£2.4m BMW tops exclusive London auction

Low numbers, big tickets at Bond Street sale

When it comes to car auctions, quality usually trumps quantity – as Bonhams would probably agree.

Saturday saw the British auction house host its glitzy Bond Street sale in the heart of London, where just 10 classics were sold – each of them a stunner in their own right.

From royal tourers to rare BMW roadsters, it was a small-scale sale par excellence, with an average lot price of more than half-a-millon pounds.

Here's the story of all the lots – and what they fetched at the hammer.

1954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide Roadster

Sold for: £264,500

A Bertone-bodied Bristol, based on a BMW and branded as the Bolide. Phew.

Besides its alliterative appeal, this mid-century sports car – dreamt up by American Stanley Arnolt, styled by Italian Franco Scaglione – was a very capable racer, its tall, 2-litre six-cylinder motor packaged neatly into a nimble chassis and lightweight shell (complete with nifty hood scoop to hide the engine’s height).

Just 130 were built, of which there are few survivors. The example sold on 1 December – the recently restored chassis 3065 – is one of the finest.

1966 Citroën DS21 Décapotable

Sold for: £172,500

France’s only showing at the Bonhams sale came in the form of this charming Citroën DS21. 

Wrapped in sweeping bodywork by Parisian coachbuilder Henry Chapron, the ’60s stunner still wins praise today for its captivating shell – particularly, as here, in drop-top Décapotable guise. 

This particular example – an immaculate 1966 number that lived in Malta for almost 50 years – is even more desirable due to its larger, more refined 2.2-litre engine and right-hand drive setup; just six of its type are believed to survive today.

1959 Jaguar XK150S 3.4

Sold for: £69,000

The first of two XK150S machines at the Bond Street auction and cheapest of all the lots, this 1959 example – one of 199 models built in 3.4-litre spec – certainly looks neat and tidy, with a restoration early in the new millennium leaving it in fine condition.

Oh, and it used to belong to Jo Ramírez. Who? Well if you’re a McLaren fan, you might know the name: the Mexican was one of the big guns behind the scenes at the marque’s Formula 1 team from 1984 to 2001. Which, in case you needed reminding, is when the team was at its most successful.

Something of a legend, then – and a bargain at less than £70k.

1960 Jaguar XK150S 3.8

Sold for: £115,000

The other XK150S was this one – but why did it fetch so much more? Probably because it’s an example of the more powerful, 3.8-litre, 265bhp variant – the rarest of all XK150 machines, with just 282 built.

What’s more, it’s a matching-numbers machine, one of only 115 built in right-hand drive guise and unusually fitted with mechanical overdrive, making it arguably the ultimate XK150.

Stabled with the same owner from 1965 to 2000, it’s had just four – now five – custodians from new and went to auction in stunning condition, fitted with several subtle upgrades to enhance its drivability. Power steering might not be to every taste, but there’s no denying this motor’s beauty.

1979 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Limousine

Sold for: £241,500

If the Phantom VI was the peak of ’70s luxury cruising, then chassis PGH116 floated in a hot air balloon above it: this Mulliner-bodied machine was finished by Rolls-Royce to the highest possible specification, including a host of options and extras.

Why? So that it could serve as the factory demonstrator vehicle – a role it fulfilled for many years, remaining in the ownership of the Rolls-Royce factory right up until the Bonhams sale.

In fact, so plush is this Phantom that it was loaned out to the British Royal Household on more than one occasion – which means the new owner might be sitting where a minor royal once perched.

1924 Vauxhall 30/98hp OE115

Sold for: £437,000

Vauxhall wasn't always Corsas and Astras: back in the ’20s, the British marque built lightweight tourers with big engines which, if you ask the right people, could comfortably eclipse Bentley machines on country roads.

Hitting the scales at roughly 1200kg, the 90bhp Vauxhall could top 100mph in race trim – but it isn't the stats that make this example famous.

No, ‘OE115’ is renowned both for its quality – it retains its original, matching-numbers chassis and engine – and the fact that it was ordered new by one Hari Singh, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Regal indeed.

1958 Aston Martin DB MkIII

Sold for: £408,250

The oldest Aston to go under the hammer with Bonhams was this 1958 convertible – one of just 85 DB MkIII models made by the British marque.

Built between 1957 and 1959, the DB MkIII became the seminal bridge between the classically styled DB2/4 before it and the game-changing DB4 that would follow – and it was the first to wear that now-iconic grille.

A matching-numbers example that’s spent time in the UK, Germany and, latterly, Belgium, it’s always been meticulously maintained, leaving it in incredible condition today – complete with fresh British Racing Green paint job.

1964 Aston Martin DB5

Sold for: £743,000

Another Aston, this was the model made famous by Bond – the DB5.

Although this 1964 hardtop doesn’t pack the gadgets 007 might expect, there’s no disputing that it’s a stunner, what with its original interior, five-speed ZF gearbox and dashing colour scheme.

Stabled with the same owner from new until 1996, it’s about as evocative as classics come – which probably explains why it eclipsed its lower estimate by £100k on Saturday.

2004 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato

Sold for: £253,000

Younger than the rest, the penultimate entry is a fine example of Italian coachbuilder Zagato's effort at re-shelling the DB7.

Conceived as an homage to that most famous of Aston Martins, the DB4GT Zagato, this new-millennium model was built to the tune of just 99 vehicles and designed to be a two-seat luxury tourer without compare. 

Shorter and lighter than the standard DB7, its 6-litre V12 engine was tuned to kick out 440bhp while the shell received a host of Zagato flourishes – from a gaping grille to puffed-out panels.

This 2004 example has 14,272 miles on the clock and is a surefire future classic.

1958 BMW 507 Series II

Sold for: £2,367,000

A mid-century stunner that still turns heads, the 507 almost sank BMW when it launched in 1956, thanks to spiralling development and production costs – yet it comfortably topped the Bonhams sale with its £2.4m price tag.

Just 252 of the magnificent drop-tops ever left the factory, including this 1958 number which, in 1971, was bought by one Count Albrecht Graf von Goertz. Who? Only the man who penned the 507!

A German designer stationed in New York, von Goertz was responsible for the roadster’s sweeping wheelarches, uncluttered lines, long nose and sharp front end. So it makes sense that he wanted one himself – and that someone might fancy dropping their lottery winnings on it today.