H&H Enjoy Sunny Result at Rainy Buxton Sale
Eclectic mix of cars, motorcycles, reg. numbers and automobilia totals c.£1million
Cars
H&H weaved their traditional Buxton magic this week (June 9/10) and delivered some excellent results from their latest sale of collectors’ vehicles and related ephemera, the total proceeds of which were c.£1million.
Despite the inclement weather, the auction had a typically summery theme, with approximately half the car lots being of a sporting nature. The star performer of all was a pretty, metallic blue Bristol-engined AC Ace of 1958. After a period of intense bidding, the iconic two-seater finally made a premium inclusive £121,535 - a figure way above the estimate and thoroughly deserving of the resulting applause.
The extensively restored, red 3.4-litre Jaguar XK150 Roadster of the same year as the Ace rightly attracted enormous attention before eventually finding a new home for £54,635, while the very usable 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 made £51,290. Of no less than eight Triumphs on offer, the rare 1968 TR5 made £20,070, the very tidy 1973 GT6 fetched £11,373 and a stunningly restored Spitfire returned £8,920 – all matching or exceeding their estimates in the process. While, the Daimler Conquest Roadster Fixed Head Coupe, the sole known survivor of five built, attracted strong interest before being acquired by a European collector for £22,300.
Motorcycles
Eighty three per cent of the motorcycles changed hands, of which the rare and immaculate 1955 Vincent Black Prince was always going to be the top seller. In fact, to much applause it returned £54,635 against an estimate of £30,000-35,000. The charming 1930 Panther 500 also exceeded expectations at £5,798, as did the 1953 350cc BSA Gold Star at £7,526. Even though it couldn’t be ridden home, the astonishing wooden replica of a Harley Davidson Road King made a very deserving £2,564.
Registration numbers
Looking for new ways to invest their money, it seems more and more people are spending it on cherished numbers, and the top seller in this sale was
29 PD, which changed hands for £3,679.
Automobilia
All bar a handful of the hundreds of carefully selected items of automobilia sold. Of particular note were a:
• Breitling 18K gents wristwatch - £8,006
• Large c.1920s cylindrical Shell petrol pump – £1,830
• Signed black and white portrait photo of Achille Varzi - £1,830
• Large metal ‘leaping cat’ Jaguar showroom sculpture – £1,143
• Leather-bound photograph album mainly containing images of pre-war racing cars in action - £972
• Said Simon Hope of H&H: “There is always a good atmosphere at our Buxton sales and this week, as ever, there were buyers for pretty well all the right items. We very much look forward to returning to the venue on July 22 – a sale for which we already have some exciting entries, including another AC Ace.”
The prices quoted above include buyer’s premium and the VAT thereon. For further information and / or images please contact H&H on lo-call 08458 334455 or info@handh.co.uk
-Ends-
Classic Car Weekly - 14th June 2009 Issue
PREVIEW: H&H, PAVILION GARDENS, BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE, JUNE 9/10
As usual, H & H have assembled an interesting selection of quality lots for the June sale. The full list comprises 94 cars, including 14 from well-known motoring journalist - and old friend of Classic Car Weekly - Malcolm Mackay. Malcolm has owned many of the cars for a long time, and there has, apparently, been 'strong interest' in several already. See separate story on page 2 for more details of these.
The 1933 Stutz DV32 Le Baron Custom Sedan is one of the last built (production finished the following year after just six more cars) and the only known survivor to wear this particular style of coachwork. With four owners from new, the car was extensively restored between 1989 and 1994 and is a former Louis Vuitton Concours award winner. The technically advanced 32-valve DOHC straight-eight engine gave more bhp per litre than any American rival in period except Duesenberg. Estimate is £90,000-110,000
Another car that's sure to attract strong interest is the 1958 Jaguar XK150 3.4 Roadster; the first XK Roadster H & H have offered for some years. Supplied new to America and repatriated in 1986 it was subjected to an extensive 'ground up' restoration during which it was converted to right-hand drive and upgraded with power assisted steering and a modern five-speed manual gearbox. The estimate of £50,000-£60,000 seems reasonable for a car of this quality.
The 1955 Daimler Conquest Roadster Fixed Head Coupe is one of just four or possibly five built, and the only survivor known to the Daimler Lanchester Owners Club, and has the further distinction of having been exhibited on coachbuilder Carbodies' stand at the 1955 Earl's Court Motor Show. One of the real rarities from Daimler's 'Docker Era' with a name that sounds like a contradiction in terms. This unique piece of Daimler history carries a pre-sale estimate of £18,000-£22,000.
Given some of the recent high prices being realised for Aston Martin restoration projects, the £44,000-£48,000 estimate on H & H's 1955 DB2/4 Mk1 looks pretty fair. In its current family ownership since 1987, the car had a bare metal rebuild during the early Nineties and a major engine overhaul in 2006-2007 and still looks superb. It's also fairly well-known, having taken part in many Norwich Union/AXA runs and been to Sweden with the Aston Martin Owners Club in 2007.
H&H usually have a fine selection of ultra-low mileage classics, and this time there's something in this category to fit every pocket and garage. Starting with the smallest, there's a 1971 Simca 1000LS that's covered 19,700 miles (£3000-£4000), an 18,000 mile 1998 Ferrari 550 Maranello (£42,000-£46,000), a 17,000 mile 1981 Daimler Sovereign 4.2 (£3500-£4500), a 26,900 mile 1991 Bentley Eight (£13,000-£15,000) and a 24,600 mile MGB Roadster carrying a pre-sale estimate of £4000-£5000.
