Queen’s NZ rolls-Royce sells at auction
The Rolls-Royce used by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in two New Zealand tours has sold at Webb’s August Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia auction in Auckland.
It was one of 47 items for sale in the auction that took place Sunday 11 August, 2024, at Webb’s auction house in Mt Eden.
The 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V (estimate: $175,000 - $200,000) with Royal Family lineage sold for below estimate at $172,500 (including fees).
The Rolls-Royce was built and outfitted as a royal car before being imported into New Zealand and used in Queen Elizabeth II’s 1963 and 1970 tours of New Zealand. It was maintained most of its running life by Wally Presard on behalf of the Department of Internal Affairs.
The vendor’s family owned this regal Phantom for 40 years. It was used throughout the ‘80s as a wedding car before being put into storage in the early ‘90s, where it remained for 30 years. In the last three years, it has been used as a wedding car again.
The other notable vehicle at the auction was Kim Dotcom’s 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet which had an estimate of between $650,000 - $850,000 but didn’t sell at the auction.
It was one of only 80 cabriolets built between 2004 and 2006 by the renowned racing department HWA AG.
The CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet stands among the most exclusive and coveted modern Mercedes-Benz models, surpassing even the SLR McLaren and SLS AMG Black Series in rarity, says Webb’s.
It was built to commemorate Mercedes-Benz’s win at the 2003 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing series, the CLK DTM was the pinnacle of AMG’s track-focused lineup, exceeding the later CLK63 AMG Black Series in performance enhancements.
My favourite, a 1985 Porsche 911 3.2 Cabriolet (estimate: $80,000 - $95,000), sold for $89,125.
It was equipped with a powerful 3.2-litre flat-six engine and Type 915 gearbox.
One vehicle that shone at the auction was a 2000 Mini Cooper Sport Mk VII (estimate: $60,000 - $70,000) that was fitted with a 1.3-litre Rover A+ inline-four engine paired with 4-speed synchro manual gearbox.
It sold for $76,475.