Claiming world auction record prices for a Sunbeam and a Norton F1, Bonhams said its Motorcycles Winter Sale at Bicester Heritage in England generated more than £3 million ($4 million) in transactions with a 91 percent sell-through rate.
The top sale of the auction was 1936 Brough Superior 982C SS100 from the National Motorcycle Museum’s Reserve Collection that sold for £276,000 ($368,125).
The record prices set at the sale were £41,400 ($44,220) for a 1928 Sunbeam 493cc TT Model 90 racer that had participated on the Pendine Sands in period, and £40,250 ($53,685) for a 21,188-mile 1990 Norton F1 racer in John Player Special livery. Both the Sunbeam and the Norton also were part of the museum’s consignment of 52 British motorcycles to the auction.
Another collection that did well at the sale was The Connoisseur Collection, which Bonhams said comprised “blue-chip examples from the estate of a late motorcycle enthusiast.” A 1937 Brough Superior 982cc SS80 sold for £73,600 ($98,170) and a 1937 Brough Superior 1,096cc 11-50hp brought £71,300 ($96,000).
Also part of that collection was a 1924 Henderson De Luxe Four, which sold for £48,300 ($64,290), a strong price considering the bike was in need of restoration to be roadworthy.
The auction concludes the year for Bonhams motorcycle department, which opens its 2021 calendar not with its usual sale in late January in Las Vegas, which apparently has been canceled, but with The Spring Sale, April 24-25 at the International Classic MotorCycle Show at the Stafford Showground in England.
For more information, visit the Bonhams motorcycle auction website.
