Unlike the Honda CB750 Sandcast Prototype I featured a while back, this Vincent Black Prince project did not make it to $100k. Instead, it did not meet reserve at $40,100 after 36 bids on eBay.
How much can a project be worth? We’re about to find out with this Vincent Black Prince project which has a BIN price of over $100k. Obviously, an asking price is irrelevant if you don’t get any bites, and I thought this price was out of line, but then the seller notes that a project with much more work ahead of it sold for over $150k at a Bonham’s auction, and now I’m not sure if the seller is crazy or if it’s the classic bike market as a whole that’s lost its mind.
With that said, I guess if there’s a bike that would draw such a silly amount of money, it’d be the Black Prince. Philip Vincent’s attempt at creating a “two-wheeled Bentley”, this bike was fully-faired in an effort to add some comfort to the blistering power of the Black Shadow twin. Many considered to be quite ugly, and while I still consider that to be the case, collectors now flock to this bike. In 2011, an original owner auctioned off his Black Prince, nicknamed Vinnie Long Legs, that he had put 721,000 miles on after 66 years. Impressive. For a thorough explanation on the Black Prince and how it came to be, check out this article from Real Classic.
This specific Vincent Black Prince project is mostly complete – the seller estimates that you’re looking at another 15-20k to finish the job if you outsource it. Current goodies include $16k worth of a Mike Parti engine rebuild, matching numbers with VOC documentation, and Britsh registration booklet. It seems that it was the 8th Vincent built in 1955, and the 4th Black Prince.
Find this Vincent Black Prince project for sale in Ojai, California with bidding up to $36,200 and the reserve not yet met, or a BIN of $106,500
If any of you are planning on bidding on this, please let me know. And then feel free to adopt me – I’ve got an expensive bike habit.