In what must be regarded as a marketing coup, Bonham's auction house held a sale (11/28/09) of the Willy Neutkens BMW collection at the actual BMW factory Museum in Munich (see my post on the new Museum here).
Neutkins was well-known in BMW circles as a focussed and dedicated collector, to the point of earning a place in the Guinnesss Book of Records as the holder of the largest private single-make collection of motorcycles in the world. He had an example of just about every production Bavarian flat-twin, from the earliest R32 to the end of the 'air-head' era, and developed a special relationship with the Factory over the years, using their archives and expertise to assure his restorations were accurate to the nut.
That doesn't mean the machines were 100% original, and a few examples of his collection had mis-matched frames and engines (eg, I heard from one collector of an R12 frame/R17 engine combo, etc), but for the most part it seemed his bikes were solid, and what a shopping experience it must have been for bidders! Pre-war BMWs especially are difficult to source nowadays, and an accurate restoration even more so. The combination created an air of excitement around the world for flat-twin enthusiasts, and the bidding reflected such.
The auction was a total sell-out, with BMW itself (Welt und Classiche - now combined under the direction of Karl Baumer) out-bidding my friend Yves on the ex-Works ISDT '53 R67/2 (seen below), which ranks among collectors as one of the most desireable 'street' BMWs.
Here's the Bonham's summary:
A clear highlight of the sale was the 1924 BMW 493cc R32 (Lot 40) which was at the heart of a five way bidding battle between three continents, eventually realising Euro 109,250 against a pre-sale estimate of Euro 33,000 – 45,000.
Bids also came from the BMW Museum, host of today’s sale, which secured the Ex-Works ISDT 1953 BMW 594cc R67/2 – Lot 76 - for Euro 26,450 (estimate Euro 19,000 - 22,000). This historic competition machine beautifully complements the other motorcycles in their own impressive collection.
One of the sale’s most emotional and charming purchases involved a lady bidder who secured the 1982 BMW 649cc R65LS (Lot 23) for Euro 2,530. Having bought the motorcycle when it was new – proceeding to cover an incredible 170,000km over 14 years on Continental tours – she was delighted to be reunited with it so many years later.
In all, over 320 customers had registered to bid, making this one of the most successful sales for the Bonhams motorcycle department.
Malcolm Barber, Bonhams CEO and auctioneer on the day commented, “The BMW archivists, directors and management team at the Museum worked closely with our company following instructions from the Neutkens family to market and offer their collection for sale. The combined strengths of our respective companies ensured full marketing, an informative catalogue and a perfect setting to obtain this fabulous result.”
Fred Jakobs, BMW’s Archivist for motorcycles at the museum commented, “I was delighted with the outcome of today’s sale, it was a pleasure for my company to work closely with Bonhams, they presented a first class auction. We too were delighted to have acquired the Ex-Works, ISDT, 1953 BMW R67/2BMW for our collection. It has come home and will be on display here at the museum next year it is the grandfather of our Enduro bikes”.
Many thanks to Yves J. Hayat for the photos!