So, let’s get into some other fine cars in the auction that caught my attention!

I really enjoyed the 1927 Bentley 6,5 liter ‘Bob-tail’. This 6,5 liter Bentley is only one of 20 with the exclusive 11 foot short wheelbase. The re-bodied chassis looks rough and impressive. Its engine was entirely refurbished and the chassis dismantled, stripped and repainted. Sold for €963,510 (DKK 7,187,500).

Since I did the article about the incredible Louwman 500K Special Roadster, the Butcher’s car, I love the 500K and there was one present at the auction. It used to be a Sindelfingen Cabriolet C which was re-bodied into a Special Roadster by expert German restorer Franz Prahl, in the style of Sindelfingen. Under the hammer for €1,017,467 (DKK 7,590,000).

The 1914 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Skiff with coachwork by Schapiro-Schebera looked the part to me with its brass Boa Constrictor horn. A ‘woody’ will always catch my eye… The car was originally fitted with an enclosed drive body by an unknown coachbuilder. Somewhere between 1919 and 1923 it was rebuilt into this Goddess! Due to the Egyptian (Cairo) climate the car had been preserved very well over a long period which is largely responsible for its now perfect original condition. It is possibly the most rakish Silver Ghost in existence, as well as the only Ghost with a wooden skiff body in the world. BAM! Sold for €1,002,051 (DKK 7,475,000)! 

Talking about Silver Ghosts… The 1910 Rolls 40/50 Silver Ghost ‘Balloon car’ with coachwork by Wilkinson & Sons in the style of H.J. Mulliner is a remarkable treasure too. The real Balloon car was lost around 1923. Since then a number of replicas were built. Around 1970, Millard Newman supervised the construction of two extremely accurate Balloon Car replicas. This is one of them and it is sold for €578,106 (DKK 4,312,500).  

Over to a robust, powerful and advanced aircraft derived engine of the 1914 Mercedes 28/95 Phaeton with coachwork made for C.L. Charley. Powered by a 7,280 cc SOHC inline 6-cylinder engine that leaves its exhaust gas thru those three lovely external exhaust pipes.

It is a catchy ‘woody’ car which fortunately was kept in its original condition… an excellent contender for the preservation class. If you also think that the wood looks really great… to preserve it, it was soaked in linseed oil for no less than three years! During this period the rest of the car was cleaned and the Mercedes received a set of new tires. Also the original top and upholstery were covered by protective canvas. For all this we have to thank its previous owner, Bill Evans, who respected this car and loved to drive it! This was honored in 2003 at the Pebble Beach Concours, where the car won the award for most original car in the Preservation Class. Frederiksen had some more restoration work done, including a rebuild of the magneto and an electric starter has been fitted. The car is a witness of the finest quality, for which Mercedes is so well known. Again a car that keeps some of its history hidden, as it is not known when the chassis and body were united, or as I heard, this is called by insiders … married. The new owner will for sure fire this baby up, as he had to wire €1,256,249 (DKK 9,372,500).

One of the most unusual, or strange, vehicles at the auction was for sure the perfectly silent running 1905 Woods Electric Queen Victoria Brougham. A one-off and a pioneer in terms of electrical cars and a very rare survivor! A nice piece of history, especially for those driving a Tesla. It fetched €84,788 (DKK 632,500).

Yet another car with wood was the 1948 Chrysler Town & Country Convertible. I very much liked this woody bodied car with its 5,3 liter – 8 cylinder engine! A high class American car, perfectly running and restored to its original condition. Sold for €126,412 (DKK 943,000). 

An Italian marque that deserves to be mentioned is Isotta Fraschini. There was a 1929 Tipo 8A Landaulette with coachwork by Castagna. As a matter of fact this was the only Italian at the auction. A 7,370 cc L-head 8-cylinder engine powered this royal vehicle. This car, with outstanding quality, kept some secrets about its history for itself. It was found in a neglected condition in the 1980s by Bonhams consultant and barn find discovery detective Michael Worthington-Williams. The chassis has been restored very extensively, while the body was removed from the chassis. The engine, believed to be a Sport model, was completely rebuilt. The body was carefully dismantled and a lot of effort was made to get this Landaulette returned to perfect condition! The Isotta left the blue carpet with a highest bid of €470,130 (DKK 3,507,500) by its new owner.

The striking blue 1939 Lagonda LG6 Rapide Drophead Coupe, with factory coachwork designed by Frank Feeley, was another icon of the collection. A very rare automobile that loves to run at full speed with its 4,453 cc OHV Inline 6- cylinder engine with twin SU carburetors. The car was entirely restored in 2007. Its color used to be green, but honestly this blue looked way better, don’t you think? A car that combines sporting speeds with luxury and comfort. Apparently its drives almost like a modern car, so SMOOTH! Sold for €732,169 (DKK 5,462,500).

Unquestionably the most monstrous BEAST of the collection was the 1925 Ahrens-Fox Model N-S-4 Firetruck which sold for €163,389 (DKK 1,219,000). I am not just calling it a BEAST because of its looks and size… It couldn’t even be driven into the sales room because it was too heavy! So no blue carpet for this Firetruck. You might remember Walter Christie, from an earlier article on CHB, and his V4 transversely mounted 20 liter engine on his racer, which was also a true BEAST! As it happens Christie was also responsible for engine development at Ahrens-Fox! After a few horse-dawn and steam-driven fire engines had been manufactured by Ahrens-Fox, production soon switched to an engine powered by a two-wheeled tractor unit, which had been developed by Walter Christie!

The 1932 Cadillac V16 series 452 Town Brougham was also an impressive and huge vehicle. The eye-popping faux cane work on the rear body panels was at the time an exclusive and expensive feature! Only six cars were made of the very special 4264-B series, but all of them have gone lost. In the mid 1960s an existing V16 was converted into one of the three lost 4264-B razor-edge broughams with cane-work applique. The donor chassis came from a 4291 Towncar, which formed the basis for this 452 Town Brougham. It was sold for €215,797 (DKK 1,610,000).

Finally I like to mention the Bonhams catalogue. It is a wonderful book with all the info you need and the pics are stunning! Compliments to Peter Larsen and his companion Ben Eriksen. It was a real pleasure to meet them and also Bonham’s Hennings Thomson. I love the pics in the catalogue where Henning is driving and enjoying all those fantastic cars! As I already said in part 1 I had the extreme pleasure to meet Jørgen Strøjer, the new owner of the Hispano-Suiza who invited me to come over to his GREAT museum, the new home for the H6C!

For more pics, take a look at the CHB Instagram! By the way, I made a lot of nice pics for you as I was also able to get a seat in the front row : ) Life as CHB Press is not bad at all! ; )

After a great day I stayed in one of the hotels that belongs to Frederiksen, the Molskroen Beachhotel, a very nice place to stay if you are in that area, with a view on the magnificent fjord (especially when the full moon is shining on it). 

Click here for a full overview of the auction results; prices include Premium.

Many saw this auction as a test for prices of the prewar luxury car market. Was it a success…? Judge for yourself.

Well, with these parts 1 and 2 I have summarized the Bonhams auction of the Frederiksen collection! It was a true pleasure to be present and if you have any other suggestions for great events, I am always VERY glad to hear! : )

Written by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos