2019 Bonhams Quail Lodge Sale (Bentleys Announcement)

Several classic early Bentleys, an Auburn and rare Italian 8Vs are early entries for the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019 sale during Monterey Week.

1930s Bentleys
© Bonhams

Bonhams announced four early Bentleys for the Quail Lodge 2019 classic car auction: a 1931 Bentley Supercharged “Birkin Le Mans Replica” Tourer, a 1930 Bentley Speed Six “Le Mans Replica” Tourer, a 1929 Bentley 4 ½ Liter Sports Tourer and a 1922 Bentley 3 Liter Sports Tourer. Other early highlights announced include a 1932 Auburn 12-160A Boattail Speedster and two Italian 8Vs: a 1953 FIAT Supersonic with coachwork by Ghia formerly owned Briggs Cunningham and a one-off, bespoke designed 1952 SIATA Berlinetta. No presale estimates have yet been released.

Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019 Sale

Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019 classic car auction: 15 & 16 August 2019 in Carmel during the Monterey Motor Week in California, USA.

In 2019, Bonhams earned $32 million with a sell-through rate of 76% of the 217 cars on offer.

In 2018, Bonhams earned $37.7 million with a sell-through rate of 82% with 110 of 135 lots sold. Ten cars sold for over a million dollar each. The average sale price was $343,694.

At the 2017 Quail Lodge auction, Bonhams earned $56,430,000 with a sell-through rate of 80% of the 105 cars on offer. The average sale price was $641,685. The top result was a marque-record $15,620,000 for a 1995 McLaren F1 sports car.

Classic Bentleys at Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019 Sale

Bonhams will offer several classic Bentleys in the British marques centenary year at the Quail Lodge classic car sale during Monterey Week in mid-August 2019 in California, USA.

A 4 ½ Liter Bentley Blower – considered as one of the most important automobile models of the 20th century – leads the illustrious list from England. The 1931 Bentley 4 ½ Liter Supercharged Birkin Le Mans Replica Tourer, chassis MS3942, is one of the legendary 50 factory examples and was a Brooklands BARC winner in period. Offered from the Virgil Millett collection and formerly part of the Fred Simeone and Tom Perkins collections, this historic sports-racer is well known and documented and represents an extremely rare opportunity. One of the three original Le Mans cars – chassis MS3944 – sold for $4,647,500 at the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2013 sale.

1922 Bentley 3 Liter Sports Tourer
© Bonhams
1922 Bentley 3 Liter Sports Tourer Front
© Bonhams
1922 Bentley 3 Liter Sports Tourer
© Bonhams

1930 Speed Six Le Mans Replica Tourer is another of the very special Bentleys consigned. This desirable late-specification model has been expertly restored and has belonged to the highly respected Millett and Simeone collections The 1929 Bentley 4 ½ Liter Sports Tourer on offer is also a well-documented and tour-proven example, while the 1922 3 Liter Sports Tourer is among the oldest surviving WO Bentleys in the world. 

Bonhams claims to be the auction house most associated with the iconic British motorcar brand and holds the world record for the most valuable Bentley ever publicly sold. The current Bentley marque record was set by the 1929 Bentley „Birkin Blower“ sold by Bonhams for $7,867,000 (£5,040,000) at the Goodwood Festival of Speed sale 2012. Bonhams has also sold around a third of the more than 30 Bentleys that achieved more than a million dollar at public auction since 2014.

Italian 8Vs at Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019

The ex-Briggs Cunningham 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic
© Bonhams
The ex-Briggs Cunningham 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic Coachwork by Ghia
© Bonhams
1952 Siata 8V Berlinetta
© Bonhams

Bonhams also announced two 1950s Italian 8Vs for the Quail Lodge 2019 sale:

The 1953 FIAT 8V Supersonic with coachwork by Ghia is one of only 15 ever built and was formerly owned by American motorsport legend Briggs Cunningham. Similar cars without Cunningham provenance sold for $1,375,000 at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2017 and $1,815,000 at Bonhams Quail Lodge 2015.

Rarer still is the one-off, bespoke designed 1952 SIATA 8V Berlinetta with coachwork by Bertone that was the Paris and New York Auto Shows car. Bonhams achieved million-dollar results with Siata Spiders at Quail Lodge 2018 and 2015.

Auburn Boattail Speedster at Bonhams Quail Lodge 2019

1932 Auburn 12-160A Boattail Speedster
© Bonhams

Large American classics performed well at recent auction and Bonhams hopes that this good run will continue by announcing from the headquarters of Duesenberg, Cord and Auburn an exquisite 1932 Auburn 12-160A Boattail Speedster. This highly coveted luxurious sportscar is a genuine matching-numbers example and, testament to its superb restoration, is a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance award winner. Two Auburn 851 SC Boattail Speedsters sold for more than a million dollar during Monterey Week 2018.

Monterey Week 2019 Car Auctions News

Auction Results

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1939 Porsche Type 64
Staud Studios © 2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s