Auction of Concorde nose cone to take place in Northamptonshire Published duration 11 June 2019

image copyright Humbert & Ellis Auctioneers image caption Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said said the nose cone was a hugely exciting item

A rare piece of aviation history will be up for grabs when a nose from test specimen of a Concorde passenger plane goes to auction next week.

The 25ft (7.5m)-long "droop" nose cone is currently in Kansas City, Missouri, housed in a specially-built glass unit.

A guide price of between £200,000 and £300,000 has been set by auctioneers in Towcester, Northamptonshire.

Concorde's last commercial flight took place on 23 October 2003.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Concorde's commercial operational life was between 1976 and 2003

The cone, which dates from the late 1960s, was last sold in 1995 out of the collection of aeronautical collector Wensley Haydon-Baillie.

It comes complete with pilot's visor and internal hydraulic rams for its operation.

A 11ft (3.35m) tall cone auctioned by the same auctioneers sold for £63,000 in February last year

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said the auction "has already generated global interest".

The auction will take place on Thursday, 20 June.

media caption A tour inside the last ever Concorde to fly

Concorde facts

Concorde was born out of separate French and British projects which joined forces in 1962

Its first flight took place on 2 March 1969 from Toulouse

Concorde successfully completed its first supersonic flight on 1 October 1969

Its fastest speed was twice the speed of sound - 1,350mph (2,180km/h)

The first commercial flights took place on 21 January 1976 when British Airways flew from London Heathrow to Bahrain and Air France from Paris to Rio

The record transatlantic crossing was 2hrs 52mins 59secs

The Concorde crash near Paris on 25 July 2000 killed 113 people and grounded the planes for a year

BA and Air France announced the plane will be retired in 2003