Quantcast
Channel: Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast » Austin Mini
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

Mini beach car sells for major price – $181,500 – setting new record

0
0

mini_01_2500
Photos courtesy Bonhams.

Even the littlest of cars got in on the record-setting action this past weekend at the Monterey auctions, where a doorless Mini beach car, one of a dozen or so built for promotional purposes, sold for $181,500.

As Jeroen Booij wrote in his recently released Maximum Mini 2, the Mini beach car arose out of BMC’s desire to have a car to compete directly with the Fiat Jolly, a car proving popular with wealthy Europeans looking for tenders for their yachts. Rather than go with the fringed surrey top of the Jolly, BMC’s chief stylist Dick Burzi designed a floating roof, supported only by the A- and C-pillars. He stripped off the doors and added the grab handles and wicker seats typical of the Jolly, but left the rest of the car standard Mini. A prototype Wolseley Hornet featured Burzi’s ribbed roof, but the production version ended up merely using a modified version of the Mini saloon body shell.

Exactly how many beach cars BMC built, nobody seems to know for sure. Bonhams, which handled the sale this past weekend, claims 14. Booij says that figure is likely, but it could be anywhere from nine to 16, and other sources range from two to 20. While BMC apparently considered making beach cars available on order, it ended up building them in 1961 and 1962, largely to help promote the Mini’s launch in the United States and North America (though BMC did loan one to the queen of England, and Booij mentions one custom-built to match a customer’s yacht). The later Mini Moke ended up filling the role that BMC initially envisioned for the Mini beach car.

mini_05_2500 mini_02_2500 mini_03_2500 mini_04_2500

The beach car in question, chassis number A-AY1L-197664/BMC62197664, originally went to San Francisco Austin dealer Kjell Qvale, who, according to the Bonhams description of the car, held on to it after its days promoting Minis were over. He first put it to use on his ranch and then later put it in cold storage, not to come out for a couple of decades. Since then, it’s passed through just two more owners and accumulated less than 12,000 miles, along with a 2007 refurbishment. The original 34hp 848cc four-cylinder remains, though a later transmission was installed.

Before the auction, Bonhams estimated the beach car to sell for $70,000 to $90,000. It ended up hammering for $165,000, making the final sale price $181,500 with commission, and setting a world auction record for a non-works Mini. Works Minis have long since surpassed that amount, notably in 2007 when a 1964 Mini Cooper 1275S that won the RAC Rally sold for £100,500, or about $197,000 at the time.

For comparison’s sake, a few Fiat Jollys ran across the blocks at the various Monterey auctions this past weekend. Bonhams sold a 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly for $88,000, while Gooding sold a 1959 Fiat 600 Jolly for $82,500 and RM sold a combo-pack of a 1959 Fiat 600 Multipla and a 1961 Fiat 600 Jolly for $231,000.

TalbotLago_2500

Though it sold for a record price, the Mini didn’t come close to joining the Ferrari-dominated list of the top 10 sales at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction. Among the top sales were the record-setting 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, which sold for $38,115,000; a 1953 Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia Berlinetta, which sold for $7,260,000; a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT short-wheelbase Speciale Aerodinamica, which sold for $6,875,000; a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, which sold for $6,820,000; a 1966 Ferrari 275GTB, which sold for $3,850,000; a 1973 Ferrari 365GTS/4 Daytona Spider, which sold for $2,640,000; a 1978 Ferrari 312 T3 Formula 1 racing single-seater, which sold for $2,310,000; a 1993 Ferrari F40LM, which sold for $2,200,000; a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster, which sold for $1,815,000; and a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport coupe, which sold for $1,485,000.

Thunderbird_2500

On the other end of the scale, a number of cars sold at Bonhams Quail Lodge for less than $50,000. Among then, a 1985 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, which sold for $13,750; a 1930 Ford Model A Victoria coupe, which sold for $17,600; a 1958 BMW Isetta 300, which sold for $24,200; a c.1905 REO runabout, which sold for $38,500; a 1967 Titan MK III Formula B, which sold for $39,600; a 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible, which sold for $39,600; a 1953 Morgan Plus 4 sports, which sold for $40,700; a 1953 Jaguar XK120 drophead coupe, which sold for $42,900; a c.1905 REO roadster, which sold for $44,000; and a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII BJ8, which sold for $44,000.

For full results, visit Bonhams.com.

UPDATE (27.August 2014): Looks like Jeroen Booij got to talk to the new owner, who apparently read the comments on this post and who plans to drive it around his Florida community populated with Jollys and Mokes.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images