An auction of vintage cars and motorcycles took place on the last Sunday in October as part of the Prague Car Festival car show. Thirteen cars were put up for auction, but the prices of some were surprising and in the end five items were not sold. Jawa 500 OHC 15/00 “snail” was sold for less than a million and the Tatra 613 Special for less than 1.5 million.
Jawa 500 OHC 15/00 “snail” is the most precious version of Tynek’s 500. This is the first series of the 500 OHC model, of which only a few have survived to this day. They hardly appear in regular advertising. It was the “golden nail” among the motorcycles auctioned for vintage cars as part of the Prague Car Festival car show.
The very rare pint is assembled from original parts apart from the oil tank and exhausts and has valid and rewritable papers. The starting price of the machine was 800,000, with the auction reserve set at 900,000 crowns. Three bidders signed up for the auction, but in the end the price ended “only” at 955,000, which pleased its new owner. “I only entered the auction here, I was encouraged that there weren’t that many bidders. I like its condition and the fact that it has the original papers,” describes the young man who is one of Jaw’s fans, but he prefers not to reveal his name. He likes vintage auctions, he has already bought a washing machine like this at a traditional event in Lysá nad Labem.
Apparently the new owner of the Jawa 50/23 Mustang is also happy with how well he has been after Sunday’s event. The car auctioned by the crown eventually sold for 19,000, which is a very good price, in regular advertising it sells for larger amounts. Perhaps the fact that it was the first item to be auctioned played a role and, after all, the audience in Prague was significantly smaller than in Lysá’s Retro Garage, and they didn’t get carried away.
Jawa 50/550 “stump” in original condition, but without technical license, followed the Mustang. Eight bidders signed up, the machine sold for 47,000, tree stumps are often sold for larger amounts. On the contrary, the Salmon-colored Stadion S22, after a careful restoration, went to the world for 93 thousand crowns, which only confirmed that Czechoslovakian mopeds are increasingly appreciated by collectors and nostalgics.
Čezeta 501 was bought after the renovation for 105,000 by a gentleman with the number 11, who regularly goes to auctions in Lysá. “I really like the atmosphere of the auctions, I like it”, describes Pavel Čáslava.
The battle for the Jawa 250/623 Bizon was also very short, the minimum selling price of the bike was set at 170,000, the car after the refurbishment was finally sold for 187,000 and two bidders gave it a try.
A highlight of the vintage range was the Jawa 650 Classic, which was only produced in 2005. However, it has collectible potential, with only around 300 produced and this one in particular is barely 82 kilometers long. A cheerful man in a red cap, who filmed himself making an offer on his cell phone, eventually put it up for auction for 263,000. Harley Davidson 350 BA in found condition, but ultimately not sold, not a single person interested.
Practically, with one exception, classic cars “turned out” in the same way. The BMW Isetta was not sold, neither the Škoda 100L or the Škoda 1000 MB, nor the luxurious Wikov 35 limousine, which was supposed to be the star of this event, not a single interested party was found who would buy these pieces.
The battle broke out only for the Tatra 613 Special, two bidders fought until the last moment, in the end Pavel Kočí, who moderated the event, brought down the sum of 1,420,000 crowns. “I attended a veteran auction for the first time. I looked at the Tatra here before the auction and I like its condition, only about 55 Specials survived, so it’s a really valuable specimen,” says the man, who also does not want to give his name, but admits that he is a Tatrovák at heart and would like to have a complete collection of Kopřivnice cars. “Ferrari is against this production car. I had a ceiling, which I will not reveal, but I have to say that I am really satisfied with the price,” he admits.
Therefore, the Prague auction mainly pleased the new owners. Those who offered the machines may have been slightly disappointed. This time no significant price record was set, while in the past at the Retro Garage in Lysá nad Labem, for example, Tatra for 1.8 million self Škoda 100 for 1,850,000.
“We are a bit disappointed, precisely because we wanted to offer something a little different in Prague than in Lysá, and that the Wikov 35, which is not publicly known like other Czechoslovakian brands, did not sell. But we consider this event as a year. zero and we believe that the offer of cars auctioned to the public as part of the Prague Auto Festival next year will be interesting, “adds Pavel Kočí.
For the sixth year it organized the largest national veterans exchange associated with the veterans auction on the premises of the Lysá nad Labem exhibition center. The spring event opens and the fall event closes the veteran season. The next auction will take place in the cathedral on November 12, which cars will be on offer, look here.
