Barons Auction House, achieves new record for the uber rare 1954 Bentley Continental R-Type Fastback.

Bids were flying around Barons’ Sandown Park saleroom on April 21^st, when an extremely rare 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback ‘barn find’ restoration project went under the hammer. With an estimate of £200,000-£400,000, the car attracted frenzied bidding before it was finally secured by its new owner for £739,212*. 

This was the highest price Barons has ever achieved for a car – and other strong sales on the day brought the auction total to over £1 million, another company record for Barons.

It was not an easy bidding battle to win, with bids coming in from around the world. Barons’ staff were taking bids from 10 potential buyers over the telephone, 20 on the internet and a further 15 in the saleroom itself, as the bids began climbing in increments of £50,000 then tapering to increments of £25,000 before reaching the final, remarkable figure.

In the end the car went to a British owner, who will be adding this magnificent machine to his private collection. When restored his new acquisition – which has not been driven in 15 years - could be worth over £1,000,000.

Chassis BC52C was commissioned in 1954 by the Welsh racing driver R D Weatherall and was originally painted in his racing colour, Royal Purple. It still bears the registration number RDW 536. A subsequent owner, a doctor from Yorkshire, had the car re-sprayed in white, the colour it retains to this day.

Barons’ director Tony Cavell said, “This was an absolutely fantastic result. A ‘lost’ car always attracts collectors’ attention, and when it’s such a rare, iconic and valuable machine, that interest can lead to a frenetic bidding battle such as we saw yesterday. It will be fascinating to see the ‘journey’ the Bentley now takes, as its restoration commences.”

“This was the first sale that my fellow director Peter Gascoigne and I have fully assembled and presided over since we took the reins at Barons earlier in the year. 

We couldn’t have been more delighted with how things turned out, from the atmosphere in the saleroom to the final result. To top £1 million for the first time for Barons is a tremendous achievement, and it has been a privilege to play a role in finding a new home for a truly remarkable car.”

Other strong results achieved included the very beautiful 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25, which drove past top estimate to sell for just under £41,000*, and a stately Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III, which sold for £23,500*.

Year	Make	Model	Sold @ Inc
1953	Bentley	R-Type Continental Fastback	£739,212
1934	Rolls-Royce	20/25 Saloon	£40,892
2001	Aston Martin	DB7 GTS Coupe	£25,772
1965	Rolls-Royce	Silver Cloud III	£23,532
1951	Chevrolet	Styleline Custom	£19,052
1974	Triumph	Stag	£14,292
1987	Mercedes	300SL Convertible	£10,876
1935	Austin	7 APD/E Military Tourer	£10,042
1963	Mercedes	Evocation 500K	£10,000
1968	Ford	Escort 1100 De Luxe	£9,756
2000	Rover	Mini Cooper 500LE	£8,132
1991	Peugeot	205 Cti	£7,964
1996	Alfa Romeo	V6 Spider	£7,852
1989	Bentley	Eight	£7,852
1966	Wolseley	Hornet Heinz 57 Crayford	£7,852
1987	Mercedes	300SL	£7,068
1987	Harley Davidson	1200 Custom	£6,732
1989	Alfa Romeo	Spider	£6,620
1989	Land Rover	Range Rover Vogue SE	£6,452
1986	Bentley	Eight	£6,172
1989	Citroen	CX 2500 Gti	£5,612
1977	Mercedes	200	£4,716
1972	Fiat	500	£4,604
1961	Mercedes	180 Ponton	£4,268
1998	Mercedes	SL320	£4,212
1996	Daimler	Six (X300)	£3,988
1995	Daimler	Double Six LWB	£3,752
1985	Austin	Rover Mini Hot Rod	£3,652
2002	Land Rover	Range Rover	£3,596
1979	Daihatsu	F20 Taft	£3,484
1991	Mercedes	300CE	£3,204
2000	Mercedes	CLK 320	£3,036
1974	Reliant	Scimitar GTE SE5A	£2,924
1999	Jaguar	XJ8 4.0 V8	£2,364
1990	Mitsubishi	3000 GTO V6	£2,364
1978	Rolls-Royce	Silver Shadow I	£2,252
1990	Mercedes	300SE	£1,916
2002	Vauxhall	Vectra	£1,142
1950s		Child's pedal car	£531
		Bologna Chronograph	£142
		Rim Chronograph	£130
	SALE TOTAL		£1,038,010