Auctions

Foreign buyers are paying top dollar for classic VW Kombis and shipping them back to Europe where they can get even more money for them.

The price, paid by an unnamed telephone bidder after a relentless battle with several rivals in the auction room, was substantially more than the $135,000 paid for a hero 1969 Falcon XW GT in award-winning unrestored condition.It was also more than double the price paid for a 1968 Holden HK GTS Monaro 327 Coupe – also in unrestored condition – that sold for $96,000.The VW Kombi's result brought a standing ovation from the large crowd that had packed into Shannons Cheltenham, Melbourne showroom.Early Kombis have attracted a cult following around the worldIt capped off a night of top prices paid for many of the 39 classics on offer - 21 of them presented for sale with 'no reserve' (an auction trend championed with growing success by Shannons).Based on the national and even international interest that was shown in the Microbus before the sale, Shannons was quietly confident that the humble VW – fresh from a five year restoration – would top pre-auction expectations of $120,000-$140,000.Once the preserve of hippies looking for cheap, live-in transport, early Kombis have attracted a cult following around the world, with top examples routinely fetching six figure sums overseas in recent years.The Volkswagen Type 2 was introduced in 1949 and rapidly established itself as one of the most versatile and popular commercial vehicles ever made.The Kombi is finished the delightful two-tone period colours of Paprika and White with contrasting tan upholsteryThe first examples were seen in Australia in 1953 and were assembled at VW's Clayton plant in Melbourne from 1954.The 'step-through' T2 Deluxe Microbus with its period 'Golde' folding roof – widely regarded as the most collectible Kombi of all – was completed on December 13, 1960 and first delivered in Melbourne.Beautiful in every detail, the Kombi is finished the delightful two-tone period colours of Paprika and White with contrasting tan upholstery.It has been the recipient of several awards, including President's Choice at the Volkswagen Club of Victoria's ‘Day of the Volkswagen' in 2013.The Kombi's sale near the end of the auction almost took the wind out of the sale, despite excellent results being posted by a number of other lots.Shannons National Auction Manager, Christophe Boribon said the result set a very positive tone for Classic vehicle sales in 2015."This is a spectacular result for our first auction of the year," he said.

The car, driven by Kat Stewart’s character Billie Proudman in the series, was donated by Southern Star Productions to raise money for youth homelessness charity Kids Under Cover. Chief executive of Kids Under Cover, Jo Swift, admitted to being a fan of the show and tipped the auction, by Manheim Auctions, to draw both car hunters and fans.The funds raised go towards Kids Under Cover’s innovative approach of providing studio accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness in the backyard of a family home. “They can be experiencing issues in the family home like conflict or overcrowding. They may have started couch surfing, risk-taking behaviours or had run-ins with the police,” Ms Swift said.The charity financially supports young people to re-engage in education and provides mentors.To learn more or donate a car visit donateyourcar.org.au or call 1800 801 633.www.heraldsun.com.au

This "super stretch" Hummer is part of a multi-million dollar collection of limousines that will go under the hammer tonight in a bid to pay off debtors from the failed Manhattan Limousines company.The company is believed to owe creditors in excess of $1 million, with their fleet of 26 super stretch vehicles now up for grabs for between $60,000 and $200,000 according to pre-auction estimates.Steve Allen, national manager of prestige vehicles at Pickles Auctions said in all his years selling cars, he had never encountered such an interesting vehicle. "They’re freaking enormous and a pretty good vehicle to drive and to be honest, they’ll be going at a pretty good price," Mr Allen said.The collection is part of Pickles quarterly luxury vehicle auction tonight and will also feature about 80 late model vehicles, many sold on behalf of financial institutions. The sale will also showcase cars from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus and more including a rare Mercedes B62.

