Classic Auction Review

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1960 Ferrari 250GT SWB Competizione takes top step of 86% sold £55.9m Retromobile week podiums with 10.2m euros (£8.6m) performance at RMS

But 14.14m euros (£12.03m) less was spent at the Paris sales this year than one year ago on 252 automobiles, 26 fewer sold and for 26,477 euros (£22,505, 9.2% less) per auction car bought. For the 2024 average spent per auction classic in tractor-jammed Paris amounted to 260,865 euros (£221,735) compared to 287,342 euros (£244,240) one year earlier.
Parisian vital statistics saw RM Sotheby’s sell 59 or 83% of 72 entries at the Louvres for an auction week topping 34,401,100 euros (£29,240,935) in their 11th Paris sale 31 January.
After their 13th consecutive 6 hours marathon within the Retromobile exhibition, Artcurial transacted 113 out or 87% of 130 for 15,964,616 (£15,569,923) 2 February.
While Bonhams bidders from 35 countries in The Grand Palais Ephemere by the Tour Eiffel bought 80 or 83% of 96 for 15,372,208 euros (£13,066,632) in their 15th Grand Marques du Monde a Paris 1 February.

Big Number Cars in Paris - RM Sotheby’s 109,158,125 euros (£8,634,406) ali-bodied 250GT Competitzione had finished 7th overall and 5th in class as a NART entry at Sebring for the 1960 12 Hours.
An alloy-bodied 1966 275 GTB/6C Long Nose fetched 3,211,250 euros (£2,729,563) and a GT1 racer derived 2007 Maserati MC12 Versione Corsa packing a 745hp 6-Litre V12 was in a strong third place with 3,042,500 euros (2,586,125).
An Old School 1919 Hispano-Suiza G6 Torpedo by Duvivier that had outlived first owner King Alfonso XIII made a Royal 522,500 euros (£444,125) and a Scaglietti-crafted 1971 365GTB/4 Daytona a worthy 533,750 euros (£453,688).
A 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 in even rarer Oak Green Metallic with Sherwood Green leather was valued by a new owner at 511,250 euros (£434,563), nearly three times the lower estimate.
Including premium, a 1955 M-B 300SL Gullwing could only fly away into a new EU nest for a low estimate 1,381,000 (£1,173,850) at Retromobile to which 125,000 made pilgrimage this year, when an only 9,254k since new in 2014 McLaren P1, one of 375, sold to a French buyer for 1,360,000 euros (£1,156,000).
Again it took buyer’s premium (all 16% of it!) to nearly match the lower estimate band with a 988,320 euros (£840,072) valuation by the buyer of a winged 1980 BMW M1 Procar.
A remaining in Europe 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona realised a close to top estimate 533,600 euros (£453,560) and a 1997 Porsche 993 Cup 3.8 RSR a within guide 510,400 euros (£433,840) from a French bidder.
Star turns here were a 2004 Ferrari Enzo in Nero Daytona with 9,500k deprecation for an appreciated 3,910,000 euros (£3,323,500), while a usually sought after 1969 Miura P400S in receipt of Edmond Ciclet directed restoration in the late 1980s achieved a Lambo bullish 954,500 euros (£811,325) in 2020s.
The 1981 Geneva Salon exhibited Countach, a statistically rare low-body version in Blu Notte Metallizzato, found a friend with 621,000 euros (£527,850)  and a Mille Miglia eligible 1951 Maserati A6 1500/3C Gran Turismo fed by triple Webers changed keepers for the first time in 30 years for 460,000 euros (£391,000).

Amelia Island and Miami Headliners - By contrast, in the far more boomy US of A, where Free World Leadership could soon be contested by one ‘Past His Sell By Date Sleepy’ or a ‘Putin Friendly Anti-Nato Narcissist’, there were four auctions in one State in one weekend.
For the reality from the Broad Arrow, Gooding and Bonhams residencies at Amelia Island, and RM Sotheby’s relocated gig at inaugural ModaMiami, was a 5% hike from a premium-inclusive $178m (£138,84m) spent at these market testing auctions in 2023 to this year’s $186m (£145,080) 83% sold sales total.
While 4% fewer cars sold in Florida this year than last and 4% fewer made more than top estimate prices, the $474,390 (£370,804) average auction price  was 5.7% more than in 2023.
The most extraordinary valuation, and by more than $8m (£6.24m) too, was the perceived to be unfashionable 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60hp ‘Roi des Belges’ from 121 years of original family ownership that was hammered by the Gooding & Co Dynamic Duo for a mighty $12,105,000 (£9,441,900).
Other Gooding Top Tenners were 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial S1 Spider sold for $3,995,000 (£3,116,100), a 1973 365GTS/4 Daytona Spider $3,635,000 (£2,835,300) and 2015 Porsche 918 Weissach Spyder $3,525,000 (£2,749,500).
Broad Arrow’s auction leader was a 1967 Ford GT40, so a real one, sold for $4,405,000 (£3,435,900). A 2022 vintage Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport fetched $4,047,500 (£3,157,050) under their gavel and a 1973 Ferrari 365GTS/4 Daytona Spider $3,305,000 (£2,577,900).
RM Sotheby’s Miami results were headed by a 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe sold for $4,295,000 (£3,350,100), a 1930 Duesenberg Model J ‘Disappearing Top’ Convertible-Coupe £3,855,000 (£3,006,900) and a 1990 F40 $3,360,000 (£3,006,900).

Iconic's Race Retro sales uplifted to Northamptonshire   In the UK meanwhile, due to the closure of the flooded Stoneleigh Showground, Iconic are to be applauded for relocating their Race Retro Sales rostrum and all 116 of their clients' auction cars to a fortuitously vacant Silverstone F1 circuit 'The Wing’.
As at the NEC, Iconics’ top seller was a Group B car. 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, Number 176 of the 200 homologated, UK registered and repainted with distressed seat bolsters, had been reportedly driven less than 10,000 miles before selling at the Northamptonshire circuit for £227,250 with premium, a new UK record price for a 205 T16 road car (one of 6 such milestone prices at this sale)..
A world record price of £83,250 meanwhile (one of four clocked at Silverstone) was paid for Rowan Atkinson’s 3,800 miles from new in 2015 Land Rover Heritage Defender 110.. Other auction world records achieved included  2001 Mitsubishi EVO VI RS Tommi Makinen Monte Carlo Edition sold for £99,000, 1982 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus S2 £56,250 and 1962 Opel Manta 400r £90,000.
Another record buster was a 2015 Jaguar F Type Project 7, one of 80 from Jag Special Vehicle Operations driven just 71 miles, which had been forecast to sell for £110,000-130,000, but sold for £137,250.
A 1947 mile 2004 BMW M3 E46 CSL sold for £136,125, an ex-Richard Burns WRC 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer GSR Evo VT for £81,000, a 1990 Peugeot 205GTI 1.9 Special Edition with 6,233 mileage £42,500, and a 2002 Honda S2000 GT driven £1,179 miles.
A 328 mile 1987/2021 BMW M3 E30 2-Door CSL - enhanced and evolved by Redux - sold for £258,750. While a duo of big winged 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 3-Doors both took off, Number 406 raising £123,720 and Number 255 £82,250.
By end of Saturday play, 38 or 59% of 64 Collector Cars sold for a premium-inclusive £2,792,282, an average of £74,481 per car bought. The day before, there were also buyers with an additional premium-inclusive £1,254,245 for 23 Competition Cars, amounting to £54,532 each.

Unsold Stats in EU, US and UK - Before auctioneers’ gavels were cold, vendors reserves were too much in the current market in Paris for 13 unsold cars at RM Sotheby’s, 16 more on the Bonhams carpet and 17 in the Artcurial catalogue.
Then in Florida, 79 cars were too expensive for bidders to register or bid, up from 58 unsold in 2023. At Amelia Island, there were 17 no sales at Gooding, 26 at Bonhams, 12 at Broad Arrow this year and 23 unsold at RM Sotheby’s in Miami. Back in the UK at Iconic, 26 road cars were returned to vendors and there were no new owner-drivers for 29 race and rally cars.
One-way journeys - without reserves - will progressively become more popular with those who need to disperse cars to raise and save money, rather than continue to fund storage charges and increasing insurance premiums for classic liabilities that go nowhere. RH-E

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£1m 300SL Merc tops Historics £3.9m Brooklands sale and end of season prices as Iconic’s trad 'live' car sales gross more than Bonhams

An £875,000-950,000 estimated 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, down to last nut and bolt restored by Rudi Koniczek & Co in Vancouver, was bid to an accepted £860,000 25 November in the Historics saleroom at Mercedes World by a former F1 World Champion Team founding executive, who paid £1,065,000 including premium and import duty.
The other podium places were occupied by an only 13,000 miles from new in 2007 Aston Martin Vanquish S Ultimate Edition sold for a top estimate £138,600 with premium, while a G500 5.0 V8 Cabriolet Merc lefty of the same vintage was valued by the next owner at a more than forecast £116,600.  
By the end of the Saturday afternoon, when 29% of the 153 entries had been offered Without Reserve and a clutch of post-sale deals had been done, 100 classics had sold for £3,897,593 with premium, a 65% sale rate, but an average value per lot of £38,976. But although 13% of sellers sold for more that their top estimates and 27% made mid-estimate money, below lower estimate sums were accepted by the auctioneers and their vendors.

Bonhams sell 90% of Bond Street cars for £3.6m
Only 3 cars from 31 consigned by Bonhams were unsold
at their New Bond Street Salerooms in London’s West End 15 December, when 28 cars sold in an unusually bullish 90% sold Friday afternoon for £3,608,925 including premium, an average of £128,890 paid per car sold. The vital stats were, 15 No Reservists, which were going to sell for whatever, 21% within estimate, 4% more than forecast and 21% below lower estimate.
Prices were led by a £475,000-550,000 guided 1962 Aston Martin DB5 that had been repatriated from South Africa in the 1980s and restored, before being bid to £420,000 under the gavel and sold afterwards for unpublished sum, likely to have been less than the lower estimate.
'The Headliner' though - and this Website's Front Page Featured Classic - was the first right-hand drive Porsche factory prototype 1965 911 2.0 SWB-Coupe 2-Litre, enthusiast owned since the 1990s and really well presented. On more reliable Webers with original Solex carbs and airbox included, the ‘MMU 911C’ registered chassis 300474 was bid to £265,000 in the room (£35,000 below guide and more than 911 2.0 with period race history have been commanding), which was accepted by the vendor, costing the new owner £304,750 with premium.

£111k XK120 FHC heads 60% sold H&H Buxton sale
H&H had already closed their book for the year 29 November on their original home ground of the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton Spa, in the Derbyshire Peak District, where on a Wednesday afternoon 29 November 90 or 60% of the 149 classics in the catalogue sold for £1,362,356 including premium, an average of £15,137 per car bought. 31 lots, 21% of the entry and 34% of cars sold, had been consigned Without Reserve
Analysis of the other vital statistics shows that although 22% of cars sold for within estimated prices and just 2% exceeded their top estimates, 37% sold for below what, presumably, had once been their reserves.
Top Cat was the Jaguar XK120 FHC that had been supplied new in 1954 to ‘Fast Lady’ Patsy Burt, who immediately Sprinted and Hill Climbed ‘OLF 660’, and which had been purchased by the vendor from the estate of the late Richard Colton for £114,000 14 October 2015. Seven years later, the Coupe was valued again by a new owner for a mid-estimate and almost the same, £111,375 with premium.
Whereas a £5,000 below estimate £55,125 was accepted for 1970 Jaguar E Type 4.2 Roadster, in receipt of an older restoration. While £17,438 with premium was forthcoming for a £15,000-17,000 estimated 1960 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite Mk1 on wires that has been upgraded with 1275cc motor and servo-assisted disk brakes. Overtaking a £14,000-18,000 guided and restored to factory-spec 1954 Triumph TR2 for which £13,300 with premium was accepted.

There were buyers with £1.5m for 73% of lots at CCA WEC
The final sale of the Iconic auction year took place at the Warwickshire Event Centre near Leamington Spa Saturday 9 December, when their ‘Everyman Classics’ Classic Car Auctions subsidiary held their Christmas Sale for 149 cars, 109 or 73% of which sold for £1,543,539 with premium, an average of £14,161 paid per classic bought.
These CCA stats were boosted by 40% of cars sold being auctioned ‘Without Reserve’. Only 6% made more than top estimate money and 26% of cars sold for within their estimate bands, while below lower estimate prices were accepted for 28% of cars sold.
A thickly dusty St Louis plant hatched in 1966 and Barn Found Chevrolet Corvette C2 Stingray 427ci ‘Big Block’ V8 425bhp Manual resto-project with bird droppings more than doubled its £25,000-30,000 pre-sale estimate to be taken for £68,625 with premium.
Estimated at £38,000-42,000, a pre-280SL1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL W113 Pagoda-Top with rear discs and larger gas tank sold for £54,000.
Whereas a £25,000-30,000 guided 49 year old and part-recommissioned Ford Escort Mexico Mk1, first driven out of the Bristol Street Motors showrooms in Brum in 1974 and with no previous keepers, fetched £40,500 with premium.
Despite being declared as Category C damaged, though repairable in 2000, a No Reserve 1985 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera had been forecast to fetch £20,000-25,000, but sold for £37,687 with premium. Transformed from ‘rough project’ in 2021 with invoices on file for parts alone totalling £12,000, an extensively revived and still primitive 1972 Land Rover S3 88ins had been guided at £16,000-20,000, but raised £24,750.
After this their fourth sale of the year, Iconic owned CCA had sold 529 out of 702 classics at the NEC and WEC in 2023, a 75% sale rate, for £7,754,275 with premium, an average spend by buyers of £14,658 per car.

Iconic and CCA take UK lead by sale of 969 cars for £36m
Whilst under the former Silverstone Auctions and now Iconic Auctioneers re-brand, another 440 higher value cars sold from 683 offered at 5 events, which included Race Retro, Silverstone Festival and NEC Classic Motor Show, a 64% sale rate, for £22,065,770 , an average of £50,149 per car.
Excluding motorcycles and automobilia, therefore Iconic sold total of 969 of 1,385 cars in 2023, a 70% sale rate, for a Group total of £35,820,045 with premium, an average of £36,966 per car, to overtake 2022 UK traditional and ‘live’ auction market leaders Bonhams.
For Bonhams Cars 331 of the 455 cars offered at Goodwood, New Bond Street and Beaulieu in 2023, a 72% sale rate, for £34,750,534 with premium, a higher average of £104,986 per car sold.

Bonhams gross £209m in 17 sales to take global 2nd place
Including £4.9m worth of classic bikes and automobilia sales of £1.3m, and another 840 of 1,028 cars sold by Bonhams On-Line platform in the UK alone - an 82% sale rate on a Timed-Out basis, amounting to another £18,444,659 including buyer’s fees - Bonhams UK sales were £59.45m in 2023.
Whilst with 17 ‘live’ sale totals on the EU mainland and in the US, and on-line only sales of another £7m on both Continents - and with the hammering of a 1967 Ferrari 412 Berlinetta at The Quail Auction in California for $30.25m, the highest price achieved for any car during Monterey Auctions Week - Bonhams global sales grossed £209m, second only to RM Sotheby’s last year. RH-E

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Two more World Records were set by Iconic at NEC in Brum, where £486k Group B RS200 was only £17.5k behind Monterey record

After only 12 miles from new in 1986, Group B Ford RS200 Number 086, one of 24 Evolutions with Brian Hart developed BDT-E 2.1 motor, one of only four in RHD and the only one built by Ford rather than retro-converted, had been in temperature-controlled storage since 2011.
Optimistically estimated to cost the fourth owner £500,000-700,000, a bid of £435,000 from a member of the Saturday 11 November audience at The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show was accepted and ‘C73 CFG’ has been declared sold by Iconic Auctioneers for a buyer’s premium inclusive £486,000, just £17,500 short of the $615,000 invested in the World Record Left Hooker during Monterey auction week in August.
In third place in Group B Ford RS200 race, was a 1985 Evo sold for $533,000 (£437,060) by Broad Arrow on Amelia Island Florida in March.
Iconic (and the same team under the previous Silverstone brand before them) have sold 4 other RS200s during the last year - a 1988 at the NEC Show sale last November for £292,500, a 1986 S for £315,000 at Race Retro Stonleigh February, another 1986 for £231,750 at SupercarFest at Sywell May and a 1987 Tickford for £253,125 at Silverstone Classic August. 

Two New World Record Auction Prices
Despite two potential World Wars in the making in invaded Ukraine and on two fronts in Israel, and the UK economy being destroyed by HMG mismanagement, striking Trade Unions and falling productivity, two more World Record auction prices were paid in manufacturing decimated Motor City Brum.
For the late HMQE2 personal Range Rover L322 4-Door 4x4 in Epsom Green with Sand Hide, supplied by LRSVO in 2004 since when 107,675 mileage has been recorded, had been forecast to fetch £50,000-60,000, but flew to a Royal £118,000 bid on the gavel, costing the successful Commoner £132,750 with premium to huge applause from the gobsmacked subjects.
This vehicle had been bought at auction only four months ago for £33,000, when suggested Royal provenance had not been clarified. With the benefit of confirming video footage being located with the late Queen at the wheel and the 'BN04 EPU' reg displayed, the car made £99,750 more, a very Royal £75% more during a summer when achieved auction prices of most classics have fallen by 32%..
The other global record breaker was a 1974 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 that came to market fresh from 5-year 200 image pro-restoration with Type 49 shell with stampings and original Pinto lump surviving. The resultant masterpiece by the Julian and Rick partnership at J A Richardson Body Repairs’ Whitstable workshop had been guided at £70,000-80,000 on a good day, but was bid to £96,000 to enormous applause and valued by the buyer at £108,000 with premium. The previous record for the RS2000 Mk1 single carb standard road car was modest by comparison £48,000.

Ford Tranny Van is again applauded in Brum.
Another milestone Ford valuation, also applauded by the NEC punters, was the £46,125 paid for a No Reserve 1984 manufactured, first UK-registered in 2015 Ford Transit Twin-Rear Wheeled LWB Custom Van. With 18,855 mileage indicated, the history-devoid worker had been fully stripped, repainted and carefully reassembled.

Latest Fast Ford prices paid 
Notable Fast Ford to fail the auction test was a 1997 Escort RS Cosworth with a mere 402 mileage during one registered ownership which ran out of road at £110,000 when a below world record £125,000+ had been suggested.
Whereas after 34 years ownership, a fresh to market ex-Ford Press road test 1987 Sierra Cosworth RS500 driven 12,530 promotional miles raised £137,250 and the final right-hand drive Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4x4 to leave the Ford Genk production line of 1993 was successfully auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ for £84,375.
A remarkably original whale-tail 1986 Sierra RS Cossie from 32 years ownership was cashed in for a within estimate band £67,500, a Frankfurt built, UK-reg Q-plated No Reserve 1995 Escort RS Cosworth Group N in Works Team colours with 12,000k stage mileage for a more than forecast £46,125 and a 1979 Escort RS2000 Custom in Signal Amber for an estimated £43,000.
An Escort RS Turbo S1 with 27,000 mileage from new in 1985 fetched a mid-estimate £37,687, a No Reserve 1973 Escort 2000E Special 2-Door Mk1 a more than forecast £34,875, a 32,962 mileage since 1985 Escort RS Turbo S1 £30,937, and one of 78 examples of the locally produced Rouse Sport 304R featuring bespoke Sport Package a below estimate £29,250.

Bad day for Coventry Alpines
Considering it had 1963 Le Mans entrant provenance, the no sale of ex-Rootes Factory Team 1962 Sunbeam Alpine 1600 ‘9201 RW’ was surprising, but then the £150,000-180,000 estimate may have deterred bidding which ran out with £115,000 on the screen.
But then there was no new keeper either for the preceding Alpine, the 1962 Scottish and RAC rallied 1962 Harrington Le Mans ‘2 EGG’ guided at £40,000 or more, but bid to £33,000. There was a tamer with £36,000 however for a left to right-hand drive converted, Minilite-shod 1967 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1A with walnut-finish dash.

West Brom Interceptor makes £135k
Claimed to be in receipt of a 1,000 plus man-hours spec that would cost circa £400k today, an £80,000-90,000 estimated 1973-dated Jensen Interceptor III ‘S’ re-engineered by Jensen Automotive International in 2010 to be capable of 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds thanks to a Corvette LS3 motor and 6-speed auto tranny powered to a £135,000 premium-inclusive result.
Other market-noteworthy sales in this most significant annual shop window for what have become mainstream collector cars were one of the 250 UK-supplied 2001 Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen Editions which raised £95,625 with premium, the lower estimate. While a Belfast-produced 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 Manual Gullwing with a mere 1,008 mileage flapped to a near lower estimate £67,500 valuation.
A just over top estimate £131,625 with premium was paid for one of only 80 right-hand drive 2016 Jaguar F Type Project 7s that been depreciated to just 488 miles from new. While a mid-estimate £95,625 was required to own an only 106 miles from new in 2020 Jaguar XE SC 592bhp Project 8 with all-wheel drive.
A 1990 Audi UR Quattro 2.2 Turbo RR 20v made the required £83,250 and a just over guide £67,500 was needed to land a 1962 Lotus Elite SE Type 14 with Climax engine rebuilt to 1,460cc FWB-spec. A restored and cosmetically sharp 1979 Esprit S2 JPS 68/100 made a close to estimated £54,000.
A once Met Police 1961 Daimler SP250 rang its bell for a buyer with a below forecast £52,875, a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X GSR FQ-360 with upgrades and ‘EVO’ reg flew to a more than guide £37,687, as did a 1999 Lancer Evo VI GSR Ralliart UK-market car sold for £36,000.
The latest going rate for a 2022 Toyota GT Yaris with Circuit Pack was confirmed to be £31,500, a  more than estimated £29,250 was required to bag a 2001 Subaru Impreza WRX UK and a 1994 Renault Clio Williams Phase One was valued at a below forecast £28,687 by a buyer.
The same premium-inclusive money was raised for The Kids Club Kampala by the donation of a Lotus Elise S1 with Rover K Series in the tail, driven only 1,900 miles since new in 1997.

