Something for everbody, including an ex-George Formby Alvis
H&H's first sale of the year at the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire,will have something for everyone, with a modest selection of motorcycles tosatisfy the two-wheel brigade, circa 80 classic cars of all types and a fineselection of automobilia.
Alvis fans have a choice of two Speed 20s - an SA Tourer or an SD saloon.The former is an outstanding example of this rare car. Finished in greenwith red leather interior, it has been in its current ownership for the last20 years. It carries an estimate of £30,000-£35,000. The Lancefieldalloy-bodied SD saloon is believed to have been exhibited by this Londoncoachbuilder at the 1935 London Motor Show and was first purchased by GeorgeHoy Booth - better known as George Formby. The 112,564 mileage displayed isthought to be genuine. Estimate: £16,000-£20,000.
The 1964 Bentley S3 Continental Sports Coupe was originally built for SirRobert McAlpine. Finished in metallic blue it is believed to have coveredonly 49,000 miles from new. Following a considerable amount ofrefurbishment, it is now ready to compete in rallies and concours events. Itprovides a rare opportunity to acquire an outstanding example of one of theworld's most sought after marques for a fraction of the restoration cost.Estimate: £35,00-£40,000.
There is also a mint 1974 ming blue Bentley Corniche Convertible. Trimmed inmagnolia hide, it is a superb example of this rare and desirable model andcarries an estimate of £28,000-£32,000.
Many cars are described as unique, but are not - the 1985 Buckingham SportsSaloon in this sale most certainly is, with its classical aluminium andsteel body housing a myriad of modern technology! Built by Aston MartinLagonda craftsmen to the order of one Martin Anthony Harvey over five years,it is 20ft long, 6ft 8.5in wide and weighs in at 2.7 tons. It is powered bya 5.3 litre Jaguar V12 engine.
Its striking body is finished in burgundy and champagne, while the sumptuousinterior features a mix of champagne and black leather and rosewood. Amongthe car's many outstanding details are its gullwing rear doors and theBuckingham badge, which was produced by Garrards, the Queen's jeweller, fromgold and back enamel. The Swan mascot depicts the symbol of Buckinghamshirewhere the car was made. Built regardless of cost, the car has covered just286 miles from new. Estimate: £30,000-£35,000.
The charming 1922 Chevrolet 490 Open Tourer has covered just 7,965 milesfrom new, so is barely run in! On the button and ready to go, it carries anestimate of £12,000-£13,000. H&H has unearthed yet another 'barn find' -this time a red 1970 Lamborghini Espada that has lain untouched for the last19 years. It is expected to fetch £2,500-£3,500.
Jaguars currently seem to abound at H&H sales and there will be a fairsprinkling of this ever-popular British marque at Buxton. They include: asuperb blue 1959 XK150S Fixed Head Coupe finished in blue - estimate:£28,000-£32,000; an equally stunning, restored silver 1966 4.2 litre E-TypeRoadster - estimate: £28,00-£32,000; an early V12 E-Type Coupe inoutstanding order with just 43,759 miles to its name - estimate£13,000-£15,000; and a clean red 1973 V12 E-Type Roadster carrying anestimate of £25,000-£28,000.
Among the Mercedes are a pretty 1978 350SL with both hard and soft tops(estimate: £5,000-£6,000) and a rare and very clean white 1963 190SL, alsowith both hard and soft tops. Fully restored, it carries an estimate of£23,000-£25,000.
A number of the ever-popular MGBs will come under the hammer, including aconcours 1973 Roadster (estimate: £7,500-£8,500) and a 1974 'chrome bumper'GT (estimate: £2,500-£3,500).
H&H has been setting records for its automobilia sales ever since MatthewKershaw was appointed to handle this area of the business and he hasassembled another eclectic mix of lots for the forthcoming auction. Amongthem is a fine collection of motorcycle items including: a number of signedBarry Sheene books and photos (estimate: £100-£150) and a pencil/watercolourartwork of the motorcycle ace commissioned by Motorcycle News in the '70s,to celebrate honouring the multi-champion with their 'Man of the Year'award. Sheene subsequently donated it as a raffle prize. Estimate:£200-£400.There are also a selection of books, posters and photos signed by other suchgiants of motorcycle racing as: John Surtees, Carl Fogarty, Troy Bayliss,Neil Hodgson, Mike Hailwood and Steve Hislop.
Lightboxes are currently much in demand and examples of both Hercules andPratts Perfection (estimate: £700-£900) boxes are on offer, while it's worthnoting that the last Pratts one handled by H&H fetched a cool £2,400.
Pedal cars are another popular item and none more so than the raresingle-seater Austin Pathfinder that preceded the ubiquitous Austin J40.While circa 30,000 J40s were built between 1950 and 1971, total Pathfinderproduction was 1/10th of that number and good ones rarely come up for salethese days. The fully restored white example on offer carries an estimate of£2,500-£3,500.
The automobilia sale will be held on Tuesday April 12 and the car andmotorcycle sale on Wednesday April 13.