A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder set a world record on the weekend for the highest price paid at auction for the Italian brand.One of just 10 built, it went for US $27.5m ($29.9m) with buyers fees under the hammer of the RM Auctions event in Monterey, California.That’s still short of the highest price ever paid for any car – again a Ferrari – which is the US$35m ($38m) for a private sale in June last year for a 1962 Ferrari GTO 250 race car originally built for British champion Stirling Moss.However the NART Spyder – named for the North American Racing Team – still went for nearly double the RM Auctions estimate of US$14-17m, and millions more than its original asking price of about $15,000.One of an edition of just 10, the Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder was reportedly sold to Canadian fashion Lawrence Stroll – the business brains behind the Tommy Hilfiger brand. 

It may have been depicted reversing out a second-story window during the movie, but a surviving and fully-functioning Ferrari replica made famous by the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will be auctioned in August.One of two functional examples created for the cult film, the Spyder will go under the hammer of Mecum Auctions at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California.This Ferris faux Ferrari was not used for the defenestrating destruction towards the end of the film, but was used for the airborne “I'm a professional” carpark valet scene, which apparently took nine takes to get right. Both working movie cars were used for this shot, and both apparently ended up with broken front suspension.Officially known as a Modena Spyder California, the replicas were built for the film by California firm Modena Design and Development.  This particular example was bought back by one of its creators -- Neil Glassmoyer-- in 1988, and has owned it ever since.Mirroring the styling of Scaglietti’s original Spyder California prototype, the fibreglass-bodied replica is built over a tubular steel chassis, with a 427 cubic inch (7.0 litre) Ford V8 mow residing under the bonnet.A 260 cubic inch (4.3 litre) Ford V8 was originally used, but the 373kW engine was fitted to the 1200kg roadster as part of a ten-year restoration that was completed in 2010. Incidentally, genuine Ferrari 250 GT Spyders came with a 206kW 3.0 litre V12 engine.   The exterior of the Modena Spyder California remains as per Ferris’ day off, with red paint and tan leather offset by authentic touches like Borrani chrome wire wheels, Smiths instruments, and a Nardi steering wheel. The whereabouts of the second working replica is unclear, but the (rebuilt) ‘out the window’ car is reputed to be on display at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Cancun, Mexico. The value of the example up for auction remains uncertain, but is unlikely to approach the US$10.9 million paid for an ex-James Coburn genuine example by British radio personality Chris Evans in 2008. 

It was 1964, and the band had just finished filming A Hard Day’s Night and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, ahead of a world tour that would see them become the biggest band in music history.McCartney rewarded himself by ordering an Aston Martin DB5 – fitted out with a Philips record player and a musical note pattern stitched into the leather upholstery. He followed that up with a DB6 (pictured).In the same year, McCartney wrote Baby You Can Drive My Car, although he kept driving the DB5 himself for the next six years.He paid £3800 ($5,900) for the Aston Martin, but it’s expected to fetch more than 100 times that when it goes under the hammer in London on October 31, with RM Auctions giving an estimate of £400,000 ($621,000). While the DB5 has been restored to near-original condition, the musical note upholstery is long gone – although the winning bidder gets a sample piece in case they want to have the interior made over in full swinging 60s style. 

To mark 50 years of the 007 movie franchise – and in the lead-up to the next one, Skyfall -- Christies is auctioning 50 pieces of rare Bond memorabilia, including a highly desirable Aston Martin DBS.The car was driven by Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace – one of the seven used in the movie. Since it survived the mayhem of the car chase, the winning bidder could drive it away from the auction.Less driveable but equally interesting lots are the pre-production kit-car BMW Z8 (with a Chevrolet V8 engine) used in The World Is Not Enough, and a 3D-printed 1/3 scale model of the Aston Martin DB5 used in Skyfall.Among the other Quantum of Solace props are Craig’s Speedos and sunglasses, and a dress worn by ‘Bond Girl' Olga Kurylenko.Those looking to spruce their wardrobe up to Bond standards might also consider the leather jacket and RM Wiliams shirt worn by Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day – or from the movie’s Bond Girl wardrobe, Halle Berry’s floral frock – or can tap into their dark side with the with gold bullet-buckle belt worn by Christopher Lee as Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun.Gadget fans will vie for the Snooper Dog robot model used by Q in A View To A Kill, the Solex Agitator from The Man With The Golden Gun – or perhaps the four suction pads worn by Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice.The Lotus Esprit driven by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me isn’t on offer, but you can grab one of its number plates to grace or your wall, or perhaps some of the original movie posters and first editions of the Ian Fleming novels to spice up your library.Christies has the BMW Z8 replica among the 40 items already open for online bidding at http://www.christies.com/sales/50-years-of-james-bond-september-2012/sale-info.aspx while the remaining 10 – including both the real and scale-model DBS – will go under the hammer on Friday evening at an invitation-only gala event in London, with all proceeds going to charity. 

