24h Le Mans
At the end of last week, the auction organized by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed offered up an Aston Martin Ulster that took the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1935. It found a buyer at more than four million euros, an amount quite higher than the initial estimate.
The No. 28 Aston Martin did not cross the finish line at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1935, the rain having dictated otherwise, but it did actually participate in the race. The three existing "LM19" sister cars being a part of private collections, the auction facilitated an opportunity to a wealthy collector to become the owner of a working car that is capable of participating in vintage races.
Estimated between 2,300,000 and 3,100,000 euros, the Aston Martin Ulster "LM19" ended up going for 4,070,000 euros ($4,578,122). It was the same for the 1:2 scale model of the winning Porsche 936 "Jules" at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 with Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell at the wheel. The property of the latter, a four-time winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche, estimated betweene 17,000 and 21,000 euros, was sold for nearly 25,000 euros ($27,498): a somewhat expensive toy!
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: Copyright - Archives ACO
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JUNE 15 & 16 1935. The No. 31 Aston Martin Ulster finished in 11th place at the 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it was the No 28 that was just sold at auction last week.
