Tony Mason rally ephemera far exceeds expectations
H&H Classic Auctions’ penultimate Buxton sale of 2005 produced another pleasing result for this rapidly expanding sale house, with £750,000 worth of cars, motorcycles and automobilia being turned over during September 20 and 21.
To prove the faith they have in their own abilities, H&H entered their own 1903 De Dion Bouton Rear Entrance Tonneau in the sale - a car reputedly once owned by Brigitte Bardot. Complete with an entry for this year’s London to Brighton Run, it fetched over estimate at £51,600.
A very tidy, four-owner 1927 Rolls-Royce 20hp Tourer faired even better. Rebodied by I Wilkinson & Son of Derby in 1971 this splendid motorcar was eventually knocked down for £36,625 - no less than 52% over estimate.
Clean 1950s/60s British sports cars are fairing very well at present and a 90,000-miles-from-new, olive green Aston Martin DB6 made £33,325 (45% over estimate), while a tidy 1954 Austin Healey 100 that had been modified to ‘M’ spec. within period fetched £19,350.
The rare (only 260 RHD examples of this model were imported) Baur-designed BMW 2002 Cabriolet was sold for £4,000 (60% over estimate) and the totally unique four-seat Tourer Special based on a Jaguar XK140 surpassed its lower estimate by a whopping 69%.
The clean Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 found a new home for £23,650 and a pretty Evolution example of that doyen of Group B rally cars, Ford’s RS200, made a whisker under £58,000 - a lot of car for the money, especially as it is believed to have covered just 9,266 miles from new!
Said H&H Managing Director Simon Hope, “This sale was yet further proof that we can attract buyers for everything from veterans to modern competition cars and we can just as easily achieve such results in our spiritual home in Buxton as anywhere else. In short, the right cars will always attract the right buyers.”
Automobilia for all H&H’s commitment to the automobilia market continues to build and no less than 439 lots were catalogued for this sale, practically all of which changed hands on the day, including all the Tony Mason items of rally ephemera.
The best prices were understandably achieved for pieces associated with the 1972 RAC Rally, which Tony won outright with the late Roger Clark. A range of related items of competitor information etc that had been estimated at £150-£200 eventually fetched £1,430, while Tony’s personal clothing from the event made £1,760 from an estimate of 100-£150.
Pedal and other children’s cars continue to attract strong interest and the Bugatti Type 35-style electric-powered machine was bang on the money at £1,650, while a battle-scarred Triang Junior Racer sold above estimate for £495.
Many items of historic paperwork sold well, as did a range of period photographs - in particular a collection of Bugatti racing car shots (£880) and the sister album of BRM No1 development images to that sold in a previous H&H sale. This one fetched £990.
Mike The Bike’s EMC tops the motorcycle sale The most notable results from the 31 motorcycles lined up for sale included the 1991 Norton F1 - essentially a road-going version of the successful rotary-powered racers of the period - that found a new home for £10,750 (way above estimate) and the 1962 EMC GP 125 machine on which Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood reputedly won the Saar Grand Prix. This was knocked down for £12,900.
H&H’s next sale will be at Syon Park, Brentford, Middlesex on October 3.
