Bonhams announced a Bugatti Type 55 and an Invicta Low Chassis Tourer from the estate of Dean S. Edmonds Jr. for the Amelia Island 2020 classic car auction.
Bonhams announced a dozen cars from the amazing collection of the Estate of Dean S. Edmonds Jr for the Amelia Island 2020 classic car auction. The top car from this collection is also Bonhams lead car at the sale – a 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport Roadster (estimate $ 6,500,000 – 9,500,000). Two further top cars from this collection include a 1931 Invicta 4½-Litre S-Type ‘Low Chassis’ Sports Tourer (estimate $ 850,000 – 1,000,000) and a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series 4 GT-Engined Saloon (estimate $ 900,000 – 1,100,000).
Bonhams Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Sale
Bonhams scheduled its sixth Amelia Island sale for March 5, 2020, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club in Florida, USA.
In 2019, Bonhams earned $16 million with a respectable sell-through rate of 84%. Highlights of this sale were two dozen American antique Brass Era cars from the Don Boulton Collection.
In 2018, Bonhams earned $13.4 million and in 2017 the gains were around $10.2 million. Bonhams’ best Amelia Island auction was in 2016 when it earned $27.5 million in a sale that included a $9,735,000 result for a 1937 Bugatti Type 57 SC Sports Tourer – one of the highest Bugatti results ever.
Cars from the Estate of Dean S. Edmonds Jr. at Bonhams Amelia Island 2020
Although best known for his work as a physics professor at Boston University, Dean S. Edmonds Jr. was also a passionate and fastidious collector of premier automobiles.
“Bonhams is delighted to present these dozen exceptional automobiles from this discreet collection,” says Rupert Banner, Bonhams VP of Motoring. “Many of them are genuine icons of their eras and the ex-Rothschild Bugatti Type 55 particularly represents a truly generational opportunity for collectors.”
1932 Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport Roadster
Leading his collection is an exceptional example of the rare 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport Roadster (estimate $ 6,500,000 – 9,500,000). This genuine 1931 supercharged model with stunning Jean Bugatti-designed factory coachwork was sold new to the future Baron Rothschild.
The car has been in Edmonds’ collection for over 30 years since he acquired it at auction and set a world record for a Bugatti at 440,000, in 1985. Under Edmonds’ stewardship, the Type 55 won 1stin Class at Pebble Beach and successfully completed the Mille Miglia.
A beautiful 1928 Bugatti Type 44 Cabriolet with coachwork by F. Gerber, estimate $ 330,000 – 360,000, which was once part of the Bill Harrah Collection, will also be offered.
Two Bugatti Type 57s will be on offer in the same week at the RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2020 classic car auction.
Bonhams sold a 1932 Bugatti Type 55, chassis 55221 – an ex-factory Le Mans participant and subsequently fitted with bodywork by Figoni, for €4,600,000 ($5,070,000) at the Paris 2020 Rétromobile week auction.
1931 Invicta 4½-Liter S-Type Low Chassis Tourer
Another legendary pre-war sports car owned by Edmonds is a 1931 Invicta 4½-Liter S-Type Low Chassis Tourer. Renowned for speed and comfort, this rakish convertible with Vanden Plas coachwork also won 1st in Class at Pebble Beach in 1995. It has been in the ownership of Dean Edmonds since 1982.
Bonhams also sold at Paris 2020 a 1931 Invicta 4.5 litre S-Type Low Chassis Sports for a marque-record €1,610,000 ($1,774,703).
Top British Cars in the Dean S Edmonds Collection
The extremely rare 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series 4 GT is also quite newsworthy. One of only seven surviving factory-specified left-hand drive examples with special series GT engine, this superb “gentleman’s express” is a hallmark model of the storied British marque and its condition is testament to Edmonds’ superior standards.
Within the group are four Jaguars, led by an exquisite 1967 Jaguar XKE 4.2-Liter Roadster that Edmonds ordered new from the factory, had shipped to New Jersey, and then drove home to Massachusetts! It remained with him for over 50 years and has covered just over 7,200 miles. This was preceded by a 1953 Mark VII Sedan which had been gifted to him when new, and later a XK120 Roadster and Mark IV Drophead Coupe.
These and the other cars of the collection, including a 1982 DeLorean, represent Edmonds’ passion for design and engineering, and demonstrate a lifetime of love for automobiles in a variety of forms.
The 12 cars from the Edmonds Collection will join the previously announced dune buggy and Rolls-Royce that Steve McQueen drove in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair at the Bonhams Amelia Island Auction on 5 March 2020.
Amelia Island Classic Car Auctions 2020
Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Results
- Bonhams – Amelia Island 2020 Auction Results
- Gooding – Amelia Island 2020 Auction Results
- RM Sotheby’s – Amelia Island 2020 Auction Results
Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Previews
- Amelia Island 2020 – General Auctions Presale Overview
- Bonhams: Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Preview
- Gooding: Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Preview
- RM Sotheby’s: Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Preview
Amelia Island 2020 Classic Car Auction Announcements
- Bonhams: Steve McQueen Con-Ferr Buggy Meyers Manx
- Bonhams: Dean S. Edmonds Estate (including Bugatti Type 55)
- Gooding: 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider
- Gooding: Brass Era 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
- Gooding: Modern Supercars
- RM Sotheby’s: Amelia Island Highlights
- RM Sotheby’s: Keith Crain Collection (incl. Duesenberg Model J)
Amelia Island Classic Car Auctioneers 2020
Major auction houses with collector car sales at the Amelia Island, Florida, USA, in March 2020 include:
- Bonhams: 5 March 2020 at Fernandina Beach Golf Club.
- Gooding & Company: 6 March 2020 at Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Plantation.
- RM Sotheby’s: 6 & 7 March 2020 at the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island.
