Early next year, a motorcycle auction in the USA will be revving
up interest among enthusiasts and collectors, with a quartet of
competition BMWs going under the hammer, including a rare pre-war
Kompressor. This unique collection of four BMW racing motorcycles
will be offered at the Bonhams Las Vegas Motorcycle Sale on 10
January.
Headlining the team of machines is a very rare and much admired
Kompressor, or supercharged, 1939 RS 255, the model that legendary
racer John Surtees said "Rightly deserves a place as being one of
the all-time greats of motorcycle Grand Prix racing."
The RS 255 ('RS' stands for rennsport, or race sport) is a
genuine, documented supercharged 1939 engine (no. 16152) mounted in
an authentic 1951 frame (no. 2), not at all uncommon with most
factory racing machines. Surtees, who owns the very same year model
BMW upon which Georg Meier won the Isle of Man TT (now on permanent
display at the BMW Museum), commented that: "The power
characteristics are very deceptive...this is a real racing
machine."
Accompanying this exceptional motorcycle are three other
Bavarian competition machines: a 1954 BMW RS 254, a 1954 BMW RS 254
with Sidecar, and a 1956 BMW RS 256.
"Competition BMWs, particularly those from before and just after
WWII, are increasingly gaining interest from discerning
collectors," said Nick Smith, Bonhams US Head of Motorcycling.
"They were highly advanced, extremely well-made and successful, and
this combination of attributes makes them tremendously
desirable."
No stranger to prominent and record-making sales of classic
BMWs, Bonhams sold a very rare, factory prepared 1939 BMW RS R51
for $130,200 at the 2010 Las Vegas motorcycle auction. Likewise,
this quartet of German racers is expected to attract significant
interest, particularly the Kompressor.
The third annual Bonhams Las Vegas Motorcycle Sale will take
place on Thursday 10 January 2013 at Bally's Hotel & Casino on
The Strip. More information will be available in the coming
weeks at www.Bonhams.com/Vegas.
\* Photography by E. Klein. All images courtesy of Bonhams.
For further press / media information contact:
Scott Croaker
Product Communications Manager
783 Springvale Road
Mulgrave VIC 3170
Australia
Tel: +61 (3) 9264 4150
mailto: scott.croaker@bmw.com.au
Miles Davis
Marketing Manager Motorrad
783 Springvale Road
Mulgrave VIC 3170
Australia
Tel: +61 (3) 9264 4021
mailto: miles.davis@bmw.com.au