It’s a car collector’s wet dream: two legendary 1950s Aston Martins, both finished in iconic British racing green, are being offered for sale this season. The first is the ultra-rare 1954 DB3S (above) which played a starring role in Checkpoint, one of the most famous motor racing films of the Fifties, centered on the Mille Miglia. Today it’s arguably the most original surviving production DB3S and a world-class four-wheeled work of art. In ’53, the first year of works competition, the DB3S won every race it entered except the Le Mans 24 Hours.
London’s Post Vintage has not quoted a price for the car but if you have to ask…. Meanwhile at Bonhams’ Aston Martin auction in Newport Pagnell on May 22 the starring lot is sure to be the famed VMF 65 – the ex-Works 1950 Aston Martin DB2 Team Car raced by such legendary drivers as Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori. Built to race in that year’s Le Mans, it never made it to the track having suffered an accident en route, but went on to claim many more victories. It carries an estimate of £380,000 - £440,000, or topping out at almost $700,000 for those keeping score at home.
David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, son of Princess Margaret and Earl Snowdon and better known as Viscount Linley, is that rare bird – a Royal who works for a living. Having set up in trade some years ago as a bespoke furniture maker he has now branched out into all sorts of clever little cabinets, humidors and other handsome geegaws executed with first-rate craftsmanship and an admirable elegant restraint. Of course being a blue blooded English gentleman he knows a thing or two about proper recreational requirements, as evidenced by one of his latest creations, the Linley Shooting Companion case in the fine portable bar tradition.
This essential bit of kit for any sporting gent who does not aim to go without the requisites of spirits and smokes for the duration of the hunt is priced at about $5,600. It is constructed of oiled walnut with saddle leather handles and an inlaid engravable, hallmarked sterling silver plaque. The case contains two lead crystal decanters with sterling silver plaques laid onto square rosewood stoppers, a cigar cutter and a walnut box to hold eight Corona No. 5’s. A removable walnut rack walnut holds eight pewter tumblers, numbered 1 to 8 to reference shooting pegs. Throw it in the back of the Range Rover and Bob’s your uncle.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
In a stunning upset, the USA Croquet Team recently defeated Great Britain to capture the Solomon Trophy for the first time in the event’s 18-year history. With a close score of 11-9 the Solomon Trophy Test Match held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Palm Springs was a real nailbiter. The Test Match is played as the best out of 21 matches, with each match consisting of the best-of-three games. Twelve single matches and nine double matches are played, and the team that wins eleven of them emerges triumphant. Until now the Yanks have been soundly thrashed every year.
The competition began in 1985 when the USA played Great Britain in England. Since then the two countries’ top croquet players have competed for the prestigious prize, alternating play between England and the U.S. The Solomon Trophy will now remain in the States until the next Test Match is contested in England in 2011. Starring for the Yanks was the gloriously muttonchopped Jerry Stark, winner of five national titles and an inductee into the American Croquet Hall of Fame. Well played, fellows. Stop in next time you’re in town Mr. Stark and we’ll be glad to fit you for a DQ croquet shirt.
London-based TMB Artmetal, makers of “provenance” items fashioned from actual bits of automotive, aeronautic, locomotive and maritime icons whose Spitfire sculpture we wrote about a few months back, has come out with limited edition cufflinks made from the Prince of Wales’ prized 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Volante. TMB has created 200 pairs of the links in two designs, formed from the original aluminum engine pistons which were removed when the Prince recently converted the car, a 21st birthday present from the Queen, to run on biofuel.
Each design finished with 18ct gold comes in a limited edition of 100 pairs. One edition is an exact, miniature sculpture of the DB6 Volante, whilst the other replicates the car’s iconic wheel spinners – the quick-release fixing that secures the Aston’s wheels. Each pair comes accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and is priced at £995 or about $1,600, with all profits going to the royal’s youth charity, The Prince’s Trust. Charles has been on an eco-kick of late, and has also converted his Jaguars, Audi and Range Rovers to run on 100 per cent biodiesel.
It was a hallmark of the international sporting set in the grand old days that a gentleman always brought along a handsome pair of field glasses in a fitted leather case when attending race meetings, horse shows, steeplechases and the like. Ditto while on safari, conducting military campaigns and observing regattas. Often they were of solid brass and wrapped in saddle leather, a worthy accessory to the morning coat, silk topper, or club blazer. Now the famed French house of Hermès has revived the habit with a stylish new set of binoculars. Wrapped in Hermès’ signature saddle leather, with a handstitched leather carrying strap, they’re priced at about $2,500.
