HomeCar CultureLifestyleQuirky and famous are themes for Silverstone Auctions event

Quirky and famous are themes for Silverstone Auctions event

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Silverstone Auction’s Heythrop Park collector car auction on May 11 promises a docket that includes cars that are quirky, those that have celebrity provenance and one that has both.

The car with both a former famous owner and quirkiness on its own is a 1965 Excalibur SS purchased new by actor Tony Curtis. After his time with the car, Curtis sold the car to David Gilmore, who put it into the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan for 45 years.

In 2008, the car was sold and exported to England, and now has been consigned to the auction “in superb unrestored condition with just under 6,500 miles, with the current vendor covering just 200 miles whilst in his ownership,” reports Silverstone auctions.

Tony Curtis was original owner of this 1965 Excalibur SS

Another car on the docket with celebrity history is a 2000 Mini Cooper Sport owned by Jay Kay, frontman of Jamiroquai. The car is nicknamed “Chuckles” and has Chesterfield upholstery, a red velvet headliner and curtains, a disco light and a “mini” bar in the trunk. 

The car, driven 16,000 miles since new, will be offered at no reserve.

Jay Kay’s Mini has velvet curtains and its own ‘mini’ bar

Among the unusual vehicles on the docket is a 1967 Honda S800 that underwent a 3-year restoration and had its engine overhauled by a former Rolls-Royce engineer. 

But when it comes to quirky, consider the 1956 Bentley S1 pickup truck. The car came off the Bentley assembly line as a sedan but was shipped to Australia, where it was converted into a “ute” and painted Banana Yellow.  

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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