Australia’s first Sotheby’s car auction had all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere, but on the day most cheque books stayed closed

When was the last time you saw a suburban street with two late-model Bentleys parked in it? Nose-to-tail, even? And one of them with consular number plates? Yep Australia’s first Sotheby’s car auction certainly drew a few punters out of the woodwork when it was held in Melbourne’s ritzy Brighton back in April.

In fact, aside from the Bentley boys, the street was littered with late-model Ferraris, Porsches of all vintages and even the odd stripped-down MG special. And then there was the stuff parked around the corner... Clearly the word was out that Australia has a new auction house with its tentacles in the upper end of things. But while the players were out and about, the money (mostly) stayed in pockets with very few four-wheeled lots finding new owners.

The pass-in rate was healthier for the memorabilia also offered on the day, but it remains that most vendors on the day are still the owners of the cars that went under the hammer. And that’s odd, because the worst of the global financial crisis is, as we’re constantly being told, supposedly behind us. And on top of that, this particular auction was headlined by some very delectable lots, including some motor racing legends previously driven by motor racing gods. Most of whom just happened to drop in for a chat on the day. Reg Hunt was there to add a bit of background to the sale of his 1949 race special, known around the traps as the Flying Bedstead. The car first raced at Fishermens Bend in Melbourne in late 1949, where it was obviously quick and showed some of the MG-based establishment a thing or two. Later that year, it smashed the class record at the Rob Roy hillclimb by six seconds. In fact, the
car still holds plenty of Australian hillclimb records around the place and is an important part of this country’s racing heritage.

Originally powered by a JAP V-twin, it later received more get up and go thanks to a 998cc Vincent V-twin. Reg eventually sold the car, but re-acquired it in 1978 before giving it a total restoration. Not too surprisingly, the Flying Bedstead was one of the cars snapped up on the day, with a hammer-fall of $46,000. Another notable local driver to attend the auction was touring car legend John Goss. Standing beside lot number 124, Goss was able to add a bit of background to the 1975 XB Falcon coupé in full race livery. The car was, in fact, the very same one Goss campaigned from 1975 to 1978. The car retired from Group C racing in 1979 but it’s also notable for being the car Goss generously loaned to Allan Moffat in 1976 after the latter’s own transporter and Group C Falcon hardtop caught fire on the way to Adelaide and burned to a crisp. Moffat did the decent thing, putting the car second on the grid and winning the round. None of which does the car’s value any harm these days.

On the other hand, the starting bid of half a million dollars for a car that never won Bathurst (Goss won in 1974 with Kevin Bartlett in an XA hardtop) did raise a few eyebrows on the day. Ultimately, the car was passed in at $610,000. The third notable attendee was 1980 World Formula 1 Champion, Alan Jones. He was there to provide background on lot 130, his 1979-build Williams F1 car. As well as taking Jones to third place in the 1979 Driver’s Championship, it also carried him to that memorable F1 crown in 1980. Despite a couple of serious bidders trading blows throughout the auction, the Williams FW07 was passed in at $520,000. The engine, a dummied-up Cosworth unit for display purposes, might have had something to do with that. Nevertheless, the car did sell a couple of days after the auction for an undisclosed amount.