Though it’s not an official collaboration, to our trained eye the binoculars themselves appear to be Leica’s compact, super-sharp Ultravid model from their sports optics collection (Hermès owns a stake in the famed German camera-maker). Whether attending cricket at Lords, polo at Windsor, Wimbledon, the regattas at Henley and Cowes, or especially Royal Ascot, these are essential kit. Remember the words of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux (1856 – 1929) on Ascot: “The best horses in the world and the prettiest women are seen on the Royal Heath. We racing men go to see the horses, non-racing men such as Lord Curzon go to look at the women.” We of course do both.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
The legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, of which only 39 were made between 1962 – 1964, is one of the most beautiful cars in the world. No doubt that’s why a British businessman is said to have shelled out $28 million for one in 2008, making it the world’s most expensive car as well. Certainly longtime owners like Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Ralph Lauren, Anthony Bamford and of course Ferrari’s own museum will never part with theirs at any price. Small wonder then that Ferrari plans to revive it in the form of a GTO version of the 599XX, which insiders believe will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this spring.
An earlier effort to revive the revered classification (which stands for Gran Turismo Omologato), the 288 GTO produced from 1984 – 1986, has of course not quite lived up to the legend, so the 599 will no doubt be greeted with a certain degree of skepticism. Rumor has it the new model will kick out 700 hp and be capable of 0 - 62 mph in 3.2 seconds with a hypothetical top speed of 215 mph. In all likelihood fewer than 500 will be made at a price of about $465,000. Of course you could trade your 250 GTO for 62 of the new ones…
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
One of the last great private steamships of the 1920s has been put up for sale at a cool $70 million. Built by automobile magnate Horace Dodge in 1921 in order to outdo rival mogul J.P.Morgan’s Corsair, the 257-ft. SS Delphine was fitted out with an interior by Tiffany & Co. and every conceivable luxury a gentleman could wish for on the high seas. Constructed at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Michigan, she was pressed into service during World War II as the flagship for Admiral Ernest Joseph King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Navy, and Churchill and Roosevelt are said to have met aboard her prior to convening the Yalta Conference with Stalin in 1945.
After the war the Delphine was reacquired by the Dodge family and following many years of idleness eventually went to rack and ruin, seemingly destined for the scrapyard. However, a Belgian clothing tycoon rescued the ship before it was dismantled, and spent some $60 million returning it to its former glory, steam engines and all. Kitting it out with the latest technology was effected extremely unobtrusively, while original fixtures like the telegraph in the mahogany pilothouse remain. Along with accommodations for 26 guests and 28 crew members, there’s a music salon, cinema, fitness center, spa, sauna, smoking room and swimming pool. A little short on the $70 million at the moment? Not to worry, until she’s claimed by a new owner the Delphine can be chartered for a mere $90,000 per day.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
The legendary DQ Burns Supper returns this year on Jan. 23, and we will essentially taking be over Public in Nolita for the festivities. A five course tasting menu has been designed for us by Chef Farmerie and The Balvenie is providing cocktails and as much of their 12, 15 and 17 year old single malt as we can consume. The usual team will be there to reprise the roles they have honed in the last five or so years, and this year the haggis will be piped in by the NYPD Pipe Major himself.
Needless to say we expect this to be a rip-snorting evening of fine dining, fine spirits, fine company and a serious nod to some serious culture in an irreverent and memorable way. Unfortunately our change of venue results in a reduction from last year’s 150 seats to only around 100 this year, so it really is a case of first come first served. The cost is $125 per person plus the booking fee, a steal at twice the price. Proceedings begin with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. For tickets please call the store in NY on 212.226.7030 or go to the following link: http://duncanquinn.com/burns-event.html
Pawel Litwinski / Gooding & Co.
Time to kick your car collection into high gear for the New Year – on January 23 Gooding & Company is offering some exceptionally pedigreed European motors at its annual Scottsdale Auction. Aesthetics-wise our pick of the lot is the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet (above), expected to fetch over $2.2 Million, one of only 40 Series 1 Pininfarina Cabriolets ever built. Upon its completion, the car was immediately shipped to the United States to be proudly displayed on Ferrari’s New York Auto Show stand, and the sale marks the first time one of these babies has crossed the auction block in many a year.
Considered by connoisseurs to be among the most beautiful Ferraris ever made, it’s sure to make a strong showing. Equally alluring is a highly coveted 1956 Jaguar D-Type Sports Racer, painted cream with blue racing stripes, expected to fetch above $3.5 million. This particular model is known for a victory at the Pomona Six-Hour Enduro race in 1959, the D-Type’s last big win in the USA. There’s also a stunning 1959 Costin Lister Jaguar Sports Racer on offer if your budget’s more in the $1.5 million range.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
A rare ballot box made from a human skeleton used by Yale’s famed secret society Skull and Bones is going on the auction block during Christie’s Important American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver & Chinese Export sale in New York on Jan. 22. Just the thing to decorate your digs while sporting one of DQ’s gangster chic ties, it would make one hell of a cufflink box. Offered by an unnamed European art collector and estimated at $10,000 - $20,000, it comes with a book containing the names of about 50 Skull & Bones members, including President William Howard Taft, along with their photographs.
The skull is fitted with a hinged flap and is believed to have been used during voting at the society’s meetings in the Tomb, the Skull and Bones building on the Yale campus. In addition to Taft, both presidents Bush, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, businessman and diplomat Averell Harriman, publisher Henry Luce and author William F. Buckley, Jr. were members or “bonesmen”. Quite the club.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