And the vital statistics were...
By the end of the weekend, 109 of the 163 cars crossing the block had sold for £5,645,462 including 12.5% Buyer’s Premium. While 36 classics, 30% of those cars that sold, went for below estimate prices, 42 cars or 37% sold for within their guide price bands and 36 cars or 33% made more than top estimate money..
An average of £51,793 paid per collector car, 4x4, commercial and tractor sold was impressive, but a 67% sale rate and 54 unsolds, 33% of the entry, were reality checks in what continues to be more than a seasonal retail slowdown.
By the time the 225 Classic Bikes, including a 1938 Brough Superior SS100 990cc had made £241,500 and a 2004 Agusta F4 1000 Ago 998cc £22,425, plus 150 lots of Automobilia, had been auctioned ‘live’ and on-line, the vital statistics for the entire weekend had risen to a £7m sales total and a 70% sale rate. RH-E

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Subaru Legacy RS Group A driven by Colin McRae to 6 wins in 1992 led Iconic ‘Comp Car Sale’ prices with £414,500 result

After the front of rostrum parked 1961 E Type Roadster - one of the seven of Jaguar’s original ‘Competition E Types’, chassis 018 allocated to Tommy Sopwith’s Equipe Endeavour - had run out of road with an insufficient £925,000 on-screen.
It was down to another Subaru Impreza STi 22B  therefore- one of three prototypes, chassis 000/400 delivered to the late Colin McRae MBE in 1998 - to top the Silverstone Festival weekend Friday 25 and Saturday 26 August sales results with a within guide £480,500 including premium world record performance.

Colin McRae Provenance
The 100% sale of a trio of cars from the McRae Collection to winning bids from Republican Ireland, America and the UK were the headliners in the Friday session for Historic Comps Cars, led by the rally legend’s 1992 RACMSA British Rally Championship winning Legacy RS Group A ‘J314 PWL’ in once TV-acceptable Rothmans livery sold for an estimated £414,500.
His 2005-constructed Escort Mk1 ‘ONM 804V’ was uniquely specified with semi-space-frame rear end, sequential 6-speed tranny, propelled by a 330bhp Millington motor, selling for £157,500, more than forecast
Whilst his first rally car, the 1977 Chrysler Sunbeam TI Group A ‘YSG 980S’, restored to mint in the early 2000s celebrated by Corgi and Scalextric, raised a mid-guide £90,000.
Iconic Auctioneers Chairman Nick Whale’s overview of their sale: ”We feel truly privileged to have been entrusted by the McRae family with the sale of three of Colin’s favourite cars. Despite the passage of time, Colin Iis still ine of the biggest names in the world of rallying. These cars play a significant role in history of rallying and so we are not surprised by the level of interest they generated around the world and the prices they achieved.”
Very much more affordable for most Subaru consumers was 1995 Impreza McRae Edition 005 of 200 built to celebrate the Flying Scot’s 1994 Lombard RAC win that had been ground-up restored to concours standard by an ex-Prodrive engineer and looked like a good buy for the mid-estimate £22,260 paid by the next owner.

Fast Ford Prices
Behind the £370,500 ex-Rouse BTC Sierra RS500 chassis 189, second highest priced Fast Ford was the 1987 RS200 Group B Evo chassis 112, factory upgraded with 350bhp motor and 6,180 mileage, sold for a within guide band £235,125.
After both The Professionals Capri 3.0S had clocked up new auction record prices for standard 1980 Capri 3.0S road cars by selling for £186,750, £93,375 apiece.
A £80000-100,000 estimated 1972 Escort RS1600 BDA Mk 1 that rallied on the 1973 RAC was bid to £66,000 and sold afterwards for £74,250, while £41,917 also bought a 1985 Sierra Cosworth Group N Rally car afterwards.
A below £42,000 lower estimate £39,375 was accepted for a Capri 2.8i with 14,438 mileage from new in 1983. A 1972 Mexico Mk1 4-Door made a mid-estimate £35,437 and the required £25,875 was forthcoming for a 1972 Escort Mk1 RS2000 Recreation.
The final Blue Oval badged record for model auction price was the £33,750 valuation for a pre-injection 1981 XR3 1.6 ot Hatch 3-Door ‘original’ driven only 992 miles by one owner in 42 years.

Rising Sun Cars continue to Rise
One of the last surviving 1979 WRC Toyota Team Europe Celica RA40 GTs, chassis 666, driven by Bjorn Waldegard and Per Eklund in period, and still highly original after sympathetic restoration, was declared sold for a within estimate £135,000.
Right-hand drive number 103 of the 200 1983 Nissan Group B 240RS Homologation Specials with unexceptional, though well documented history made the required £87,750. Number 001 of 012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution RS Sprints built by Ralliart UK in 2000 with 38,500 mileage had been in receipt of underside refreshment in 2021 generated a more than forecast £77,062 with premium.

Most Viewed Lot
Attracting more wasps around a jam-jar than any other lot in a reconfigured The Wing saleroom was a thickly dusty 1983 Porsche 911 Type 930 3.3 Turbo ‘Garage Find’, which had been static-stored since 2007 and pre-sale estimated at £42,000-50,000, but which was taken for £82,125.

Vital Statistics

Even at the largest Historic Race Event on the UK calendar, finding buyers who were prepared to match or exceed vendors’ reserves was statistically challenging with 20 Competition Cars sold from 51 offered in the Friday session, a 39% sale rate, but amounting to a punchy £2,044,612 with premium and an average of £102,231 paid per car bought.
For whilst 10% did sell for more than had been estimated and 40% sold for within their guide price bands, 50% of competition cars sold went for below their estimates and 31 were unsold.
Of the 151 All-Marques Classics offered during a long Saturday, accompanied by the background sounds of a full programme of historic racing right outside the saleroom windows, 80 sold, a 53% sale rate, for an additional £4,536,622 with premium, an average spent per car bought of £56,670.
For whilst 15% of sellers did so for above their top estimates, 42.5% of cars sold made within estimate bands and the same percentage sold for below lower estimate prices that were  accepted by their vendors and 51 were unsold.
All the cars offered Friday and Saturday were in the same catalogue and amounted to a 100 cars sold weekend, and a 50% sale rate, for a combined and considerable £6,581,234 with premium, an overall average spent per car bought of £65,812.

Anf finally

In a rare coincidence, Iconic Auctioneers also sold the ancient title ‘Lord of the Manor of Silverstone’ for £111,375. The winning bidder will genuinely be entitled to name themself as Lord on their passport, bank cards etc, as well as being able to assert certain associated rights, such as being able to ‘Hold Court’, appoint a Bailiff and Ale Taster!

Iconic sign new Silverstone Festival contract
Iconic also announced that they had agreed a deal that will see the company returning to hold auctions at Silverstone Festivals in future years.
Rob Hubbard, Managing Director and Auctioneer of Iconic Auctioneers said: ”We are delighted that the long-term relationship we have with this event will continue. It is one of the most iconic automotive events in the British moor sport calendar and has proved a winning auction venue for us the past and this weekend. We look forward to working with the Festival organisers to grow the event and attract a global audience of show attendees and auction bidders.”
As at August 2023, 87 auctions have been held by Iconic and the former Silverstone Auctions Group, who had sold 5,200 collector cars and motorcycles by May 2023 for in excess of £270m to buyers in over 30m countries. RH-E

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22 pre and immediate post-WW2 automobiles sell for £901k at final Silverstone Auctions branded VSCC Prescott preceding Dawn of Motoring sale

Where King Charles 1 in the early 1640s and Oliver Cromwell had both been resident before the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the late King Mohammed V of Morocco’s 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I was the star performer at The Lygon Arms Broadway, where the very last Silverstone Auctions sale took place in the garden of the Cotswold hotel Friday 4 August 2023.
Topped with racey coachwork for two, the 98 year old Roller still reportedly required some R&D sorting before full mobility could be enjoyed, but still fetched a low estimate £129,375 to head the ‘live’ results at the Midland firm’s second ‘Dawn of Motoring Sale’.
An older restored 1925 Bentley 3-Litre Open Tourer meanwhile had been declared sold pre-sale for a forecast and premium-inclusive £164,333.

Top Tenners -

A 1936 Riley 12/4, one of the last Riley Specials built by marque guru Keith Ponting in receipt of £7,500 mechanical rejuvenation by Blue Diamond, realised a forecast £66,375. An £8,000 more than top estimate £58,500 was paid for a 1905 Renault XB 14/20hp Tourer for four on button-leather trimmed sofas.
Soon to be politically incorrect ‘SS Cars Limited’ manufactured in 1934 SS1 4-Seater Tourers, a 2,663cc from long-term ownership in need of likely to be light recommissioning was taken on for a within estimate band £57,375, and a £19,000 less than estimated £56,000 was accepted for a 2,143cc from 25 years in vendor care that was cosmetically good.
The Lanchester-badged LE27 Pre-Selector with Vanden Plas Allweather Tourer coachwork, special-ordered in 1945 for His Highness the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, sold for a mid-estimate £45,000, the same money buying an Australian-supplied and subsequently restored prior to repatriation 1937-dated Jaguar 2½-Litre Saloon.

How Much What Car? -
£39,375 with premium bought a 1925 Sunbeam 20/60 Short-Chassis Drophead,
£38,250 a 1927 R-R 20hp Panel Brougham de Ville,
£37,125 a 1913 Wolseley M6 24/30hp Torpedo-Phaeton,
£24,188 a 1931 Lea-Francis 12/40hp P Type Open Tourer,
£21,375 a 1932 Chevrolet BA Confederate DeLuxe Sport Roadster,
and a top estimate £15,188 for a 1924 Morris Cowley Bullnose 4-Seater Tourer.

Most Bids and Lowest Prices -
Five absentee bidders on telephones contested a dusty ‘No Reserve’ 1936 R-R 25/30 Thrupp & Maberly Sports Saloon with non-rotating engine from extended storage, also the most viewed lot in the car park, taken on for £16,875.
£8,438  bought a 1938 Morris Commercial 1-Tonne Truck and the same was paid for a better than new in 1934 Morris Ten Van with A Series 1,275cc motor.
A VCC and VSCC event eligible 1923 Ford Model T Runabout was post-sale sold for circa £7,313 and a 1924 Morris Oxford Bullnose 2-Seater with Dickey Seat from 44 years in David Biggins ownership that had been dormant for at least three years cost a new owner £6,893, while buying bids of £5,625 acquired a 1922 Dodge Bros Model 30 Aussie Boat-Tailed Roadster or an over-ripe 1924 Vauxhall 14-40 Princeton resto-project.

Vital Statistics -
When the book was finally shut, 23 or 56% of the 41 cars had sold, and 18 had not, for a 12.5% buyers’ premium-inclusive £901,641, an average of £39,202 spent per car sold. The high summer going was confirmed to be extremely soft for reserved cars of this type that have limited appeal to mainly older consumers, most of whom, statistically, are more likely to be selling than buying..

End of auction road for one brand and birth of new one -    
This was the final ‘Silverstone Auctions’ branded sale before a change to the new ‘Iconic Auctioneers’ logo, which will debut on the Midland house’ rostrum in The Wing during the upcoming Silverstone Festival meeting (formerly Silverstone Classic) for physical auctions Friday 26 August for Competition Cars and Saturday 26 for Collectors’ Cars.
BRDC member Nick Whale, former main dealer for many of the prestigious marques in the Midlands, leased the name ‘Silverstone’ from the Northamptonshire race circuit and launched Silverstone Auctions at the Silverstone Classic 12 years ago.
Today, with their Classic Car Auctions subsidiary holding CCA-branded sales for pop classics as well as dedicated auctions for classic bikes in his portfolio, the former Silverstone Auctions Group and now Iconic Auctioneers has become UK collector vehicles auctions market leader who has set a clutch of new world record auction prices.
Notably, The Diana, Princess of Wales 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 sold for £722,500 in 2022 and a low mileage since 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 sold for £590,500 in February this year.

From Silverstone to Iconic -
The rationale behind the name change is explained by Nick Whale: “As strong as a name like Silverstone Auctions is, we feel we have grown to a position where we need a name that is truly ours. This exciting change to Iconic Auctioneers better reflects all we have achieved and the unique and diverse range of our auctions today.
“When the company first started, we needed an iconic name and venue for our sales, so we leased the name ‘Silverstone’ from the circuit and our auctions launched at the Silverstone Classic. But things have moved on, we now also hold our sales at other prestigious venues and motoring events across the country, so it was time for change.”

Same Team -
As part of the rebrand, owner Nick Whale will become Chairman and auctioneer Rob Hubbard, a former Bonhams specialist who headed their MPH  venture, will move from Sales Director to the role of Managing Director:
“We needed a name that retained our level of credibility, but also encompassed all the things that we do, a name to allow is to be an auction house that can appear at any venue, in any country, anywhere in the world – and not only that, sell anything we want to. It’s then we realised, we began at an iconic location, and have grown into an iconic brand, so the name Iconic Auctioneers just felt like a perfect fit.”
On a new Iconic menu are no seller’s commission charged on cars and classic bikes, when they are consigned at No Reserve, and the introduction of a private sales option to complement their ‘live event’ auctions, including the now solitary 2023 Silverstone Festival fixture, and on-line platform.
For buyers and sellers, both specialists and back office team do remain the same. RH-E

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Rain failed to stop play beneath Heathrow flightpath when high flying Ford GT was landed beside Thames for £307k during Historics £2.9m sale

The First Ford GT to be registered in the UK, where the supercharged 5.4 V8 with 550bhp Coupe has been driven only 6,500 miles from new in 2005, was bid to a near top estimate £275,000 under the hammer and sold for £306,625 including auctioneers Historics’ 10% buyer’s premium Saturday 22 July at Windsorview Lakes, Datchet, Windsor, Berkshire.

No Reserve HMQE2 Royal Cars
Both cars with HMQE2 driven provenance auctioned Without Reserve sold. £32,190 was forthcoming for a Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations ordered in 2004 Range Rover with Balmoral estate service. The late Queen’s Windsor Castle employed 2009 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 V6 Estate, which had already raised £300,000 for Great Ormand Street Hospital on Comic Relief, was acquired for £22,000.

Applauded £99k Skyline, Aston and Merc Headliners
A ‘Victory Specification’ 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, recommissioned by Paul Cheshire Automotive after 122,857k, was applauded for making an over £70,000-85,000 guided £99,000. While a 1987 Porsche 911 Super Sports 3.2 Wide-Body Coupe in the inevitable Guards Red with 107,060 mileage fetched a within estimate band £64,350.
Aston Martins transacted here were led by a 2007 9,384 mile Vanquish S Ultimate Edition with FSH sold for £151,250 from a 1971 Aston Martin DBS V8 Manual with Banham chop, for which a near £7,000 below estimate £43,290 was accepted. A 49,124m since 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante with Sportshift cost a fourth owner £30,250
Mercedes-Benz valuations on a Saturday afternoon 1 mile from the M4 were headed by a CSL Paris refreshed 1960 190SL and a back to bare metal revived 1969 280SL with Pagoda-top both lefties sold for £102,120. £58,300 was accepted for a Wolverhampton supplied in 1964, so early, 230SL for which £67,000+ was sought.

Latest E Type and Roller Prices
E Type Jag mid-summer prices paid here were £93,500 for a 1967 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Roadster driven 92 miles since restoration, £83,875 for a still quite original 1965 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Roadster, £56,650 for a 1970 Jaguar E Type S2 4.2 Roadster in receipt of an older restoration and £40,700 for a 1973 Jaguar E Type S3 5.3 V12 Auto Roadster with cracked paintwork.
R-Rs sold were a 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I with retrospectively Dual-Cowl Open Tourer Torpedo coachwork in ali over ash frame for £90,200 and a Silver Shadow II costing £32,000 in 1979 £20,350.

MG Metro Turbo Sets New Model Auction Record. Landy, Ford and Mini Latest Prices
Longbridge MGs performed strongly led by a 2004 5313m Power SV packing a Ford US 4.6 V8 at £48,840, nearly £7,000 over the top estimate, a very original 1984 Metro Turbo with 7,376 mileage a model record £22,000 and another US V8 powered 2005 ZT Estate £7,700.
Land Rovers priced mid-2023 were a down to last nut and bolt beautified 1995 Defender 110 4-Door with Canvas-Tilt for £39,025, a 2003 decommissioned 1991 Military Defender 110 200TDI with Backroadz 5-Person Tent with Awning £12,765 and a 1977 88 in receipt of photo-recorded restoration to include galvanised chassis transplant £12,375.
Fords sold and valued were a rare 2018 16,470m F250 XLT Monster Pick-Up £35,520, a 1986 d Escort RS Turbo S1 1600 CVH with 74,802 displayed mileage and declared clutch judder £19,980, and a ground-up restored 1972 and early Transit Mk1 £19,800. 
BMC to Rover era Minis hammered to new homes were a one owner from 1965 Morris Mini Cooper Mk1 998cc with claimed to have a low 40,798 mileage £23,100, a 1992 JCW Cooper S Look-Alike £16,650 and a still very original Austin Mini Seven 850 Mk1 from 1960, the first year of production, £9,900.

And Finally

Among other interesting lots to cross the block into new ownership, a 1906 Wolseley Siddeley 15hp Open Tourer for up to 6 sat on 2 sofas was bid to £35,000 in public auction (and post-sale sold for an undeclared, but likely to have been circa £38,500 with premium) .
For those of a nervous disposition, a £28,000-34,000 2005 BMW 760Li V12 LWB-Saloon had been armour-plated and fitted with bullet-proof glass was unsold with £20,000 on the screen. Whereas a £15,000-21,000 2004 Audi RS6 Twin-Turbocharged V8 Avant did cost a winner £19,980. An open-top 1999 Marcos Mantaray, one of only seven built with Rover 4.6 V8s, looked like a good value £16,775 and a No Reserve 1963 Alvis TD21 S2 Sports-Saloon by Park Ward with Alvis Owners Club £25,000 insurance valuation was acquired for £15,541 with premium.

Vital Statistics
The 63% sale rate was helped by 39% of the 172 car entry having been consigned Without Reserve, No Reservists accounting for 26% of the 108 classics sold.
Analysis of those cars offered with published pre-sale estimates and therefore vendor reserves, 26 or 24% of them sold for within estimate bands, whereas below estimate prices were accepted by vendors of 33 or 31% of cars sold. Above top prices meanwhile were paid by the buyers of only 10 or 9% of cars sold.
Including 10% buyer’s premium charged on the hammer prices of those cars sold to punters bidding in the sale tent, where winning bids had been cast via specialist-manned phones ‘live’ as well as where cars had been post-sale sold, plus the 11.5% premium charged where on-line bids were accepted, the sale grossed a premium-inclusive total of £2,893,770.
Before any vat levied on buyer’s premium, the average gross price paid under canvas during a Saturday sale in Thames-side Berkshire therefore amounted to £26,794 per classic bought. Vendors’ reserves for 64 or 37% of cars that did not sell however must have been too high for national and international bidders in tent, on phone or net. These stats accurately reflect current market reality. RH-E
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Unique Swedish Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Supercar sells for £3.3m during Bonhams 30th Anniversary Goodwood Festival of Speed £10.2m afternoon

The only Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Coupe packing a 600bhp 5.0 32v V8 from one private ownership since the hand-built Super Swede was hatched in 2007 led the results, having been bid to £2,950,000 under Malcolm Barber’s gavel and sold to a marque enthusiast in the Bonhams sale tent for a within estimate £3,319,000 including 15% buyer’s premium.

Reserves not met for Sellers DB4GT and Mikkola Audi S1
Both of the other star lots displayed Friday 14 July 2023 behind Goodwood House on plinths were unsold however.
For having failed to sell at RM Sotheby’s Battersea Evolution London 5 September 2018, when pre-sale estimated at £3.0-3.4m and abandoned at £2.65m on the night. More than four years later, 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT 4.0 with ‘41 DPX’ registration - one of 45 right-hand drive Coupes, famously car chase driven and hump back bridge flown by actor and serial collector Peter Sellers during ‘The Wrong Arm of the Law’ movie - was bid to an insufficient £2,020,000 on the 2023 screen at Goodwood.
The Hannu Mikkolal/Arne Hertz rallied, VAG-entered and David Sutton prepped/run 1984/5 Audi Sport Quattro S1 Group B, winner of the 1986 Fram Filters Welsh International and snowy National Breakdown Rallies, also ran out of road here with £1,000,000 on the bids screen.

