Celebrity and VIP linked cars sell well at the IWM Duxford sale [Oct 2018]
19/10/2018 Cars
With 650+ registered bidders on the 138 classics on offer at their 'Duxford' auction, H&H managed to sell away over £3,500,000 worth of classic cars - breaking a 60% sale rate.
The catalogue cover - 'Woolf Barnato' Bentley (1929 Le Mans Style Tourer) - made an impressive £874,000 closely followed by the 2004 'Eric Clapton' Ferrari 615 Scaglietti (£75,900) and the 2012 Ferrari California (£126,500) - achieving great results for both vintage and modern classics.
1929 BENTLEY 4½ LITRE ‘LE MANS’ STYLE TOURER FIRST OWNED BY THE GREATEST ‘BENTLEY BOY’ WOOLF BARNATO SELLS FOR £874,000
This car was supplied new to the man who not only bankrolled four out of Bentley’s five Le Mans 24-hours victories during the Vintage era but also achieved three of them. It sold for £874,000.
One of just two normally aspirated 4½ Litre cars that he took delivery of (the other being ‘YH 3196’ which no longer exists in its original form), ‘GU 1927’ represents a concrete link to the man who saved one of Britain’s greatest marques.
It is doubtful that Bentley would have survived beyond 1925 without Barnato’s help and the four Le Mans victories achieved during his custodianship certainly made the company more attractive to Rolls-Royce in 1931.
ERIC CLAPTON’S FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI F1 SELLS FOR £76,000
Rock Music Legend, Eric Clapton’s Mirabeau Blue right-hand drive 2004 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1 with just 29,700 miles on the clock sold for £76,000.
The great musician and car collector specified a number of options on this Ferrari which contributed to its seven-week build time from Thursday 17th June to Tuesday 27th July 2004.
Adding to the Prancing Horse’s £177,500 ‘on the road’ price were: red brake callipers (£520), rear parking sensors (£575), heated front seats (£540), Scuderia enamel wing shields (£1,045), passenger airbag off system (£305), leather headlining (£275) and dedication plate in silver (£210).
ULTRA RARE 1966 JAGUAR E-TYPE 4.2 'QUAD HEADLAMP' COUPE (1 OF JUST 3 MADE) OWNED BY 6TH EARL CAWDOR SELLS FOR £58,650
This rare and eye-catching Jaguar E-Type with its aristocratic Scottish connections was built to special order of the Sixth Earl of Cawdor with a tuned engine, Abbey Panels modified 'quad headlamp / shark gill' bonnet, Koni shock absorbers, competition wire wheels and Restall seats.
It was offered for sale at No Reserve and estimated to sell for around £40,000 to £50,000.
The car was supplied new by P.S. Nicholson Ltd of Forres to Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the 6th Earl of Cawdor. It was inspired by the similarly bespoke Fixed Head Coupe made for Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin who was president of the RAC and Ecurie Ecosse at the time. Just three such 'quad headlamp / shark gill' E-Type bonnets are thought to have been fabricated by Abbey Panels with Sir William Lyons giving his blessing to the project.
The name Cawdor was referenced in Macbeth by Shakespeare – “All Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” But the Sixth Earl of Cawdor’s family were ennobled a few centuries later.
The family’s coat of arms bears the motto: ‘The pure heart shall sing when dying.' But the Sixth Earl was something of a swashbuckler who lived life to the full. He dressed like a Restoration buck, wearing scarlet velvet jackets with black frogging, floppy cuffs and outsize buckles on his belt and shoes, the heels of which were covered in red patent leather to match the jacket.
He wrote off six E-type Jaguars in quick succession. His daughter, Lady Liza Campbell, wrote of him in her book: ‘Title Deeds: Growing up in Macbeth's Castle’: “Pa’s philosophy was that when in town obeying a red light after midnight was a sinful waste of precious time … Typically he would crash at night, after dinner … Instead of spotting any correlation between drinking and the crashes, my father came to an altogether different conclusion: E-types were rubbish and their suspensions dangerous … and thereafter he drove Ferraris.”
1994 PRINCE CHARLES BENTLEY TURBO RL SELLS FOR £15,640
This elegant conveyance supplied new to H.R.H The Prince of Wales was estimated to sell for £12,000 - £14,000, and made £15,640
There is more to this long wheelbase Bentley Turbo R than meets the eye, as it was built to the special order of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. It is finished in the pleasing combination of Brewster Green with mushroom-coloured hide upholstery.
By far the most interesting accompanying item, however, is the car's official order form that spells out the uniqueness of the royal fleet. Included under the heading of 'Alternatives to Standard and Optional Extras' are such instructions as: 'supply and fit blue lamp'; 'rear seat cushion to be lowered as much as possible, fixed sunroof, front head rests to be easily removable and rear reading lights. One can only wonder about some of these requirements which only adds to the intrigue. The dropped seats of course provide a modicum of privacy.
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