Famed Chrysler designer Virgil Exner's 1960 Plymouth XNR (get it!) concept car will be up for sale at RM's Actions Monterey extravaganza. It might fetch north of one million dollars, if sales other Exner-styled concept car are anything to go by.This is no ordinary concept car. It ranks as one of his best efforts, and is drivable, too. Actually, it is more than driveable; it is " raceable", having been clocked at over 240kmph on Chrysler's test track. The XNR was Exner's second attempt to convince Chrysler to build a limited production sports car, similar to the Corvette.Mechanically it was based on the then new Valiant. Engineers extracted 185kw from the 2.8 litre slant-six engine by modifying the intake manifold, strapping on a four-barrel carburettor, porting the cylinder head, inserting a high performance camshaft and splitting the exhaust. Ghia, in Italy, shaped the asymmetric steel body, which was styled to resemble an offset, Indianapolis roadster.  Although it has the look of a single seater, the passenger seat is lower in the car and can be concealed with a metal tonneau cover.The emphatically thick, one piece chrome grille surround established a design motif which would re-appear in various forms on many Chrysler corporation cars including the 1970's Australian Valiant. But it is the rear end which caught everyone's attention. A large integrated chrome cross slashes through the body, with the vertical line of the cross starting at the top of the fin, and reaching down below the exhausts outlets.The horizontal line forms the low slung bumper bar. It is both elegant and striking and, had they produced it, Chrysler would have had a style icon equal to the split window on the 1963 Corvette. The XNR was paraded around the US motor show circuit and although Exner wanted it for himself, Chrysler sent it back to Ghia to avoid U.S customs taxes.Ghia then sold it to a private individual in Geneva, Switzerland, who later sold it to the Shah of Iran. By 1972 it was in the hands of a Kuwaiti car dealer, and then it went to Beirut, just in time for the war in Lebanon. It was hidden in underground facilities for over 15 years while war raged, and then slowly restored. It re-emerged in the USA in 2011 at the Pebble Beach Concours-d'Elegance.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

A highlight of the forthcoming RACV Motorclassica auction is a 1969 Lamborghini once owned by the fashion model.Lesley 'Twiggy' Lawson's 1969 Lamborghini Miura S is being offered for sale for the first time in 34 years. Twiggy was named The Face of 1966 by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year.After modelling Twiggy went on to enjoy a successful career as a screen, stage and television actress. According to the accompanying paperwork from Automobili Lamborghini, the car "was indeed sold by us to Twiggy through our UK Importers in 1969".It was delivered to the Daily Express's The Face of '66 in her chosen colour scheme. "It was painted lime green with orange-white stripes, probably at our factory, whilst also according to our records it was white originally".This outstanding, original Factory right hand drive Lamborghini Miura S has been with its current owner since 1978. Now in its third year, RACV Motorclassica will be held at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, from October 26-28.It will feature special tributes to Sir Jack Brabham, the 100th Anniversary of the Victorian Motor Show and the 60th Anniversary of Lotus. The climax of the event will be the Collector Car Auction on Sunday, October 28.