Vintage $150,000 Cadillac once driven in Hawke's Bay up for auction

New Zealand's largest auction of collector cars, motorcycles and automobilia will feature a $150,000 1928 Cadillac with a vast history of owners in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's largest auction of collector cars, motorcycles and automobilia will feature a $150,000 1928 Cadillac that recently made an emotional homecoming to Hawke's Bay.

A total of 83 lots, with a total value of more than $3.5 million, will go under the hammer at Webb's Auction House in Auckland on Sunday.

Auctioneer and head of collectors' cars, motorcycles and single-owner collections Caolán McAleer said originally a seven-seater, the Cadillac (341A) had an estimated auction value of between $140,000 and $160,000.

The Cadillac was originally shipped to Wellington in 1928, before being transported to its first Kiwi owners - the A'Deane family, of Ashcott Homestead, Takapau, Hawke's Bay.

The A'Deane family had already owned two Cadillacs before 1928: a 1916 tourer and a 1922 tourer.

After Mrs A'Deane's death, the car was sold to Thomas Whelsh and replaced with a Ford Model A.

In June 1937, Whelsh's son was killed after he rolled the car. The car was subsequently stored in a Winlove Transport shed in Waipukurau.

The car was then bought by Wilfrid Hopkinson and eventually fitted with a 1929 Cadillac coupe body.

The 1928 Cadillac was originally shipped to Wellington in 1928, before being transported to the new owners - the A'Deane family, of Takapau, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

Fast-forward a quarter of a decade, the Cadillac was left parked outside Stewart Greer's Garage in Waipukurau for more than a year.

An offer of £20 was made by a local farmer who wanted to use the front axle for a trailer, but not wanting to see the car destroyed, Pat Peacock sold it to a Bill Inglis for £10.

After more owners across Taupō, Christchurch, Ohope and Auckland, the car resided in a private museum for 12 years from 1989.

The current vendor bought the car in 2001, and the car returned to the road in 2004 – 45 years after being laid up.

The vendor, who wished to remain anonymous, said travelling from Dunedin to Napier for the Art Deco Festival felt like a homecoming.

"It was a real thrill for us and to see the old car parked in front of its first home," they said.

McAleer said despite Covid-19 changing the way many Kiwis look at money, people still think classic vehicles are a good place to invest their money.

The 1928 Cadillac has an estimated auction value of between $140,000 and $160,000. Photo / Supplied

Growing from a 17-lot sale in July last year, the auction offering has quadrupled, with a selection of prestige marques including Rolls Royce, Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

Also included in the auction will be the Len Pearce Collection of Indian motorcycles, including a Model 401 - one of only 280 in the world and the only one in New Zealand.

Other bikes, including AJS, Matchless and Triumph, will also represented.

• The auction at Pavilion 2, ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland, will begin at 2pm on December 13.