Top Gear star’s cars up for grabs at Bonhams auction

13 August, 2015

The weird and wonderful catalogue of amazing vehicles up for sale at the Bonhams auction house in London has gained 13 more cars for their upcoming Goodwood Revival sale being held on September 12. All 13 of the additions are owned by newly announced Top Gear host Chris Evans.

Evans is a well-known collector of Ferraris, so it’s no surprise that six of the Italian marque’s finest headline the list. Included in that six is this rare right-hand–drive 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy, which is estimated to sell for between £2.6–2.9 million, or NZ$6.1–6.8 million. Powered by a 3.3-litre 60-degree V12 engine, the GTB/6C produces 300bhp. The ‘C’ suffix at the end of the Ferrari’s name indicates that this is the ‘Competizione’ edition, while the six alludes to this car’s six-carburettor engine set-up. As a result, this car rings more out of that 300bhp than most other GTBs, not only because of those additions, but also because of its aluminium-alloy bodywork.

Another Ferrari to make the list is Evans’ 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider, which is estimated to sell for between £2.3–2.6 million, or NZ$5.4–6.1 million. Painted black with red leather, it has recently been restored to a concours standard. Under the bonnet, the Daytona packs an all-alloy, four-cam V12 engine, good for an impressive 352bhp at 7500rpm. It also features an all-independent wishbone and coil-spring suspension set-up, which actually debuted on the aforementioned 275GTB above. While the GT variant of the Daytona was the fastest production car in the world when it was launched in 1968 at the Paris Auto Salon, it and its convertible equivalent are more known for their capabilities as cars for comfortable cruising.  

Outside of the six prancing horses Evans is letting go, he’s also selling a replica of the famously nutty car from the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Drowning in a mixture of wood and chrome, and sitting atop its bright-red wire wheels, the brilliant replica is estimated to sell for between £250,000–350,000, or NZ$590,000–826,000. Amazingly, this replica was constructed from scratch, taking its original owner just under 10 years to make — eventually completed in 2008. The car was produced with assistance from James Bond film designer, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang assistant art director, Peter Lamont. Among its features are its distinctive yellow-and-orange wings, though I don’t think those are functional.

But perhaps the most curious inclusion on Evans’ list is this bright-orange 1983 Fiat 126 Abarth Replica Sports Saloon. Dwarfed by almost everything else on sale, the Abarth is estimated to sell for the princely sum of £10,000–15,000, or NZ$24,000–35,000. Supposedly, this humble Fiat simply caught Evans’ attention in 2011 because of how its violent hues matched his ginger hair. Out of the whole list, this cute little guy is probably the one I’d take home.

Check out the full gallery of Evans’ cars up for sale below. Do you have a favourite? Vote for it in our poll below!

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”

Ford’s Mustang – the endlessly hip American dream machine

Fifty or so years ago, the only place in New Zealand to see a Ford Mustang was on the racetrack. In a local market severely constrained by a lack of new motor vehicles, the new North American Ford was a dreamy icon boosted by considerable motorsport success.
Import licences for cars were limited, and if Kiwis travelled abroad, the amount of currency they could take with them was restricted. What’s more, those funds could not be used to buy a car for importation back home. Yet it was OK to spend the money on heavy drinking at a London pub, Gucci shoes, sable fur coats, and excessive stays at the Hôtel Martinez at Cannes in France.
However, any rare Mustang that landed on our shores would not be destined to pose around Auckland’s then trendy Queen Street on a Friday night but would more likely be found in the care of well-known racing drivers on the starting grid at local motor racing tracks.