£20 image of speeding car could fetch as much as £60,000 at auction

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A print of a speeding car, that originally cost £20, could fetch as much as £60,000 at an upcoming Bonhams auction.

The image hung on a wall for 25 years before its owner decided to have it valued. Toby Wilson, Head of Automobilia at Bonhams, passed the print to Rupert Worrall, the Head of Prints at the auction house who revealed that this was something special, way beyond the £20 value its owner had placed on it when showing it to Toby to get his opinion.
British artists Cyril Edward Power created the image that is based on Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird, which broke the land speed record in 1931.

Toby Wilson explained: "I was attending the Automobilia Exhibition at Seaside California during the Pebble Beach week, when I was approached by a private client who had found 'This old print that had been hanging in his garage for 25 years' and asked "If I liked it"?

"He believed it was worth no more than £20. I identified the print as much more valuable than that and advised him that it was very suitable for sale in our specialist print sales in London."

A similar Power image sold for £96,000 at auction last summer so, understandably, Bonham's have put a £40,000-£60,000 price tag on this hidden treasure.

Head of prints Rupert Worrall added: "This is a particularly nice Power that will doubtless attract a lot of interest from people who collect his work which grows in popularity each year."

The print goes on sale April 16, 2013 at Bonhams auction house in London.