Record Breaking Prices at Goodwood Auction

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

The eyes of the world were on Bonhams on Friday 29 June as its Goodwood Festival of Speed sale broke several world records on its way to £22 million in the festival's 20th anniversary year.

Leading the pack was the ex-Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin 1929 4 ½-litre supercharged 'Blower' Bentley single-seater which, when new, raised the Brooklands Outer Circuit record to 137mph. It sold for £5,042,000 - the highest price achieved for a British car sold at auction.

The next highest sale price was achieved by "The Corgi", a 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp 'Silver Ghost' Double Pullman Limousine, which sold for a record-breaking £4.7 million.

Robert Brooks, Chairman of Bonhams, said: "We always believed that the Goodwood Festival of Speed was the perfect place to sell two of Britain's most iconic cars.

"Bonhams has sponsored this event from its inception 20 years ago. These results again prove the value of provenance and rarity, offered for sale in the best possible surroundings."

"The Corgi" Rolls-Royce is one of the most widely recognised of the company's 'Silver Ghost' production to survive. A generation of school boys played with the Corgi Toys 'Silver Ghost', modelled after this unique Double Pullman Limousine. An opulent and imposing design in name and style, it echoed the luxurious 'Pullman' railway carriages pioneered by American George Pullman.

The car has perhaps been best described by Sports Car Market magazine as 'a masterpiece of elephantine Edwardian elegance'.

Images of the top lots at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale and full details can be found here.