See all Ault Park Concours d’Elegance photos

The Kemp Auto Museum’s award-winning 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A took top honors at the recent Ault Park Concours d’Elegance, held in Cincinnati, Ohio the weekend of June 12-13, 2010.

The 2010 Ault Park Concours d’Elegance theme and featured marque was “International Designers and Coachbuilders”, highlighting fine motor vehicles from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. This world class exhibition in motoring excellence benefited The Arthritis Foundation and Children with Juvenile Arthritis, with the exclusive “Jay Leno Auto Collection Dream Tour” raffle. Over 200 rare and classic automobiles from around the world were presented at the show.

The Museum’s 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A was recognized as both the “Featured Marque International Designers and Coachbuilders Germany” and the prestigious “Chairman’s Choice” Award at the Ault Park Councours.

According to Executive Director Rodger Van Ness, “Being invited back to the Ault Park Concours for the second time is an honor, and to have the opportunity to show our 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A again is a real treat.” He continues, “Receiving invitations for two years is a tribute to and recognition of the one-of-a-kind collection The Kemp Foundation has obtained and the Museum maintains.”

 

View past Barons Sales at Sandown Park Photos

A splendid 1962 Series 1 E-Type roadster took the lead at Barons’ sale at Sandown Park on June 15th. The steel blue machine sold for just under £52,000, surpassing its estimate. In second place was a fine 2002 Dax 427 (AC Cobra replica), which achieved £33,650, followed by another Series 1 E-type – this time a 1964 fixed head coupé (£20,130).

The E-Type roadster was secured after a bidding battle in the hall, and the Dax was sold to a commission bid, which had been submitted on the Monday after the buyer had viewed the car.

“This was quite a busy sale, with cars spanning nine decades on offer, and there was some enthusiastic bidding for cars of all ages,” said Barons’ MD, Laurence Sayers-Gillan.

“Both the E-Type roadster and the Dax were exceptional examples, which reinforces the message that good cars will always find ready buyers and achieve good prices.”

Other interesting cars which found new owners at Sandown Park included a charming 1929 Chrysler 65 Roadster (£12,750), a rare 1984 Audi Quattro UR Treser (£11,745) and an even rarer 1967 Honda S800 Coupe (£9,620).

Barons next sale of classic & collectors, sports & prestige cars is at Sandown Park is on July 27th. For further information please visit www.barons-auctions.com

 

Beaufort Restorations is celebrating 30 years of restoring, repairing and preparing an extraordinary diversity of fascinating historic road and competition cars for clients across the world.

A glimpse into Beaufort Restorations’ workshop taken at any time during the past three decades would reveal some very interesting ‘patients’. Managing Director Mike Williams and his specialist team have brought back to life everything from an 1898 Locomobile steam car to Grand Prix cars. The eclectic mix in the workshop has also included a 1920s NN Renault bread van which Mike surmises may well have been used by the Maquis (part of the French Resistance) during WWII as, when the paint was stripped off, a spray of machine gun bullet holes was revealed.

Legendary competition machines…
Vintage and Historic Grand Prix and sports-racing cars the team has restored and/or prepared grace racetracks across Europe, preserving these pieces of motor racing history for spectators to enjoy in action decades after they first raced.

They include such legendary machines as the ex-Graham Hill BRM P261, ‘Hanuman II’ – the ex-Prince Bira of Siam E.R.A. R12B, a Maserati 250F, three Connaught GP cars, C-type Jaguar XKC 008, the D-type XKD534 (known as the ‘New Zealand Barn-Find Car’), a 1970s Formula 5000 McLaren, and the one of the last British front-engined Grand Prix cars, the beautiful Aston Martin DBR4/250.

…magnificent road cars – and more!
Beaufort Restorations’ craftsmen have always turned their highly skilled hands to restoring and maintaining an equally diverse range of road cars. Here, again, the ‘patient’ list is fascinating, including virtually every type of pre-war Bentley, plus Aston Martin DB4, DB5 and DB6, pre and post-War Alvis, pre-War MGs, MkVIII, Mk2, XK 120 Lightweight and XK 150 Jaguars, SS100, Isotta Fraschini, Lancia Aurelia B20, the afore-mentioned 1898 Locomobile steam car, Railton Fairmile Coupé, 1920s Stanley Steamer, Messerschmitt Tiger and Borgward Isabella, plus a variety of pre and post-war motorcycles.

They have also undertaken the redesign and build of a Riley Big 4 to meet the client’s desire for a 'more sporting machine' that could be entered into competitive events and even returned a Tiger Moth biplane to the skies with a fresh colour scheme. Beaufort Restorations has been awarded the accolade of ‘Restoration of the Year’ at the International Historic Motorsport Show, and received a Bonhams award for restoration excellence.

 

A 1996 Bentley Continental T Coupé, which was first owned by music legend Sir Elton John, was one of the highlights at Bonhams’ Rolls-Royce, Bentley Motor Cars Automobilia sale at Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire on Saturday 19 June. Sold for £58,700, the car has only 25,000 miles on the odometer.

The sale made £822,957 in total with an 82% sale rate. Jamie Knight, Group Head of the Motoring Department at Bonhams, says: “This is a pleasing result showing a continuing demand for Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars.”

Top prices were also paid for a 1924 Rolls-Royce 45/50 hp Silver Ghost Drophead Coupé, formerly the property of famous motoring author and collector David Scott-Moncreiff, which fetched £82,900; a 1930 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom II Sedanca de Ville, previously owned by Emily Macy Brewster of the Brewster coachbuilding family, which sold for £77,400; and a 1949 Bentley Drophead Coupé, which made £52,100.

Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas.For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com (May 2010).

 

A total of 102 automobiles, including many high-horsepower Detroit muscle cars combined with a selection of AMG Mercedes-Benz and M-Powered BMWs, crossed the auction podium at RM Auctions’ Classic Muscle & Modern Performance event, resulting in $6.9 million in sales and a 100 percent sell through rate.

”Overall, we saw some very strong prices for both select, rare and outstanding muscle cars as well as on the like-showroom-new, late model cars, and it was very encouraging,” Ian Kelleher, President and COO, RM Auctions.

Detroit Muscle entries were led by the Corvette marque’s overall solid showing at today’s auction, including achieving the top-seller of the day with a super-rare, tire-shredding 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 selling for $401,500. Other Corvette highlights include a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible out-performing its high pre-sale estimate by fetching $231,000, and a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Roadster realizing $214,500. The late-model BMWs and Mercedes-Benz also enjoyed a strong performance.

RM’s San Diego event continues the company’s strong presence in California which has included a string of highly successful private collection sales in recent years.

RM’s busy summer season continues with two of its annual events: the Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook held in conjunction with the Concours d’Elegance of America at Meadow Brook in Rochester, Michigan on July 24; and, the Sports & Classics of Monterey event in California, August 12 – 14, 2010.

Complete results of the Classic Muscle & Modern Performance event are posted online at www.rmauctions.com