A very rare 1898 Phébus Motor Tricycle was among the highlights at the Bonhams Beaulieu Sale on Saturday 8th September. The 2¾ horsepower model, geared for speeds in excess of 30mph, sold for $46,023 (£28,750).
The entire contents of the Exmoor Classic Car Museum Collection, of which the Phébus was part, made over $1 Million (£667,128), with every lot of the 13 motorcycles, 10 cars and assorted automobilia selling.
Based in Porlock in Somerset, the museum was the retirement project of Stephen Johns, an entrepreneur who ran a pyjama manufacturing business in Keighley, West Yorkshire, for 45 years, before moving to the West Country and setting up a museum to house the collection he had built up over the years.
Motorcycle sale highlights from the Exmoor Classic Car Museum Collection included a 1947 Dot 122cc AA Tri-Car that sold for $16,568 (£10,350) and a c.1945 BSA 591cc M21 Motorcycle Combination that sold for $15,095 (£9,430). Both realized more than twice their top estimates.
Top motorcycle lots from outside the collection included a 1926 Douglas 348cc EW, which realized $14,727 (£9,200); a 1922 Scott 532cc Standard Tourer, which sold for $15,095 (£9,430); and a 1924 Triumph 550cc SD Motorcycle & Sidecar, which made $18,409 (£11,500).
