2015 Bonhams Frederiksen Auction Preview

© Bonhams
© Bonhams

Bonhams will sell 48 cars, including 13 Rolls Royces, from the Frederiksen Collection at a classic car auction in Denmark on September 26, 2015. The single-owner collection includes the best of British, European and American motoring with most cars from the pre-War period and several manufactured before the First World War. The sale will feature some 13 Rolls-Royce, three Mercedes-Benz, three Cadillac’s, two Maybachs and two Bentleys, in addition to offerings from Lagonda, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Horch, Chrysler, Renault, Citroën, Isotta Fraschini, Ahrens-Fox, Lincoln, Stutz, Packard, Auburn, Pierce Arrow and Alvis.

Bonhams Frederiksen Auction 2015

The Bonhams Frederiksen Auction will arguably be the most exiting classic car auction ever held in Denmark and Scandinavia. It will feature 48 top classic cars from the private collection of Henrik Frederiksen.

The Frederiksen Collection sale will take place at Lyngsbækgaard Manor, in Mols Bjerge national park, Denmark, on Saturday 26 September 2015. The auction will be conducted in Danish crowns (DKK).

Million-Dollar Cars in the Frederiksen Collection

The following cars of the Frederiksen Collection will enter the classic car sale with pre-auction estimates above or near a million dollars:

Year Car Estimate (US $ million)
1933 Maybach DS-8 Zeppelin Cabriolet 3.1 – 3.7
1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Roadster 2.6 – 3.2
1914 Mercedes Benz 28/95 Phaton 1.5 – 2
1937 Maybach SW-38 Special Roadster 1.3 – 1.5
1958 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupe 1.1 – 1.4
1914 Rolls Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Skiff 1.1 – 1.4
1935 Mercedes Benz 500K Special Roadster 0.99 – 1.4
1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental Owen Sedanca Coupe 0.86 – 1.1
1927 Bentley 6 1/2 Litre “Bob Tail” 0.7 – 0.92
1912 Rolls Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Cabriolet 0.64 – 0.86
1913 Rolls Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Tourer 0.64 – 0.86

Top Cars in the Frederiksen Collection

Maybach Cars at the Frederiksen Collection Auction

Two Maybach cars will be on offer at the Frederiksen Collection auction with neither sporting the original bodies or even original coachwork styling:

1933 Maybach DS-8 Zeppelin Cabriolet

A 1933 Maybach DS-8 Zeppelin Cabriolet has the highest pre-auction estimate for the Frederiksen Auction of $3.1 – $3.7 million. This magnificent cabriolet was one of the most luxurious cars of the interwar period. It featured an 8-liter, V-12 Zeppelin Maybach engine and an advance 8-speed manual transmission.

The car comes with quite a history. It was originally fitted with a seven-passenger state limousine body and given to His Highness, The Maharajah of Patiala and Raj Pramukh, by Adolf Hitler in the hope that the maharajah would favor Germany, or at least stay neutral, in conflict with Britain. The bribe was gladly accepted but kept hidden and only revealed after the Second World War. The Maybach was first registered only in 1951 and was one of the most-important cars in India during the 1950s.

The original bodywork was removed around a decade ago – it is now in the Museum of Historical Maybach Vehicles in Neumarkt, Germany – and replaced by a cabriolet body to original Spohn designs but never actually built during the 1930s.

1937 Maybach SW-38 “Special Roadster”

The 1937 Maybach SW-38 “Special Roadster” (estimate $1.3 – $1.5 million) is a smaller Maybach and was the last model released by the company before the outbreak of the Second World War.

The car originally had a Pullman limousine coachwork but was replaced by a Special Roadster bodywork based on original Spohn drawings for a similar model. The car is in a superb restored condition.

