Australian tennis player, Mark Philippoussis' Hummer goes under the hammer

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The metallic blue Hummer H1 originally owned by Mark Philippoussis sold unreserved for $69,000 at Shannons Melbourne Summer Auction on November 24 after an exciting serve and volley duel amongst a dozen floor and telephone bidders.

Egged on by the enthusiastic auction crowd of around 700 people, bidding for the massive off-road vehicle developed from the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) used by US Forces in the Gulf War began at $25,000 and soon soared through its pre-auction estimate of $40-$50,000 before selling to a local Hummer enthusiast in the room.

While the Hummer was the highest-priced vehicle lot of the auction, the top price went to a much smaller piece of metal – the Victorian numeric black and white number plate ‘293’, which made a strong $71,000.

In fact sales of the 11 Victorian black and white plates in the auction totalled $320,000, representing an average price of $29,000 per plate.

While the Hummer was the standout sale of the auction, most of the interest was in affordable entry-level classics in the $10-$25,000 range, with British and European sporting cars all being ‘on the money’.

A three-owner 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe that had covered just 91,508 miles from new sold for $23,000; a 1959 MGA 1600 Mk I Roadster in good condition sold for a strong $21,500; a 1985 Porsche 928S Coupe and a 1966 Jaguar MkII 3.4 manual saloon each made $14,000 and a 1987 (red) Maserati Bi-Turbo Spyder brought $11,500.

Good buying amongst other classics in the auction were a 1994 right hand drive Ford Mustang V6 Coupe that sold for $15,000; a black 1961 Holden EK Special Sedan that made $11,500 and a 1985 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Coupe in need of some body work that sold unreserved for $7,500.

Amongst other good results, a beautiful 1928 Chevrolet National Tourer that had covered less than 1,200 miles since a complete restoration in 1996 bringing $18,000 and a 1960 Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide motorcycle in great condition sold for $17,000.

(Prices are in Australian dollars. 1 Australian dollar equals $0,65)