Auction houses are seldom able to publicise entries far in advance of a sale, because the cars are so often consigned at short notice. Fortunately, Bonhams is able to let us know about some star lots in its forthcoming sale on 19th September at the Goodwood Revival… starting with the 1964 Porsche 904 GTS and 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ1 from the Collection of Bernard Consten.

The fully restored Porsche 904 GTS, chassis no. 021, carries an estimate of £400,000-600,000. It was delivered new to Robert Buchet, a well-known privateer racer and French Porsche distributor, in February 1964. The car’s continuous history from new includes the 1965 Le Mans (with Ben Pon), 1964 Tour de Corse, 1965 Coupe des Alpes, 1965 Reims 12 Hours (with Guy Ligier), 1965 Routes du Nord and numerous other French rallies, until it was sold in 1968. In the 1970s, it was fitted with a later 6-cylinder 2.8-litre RSR block, and has been owned by the vendor, Bernard Consten, since 1994.



Consten is himself a highly successful figure in international motorsport, a five-times Tour de France winner (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963), four-times French National Rally Champion (1958, 1961, 1962, 1967), and the 1958 winner of the ‘Coupe des Alpes’. He is a veteran of the Le Mans 24 Hours, 1000Km of the Nürburgring, 1000Km of Paris, Targa Florio and Sebring 12 Hour race and, from 1968 to 1973, was President of the FFSA (‘Féderation Française du Sport Automobile’).



Today, Bernard Consten takes part in many historic events, such as the 2008 Tour Auto and 2008 Coupe des Alpes, in which he drove his Alfa Romeo TZ1; the second car from his collection to be offered for sale by Bonhams.

Chassis no. 080, this 1965 TZ1 was delivered new in April 1965 to Claude Journot. With matching numbers, the Alfa has continuous ownership history, including the 1965 Rallye de Lorraine, 1966 Cevennes Rallye and 1966 Tour de Corse. It was purchased by Bernard Consten in 1990 and has remained in his collection ever since. Said to be in ‘superb condition’, the TZ1 carries an estimate of £240,000-280,000.

Meanwhile, other entries for the Bonhams sale at September’s Goodwood Revival include 12 cars from The Alman Collection in Greece. The vendor is Mr Alex Maniatopoulos, the well-known Greek rally driver who has participated in 40 consecutive Acropolis rallies. The 12 cars under the hammer at Goodwood are the following:

1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ est £120,000-140,000
1964 Jaguar E-type 3.8 Lightweight est £60,000-70,000
1963 Porsche 356B Super 90 Cabriolet est £55,000-65,000
1974 Porsche 911 Carrera SC 2.7 est £36,000-40,000
1965 Maserati Mistral 3.7 est £30,000-35,000
1965 Porsche 356 SC Coupe est £30,000-35,000
1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint 1.6 GTA est £26,000-28,000
1965 Porsche 911 2.0 Coupe est £25,000-35,000
1960 Austin-Healey 3000 MK 1 est £25,000-28,000
1959 Chevrolet Corvette C1 est £24,000-28,000
1956 Ford Thunderbird est £20,000-25,000
1973 Porsche 911 S 2.4 Targa est £23,000-26,000

Bonhams' sale of Sports, Competition and Collectors’ Motor Cars, F1 Memorabilia, Automobilia and Models takes place at the Goodwood Revival meeting on 19th September, starting at 12:00.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Bonhams