A 1904 Peugeot Swing-Seat Tonneau and 1939 Brough Superior SS100 superbike topped the results at the Bonhams Golden Age of Motoring 2021 sale in London.
The top result in the Bonhams Golden Age of Motoring Sale sale was for a 1904 Peugeot Type 67A 10/12hp Twin-Cylinder Swing-Seat Tonneau that achieved £264,500. Several further veteran cars were sold in the auction with some participating driven by their new owners later the weekend in the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Top Vintage Cars at Bonhams London Golden Age of Motoring Sale 2021
Bonhams held its annual London sale on the eve of the London to Brighton veteran car run on 5 November 2021. Although the sale was expanded to prewar cars in a Golden Age of Motoring Sale, the pre-1905 cars still attracted the most attention. The New Bond Street auction had a sell-through rate of 88 percent.
Top Ten Results at the Bonhams London Golden Age of Motoring Sale 2021
The ten highest prices paid at the Bonhams London Golden Age of Motoring Sale 2021 were as follows:
Top Results in the Bonhams London 2021 Sale
The top result in the Bonhams London sale was for a 1904 Peugeot Type 67A 10/12hp Twin-Cylinder Swing-Seat Tonneau that far exceeded its presale estimate when it achieved £264,500. The Peugeot, a stalwart of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run which had an entry for Sunday’s Run, was purchased by a private overseas collector following a six-way bidding war, earning applause from the packed saleroom.
With many members of the Veteran Car Club in attendance, it was perhaps no surprise that examples from the dawn of motoring performed particularly well, selling above estimate.
A 1903 Wolseley 10hp Twin-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau made £161,000 and was sold to a German enthusiast who then drove to Brighton on Sunday; a 1904 Brennan 14/18hp Twin Cylinder Five-Seater Rear Entrance Tonneau, one of only four pre-1905 survivors of the American marque, sold for £115,000.
Also exceeding expectations were a 1904 Crestmobile Model D 8½ hp Four-Seater Rear-Entrance Tonneau, which achieved £66,700, and a 1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope Four-Seater, possibly the only surviving 6hp Warwick, which made £63,250.
Other Notable Results at Bonhams London 2021 Classic Car Auction
As well as the pioneers, the sale also presented a fine selection of pre-war and vintage vehicles, which sold well:
A 1939 Brough Superior SS100, one of seven examples of the pre-war ‘superbike’ which were originally delivered new to Sheffield Police, sold for £253,000 and was the second most valuable lot of the sale.
1928 Bentley 3-Litre Blue Label Tourer, sold for £241,500. A highly original example, this Bentley was offered for public sale for the first time in 60 years.
The Bonhams Golden Age of Motoring Sale also offered an unrivaled selection of period automobilia. The star lot was an artwork by Terence Cuneo, Danger! Passage à Niveau, a humorous depiction of a 1904 Sunbeam in a near-miss with a locomotive at a level crossing, which smashed its pre-sale top estimate of £12,000 to achieve £45,000.
An accompanying work by the same artist, ‘Sunbeams at the London to Brighton Run’, doubled its estimate, selling for £16,500. Together, the works raised more than £60,000 for the West Midlands Police Heritage Project.
