The Bonhams auction at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance has always been quite interesting, in that you often find cars you don’t see anywhere else. For some reason, this sale tends to bring out some of the lesser-known collectible cars, many of which are in fine condition.
I have been attending this auction for six years and the staff at Bonhams never fails in presenting a car (or two) that I have either never seen before in person, or that I never even knew about.
I am not sure where Jakob Greisen and his team come up with these amazing cars, but I hope they continue to do so in the future.
That said, here are the picks of the cars being offered at Bonhams Greenwich auction I would most like to have in my own garage:
1950 MG YT Tourer
You almost never see the MG YT Tourers for sale in the U.S. and I have only seen one other. This specific YT features a performance-built engine with a 5-speed gearbox conversion. This car offers so may different opportunities in the classic car hobby from concours events to tours and is the most comfortable MG for taller people of the era.
1953 Facel Ford Comète
This is a car I never knew existed. French coachbuilding firm Facel Metallon, best known for creating the body for the Facel Vega, also did custom bodies for Fords. This is one of an estimated 3,000 such cars and is a very happy looking car. It is powered by a Ford flathead V8. Being a coachbuilt car, the possibilities of what you could do with this car seem endless. It also is a well restored car and formerly owned by Martin Swig, founder of the California Mille.
1961 Bentley S2 Continental Coupe with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner
I love Bentley cars and since I am unlikely to own a Bentley Continental R fastback anytime soon, this would make a nice consolation prize at around 1/8 the price of the fastback. One of only 388 S2 Continentals built, it is as rare as it is beautiful. It is an elegant and capable drivers car to take on Bentley/Rolls-Royce rallies, Concours or to drive to Monterey next year.
1953 Allard K3
I know this particular car well. I first encountered it on a vintage rally around 12 years ago and later became the owner’s insurance agent. Owned previously by Dr. Martin Allard (no relation to the car company), the car is fully sorted and could easily go on next years Copperstate 1000. A great example of a nice K3 driver-level car.
1955 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT 4th Series coupe
These Lancia Aurelias are wonderful cars, among Stirling Moss’ favorite touring cars. These cars are well styled by Pininfarina, built like a Swiss watch and are fun to drive and very capable road cars, and ready for daily use.
1935 Riley 1½ Liter Kestrel Saloon
This is another car I had never seen before. It has stunning lines. The roofline alone is simply perfect. A gem of a pre-war British sports car, this Riles is another car that would be as fun to drive as to look at. These were very advanced cars for the time, having a twi- cam engine and a pre-selector manual gearbox. This may not be the fastest car around, but would still be very capable on a vintage rally.