Other entries include an "excellent" 1959 Rover P4 105 (£4500-£5500), a very late (1970/J) Wolseley 16/60 estimated at£2500-£3500,a 1964 VX 4/90, which raced at Goodwood in 2007 (£7500-£8500) a 3.8 Mk2 Jaguar auto with a possibly-genuine 41,000 on the clock (£8000-£10,000), and a 1966 Bristol 409 which, despite having paintwork that ‘needs attention in places’ is said to be sound mechanically and bodily and has been the subject of restoration work since 2001 .With a pre-sale estimate of £8000-£10,000 this appears to offer a cost-effective entry into Bristol ownership with a car that is worthy of further improvement.
And finally, we guarantee that you won't find another 1966 Opel Admiral in a UK classic sale, let alone one with the history that H & H's offering comes with. It was supplied new to a Scottish accountant who spent a lot of time working in the Middle East and actually used the car to drive overland from Beirut in order to escape the 1967 Arab-lsrali war. The chap then kept the car from then to now, and it's offered at H&H with a £1500-£2500 pre-sale estimate.
Classic Car Weekly - 14th June 2009 Issue
MALCOLM'S MOTOR MART!
Well-known motoring journalist - and occasional Classic Car Weekly contributor - Malcolm Mackay has made what he described as 'a major life changing decision' and put his entire classic car collection up for auction. All fourteen of Malcolm's cars have been entered for H&H's June 10 sale at Buxton and while all will have reserves, they are realistic; Malcolm is keen to point out that he is not putting all on the market with a view to letting the market decide which sell; he is looking to sell the entire collection.
The obvious question, of course, was why? Malcolm says that the cars are simply not being used enough and he would far rather they were out on the road being driven than sat in his 'dry storage’. The aim is that all of the collection, apart from the obvious 'projects' will be in running and tested condition by the time of the sale; indeed a 'parade' last drive from Malcolm's home in Buckinghamshire to Buxton is planned.
Most of the ears are well-known, and many have been in Malcolm’s possession for many years – he’s owned his Triumph Vitesse for example since 1986 - and it was featured in Classic Cars magazine several times while Malcolm was on the staff. The Rochdale Olympic Phase 1 has also been with him long-term; since 1989 in fact. Then, there's the Ford Special Super Two and Berkeley T60 which, according to the auctioneers, are already attracting plenty of pre-sale interest. The sale also includes the 1957 100E Anglia that was owned from new by Malcolm's grandfather.
Other delights include a couple of Eighties XR Fords; a Sierra XR4i and a Fiesta XR2i. Interest in sporting Fords is definitely rising at present, and as both cars are in excellent order strong bidding is expected on these, too. The top priced car - with a £12,000-£14,000 estimate - is the 1955 Triumph TR2 which Malcolm prepared for road rallying and has campaigned successfully in many events at home and abroad, including the 14,000 mile 2001 Inca Trail in South America.
Other cars on offer include the Jaguar 420 that was driven on this year's Norwich Union classic, a 1953 Austin Somerset Drophead and Rochdale Olympic Phase 2 (both needing restoration) plus a 1970 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. Finally, there's a modern classic in the form of a 1990 Renault Espace Quadra; a four-wheel drive Espace. This example was supplied new to Renault UK and specially prepared with, among other things, full-leather trim on all seven seats.
Motor Klassik - May 2009 Issue
Noch nie zuvor hatte H & H bei einer Versteige-rung wahrend der Race Retro International Historic Motorsport Show in Warwickshire mehr Umsatz erzielt als dieses Mal, doch die Verkaufs-quote fiel enttauschend aus. Bei iiber 50 Prozent der angebotenen Fahrzeuge hieG es am Schluss: not sold.
Der teuerste verkaufte Klassiker war ein Arnolt-Bristol von 1954, der kurzlich aus Amerika geholt und dann restauriert worden war. Der erzielte Preis von 125 900 Euro fur das von Classic Data mit der Zustandsnote 2+ bedachte Exemplar entsprach den Erwartungen des Auktionshauses. Zum Ver-gleich: Im August des vorigen Jahres hatte Coys am Nurburgring einen Arnolt-Bristol im Zustand 2 fur 131 700 Euro versteigert.
Vergleichsweise ha'ufig tauchen in letzter Zeit bei Auktionen die seltenen Lancia Aurelia B24 America Spider auf, die in gutem Zustand Preise von iiber 300 000 Euro erzielten. Das Exemplar, das bei H & H zum Verkauf stand, prasentierte sich allerdings in einem unvollstandig restaurierten Zustand, dennoch fand esfiir 107900 Euro einen Ka'ufer.
Aus gleicher Quelle wie der Lancia stammte ein ebenfalls nicht zu Ende restaurierter Bugatti T 40, der bei einem Gebot von 180000 Euro unverkauft blieb. Ein Highlight fur Rover-Fans war ein P5B3,5 Liter Coupe von 1973 aus zweiter Hand, das zwar neu lackiert wurde, aber bis zum heutigen Tag le-diglich 17 000 Meilen zuriickgelegt hat. Es brachte 11 100 Euro.
The Australian - 21st March 2009 Issue
Meanwhile H&H sold former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten’s 1978 Rolls-Royce Fixed-Head Corniche back to Hong Kong for $78,000 and a beautiful partly restored 1956 Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider America for $210,000.
