Sold for $929,000: Jack Ehret’s 1951 Vincent Black Lightning. Photos courtesy Bonhams.
The 1951 Vincent Black Lightning ridden by Aussie Jack Ehret in 1953 to an Australian Land Speed Record of 140.509mph sold at Bonhams’ 2018 Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction for a breath-taking $840,000 — a figure that jumps to $929,000 with buyer’s premium! In original, unrestored condition save for a recent mechanical reconditioning by Vincent specialist Patrick Godet in France.
The Vincent was just one of a number of big earners at the Jan. 25, 2018, Bonhams sale. A 1939 Brough Superior SS80 pulled in $120,500, and another Vincent, this time a 1955 Series D Black Prince, drew $104,650. Another record was the $92,000 achieved for a 1990 Honda VFR750R RC30, the most ever paid for the model.
Bonhams’ says it achieved a 75 percent sell-through on approximately 105 lots for a total of $2.86 million. That’s down from 2017’s approximately $4.5 million on 252 lots, but the average sale at the 2018 auction was much higher: $27,238 versus an average sale of $17,857 at the 2017 auction. No doubt the Ehret Vincent pulled the 2018 average up, but overall performance was good.
Other interesting sales included the $4,000 paid for a sketch drawn by Kenneth Howard — aka Von Dutch — of a “Design for Engine Double OHC Triumph” and the $26,250 paid for a circa-1910 Pierce 4-cylinder engine.
This sketch for a double overhead cam Triumph penned by Kenneth Howard — aka Von Dutch — sold for $4,000.
This circa-1910 Pierce 4-cylinder engine sold for $26,250.
