Four of the coolest cars from the Bonhams FOS sale!

GRR has been on its usual rummage behind the scenes with Bonhams’ Tim Schofield, to get his personal highlights. We have already looked at other cars in the sale – including a pair of rare Porsches, an Alfa Romeo 6C (in bits!), and a host of Ferraris including David Gilmour’s F40.

This is Tim’s selection:

1973 ISO GRIFO 5.8-LITRE SERIES II COUPÉ

£200,000 - 250,000 

“The beauty of owning an Iso Grifo is that everyone asks, what is it? For me, it’s the best combination of American power and Italian styling. This one doesn’t have the 7.0-litre motor, as shown by the bonnet vent, but the 5.8-litre V8. With auto box, it offers a lazy drive. This one started out in Germany when it was bronze – my choice would be to return it to that colour. But as it stands, at its guide it represents good buying for something so rare with Carrozzeria Bertone supercar styling.”

1955 PORSCHE 356 'PRE-A' SPEEDSTER WITH HARDTOP

£250,000 - 300,000

“This is one of about half a dozen Speedsters that the late John Coombs (Jaguar dealer and racer) collected over the past 20 years. This was the best one, the car he intended to be for his wife. It was sourced in the US, like most Speedsters, and came to the UK about 15 years ago. All Speedsters are fairly bulletproof cars, and this one has the added attraction of a hard top. It has the pushrod engine in it whereas the other Speedster in the sale has the four-cam engine – and has a guide price of up to a million.”

1911 MERCEDES 28/50HP TOURER

£300,000 - 400,000

“Imagine the fun you could have with a car like this! Buy the car and join the VSCC (you can do that in the Bonhams pavilion! – ed) and you could be out with friends and family every weekend on rallies and events. It is the perfect car for VSCC fun, and a car that need not cost a fortune to run. We believe the owner even does some DIY jobs on it. The car was originally bought by an English family in Paris in 1912 and has been in the same family ownership for 60 years.”

1962 JAGUAR E-TYPE 'SERIES 1' ROADSTER

£210,000 - 260,000

“Jaguar E-types are hugely popular and I am picking two roadsters from the sale. They look similar but are quite different and will appeal to different people. The ’62 car is a cracking example of a nut-and-bolt restored 3.8 Series I, a UK car from new and in its original colour combination. The restoration could have cost well into six figures so with this guide it’s a great buy. You would have yourself a brand new car.

1971 JAGUAR E-TYPE 4.2-LITRE V8 SUPERCHARGED ROADSTER BY BEACHAM

£110-130,000

“The other E-type is a Beacham conversion from New Zealand. It started life as a ’71 V12 fixed head coupe and was converted into a roadster with supercharged V8 engine, modern seats, and XK dashboard. It’s for someone who wants all modern creature comforts in a classic car. The Beacham cars hold their value. We sold this car two years ago for £105,000.”

Photography by James Lynch