Auction madness in Las Vegas
Bonhams and Mecum sales next week
NEW bike sales might still be struggling to return to their former peaks but the interest in classics seems to be trending ever upwards. 2015’s big name auctions kick off in earnest next week when both Bonhams and Mecum stage huge sales in Las Vegas.
Bonhams has its usual high-end fare, including a stunning 1995 Ducati Supermono, one of 67 made and expected to take £97,000-£110,000, a 1938 Brough Superior SS100 (£210,000-£240,000) and the first prototype 1946 Vincent HRD Series B (£230,000-£290,000), plus a massive selection of more modest offerings.
The seemingly unending run of Steve McQueen bikes at auctions also continues, with the star’s 1936 Indian Chief expected to take between £51,000 and £64,000.
Its sale has a preview day on January 7, with the lots going under the hammer on January 8.
But Mecum’s sale, also in Las Vegas and also starting on January 8, is bigger still, with 750 bikes on offer over three days.
While it doesn’t have quite the headline-making machines of the Bonhams sale, the Mecum offerings still include more than a century’s worth of bikes, from a 1903 Rex to nearly-new machines, and plenty of oddities and intriguing custom-made one-offs.
