International auctioneers Coys return to Fontwell House during Britain’s greatest classic motoring week with a high-octane auction of classic, sports and racing legends on September 7th.
Located in the heart of the Sussex Downs, just a few miles up the road from the action at the world-class Goodwood Revival meeting, the ‘Thoroughbred & Vintage’ auction already features some impressive entries, including "Piggy", the famous 1950 XK120 Alloy Competition Roadster, a thunderous 1989 Sauber Mercedes C9 Group C racing car and a matching numbers 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster.
The very rare, early XK120 Alloy Competition Roadster is one of only 184 left-hand- drive alloy-bodied roadsters and was delivered new to Charles Hornburg in Los Angeles, USA. He was the first importer of Jaguar automobiles to the United States and a competition specialist responsible for the sale of some of the very important racing Jaguars in the 1950s, including lightweight XK120s, C-Types and D-Types.
The car was raced in America for a number of years until it returned to the UK in 1972/3 where it continued a successful racing life under the reigns of John Harper. It became known as ‘Piggy’ from its UK number plate.
Piggy is eligible for the world’s most exciting classic racing events such as Silverstone, Le Mans, Goodwood and Nurburgring, amongst others, and is estimated at £200,000 to £250,000.
From the Sauber Mercedes Museum collection, the sale also features a 1989 Sauber-Mercedes C9 Group C. These high performance racers were developed by Sauber as a constructor and Mercedes-Benz as an engine builder for the World Sportscar Championship, replacing the previous Sauber C8. With its M117 C9 engine, a modern electronic system and FIA papers, it is ready for competitive motorsport.
The 1960 Mercedes 300 SL Roadster is appropriately finished in DB180 silver with red leather interior, one of the most popular colour combinations, and comes with a very detailed and complete history file. The clock shows only 71.000km, partly due to it being parked in a garage for nearly 30 years between 1973 and 2001. Mercedes Classic Center carried out a mechanic restoration in 2001/2, and since then it has been reliably driven and enjoyed.
