IN THE TRADE

NEW CHRYSLER RECORD

Gooding & Company set a Chrysler marque record of $1.6M (£1.29m) for a 1932 CG Imperial Custom Roadster on 7 April. The sale of the estate of Mark J Smith, whose Midland Motors Museum in Lynchburg included a large number of pre-war cars, raised $8M in total, with all lots selling. The bespoke Chrysler was customised by its first owner, with a streamlined body and heavily raked windscreen by Lebaron, and was described by Gooding as being, ‘Among the most beautiful American automobiles of the classic era.’

BRISTOL RARITIES SOLD OFF

Meanwhile, Brightwells auctioned a very different group of cars and parts from another collector over the same weekend. Brian May was well known in the world of Bristols and the majority of his collection of cars and Bristol parts was offered for sale at no reserve. Highlights included a 1949 401 bodied in Touring’s Superleggera method, a 1959 special built by Bryan Wingfield for hill climbing and sprints, and one of just two 401s bodied by Swiss coachwork company Beutler.

CADDY ESTATE SALE

DD Classics is selling another rare customised American car, a 1976 Cadillac Castilian Fleetwood Estate Wagon with top ‘Brougham’ spec and just 20,000 miles from new. Cadillac refused to build station wagons, but a host of celebrity conversions led the company to factory approve a Castilian modification by Traditional Coachworks of California. One of just 47 examples of the of the 19-foot-long car beloved of the Rat Pack, it was on show at Salon Privé London priced at £46,950 where it dwarfed a neighbouring Bentley Continental S2.