Rest of Goodwood Top Ten
Having been discovered in Bonhams ‘Barn Found’ section at Aston Martin Works during their May 2013 marque sale, £288,318 was spent on extensive restoration of 1964 DB5 by Pugsley & Lewis and a further £66,000 on body refurb with repaint by Prestige Paintworks 2017/18. Reflecting expenditure and fine condition, Bonhams had pre-sale estimated ‘CNH 20’ at £600,000-700,000, but a bid of £545,000 was accepted and a new owner paid £625,000 with premium for the second highest priced artefact of the afternoon.
In third place, an only 41k and dry-stored Swiss-spec 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ‘Crown Edition’ Coupe upgraded to 650ps with very Yellow paint requiring recommissioning sold for a within estimate £379,500. While the originally registered ‘6000 PE’ and 2010 Amelia Island concours winning 1963 AC MA-200 Ford 4.7 V8 Roadster Prototype only just cleared a reduced lower estimate by selling for £368,000.
Another Swiss-spec 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren in Yellow, this time a 1,000k Roadster sold for £327,750, more than double the lower estimate forecast. Even more extraordinary was the £326,600 invested in the future of a dismantled and unpainted 1964 Aston Martin DB5 body on chassis project. While a 1988 V8 Vantage Manual with X-Pack and 7.0 conversion by RS Williams made a near to double lower estimate £310,500.
Both Roger Bray owned and really well restored Porsche 356 Reutter Cabriolets found appropriately generous buyers prepared to pay £287,500 for his eighth placed 1954 356 Pre-A 1500 and £126,500 for his 1961 356B T5 1600 Super.  
Ninth was one of five 2013 Lotus T125 F1-style 3.8 Cosworth V8 powered Monoposto with comprehensive spares package. Having been mainly static-displayed in the US, the Single-Seater in JPS livery raised £287,500, forecast money. Tenth highest price of £264,500 meanwhile was forthcoming for a 1961 DB4 Series 111 with upgraded Special Series engine from 1964.

Priciest No Reservists
Performing well above their guides among the 19 No Reservists were an only 100k delivery driven since new in 2008 and mint Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren requiring re-commissioning sold for £327,750, £127,750 more than estimated, and a 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage RSW 7.0 Converted X-Pack Manual 4-Seater Coupe £310,500, £70,500 over-guide.

Most affordable cars
Only one price paid just exceeded the top estimate. That of a £28,000-30,000 guided VW 1.9 powered 1990 vintage Longline/Ricardo 4x4 LSV (Lightweight Strike Vehicle) in Desert Sand, one of only 5 such Dune Stormers that saw service with the SAS during the First Gulf War, sold for £31,050.
The lowest priced (and, for many, more affordable) items were – a 2007 vintage Morgan Aero 8 BMW 4.4 Roadster with 28,485 mileage acquired for £44,850, a Goodwood retro-evented 1958 Ford Prefect 107E 1.3 Tin-Top in trad Alan Mann Race livery pedalled by Jackie Oliver, Richard Attwood, Jason Plato and TV chef James Martin struggled to a less than forecast £34,500.
A 21st century take by Factory Five Racing of New England of a 2011-built ’33 Hot Rod packing a Ford Coyote 5.0 32v V8 fetched £24,725, a 2022 rebuilt 1954 Land Rover S1 86ins 2.0 Petrol 4x4 Utility with original bulkheads and renewed chassis £20,930, and a 1971 Trident Venturer Ford 3.0 Essex V6 Coupe £14,720.

Vital Satistics
Although the sale rate, including immediate post-auction deals, amounted to 62% of 79 classics offered, 39% or 19 of the 49 cars that sold had been consigned from one Middle East source Without Reserve, 45% were dispersed within their pre-sale estimate bands and 9% below their reserves.
For without the unique Koenigsegg CCGT GT1's £3.3m valuation in public auction - this one asset accounting for  32.5% of the sale total - the Goodwood going at this year's Festival was decidedly soft under storm-lashed canvas between Big House and After Ball Cabaret stage below the traditionally Glorious Goodwood Racecourse on the Downs above.

Saturday Cancelled
Considering the globally warmed, but washed out Festival of Speed outside the auction tent, the right Friday crowd sheltering under by far the largest umbrella at Goodwood was of reasonable proportions, though with none of the overcrowding of booming yesteryears. Saturday however was deemed to be far too dangerous by Health and Safety Nannies for ticket holders to get their money’s worth.
But then with our mismanaged economy sinking into the green mud of orange anarchy, petrol-head dinosaurs should be grateful that they are still permitted to generate tax to be misspent on restricting what is already a most uncertain future. Enjoy motor cars as we knew them while ye can, emigrate when you cannot.
For best advice may be to leave unlimited migration UK to the inevitable Labour administration and duck their levelling down wealth tax to come. Dodge the plague of Ulez Cameras, which will infect subsidised public transport served town centres dieing without cars or their consuming occupants, and leave all traces of wokery far behind on the petroleum-fuelled drive east.
Before Shakespeare eventually killed him off, Corialanus quit Rome and left the stage with ‘There is a World elsewhere’. RH-E

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1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 with 5,192 mileage sells for stratospheric £596,250 under Silverstone gavel at Race Retro in Warwickshire

With only 5,192 mileage claimed and some Black paint refreshment during 14 years of vendor ownership, the headlining 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 - without any celeb, race, rally or motor show stand provenance - had been pre-sale estimated by the auctioneers to sell for £150,000-180,000.
But after a very long and absorbing bidding battle between regular house contestants in Dubai and England on-line versus an even more resolute bidder on a telephone from Scotland to just over £400,000, auctioneer Jonathan Humbert was referee for a final and gob-smacking duel between internet and telephone until gavel fall at £530,000 to huge applause.
We can confirm that the highest priced Ford Sierra in the world stays in the UK, having cost the new owner an absolutely extraordinary, inflation exceeding and record busting £596,250 including premium.
The incredulous vendor investor couple in the seats were in lottery winner mode as various £100k barriers were smashed during the more than 10 minutes auctioning of their motor car to the £530k bid climax. What a result for them.
For your record, the previous world record figure paid for a Ford Sierra Cosworth at auction was £132,750, set last year. While the winning bid for the subject motor car - registration 'E378 TKN' – amounts to 30 times its 1987 original showroom price of £19,950 and over 4 times the previous record. The auction house had catalogued this now market-historic asset as being 'perhaps the finest example of the rare Sierra Cosworth RS500 to survive today’. 
Proverbial ‘Fast Fords’ were certainly really hot property in Silverstone’s Race Retro Classic & Competition Car saleroom Friday 24 and Saturday 25 February at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, when despatched by the smoking gavels of Hubbard and Humbert
For one of only 20 350 bhp S-spec Group B RS200s with ‘Rally-spec’ transmission that had been driven only 1,932k (1,200 miles) since new in 1986 raised the £315,000 required. And a close to top estimate £265,500 was paid for a Roush Mountune upgraded 10,380 miles 2005 Ford GT, for which a within estimate £265,500 was forthcoming from the sixth UK owner.
Two Escort RS Cosworth in Lux-specs were valued by buyers here with a lower estimate £65,812 for a 1996 with 47,500 mileage and £65,250 for a 1993 with 40,656 mileage. While a post-facelift 1990 Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4-Door 4x4 with 10,730 warranted mileage, guided at £50,000-60,000, made a double low estimate £100,125, yet another world record for model and house.
One of the 400 1976 vintage and Lefty Fiat 131 Abarth Rally Stradale ‘Homologation Specials’ overtook the £120,000-150,000 estimate band to sell for £151,875.
While a £130,000-150,000 guided 2000 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V-Spec 435bhp Tommykaira R-S in politically fashionable Black with 6-speed Getrag box, one of just 35 produced, was hammered at £119,000 and subsequently declared sold without published price, likely to have been circa £134,000. An earlier 1998 Skyline R33 GT-R V-Spec in part-repainted signature Midnight Purple with Turbo Dynamics rebuilt turbochargers raised an £8,000 more than top estimate £63,000.
Although the ‘P2 WRC’ registered and £340,000-380,000 estimated 1998 Subaru Impreza S5 WRC, Prodrive chassis 21 with only private entrant 1998-2000 European event history, that included winning the 1998-1999 Hungarian Championship, was unsold during the Friday session.  Number 100 from the 400 1998 Impreza 22B STi 2-Doors that had been UK resident since 2002 did sell in 2023 for £140,625, the top estimate forecast.
In their home county, Land Rovers had a field day, with the 15,623 miles since new in 2010 Defender 110 County that had been previously used by the late HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (last transacted for £41,000 on the Collecting Cars platform in September!) performed so much better in front of a Royalist audience who applauded its £110,000 performance under the hammer (more than double the estimate) and the premium-inclusive £123,750 paid.
But then a 2016 Land Rover 90 TDCi ‘Heritage Hardtop’ also flew above its £65,000-75,000 guide to sell for £90,000 and a £40,000-45,000 estimated 1997 Defender Wolf 90 Special with 117,00k service at various MOD locations fetched £52,875.
Never have there been so many exhibition standard Lotus Elans auctioned in one location before and the Magnificent Seven from The Piddington Collection curated by former Cosworth engineer and Pipercross Filters founder Deryck Norville sold out!
Top performer was the 1966 Elan S3 Drophead driven on screen and owned by the late Dame Diana Rigg, who played Emma Peel in 51 episodes of The Avengers, which sold for a suitably stellar £164,250 to an on-line player. Whereas a below estimate £74,250 was accepted for the Elan S3-SE driven by Peter Sellers with wife Britt Ekland in the passenger seat 1966-1969.
The 1969 S4 FHC presented by Colin Chapman to 1970 German GP winner Jochen Rindt sold for a less than forecast £65,250, but nontheless world record for an S4, as did the 1971 Sprint DHC formerly owned by Elan inventor Ron Hickman sold for £65,250. Lotus GP entrant Rob Walker's open 1968 S3-SE sold for £49,500 and a 1968 S4 FHC presented by Lotus to Cosworth DFV engineer Keith Duckworth for £39,500.
Rowan Atkinson’s 1993 Lancia HF Integrale Evo II had been forecast to realise £65,000-75,000, but raised £87,750. The first ever Triumph TR5, a press car built in Project Development not on the line, sold afterwards for a less than forecast £39,333. A restored and mag-featured 1994 Renault Clio Williams Phase 1 made the required £29,667.
A 1959 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1, in receipt of 7 year retirement project restoration and driven only 100 miles since, sold for a £4,250 more than top estimate £24,250. A below guide £21,375 was accepted for an unregistered 1978 MG Midget 1500 with 45 delivery miles, a 293 miles from new in 1980 MGB Roadster sold for a lower estimate £20,896 and, direct from the family of Ferrari and Vanwall works driver Tony Brooks, a 2002 Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG was enormous value for the £4,275 paid.
In the Competition car sale, the highest priced historic racer was a 1968 Chevron B8 with zero hours BMW M10 in the tail and current FIA/HTP papers,  therefore potentially eligible for Masters, Peter Auto and Guards Trophy events, which raced to a £168,750 result.
Rob Hubbard, Silverstone Auctions Sales Director and Auctioneer, commented “I was delighted with the auction results today. The team presented a superb catalogue of collectors’ cars, which with global advertising, achieved some fantastic results and three new world records.
“With 49% of the bidders in the room, 21% on the phone, 30% online, there was a fantastic atmosphere in the saleroom and some fierce bidding. 1,400 registered to bid, some joining us remotely from 12 countries including Switzerland, Dubai, Singapore, Australia, the US and Canada.
“Our successes with ‘Performance Fords’ and cars with Royal provenance firmly cement our ownership of these market sectors and show that there is no better way to sell your car than at a physical auction with a UK Market Leading auction house.”
Statistical analysis of this market milestone auction shows a main Saturday sale of 87 of 116 collector road cars offered, a 75% sale rate, for a premium-inclusive £5,757,480 with buyers spending an average of £66,178 per car bought.
The preceding Friday sale reality for race and rally cars as well as classics that have been modified for competition saw 23 sold from 49 offered, a 47% sale rate, and an average of £32,691 spent per comp classic car bought.
Overall therefore, when both sales totals were added together, there were buyers for 110 or 67% of 165 vehicle lots in Silverstone Auctions’ glossy epic of a catalogue, who spent £6,509,380 including 12.5% buyer’s premium, a bullish average of £59,176 per lot being invested in vendor stock.
With a politician decreed end to the manufacture of new fossil fuelled automobiles, plus elected Mayors increasingly taxing voters’ exhaust pipes and hastening their demise in their Metropolitan fiefdoms, the very nearly £600k valuation of a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 3-Door is most unlikely to be overtaken in a UK auction for the rest of this century, if not forever! RH-E
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Most expensive Pre-WW1 car at auction sells for $4.8m (£3.98m), double Bonhams estimate, world record for era and top Scottsdale lot

The pinnacle of early US ‘Sporting Automobiles’, a 1912 Simplex 5 Passenger Torpedo Tourer - first owned by legendary American sportswoman, Eleonora Sears, a gift from Harold Vanderbilt and the ace in the Bonhams Arizona auction pack - sold for a buyers’ premium inclusive $4,800,000 (£3,984,000) Friday 27 January 2023 at the Scottsdale’s Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, a new world record price at auction for both a Simplex and a motor car of that era.
Bonhams’ US season-opener at Scottsdale realized over $30m (£24.9m), with 84% sold and 97% by value. Ranging from pre-WW2 automobiles to 21st century racing cars, the 125-lot sale presented a wide spectrum of the highest calibre of collector cars for what was the 11th edition of Bonhams Arizona auction.  
A top result for supercars this week, was the ultimate track day car from the 21st century, a 2006 Maserati MC12 Corse, developed from the GT1 racing car. One of only a dozen such Corse Race Coupes produced and a box-fresh example, which had only covered 123 miles from new, raced away to a $4.1m (£3.403m) result.
Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Motoring Director, said: “This has been a promising start to the year. We were proud to have presented such a strong sale, of such high-quality material spanning pre-war material to supercar content.” 
The 1958 BMW 507 Series II Roadster in the sale, the 110th of only 253 BMW 507 Series made, further distinguished by the factory color "Silbergrau" Metallic Silver, of which there only 21 examples made, sold for $2m (£1.66m).
An exquisite 1953 Siata 208S V8 with Spider coachwork by Motto, restored to factory-specification, and a Pebble Beach class winner eligible for the Mille Miglia Storica, sold for $1.5m (£1.24m).
Porsche Carrera GT, factory finished in Stealth Basalt Black Metallic with Black leather interior, manufactured at Porsche's bespoke Carrera GT facility during October 2004 as a 2005 model-year US-market car, sold for a cooling $1m (£830,000)
A matching numbers 1965 example of the timeless Ferrari 275 GTS with Pininfarina Targa-Top, benefiting from a well-researched chain of ownership, including documented 33-year period of care by one devoted owner, and North Coast Exotics restoration, sold for $1.5m (£1,245m). 
Following their Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale in Paris during Retromobile auction week in February, next up for Bonhams Collector Cars in their 2023 global calendar will be the Amelia Island Auction in March, highlighted by a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Sports Tourer, a No Reserve 1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast Series 2, and a collection of rediscovered Jaguars, including one of three works-built ‘Lightweight XK120’ racers, campaigned by US F1 World Champ Phil Hill. RH-E
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1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray XKL-1 Convertible became $3.14m (£2.61m) C3 Corvette world record breaker on Thursday afternoon in Phoenix

This was the 24th year that RM Sotheby’s had set up their global sales season opener at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, where close to $50m worth of collector motor cars sold during a more than 91% sold 26 January 2023 session.
Top priced sellers at this one-day sale for a well curated assortment that ranged from pre-WW2 Americans to classic Europeans led by a $4m (£3.4m) 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari, £3.6m (£3m) 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV and $3.4m (£2m) 1967 Ferrrai 275GTB/4.
The LaFerrari, Ferrari’s first hybrid model, the catalogue cover starring example uniquely in Blu Elettrico over Crema leather colour-combo, sold for $4,075,000 (£3,382,250), within pre-sale estimate.
Retaining its still numbers-matching chassis, engine and body, the 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV made £3,580,000 (£2,971,400), £147,215 more than forecast.
With just four caretakers from new, including a 45-year period of single-family ownership, the 1967 Ferrari 275GTB/4 in the sale sold for £3,360,000 (£1,958,800), £866,000 more than top estimate within premium.
And offering a truly unrepeatable, once-in-a-lifetime chance to secure the ultimate keystone to any reference-grade collection containing market-significant examples of ‘America’s Sports Car’, the new C3 world record auction price setting 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZK-1 Convertible selling for $3,140,000 (£2,206,200), a premium-inclusive of premium £186,730 more than had been estimated.
After a financially and statistically successful 2022, the Biltmore Phoenix sale saw a bullish start to the RM Sotheby’s US auctions season. Matt Malamut, Car Specialist said: “Pulling off another successful Arizona sale was a global effort that involved team members from around the world. From the moment the first consignments came in, to the last car crossing the block, the entire RM Sotheby’s team kept pushing to ensure the very best possible result for our clients.”
The Phoenix Top Ten
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari $4,075,000 (£3,382,250)
1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone $3,580,000 (£2,971,400)
1967 Ferrari 275GTB/4 by Scaglietti $3,360,000 (£1,958,800)
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray XL-1 Convertible $3,140,000 (£2,606,200)
1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast S2 by Pininfarina $2,225,000 (£1,846,750), £412,598 over top estimate.
1992 Ferrari F40 Pininfarina Coupe $2,150,000 (£1,784,500), £474,848 over top estimate
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster $1,820,000 (£1,510,600), just over top estimate
1987 Porsche 959 Komfort $1,682,500 (£1,396,475), £217,345 over top estimate
2017 Ferrari F12tdf Pininfarina £1,242,500 (£1,031,275), £17,708 over top estimate
2005 Porsche Carrera GT $1,242,500 (£1,031,275), £98,000 over top estimate
Bidders from 22 countries, 15% new to the auction house, competed for 88 cars, 80 or 91% of which were bought by buyers, 22% of them first time buyers at an RM Sotheby’s sale, for a premium-inclusive $44.9m (£37.267m), a recession busting average of $561,250 (£465,838) being invested per collector automobile bought under the hammer. RH-E
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Miura requiring recommissioning makes over £1m during £7.4m 86% sold final end of 2022 UK auctions season sale in London’s West End

