Done
Mashall, TX, United States
Auction Details
Gene Ponder Collection - Session 1
FEATURING OVER 120 CARS, MOTORCYCLES, AND BOATS AND OVER 1,000 LOTS OF AUTOMOBILIA
Tucked away on the outskirts of the East Texas city of Marshall is a gearhead's oasis: A series of state-of-the-art shop and garage buildings dotted across a manicured estate. Housed within is the Gene Ponder Collection, an eclectic assemblage of over 120 cars, motorcycles, and boats, as well an enviable and expansive selection of automobilia. Ponder—a serial entrepreneur—built and sold not one, but two highly successful Marshall-based commercial cabinetry manufacturers, allowing him to indulge in his lifelong passion for exciting automobiles.
Blue-chip purebreds highlight the collection, including a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, 1960 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder, 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC, and 1956 Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster; a pair of dazzling Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupes features a notable one-off example by Graber. Also on offer is an impressive survey of MGs spanning 1927 to 1971 - with rarities such as a 1935 MG PB Airline Coupe taking center stage.
The collection is also notable for its hand-crafted recreations, many of which are of all-but unobtainable European sports cars seldom seen outside of museums or prestigious private collections. Mr. Ponder's love of these rare cars led him to commission his own recreations with the help of a respected Texas coachbuilder. The age-old English wheel method was used to form aluminum bodywork that hews as closely as possible to the originals. While some cars have chassis and running gear from the marque in which they are recreating, albeit a few years newer, most feature the underpinnings of a 1950s Jaguar chassis and running gear, a personal favorite of Mr. Ponder. The four-decade-plus working relationship between Mr. Ponder and the Texas coachbuilder has produced a stunning assemblage of rolling sculptures, the cost of which was never questioned.
Auction Curators:
Director of Client Service, North America
Director of Title Services
Lot Number: Lowest
24
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1005: Inflatable Budweiser Race Car, Goodyear Blimp, and Ford-Themed Pedal PlaneEst. $100-$150
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Sold
1013: Cognac Rouyer Original Advertising Poster with Three Additional PrintsEst. $600-$800
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Sold
1016: Texico and Shell Oil Dispensers with Automotive Themed Gargbage CansEst. $400-$600
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