Not mine, just calling dibs…
Does it come with the snow tires? I need a winter beater.
That’s funny! I actually have some vintage snow tires for you if you win.
It’s the 428CJ star car - I expect it will meet the high sale estimate.
Link: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26122/preview_lot/5417918/
Who wouldn’t want to have a Cougar Diana Rigg drove.
I wonder how many museums worldwide are forced to close their doors due to lack of visitors?
That is a fantastic Cougar.
Special car. But not extremely well cared for for 50 years, as Bonhams claims. I saw the car in 2018 in the London Bond museum. It was a slow day and after I showed them pix of my 70, they let me beyond the ropes and opened the hood.
Here is the Bonhams engine bay photo and one of the photos I took that day. Obviously much work has been recently done. The seats were also shot and have been redone, back window & top replaced, side stripes redone to be factory white (not the prior incorrect black), etc. etc. I believe the hood is not original. So an excellent refurb but Bonhams steers clear of saying the car is original.
I was told it was bought by the current owners (The Ian Fleming Foundation, not the museum where it was on loan) for $70,000 in 2008 from a private owner in Sweden.
It should sell well because of the provenance.
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=19420
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=19419
There’s a few mistakes in the posts above!!
It’s NOT the Cougar that was in the Bond in Motion display in Covent Garden recently that’s about to be auctioned. That was the one that was in Sweden initially and I have to agree, it’s not in fantastic condition.
This one is the other surviving car, probably the one used in the Barn scene and has not left England since this was filmed at Pinewood.
The current owner has had it 30 years, since he bought it out of The exchange and mart magazine. He has spent a lot of time and effort getting it to its current state which he describes as “better than new” and “probably over restored if I’m honest”. He did less than 20 miles in it this year…
He has both the Marti report and a report from Lois Eminger confirming it was supplied by Ford to the film company.
How do I know? By luck I spoke to the owner on Saturday about another Cougar matter and the penny dropped that his was one of the Bond cars.
I’ve not seen it, but from the pictures he sent me, it’s stunning.
Incidentally Don, he’s met you when he’s been over to the States and spoke very highly o you!
OK, thank you for the clarification, I knew there was more than one surviving car and I have provided parts for at least two of them over the years. I think I sold a red console lid for the one in the museum a few years ago. The presentation looks good, not too much to pick apart on the auction pictures. Hood alignment could be better and I can spot a dozen other minor tidbits… Anyone notice the 3 different rearview mirror configurations? Stock, small and none? The original mirror was was cumbersome to film around so they fitted it with a smaller one and at one point no mirror.
Super cool. Imagine driving this up to the ski slope.
Stuartmmcfc, thanks much for the clarification! I knew there was more than one of these used for making the movie (3, I was told).
Good to see this one in such great shape. The one in the Bond museum was a major disappointment - for just two examples of many, it has duck tape holding the two parts of the back convertible glass window together; and a 351C air cleaner on the FE engine.
I’m no Bond (or Cougar!) expert at all, but it would appear that there were 3.
1 for each location -1 in Switzerland for the ice race, one in Portugal for the opening beach scene and 1 back in the England for the studio/barn filming.
No one seems to know for certain but it seems likely the Swiss one was destroyed, the Portugal one is the Bond in motion car and the auction one is the barn one.
The very first trip I would make would be to Timberline Lodge here on Mt Hood. BTW, the picture of the lady on a chair lift on your old school Pee-Chee was taken there as well.
I’d love it of Dianna Rigg were driving me. And I prefer to do the driving.
I’m signing up for that trip, lol. Gotta love the single chair. We still have one here in VT.
The car up for auction is the third car ordered for the film…the first two were ordered in September 1968 and shipped to Switzerland to be used for the stock car race which was filmed in January 1969…this third car was ordered while the race was being filmed…i guess they realised they would need a pristine car for the filming of the opening sequences in Portugal which were’nt filmed until May 1969! This car may have also been used for interiors at Pinewood studios…one car was badly damaged obviously and the second probably picked up some scratches from cameras and general use…all three cars remained in England after filming…I believe the damaged one was still in existence in the early 70’s possibly the drivetrain was sold off and the body scrapped? the second car was exported to Sweden in 1981 where it led a full and active life…it was partially restored and had work done at various points and was tidied up a bit for display at the museum in London .
The third car went through multiple owners in the 70’s and 80’s was drag raced and then abandoned…my friend found it by chance and spent 30 years doing a full restoration on it…I have seen the car in person and it is stunning!
The second car …in my opinion deserves a full restoration too!
Thank you for the insight and welcome to the group! Where are you located? I wonder why the auction house has a rather conservative estimate on the car? The car seems to have a fair amount of NOS parts and received some high quality restoration work, I would be reticent to sell it if I was told it might only fetch less than $120k USD after fees.
Thx for chiming in w/the history lesson. As a car-crazy kid, that movie and those cars fed my own passion for Cougars. Glad at least two have been preserved (so far).