'Thank you, Mr Bond!': Shropshire hospice now getting £138,600 from 007 bike auction
A Shropshire hospice has revealed it will get thousands of pounds more than the £110,000 sale price following the auction of a James Bond motorbike - backed by 007 star Daniel Craig.
Motorbike manufacturer Triumph has given Severn Hospice the final auction sale price of £110,000, with auctioneer Christie's also donating the proceeds it would have received to make the final figure £138,600.
The charity auction was held in London by Christie's on Wednesday evening, with Bond star Daniel Craig giving a special message of support before the auction of the bike he rode in the film No Time To Die.
Elodie Home, head of fundraising at Severn Hospice, said: "Huge thanks once again to Daniel Craig for choosing us to benefit from the sale of this piece of movie history.
“We are overwhelmed by the amount of money the sale of this bike has raised for our charity – and the profile the auction has given us.
"We have to raise £2 for every £3 we spend on providing our services and the proceeds from this sale allow us to continue to give our care for free to local people living with incurable illness.
"It isn't every day that you get a Hollywood star shining the light on your charity - and we are so grateful to Daniel for this and for his personal message. Thank you, Mr Bond!
“The final amount we’ll receive is £138,600, thanks to Triumph Motorcycles Ltd donating the £110,000 sale price, and Christie’s agreeing to donate the proceeds they would have received from the sale.
“Enormous thanks also to Bond production company EON for organising everything – and the Christie’s auctioneer for really getting into the spirit.”
The Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE, which appeared in No time to Die, was one of 25 lots at a charity auction held at Christie's in London that raised an overall total of £6.1 million for a range of worthy causes.
Mr Craig said: "I love this bike. All proceeds will go to the Severn Hospice who give amazing care across Shropshire and north Powys."
And he urged the 450 hyper rich and famous people in the room and possibly thousands watching on Christie's Live to "dig deep".
"It is a cause that is very close to my heart," he said.
Mr Craig, who played the iconic British spy five times, selected Severn Hospice as the charity to benefit at the first of a two-part auction.
During the film, Craig's last appearance as Bond, the spy commandeers the bike for a chase through the streets, culminating in an epic jump into the piazza.
The auction was part one of Christie’s and EON Productions’ official two-part charity sale, Sixty Years of James Bond, presented 25 lots which realised £6,103,500, already far exceeding the overall pre-sale estimate.
The Earl of Snowdon, honorary chairman, of Christie’s, said “What a brilliant start to the two-part official charity sale celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Bond. I am thrilled that so much money has already been raised for the wonderful charitable causes chosen, with more to come as over half of the lots remain open for bidding in the Online Sale, Part II.
"We would like to thank everyone for their generosity to date, and look forward to the combined total being announced on James Bond Day, when the final sale closes.”
The top lot of the action was the much-anticipated Aston Martin DB5 stunt car, which is one of eight stunt replicas built for the film by Aston Martin and fitted with ‘Q Branch’ modifications. It is the only DB5 stunt car from No Time To Die to be released for public sale and, as the ultimate Bond collector’s prize, competitive bidding between the internet, telephone and those in attendance resulted in the final price of £2,922,000.
