A 1930 Bentley 8-Liter Tourer is the lead car for the Bonhams Simeone Museum collector car and automobilia sale 2020 in Philadelphia, USA.
Highlights of the annual Bonhams 2020 collector car and automobilia sale at the Simeone Museum include a 1930 Bentley 8-Liter Tourer, estimate $775,000 – 875,000, a 1927 Cadillac 341 -A V-8 Tourer, coachwork by Fisher, estimate $150,000 – 200,000, and a barn-find 1935 Mercedes-Benz 290 Cabriolet A, Coachwork by Sindelfingen, estimate $175,000 – 225,000.
Bonhams Simeone Foundation Museum Sale 2020
The ninth annual Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia Auction at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2020.
The auction will be held as a ‘live and online’ sale, in accordance with all current local COVID-19 related guidelines. The auction will be live-streamed with bids accepted via telephone, online, and by absentee bids. Vehicles could be inspected in person prior to the auction.
Highlights at the Bonhams Simeone Sale 2020
1930 Bentley 8-Liter Tourer
The 1930 Bentley 8-Liter Tourer, estimate $775,000 – 875,000, was W.O. Bentley’s final creation and one of only 100 examples built.
The super-luxury tourer was considered W.O. Bentley’s masterpiece. A direct competitor to the Rolls-Royce Phantom II, the 8-Liter was the largest-engined car in Great Britain at the time and was capable of top speeds exceeding the magical ‘ton’, or 100mph, “without noise” as the company’s advertising claimed.
The life of this important model was only cut short by the worldwide depression sparked by the Wall Street Crash which caused Bentley’s bankruptcy and forced its sale to Rolls-Royce.
This example, number 13 of 100, was an early works demonstrator on the continent. Delivered new to the Sociéte Européene Bentley Automobiles SA near Paris, it was fitted with a fashionable close-coupled sports saloon body by renowned French coachbuilder Jacques Saoutchik and was shown at various Concours d’Élégances around France.
With the sale of the Bentley company, the demonstrator was sold to Jack Barclay, the famed London Bentley dealer, where it was bought by a prominent British politician, Sir John Jarvis, who oversaw the fitting of a new ‘Haute Couture’ All-weather Tourer body by the prestigious coachbuilder Hooper.
The 8-Liter made its way to the USA in the 1950s and was acquired by the notable Bentley collector Norris Allen of St Louis, Missouri who decided to restore it in a more sporting configuration with an open, four-seater Tourer body by Swallow Coachbuilding in Coventry, England, its third and final incarnation.
Having lately been well-maintained in the climate-controlled collection of a prominent East Coast collector, this glamorous Bentley is again ready to appear at Concours d’Élégances around the world.
1927 Cadillac 341 -A V-8 Tourer
This very special 1927 Cadillac 341 -A V-8 Tourer, coachwork by Fisher, estimate $150,000 – 200,000, is one of seven ordered by the Glacier Transport Company for use in the Glacier National Park in Montana. Built on a semi-commercial chassis with a 150-inch wheelbase, these truly imposing Cadillacs were used within the park to transport VIP guests and were all painted a distinctive orange red.
The Cadillac is also believed to be one of the cars to have ferried President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his entourage on a historic trip through the park and surrounding areas in 1935.
1935 Mercedes-Benz 290 Cabriolet A
The 1935 Mercedes-Benz 290 Cabriolet A, estimate $175,000 – 225,00 is a rare example of the most desirable version of the 290 – the elegant two-seater Cabriolet A with coachwork by Mercedes-Benz’s in-house coachbuilder Sindelfingen. Offered in enticing ‘barn-find’ condition from the famous Petersen Automotive Museum Vault Collection, with an engaging provenance and outstanding originality, including the very old red interior and the classic white-faced VDO gauges that adorn the dashboard.
The 290 represents a rewarding restoration project for any pre-war motor car collector and enthusiast, with great potential to create a Concours level car.
Further Highlights at the Bonhams Simeone Sale 2020
1930 Cadillac/Lasalle V-16 Speedster Custom, estimate $40,000 – 60,000
A little bit hotrod, a little bit custom machine, this 1930 Speedster is a unique creation, believed to be built off a 1929 LaSalle 328 Series chassis, with one special ingredient – a powerful 452 Cadillac V-16 engine. With its long and lean sporting profile, with a tail that tapers into a fine point, set off by period white-walled tyres, this is the perfect cruiser to turn heads.
1934 Lagonda M45 T8 Tourer, estimate $100,000 – 150,000
One of 10 known survivors of the classic pre-war British 4 1/2-Liter Grand Tourer, this elegantly aged motor car has been in the ownership of the same US-based family since 1967.
