Airworthy Spitfire to auction for £1 million

Airworthy Spitfire to auction for £1 million

An airworthy Spitfire is expected to sell for £1 million when it is auctioned this weekend by Bonhams.



By Stephen Adams
Last Updated: 8:18PM BST 12 Sep 2008

The 1945 Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI being auctioned at Bonhams & Goodman


The original Spitfire MK XVI was completed in late April 1945, just days before the Germans surrendered.
Now it is to be sold at a collection of motor cars and aircraft by Bonhams in New Zealand on Sunday (September 14th).
This example saw active service after being constructed at the Castle Bromwich works in the West Midlands and accepted by RAF Cosford in Shropshire.
Later it was flown in the 1957 Battle of Britain Memorial flight before being donated to the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1959, where it was displayed for the next 38 years.
James Slade, a Hong Kong based businessman and aviation enthusiast, began to restore the aircraft when he bought it in 1997, before selling it to the current owner two years later.
It is now airworthy again, according to Bonhams.
Robert Brooks, chairman of the auctioneer's who has himself flown Tiger Moths, said: "The sale of this Spitfire touches me personally as an enthusiastic amateur pilot and a keen student of military history."
He added: "For Bonhams to be associated with this aircraft gives me particular pleasure and not a little pride."

Airworthy Spitfire to auction for £1 million - Telegraph

 

They did not paint any squadron codes on the aircraft so I will have to pass on my bid.

You're loaded JC, why don't you phone in a bid ?

 

Goddamn I just dont got enough right now

 

World War II Spitfire Sells for $1.9 Million in New Zealand

By Gavin Evans
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- A World War II Spitfire fighter, one of fewer than 60 still flying worldwide, sold for NZ$2.8 million ($1.9 million) at an auction in Nelson, New Zealand today.
The aircraft, a 1945 Mk. XVI variant of the fighter made famous during the Battle of Britain, was bought by North China Shipping Holdings Co. Chairman Yan-Ming Gao at the sale at Nelson's museum of Wearable Art & Classic Cars. He plans to donate the fighter to the China Aviation Museum in Beijing.
Demand from collectors keen to own a flying piece of aviation history is sustaining a global industry of amateur archeologists and engineers scouring museums and crash sites for parts to restore and include in rebuilt planes. Provenance Fighter Sales, a specialist aircraft broker based in Murietta, California, sold 13 aircraft in 2007, including three Spitfires.
``I don't want to see the Spitfire go,'' Don Subritzky, an Auckland engineer whose family has restored the aircraft the past 11 years, said before the sale. ``Basically, we need to get some money in to fund the completion of a few of the other aircraft we've got here.''
Subritzky has nearly completed a 1936 Hawker Hind biplane. Other airframes waiting to be restored include a rare Vickers Vildebeest biplane, a twin-engined Airspeed Oxford and a Gloster Meteor jet.
The Spitfire sold today started life with Britain's Royal Air Force in June, 1945. After postwar service with the nation's air force reserve it was donated to the U.S. Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. It was sold to private collectors in 1996.
`Spitfires in Particular'
``Spitfires are a very well-known fighter of the Second World War,'' said Gao, who has an interest in military history. ``It made a great contribution to the winning of the Second World War,'' he said through an interpreter.
The plane was the main attraction among 15 vintage and racing cars offered by Bonhams & Goodman, the Australian unit of London-based Bonhams. It is believed to be the first Spitfire sold at auction since the 1960s, Bonhams & Goodman Chief Executive Officer Tim Goodman said.
``Warbirds in general and Spitfires in particular only ever seem to go up in value,'' said Steve Vizard, managing director of U.K.-based Airframe Assemblies Ltd., which is currently restoring six Spitfires. ``Despite the so-called global economic crisis and the credit crunch and all that, it would seem that people who can afford to have this as their hobby, or their passion, can still afford them.''
Rebuilding a Spitfire, regardless of condition, takes about three years and costs about 1 million pounds ($1.8 million), Vizard said. Once flying, a later mark would typically sell for about $3.5 million, while an early model, with proven history in the Battle of Britain, might fetch twice as much, he said.
Including commission, Gao will pay just under NZ$3.2 million for the aircraft. He also bought a 1914 Daimler Tourer, a 1930 Rolls Royce Sedanca De Ville, and a 1898 De Dion Bouton today.

Bloomberg.com: Australia & New Zealand

 

i was watching the news last night and i saw the story on the spitfire

 

Restored with love and ready to go abroad.....

 

I wish I had 1 million euros laying around!

 

Ooooooo i'd have just liked to have added this one to my collection including a Corsair, a P-51 D Mustang, an F4F Wildcat, and a P-47 Thunderbolt ;-D

 

Which scale? 1:48 OR 1/72?

 

I stepped into that one. I'll have to give you my 23 points for that one Skipper-if it'll allow me? If not you'll have to wait till "enough points are spread around a bit."

EDIT: Skipper, i'll have to give em to you at a later date-I still have to spread some around a bit." ;-))