London, England, 03 December, 2002
James Allington
The highlight of the automobilia section of the Christie’s Auction was over a hundred
examples of original artwork from the hand of James Allington, the renowned
automobile cutaway drawing artist. His work has featured in a large number of major
international motoring publications over the years, including Automobile Quarterly in
the USA and Car Graphic in Japan. The scope of the drawings was truly diverse,
ranging from details of suspension parts for a Lotus 47, through cutaways of vehicles
as dissimilar as a Ford ”D” Series truck and a VW Formula Vee racing car, with some
superb renditions of all time classics along the way. These included Ferraris in the
form of 275 GTB/4, 365 GTB/4 and the legendary 250 GTO, along with Porsche 911,
Maserati Tipo 61, Ford GT40 and Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing coupe, to name
but a few.
The incredible amount of detail, and the fact that it was a never to be repeated
opportunity to obtain examples of this much admired artist’s work, did not go
unheeded by the buying public, as virtually every item offered was sold. Some items
obviously proved more popular than others, with the coloured Porsche 911 cutaway
achieving £3,290, more than twice the estimate of £900 - £1.500, as did the coloured
250 GTO cutaway which went for £6,462, after an estimate of £2,000 - £3,000.
However the star in turns of figure realised was Lot No 51, the coloured cutaway of a
Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix, which had an estimate of £1,200 - £1,500, but sold for
an amazing £9,987!
Other Big Numbers
Two other items in the automobilia section achieved even bigger numbers than the
artwork, both being related to Sir Henry Seagrave’s World Land Speed record of
231.362mph at Daytona Beach in 1929. A 10” (26cm) long sterling silver model of
”The Golden Arrow”, the car in which he took the record from arch rival Malcolm
Campbell, made £10,575, whilst the magnificent art-deco Wakefield Trophy, sculpted
by Phoebe Stabler, which was presented to him to mark the achievement, sold for
£39,950, around 20% more than the estimate.
Eclectic Array Of Automobiles
The array of automobiles on offer was truly eclectic, ranging from an 1899
Clement-Panhard Voiture Legere Type VCP Two-Seater, through a 1913 K.R.I.T 25hp
Tourer, a 1938 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe, a pair of Mercedes Benz 300 SL
models, a 1956 Gullwing and a 1958 Roadster, a quintet of Rolls Royce models of
varying age and configuration, a 1984 Lamborghini Countach LP5000S, to an ex-Sir
Elton John Ferrari 512 TR from 1992. The veteran market seemed buoyant, with both
the Clement-Panhard and a 1903 Renault Model M selling at the top end of their
estimate figures, whilst of the more modern element both 300 SLs found new homes
within their estimate ranges, as did a 1936 Frazer Nash Shelsley TT Replica Sports.
The Rolls Royce and Bentley element didn’t seem to be in favour, as the only sale
was a 1980 Silver Shadow II, although American sports cars faired better, with both a
1956 Ford Thunderbird and a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette selling above estimate, the
latter some 40% up on the top end.
Ferrari Models in the Auction
There were ”five” Ferraris in the auction, ”five” is in inverted commas as one was a
250 Testa Rossa 59/60 replica using a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso engine together with a
number of other original Ferrari parts, but on a custom built chassis replicating that of
the original car on which it was modelled. Details of the individual cars are as
appended below. Also on display to publicise the Christie’s Auction to be held at
Retromobile, Paris, on 08 February 2003, was 250 GT LWB TdF berlinetta, chassis #
1333GT, the interior totally un-restored and exuding a musty aroma from its well worn
upholstery, let’s just hope that it retains such originality and doesn’t become a
concours queen.
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