A 1962 Ferrari 250GTE barnfind sold for four times its upper estimate at Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale on Saturday.
The left-hand-drive car had been predicted to sell for £10-20,000, but eventually went to a UK phone bidder for £82,140, hopefully not to become a 250GTO replica.
Much of the pre-sale interest focused on the contents of the Exmoor Classic Car Museum amassed over 45 years by retired pyjama manufacturer Stephen Jones.
Every lot in his collection sold including a 1927 Bugatti Type 40 Roadster (£149,340), a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GTS Spider (£144,860) and a 1923 Rolls Royce 20hp Doctor’s Coupé (£57,500).
Meanwhile, 1940s screen icon Margaret Lockwood’s 1938 Delage D6-70 Tourer sold for £51,750 and a 1925 Bentley 3/4 ½ Litre short-chassis Red Label Vanden Plas sold for £140,000.
Tim Schofield, director of the Bonhams Motor Car Department, said: “Overall the auction was a huge success, realising just short of £2.6 million. This is a great start to a fortnight during which the Bonhams motoring department is holding two sales, continuing of course with our Goodwood Revival Sale on Saturday 15 September.”
