Rare Surviving Avions Voisin C25 Aérodyne and Notable Bentley Eight Litre Sports Tourer to Grace Amelia Island Auctions with Classic Era Elegance
Gooding Christie’s announces Art Deco-styled Voisin C25 Aérodyne, short-wheelbase Bentley Eight Litre Sports Tourer, and pedigreed Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Special Sport Coupe for its Amelia Island Auctions this March.
Santa Monica, Calif. (January 27, 2025) —Global collector car auction house Gooding Christie’s has unveiled a lineup of museum-quality 1930s classics, each showcasing the genius of Gabriel Voisin, W.O. Bentley, and Émile Darl’mat, respectively. Familiar faces at many of the world’s most prestigious car shows, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, the Avions Voisin C25 Aérodyne, the Bentley Eight Litre Sports Tourer, and the Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Special Sport Coupe are set to cross the auction block over the course of Gooding Christie’s two-day Amelia Island Auctions at the Omni Amelia Island Resort on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7. In addition to these Classic Era heavy-hitters, the auction house will present a trio of cars from the Don and Molly Marsh Collection, offered entirely without reserve.
“Each of these three exceptional cars embody the apex of automotive prestige and exclusivity of the Classic Era, personifying the marriage of innovative engineering with timeless, cutting-edge design, packaged together in thoughtful, yet utilitarian, works of moving art,” says Gooding Christie’s President, David Gooding. “From the Voisin C25 Aérodyne to the Bentley Eight Litre and the Peugeot Darl’mat, these selections are no strangers to important museum exhibitions and the most important concours events alike, and we are proud to bring them to auction this March.”
Each coachbuilt Voisin automobile was fueled by Gabriel Voisin’s core mission – to produce a perfect car in totality, from conception to execution. Thus, every Voisin was designed as a whole prior to production, with engine, chassis, and body specifically tailored to passenger requirements. Of his many extraordinary creations, among the most remarkable was the Avions Voisin C25 Aérodyne, unveiled at the 1934 Paris Salon de l’Automobile. The Aérodyne was a true engineer’s car, featuring aerodynamic bodywork facilitated by streamlined pontoon forms, a trunk integrated into a fastback design, and a dramatic, sweeping arch silhouette in profile. Powered by the standard advanced sleeve-valve six-cylinder engine, the C25 presented Voisin customers with the option of an electromagnetic gearbox for the first time. The most distinctive feature of the Aérodyne was its retractable roof, operated by a two-cylinder pneumatic suction motor located in the trunk. This functionality provided the Aérodyne with a dual persona: one a sporting open touring car, the other a comfortable, closed berline. In total, just eight examples of the exotic C25 with Aérodyne coachwork were built, and today, only three are believed to survive – including this example, chassis 50023.
Most notably, 50023 was a key fixture of the Henri Browne de Kilmaine Collection for 45 years following his acquisition of the car in 1963. During M. de Kilmaine’s nearly five decades of ownership, the Aérodyne proudly participated in notable French and European events and exhibitions, including the Les Belles Voitures d’Autrefois exhibition in 1963 as well as the Coupes de l’Age d’Or on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans in 1972. In 1984, 50023 was invited to partake in the prestigious exhibition, 100 Years of Motoring, at the Grand Palais in Paris, where, 50 years prior, the Aérodyne had made its debut. M. de Kilmaine would later display his Voisin at the Châtellerault Museum (2002-2008) and the Le Mans Museum (2008).
Following M. de Kilmaine’s passing, his collection was dispersed in 2008, and the Aérodyne was sold to noted UK collector Jon Hunt. Mr. Hunt entrusted specialist Blakeney Motorsport Ltd. to restore the Voisin, and the Aérodyne was returned to its original splendor in a painstaking process documented in photographs and written reports. Following this restoration, the C25 Aérodyne was displayed to great acclaim at the 2012 Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance. Since acquisition by the consignor in 2013, the Voisin has returned to Blakeney Motorsport for a repaint in its striking original color scheme, as presented today. Its incredibly well-appointed interior has been retrimmed in splendid fabric and leather upholstery by the craftsmen at Hermès of Paris. Since 2013, 50023 has been shown just once, at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where it was awarded the Vitesse Elegance Trophy. An incredible feat of avant-garde engineering and industrial design, this C25 Voisin Aérodyne is an Art Deco masterpiece through and through.
