Bonhams annual Bond Street Sale is an end of year highlight on the auction calendar, with millions of pounds worth of classic cars going under the hammer in the heart of Mayfair.
A handful of high profile cars, including an Enzo and a 500-mile 997.2 GT3RS, failed to find new homes. However, what did sell tended to bring good money, and in this post we take a look at a handful of highlights which contributed to the £8,605,940 total raised from the 30 available cars.
ex-Brian Epstein, Ringo Starr 1966 Mini Cooper ‘S’ Radford – sold for £102,300 inc. premium
Each member of The Beatles famously owned a Mini, and this one belonged to drummer Ringo Starr. His was unique for its Radford hatchback conversion, a necessity to fit his drum kit in the back. Ringo owned and drove it for 18 months, from June ’67 until December ’68, and since then it has travelled the world on display in various Beatles exhibitions. It was restored in 1991, and its £100k+ sale price clearly indicates that demand for the cars of the stars is showing no signs of faltering. The Radford continues its celebrity ownership, with its new owner being none other than Geri Horner (nee Halliwell) of Spice Girls fame.
Pur Sang ‘Type 52 Baby Bugatti’ electrically powered pedal car – sold for £14,375 inc. premium
Given how the Argentinian Pur Sang company are the world’s preeminent creators of the most marvellous Bugatti recreations, it is not surprising that they would turn their hand to recreating some of the famous Bugatti children’s cars. Around 500 were built by Ettore Bugatti in period for his wealthy clients, however this one was constructed in 2002, and its 12v electric motor enables a top speed of around 25mph. Looks like great fun, but £14k is rather a lot for a bit of a laugh.
1929 Bentley 4½-Litre ‘Le Mans Replica’ Tourer – sold for £561,500 inc. premium
We should be up-front about this Bentley – we fell head-over-heels as soon as we laid eyes on it. Maybe it’s the undisputed durability of engines that were designed to last a century, or maybe it’s the famous legacy of the champagne-swilling ‘Bentley Boys’, but either way this was a star for us. It wasn’t without its questions, though – whilst the chassis and engine are matching numbers, this car was originally a Maythorn-bodied drophead coupé that was re-bodied in the Le Mans style at some point in the 1980s. Coupling that with a few questions around what kind of person would buy a car like this in 2017 (driving it is a specialist skill, maintaining it even more so), we wondered what it would bring. Half a million seems about right, although you’ll need to supply your own champagne and cigars.
2004 ASTON MARTIN DB7 ZAGATO COUPÉ – sold for £359,900 inc. premium
The DB7 Zagato is a homage to the famous DB4 GT Zagato of the early sixties, and continued Aston Martin’s longtime relationship with the famous Italian design house. 99 vehicles were hand-built in a collaboration between the two firms, with this car being the 13th produced. As we’ve previously documents, prices for the cars of the nineties and beyond are beginning to surge as both they and their prospective buyers age, so it will be interesting to see if the £359k realised for this 9000-mile example is topped in the near future.
1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona – sold for £467,500 inc. premium
First, a note of disclosure: We are in love with the Daytona. It is the quintessential seventies supercar, and it offers literally everything that we could ever want in a classic car. However, it’s no secret that values have been softening/readjusting/crashing since the heady heights of a few years back, and the £467k realised at Bond Street further supports that notion. It’s not a plexiglass car, but otherwise it has almost everything going for it – UK delivery in right-hand drive, full history since new, relatively low miles and originality. We suspect that it may have topped £6-700k two or three years ago.
1964 ASTON MARTIN DB5 – sold for £1,345,500 inc. premium
We don’t quite understand the rationale behind the staggering £1.34m paid for this DB5. Sure, the first owner was one Sir Paul McCartney, and he ordered it new with an in-car record player, which remains today. But there’s little else left from his ownership – the DB5 was blue when he had it, and has been repainted (twice) since those days. His bespoke dark leather interior with reported musical notes in the stitching has been replaced (twice); the vehicle now shows off lovely red Mulberry leather. What’s more, the registration number is different, and the door skins, front and rear valances, roof skin, wing under-shield and door skins have all been replaced during the recent extensive restoration.
It is undoubtedly one of the best DB5’s around, and it is a lovely car. But in reality it has almost zero connection with McCartney any more, and as our data below shows, it seems just a tad overpriced. The top prices previously realised for DB5 Coupe’s at auction are £776,000 for a ’65 Coupe at RM’s Arizona 2017 sale, and £735,000 for a stunning ’65 Coupe at RM’s Amelia Island 2017 sale. Indeed, another Coupe made £830,300 at this same Bond Street sale, so prices are definitely heading north. The rarer convertibles are regularly breaching the £1m barrier and well beyond, but until this sale the Coupe has always been several hundred thousand pounds shy. Maybe it is heading off to join its open-topped sibling?
’64 MAC’ could be the best DB5 Coupe in the world, but those other cars were rather nice as well. So – is a tenuous link to McCartney really worth £515,200? You decide…
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