We have all heard of art cars like the prized BMW series, but an art truck? That’s a new one on us but after the Goodwood Revival this year the whole world may well have heard of it. This particular painted lorry is a Banksy original and it could sell for as much as £1.5 million when Bonhams auctions it at Goodwood on 14th September.
What must be the world’s most valuable 1988 Volvo FL6 17 tonner by quite a margin is just one of several weird and wonderful surprises that Bonhams has in store for us at this year’s Revival auction. Here are four that caught our eye…
For the Blue Oval historic racer, here is surely the perfect car transporter. Can’t you just see a Lotus Cortina on the back there? Or a Shelby Cobra? In fact the distinctive cab shape appears inspired by a bespoke race car transporter used by Shelby American to transport its Cobras in period. Bonhams says it was also made famous by a Hot Wheels model.
The truck is of course a classic in its own right: a ’66 Ford F-350. The fourth-gen F-series was converted to car transporter in 2012 by Derek Drinkwater. The cab sleeps two, has cooking facilities and running water.
Bonhams says the stylish rig will carry any car plus tow any trailer thanks to a spec that includes 5.8-litre V8, four-speed automatic transmission, power disc brakes and load-compensating adjustable air suspension at the rear. It can be driven on a car licence and is even road tax and MoT exempt.
V8-powered barstools are a thing in the US – as anyone who really knows their American car culture can attest – and the big name in the world’s barmiest single-seaters is Hoss Fly.
It is essentially a small-block Chevy V8 “crate” engine on four wheels – small steerable ones at the front, big ones to transmit the power (250bhp) at the rear. There’s no bodywork and the upholstered barstool you sit on is mounted atop the engine, actually on the air filter. The radiator is mounted at the back so you don’t cook.
The 5.7-litre motor and two-speed transmission don’t guarantee a lot of speed – top whack is just 25mph – but surely lots of fun. Plus it will tow 900kg. Bonhams says this one was imported to the UK in 2014. The perfect tool for getting around the paddock? Just remember to wear a big hat and says “yee-ha” a lot…
From barstool to boats, and a very classy craft in the elegant form of a 1960s Pedrazzini, a solid mahogany beauty powered by a 5.7-litre Yamaha V8.
Pedrazzini has been hand-crafting traditional sporty runabouts in workshops on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland for more than 100 years. It is still a family-owned business, turning out just half a dozen boats every year with each one taking around nine months to complete.
The boat for sale at Revival is the classic Capri. With its distinctive rounded stern, designed to provide easy access to the water for swimming and water-skiing, the model has proved such a success that you can still buy a new one today.
The Capri in the Bonhams sale is 57 years old, has been with the last owner for almost 20 years, has been regularly revarnished and is in original condition, right down to its red-piped cream vinyl upholstery and hand-laid mahogany laminates on the deck.
Obviously not any old Volvo truck… this one’s an original by the British contemporary street artist Banksy. Its official title is: Turbo Zone Truck (Laugh Now But One Day We'll Be In Charge) and it was painted in Spain for the millennium celebrations in 2000.
Bonhams says the work is a “masterclass of the artist's satirical humour and impressive dexterity with spray-paint… a truly unprecedented work of art from Banksy's formative years, illustrating an array of iconic motifs and apothegms that have become the artist's signature and calling-card.” The Volvo FL6 was pretty good too…
The work is said to show some of the first representations of the artist’s most well-known characters, including winged monkeys and SWAT teams, and it features in art history books alongside the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Images courtesy of Bonhams.
Bonhams
Revival
Revival 19
2019
Volvo
Chevrolet