2002 ended on a festive high with the sale of No Reserve 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400S Coupe for just over the magic million in a £7.4m Friday 16 December afternoon in Bonhams New Bond Street salerooms, where there were buyers for 86% of classics offered and an extraordinary average of £294,373 spent per car bought.
First owned by Scottish banker George De Vere Drummond, Godson of George VI, Pirate Radio Caroline backer and race team owner, who was jailed for handling stolen American Express travellers’ cheques in 1971, the left to right-hand converted Miura, one of only 140 ‘S ’models built, had been inactively preserved in the late Malcolm Bishop’s Collection before selling in London’s West End to a telephone bidder for a more than forecast £1,067,800 including 15% buyer’s premium.
From the same deceased estate, an Italy-supplied 1980 Countach LP400S, the successor Lamborghini model to the Muira, which had also been garaged for years in Wakefield and required full recommissioning, was also offered Without Reserve before selling on-line for a £120,000 more than estimated £460,000 with premium.
Two No Reserve Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722s made top estimate money. A less than 100k 2009 722S Roadster commemorating Mercedes famous 1955 Mille Miglia victory achieved £687,000 with premium and a 250k 2007 vintage Gulf States-spec 722 hardtop sibling fetched £575,000 with premium.
The £631,000 more than double lower estimate auction performance of an only just over 100k 2014 Mercedes-Benz AMG G-63 4-Door Cab 6x6 Pick-Up, one of the final Type 463 G-Wagens powered by a twin-turbo 5.5 V8, was of sand dune storming proportions.
By extreme contrast in automobile taste, the highly original 1925 Bugatti Type 30 topped with Skiff-Bodied Tourer coachwork by Parisian Carrosseries Kelsch et Cie and with all numbers still matching, property of noted Bugatti historian David Sewell, sold for a close to top estimate £345,000.
A close to £340,000 lower estimate was forthcoming immediately afterwards for a 1957 Bentley S1 Continental HJM Fastback, one of 431 S1 Continentals in receipt of recent engine rebuild, repaint and retrim. While a £400,000-500,000 estimated 1956 S1 Continental Park Ward Adapted to DHC by A B Price was bid to £310,000 ‘live’ but also sold afterwards for more.
A Gulf States spec No Reserve 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 Special Edition, number 5 of the SE Coupes for recommissioning after circa 50,000, exceeded twice the £120,000 lower estimate to sell for £276,000. 
The going rate here meanwhile for a benchmark 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT E Series Coupe that had been treated to a 2000 pro back-to-bare-metal restoration was a mid-estimate £270,250.
£264,500 with charges was required to buy a No Reserve Swiss-supplied in 2005 Ford GT Coupe with circa 12,700 mileage. A best offer of £178,250 with premium landed a No Reserve one owner since new in 2017 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge Edition Coupe.
The Esteban Ocon points scoring 2017 Force India Mercedes VJM10 F1, ten times raced, but preserved in non-running show car displayed condition without engine or transmission, consigned directly from Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One, had been forecast to make £80,000-100,000, but sold in the room for £149,500 with premium. After a previously tax-deductible life however, this F1 was subject to 20% vat on the hammer price, amounting to an additional £26,000!
Among preceding automobilia lots, Jackie Stewart 1972 season GP race overalls with driver’s embroidered name badge and Elf Tyrrel Team, Goodyear and Ford patches overtook the £10,000-15,000 sought in the glossy catalogue to sell for £25,000.
As the global auction house’s Cars and Motorcycles teams are about to offer $100m of collector vehicles in the two season-opening sales with 125 cars going under the hammer 27 January at Scottsdale Phoenix Arizona and 207 more 1-2 February at Grand Palais Ephemere in Paris during Retromobile week.
Alongside a bumper season of US, mainland Europe and UK sales - which include the Goodwood Members Meeting, Festival of Speed and Revival sales, regular visits to Zoute and The Quail during Monterey California auctions week – will be an inaugural 3 November sale in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in partnership with the Formula F1 Paddock Club.
House score for a 2022 25 fixture calendar averaged 85% sell-through rate. Their Gstaad sale was the first at the Swiss Alpine resort for twenty-five years, while their 13th at Zoute returned the highest ever Belgian sale total of 25m euros (£22m) and contributed to a 33% increased market share for their Eurocars division.
Bonhams Motorcycles retained UK market leadership with £6.13m sales and 95.5% sale rate, which included 100% ‘White Gloves’ dispersal of the Forshaw Collection of Speedway Bikes and the Phil Morris Collection of Racing Motorcycles and Memorabilia.
On-Line The Market by Bonhams platform, which launched in the US in March 2022, achieved several six-figure valuations, which included one new auction world record during debut month. Their US, UK and European internet-only operations saw 1,461 classics transact, for which internet buyers paid $31.2m (£26m).
Highest priced car sold 'live' by the 1793-founded auction house, in front of real people attending physical auctions in 2022, was a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder sold for $4,185,000 (£3,180,600) at Amelia Island Florida in March.
Other record busters have been a 2009 McLaren SLR 722 S Roadster, which doubled its estimate to achieve £731,800 at the Goodwood Revivalin September and an 1898 Peugeot Type 15 8hp Twin-Cylinder Double Phaeton, which, by selling for £494,500 at The Golden Age sale in London in November, became the most valuable Victorian era Peugeot.
And finally, offered direct from the ownership of Dustin Hoffman, a ‘Rain Man’ movie starring 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible made a model record $335,000 (£244,550) at Scottsdale Arizona in January.
Considering the over-taxed, appallingly governed, trade union ruined UK plc in recession, with a close to wartime economy that is being strangled by non-sensical and totally unaffordable zero-emissions policies, these were extraordinarily encouragingly escapist auction milestones for all stakeholders. RH-E

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Upgraded 1988 Ford RS200 Group B Road Car sold for £292,500, £17,500 over estimate, one of 10 record auction prices in Brum

A 7,800 miles from new in 1988 RS200 - one of 90 converted from competition Group B to road spec by Ford, supplied by Rallye Sport Dealers Frews of Perth with 300bhp upgrade to a first owner in Derbyshire before a Japanese residency - was hugely applauded by The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show crowd Saturday 12 November when setting a new £292,500 UK record price for the model.
Another of the 10 record prices paid on a Saturday afternoon at Silverstone Auctions sale in Birmingham was an equally applauded £131,625 performance of an unregistered 1989 Jaguar XJS 5.3 V12 Convertible with a mere 100 miles on the odometer.
Auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, though keenly estimated by the Midlands auctioneers to fetch £50,000-60,000, the previous record set by the same house at the NEC last year had been £86,000!
A 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, 1 of 3 ‘Factory AXI registered’ right-hand drive Gullwings in brushed stainless steel, also flew high to overtake another Silverstone 2021 record with a £85,500 valuation. In November 1982, 40 years ago, AXI 1699 was sold at auction along with other DeLorean remains by Official Receivers for £15,250!
The other record breakers at this sale were a 8,795 miles from new in 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth in refreshing Moonstone Blue beating last year’s Silverstone record price by selling for £132,750 to applause, and a one owner Ford Focus RS500 driven 948 miles from new in 2010 valued by the second owner at £99,000.
A well preserved 5,600 mile 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300SL R107 Roadster sold for a UK auction record £75,375, a one registered owner since 2005 Lancer Evo VIII MR FQ-400 with 20 Mitsubishi service stamps for 55,000 mileage, another record £72,000, and a 2009 Ford Focus RS Mk2 driven 357 miles by one owner, also a record £63,000.
For this reviewer however, the most gob-smacking record of all was awarded to a No Reserve 1972 Ford Transit 2.0 Custom Twin Rear Wheel Panel Van.
Kept in a heated garage for over 40 years before repainting and detailing, the Production Long-Wheelbase Van inspired a very determined bidding battle between two telephone contestants until the winner had paid £61,875 with premium. For a Transit, for heaven’s sake.   
The £56,250 bid for the 1957 BMW Isetta 600 4-Wheeler, for which Sir Stirling Moss persuaded BMW to part with an enlarged to 697cc version of the flat-twin used in the R67 motorcycle, was a mighty valuation for a microcar.
Other front of auditorium parked headliners included the final competing 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, chassis 15 in Cuisine de France livery, fresh from a total rebuild, which made a just over top estimate £270,000.
Alongside it, with Abingdon ‘DJB 93B’ registration, the 1965 RAC Rally and 1966 Scottish Rally winning 1964 Mini Cooper 1275S, totally, but authentically reconstructed from 1996, sold for £124,875. Forecast money, for this superb recreation with BMC works team ID and impeccable International winning period provenance.
The TTE Belgian-built 1994 Toyota Celica ST185 stage-rallied by the late Will Hoy, Mark Lovell and Johnny Milner, upgraded to Group A spec for Irish adventures and back to bare shell restored by Lewis Rally Sport, sold for a mid-estimate £110,250.
The same money was required to buy a keenly contested £70,000-80,000 estimated and much applauded 2000 Misubishi Evo VI UK-spec Tommi Makinen Edition in Passion Red hammered for £110,250.
Low mileages proved popular with buyers, who bought an ex-Led Zeppelin Manager Peter Grant 1980 Porsche 911 930 Turbo 3.3 Coupe with 11,000 mileage for £145,124, and a 1992 Honda NSX Coupe with 11,618 mileage £112,500 to applause.
A 2003 Ford Focus RS Mk1 with 21 miles on the clock fetched £74,833, one of 110 right-hand drive Focus RS500 driven 6,857 from new in 2010 £65,250, a 2009 Focus RS Mk2 driven 357 miles by one owner £63,000, a second generation 2010 Ford Focus RS Mk2 with Lux Pack £56,250, a one owner 2,730 mile 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport Mk2 £37,687, and a No Reserve 1985 Ford Escort 1.6i Cabrio driven 3,044 miles by two former keepers £16,312.
Claimed to have been driven 12,948 careful miles by one caring owner, a 1978 Ferrari 308GT4 made a more than top estimate £69,750, an 8,000 miles from new 2017 Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe and a 2016 Land Rover Defender 90 XS TD Station Wagon with 3.426 mileage both £50,625.
A less than 7,000 miles 2004 Bentley Continental GT Coupe £40,500, an Aston Martin DB7 i6 driven just over 18,000 miles from new in 1996 £29,250, a single previously owned 1997 Lotus Elise S1 with 10,841 mileage £25,667, a less than 4,000 miles from new in 2008 BMW Alpina D3 E0- Manual £19,125, and a 1989 Austin Mini Metro City X with 16,944 mileage £3,937.

NEC Stats Analysis
Worldwide interest was confirmed by 1,468 registering to bid not only from the Brexit Isles and the EU mainland, but from the US, Dubai and Hong Kong. While 69,324 enthusiasts attended in person over three show days, and most will have passed the huge auction stand during Friday viewing, and seen and heard car, bike and memorabilia sales take place.
Including immediate post-sales, 130 of the 165 cars displayed on the Silverstone Auctions show stand sold for £7,390,871 including 12.5% buyer’s premium, a 77% sale rate and an average of £56,853 spent by buyers per classic bought.
A breakdown of cars sold indicates that while 15 or 11% had been consigned Without Reserve and were going to sell anyway, 61 or 47% sold for within their estimate bands and 18 or 14% made more than top estimate money.
But then auctioneers and their vendors accepted below lower estimate bids for 36 or 28% of cars sold, whereas the reserves for 39 or 23% of those cars auctioned were not met by bidders.
After 8 years of improvements in most consumers’ standard of living have come to a totally mismanaged end, uncontrolled inflation of well over the latest 11.1% ‘official’ UK rate has been boosting the prices of everything, and that includes the 10 classic record breakers under auctioneers Hubbard and Humbert's smoking gavels at the NEC.
And with Tory tax hikes the highest since WW2 and increasingly green anti-car politicians now occupying all the driving seats in cabinet, shadow cabinet, metropolitan admin and local authorities, the Silverstone Auctions real world figures were absolutely extraordinary. RH-E

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Supercar and Group B Rally car dispersals netted over £21.3m for major UK collector during RM Sotheby’s 80% sold £27m+ London annual

Their 16th Anniversary Sale was not only the international auction house’s oldest annual European auction fixture, but also their best-ever, with bidders from 35 countries spending £27,264,325 including premium Saturday 5 November 2022 on 39 or 80% of the 49 collector vehicles on view in an up-market tent pitched in the grounds of London’s Marlborough House.
Headlining in the 49 lot West End sale were 18 assets being dispersed from a former owner of a chain of estate agents, The Gran Turismo Collection, which featured some of the most desirable supercars and Group B rally cars made by Ferrari, Bugatti, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lancia, and Audi from the last 50 years.
The highlight of the cache, which had come to market from a West End lower basement vault and secure storage in South Warwickshire, was a 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (above), the ultimate variant of the Chiron and one of only 30 ever produced.
The fastest of all the Chiron versions, capable of 304 mph, the example sold had only covered 1,416 miles and achieved £4,195,625 including 15% buyer’s premium (on first £200,000 of the hammer price and then 12.5% premium on any amount bid above this).
The collection had also invested in the services of an Italian Trio, a 1991 Ferrari F40, a 2003 Ferrari Enzo (with 71,937k on the odometer, so really driven rather than banked, too), and a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari, which proved to be the biggest Maranello star of the night, being valued by their buyers at £1,411,250, £1,917,500, and £1,973,750 respectively.
The oldest dispersed asset from the part-liquidated portfolio meanwhile was a 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV by Bertone, for which an inflated £2,058,125 was forthcoming.
There were also three stunning Group B rally cars on offer, all with noteworthy period provenance. The 1982 Lancia 037 Group B Works Evolution 1 rally car was driven by rally superstars Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl, selling for £1,045,625.
The other Lancia in the trio, the 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Group B Works, which won the 1986 Rallye Monte Carlo in the hands of Finnish rally legend Henri Toivonen (for the last time, as he was to perish in an S4 inferno on the next WRC round in Corsica), sold for £1,636,250.
Completing the line-up was the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Group B Works, a highly significant example driven by World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola for the 1985 RAC Rally, which sold for £1,805,000. The prices paid for all three were records.
Another car that garnered much pre-sale interest was the 1990 Ferrari Testarossa Pininfarina Spider ‘Special Production’, one of a small number of special production cars built by Pininfarina for important clients. The example offered, unregistered and with less than 500k underwheel, was valued in the real world at £1,467,500.
26% of cars consigned cars were auctioned Without Reserve, which helped to boost the numbers, and included the Morgan Plus 4 Roadster driven to 7th overall on the 1952 RAC Rally by Jimmy Ray and latterly owned by Clubman Tom Threlfall, which, with genuine period rather than retrospective history, sold for a forecast and relatively reasonable £51,750.

‘The Freddie Effect’
Freddie Mercury’s personal 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow produced the night’s most remarkable result. Owned by Mercury from 1979 to his untimely death in 1991, the car then passed to his sister, who retained the car for many years.
Sold to benefit the charity Superhumans of Ukraine, which is raising funds to help build a brand-new hospital in the Lviv province of Ukraine, the car brought an astonishing £286,250 against a pre-sale estimate of £20,000-£30,000, with all proceeds going to the charity.

The overview of Peter Wallman, Chairman of RM Sotheby’s Europe & EMEA: “Our objective was to bring back the fun, glamour, and excitement of the live auction environment, in particular to our London sale, which is the longest established in our European calendar.
“Our partnership with the Royal Automobile Club and our sponsorship of the historic London to Brighton Veteran Car Run has brought a wonderful new dimension and community to the London sale, and our new location at Marlborough House has proved to be a resounding success. We are absolutely delighted with the results achieved.”

The Marlborough House Top Ten
1.2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ Coupe £4,195,625
2.1971 Lamborghini Miura SV by Bertone £2,058,125
3.2014 Ferrari LaFerrari £1,973,750
4.2003 Ferrari Enzo £1,917,500
5.1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Group B Works £1,805,000
6.1985 Lancia Delta S4 Group B Works £1,636,250
7.1990 Ferrari Testarossa Pininfarina Spider ‘Special Production’ £1,467,500
8. 1993 Bugatti EB110 GT £1,411,250
9.1991 Ferrati F40 Coupe £1,411,250
10.2011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta £1,085,000

Sale Stats
Although 10 car lots were unsold, 20% of the total in the catalogue, 43% did change hands for within pre-sale estimate bands, while 8% fetched more than their top estimates, and below lower estimate hammer prices were accepted by the auctioneers and their vendor for 23% of the sellers.
Under the hammer - and including post-sales - 39 out of 49 classics had sold for a premium-inclusive £27.06m and, considering the worst managed economy in the G7 is officially in what may become the longest recession with the greatest inflation in our economic history, the very high average of £731,274 spent per car bought is unlikely to be repeated for a pack of fossil-fuelled dinosaurs in Brexit UK.

Schumacher Ferrari F1 sells for £13.17m
And for a multi-million Swiss Franc postscript, the following Wednesday 9 November, during 'Sotheby's'Luxury Week' in Geneva, the Michael Schumacher driven 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA F1 chassis 229 - a 5 GP winner, 2 podiums and 3 pole positions during his 6th World Driver Championship year - fetched 14,630,000 CHF (£13,167,000 including premium), a record price for a F1 from the modern era.
For the record book however, the highest priced Grand Prix car ever in a public auction was the premium-inclusive £19,601,500 paid for 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Single-Seater chassis 196 010 00006/54 that was raced by five times World Champion Driver Juan Manuel Fangio as well as factory team drivers Hans Herrman and Karl Kling. But that likely to be forever unbeatable record was established 9 years ago in the Bonhams tent at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 12 July 2013 in very much headier times.
For C.A.R. RH-E

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Veteran Trio set new world auction records in close to £2.9m 88% sold Bonhams Golden Age sale in London’s West End

An ‘ahead of its time’ 1898 Peugeot Type 15 8hp (in new money, that's 2.2-Litres) Twin-Cylinder Double Phaeton led a trio of record-breaking Veteran Cars in Bonhams Golden Age Sale Friday 4 November, when sold for a staggering £494,500, surpassing its top estimate and leading the auction house’s annual celebration of the Veteran Car Run, which they used to sponsor for so many years.
The sale, staged in Bonhams Bond Street flagship saleroom in London’s New Bond Street, realised a total of £2,863,531 million with 88% sold by lot and nearly 100% by pre-sale estimated value.
The fully-restored Peugeot offered advanced (for its day) 4-speed plus reverse transmission and an early form of cruise control. Subject to a specialist nut-and-bolt restoration in the 1990s, the Peugeot took part in the 100th anniversary Veteran Car Run upon completion. It had completed the annual petrolhead pilgrimage journey from London to Brighton several times since and was a past winner of the associated Regent Street Concours.
The other Grand Dames of the sale were a 1904 Napier 15hp Rear Entrance Tonneau, one of only 8 listed with the VCC, which achieved £368,000. This Supercar of the Pioneer Era had been found propping up a barn by its late owner in the 1950s who restored the Napier as a labour of love.
Offered from more than 66 years' single-family ownership, the motor car today set an auction world record for a Veteran Napier.
The third record was set by ‘The Owl,’ an 1897 Daimler Twin-Cylinder 4HP Tonneau – the second motor car manufactured by the Daimler Motor Company with the oldest known Daimler engine and the oldest known example of the marque still on the road, offered from 72 years of single-family ownership - which achieved £345,000, becoming the most valuable Victorian Daimler to be sold at auction.  
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Collector Cars UK, said: “We are so pleased to have achieved such fantastic - and well-deserved - results for this exemplary trio of historic early motor cars in our Golden Age of Motoring Sale.
 “It is particularly apt that the Napier should set a new auction world record in the 120th anniversary year of the marque’s success in the Gordon Bennett Cup, the pinnacle of early motorsport.”
All three Golden Oldie star lots were the subject of spirited bidding between would-be buyers in the packed saleroom and those bidding from afar on telephones and on the internet, with the successful bidders all earning applause and cheers from an audience of the Bond Street faithful.
Other highlights included a 1907 Stanley EX steam-powered motor car, sold for £140,300, exceeding its top estimate. Produced by the American Stanley brothers, the eponymous motor cars were considered the premier ‘steamers’ to own. This restored example was in previous family ownership for 87 years, passing through three generations. 
A 1904 Swift 7hp Two-Seater meanwhile sold for £103,500 to surpass its top estimate. An early single-cylinder motor car from the former British bicycle maker and a veteran of no fewer than 57 London to Brighton Runs, only failing to finish on four occasions, it had been owned by its vendor family since 1931..
The sale rate for vehicles was 95%. For there were buyers in the pefectly targeted LTB audience for all but one of them, a £75,000-80,000 guided 1904 Lagonda 10hp Tricar for three, one of whom would be particularly vulnerable in the most comfortable Mother in Law Seat out front!
In addition to the pioneering automobiles displayed within Bonhams top of the range UK Auctions HQ, this hardy annual offered a well themed selection of more than 200 lots of Veteran Motor Cars and their associated Memorabilia.
Bonhams Collector Cars team now gears up for their finale to the 2022 collector car calendar, The Bond Street Sale,’ also hosted at the flagship London West End salerooms Friday 16 December.
Golden Age Top Ten
1.1898 Peugeot Type 15 8hp Twin-Cylinder Double-Phaeton (£275,000-325,000 Auctioneers Pre-Sale Estimate) sold for £494,500 including 15% Buyer’s Premium
2. 1904 Napier 15hp Four-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau (£275,000-350,000) £368,000
3.1897 Daimler 4hp Twin-Cylinder Tonneau (£225,000-275,000 Est) £345,000
4.1902 MMC 10hp Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau (£175,000-225,000 Est) £227,700
5.1915 Lanchester Sporting Forty Torpedo Tourer (£180,000-220,000 Est) £207,000
6.1907 Stanley Model EX Steam Runabout (£85,000-100,000 Est) £140,300
7.1904 Siddeley 12hp Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau (£110,000-140,000 Est) £138,000
8.1917 Lancia Theta 35hp Tourer (£120,000-160,000 Est) £126,500
9.1904 Swift 7hp Two-Seater (£40,000-60,000 Est) £103,500
10.1903 Cadillac Two-Seater Runabout (£50,000-70,000 Est) £75,900     
Reporting for C.A.R. RH-E

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100% of 41 Haas/Newman racers auctioned in US by RM Sotheby’s sold for $6m included Nigel Mansell $1m 1993 Lola-Ford Cosworth

