NEWS

Excellent prices were achieved at Bonhams weekend of motoring auctions, as lots from the Mercedes-Benz and the Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sales went under the hammer.

• At the Mercedes-Benz Sale (19 March), the magnificent 1928 Mercedes-Benz Model K 6,240cc Supercharged Torpedo Transformable achieved €758,403, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ‘Stirling Moss’ sold for €2,300,000, and formerly the property of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, a 1973 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL Convertible realised €49,450

• At the Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale (20 March), the ex-Lord Mountbatten 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost sold for £264,700, a 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer sold for £320,700, and vehicle registration number ‘S5’ soared to £270,300

“Popularity continues for rare and desirable collectors’ motor cars,” said James Knight, Bonhams International Group Motoring Director. “We witnessed demand for the more formal coach built motor cars of the 1920s, with the rare 1928 Mercedes-Benz Model K 6,240cc Supercharged Torpedo Transformable, featuring superb Saoutchik transformable coachwork, selling for €758,403 in Stuttgart, and the ex-Lord Mountbatten 1924 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost Cabriolet selling for £264,700 at Goodwood. Sporting cars of the 1920s/30s are also still very much in demand, such as the 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer achieving £320,700.”
 
The Mercedes-Benz sale also saw a 1973 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL Roadster – auctioned for charity and originally owned by Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu – achieving €49,450.

Further highlights include top lot, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ‘Stirling Moss’, selling for €2,300,000; the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SC Cabriolet achieving €793,500, and from the Mercedes-Benz Musuem ‘All Time Stars’ collection, the 1994 Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL, which sold for €28,750.
 
On Sunday 20 March, enthusiasts headed for the Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale, where a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ Coupé from the single-owner Curtis Collection took the auction top spot, achieving £841,500. Additional highlights included the former Limousine of Eva 'Evita' Duarte de Perón, a 1951 Cadillac 75, which sold for £85,500; a 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer sold for £320,700, and one of Scotland’s earliest vehicle registration numbers, ‘S5’, soared to £270,300.

Bonhams Motoring Department Sales calendar continues with the Monaco Sale, taking place Friday 13 May in Monte Carlo. For information on this or other news from Bonhams, please CLICK HERE.