1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Roadster

1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Roadster
© Bonhams

The most valuable American car in the Frederiksen Collection is a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Roadster with coachwork by Murphy – estimate $2.6 to $3.2 million. The car originally belonged to film producer, photo essayist and cinematographer Shirley Carter Burden – a great grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The car has matching numbers and original coachwork with ACD Category 1 certification and is considered one of the most original examples of the disappearing top Murphy roadsters.

Mercedes Benz Cars in the Frederiksen Collection

Two of the three Mercedes Benz cars on offer at the Frederiksen Auction is expected to sell for a million dollar with the oldest likely to achieve the highest result:

1914 Mercedes Benz 28/95 Phaeton

A well-known and historically important 1914 Mercedes Benz 28/95 Phaeton is expected to achieve $1.5 to $2 million. The car was originally ordered in 1914 for delivery to Paris but the outbreak of the First World War put paid to that order. A second order in 1917 from Berlin was also cancelled and the car was finally registered for the first time in 1920 in New York. In 2003, it won the FIVA award for most original car at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

1935 Mercedes Benz 500K “Special Roadster”

A second Mercedes Benz car is expected to sell for over a million dollars – the 1935 Mercedes Benz 500K “Special Roadster” has a pre-auction estimate of $990,000 to $1.4 million. The car was originally delivered with Cabriolet C coachwork – original Spezials would achieve significantly higher results than the re-bodied cars.

Bentleys in the Frederiksen Collection

Two Bentley cars are on offer at the Frederiksen Auction:

1958 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupe

A 1958 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupe with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner is one of only a handful of post-War cars on offer at the Frederiksen auction. It was first built for John D Rockefeller Jr and comes with an estimate of $1.1 – $1.4 million. Just 12 of these cars were built and the car on offer is a matching numbers example in well-restored condition.

1927 Bentley 6 ½ Litre “Bob Tail”

The 1927 Bentley 6 ½ Litre “Bob Tail” (estimate $700,000 to $920,000) on offer is a rare car – only 20 were completed on the short wheelbase chassis.

Rolls Royce Cars at the Frederiksen Collection

1914 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Skiff
© Bonhams

No fewer than 13 Rolls Royce cars will be on offer at the Bonhams Frederiksen Auction:

Rolls-Royce motorcars offered in Bonhams sale include:

  • The ex-Robert Barrymore, 1914 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Skiff – estimate 7,200,000-9,200,000 DKK (£675,000-875,000)
  • The ex-Richard Solove 1910 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost ‘Balloon Car’ – estimate 4,600,000-6,200,000 DKK (£425,000-575,000)
  • The ex-Peta Fisher – Blue Train challenging 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Owen Sedanca Coupe – estimate 5,600,000-7,200,000 DKK (£510,000-660,000)
  • 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Cabriolet – estimate 4,200,000-5,600,000 DKK (£390,000-520,000)
  • The ex-Maharaja of Patiala and Richard J. Solove 1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost Tourer – estimate 4,200,000-5,600,000 DKK (£390,000-500,000)
  • The ex-Hedy Lamarr and Fritz Mandl 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Drophead Coupe – Estimate 4,000,000-5,200,000 DKK (£370,000-490,000)
  • Ex-John Fasal 1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 ‘Roi-Des-Belges’ – estimate 3,500,000-5,000,000 DKK (£320,000-470,000)
  • The unique Pietro Frua 1973 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Cabriolet – estimate 2,000,000-2,600,000 DKK (£180,000-240,000)
  • 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Playboy Roadster – estimate 2,000,000-2,600,000 DKK (£185,000-235,000)
  • The ex-Katharine Dexter McCormick, 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Open Tourer – estimate 2,000,000-2,600,000 DKK (£175,000-250,000)
  • 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Owen Sedanca Coupe – estimate 1,000,000-1,300,000 DKK (£90,000-125,000)
  • 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Town Car – estimate 950,000-1,250,000 DKK (£85,000-115,000)
  • The ex-McElroy 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Tourer – estimate 700,000- 900,000 DKK (£60,000-85,000)