Bonhams, Audrain Motor Week, Newport, RI, October 4, 2024
This was Bonhams fourth year at the Audrain Motor Week. The sale total was barely over half of what they had realized here in prior years. There were only 37 lots crossing the block (figuratively speaking as the cars were on static display in the Tennis Hall of Fame indoor court). Fortunately 24 of the […]
Bonhams Quail, August 16, 2024
Some history: In 2018 Bonhams, then led by Robert Brooks who had combined Brooks Auctioneers with Bonhams in 1999, was acquired by Epiris, a British private equity firm. Barely three years later, in August 2021, Robert Brooks died after “a long illness” suggesting the sale was an expedient resolution of an uncertain future. Originally motor […]
The 2024 Monaco Auctions, May 9-11, 2024 – Artcurial, Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s
Every two years the Auto Club of Monaco presents the Monaco GP Historique. The course is set up for the Monaco GP two weeks later with pits, paddock, grandstands and the track arranged for the GP but instead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (congratulations Charles on your maiden hometown win) it’s old cars on […]
Bonhams|Cars, Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach Golf Club. February 29, 2024
I finally got and compiled the final results for Bonhams Amelia. They’re nothing to write home about with a sale total of $6.7 million and a 65.8% sale rate. The 27 lots that didn’t sell brought hammer bids of $8.1 million The top sale, however, was a marvelous reconstruction of the 15-litre 1904 Napier L48 […]
Bonhams, Scottsdale, January 25, 2024
While the Barrett-Jackson juggernaut was juggering away over at WestWorld Bonhams was the opener for the rest of the Scottsdale auctions with its mid-day sale at the Westin Kierland. It was a curious cross-section of collector cars. While four lots were bid to $1 million or more and two of them sold – including the […]
Bonhams|Cars, Audrain, Newport, R.I., September 29, 2023
Twenty-two of the fifty-three lots in this year’s Bonhams Audrain auction were from the estate of James Messenger. Most were weak-in-the-knees gorgeous modified cars with impeccable construction, concept and presentation. The three Alfa GTs left me in awe, the things I would like my Alfa GT to be, but it isn’t and never will be. […]
Bonhams|Cars, Quail Lodge, Carmel Valley, August 18, 2023
Bonhams brought THE headline car of the Monterey Auctions to Carmel Valley, the 1967 Ferrari 412P (330P3/P4 in the old style nomenclature), like the Lola T70, a sublime blending of form and function that represents an “old style” application of intuitive aerodynamics. And it sold, on only two bids, for $27,500,000 hammer, $30,255,000 including the […]
Bonhams, Goodwood Members Meeting, April 16, 2023
Members Meeting is a fun venue, both for the on-track activities and because Bonhams brings a wide variety of intriguing cars for the auction. There really is something for everyone and, based upon the prices realized and the performance against the pre-sale estimate ranges, bidders keep their heads screwed on tight, looking through the shine […]
Bonhams, Two Generations, Middletown, RI, April 29, 2023
This was a pop-up sale to dispose of much (but not all) of the collection of a father’s and son’s decades long fascination with antique and veteran cars. The “newest” car in the sale was a 1947 Ford Super Deluxe Sportsman Convertible, the only lot built after the Second World War. That tells a story […]
Bonhams, Fernandina Beach, Florida, March 2, 2023
You wouldn’t know it from the numbers below but Bonhams would have had an over $20 million sale if they’d sold just two more cars, but that is not infrequently the case A number of lots in Bonhams sale had one or more prior appearance at auction. Some of them were described in detail at […]