The House That Newman/Haas Racing Built in Lincolnshire Illinois was the 29 October auction venue for RM Sotheby’s latest site-specific sale. One step inside the legendary Indy and CART racing team’s workshop revealed an auction setup quite literally unlike any other.
A row of black Swift-chassis racers lined up near the entrance; several more were suspended behind the auctioneer’s podium for the largest sale of open-wheel race cars ever auctioned, when thanks to being consigned Without Reserve, every single lot sold for $6,096,800 (£524,325).
Having signed drivers as skilled as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais, and Graham Rahal, Newmann/Haas Team founders Carl A Haas and racing movie star Paul Newman dominated both CART and Champ Car 1983-2011.
Haas had an inherent appreciation for the historic value of team artefacts, retaining many of their most celebrated chassis from new, the race-used examples auctioned telling a story of the evolution of open-wheel racing in America, where eight of them won championships.
Before the cars crossed the block, an assortment of extraordinary Motorsport Automobilia warmed up the bidders. Race-worn helmets, gloves, and suits represented physical artefacts from the team’s Golden Years. Hard-won trophies awarded to Haas as a team owner proved that this team’s achievements extended internationally.
After an assortment of oil paintings and signed prints depicting the greatest US race team at work, a Nigel Mansell Race-Worn F1 Helmet, gifted to Haas by the Brit World Champ, commanded an impressive $90,000 (£77,400), many times more than its top estimate.
A few lots later, a second helmet from ‘Il Leone’ from his championship-winning Indy year brought an equally astounding $56,400 (£48,504), proving that ‘Mansell Mania’ is still alive and well among the world’s Man Cave Petrolheads.
Several attending this sale were directly connected to the team during its many years of championship-winning seasons. A 1984 Lola-Cosworth T800 from Newman/Haas Racing’s second season, piloted by the legendary Mario Andretti, was the first championship winner to be offered, and raised a most respectable $401,000 (£344,860).
From his final year competing in the PPG IndyCar World Series, Andretti Senior’s 1994 Lola-Ford Cosworth T94/20, raced by him in 6 out of 16 events and carrying him to his final podium, fetched $379,000 (£325,940), more than twice the pre-auction estimate. While several lots later, Andretti’s son Michael’s own championship-winning 1991 Lola-Chevrolet T91/00 sold for $257,600 (£221,536), keeping the Andretti legacy on the podium.
Undoubtedly the superstar single-seater of the milestone event was the 1993 Lola-Ford Cosworth T93/00 made famous by Nigel Mansell as he became the only simultaneous champion of both F1 and Indy racing in history. After an exciting back-and-forth bout of bidding, the historically significant race chassis hammered home at $995,000 (£855,700), making it the top lot of this unique buying opportunity.
For with a total of $6,096,800 (£5,243,248) and every lot finding a new home, the White Glove Sell-Out auction was an unqualified success. Perhaps the greatest proof of what is still truly global interest in serious motor sport artefacts, both race cars and display stuff, are the stats that 237 registered to bid from 20 countries worldwide.
Shelby Myers, Global Head of Private Sales for RM Sotheby’s, said: “The sale offered a unique and incredible opportunity for buyers and enthusiasts to celebrate one of the greatest teams in the history of motorsport as the open-wheel racing fan base reaches new levels of popularity.
“Over 40 top-tier race cars are now out in the world ready to be enjoyed by the motorsport community, proving that the greatest legacies live on long after the chequered flag falls. As we enter into a new golden era for motorsport, we expect the market for important racing cars to continue to grow.”
Sale Stats
100% of lots sold.
Top priced racer 1993 Lola-Ford Cosworth T93/00 sold for $995,000 (£855,700).
Rest of Top Ten – 1984 Lola-Cosworth T800 $401,000 (£344,860).
1994 Lola-Ford Cosworth T94/20 $379,000 (£325,940).
1991 Lola-Chevrolet T91/00 $257,600 (£221,536).
2007 DP01-Cosworth $235,200 (£202,272).
2002 Lola-Toyota B02/00 $224,000 (£192,640).
1985 Lola-Cosworth T900 $201,600 (£173,376).
2005 Lola-Cosworth-Ford B05/00 $201,600 (£173,376).
1986 Lola-Cosworth T86/00 $196,000 (£168,560).
1991 Lola-Chevrolet T91/00 $196,000 (£168,560).
2006 Lola-Cosworth-Ford B02/00 $196,000 (£168,560).
Top Race Memorabilia lot – Mansell helmet sold for $90,000 (£77,400).
237 registered bidders from 20 countries, 122 first-timers and 17% of them first-timers buyers.
So far, and even with the US Fed Base Rate freshly increased to 4% (and the UK Bank of E's latest hike to 3%), collector cars and bikes might be a better bet than hard currencies.
For C.A.R. RH-E

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93% of classics at Bonhams Zoute Sale sell for 24m euros (£24.5m) headed by applauded 2m euros 1957 BMW 507 S1 Roadster

By Sunday 9 October sale end, 69 or a heady 93% of the 74 collector cars offered had been hammered away by Bonhams Motoring International Managing Director Marten ten Holder for 24,087,490 euros (£23,606,740 with 15% buyer’s premium), including the 20 preceding classic bike and child car lots, amounting to a 25m euros (£24.5m) record Sunday afternoon at this Belgian annual.
The highest priced asset on the carpet, the 25,600k Ferrari 288 GTO delivered  new in 1985 to the Canadian F1 Team owner Walter Wolf that had been estimated to sell for 3.7m-4.1m euros, ran out of bidding interest with an insufficient 3.5m euros on the screen.
It was left therefore to the 1963 Paris Salon exhibited Ferrari 250GT/L Berlinetta to lead the rest of the 1m+ euros octet that sold beside the North Sea. With all numbers matching and the reassurance of Classiche certification in the pipeline the close to new condition ‘Lusso’ changed hands for 1.7m euros (£1,666,000 with premium).
A 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, one of 1270 of the 5.7 V10 manuals built driven 20,300k by two owners, found a more than top estimate 1,380,000 euros (£1,352,400).
Former Mille Miglia Storica participant 1955 300SL Gullwing with the desirable lightweight aluminium engine fitted at the Mercedes factory 52 years ago also realised top estimate money, 1,380,000 euros (£1,352,400).
One of only seven DB4 left hookers with the GT engine, a still matching numbers 1962 Series IV DB4 with AM Works Assured Provenance ‘Gold’ certification made the required 1,236,250 euros (£1,211,525).
Having spent the past 17 years on static display, a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 doubled its pre-sale estimate to sell for 1,115,500 euros (£1,093,190).
A virtually low estimate 1,092,500 euros (£1,070,650) was accepted for Ferrari Classiche certified 1961 250GT Series 2 Cabrio with hardtop, one of a mere 200 S2 cars with discs brakes and overdrive.
Commemorating Mercedes-Benz famous 1955 Mille Miglia victory, a one owner from 2009 SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster with a mere 82k on the odometer made a way over forecast 1,012,000 euros (£991,760).
The 862,500 euros required (£845,250) was forthcoming for the Turin Auto Show 1957 Jaguar XK150 3.8 with Bertone-crafted Fixed Head coachwork, one of three to have been bodied by the Italian firm that was 2020 Hampton Court Palace Concours displayed post-restoration.
A Ferrari certificated 7,890k since new in 2010 599 GTO, one of the appropriate 599 built, was bought for 782,000 euros (£766,360). A sand dune scaling 2014 Merc G-63 AMG 6x6, one of the last extensively optioned Type 463 G-Wagens that was super-fit for a Saudi Prince’s toy cupboard, flew to a way over forecast 759,000 euros (£743,820).
Another mighty valuation was the 333,500 euros (£326,830) paid for a much stored Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series with 73k recorded from new in 2009. A 1997 Porsche 911 Type 993 Turbo X50 sold for 278,300 euros (£272,734), more than double what had been forecast, and a Carrosserie Lecoq restored 1959 Cadillac Series 62 De Ville, awarded ‘Most Exciting Design’ here at Zoute during the 2021 Concours, picked up a more than estimated 253,000 euros (£247,940).
Once again, the Bonhams auction stats were supercharged by 19 of the 44 No Reserve cars being consigned from the dispersal of a major cache from the Middle East, where all the cars have been inactively static for years and required recommissioning before being driven again.
The collection cars dispersed in this sale - subject to the reduced rate of import VAT at 6% if remaining in Belgium, potentially to higher rates if imported to other EU counties - amounted to 26% of those offered and 28% of classics sold.
While 7% of reserved cars fetched more than their pre-sale estimates, 22% of the other cars sold did so for within their auctioneer set estimate bands and only 6% made less than had been forecast.
The average spent here per ‘live auction’ classic bought amounted to an extremely bullish 334,601 euros (£327,909), which confirms that EU currency is clearly just as inflated or devalued as the pound is on the Brexit Isles, although the cars auctioned on a Sunday afternoon at the Knokke-La Zoute resort are the same global commodity, apart from being mainly in left-hand drive.
Few Brits or their cars had made the journey though, even though this up market event and auction were a mere 135k from illegal migrant besieged Calais or the claustrophobia of the Eurotunnel. Times may have changed, if not forever, for the foreseeable future. RH-E

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100% of Ferraris sold out at Bicester, where there were buyers for 78% of Mercs including £272k McLaren SLR best-seller

Star turn under the Historics hammer 24 September at Bicester Heritage was an only 3,357k from new in 2005 Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR lefty with scissor-doors and twin-screw supercharged 617bhp V8 to play with. Estimated to fetch £220,000-275,000, the Limited Edition McLaren-produced Merc Supercar fetched £271,950 with premium (amounting to £277,340 with vat levied on same).
Even with 60,334 on the odometer, a back to bare metal 2003 restored 1968 280SL Pagoda-top right-hand driver with hood convincingly overtook its £95,000-105,000 guide to sell for £137,500.
Whereas a 1969 280SL with only 3,500 mileage since ground-up restoration sold for a just below estimated £103,796 and a No Reserve restored 1966 230SL went for £53,900.
The G500 4x4 with petrol engine registered to rock guitarist Eric ‘Slowhand’ Clapton in Antigua in 2000 raised the £36,630 required, top estimate money. Of the 18 Mercs lined up on the hangar floor, 14 or 78% sold for £850,000 with an average sale price of £60,700.   
All four Ferraris entered sold out, headed by a blisteringly potent 6.2 V12 730bhp 2013 F12 Berlinetta, which can lose you your licence in less than 3.1 seconds, long before you had reached 62 mph, raced to a within guide £137,500.
A fully optioned 2006 599 GTB Fiorano F1 with FSH for 35,000 mileage was given a just below estimated valuation of £70,400 by a new owner. An only 7,318k 2001 360 Modena in very obvious Giallo also raised a less than forecast £48,400, while a 2005 612 Scaglietti for four cost another buyer a within forecast band £46,200.
A 1974 Lamborghini Espada S3 in Right-Hand Drive with manual gearbox and £17,000 worth of Colin Clarke Engineering and SMDG sorting bills on file was bought for a within estimate £82,140.
£104,500 was forthcoming for a 1972 AC Aceca that had been Cobra-ised with 302ci V8 sold for £104,500. A 2015 Evanta Kevlar-bodied Barchetta packing a 450bhp+ Chevrolet 6.2 LS3, realistically guided at £30,000 -40,000, was applauded when won by a determined bidder for £66,600.
A rust-munched 1961 Jaguar E Type S1 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster project still with matching numbers and some parts in boxes was taken on for £60,500, more than the £49,000-57,000 suggested in the catalogue. The 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 with hardtop sold for a low estimate £58,830 had aluminium body panels and a Denis Welch blue-printed motor on SU 2ins carbs.
A £50,000-55,000 estimated 1995 Nissan Skyline GT R33 fetched £47,175 with premium and £36,190 was accepted for a £40,000-48,000 1966 Triumph TR4A IRS ‘Surrey Top’.
£19,800 was needed to own a £13,000-20,000 12,947k from new in 1993 Mini Moke treated to a recent re-paint and re-trim, and £13,598 bought a £14,000-17,000 guided 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi by Pro-Drive with 72,600 mileage.
Whilst a reworked Morris Six MS of 1949 vintage was like no other, having gained a Ford US 469ci 7.33-litres V8 mated to a quick-shift auto box with Ford/Moser rear axle, Jaguar rack and pinion steering and large dimeter vented disc brakes. Hence, the £14,300 result.
This was Historics debut fixture within the redundant WW2 space in Oxfordshire previously used and abandoned by both Brightwells and then Bonhams former MPH brand
Cars crossing the auction block during a long Saturday session spanned nine decades, one of the oldest being a Buffalo-built in 1933 Pierce-Arrow 836 Club Brougham 2-Door Coupe which sold for £29,700.
Over the three viewing days and sale day itself, the cavernous space was visited by over 2,000 punters who physically checked out the metal from 43 different car marques. In addition, the ‘live’ and traditional auction with public present was attended by some 400 registered internet bidders with 40% of lots sold selling on-line.
Even though rival auctions were simultaneously taking market shares under the CCA gavel at the Warwickshire Event Centre and at the Morris Leslie Drive Past on Errol airfield in Perthshire, by the time Hangar 113 had gone back to sleep, 187 cars and a Shepherds Hut (which might be employed by a Net Worth home worker as a garden office) had sold.
Buyers had spent a premium-inclusive £2,784,881 on 63% of the 139 vehicular lots on offer (rising to 65% after a few more post-sale deals had been concluded), spending an average of £32,010 per classic bought whilst the mismanaged economy tanked.
While 52 or 37% of cars in another huge glossy catalogue were unsold, 25% of those sold had been consigned Without Reserve and were going to sell whatever was bid.
Below estimate offers were accepted by auctioneers and their vendors for just under a third of cars sold, whereas 36% sold for within estimate band prices and 9% made more than top estimate money.
The Historics team are already consigning for their final sale of 2022 which will be held Saturday 26 November in the more cold weather friendly Mercedes-Benz World showrooms beside the remnants of the once trendy Brooklands circuit in over-developed Surrey. RH-E

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Repatriated remains of 1964 Oldsmobile 3.9 V8 Sports Goodwood raced by Bruce McLaren taken on for £911,000 head Bonhams £11m Revival results

Having started life as a Cooper Climax 1½-Litre F1 in Briggs Cunningham White that crashed out of the 1961 US GP, and formed the basis of Roger Penske multiple race winning Zerex Climax 2.7 Special, first centre-drive and then 2 seater, that won the 1963 International Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch.
Before morphing into the Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile 3.9 run and driven by former Cooper works driver turned constructor Bruce McLaren’s own McLaren Motor Racing Team to April and May 1964 wins at Aintree and Silverstone, before winning the Guards Trophy again at Brands and starring at the August RAC TT at Goodwood.
Having spent the past 50 years in storage, first in the US 1965/6 and then in South America 1967-2022, from where the decayed relic was repatriated from Venezuala to auction in the Bonhams auction tent beside the circuit, where, more than 58 year years ago, with McLaren at the wheel, chassis NZ 25438 led Jim Clark’s Team Lotus Type 30 Ford V8.
New ownership of this historically significant race car, the taproot of the McLaren sports car marque no less, was finally contested between two absentee bidders via two mobile phones until resolved in favour of a winning representative in the seats by auctioneer Malcolm Barber’s gavel after £800,000 had been bid, and the project had been taken on for £911,000 including buyer’s premium.
The Saturday 17 September Bonhams catalogue front cover and plinth-parked 1952 Goodwood 9-Hours race-winning Aston Martin DB3 Sports-Racer, the UPL 4 registered DB3-5 driven by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith, had been forecast to raise £2,800,000-3,300,000, but ran out of road with £2,300,000 on the bids screen.
There were buyers however for 11 out of 13 Astons on the carpet, led by a 1989 V8 Vantage Volante ‘Prince of Wales’ (a now Charles III Edition?)  A rarer in manual model, which had been factory-converted from right to left-hand drive in 1995, had previously crossed the Bonhams auction block in 2011, when it joined the huge Middle Eastern Collection from where the majority of AMs auctioned recently have been sourced. After years of inactive storage, and requiring re-commissioning before driving anywhere, the No Reservist fetched a very healthy £460,000.
A more than top estimate £425,500 was also bid for a 1964 DB5 with cracked seat leather in receipt of repairs to outriggers and jacking points and a respray some 25 years ago.  A within guide £269,100 bought an extensively restored 1989 V8 Vantage Volante X-Pack 7.0 that had been factory-converted from left to right-hand drive and from auto to manual. While the second RS Williams DB4 Lightweight built, chassis 201/3, upon which no expense had been spared throughout an active life, was well bought surely for £230,000.
Formerly part of the Marcel Petitjean Collection, the 1964 Porsche 904 GTS number 062 had been unused since 1993, yet realised a more than top estimate £614,200. A recreated and rallied 1973 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 to FIA-spec with ‘RSR reg’ made a mid-estimate £172,500, as did an early and successfully Historics-raced unregistered 1965 911 SWB sold for £166,750.
Whereas only 2 out of 6 Bentleys in the catalogue sold, a 1939 4¼ Tourer in VDP-style for £138,000, close to top estimate, and a £97,750 1961 S2 Continental Flying Spur HJM 4-DoorSports-Saloon.
Notable non sellers from the Malcolm Bishop Collection however were a 1931 4½ Supercharged Rep in VDP Le Mans style, for which an £800,000 lower estimate had maybe become over-historic in a changing market, a 1923 3/4½ Supercharged Birkin-era ‘Old Mother Gun’ Rep, which failed to attract anywhere near the £600,000 sought.
By contrast, much more recently manufactured Mercedes-Benz confirmed their collector vehicle status, led by a one owner and 50 miles since 2009 SLR McLaren 722 S Edition Roadster. Offered Without Reserve, but estimated at £240,000-320,000, the 1955 Mille Miglia win commemorative model flew to a £600,000 hammer price, a £687,000 with premium valuation at auction.
Another No Reserve SLR 722 Edition, driven only 100k from delivery to Middle Eastern storage in 2007 and requiring recommissioning, made £631,000, over three times what had been forecast. While an 18,000 miles 2010 SLS AMG Coupe from the Private Collection of Peter de Savary, all of whose cars sold at Goodwood, made a more than top estimate £179,400.
Of the 9 Jags offered, 6 of them sold, led by a still left-hand drive 1963 S1 3.8 Roadster, repatriated from California in 2013 and restored in 2022, when it fetched £155,250.   
Second earliest car auctioned during Goodwood Revival Saturday was the once Sunbeam Motor Car Company of Wolverhampton and very evocative 1922 2-Litre Grand Prix Team ‘Torpedo’ with pointed tail - as tamed by Major Segrave, later Sir Henry, accompanied by riding mechanic Jean Moriceau - for which a £100,000 below estimate £597,400 with premium was accepted.
Although both genuine, raced and not display-dummy Force India F1 cars sold without their Mercedes engines, the 'Checo' Perez 2015 Russian GP podium-placed VJM0802 for £78,200 and the 2011 VJM04 driven to 6th place in Germany by Adrian Sutil for £69,000, there were no new owner-drivers for 6 more circuit-only competition cars being auctioned.
For on the day, £260,000 was too much for the ex-John Coombs team 1959 Copper Monaco raced by Jack Barbham, Bruce McLaren and Roy Salvadori. £200,000 or more was not forthcoming either for the Peter Scott-Russell 1955 Lotus-Bristol Mk X, the latterly Roland Urban raced 1958 Lister-Jaguar 3.8 Knobbly with an unlucky ‘13’ within its BHL 113 chassis number or a John Danby Racing run 1965 Lotus-Ford Type 30 Group 7 Sports-Racer.
Above or close to the £135,000 suggested for the Midland Racing Partnership 1965 Lola T60 F2, driven in period by Maggs, Attwood, Gardner, Bonnier, Amon, Hawkins and Hobbs, was not forthcoming, nor was the £100,000 or more sought for a front-engined 1960 Lola-Ford Mk2 that won the 2016 Goodwood Revival Formula Junior race.
A very locally-produced to Goodwood, 2009 vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe lefty for recommissioning that had only 140k on the odometer before gathering dust in a Middle Eastern toy cupboard made a treble-guide £235,750.
The Royal Air Forces Association benefited from the £134,000 proceeds of the sale of a 2013 Land Rover Q40 Defender 110 XS, re-designed and re-engineered by specialists Tecniq to honour 40 years of service of the Chinook helicopter.
Before any after-auction post-sales had been concluded, 80 cars and a 1967 Riva Junior Ski Boat had sold and 36 cars had not, a 69% sale rate, amounting to £11,047,345 including premium, an average of £136,387 per car bought.
With automobilia (including the 'X13' registration, which made £42,500), a total of 182 lots, 72% of the 254 offered, sold for £11,484,664 with premium.
The stats for cars were certainly boosted by 18 classics being auctioned Without Reserve, 15% of the total consigned and 22% of those sold. While 13 or 16% sold for more than their top estimates and 44 or 54% made estimated prices, below lower estimate offers being accepted by the vendors of 6 or 8% of cars sold.
For the going at Goodwood, sometimes Glorious, was too soft for 31% of auctioned cars, who had to be transported home to their same owners. 
As usual, the Revival continues to be by far the largest fancy dressed classic car auction on the calendar, though in mourning with many black armbands this year as Her Majesty had regularly attended the Duke and his father’s Horse Racecourse on the Goodwood Estate.
Each day, Historic Racing was paused as hear a pin drop official respect-silences were punctuated by artillery pieces explosively marking history in the making. For the second Elizabethan era had very nearly ended. RH-E

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World’s oldest Motorhome, 1914 Ford Model T, sells for £63,250 during £2m+ annual Bonham Beaulieu Autojumble sale where 95% of lots sold

