Audis from the ’80s continued their strong showing at classic car auctions as Bonhams staged its inaugural sale Saturday in conjunction with the 73rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting in England. The auction was the first of three that Bonhams has scheduled this year at the Goodwood circuit.
A 1985 Audi quattro Sport short-wheelbase coupe sold at the auction for $426,435 while the ex-works 1982 Audi quattro A1 Group B rally car formerly driven by Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz brought $368,210 (prices include buyer’s premium).
Recently, a 1984 Audi Sport quattro sold at RM’s Arizona auction for $401,500. Some observers see the recent emergence of Audis at auction as an indication of a generational change among classic car buyers with post-baby boomers going for the cars they coveted when they were teenagers.
Rallying was a major international motorsport in the ’70s and ’80s. At the Goodwood sale, Bonhams sold a 1975 Ford Escort RS1800 formerly rallied by the likes of Ari Vatanen, Bjorn Waldegard and Roger Clark for $126,994.
While rally cars did very well at the Goodwood auction, the top-dollar sale was the ex-Kitty Maurice 1959 Frazer Nash Le Mans coupe that sold for $702,790. The car was one of only nine such fixed-head coupes built from 1953-56 and was the last of the breed to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it was entered by John Dashwood in the round-the-clock run in 1959.
“We have enjoyed offering some magnificent motor cars at both the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival Meetings over the past 20 years, and we are thrilled to add the Members’ Sale to this portfolio,” James Knight, Bonhams motoring director, said in a news release after the sale.
“We have offered a varied cross-section of motor cars, with tremendous interest expressed across the board. A noticeable demand for sports cars of the 1980s has been evident at our inaugural event.”
Some 75 percent of the lots offered were hammered sold. Among them were a Pininfarina-bodied 1968 Bentley T-Series “Coupe Speziale” that sold for $371,538, a 1959 Jaguar XK150S roadster that brought $334,939 — nearly three times its pre-auction estimate — and a 1961 Jaguar Series 1 flat-floor roadster that went for $235,126.
Restoration projects also did very well at the sale. A 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage sports saloon in need of restoration sold for $288,360, while a 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 sports saloon with needs brought $122,004 and a 1963 Porsche 356B Super 90 Coupe went for $47,827, double pre-auction expectation.
Bonhams returns to Goodwood with its Festival of Speed Sale in late June and its Revival Sale in mid-September. Bonhams next auction is March 28 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Germany.
