LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (February 13, 2009) – Based on the success of Bonhams & Butterfields’ annual collectors’ motorcar auctions, held on the luscious lawns of the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel, CA, the West Coast’s leading fine art auctioneers today announced they will partner with Quail Lodge to hold its first vintage motorbikes sale from Carmel–on Saturday, May 9, 2009–to be held during the first annual The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, an event showcasing the finest motorcycles from the past, present and future.
Bonhams & Butterfields Motorcars Division has had record-setting success offering motorcars, automobilia and collectibles each August at Quail Lodge during the wildly popular The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. In 2008, the Bonhams offering set three world auction records, featured five motorcars selling for multi-million-dollar bids, and totaled more than $21-million. Mark Osborne, Vice President and Director of the Bonhams US Motorcar Dept., said, “Much anticipation is likely for another Quail Lodge Gathering topped off with a Bonhams & Butterfields auction. Building on the eleven years of thrilling auctions in Carmel, we’re assembling an impressive collection of bikes for May.”
Highlights of the Bonhams auction include multiple motorcycles to be offered with no reserve — always enticing to collectors and aficionados. A 1920 ABC Sopwith TT, estimated at $10,000-12,000, features an advanced wet-sump lubricated horizontal opposed twin, while a 1905 Orion Single could bring $24,000-28,000. Both of these no-reserve motorcycles stem from private collections and offer an opportunity to acquire very rare and unique motorcycles. One of the auction’s star lots will be the 1959 BMW R69, a restored, matching numbers example featuring a large capacity Hoske long-distance tank and a rare factory option tachometer, estimated at $25,000-35,000. The sale will also include automobilia, with racing posters and collectibles.
“This will be our newest addition to the series of world class motorsports events held here at Quail Lodge, and with our partner Bonhams & Butterfields, we will continue developing the event, with the goal of its becoming the most respected Motorcycle gathering,” says Sarah Cruse, Quail Lodge General Manager.
The inaugural event’s theme will feature “The History of the Motorcycle,” opening entrants to both pre- and post-war eras of sport and racing motorcycles. The Quail Lodge team has joined with leading motorcycle manufacturers, dealerships, accessories and lifestyle vendors, promising that the event will deliver much excitement for all, in an intimate setting.
Bonhams & Butterfields will present its illustrated auction catalog online in the weeks preceding the May sale at www.bonhams.com/us, and consignments are invited. For more information on Motoring sales at Bonhams & Butterfields, visit www.bonhams.com/motors.