Preceded by an extensive selection of automobilia including the ‘Robert Fellowes Collection’, Christie’s contribution to the tradition pre-Christmas London auction scene contains many fine motor cars including this 1988 Porsche 959 ‘Comfort Model’ for £95,000 – 115,000.

Left-hand drive as all the cars were, this example was originally ordered by the ‘Patrick Collection’, just one of twelve 959s originally destined for the UK market. With only 5,300 miles ‘on the clock’, and in only its third owner’s hands the metallic grey car comes complete with all the original purchase correspondence and invoices - and even the audio cassette supplied with all 959s on how to get the most out of the car. Typical German thoroughness. The estimate (with buyer’s premium to add, of course) is a keen market average, and despite its age it still looks very up to date, in fact it wouldn’t look out of place next to a new Carrera GT – at more than twice the price.

At £260,000 – 340,000 the most expensive entry is the 1936 Delahaye 135 S Two Door Coupé. The current bodywork is intriguing and represents what happened to so many competition cars before and after the war, being rebodied twice after its initial successful racing outings in 1936/37. The first change was into a four seater cabriolet, the second was the ‘fastback’ 2 + 2 you see here. Its original form was as the very elegant and classic two seater sports (or Grand Prix) specification we are used to seeing from Delahaye, Amilcar and Talbot during this period. The car was raced as part of the Schell family’s Ecurie Bleue team at the Irish TT in 1936 where it set fastest lap – a record that still stands today – and before that it was second in the Spa 24 Hours, having DNF’d at the A.C.F. French Grand Prix. The buyer therefore has the option of restoring the car with either this unusual bodywork or to its original pre-war specification. As a genuine French 1930s car of the highest provenance it would certainly gain entry to many events including the Le Mans Classic, next due to be run in 2006.

In 1936 at the Grand Prix de l'ACF...

...and the Delahaye as it is today

Another pre-war car will interest our many Aston Martin enthusiasts, a 1933 Le Mans Special 4 Seater, the ex- London Motor Show company exhibit, estimated at £60,000 – 70,000. A past AMOC Concours-winner and Louis Vuitton Classic entry, the car was been restored to its original Motor Show livery in the mid-1990s. The accompanying photographs in Christie’s catalogue quaintly show an original price tag of £625 – a considerable amount of money for the time. Also on the Aston front is this 1954 DB2/4, a race and rally prepared car with FIA papers, for £35,000 – 45,000. Well-known in AMOC and International events, the car has competed on the Tour Auto on many occasions, as well as an amazing five times on the Carrera Panamericana, winning its class four times and finishing as high as 7th overall in 1995. As they say with competition cars, always buy one that has been ‘done’, it would cost so much more than this estimate to convert a road car to this specification.

More recent cars entered include a couple of modern Bentleys, a 1995 Azure for £75,000 – 100,000 and a 1995 Turbo S for £30,000 – 40,000, and a 1975 Rolls-Royce Corniche, finished in oh-so-Seventies ‘Willow Gold’ for £15,000 – 25,000. Another interesting, and rare, entry is the 1986 LHD Lancia Delta S4 Road Car at £25,000 – 30,000. As one of the last of the Group B supercars, Christie’s believes only some 80 examples of the car are accountable today, and finished in the attractive combination of metallic red with beige Alcantara interior it’s a nice-looking motor car. For those Lancia fans who must have the ultimate there’s also an ex-Le Mans 1980 Beta Monte Carlo Turbo Group 5 car for £130,000 – 160,000, and with historic racing rules constantly expanding there’s a good chance this will be eligible for a lot of events in years to come. They also road-rallied them in the Giro d’Italia, so with a tax disc and some low-profile road tyres you are going to have a pretty potent machine.


Prior to the motor cars some 160 items of automobilia come under the hammer, many of which from the ‘Robert Fellowes Collection’ (an enigmatic photographer from the pre-war period) that comprises not only some very collectable b/w photographs but other ephemera including his well-known Tyrolean-style felt hat (complete with badges) and Contessa Deckrullo Nettel press camera - £800 – 1,200. Other lots of note include a magnificent F. Gordon Crosby original painting ‘Tigress on the Banking at Brooklands’, £20,000 – 24,000, and this wonderful ½ scale ‘Junior’ Ferrari P2 with 144cc Honda engine estimated at £4,000 – 6,000.

All lots can be seen in detail, with colour photographs on the Classic Driver Car Database. Please CLICK HERE for full details.

For a full lotlist, please CLICK HERE.

Christie's International Motor Cars Ltd The Jack Barclay Showroom 2-4 Ponton Rd Nine Elms London SW8 5BA Tel: + 44(0)20 7389 2851 Fax: + 44(0)20 7627 8917 [email protected]

Text - Steve Wakefield
Photos - Christie's