Bonhams Summer Classic Sale achieves £2.4 million, double its 2013 total
1955 Vincent 998cc Black Prince Project broke the world record!
Press Release
Bonhams annual sale proved to be “the best Summer Classic Sale to date”, with 115 motorcycle lots sold, achieving a total of over £700,000
A 1955 Vincent 998cc Black Prince Project broke the world record for a Black Prince sold at auction, securing £91,100, almost four times its estimate
This weekend Bonhams annual Summer Classic Sale saw £2.4 million of automotive classics go under the hammer.
A 1955 Vincent 998cc Black Prince Project created a bidding frenzy, as two gentlemen on the phone battled for their most coveted item. Both bidders had a personal attachment to the bike; one having owned a Black Knight in his youth but always yearned for the superior Black Prince, the other (the eventual winner) sharing a birth year with the bike, and wanting to gift himself the Prince for his birthday.
The high performance motorcycle project eventually sold for almost four times its estimate at £91,100, becoming the top lot of the motorcycle sale and setting a world record for a Black Prince sold at auction.
Elsewhere in the sale, the remainder of the Vincent quadruplets all sold over their estimate, with the 1951 Vincent 998cc Black Shadow project achieving £54,050; a further £28,175 for the 1951 Vincent 998cc Rapide project, and the 1952 Vincent 998cc Rapide project achieving £23,000.
Motorcycles of the 'Golden Age'
Legendary superbike of motorcycling’s between-the-wars 'Golden Age', the duo of Brough Superiors were a particular highlight of the sale. Owned by the legendary Myerscough family, the 1928/31 Brough Superior Overhead 680 achieved £33,350, and the 1935 Brough Superior 1,096cc 11-50hp secured £48,300.
Other notable results included the two Rudge Multi’s – the first outstandingly original example selling for £26,450, whilst the second, a very rusty barn find example which was formerly the property of His Majesty King Onyeama of Eke, Nigeria, sold for £4,830.
Ben Walker, Bonhams Director for Motorcycles, said:
“This years sale was outstanding – an electric atmosphere, and delighted sellers and bidders. With a 93% sale achievement and 115 lots sold, it was certainly our best ‘Banbury Run’ motorcycle sale to date.
“With many exceptional models for sale – some of which haven’t been available for public sale in decades – we had bids coming in from all over the globe.”
Information from a Bonhams press release
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