AUCTION WATCH
Historics Auctioneers always has a healthy contingent of American cars on its books and its most recent auction at Ascot on May 21 was no exception. Star of the show was a Monkeemobile used by the Monkees.
It was created in New York from a 1966 Pontiac GTO by James Benken, a specialist East Coast film car custom shop.
It has all the underpinnings of a genuine Pontiac GTO, with the standard 6.4-litre V8 and a three-speed manual box. It was then shipped to the UK just in time for the Monkees’ 45th anniversary tour in 2011. Amazingly despite an estimate of £60-£90,000 it didn’t sell. Guess that ‘open car’ construction is fine in sunny California, but a bit more of a challenge in rainy old Blighty.
There were a couple of other Ponchos that went under the hammer too, including a 1968 Firebird convertible which, despite an estimate of £19-£23,000, actually hammered for £30,564. And at the other end of the spectrum, a 1978 Trans Am which was estimated to sell for £19-£23,000 but actually sold for £17,732 – someone got a bargain!