The exceptional provenance of this 1931 Bentley Eight Litre Sports Tourer, chassis YR5097, begins with 22-year-old Lord Brougham & Vaux, who configured his Bentley to highly specificized preference. However, this ownership was short-lived, and by May 1932, the Eight Litre was acquired by London Bentley dealer Jack Barclay, who refitted the chassis with the current Vanden Plas four-seat sports tourer coachwork before selling YR5097 to Elizabeth Cutter and Mr. A. Storkey in July 1933. After subsequent ownership by a series of Britons, the Eight Litre was exported to the US in 1951, where it joined the collection of Maryland advertising executive Walter Stocklin. Stocklin boosted the car’s sporting appearance by modifying its doors with a sporting cut-down design. It then passed to noted New York collector Dr. Samuel Scher, who retained it well into the 1960s, before it was sold to Richard Paine Jr. of Seal Cove Auto Museum fame in 1967. YR5097 was a proud attraction at the museum for 20 years before passing to collector Charles LeMaitre in 1987, who had the car restored in England.
In 2002, this Eight Litre was acquired by respected collectors William and Aneice Lassiter of Palm Beach, Florida, joining the ranks of several other prime vintage Bentley models. YR5097 participated in a week-long CCCA caravan in Colorado in 2003, as well as the North American Vintage Bentley Meet in Vermont in 2007, where it would return in 2012. In more recent years, under current ownership, the Bentley was displayed at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Today, YR5097 presents handsomely, finished in dark green with matching spoke wheels and a single, rear-mounted spare. Its interior is upholstered in black leather, matching its black canvas top and two-piece tonneau. It is one of only 35 Eight Litre Bentleys built on the short-wheelbase chassis, and this example is confirmed to retain its original engine, chassis, and other major mechanical components per factory build records.
The rare Peugeot Darl’mat Special Sport Coupe embodies the finest attributes of French Art Deco styling while boasting bonafide competition pedigree and technical expertise. In 1937, three Darl’mat Special roadsters were entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieving impressive 7th, 8th, and 10th place finishes and consequently signaling Peugeot’s return to motor sports prominence. To build on this success, Peugeot supplied Darl’mat with the 402 Légère (lightweight) chassis for the 1938 model year. Notably, just six coupes are believed to have been produced on the 402-series chassis, making them the rarest of all Darl’mat variants. This example, chassis 705536, is among these rare coupes, and was originally gifted by Emile Darl’mat to Alfred Giauque, Peugeot’s Director of Mechanical Studies and the leader of its Le Mans team, as a Christmas present. After surviving WWII, 705536 passed to several Parisian owners before joining the collection of Dr. William O’Brien in Reno, Nevada. In 2002, the car was acquired by its previous owner, who commissioned a restoration encompassing both cosmetic and mechanical work. The coupe made its post-restoration debut at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, and was later exhibited at the Phoenix Art Museum’s celebrated Curves of Steel exhibition in 2007.
From the Don and Molly Marsh Collection, Offered Without Reserve Gooding Christie’s will also offer a trio of selections from the Don and Molly Marsh Collection all at no reserve. Don Marsh was an ardent collector, vintage racer, and the owner of prominent dealerships in the midwest. Presented from the collection is a twin-cam, five-liter 1930 Bugatti Type 50 Roadster (Estimate: $500,000 – $600,000, Without Reserve). One of only 25 known survivors of the 66 Type 50s built in total, this example, chassis 50116, retains its matching-numbers frame, engine block, camboxes, and supercharger per Bugatti factory records. Also offered is an exceedingly rare 1936 Jaguar SS100 (Estimate: $200,000 – $250,000, Without Reserve) fitted with an uprated 3 1/2-litre engine and accompanied by a spare engine block. The SS100 was shown at the 2002 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, and was also an award winner at the 2005 Cincinnati Concours d’Elegance at Ault Park. Rounding out the trio is a Reutter-bodied 1964 Porsche 356 C Cabriolet (Estimate: $110,000 – $130,000, Without Reserve) finished in special-order Togo Brown over a Brown leather interior. This 356, which was sold new via Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville, Florida, retains its original bill of sale, and is accompanied by a rare factory hardtop as well as a copy of its factory Kardex.
Amelia Island Auctions Date:
Thursday, March 6 at 3 p.m. EST, and Friday, March 7 at 11 a.m. EST
Location: Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Resort
Public Preview: Wednesday, March 5 through Friday, March 7
Auction Catalogue: $100, includes admission for two to the viewing and the auctions
General Admission: $40, includes admission for one to the viewing and the auctions
Bidder Registration: www.goodingco.com/register
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