1.8m).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Two Ferraris will also share the limelight. A 1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast that is one of only six right-hand drive models made is estimated at £800,000 to £1 million, while the 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Coupé bought by John Lennon the day he passed his driving test is estimated to realise between £180,000 and £220,000.

Another important motor car, ‘NOJ 392’, the Austin-Healey 100 Special Test Car that was the Works team entry in the 1953 Mille Miglia and Le Mans 24 Hours, is estimated at £500,000 to £600,000, and the Lotus Cortina Competition Saloon in which Sir John Whitmore won the 1965 European Touring Car Championship is estimated at £90,000 to £120,000.

Among other lots of interest is the earliest right-hand-drive Porsche 911S imported into the UK (estimate £15,000 - £20,000). The 1966 short-wheelbase coupé was once part of Porsche Cars’ press fleet, and is offered for sale in need of comprehensive restoration, in the model’s 50th anniversary year.

The automobilia section will feature some 250 lots, including literature, artwork, glass and metal mascots, picnic sets, luggage, watches and models.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Highlights include an extremely fine specially-commissioned picnic and tea-set for four people made by Louis Vuitton c.1906 (estimate £40,000 - £50,000). The black leather-cloth case, lined with yellow fabric, has a compartmentalised interior with a lift-out tray, and is fitted with a full complement of fine accessories.

The sale will feature three items of memorabilia relating to Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, including a signed Porsche 917 steering wheel from the film ’Le Mans’ and the actor’s leather aviator jacket. Both are estimated to realise between £10,000 and £12,000. The jacket, in dark brown leather with fur-lined collar, features in numerous photographs of the star.

Other lots of interest include the registration number ‘NO 1’, which is estimated to realise between £80,000 and £100,000; a 1930s ‘Vitesse’ glass mascot by Rene Lalique (£4,000 - £5,000), and a 1938 Land Speed Record-breaking ‘MG Magnette’ sterling silver trophy presented to Major A T ‘Goldie’ Gardiner for a speed of 186.6mph and modelled in the form of his record-breaking car (£10,000 - £12,000).

Artworks on sale, meanwhile, include two paintings by Frederick Gordon Crosby. ‘Bluebird – and Daytona’ (£25,000 - £35,000) depicts Sir Malcolm Campbell breaking the land speed record at Daytona beach in 1933 at an average of 272.108mph, while ‘The 24-Hour Touring Car Race at Le Mans’, dated 1923, is estimated at £12,000 to £14,000. Another painting that will be offered is Geo Ham’s depiction of ‘Le Mans 1953’ (£8,000 - £12,000).

Related topics: