Bonhams never has a shortage of great vehicles in their auctions. When we saw they were auctioning off Steve McQueen’s Husqvarna from On Any Sunday during their Collector’s Motorcycles event at the Barber Vintage Festival we thought for sure it was going to be the coolest piece in the collection. We were wrong because the auction also includes a 1949 Vincent 998cc Black Lightning. Regarded by many as the holy grail of motorcycles and described as the “Ferrari GTO on two wheels”, the British-made Vincent Black Lightning is the perfect combination of evocative design, forward-thinking engineering and racing success. Around thirty were originally produced, but only 19 are believed to still exist. This particular bike is the second example ever built, has full ownership history from new and is the earliest, most original example in existence. So yeah, it’s incredibly rare. Don’t expect it to go cheap because the current world record for most valuable motorcycle ever sold at auction was another Black Lightning that Bonhams sold earlier this year. Bonhams’ Collector’s Motorcycles auction at the Barber Vintage Festival takes place on October 6th in Birmingham.
PARTNER
Huckberry’s Essential Holiday Gift Guide
Unzip your coat and have some mulled wine on the house—you’ve arrived at your final gifting destination: The Holiday Gift Guide. It’s like your friendly neighborhood one-stop holiday shop, except instead of balsa wood ornaments, ours is packed with thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. Future heirlooms, small-but-significant stocking stuffers, and gear for getting out there (or staying in)—are all right here. There’s no music playing in the background though, so you’ll just have to hum Bing Crosby while you click around instead.
