Back to back: Historic Humbers or eminent Austin?

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Okay. We wonder how much you value celebrity ownership in relation to a car’s history. The proof in the pudding may well be a relatively simple and common Austin that Bonhams is about to offer for sale in its MPH auction on May 22nd. Estimated at £25,000 to 35,000, the 1930 Austin Heavy 12 Open Tourer seems at first way overpriced for a normal Heavy 12. But as so often the explanation is in its history file, since this car was owned by both movie stars and comedians Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, who’d teamed up for ‘The Goon Show’ on BBC radio (and television later-on), nicknaming the car ‘Old Min’ to one of the show’s characters.

At first Milligan owned it in the 1950s, but upon losing his driver’s licence in 1968 Sellers became the new proprietor. Having had a great number of sports cars, classics and exotics, Sellers decided to have the humble Austin maintained by Aston Martin specialist Richard Williams. He kept it until the 1980s. By 2012 it was back in the hands of Williams, who now restored it to a high standard and supposedly spent more than £45,000 on the restoration. In that light, Bonhams’ steep estimate is perhaps not so outlandish after all..?

But hang on… They have more cars on offer and a duo of mid-1920 Humbers stands out if you ask us. Both cars come from the same home on the Isle of Man, are said to come with very good history files, look to have some fantastic patina and are estimated at £15,000 to 20,000 and £7,000 to 10,000 respectively. That would be less than the Austin on its own for two desirable PreWars. First of them is a 1927 Doctor’s Coupe which spent all of its early life in Rutland. Despite a low mileage, the engine does not run but it looks to be a fantastic and not too difficult project, which could be put back on the road relatively easily. The other Humber is a 1925 Tourer, which has been in single-family ownership since 1961 (when purchased for 5 pounds) and seems to be in a real time warp condition with a large history file. It’s never been restored and the mileage of under 21,000 is believed to be original.

So… if you had to spend around 30,000 on British motoring heritage, would you go for the single-car of name and fame or for the beautifully patinated but anonymous two-some..?

Words by Jeroen Booij. Pictures courtesy of Bonhams.

Ajoutez un commentaire...