The highlight of the forthcoming sale in Sydney, Australia is a 1927 6 1/2 litre Bentley bodied as an exact copy of the Team Car, ‘Old No 1’, that won the 1929 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Estimated at Aus$580,000 – 780,000 (that’s around £Stg250k – 330k), the car benefits from not only an original chassis – a valuable commodity now – but also a complete ‘re-commissioning’ by the then vendor, the late Tony Townsend of Elmdown
Engineering, in the early ‘70s in the style of the fast and famous Le Mans car. In fact it may well be that the engine fitted by Bentley Motors to the car (under warranty) in 1929 has ‘Works’ associations. Whatever, the car ticks all the boxes of desirability to vintage Bentley fans and has the added bonus of over 30 odd years of patina on its body, fixtures and fittings – so important compared to an ‘out of the box’ Vanden Plas replica nowadays.
 1933 Delage D8 15 Series Coupé |
 1969 Toyota 2000GT |
There are also some other significant pre-war cars in the sale such as the 1933 Delage D8 15 Series Coupé, $Aus80.000 - 100.000, the 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Saloon by Windover , $Aus85.000 - 110.000, and the 1926 Sunbeam 3.0 Litre Twin Cam Super Sports, at $Aus150.000 - 200.000. The Delage is an interesting one because it was bodied by Martin and King of Melbourne who copied many of the latest features used by the most stylish French coachbuilders and is by all accounts the original coachwork on this chassis. It also has a four-carburettor conversion to its straight eight motor giving performance that includes being able to “cruise comfortably at 110km/h”. At around £Stg 33k – 43k) it’s a good buy.
The auction includes not one, but two Mercedes-Benz 300SLs – one a roadster and one the famous ‘Gullwing’. Both are red and in very good condition, the coupé is fitted with the desirable Rudge wheels, and is catalogued as “the best we have seen”.
Three lots feature from the Estate of the late Harold Clisby, a prolific and versatile Australian inventor who was responsible for the original design, engineering and production of a lathe now made by the US Company, Sherline. One of these is the 1969 Toyota 2000GT ($Aus100.000 - 140.000), the elegant Albrecht Goertz-designed little car was always too expensive (more at the time than an E-type or 911) for the market but was a fast 2-litre, six-cylinder GT car. With its worldwide select group of aficionados, the cars are very rare (just 337 were made between 1967 and 1970) and desirable.
As befits the wonderful harbour city-setting, the sale also includes several sporting boats and yachts, and your author’s favourite would be the 1946 Halvorsen Australia Timber Motor Yacht at $Aus320.000 - 420.000. Alexa (or Louisa as she was known previously) is described as “one of the icons of Sydney recreational boating”.
Make mine a pink gin!
Full lotlisting -
Please note:
The vehicle names/details below are as given by the auction house, in $Aus.
We have used an approximate conversion to show Euro estimates.
| Car | Estimate $Aus | Estimate EURO |
| Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 1954 | $Aus7.000 - 12.000 | 4.403 - 7.547 |
| Bentley Pre-War 61/2 litre Bentley with fitted Speed Six engine LR2798 and Le Mans Sports body 1927 | $Aus580.000 - 780.000 | 364.780 - 490.566 |
| Edwardian Gentleman’s Yacht 1910 | $Aus45.000 - 65.000 | 28.302 - 40.881 |
| Halvorsen Australia Timber Motor Yacht 1946 | $Aus320.000 - 420.000 | 201.258 - 264.151 |
| Shepherds Boats of Ontario Runabout 1937 | $Aus24.000 - 44.000 | 15.094 - 27.673 |
| Buick Riviera 455ci Gran Touring Sport Coupe 1964 | $Aus28.000 - 36.000 | 17.610 - 22.642 |
| Delage D8 15 Series Coupe 1933 | $Aus80.000 - 100.000 | 50.314 - 62.893 |
| Ferrari 365GT4 2+2 1974 | $Aus45.000 - 55.000 | 28.302 - 34.591 |
| Ford Thunderbird Convertible 1955 | $Aus32.000 - 40.000 | 20.126 - 25.157 |
| Jaguar XJ6 Series II 1977 | $Aus3.000 - 5.000 | 1.887 - 3.145 |
| Locomobile Steam Car Car No. 3331 1900 | $Aus40.000 - 60.000 | 25.157 - 37.736 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing - Rudge wheels 1957 | $Aus520.000 - 600.000 | 327.044 - 377.358 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster 1957 | $Aus380.000 - 460.000 | 238.994 - 289.308 |
| Mercedes-Benz SL 500SL 1981 | $Aus28.000 - 38.000 | 17.610 - 23.899 |
| Brough Superior SS100 with sidecar 1933 | $Aus85.000 - 130.000 | 53.459 - 81.761 |
| Porsche 928 S 1980 | $Aus15.000 - 24.000 | 9.434 - 15.094 |
| Renault Sport Spider 2.0 1999 | $Aus48.000 - 60.000 | 30.189 - 37.736 |
| Rolls-Royce Phantom I Saloon by Windover 1928 | $Aus85.000 - 110.000 | 53.459 - 69.182 |
| Sunbeam 3.0 Liter Twin Cam Super 1926 | $Aus150.000 - 200.000 | 94.340 - 125.786 |
| Toyota 2000 GT 1969 | $Aus100.000 - 140.000 | 62.893 - 88.050 |
An excellent entry, all of which can be seen with photographs and descriptions on the Classic Driver Car Database.
|
Bonhams & Goodman
7 Anderson Street Double Bay NSW 2028 Australia Tel: +61 2 9327 7311 Fax: +61 2 9327 2917 [email protected] |
Text - Steve Wakefield
Photos - Bonhams
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