The pre-WW2 Model T chassis, extended and strengthened by Baico, and  topped with Campervan body in wood by trad traveller caravan makers Dunton - had been commissioned for a member of the Bentall Department Store family. Reckoned to be the oldest Motor Caravan on the planet was keenly contested until sold by Bonhams Chairman Malcolm Barber for £63,250 with premium, more than twice its pre-sale estimate.
Both Feltham-manufactured David Brown era Aston Martins, which had been supplied to the US and stored for years and required much attention, sold well too. Both offered Without Reserve, a repatriated 1955 DB2/4 3.0 Drophead by Mulliners, one of 46 export models requiring restoration, fetched £172,500 and a 1959 DB Mk3 Fixed Head by Tickford for recommissioning £132,250.
A 1973 AM V8 S2 auto, upon which £23,000 had been spent recently, but which required detailing, cost the next keeper £55,775. While a No Reserve unregistered 1978 Vantage V8 S3 auto with Weber carbs requiring recommissioning was taken on for £42,550.
By sale end beside the National Motor Museum Saturday 10 September, only 14 cars or 23% of the entry were unsold, notably the catalogue cover featured, scruffy, but working 1931 Aston Martin 1½-Litre International ‘Le Mans Team Car Replica’ (one of only four), which had failed to find a buyer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and was also unsold here, having been guided at £200,000-250,000.
Bidding was abandoned at an insufficient £120,000 for a sympathetically restored £140,000-180,000 estimated 1929 Invicta Meadows 4½-Litre Cadogan-bodied Tourer. Whilst a late 1980s restored 1924 Sunbeam 24/70hp Tourer, converted to left-hand drive by the Wolverhampton works in 1932 and for which £70,000-90,000 had been suggested, ran out of interest at £60,000.
By contrast, a unique and absolutely mint 1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp ‘Dreadnought Special’ in Blower Bentley-style Special with shortened chassis and supercharged 190bhp engine rapidly overtook the £95,000-130,000 sought to sell for £155,250.
Other noteworthy valuations by buyers at Beaulieu, where 26,000 attended International Autojumble weekend, an early 1990s rebuilt 1930 Lagonda 3-Litre Tourer sold for a mid-estimate £101,200 and a within guide £63,250 was paid for a 1933 16/80 T5 Tourer formerly owned by a Battle of Britain pilot.
A 1932 Lanchester 30hp with replicated Tourer coachwork made a low estimate £59,800, a 1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster requiring recommissioning £58,650 and a 1973 E Type S3 V12 Roadster auto in need of the same £47,725.
£55,200 was paid for a No Reserve 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible with Hardtop, £41,400 for a still very original 1923 Vauxhall OD 23-60 Malvern Tourer, and £40,825 for a 1909 Daimler TB22 Hewers Car Bodies of Coventry Drophead for restoration.
Land Rovers valued were a Suez Veteran 1956 S1 4x4 in Desert paint that served the Ist Batallion West Yorkshire Regiment sold for £29,900, and a 1952, so early, S1 4x4 Utility that worked in Norfolk, but was over-ripe for restoration, £17,250.
A brace of 1939 Rover ‘Twenty’ Tickford Foursome Drophead projects were very Beaulieu and were taken on for £13,225 and £5,520, which reflected an incomplete engine.
The 1967 Morris Minor Pick-Up had been extensively rebuilt and sold for a more than top estimate £17,825 and a 1976 Mini 1275cc uprated Pick-Up picked up a well over estimated £20,700. A 1927 Austin Seven Chummy that had changed hands for £15,000 in 2016 sold here for £14,950 in 2022.
Really glossy was a pro-restored 1950 Austin K4 Petrol Tanker in National Benzole Mixture livery that had only done 3,257 miles since restoration and for which a £5,000 below estimate £24,725 was accepted. Also cosmetically sharp, a 1949 Fordson 7V Box Van/Mobile Catering Canteen with Ford Cologne engine and box that had been cast in Granchester and Call the Midwife on TV and made a mid-estimate £29,900.
The sale stats were surely most encouraging for stakeholders, with 61 or 81% of 75 cars offered changing hands before any post-auction deals had been added to the premium-inclusive £2,071,023 gross total, an average of £33,951 being spent per car by buyers.
Consigning 27% of the entry Without Reserve certainly boosted the sale rate, the No Reservists accounting for 33% of classics sold. Within estimate band prices were paid for 31% of sellers, 10% exceeded their top estimates, whereas the vendors of 26% of cars sold accepted below lower estimate returns.
After more than 400 lots of automobilia had been offered during near sell-out Friday and Saturday sessions, 95% of all lots had sold. Best sellers were a £3,863 Austin Pathfinder Child’s Pedal Car of circa 1950 requiring restoration and a Dursley Pedersen Gent’s Bicycle pedalled to a £3,188 result, five times its pre-sale estimate.
Beaulieu organisers claimed that in its 55th year, International Autojumble attendance was over 26,000, among them the occasional jumbler from the EU mainland who had persevered with post-Brexit immigration restrictions to legally cross the leaky Channel by car on ferry or train. For compared to last year, there were at least a few foreign registrations to be seen in the New Forest car parks again, although the far field was still short on stall holders and visitors rarely had to queue for the inflated prices of anything.
The auctioneers’ Collector Cars UK team next head to West Sussex for their Goodwood Revival Sale Saturday 17 September, less than a week later, when several historically important period race cars cross the block. Headlining will be the metallic remains of the very first car to bear the McLaren Kiwi badge – Bruce McLaren’s 1964 Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile ‘Jolly Green Giant’ - and Le Mans and Mille Miglia campaigner and winner of the debut Goodwood 9-Hour Endurance race, a video-demonstrated 1952 Aston Martin DB3 Works Team Sports Race 2-Seater.
The most market-comprehensive 'Insider Review' of what sells, for how much and why, will appear right here on C.A.R. RH-E

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Where once Henry VIII strutted his stuff, Giallo Ferrari made cool £7.8m during £22m Saturday afternoon Gooding sale at Hampton Court Palace

The top-selling 250GT Short-Wheelbase was supplied new in May 1960 to New York Ferrari dealer and race team owner Luigi Chinetti and driven in period by Pierre Dumay at Le Mans, Montlehery and Goodwood.
Having been retrospectively raced at Le Mans Classic and the Goodwood Revival as well as driven on the Tour Auto, the Scaglietti-bodied GT chassis 2021 chassis had been estimated by the American auction house to raise £6-7m with no internet-bidding accepted. Bid to £6.9m in the sale tent, the Berlinetta Competizione sold for £7,762,500 including buyer’s premium to much applause.
While the disposable income for most mortals was disappearing down the plughole in a depressed world outside, the finest concours cars in the country were displayed by their still well-heeled owners in the Palace grounds, where Daytime TV presenter Charlie Ross started bidding at £2m for a more mint than when new in 1932 Bugatti T35.
Guided at £3.75-4.75m, the Ivan Dutton restored Cabriolet by Gangloff quickly ran out of reality however with £2.6m bid on the screen, which, if accepted, would have cost the absentee bidder a well below lower estimate £2,925,000 including 12.5% premium.
A ‘garage found’ 1956 Porsche 550 with 718-style Race-Spyder bodywork and motor had raced at Avus and Monza, before entering single family ownership for 40 years and spending the last three decades going nowhere. Forecast to fetch £1.25-1.75m, and authenticated by respected Porsche authority Andy Prill, the ‘LDA 6’ registered project was most optimistically taken on for an applauded £2,025,000.
Also performing better than expected was a 1965 Ferrari 275GTS, number 28 of 200, a Pininfarina Targa-top lefty, for which £1.05-1.25m had been sought, but which sold for a heady £1,350,000 with premium.
At least one new world record price of £1,181,250 with premium was paid though for one of the 112 Alfa Romeo TZ for Zagato Coupes, that had been hand-made1963-67. Supplied by Autodelta to its first owner-driver and with Italian competition history in period, the 1965 example with still original engine viewed in the Palace courtyard was optimistically forecast to fetch £1.0-1.2m, but ended up selling for £1,181,250 after a floor to floor bidder battle.
The latest valuation in public for a £1.1-1.3m guided 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe which flapped away into new ownership for £1,125,000.
While a 1932 Bentley Eight HJM 4-Door, last restored during Peter Agg ownership, sold on a telephone for a within estimate £1,096,875. The 1953 Geneva Motor Show exhibited R Type HJM Continental RHD Manual Fastback also raised the necessary £641,250 from a bidder in the tent.
Non sellers and their 'abandoned at' bids called by auctioneer Ross included the ex-Beryl Reid 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible with 4.2 Vantage spec engine '2 NKN' that had been AM Works Service restored in 2011, but which failed to attract the £1.25-1.75m being floated and ran out of road at £920,000 in 2022.
A Bristol BS1 powered £700,000-900,000 guided 1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans Rep 'JYS 3', that had done the Goodwood Nine Hour in period, was 'passed' by Ross at £540,000 and a 2012 RUF RTS 3.8 AWD could not muster more than £300,000 towards the £350,000-450,000 sought.
Some of the No Reserve car prices paid were eye-wateringly Real World for those who imagine their cars are still worth anything like they may have paid for them. A 1962 Bentley S2 Continental HJM 2-Door catalogued at £250,000-325,000 was declared sold to a Gooding & Co telephone operative for £180,000.
Whereas a CKL recommissioned £90,000-130,000 estimated 1956 Jaguar XK140SE DHC, a “running original” from only two long-term owners, transacted on another telephone for £104,063, and a front-engined Stanguellini-Fiat Formula Junior supplied new in 1962 to first entrant Briggs Cunningham in the US for Walt Hangsen to drive realised the required £90,000 from a tent bidder.
Much more realistic though was the £78,750 paid for an SCCA raced in 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1, for which £125,000-175,000 had been suggested before the sale. A scruffy looking 1910 Stanley Model 60 Runabout with £90,000-120,000 ambitions also steamed into new hands for a second half of 2022 £73,125.
The £70,000-100,000 guesstimated for a 1967 Maserati Mistral 3.7 Coupe by Frua ended at hammer fall with a mere £32,000 on the bids screen, costing the buying bidder £36,000 with premium, a new low for the model.
The £75,000-100,00 pre-sale estimated 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Ford 260ci V8 Mk1 rally car ‘NEV 2C’, without bumpers with roll-over bar, was also well acquired here for £31,500. While the next restoration-ready 1947 MG TC 'LGP 723', guided at £25,000-35,000, was sold to a bidder in the tent for £19,125.
Following the Russian invasion, a £10,000-20,000 estimated 1987 Citroen 2CV Dolly that had been most generously donated by 'Top Car' London Broker Gregor Fiskem to support Ukrainian families and their war hit children sold twice. First, the owner himself outbid the tent with a winning bid of £40,000 and then offered the car for sale again, when the RHD 2CV raised another £30,000 from a new owner, amounting to a hugely useful £70,000 total for a really popular cause.
The Californian auction firm's Saturday 3 September 78% sold sale at the Surrey Palace saw 28 out of the 36 collector vehicles sell - greatly helped by the 13 classics auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, 47% of those sold - and an average of £784,118 spent per car bought.
14% of cars sold made more than estimated prices and 32% went for within estimate prices, while the vendors of only 7% of cars accepted below estimate returns.
In addition, a No Reserve and cosmetically sharp Ferrari 250GT engine of circa 1962 raised £123,750 and a John Surtees raced and ancient looking 1966 246 F1-66 Tipo 228 V6 £174,375.
All of which added up to this Gooding annual on this side of the pond being the highest grossing sale of the UK auction season, so far, that is most unlikely to be bettered for the rest of what will be a very stormy year when even more inflating Sterling will be needed to fund the last pint, which once downed is gone forever.
A classic or three in your garage meanwhile may indeed be a better hedge than devalued cash in the attic. RH-E

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People’s Princess 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 fetches almighty £722,500 in ‘Live’ Sale of the Century above F1 pits at Silverstone Classic

Believed to have been the only Black RS Turbo S1, the Fomoco Special Vehicle Engineering painted Series 1 with 5-slat grille provided Girl Racer wheels for the late Princess of Wales on the School Run between 23 August 1985 and May 1988.
With 6,800 Palace miles on it, the PR Department administered car was then sold internally by Ford to their Government Sales executive Geoff King for his wife’s use, before being given away as a prize by Kiss FM on the radio to a listener in Essex in September 1993 with 12,000 mileage.
The original ‘C462 FHK’ registration was reinstated on the car before acquisition by a serial Ford RS Collector in 2008, since when the mileage indicated at the official Silverstone Classic auction had only risen to 24,961.
Every telephone line into the saleroom and all the Silverstone Team mobiles were fully booked with potential owners, who were soon filtered down to those who were prepared (or could afford?) to join the bidding at £200,000+.
After the £400k ceiling had been speedily broken however, only 4 players were left, all competing on-line, two in the UK, in Coventry and Cheshire, and two more bidding from West Fargo in Dakota and the Middle East.
Regular house auctioneer Jonathan Humbert enthusiastically orchestrated audience participation to a roof lifting climax, by when Dubai, then Fargo, had left the field to the anonymous i-winner in Alderley Edge with a wildly applauded £650,000 on the screen, costing the absentee bidder £722,500 including 12.5% premium.
Pre-sale, and before a record number of bidders had registered to bid, Silverstone Specialist opinion had reckoned that uniqueness, low mileage and Di history might have inspired a buyer valuation of circa double the top price paid for one, say £125,000-150,000.
The previous record for this Fast Ford model had been clocked up only one year ago, before inflation had devalued the pound in your pocket to less than 80p and falling, when a Series 1 Turbo without a Royal connection made £63,000 including premium, also under the Silverstone gavel. Whereas the Hagerty Price Guide, whose stats are based on recent past global reality, lists the average value of one in concours condition at less than £36,000.
This was also a strong sale for Subarus, all of which sold out, with a way over top estimate £182,250 invested in the present of the one owner 36,000 mile 1998 Impreza 22B-STI with ‘S55 WOW’ reg, wow indeed. While a 2000 P1 in receipt of meticulously executed restoration by a former Prodrive employee deservedly fetched £56,250, top estimate money.
Porsche prices were headed by a top estimate beating UK-supplied 1989 911 Type 930 Turbo LE original with 25,000 mileage sold for £238,500.
The top selling Merc, the 1966 230SL W113 with Pagoda hardtop built by the Mercedes factory for Sir Stirling Moss and with 79,485 verifiable mileage was rightly applauded for raising £177,750 with premium, £57,750 more than the guide.
A Bee Gee 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible purchased by Maurice Gibb in 1979 and owned by the family until 2012 fetched £108,000, forecast money. The  VW Beetle 1303 LS Cabriolet owned from new in 1977 for almost 30 years by Roger Daltry of The Who made a better than expected £38,250.
The 1973 Rover P5 ‘GYE 329N’ that transported a newly-elected Maggie Thatcher to Buck House 4 May 1979 to accept an invitation by the Queen to become the UK’s first female PM sold for an estimated £36,000.
Other exceptional prices for exceptional examples of the model were the UK record £50,625 paid for a £20k restored 1987 Toyota Corolla AE86 Twin Cam, consigned from Ireland and returning there in new ownership, while a 1993 Renault Clio Williams Phase 1 had also been restored to a fantastic level, which explains an applauded world record priced £33,187 performance.
An unregistered since 1980 MGB in Snapdragon Yellow that had only 143 delivery mileage and spent most of its life slowly appreciating in a Carcoon was bought by a third owner here for £21,937, less than expected. Vendor set reserves of 45 other classics in the glossy catalogue were too much for those in the dispersal market to buy on the day.
Although when they did sell, even the dedicated for race and rally competition cars, statistically the toughest sector of all, performed strongly, the 13 sellers accounting for just under £1.5m of the one day sale’s total.
Leading them in the results was a Richard Burns/Robert Reid rallied, Prodrive-built WRC winning Subaru Impreza, registered both ‘X2 SRT’ and ‘X8 SRT’ during the 2001 season, that sold for a forecast £392,500 with premium.
The Bjorn Waldegard Toyota Team Europe 1982 Rally of New Zealand winning Celica RA63 also made a within guide £146,250 here. An only just below lower estimate £171,000 was accepted for an ex-Ted Toleman Group B 1985 MG Metro 6R4 061 with original Clubman shell and International-spec motor by Goodman Racing that had been Top Geared.
The Lotus Engineering 1960 Le Mans entered and ‘6 SME’ registered Elite LX with awesome 2-Litre Coventry Climax FPF engine that Innes Ireland John Whitmore never drove in the 24 Hour race had been Classic Team Lotus rebuilt and retro-sorted since 2014 realised £202,500.
After 10 post-sales had been invoiced, 82 of the 127 car lots - displayed inside 2 salerooms of the Silverstone F1 circuit's The Wing pits complex, and parked under much viewed gazebos outside - had been hammered by Sales Director Rob Hubbard and fellow auctioneer Humbert, for a bumper £7,115,187 gross with premium, buyers spending a bullish average of £86,771 per collector car bought.
Analysis of the 82 cars sold shows that while 18 or 22% did so for over estimate prices and 32 or 40% sold for mid-estimate sums, and 5 or 6% were offered Without Reserve and were going to sell for whatever was bid, the vendors of 25 or 32% of classics sold accepted below-estimate returns. Whereas 55 cars auctioned failed to sell under the hammer and, after 10 had been post-sale sold, 45 of them had to be transported back to entrants homes unsold.  
And sharing the all-time UK auction podium with the late Robert Brooks selling the Bugatti Royale for a world record £5.5m in his last Christie’s sale held in 1987 in the Royal Albert Hall and the Brooks sale of the Fangio raced 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 for £19.6m in the Bonhams tent at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Silverstone’s £722.5k milestone price for the 37 year old 24,961 mile Escort with Princess Di provenance is most unlikely to be overtaken in the foreseeable future.
Indeed, in terms of entertainment value and extraordinary audience reaction, this Reviewer would rate the Escort’s record busting run as a very strong contender for being The UK Sale of this Century. RH-E

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Roaring inflation supercharges Californian Auctions totals to £400m led by £18.7m Fangio 1956 Buenos Aires 1000k winning Ferrari 410 Spider

The most expensive car of Monterey Car Week 2022 - a multi-race winning 410 Long Block V12 Sports driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Carroll Shelby (who won 8 races in it and autographed the fuel tank!), followed by Phil Hill, Ritchie Ginther, Jo Bonnier and Master Gregory - boosted RM Sotheby’s flagship sales takings by $22,005,000 (£18,704,250) to a premium-inclusive $239,258,340 (£203,336,968), more than all the other major Monterey auctions combined.
Presided over by Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker and RM Sotheby’s Mike Shackleton, the auctioneers were extremely busy fielding bids, night after night, in a jam-packed sales room, which saw a Californian sales leading 95% of all lots sell to a record number of bidders and enthusiasts in attendance.
Bids were placed from 38 different countries with cars consigned from 9 different countries. 17% of bidders were new to the auctioneers, and of those, 11% purchased cars. 52 lots sold for over $1m (£850,000) and 9 out of 10 of the most expensive cars sold during Monterey Car Week were sold by this auction house.
Thursday night’s auction brought over $41m (£34.85m) with the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen being the highest selling lot at $9,905,000 (£8,419,250) with the sale achieving an overall 95.7% sell-through rate.
Friday night’s auction brought in nearly $75m (£63.75m) with the 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC Spider by Scaglietti being the highest selling car at $7,815,000 (£6,642,750) and the sale achieving an overall 94.6% sell-through rate.
Saturday night’s auction brought in another $123.3m (£104.72m) with the 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti being the highest selling car at $22,005,000 (£18,704,250) and the sale achieving an overall 94.2% hit rate. 2022 Porsche 911 ‘Sally Special’ breaks world record for most expensive factory new Porsche ever sold, selling at $3,600,000 (£3,060,000), and a 1998 Michael Schumacher driven Ferrari F300 Formula 1 car became the 4th most expensive Formula 1 car ever sold at $6,220,000 (£5,287,000).
RM Auto Restorations meanwhile, the North American firm’s own in-house restoration shop, won “Best of Show” for an unprecedented 7th time, setting yet another record for most wins at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for any restoration shop. Their prize-winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo was sourced by and received an exhaustive, no expense spared restoration in Blenheim, Canada, by the RM Auto team.
Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, stated, “The entire team will never forget this week after months of preparation. We sold 180 cars in 11 hours of auctioneering for a total of over $239m (£203.15m)—a record that will stand for a long time.
“The market continues to rise, and this weekend is a testament that the collector market is thriving. We’re looking forward to an exceptional year and we expect to continue with the incredible momentum that we’ve gained to date.”
For their 3 auctions grossed more than all the other Monterey auctions combined, and broke another world record, for the highest grossing automotive auction ever.
The circa $470m (£399.5m) spent on some 800 cars, during the 7 sessions of the 4 major traditional format auctions plus several days of Mecum Drive-Throughs, was the most ever bid at California auctions week, convincingly overtaking the previous $394m (£335m) record sales total in pre-covid, pre-Russian invasion of Ukraine 2015.
After more Quantitative Easing than ever before in the history of printing money however, the US Federal Reserve have been purchasing more securities on the open market to increase the supply of devalued money which fuels inflated price rises. For although the top cars were much the same, you needed many more dollars to own many of them. RH-E

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As collector car world awaits annual Californian sales reality, ACA ‘Drive-Throughs’ provide accurate barometer check on UK classics weather

