The Bond Street auction house might not have consigned as many stars as RM Sotheby’s or Gooding & Company, but the catalogue for its annual Quail Lodge sale is still teeming with interesting and desirable motorcars nonetheless. As mentioned, the headliner is the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Short Wheelbase’.
Back in 2013, Jaguar resurrected the Jaguar D-type – in spirit, at least – with the Project 7, a limited edition drop-top sports car that was faster, lighter, and much (much) louder than the F-type upon which it was based. Its name referenced the marque’s seven Le Mans victories, while design cues such as the driver-side fin harked back to the D-type – arguably the greatest and most successful car to come out of Coventry.
A fabulous green 1968 Porsche 911 Karmann Coupe fronts the sale – the car shows 20,000 miles on the clock and retains all its original documentation. A 1956 Austin Healey 100/4 BN2 is also offered, boasting a fully restored tan leather interior contrasted with a beautifully finished all-black exterior.
Why should we be worried about using our classic cars? It’s a question that Jonathan Ward, founder of the cult California customisation brand Icon, found himself asking a lot in the early days of his personal classic car history.
Ronnie Kessel might own a Swiss passport, but judging by the boundless enthusiasm and gesticulative nature with which he shows us around his company’s sprawling Lugano HQ, Italy (whose border is just a stone’s throw away from the picturesque lakeside town) is where his heart really lies. As its marketing material so aptly suggests, Kessel is a ‘car lover’s playground’.