EIGHT classic cars valued at up to £2.2m belonging to late Wye Valley businessman Dean Kronsbein are set to go under the hammer next week, including a Land Rover built for Queen Elizabeth II.
The multi-millionaire Walford-based friend of Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond died in a tragic yachting accident off the Sardinian coast on July 30, 2022.
His wife Sabine and daughter Sophia were also injured when the luxury Amore boat they were sailing on swerved to avoid a collision with the Sweet Dragon motor cruiser owned by former Italian prime minister Servio Berlusconi and hit the rocks.
The two boat skippers are currently being investigated for alleged manslaughter and other maritime offences by the Italian courts.
Mr Kronsbein, 61, owned the international Ultra-Filter Medical equipment company based at Ross-on-Wye's Alton Business Park, and had hosted the Bentley Owners' summer concours at his 100-acre Cubberley House estate featuring 500 classic motors just weeks before his death.
Having moved into the Hom Green house once owned by international singer and musician Roger Whittaker, he struck up a friendship with former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, who lives at nearby Bollitree Castle in Weston-under-Penyard, over their shared love of classic cars.
The star, who attended the Bentley convention in June 2022, paid tribute after his passing, saying: "He really was a larger-than-life character...
“He was a kind-hearted, jovial person who wished for others to have a good time when they were around him...
“I just can’t believe I won’t see him again in his colourful waistcoat and looking at his pocket watch – the last time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago at the party he hosted.”
The sale of Mr Kronsbein's classic motors collection is being held by RM Sotheby's in London on November 1-2, and includes four Bentleys, one valued at up to £950,000.
Also on offer to vehicle lovers with deep pockets are a 1967 Rolls Royce Phantom V valued at up to £140,000, two classic Land Rovers and a 1942 Ford Army jeep with trailer.
The top lot is a 1958 S1 Continental Drophead Coupé Bentley with registration 100 FKX by Park Ward, which was first ordered by Weybridge Automobiles Ltd for a Johannes Smit of KJ Smit & Sons Ltd in London, who specialised in supplying industrial diamonds.
The Continental was last up for sale at RM Sotheby’s Passion For Elegance sale in Liechtenstein in 2021, when it sold for over £1m.
A 1947 Bentley MkVI Cabriolet by Franay, is a one-off design on a Bentley chassis, number B26BH, valued at up to £350,000.
Commissioned by paper-mill heir AJ Liechti of Saint-Louis, courtesy of Franco-Britannic Automobiles in Paris, it is the only Bentley to use the design.
It later went to America, where it took numerous class victories, before joining the Kronsbein Collection in 2019 at RM’s Arizona sale.
Another one-off, this time by Mulliners, is a 1952 Bentley MkVI Drophead Foursome Coupé valued at up to £325,000 and first commissioned by Standard-Triumph managing director Sir John Black.
It was later owned in California before joining the Kronsbein Collection in 2018.
And the fourth Bentley is a 1953 R-type Drophead Coupé, chassis B47SP, one of three built by HJ Mulliner for shipping magnate AN Goulandris, and valued at up to £150,000.
The 1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was one of 516 Phantom Vs built, and first delivered to Scottish dealership Macrae & Dick, it joined the Kronsbein Collection in 2014.
A 1978 Land Rover Series III ‘Royal Review’ valued at up to £80,000 was commissioned for the use of Queen Elizabeth II, while a 1951 Land Rover Series I ‘Reborn’ is estimated at up to £150,000 and the 1942 Ford GPW with trailer at up to £70,000.
For information, see rmsothebys.com/auctions/lf24/lots/