The Saturday 20 August session commences 10am with 175 lots of automobilia, followed by the first batch of 149 cars commencing midday. The Sunday 21 August running order also starts 10am with 124 lots of automobilia, followed by 19 cherished registrations and 25 classic bikes, before 120 more cars are driven past the rostrum.
A one owner from new in 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 3-Door with big wing that has flown for 150,397 miles in the UK and Ireland headlines with £50,000-60,000 on the screen.
Whereas a similarly winged Subaru Impreza 4-Door, number 147 of the Prodrive upgraded ‘UK 300; Edition that celebrated Richard Burns 2001 WRC win celebrating, has been guided at £6,000-8,000 to reflect 116,319 mileage.
A fully-caged, but road-reg 1980 Morgan Plus 8 with renewed chassis and wood framing, pokey 250bhp JE 4.0 motor and receipts for 100,000 spent on file, is really well prepped for £26,000-30,000.
No Reservists include 1934 Citroen Rosalie without docs inherited by vendor from grandfather and father, 1973 Austin 1300 Mk3 for cosmetic improvement, 1979 Ford Escort RS2000 Custom Mk2 with freshly rebuilt gearbox, mechanically refreshed 1981 Ford Capri 1.6,  one owner from new in 1985 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia Estate and 13,046 miles from new in 1987 Austin Mini Mayfair.
Viewing of cars and documents is offered 9am-5pm Thursday 18 August and Friday 19 August, last admission on both days being 4pm. Although admission on sale days is free, a catalogue costs £5. While if you are unable to attend viewing, a ‘walk-around’ description of sale cars by phone can be booked over the ACA 01553 777444 landline.
On-Line bidding is via thesaleroom.com, while you can also register for a telephone or fixed bid on commission, which must be done by 6pm Friday 19 August for the Saturday 20 sale bidding and by 6pm Saturday 20 for the Sunday 21 sale bidding.
Top sellers in June were a 62,298 mile 1973 Jaguar E Type  S3 5.3 V12 2+2 FHC sold for a mid-estimate £47,250 and a 74,782m 1964 2.2 S1 FHC for more than forecast £40,230. Whereas a 64,284m 2010 vintage XKR 5.0 Auto Convertible also made a better than expected £18,900.
A No Reserve consigned 1985 Mercedes-Benz 2.3 16v Cosworth with 56,000 recorded mileage raised £32,832 and a very open 1961 Morgan Plus 4 without bumpers found the required £21,600. A 1966 Jensen CV8 Mk3 for improvement was taken on for £21,330.
Performing strongly was a 1983 Ford Fiesta XR2 with 86,994 mileage sold for £19,440, £3,440 more than the guide, and a £10,000-12,000 estimated 1966 Cortina 1600GT Mk1 for £15,930. While the oldest car on offer, a 92 year old Humber 16/50 Saloon from 1930, realised an estimated £15,660.
Among No Reservists were a 1967 Ford Galaxie V8 Sedan imported from South Africa and requiring UK registration sold for £12,960, a 1971 Ford Mustang Convertible from the same source £11,232 and an 80 year old Studebaker Champion Coupe from 1942 £10,800.
£18,360 was needed to buy a 1966 Jaguar S Type 3.8 Manual with Overdrive estimated at £12,000-15,000 and £12,852 bought a 107,000m since new in 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II 75th Anniversary Edition with £6,000-8,000 on the screen.
£6,804 including premium was required to own a 1989 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i CD Auto auctioned Without Reserve, while the same money was raised for Russian invaded Ukraine by the generous donation of a very 1951 looking Cadillac Series 62 4-Door Sedan Left-Mobile. A within guide £5,616 acquired a really rare 1966 Toyota Corona RT40 with 86,000 mileage that presented well.
After their Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June Double Header, the King’s Lynn firm transacted 210 of the 239 mainstream classics, an 88% sale rate (additionally, there were buyers for 94% of the motorcycles offered, with a premium-inclusive £1,537,526 paid, an average of £7,322 spent per affordable classic bought.
Once again, and in addition to the increasing post-covid lockdown live audience in the auction hall, by mid-week following the June weekend sales, ACA YouTube viewing stats had recorded 45,898 absentee salegoers attending Saturday and 39,366 Sunday.
Lest we forget, these were 43,000 and 36,000 more punters than ever crammed the site 'live' in those carefree pre-covid lockdown days. RH-E

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1931 Bentley 8-Litre, re-bodied as open tourer in 1970s, sold for £585k during Silverstone Auction’s first £1.3m sale in pre-WW2 sector

The sale’s superstar - which began life 91 years ago with a Folding concealed head Coupe coachwork crafted by Thrupp & Maberely, but which had been re-bodied as a sporty VDP-looking open-tourer in the 1970s - was much viewed in the Lygon Arms car park.
Estimated to fetch £600,000-800,000, the 1931 Bentley 8-Litre was hammered by Sales Director Rob Hubbard in the hotel garden for £520,000, selling for £585,000 with premium.
The Midland firm’s ‘Dawn of Motoring’ billed debut in the Vintage and Post Vintage sector was held Friday 5 August at the famous Broadway Hotel only a few Cotswold lanes away from the weekend’s annual VSCC two day gathering at the Prescott Hillclimb.
Another Bentley, a 4¼ with most ingenious pull out and slide back ‘Parallel-Door’ Coupe coachwork by James Young had been acquired as giant jigsaw puzzle in 2013 before being forensically restored over a five year period by the vendor with help from marque specialists, Clanfield Coachbuilding and Fiennes Restorations. Unsold under the gavel, the great 1937 rarity most deservedly sold afterwards for £177,000.
There were buyers for all three Lagondas in the glossy catalogue. A 1936 Lagonda LG45, one of only 25 of the Meadows 4½-Litre twin-plug 6-cylinder powered chassis to be bodied as a Tourer, fetched £180,000 with premium, the lower estimate.
The 1939 Lagonda 4-Seat 4-Door Sports-Saloon, a long-wheelbase car, with silky-smooth V12 motor had been delivered to the first guardian a month before WW2 broke out and the carefree era ended forever.
Still highly original looking, and considered by many connoisseurs of proper motor cars to have been the ultimate pre-war saloon, ‘FYE 999’ sold for £78,750, only just below the lower estimate.
While the 1935 Lagonda M45 Pillarless Sports-Saloon, a second car offered here with a 4.5 twin-plus straight-six under-bonnet, had been acquired by the vendor at the March 2018 Bonhams Goodwood Member’s Meeting sale. Although guided at £60,000-80,000, the owner-driver was sold for £54,667.
Abbey Coachworks of North-West London Acton had uniquely topped an Alvis 4.3 sports/touring chassis with 4-Door Drophead Coupe coachwork in 1938. Recently refreshed, the uniquely-bodied DHC had been estimated at £120,000 or more, but changed hands for £107,000.
Really very well mechanically sorted was the cosmetically mint and VSCC/MGC event-ready ‘Black Adder’, the Marshall A 75 Supercharged 1934 MG PA/B Type that emulates the works ‘Cream Cracker’ cars and had been forecast to cost a buyer £38,000 or more and for which a new owner in the garden enthusiastically paid a premium-inclusive £39,937.
Other valuations confirmed here were a 1933 Hupmobile K-321 3.7 Cabrio Lefty, one of less than 10 survivors in Primrose and Chocolate 2-tone, that sold for £36,000.
A Davenport Cars 2018 restored Jaguar MkIV 2.5 Saloon from just post-war 1946 fetched a forecast £32,625 and a resto-fresh 1935 Morgan Super Sports Matchless 990cc V-Twin 3-Wheeler with subtle upgrades that included a new-fangled alternator made an estimated £30,375.
A 1936 Triumph Gloria Twelve 1232cc On-Line 4-Cylinder 2-Door 4-Seater Tourer for four, driven a mere 330 miles since being rebuilt and restored, was  bought by a bidder in the garden for a below estimate £21,375.
A 1929-dated Ford Model A Flat-Head V8 Tudor Saloon ‘Hot Rod’ with T5 5-speed manual box and £70,000 worth of receipts was an unconventional purchase for £17,608.
Other prices, an ex-Sword Collection 1921 Talbot-Darracq V20 16hp 3-Litre Touring 5-Seater with CAV fittings in Deep Primrose over Nut Brown offered ideal wheels for VSCC eventing at the £15,750 paid.
A 1927 Hupmobile Model A4 1970s rebodied into a 1-Bench Seat Dr Coupe sold for £11,025, a Michigan-built in 1916 Dort 2.7 L-Head Lycoming Touring Model 5 that was claimed to fire up readily on ye older starting handle £9,562 and a 2020 refreshed 1935 Austin 12/4 2-Door ‘Woody’ Shooting Brake £6,525.
This inaugural and perfectly targeted sale for Vintage Gents/Ladies grossed £1,286,199 with premium for the cars, and although the 50% of entries sold included post-sales, the average spent amounted to an impressive £80,387 per oldtimer bought.
Bookending the 32 cars were a 1928 AKD (‘Abingdon King Dick’) Model 10 1¾hp 174cc OHV 4-Stroke ‘Lightweight’ Motorcycle sold for £7,312 and a £6,750 1928 Scott Flying Squirrel 596cc Single Pot Motorcycle, a 100% result for Banbury Run bikes.
Happily, the world outside the VSCC and VMCC enthusiast bubbles continues to rotate on time. And that’s despite the worst efforts of the dysfunctional administration, who have so nearly destroyed our receding economy by their crippling green taxes and inappropriate lockdowns.
The Unions meanwhile are flexing their most militant members’ muscles in preparation for only the second General Strike which will only hasten the next General Election, after which the make-up of whichever sleazy bunch will be out of control next cannot be imagined. For while we live, work and play in interesting times, in the big scheme of things,  enthusiasm by devotees of these earlier classics is likely to be undiminished. RH-E

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Always RHD 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 Roadster with upgrades made mid-estimate £84,000 during latest 68% sold Brightwells Timed-Out sale

E Type Jag demand and prices are holding up surprisingly well as the skipperless UK inflates into recession with a Home Market and Heritage certificate numbers matching 1963 S1 Roadster with factory hardtop and 5-speed box and Coopercraft brakes upgrades making a forecast £84,000 with premium during Brightwells latest £621,340 grossing 3 August internet sale, which ‘Timed-Out’ during a summery Thursday evening.
Water-cooled 911s were also cool with absentee bidders, one of whom paid a correctly estimated £43,165 with premium for a 21,000 miles since 2010 Carrera 2S 3.8 Type 997 Coupe, while 41 bids contested a 33,000 mile 2001 Carrera 2 3.4 Type 996 Cabriolet with hardtop sold for a within-guide £21,400.
Bid to £29,500 at the time, an only just below lower estimate £33,320 including the Herefordshire auctioneers 12% buyer’s premium, secured a 1990s restored 1973 Lotus Elan Sprint with original Big Valve motor that reportedly had been extensively recommissioned after 16 years storage.
A thought to have done 28,982 mileage 1970 Elan +2S with replacement galvanised chassis and some minor cosmetic imperfections had been driven to market to cost the 7th bidder a below estimate £12,779.
There were 14 bids for a 1999 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph V12 with 15 stamps for 90,000 mileage raised an estimated £20,720 and 16 for a 1990 Bentley Mulsanne S a within guide band £14,448.
In the heart of Land Rover country, on the site where the largest 4x4 sales in Europe were held before economy-destroying lockdowns screwed both present and future, Land Rovers transacted here included a 1989 90 2.5 petrol with hardtop sold for £15,120, while a 1956 88 S1 2.0 petrol with truck-cab towing a Brockenhouse or Sankey trailer picked up 41 bids until virtually hammered for a more than forecast £14,283.
20 bids contested a  Dove’s of Wimbledon supplied in 1962 and 2004 body-off restored Triumph TR4 2138cc with overdrive on wires until sold for £15,680. A freshly restored by Welsh Borders panel beater 1970 former US-spec TR6 2.5 No Reservist on wires with RHD-conversion pulled 31 bids until a winner had paid £12,733.
A £11,199 with premium 1965 MGB Roadster with Ivor Searle unleaded motor and overdrive had been vendor owned since 1986 and restored around a new in 2004 Heritage shell. 
Whereas there were no bidders prepared to meet or better the reserves of a £95,000-98,000 guided 1950 Healey Silverstone D Type with Wade supercharged Riley 2.4 and front discs, which ran out of road with £71,500 on screen. A really well presented £80,000-100,000 1934 Lagonda Tourer for four with 3.2 underbonnet was also unsold at £68,000, while a £63,000-75,000 1923 Vauxhall OD 23-60 4.0 Kington Tourer that had been ground-up restored fell short with an insufficient £55,000 on screen.
For In what clearly is becoming a perfect storm in the real economy, 32 of what are unnecessary motor cars failed to sell 'live' or post-sale before bidders' mice had cooled. 
A 1924, so very early, Austin Seven Sports in Bright Blue from a deceased estate is well known in the VSCC did sell however for £19,600, only just under the £20,000-22,000 sought.
And by the time bidding time had run out and follow up calls had petered out, there were new keepers for 68 or 68% of the 100 cars, all of which could be physically viewed by potential bidders within the Leominster firm’s viewing sheds, and a premium-inclusive average of £9,137 had been invested in the future of each classic bought.
The next Brightwells on-line auction for Classic Cars will be determined every few minutes during the 14 September evening, by when wise vendors reserves will be even keener, while several rows of Classic Bikes will Time-Out during 15 September evening. Entries for both sales can be accommodated by the Brightwells team until their 2 September closing date.
May the bid be with you, wherever you might be at the time. Your Reviewer will almost certainly have relocated to the Red Lion to monitor the prices on the i-phone. RH-E

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Dune-ready 1970 Meyers Beach Buggy in Ocean Blue made more than double top estimate £46,200 during Historics £2.5m scorcher at Windsor

To continuous accompaniment of Heathrow jet traffic in cloudless skies above, there were 110 changes of ownership at the sun-baked Historics Auctioneers Summer Sale on a scorching Saturday 19 July afternoon beside the Windsorview Lakes.
A Triumph TR4A with what in 1967 was very modern independent rear suspension, an IRS model with overdrive gearbox, had been expensively restored to concours standard in 2007 and deservedly sold for £44,550 with premium, £6,550 more than the top estimate. Whereas a factory development 1980 TR8 Convertible in receipt of £45,000 2014-16 restoration sold for a within guide £26,950.
A Ford Focus RS with Dynamic RS seat upgrade, only driven 2,621 miles during husband and wife ownership since 2010, but serviced annually 12 times by the supplying dealer, raised £50,600 with premium, £5,000 more than forecast.
The highest price paid of the overheated day was the £154,000 accepted for a £165,000-200,000 estimated centre Mercedes-Benz 280SE Cabrio with 3.5 motor that had been supplied to the US in 1971 and extensively restored in the early 2000s.
A right-hand drive 1974 Lamborghini Espada S2 manual for four was shipped to the UK from South Africa in 2014 and fetched a within estimate band £77,500. While a centre of auction marquee displayed 1973 Alfa Romeo Montreal lefty was “one of the nicest seen”, opined the auction firm, and duly sold for a correctly estimated £71,500.
Aston Martins valued in public auction included an ex-Forshaw Family 1972 Vantage, the former 6-cylinder DBS-shaped model that was upgraded to V8 power at the Newport Pagnell factory, a manual, which had been back to bare metal resprayed in 1999 and which sold for a within estimate £74,643. While a more than estimate £51,700 was needed to own a 1978 V8 auto with 58,250 mileage.
The MGA Twin Cam Roadster sold for a forecast £42,900 had been sympathetically restored to 1959 ex-factory condition. A below guide £37,813 was accepted for a previously repainted 1971 Ford Escort Mk1 Twin Cam meanwhile, one of only 380 of the 883 built with circular headlights, found £37,813 with premium.
The Porsche 944 Turbo presented well after being driven only 22,099 miles since 1986 and was bid to a buying £35,200 with charges by the new owner. A 1972 Jensen Interceptor III had been driven by Mark Wahlberg in the Ridley Scott ‘Ask the Money in the World’ movie before selling here for £28,050, nearly lower estimate money.
A 1969 Alpine A110 Renault in Elf factory rally team colours to Group IV 1600 works spec really looked historic stage rally ready, but the £105,000-110,000 could not be achieved on scorched grass between the Thames and the M4. An only 33,432 mile No Reserve Alpine GTA V6 Turbo Le Mans road car in right-hand drive from same family ownership since new in 1990 required full recommissioning and cost the buyer £22,235.
After recent Queen’s Jubilee display at nearby Windsor Castle and being driven by Len Goodman on a trip to Margate with Eve Pollard in The Holiday of a Lifetime programme on the Beeb, a 1957 Vauxhall Velox that had been restored to a good cosmetic standard fetched £12,375 with premium.
The two owner 1982 Mini Clubman Estate with 12,821 mileage displayed was claimed to have been garaged all its life and had been recently refreshed, though was only fair in close-up, was wisely sold for £11,550, below the £13,000-17,000 that had been forecast.
Unusually with rare manual shift, a 1994 Jaguar XJS Convertible with AJ16 under-bonnet and blemished bumpers had been guided at £13,000-17,000, but was sold for £11,200.
A No Reserve Jaguar XJ8 4.0 purchased new by the singing TV personality Val Doonican after it had been a demonstrator at his local Jaguar dealership in 1998 still looked new-ish after 55,000 mileage before selling here for £4,675.
The going rate for a 55,598k 1986 Trabant P601 Kombi Estate that only done 500 smokey kilometres since 2016 and had migrated by road from East Germany to County Cork transacted at No Reserve in Berkshire for £3,850 to the next capitalist. While really cheap on this side of the moving Iron Curtain was an unregistered 1966 Humber Super Snipe left-hand drive with reg-enabling duties-paid NOVA doc hammered for £2,200.
The sale day stats on my calculator, before all post-aftersales had been posted in the book, increased from 100 sales initially to 110 sales from the 171 offered, a 64% sale rate (76% at Ascot), which was helped greatly by 39 or 35% of cars sold (23% of the entry) having been auctioned 'Without Reserve'.
Including 10% buyer’s premium, £2,449,272 (plus vat on the premium) was spent on classics, an average of £22,266 paid per classic bought. The most popular marque with vendors was Mercedes-Benz, for which there were buyers for 18 or 60% of the 30 Mercs that crossed the block.
Significantly, over 50% of sold entries with Reserves did so either within or above their pre-sale estimates. Although after 61 cars returned home unsold, the auction going on dead grass was statistically hard for house and many of their vendors.
Historics next sale is scheduled for from 9.30am 24 September in the shady cool of the Bicester Heritage Hangar, a pitch last occupied by Bonhams MPH, where cars and their documents being auctioned can be physically viewed 9am-5pm Wednesday 21 to Friday 23 September. See some of you there no doubt. RH-E

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After 4-years absence, 10th Le Mans Classic watched by 200,000 largely EU spectators saw Artcurial sell 75% of cars for 11.8m euros (£10.1m)

Artcurial’s Three Musketeers - Maitre Herve Poulain , Matthieu Lamoure and Piere Novikoff – entertainingly-manned the Parisian House rostrum Saturday 2 July in the Le Mans Classic infield sale tent to sell a results-topping 1954 Maserati A6 GCS/53 (above) for a mid-estimate 16% premium-inclusive 3,430,000 euros (£2,949,800).
The auctioneers report that this historic Fiandri Race Spyder will remain on the EU-mainland.
A mechanically rebuilt second-placed 1958 300SL Mercedes Roadster with Swiss title meanwhile headed to a new French guardian, who invested a just over low estimate 997,600 euros (£857,936). Ahead of an Ets Provost restored 1961 Aston Martin DB4 S3 in right-hand drive with RS Williams 4.2 motor which raised a mid-estimate 498,800 (£428,968) from another French collector.
Whereas a way below 500,000 euros guide 319,000 euros (£370,640) was accepted from a Middle East buyer for a genuine Group C Toyota Tom’s 96C with known race history from 1986 that was restored in 2017. The fifth highest priced ex-Pierre Heron Collection, the 1948 Paris Salon exhibited Delahaye 135M ‘El Glaoui’ Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi will remain in France however after a double low estimate 348,000 euros (£299,280) had been spent.
The acquisitive Heron bought the unique 1956 Tracta-Gregoire Supercharged Coupe Sport in 1973, 49 years later the still original GT was taken on for 150,800 euros (£129,688) and his 1950 Talbot Lago Record T26 Cabrio in mid-restoration for 95,120 (£81,803).
The metallic remains of one of only two known pre-war 1939 Delahaye 148 L with 3-Position Cabrio coachwork by Chapron raised 85,840 euros (£73,822) and 82,360 euros (£70,830) was available for one of only 10 1950 Delahaye 135 M Cabrio Luxes, again by Chapron.
From other sources, a 41,300k 1994 Porsche 964 3.6 Turbo inspired a more than top estimate 278,400 euros (£239,424) valuations and a recently restored 1976 911 Type 930 Turbo 3.0 Coupe 180,554 euros (£155,276).
The auction prices here for a 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Mk1 in right-hand drive was a below estimate 255,200 euros (£219,472) and a first sold in Germany in 1972 Ferrari 246GT Se E 290,000 euros (£249,400), mid-estimate money.
A 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago original driven 33,320k by two owners went for 208,800 euros (£179,568), an older restored 1959 Maserati 3500GT by Touring 139,200 euros (£118,712), a less than 11,000k since 2007 Ferrari F430 V8 Spider 84,000 euros (£158,240) and a restored 1962 Jaguar E Type 3.8 S1 FHC French lefty 127,600 (£109,736), all with their estimate bands.
Driven only 23,755k since new in 1989, a Porsche 911 930 3.2 G50-boxed Coupe made a forecast 121,800 euros (£104,748) and a 1988 911 930 Turbo 3.3 104,400 euros £89,784). A father to daughter owned 1989 Ferrari Testarossa emerged from 20 years storage to sell for 92,800 euros (£79,808), again within forecast.
The 9 lots Renault Icons headlining ex-Alain Prost 900,000-1.2m euros guided 1983 Renault RE 40 Turbo F1, a winner at Spa, ran out of track at 720,000 euros (£619,200) on the screen. But a No Reserve 1999 Laguna Race Saloon developed by Williams for Renault for the BTCC did sell for 104,400 euros (£89,784).
Noteworthy was the 104,400 euros (£89,784) forthcoming for a 2001 restored 1973 VW Combi T1 1500 Samba 23 Window 9-Seater that had been estimated  to cost the next owner 45,000-65,000 euros (£38,700-55,900)!  
In the Saturday morning warm-up session, during the Automobilia sale, a Stand 21 helmet signed by all the Tour Auto winners, including Michele Mouton, Henri Pescarolo and Walter Rohrl, raised 9,000 euros (£7,740) to benefit the construction of a school meals canteen and kitchen for the 200 kids attending the South African Zulu elementary Bongela School on the edge of the Nambiti Reserve, which makes a change from Ukraine.
Artcurial Motorcars MD Matthieu Lamoure said: “Le Mans Classic always provides an opportunity to share our passion for the automobile with the greatest number of people. The success of the event shows the extent of this passion that brings us together!”
Thanks to 18 of the 24 dusty pre and immediate post-WW2 restoration projects amassed by Pierre Heron being auctioned entirely ‘Sans Reserve’, 100 or 75% of the 134 voitures in the catalogue sold for 11,769,476 euros (£10,121,749 including premium), an average of 117,690 euros (£101,213) spent by buyers per auction car bought.
Artcurial Motorcars next auction with public present will be the traditional Automobiles sur les Champs sale Sunday 16 October, for which a totally original 1969 Lamborghini Miura S that comes to market for the first time since 1974 and has been estimated at 900,000-1,400,000 euros (£774,000-1,204,000) at today’s exchange rate.
Although who knows what either the euro or the pound - after-tax - may be worth by then, or indeed where the moving Iron Curtain may fall? RH-E

