Bonhams’ annual Hendon sale racks up over £2-million in sales

Bonhams’ motoring team left the RAF Museum at Hendon with a spring in its step after securing a £2,071,132 sales total for its 704-lot annual Hendon sale of motor cars and automobilia. Just the day before the team had staged a 550-lot motorcycles sale in Stafford, which brought in £1,046,198.

James Knight, Bonhams’ International Director of Motoring said: “We’ve had a fantastic two days of sales and by taking over £3-million in the last 48 hours this has confirmed Bonhams’ position as European market leaders in this field.

“An extraordinary array of vehicles and memorabilia were sold in both locations – Hendon and Stafford – and this attracted a strong international buying contingency many of whom were new to Bonhams.”

Over 90% of the motor car lots offered at the Hendon Sale were sold, showing the auctioneers’ strength at pitching the right vehicles to the right audience, and the automobilia was a near sell-out. Over 1000 people attended the sale alone. A good proportion of those who attended in person were from the Emerald Isle - there to bid on The Lucey Collection from Ireland and other motor cars as well.
Bidding was particularly fierce for the Lucey Collection, which brought £803,698 and was 100% sold.

Bonhams’ motoring specialist Stewart Skilbeck, who consigned the Lucey Collection for sale, described the atmosphere in the room as: “Simply electric.” He said, that “as soon as the bidding reached top estimate on the Lucey Cars, the audience was so quiet in anticipation of the next bid, that you could hear a pin drop.”

The strong interest in the Lucey Cars pushed final prices way above their pre-sale estimates. The 1902 Wolseley 10hp Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau fetched £161,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £90,000-120,000. A 1905 Germain 5.7 litre, 32.2hp Royal Tonneau made the same money, against an estimate of £60,000-70,000. The 1909 Silver Stream 18/24hp 3.1 litre Roi-de-Belges Tourer fetched £144,500 - twice its mid-estimate, selling to a private Irish bidder. The 1900 Argyll 5hp Spindle Seat Rear Entrance Tonneau made £113,700, well over its £60,000-80,000 estimate. It was this car that had spent a substantial part of its life in the front room of a first floor Dublin flat, before being bought by Denis Lucey. A private northern England collector eventually secured it yesterday (30 April) after a tough bidding battle.

Another fabulous array of motor cars sold was The Yorkshire Car Collection, which featured everything from Chevrolet Corvettes and MGs to a 1923 Bugatti 1,496cc Type 22 Brescia and a circa 1898 Horse-drawn Fire Engine by William Rose & Co, Engineers of Manchester. The ex-Major Bertram H Austin, Brooklands-winning 1923 Bugatti was top seller from the collection, fetching £120,300 – more than double its lower estimate.

Automobilia also fared well, as did the sprinkling of rare bicycles offered. One of them, a finely made hobby horse dating from circa 1819 sold for £29,900. It had been expected to fetch £8,000-12,000. A rare first pattern Otto Bicycle dating from circa 1881, which has survived from around 2000 original examples built, was also snapped up at Hendon, selling for £17,250. It is thought to be one of a handful still in existence.