INDEPENDENCE, MO. — Since there were only 522 ever produced in 1960, it was a cinch that one of Benjamin George Bowden’s (1906-1998) Spacelander bicycles, especially the rare and desirable charcoal black model, would rocket to the top of Carrell Auction’s July 28 online auction on HiBid, selling for $18,360, including buyer’s premium. The Bowden Spacelander was designed in 1949 in only five colors, charcoal black being the most rare. Bowden, a British industrial designer, was primarily known for his work on automobiles and bicycles. Unfortunately at the time, a space-age bicycle turned out to be commercially unsuccessful when in production. Now it’s a collector’s item, the winning collector a private gentleman from Kansas City, who came in to personally view the bicycle, according to Josh Carrell. More on Bowdon’s unusual bicycle and other highlights in Carrell’s online auction of the single-owner Gary Long antique and vintage bicycle and motorbikes collection to come.