Deluge portion
A veteran of the 1929 Indy 500 is one of those under the hammer
Along with a packed race programme at the Goodwood Revival, more than 2.5 million pounds worth of cars changed hands at the Bonhams sale on the Friday. Included in this was a rare Isotta-Fraschini that went for £98,500 above its £200,000 estimate.
On the other side of the Atlantic, an ex-Steve McQueen Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso Berlinetta was sold for £1,160,000 by Christie’s in Monterey, while a Shelby 427 Cobra went for £682,000 through RM Auctions.
A car to look forward to at RM Auctions in association with Sothebys on October 31 is a very rare 1927 Delage 15-S-8 grand prix single-seater. The car finished seventh at Indianapolis in 1929 driven by Louis Chiron and was later raced by Robert Senéchal and Earl Howe. The now fully restored Delage is expected to fetch between £950,000 and £1,150,000. In the same auction, Giuseppe Prevosti has put his 1956 Porsche 356 ‘Pan Americana’ and 1965 Porsche 911 2000 up for sale.
At the H&H auction at Duxford on October 9, an interesting 1930s Austin Seven EA Sports Ulster is for sale, estimated at £16,000 to £18,000. Although it doesn’t have any competition history as such, the car, registered UT 7778, is listed by the Austin Seven Clubs’ Association as a genuine Ulster.
Also in this sale is a 1956 Cooper T39 ‘Bobtail’ which is reputedly one of the three cars campaigned by the Works during 1956. It is currently fitted with a 1500cc Coventry-Climax FWB engine and is ready to race. It is estimated at £90,000 to £100,000.
With a lower estimate of £14,000 to £17,000, but perhaps with a more concrete past, is the 1951 Cooper Mk5 F3 single-seater. It was one of the two Ecurie Richmond cars in 1951 and was raced to victory by Alan Brown at that year’s Luxembourg GP and the 100-mile race at Silverstone. A regular at Goodwood events, it has been extensively restored.
In the same auction, on October 9 and 10, there is also the last Brabham BT28 ever built. Chassis number BT28/42 was first raced in an F3 race at Thruxton on August 23, 1970, finishing 11th, and has an extensive history since then, taking it as far as Kenya. The car has HSCC and FIA papers, a refreshed engine, a recently rebuilt FT200 gearbox and is ready for the track. Estimate: £28,000-£32,000.
Other cars of note going under the hammer over the next month are: a works recreation Mini from Coys, on October 20, estimated at £30,000 to £40,000; an extremely fast Ferrari 308 Carma FF which was developed for the 1979 World Manufacturers Championship (also from Coys but on October 27 in Padova); and one of only a dozen Lombard AL3 racers, estimated at £75,000-£80,000 (Brightwells Classic Car Auction on October 31).
With a particularly vague estimate of 80,000 to 220,000 euros (£54,000-£149,000), the Sports Car Auction Company is selling an MG A Twin Cam Le Mans ‘Works car’. This was used as a reserve car at Le Mans in 1959 before being packed off to Johannesburg, South Africa. The machine has a complete history file and current FIA papers.
Aficionados of 1950s motor racing should make a note of an interesting sale on November 11. Various items from the Aintree Circuit and Aintree Automobile Racing Company Limited are going on sale at the next Graham Budd Sporting Memorabilia Sale at Sotheby’s Olympia. Lots include the Lap Record Trophy (presented to Peter Collins, Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren and Jim Clark), a set of unused complimentary tickets to the 1955 British Grand Prix and various other priceless Aintree artefacts. Even the ‘five-minutes-to-go’ timing clock and the company flag that once flew above the first pit are being auctioned.
Around the dealers
Competition cars currently for sale here and abroad
1968 Healey SR Le Mans
With fears that the Healey name was going to disappear from the Le Mans 24 Hours time sheets, the SR was secretly built in-house specifically for the famous la Sarthe circuit. Clive Baker and Andrew Hedges raced the car at Le Mans in 1968 but sadly came 50th out of 54 cars, retiring after only 20 laps; not quite the success they were hoping for. Recently restored, the SR comes with a photo file, works drawings, original pictures of construction and testing, plus correspondence and information from people who worked on and drove this unique car. Available from www.vdvgrant.be, tel: +32 (0)2 770 72 92, POA.
Lotus Mk9 Sport
This car was owned by Anthony Page and campaigned by him in 1955. It raced at many circuits that year, including Silverstone, Aintree and the Goodwood nine-hour race, where it was the highest-placed Lotus in 11th place. Comes with full FIA papers and in race-ready spec. Available from www.luzzago.com, tel: 0039 030 241 1531, 118,000 euros (£80,000).
BPR ferrari F40 LM
This car was originally one of Ferrari’s F40 prototypes. In 1995 it was entered into the GT1 class at Le Mans, and with Michel Ferté, Olivier Thevenin and Carlos Palau behind the wheel the car came in 12th overall and sixth in its very competitive GT1 Class. Fully rebuilt and race-ready. Available from www.racecar.com, tel: 020 7591 0127, POA.
Lotus 18
Chassis number 373, this ex-Clark, Surtees and Wolfgang Seidel Lotus was raced throughout 1960. Clark took fifth in it at the French GP and Surtees second at the British GP. The car’s 2.5-litre Climax engine was rebuilt at the beginning of this year, and the race-ready Lotus has won every race it has entered since then. Tel: 01306 711292 or 07785 231254, £220,000.