SLR McLarens sell for £1.3million at Bonhams’ Revival sale

1961-64 Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile

Sold for £911,000

This is a very famous car, with a star-studded history, so it’s no surprise it was the big winner at the Bonhams Revival sale. It started life as a single-seat 1961 Formula 1 Cooper-Climax T53P, before being converted to a sports racer for the 1962 season, when a certain Roger Penske covered the wheels and installed a second seat. But it was in 1964 that this car morphed into what we see today. Bruce McLaren was just starting up his new racing team, and this was the car he drove in those early excursions. Race wins at Aintree and Silverstone were a good start, but he decided to drop a 3.5-litre Oldsmobile V8 into a heavily revised chassis later that year, and with a new green paint scheme, it famously starred in the 1964 RAC TT at Goodwood. After spending 57 years in storage, it has returned to the UK, and who knows where this machine may turn up next?

2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster

Sold for £731,800

On the one hand we were surprised by this one, but then on the other, it’s easy to see why a Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 Edition would go for almost three quarters of a million pounds. The 722 Edition was named after the Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes 300 SLR driven by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in 1955. Sold here in S Roadster spec, it has a 5.5-litre, 626PS (460kW) V8 producing more than 670Nm (500lb ft) of torque, which makes for a lively 0-62mph sprint of 3.8 seconds. Until the Revival sale, this car had only one owner from new, while it only had 50 miles to show for its near-15-year lifespan, having been put immediately into storage. It’s a stunning colour, too, with a gorgeous tan interior. Someone’s going to be extremely happy with this purchase.

2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren '722 Edition' Coupé

Sold for £631,000

There’s clearly a trend for these 722 Edition McLarens. This time a Coupé built half way through the SLR McLaren’s production run. While the S Roadster has obvious appeal for the summer months, may purists will probably look to the Coupé for ultimate driving joy. The colour scheme is a little more restrained than the Roadster, with the Mercedes Silver matched to a dark interior, but the same 5.5-litre V8 sits under the carbon body, with a similar box-fresh 62-odd miles on the clock. Perhaps the need for a recommission might go some way to explaining why this one sold for £100,000 less than the Roadster.

1964 Porsche 904 GTS Coupé

Sold for £614,200

Following Porsche’s exit from Formula 1 in 1962, the marque turned to sportscars, and the 904 was its first attempt. It took a one-two finish at the 1964 Targa Florio and came in as runner up in the ’65 Monte Carlo Rally. But in order for it to meet the sporting regulations of the time, 100 homologation specials were built, and this one is number 62. Even as a road car it had its fair share of hillclimb action during its early life, but since restoration work in the late ‘70s that saw its original engine replaced with a flat-six taken from a Porsche 911, it has sat quietly on static display and hasn’t been driven since 1993.

1922 'Strasbourg' Sunbeam Grand Prix Racing Two-Seater

Sold for £597,400

This hundred year-old two-seater Grand Prix racer made a pretty penny for its centenary at the 2022 Goodwood Revival Bonhams sale. Once owned and run by Sir Henry Redgrave, legendary racer and speed record holder, this car was highly sophisticated for its day. Those teardrop aerodynamics meant the high-tech four-valve-per-cylinder dual-over-head-cam motor could extend the Sunbeam to its fullest potential. Unfortunately, the race for which it was designed, the 1922 Grand Prix de l'ACF race at Strasbourg, was dominated by Fiat at the time. That evidently made the Strasbourg Sunbeam no less appealing to vintage racing enthusiasts when it hit the block on Saturday.

1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante 'Prince of Wales'

Sold for £460,000

While all Aston Martin V8 Vantages are special, this car has an extra layer of significance. Prior to the then Prince of Wales specifying this Volante bodied-car with the Vantage V8 engine under the bonnet, nothing of its like had ever been built. He preferred the less extravagant design of the previous-generation Volante but the latest and most powerful engine. In the following two years, 26 Prince of Wales models were built, and as a result it has become understandably sought after. A sale pushing towards half a million pounds was towards the top end of the estimate, no doubt recent events have given this car an even greater significance.

1959 Aston Martin DB4 Lightweight 4.5-Litre Competition Sports Saloon

Sold for £241,500

The DB4 changed the game for Aston Martin, and became the basis of several future DB models, but it was the last before the DB9 to be taken racing. This 4.5-litre Lightweight Competition model is such an example. While Stirling Moss had taken the DB4GT to victory at Silverstone at the first attempt, this less extreme Lightweight version was a more affordable alternative for gentleman racers. In the years since, it has also found plenty of success in Historic racing, this particular car – the 201R – took podiums in the Heritage GT championship.

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8-Litre Coupé Re-creation

Sold for £172,500

The Porsche 911 has been raced in many guises, and the RSR from the mid-1970s was one of the most successful. It won the Targa Florio, the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and Nürburgring 100kms.

This car that has just sold for is a replica of that dominant car, built to the exact FIA specification of the original race car. Built by Porsche specialists Parr or Crawley in West Sussex, it’s powered by a 2.8-litre that was built with as many original parts as was possible, along with a reconditioned gearbox, and coupled with modern takes on the cooling system and suspension. We imagine this is a very fast and capable car that is primed and ready to compete.

Photos courtesy of Bonhams and Pete Summers