A vampire dragster, hillbilly jalopy, WWII German motorcycle and James Bond’s moon rover, plus miniature spaceships and the tramp freighter from the original 1933 film King Kong, are among the massive collection of Hollywood collector’s items to be auctioned in Los Angeles by Profiles in History.
The Icons and Legends of Hollywood sale will take place September 25-26 and includes hundreds of props, costumes and other items from dozens of movies and TV shows, including some famous vehicles.
“In total, it’s perhaps the largest, most-significant offering of important Hollywood artifacts in the history of the company,” according to a news release from the auction business. “The total sale estimate is over 10 million dollars.”
The dragster is named Dragula, created by “King of Kustomizers” George Barris for Grampa Munster to race in The Munsters TV show and subsequent movies. The gold coffin-bodied racer is valued between $80,000 and $120,000.
There’s another Barris custom car on the docket, one that’s even more famous: Jed Clampett’s jalopy truck from the 1993 movie spinoff of The Beverly Hillbillies. While not the truck from the TV series (which Barris also built), it’s still totally recognizable, especially with Granny’s rocker perched up top. The auction company expects it to bring $30,000 to $50,000.
The highest-valued Hollywood vehicle on the docket is the Moon Buggy driven by Sean Connery as 007 in the 1971 movie Diamonds are Forever. The unique buggy, dreamed up by Academy Award-winning production designer Ken Adam and built by California custom-car legend Dean Jeffries, has an estimated value of $400,000 to $600,000.
Other movie vehicles slated to cross the block are the German motorcycle and sidecar ridden by Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, valued at $40,000 to $60,000; from the Wesley Snipes’ movie Blade, a custom stunt motorcycle valued from $20,000 to $30,000 and a custom 1968 Dodge Charger valued at $80,000 to $120,000; the Mel Gibson Kawasaki 1000 police motorcycle ridden in Lethal Weapon 3, $2,000 to $3,000; and the 1978 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle ridden by Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, $20,000 to $30,000.
The full-size mockup off Batman’s Bat Ski boat “ridden” through the Gotham sewers by Michael Keaton in Batman Returns is valued at $60,000 to $80,000, while the intricately detailed miniature SS Venture ship filmed for King Kong in 1933 has a value of $80,000 to $120,000.
Some of the other miniature movie props include the Moonraker 5 Space Shuttle from the 007 film Moonraker, $80,000 to $120,000; the miniature space ship from Aliens, $80,000 to $120,000; the Mondoshawan spaceship from The Fifth Element, $60,000 to $80,000; and the small model of the colossal intergalactic “City Destroyer” spaceship from Independence Day, $20,000 to $30,000.
For more information about the Icons and Legends sale, including access to the enormous catalog, visit the auction website.
