HISTORICS MARVEL-OUS AUCTION

News from Historics at Brooklands

Cars of Captain America dazzle at action-packed sale

A once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a genuine piece of automotive and movie history drew a vast capacity crowd to Brooklands, with Historics achieving a ‘WHITE GLOVE SALE’ (all lots sold) of the blockbusting collection of vehicles from the forthcoming Marvel Studios movie, Captain America – ‘The First Avenger’, at its first sale of 2011.

The epic 56 strong collection featured cars, commercial vans and trucks and military vehicles – used extensively during filming at Shepperton Studios and on-set in Manchester and Liverpool in the UK - with the star of show a 1933 Dodge Tow Truck, sourced from the Nevada Desert and complete with genuine bullet holes on the driver’s wing and bonnet, selling for £10,200, way above it’s estimate of £1,000 - £3,000.

With a litany of eye-catching and imposing vehicles on display, trucks consistently proved popular, with a 1941 GMC Series 100 Pick-Up Truck – lovingly restored in 1971 and in wonderfully original condition - selling for £12,250, whilst another GMC, a 1942 352 Military Truck, fetched £7,900.

Fans of classic American motor cars were treated to examples from a host of renowned manufacturers, including Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and Chrysler, as well as Hudson, Oldsmobile, Dodge and Pontiac, with a dark blue 1948 Chrysler Windsor - epitomising the sight light model with split windscreen and visor - fetching over double its estimate at £8,700.

Also surpassing expectation were a 1937 DeSoto Sedan, sold for £5,200, a 1940 Oldsmobile Hydra-Matic Coupe which made £6,300 and a 1941 Cadillac Series 61 Hydra-Matic which reached £8,200 when the hammer went down.

In an action-packed auction, also supported by automobilia, a further 56 fine classic and sports cars were offered for sale to a patient audience in the hall, on the phones and via the Internet, where 79 registrations were received to bid via the online auction tool, i-Bidder.

Stars in their own right, but having to play a supporting role on the day, highlights included the sale of a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for £205,000 and a 1967 Shelby GT500 ‘Eleanor’ belonging to Tottenham Hotspur footballer, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, for £145,000.

It was also another strong showing for Mercedes-Benz, with an immaculate 1970 280SE Cabriolet going for £90,000, whilst the increasing popularity of the 190SL was strongly reflected in the sale of a white 1961 model for £44,000.

Historics at Brooklands Auction Director, Edward Bridger-Stille, reflected on a unique sale; ‘We’re delighted Marvel Studios entrusted us with this eclectic collection, and to have found a home for each and every one of the 56 vehicles demonstrates the appeal of those with a fascinating provenance.’

For more information, and to consign Lots to the next Historics at Brooklands auction on the 21st May, 2011, call 0800 988 3838, e-mail: auctions@historics.co.uk, or see the website, www.historics.co.uk.