The Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012 auction was held 29th June on the Tapestry Lawn at Goodwood House in Chichester, Sussex. A selection of 80 automobiles crossed the auction block, resulting in total sales of £22 million and a 78% sales rate.
Top sale at Bonhams’ 20th annual Goodwood Festival of Speed sale went to the ex-Sir Henry Tim Birkin 1929 4.5-litre supercharged Blower Bentley that sold for £5,042,000 ($7.9 million USD). The single-seater car, which when new raised the Brooklands Outer Circuit record to 137 mph, now holds the record as the most expensive Bentley ever sold at public auction.
The Bentley was sold as part of a collection once owned by famed watchmaker George Daniels of seven cars, two motorcycles and assorted automobilia. Daniels was a huge fan of Birkin, and also on sale at the 2012 Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale was another Birkin car. The 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Long Chassis Touring Spider which formed part of Birkin’s 1932 Le Mans 24-Hour Endurance Race entry with his friend Earl Howe, sold for more than £2.5 million.
Malcolm Barber, Bonhams chief executive officer and auctioneer at the Daniels sale, said, “The prices achieved for George Daniels’s cars today are a fitting tribute to one of the truly great artist engineers of the 20th Century. George was not only a fantastic craftsman who hand-made some of the world’s most desirable watches, he was also a car connoisseur held in immense respect throughout the vintage motoring world.”
The next highest sale price at the 2012 Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed auction was achieved by “The Corgi”, a 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp ‘Silver Ghost’ Double Pullman Limousine, which sold for a record-breaking £4.7 million.
“The Corgi” Rolls-Royce is one of the most widely recognised of the company’s ‘Silver Ghost’ production to survive. A generation of school boys played with the Corgi Toys ‘Silver Ghost’, modelled after this unique Double Pullman Limousine. An opulent and imposing design in name and style, it echoed the luxurious ‘Pullman’ Railway carriages pioneered by American George Pullman.
Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012 – Top Ten Auction Results
1. 1929-31 4 1/2 Litre supercharged Bentley single seater – £5,041,500
2. 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost Double Pullman Limousine – £4,705,500
3. 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Spider Lungo – £2,689,500
4. 1908 Itala Grand Prix Car – £1,737,500
5. 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged Tourer – £785,500
6. 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback – £628,700
7. 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS – £561,500
8. 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 – £404,700
9. 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Supercharged – £371,100
10. 1907 Daimler Type TP 45 10.6-litre Four-Seat Tourer – £359,900
For complete auction results, visit www.bonhams.com/goodwood.
Robert Brooks, Chairman of Bonhams, commented, “We always believed that the Goodwood Festival of Speed was the perfect place to sell two of Britain’s most iconic cars. Bonhams has sponsored this event from its inception 20 years ago. These results again prove the value of provenance and rarity, offered for sale in the best possible surroundings.”
[Source: Bonhams]
