Rare examples of the world’s finest luxury classic cars at Bonhams auctions

1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage
Photo: Bonhams

The British auction house Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art, antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney.

On 5 October an astonishing range of highly original and extremely rare examples of some of the world’s finest luxury marques will be offered at Bonhams beautiful beachfront sale in Zoute, Belgium. The sale encapsulates the breadth of Bonhams motoring expertise, including elegant 60s tourers, first-of-the-line supercars and concours-ready vintage cabriolets.

One of the highlights of the sale is the highly desirable 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage ‘Covered Headlights’ (above) (€950,000-1,250,000). Originally delivered in black in the left-hand drive configuration that it retains to this day, this motor car has matching numbers throughout and is in absolutely pristine concours-ready condition.

1936 Bentley
Photo: Bonhams

A second immaculately presented motor car is the elegant 1936 Bentley 4¼-Litre Cabriolet (€400,000-500,000). The Bentley is uniquely bodied by leading inter-war coachbuilder Antem of Paris. Born in Barcelona, Antem trained at Van den Plas before setting up on his own in Levallois. He created voluptuously curvaceous bodies for Bugatti, Delahaye and Talbot-Lago, but Bentley is the only British marque to bear his elegant coachwork.

1992 Porsche 964 RS
Photo: Bonhams

A further unique machine to be offered at the Belgian Sale – which is held in conjunction with the Zoute Grand Prix – is the 1992 Porsche 964RS Special Order Porsche Exclusive One-Off (€320,000-360,000). Based on the 911 Carrera Cup race car, the 964RS is the super-lightweight version of the 964 and was produced in limited numbers. This is an exclusive Manufaktur ‘one off’ example and has covered a mere 31,500km in its life, all at the hands of a single owner and through road use rather than on the track. A seriously rare opportunity to own one of the most desirable ‘modern classic’ Porsches extant.

batmobile
Photo: Bonhams

German marques are well represented, with the 1973 3.0 CSL Series I Batmobile estimated at €240,000-300,000. It has been in single family ownership from new, and has recently undergone a meticulous and extensive restoration. A beautiful example of BMW’s legendary homologation special and only of a mere 110 produced.

1960 ferrari 250 GT
Photo: Bonhams

No sale of classic and collectors’ motor cars is complete without a Ferrari, and Bonhams Zoute Sale will offer the eternally elegant 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Pininfarina Coupé (€600,000-800,000). The motor car is in excellent condition and is finished in a very rare and desirable chocolate brown – an original factory colour. It embodies sporting excellence and illustrates the ideal combination of performance and luxury for which Ferrari remains known to this day.

Other highlights include:

– 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow originally owned by Muhammad Ali (€40,000-60,000 without reserve)

– 1958 AC ACE Roadster with matching numbers and in concours condition (€280,000-320,000)

1956 austin-healy
Photo: Bonhams

– 1956 Austin-Healey 100M ‘Le Mans’ Roadster, a Milla Miglia eligible, concours-winning example which is Gold-level certified by the 100M registry (€160,000-180,000)

– 1956 Elva MK1B, 1 of fewer than 5 survivors (€140,000-220,000 without reserve)

Photo: Bonhams

– 1962 Jaguar E-Type 3.8-Litre Series 1 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster (€140,000-180,000)

– A highly rare 5-speed manual gearbox example, 1978 Aston Martin V8 Volante LHD (€280,000-330,000)

– 1962 Alfa Romeo 2000 Touring Spider (€85,000-125,000)

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