Bidders at the Bonhams Revival sale like to be presented with cars eminently suited to the South Downs circuit. In addition to the catalogue-topping 1953 Jaguar C-type, there’s a superb ex-works Lotus Cortina, ‘166 RUR’, a car driven by many ‘greats’ including Jim Clark and Dan Gurney.

To Gurney and Clark’s names you can add that of ‘Gentleman’ Jack Sears, Trevor Taylor and Sir John Whitmore. As an enduring image, a three-wheeling Lotus Cortina of the 1960s is right up there with SWBs on the Tour de France and GT40s at Le Mans. This particular car has been prepared at quite considerable (all documented in the catalogue description) expense and looks very much ‘ready to run’ in next year’s Revival meeting. Estimate: £110,000 - 130,000.

The Jaguar C-type’s estimate (£800,000 - 1,000,000) reflects the fact that this particular car has many – but not all – original components, and is lacking a period-specification C-type straight-six. The reason for this was a serious accident on the 1953 Mille Miglia which led to the car remaining unrestored in France until the early 1980s – by which time many parts had been stripped and sold on.

That said, the car has an FIA Fiche d’Identité and as described in the catalogue is “within its class, a potentially highly-competitive Historic sports-racing car of uncontested lineage and with now well-understood, well-established and substantiated continuous history.”

1966 Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder - £290,000 - 340,000

1953 Jaguar C-type, Chassis no. XKC 016 - £800,000 - 1,000,000

Other enticing historic racing entries include the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hours , 1954 Kieft 1500 (£130,000 - 180,000), the ex-works (Seigle-Morris, Mäkinen, Hopkirk, Morley twins) 1962 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII Rally Car ‘67 ARX’ for £70,000 - 100,000, and the 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Competition Coupé – a tow-car-busting barrel of fun for £30,000 - 35,000.

Away from the track, the sale includes many entries of interest to the Classic Driver reader. The Aston Martin marque is represented by seven cars, including a very early (1959) DB4 for £140,000 - 180,000, a ‘barn find’ 1952 DB2 Saloon (£60,000 - 70,000) and a ‘wedge’, the 1979 Lagonda Series 2, reasonably priced at £15,000 - 20,000.

1952 Aston Martin DB2 Saloon - £60,000 - 70,000

1972 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' - £165,000 - 185,000

On the Jaguar front, we like the Old English White/red leather 1953 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, originally LHD and green/green so estimated accordingly at £45,000 - 55,000. There’s also a Primrose/black leather 1965 E-type S1 4.2-Litre Roadster for £50,000 - 60,000.

Moving back in time, the catalogue lists a racy 1931 Lagonda 2-litre Supercharged Low Chassis (£100,000 - 120,000), a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GT 4th/5th Series Tourer (£100,000 - 130,000) and an ex-Le Mans finisher (6th overall in 1934), the 1934 Riley Works Team Ulster Imp. The latter is estimated at £300,000 - 400,000: a cracking pre-War British sports car.

1937 Ford V8 Model 78 Deluxe 'Woodie' Station Wagon - £50,000 - 70,000	1972 BMW 3.0 CSL Coupé - £27,000 - 32,000
1962 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII Rally Car - £70,000 - 100,000	1956 Porsche 356A Speedster - £90,000 - 110,000

As far as Italian entries go, the Blu Sera/blue leather 1972 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' would look nice in my garage for £165,000 - 185,000, and who can resist an Alfa Romeo of the immediate post-War period? The 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet is estimated at £170,000 - 200,000 and surely represents a chance to buy one of these hugely elegant cars before prices rise inexorably.

Finally, we like to pick a couple of entries that catch the ‘spirit of the Revival’. This year, I propose the 1937 Ford V8 Model 78 Deluxe 'Woodie' Station Wagon (£50,000 - 70,000 – just the machine for taking the boys to a pub post-ops in 1940) or the Peter Sellers-era, 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 for £40,000 - 45,000 – just don’t let Inspector ‘Nosey’ Parker catch you in it when recce-ing a job.

Prior to the motor cars, Bonhams will sell over 200 items of automobilia and children's cars including a 2/3 scale recreation of a 1955 'long-nose' D-type Jaguar estimated at £10,000 - 12,000.

The 2010 Bonhams Revival auction will take place at Goodwood Circuit on Friday, 17 September. Automobilia will start at 14:30 with motor cars commencing at 17:00.

To see the complete lotlist please click HERE.

Text - Steve Wakefield
Photos - Bonhams

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