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2 Swiss owner 1991 Ferrari F40 raises CHF 1.995m (£1.681m) from telephone player at Gstaad where 2010 Lambo Reventon runs out of road

Where once the late Robert Brooks flamboyantly sold a clutch of Ferraris for all budgets in what was the pre-Christmas ‘Sale of the Season’ at the seasonally snow-capped Gstaad Palace Hotel - where the star lot in the Swiss Alps in winter used to make a photocall entrance dangling beneath a helicopter - and after a 14 year absence, the now venture capital owned Bonhams made what they say will be a bi-annual return to the 5-star venue in mid-summer with an all marques 54 car catalogue.
Most of the auction cars were displayed in the hotel’s carpeted underground car park, with a few dotted about outside and a CHF 14,950 (£12,857) Heinkel Kabine 3-wheeler in the hall, while the 3 July sale itself was beamed ‘live’ beneath the chandeliers to a global internet audience which far out-numbered those champagne lubricated punters who had made the ascent to the up-market hotel ballroom.
Whilst an only two Swiss owners since new in 1991 10,500k non-cat F40 - the final Ferrari to be personally overseen by company founder Enzo and one of the 1315 of the last great analogue supercars made - did sell to a telephone bidder for a mid-estimate CHF 1,700,000, costing the third owner CHF 1,955,000 (£1,681,300), there was nobody on the war-torn planet with the CHF 1.85m-2.2m (£1.6m-1.9m) sought for a 2,410k since 2010 Lamborghini Reventon, one of just 15 such dinosaur rarities.
A second highlight of a largely sold British GP clashing Sunday afternoon halfway up a Swiss Alp was the CHF 316,250 (£271,975) auction performance of a 1958 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Spring Barchetta. One of ten Alfas bodied by Carrossereie Ghia in Aigle, the doorless open-top had been designed by Giovanni Michelotti along the lines of a Riva speedboat, with a striking wraparound screen.
Other Swiss produce crossing the auction block included a 1969 Monteverdi 375S Coupe, the creation of Swiss car dealer Peter Monteverdi, who had wanted to create a Swiss high performance luxury marque to rival the Italian likes of Ferrari. The hand-built GT auctioned, the 1969 Geneva Salon show car once owned by serial car nut Jay Leno, more than doubled its CHF 70,000-110,000 pre-sale estimate to achieve CHF 230,000 (£197,800).
Whilst a 1959 VW Coupe - hand- crafted by Beuttler and, it’s thought, the only one left - also overtook its CHF 80,000-120,000 (£68,800-103,200) estimate to be given an applauded CHF 158,700 (£136,482) valuation by the winner after a very long bidding battle.
Porsches to sell for more than their double estimates included an only 20,000k from new in 1996 Porsche 911 Type 993 Turbo, guided at CHF 70,000-110,000 (£60,200-94,600), sold for CHF 243,800 (£209,668) following a most enthusiastic bidding battle. A much stored 2011 911 Type 997 Turbo S Coupe driven only 154k had been estimated at CHF 60,000-90,000 (£51,600-77,400), but sold for CHF 172,500 (£148,350), both Porsche valuations inspiring applause. 
A one owner 2008 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series, one of 350 of the limited edition Coupes, also topped its pre-sale estimate by CHF 100,000 (£86,000!) to sell for CHF 299,000 (£257,140).
While a Swiss delivered in 1994 Ferrari 512TR, the successor to the original Testarossa, also doubled its forecast CHF 100,000-120,000 estimate (£86,000-103,200) to eventually sell for CHF 230,000 (£197,800). A 1969 Citroen DS 21 ‘Majesty’ Saloon, one of only 27 such models with striking coachwork shaped in the Henri Chapron workshops, also broke through its ceiling estimate with a CHF 120,750 (£88,365) result.
Other top ten prices were a 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2, for which a below estimate CHD 350,000 (£301,000) was accepted, a 1962 Ferrari 250GTE 2+2 S1 sold for a mid-estimate CHF 258,750 (£222,525), a 1968 Lamborghini Islero S Coupe a more than forecast CHF 230,000 (£197,800), and a 1963 Facel Vega Facel II Coupe also for a more than estimate CHF 207,000 (£178,020).
By the time the proverbial cuckoo had gone back inside the Swiss clock, 48 or 89% of the 54 cars in the catalogue had sold for a premium-inclusive CHF 6,724,600 (£5,783,156) and an average of CHF 140,096 (£120,482) had been spent per car bought. In addition, the one motorcycle on the carpet, a 1998 Ducati 916 , one of only 300 Senna Editions ridden 18,850k, fetched a top estimate CHF 25,300 (£21,758).
Indeed, only 6 lots were unsold, a most commendable stat, greatly reduced by 34 classics, 63% of those consigned, being auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and therefore were definitely going to sell before the sale had even started.
Maarten Ten Holder, the gavel-wielding multi-lingual MD of Bonhams Collector Cars, said: “This a red-letter day for Bonhams, making a successful return to Gstaad after an absence of 14 years. The strong interest shown by the bidders in the viewing and in the packed saleroom reflects the healthy appetite for collector cars in Switzerland and beyond, and it is gratifying to see the Swiss-built cars performing so well.
“We are so pleased to have rekindled out relationship with the Gstaad Place which has proved an exquisite venue for the sale. We thank Andrea Scherz and his team for opening up his beautiful hotel to us once again and we all look forward to coming back in 2024.”
The international house will return to Switzerland in 2023 for The Bonmont Sale, which had its debut at The Bonmont Golf & Country Club, in 2019, and will also be staged every other year, alternating with The Gstaad Sale going forward.
The Bonhams Eurocars Equipe are now consigning for the 8 October Zoute Sale at Knokke-Heist on the Belgian coast as part of The Zoute Grand Prix, which is not a F1 GP in the racing sense, but has become a must-attend annual Northern EU bash for fine motor cars and well informed owners.
In the bigger picture meanwhile, acquisitive Bonhams, who already taken over auctioneers Bukowskis, Brunn Rasmussen and Skinner, has most recently added French house Cornette de Saint Cyr to their growing international portfolio. Based in Avenue Hoche, Paris (where the 1793 UK founded parent firm has opened their own saleroom in Rue de la Paix), and with a Cornette de Saint Cyr satellite saleroom in Brussels, their new French acquisition will be known as Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr. RH-E

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Utterly derelict and incomplete Ferrari 250 GTE Barn Find more than doubled estimate to be virtually hammered by Brightwells for £109,536

Brightwells latest 22 & 23 June two-day Timed-Out sales were given ‘Platinum Jubilee’ billing, which saw 158 cars auctioned on-line only during Wednesday and Thursday evening sessions.
By the time the two internet books had been closed, the calculator showed 109 sales, 69% of the total offered, which grossed £1,983,063 including 12% buyer’s premium, an average of £18,193 being spent per car bought. In many cases, unseen by their buyers too, although all lots could be physically viewed on-site by appointment during preceding days.
Although the Ferrari 250 GTE ‘Barn Finds’ headlined on social media, where the virtual equivalent of tyre kickers spend most of their screen time, the top seller was a 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE Roadster with various evolutionary upgrades including front disc brakes and a 5-speed box, which digitally ascended beyond its forecast £90,000 upper estimate to set a premium-inclusive £135,520 house record for model after 57 bids had been posted.
A 1957 Jaguar XK150 SE Drophead Coupe, also with some needed ‘Fast Road’ upgrades, fetched a within guide £72,800 to the 11th bid, while a 1958 XK150 SE Fixed Head auto made a forecast £57,790 from the 9th bid and a 1952 XK120 Fixed Head left hooker a just over lower estimate £51,520.
The £50,000-60,000 suggested for a 1963-dated Proteus C Type Rep with ali-bodywork and freshly rebuilt and modified 3.8 engine was convincingly overtaken with a £89,020 with premium valuation by a clearly determined and winning 66th bid.
The auction performances of the two rather sorry looking Ferrari 250 GTE projects were really extraordinary. The 1962 S2 was utterly derelict and incomplete, too, with no cylinder heads, carbs, gearbox and front seats, though the final bid more than doubled the £40,000 - 60,000 estimate, the 60 year old remains eventually taken on by bid 69 for £109,540.
The 1963 250 GTE rolling chassis only meanwhile, with no engine or gearbox, made an arguably more generous £66,370 after a sale record 87 bids. Two more 250GTEs will reappear eventually or will both projects and their identities form the basis for two more 250GT or TR Sports race cars?
Whereas a tidy-ish 1974 Ferrari 400 auto with a mere 65,000 miles on the odometer, but requiring extensive recommissioning following 22 years in static storage was hammered away after 15 bids for £19,600.
A well-used and uprated 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 from 52-year ownership also beat its £45,000 upper estimate to run out of time after 26 bids and a £52,830 premium-inclusive result, while after 11 bids a fully restored 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1 with a 5-litre Ford US Motor Sport V8 under-hood was purchased for a correctly estimated £46,780.
All six of the locally-manufactured Morgans on offer in the Brightwells viewing sheds sold strongly, the £38,640 top price paid by the 17th bid for a surely unrepeatable 2003 Plus 8 driven only 4,700 miles by just one owner. Not far behind was a very original and well patinated 1929 Super Aero 3-Wheeler in need of potentially minor fettling raised £26,320 from bid 15.
Eight of the eleven MGs on the menu were also consumed by buyers, the 26th bid amounting to the buyer paying £22,400 with premium for a restored 1951 TD and another a healthy £20,280 from bid 20 for a smart 1954 TF 1250, actually a 1320cc.
Six out of the seven Porsche models on offer also found new homes, a 2010 Type 997 Gen 2 with 55,000 mileage and preferred manual gearbox taking spot at the 11th bid, the buyer paying £38,000 with premium.
Utterly different, but remarkably close behind was a 1965 Porsche 912, which may have been 260bhp shy of the 997 in performance, but only trailed it by £1,000 in the £36,960 price paid by the 10th bid - the 912 offering all the looks of an early 911, but at well under half the cost.
Much admired during the viewing was a mechanically interesting Bugatti Type 59 Evocation, one of 13 look-a-bit-like Bug T59s concocted by Teal in the early 1990s with Jag running gear and convincing from afar ali-panels, which attracted EU mainland interest. Estimated at £25,000-30,000, the one-off sparked a fierce bidding war that was ultimately won by the 36th bid in the Czech Republic for £46,660. A huge and probably record price for a Teal, but many millions less than a real Type 59.
The oldest lot to cross the inter-block was a 1904 Rover 8hp, one of only two known to survive and acknowledged to be the earliest roadworthy Rover in existence. With a good track record of completing the London to Brighton Run, the 118 year old motored way past its £72,000 upper estimate to finish on £106,500 after 31 bids.
Equally rare was a 1921 Lancia Dikappa with a remarkable 5-litre 4-cylinder engine and less than beautiful later bodywork, which had spent most of its life in Australia. Again, one of only two known survivors (the other currently undergoing restoration in Argentina), it attracted considerable interest from Europe (one gent traveling all the way to Herefordshire from Austria), but was eventually knocked down after the 17th bid to a well-known local collector for £35,840.
Also, in the ‘rocking horse droppings’ category was a nicely patinated 1923 Itala Tipo 50B Tourer, which had spent most of its life in New Zealand. Quite possibly, the only surviving roadworthy example and with a recently rebuilt engine, it fetched £21,280 from bid 8 and is now on its way to a museum in Italy.
An extremely rare 1938 Riley Kestrel 16/4 Blue Steak, one of perhaps only 110 made in total, also attracted a huge amount of interest, despite being in need of thorough recommissioning following 16 years in storage. Conservatively estimated at £18,000-20,000, it had no trouble in romping to a £34,720 result from the 26th bid.
Also noteworthy was the £39,480 raised by a ‘shabby chic’ 1938 Bentley 4¼-Litre Sports Saloon with still handsome HJ Mulliner coachwork and mellowed red leather for which 13 bids were cast. An unusually original 1925 Austin 7 Pram Hood also deserved every penny of the £17,275 required to secure it by the 9th bid.
In addition, among the 2-wheeled lots, particularly noteworthy was a 1904 Le-Francis Ladies Bicycle auctioned ‘Without Reserve’. Perhaps the top quality bike of its era, and with a 16 guineas price tag when new, the 118 year old cycle attracted a surprising amount of interest from all corners of the still revolving globe, finally going to a bidder in Japan for £950. So, from being manufactured in Coventry to residency in Kyota, quite a journey.
The next Brightwells Timed Out - when, again, all collector vehicles auctioned and their documents will be on-site for physical viewing at the auctioneers once ‘live auction’ premises just outside Leominster – will be held on-line only 3 August, for which the closing date for consigning entries is 22 July. RH-E

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Bond movie cars still pull during 66% sold £6.6m Friday afternoon at Goodwood Festival of Speed where Bonhams top lots fail to sell

Fortunately for the 24 June results at this Bonhams second Goodwood sale of the season, where several of the highest value headliners were unsold, James Bond movie provenance continued to boost 007 car auction performance.
For a one owner from new in 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Coupe with only modest 850 mileage, most of it during employment by Eon Productions when driven on set by 007 Mk2 Nomi (Lashana Lynch) with a retired Bond (Daniel Craig) in the passenger seat, did fetch a within-guide £414,000. An ‘Aston Martin DBS Handbuilt in England Final Inspection by Daniel Craig’ plaque in the 5.2 twin-turbo V12 engine bay was cool too.
Whilst one of the seven surviving 2014 Defender 110 Crew Cab SVX ‘Spectre’ 2.2D 4x4 ‘Bigfoot-spec’ examples, produced in Santorini Black by Land Rover and Bowler Motorsport for 2015 Bond epic ‘Spectre’ with 470 filming kilometres under-wheel, also scraped across the lower estimate line with a £155,250 performance.
A one owner and stored since acquisition in 2016 20 miler Defender 110 XS 4x4 Utlity Wagon from another consignor, who had watched it go down the production line, sold for a forecast £75,900.
There was no buyer with the £70,000-80,000 suggested however for the 2020/1 Marcos Heritage restored, John Sprinzel London Mews supplied, 1968 1600 GT Coupe with Webasto sunroof driven by future Bond and Knight Roger Moore in ITV The Saint’s  last ever episode.
‘THE Magic Moment’ of the sale was when a nostalgic archive video introduced MV rider Giacomo Agostini himself to the rostrum, winner of 311 Grand Prix, after which an appropriate 311 units of the 798cc Superveloce Ago Edition have been hand-built by MV Agusta, 15 of them celebrating the Italian legend’s unrivalled 15 World Championships.
Bonhams Far East supremo and Motor Cars Department auctioneer Malcolm Barber then auctioned the most exclusive MV Agusta Ago Edition Number 1, a piece of motorcycle art I would suggest, for an applauded £52,900 with premium to an enthusiast in the sale tent with all proceeds benefiting the UNICEF Ukraine Emergency Fund.
Where once a Juan Manuel Fangio driven 1954 Mercedes W196 GP car had previously been sold for £19.6m by Bonhams in July 2013 (before the Bank of England had been allowed to devalue Sterling by printing bank notes like confetti), and therefore nine years later, the top priced lot in 2022 was a Thornley Kelham restored 1937 Frazer Nash-BMW 328 Roadster, ‘Best in Show’ at the 2017 London Concours winner, sold to a telephone bidder for a below estimate £636,600.
The Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Convertible with factory hardtop delivered 6 September 1962 to Peter Hall at the Royal Shakespeare Company Director in Stratford Upon Avon, for the personal use of the Theatre Director and his movie star wife Leslie Caron, fetched £588,800, again below the £650,000 guide.
The headlining single owner 161k 2015 McLaren P1 GTR Racer of 38 P1 GTRs, and the 25th to have been converted to road legal spec by Lanzante with £1,800,000-2,000,000 ambitions, ran out of electronic interest at an insufficient £1,600,000 on the bids screen.
A ready to historic F1 race Benetton-Ford B193B, driven during the 1993 season by Riccardo Patrese and qualifying by Michael Schumacher at the British GP, was waved into the unsold pits at £950,000, £150,000 below estimate. The January 1965 unveiled and John Mecom Racing Lola T70 Mk1 Spyder, 2018/9 restored by the ROFGO Collection, failed to attract the £250,000 sought.
The £375,000-425,000 sought for a 7,555 mile and Don Law Racing restored 1993 Jaguar XJ220 was not achieved either with its sale abandoned at £340,000 bid. Whereas the 1938 RAC Rally Works Team SS 100 Jaguar 3½-Litre Roadster did raise the required £425,500 and a less than forecast £177,100 was accepted for a 2½ Roadster of similar vintage.
All four cars from the collection of the late Peter Blond, former Sotheby’s executive who had previously raced at Le Mans and beat Graham Hill at Brands Hatch, were keenly viewed and sold out, led by his 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental with Sports Coupe coachwork James Young sold for an applauded £138,000.
The 1936 Olympia Vanden Plas Stand Show Bentley 4¼-Litre All-Weather Sports Tourer realised £126,500, his 1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Close-Coupled Sports Coupe Weymann by J Gurney Nutting £69,000 and Blond’s last acquisition, a 1923 R-R 20hp Barker Barrel-Sided Tourer £52,900. All had been beautifully after.
The highest priced modern supercar was a 2,000 miles since new in 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 ‘Miura Homage’ sold for £207,000, just above the lower estimate. A locally produced at Goodwood in 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended-Wheelbase Saloon with four seat ‘Theatre’ accommodation and 29,000 mileage made a double estimate £132,250, while a 13,000 mile 1982 DeLorean DMC12 Gullwing flew to a £62,100 with premium result, more than estimated.
There were two electric classics on the carpet. A restored 1975 BMW 3.0 CSI Coupe with Electric Classic Cars of Powys Tesla Model S P85 330kw conversion, for which £175,000-200,000 had been sought, ran out of charge at £150,000.  Whereas a No Reserve 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350SL ‘Sportline Zero’ Electric Convertible, uniquely created by SL Shop of Stratford with 150 mile range Tesla batteries, was valued by a buyer at £39,100, well below the £50,000 forecast.
By the time the auction marquee had been cleared of cars and converted back into a Goodwood dining facility betwixt stately home and entertainment stage, 51 or 66% of the 77 motor cars parked on the carpet had sold, for £6,672,567, a premium-inclusive average of £130,835 spent per classic bought. Although as a pre-recession market clearly softens beneath gathering war clouds, 48% of cars that changed hands did so for below their pre-sale estimates and 26 were unsold. 
Considering the appalling mismanagement of strikes depressed UK plc by the liar led HMG incompetents, who cannot even stop dinghies full of Channel crossing freeloaders without passports from joining the handout class in broad daylight, a premium inclusive £6.7m after tax was spent on non-essential collector vehicles on a Friday afternoon in an auction tent pitched in the Goodwood House back garden. RH-E

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Capri RS3100 prototype comes to market after 47 years to sell for record £74,250 during 71% sold £2m CCA Saturday in Warwickshire

Described as ‘The Holy Grail’ of Capris, this was The Prototype RS3100, and with just one owner from new, it had been a daily driver until 1982, by when it had 70,000 miles from new in 1972 on the odometer.
Having then been stored on chassis stands until 2022, when recommissioned, and with original AVO bill of sale on file for £1,500, the ‘Capri GT’ badged pre-production forerunner to the 249 built in 1973 soared above the £50,000-60,000 estimate to sell in the room to only the second owner for a deservedly applauded and world record £74,250 with premium.
The buyer will be keeping his orangey Sebring Red acquisition next to the yellow RS3100 that he already owns!
Saturday 18 June was certainly a good day for Fast Fords at the Warwickshire Event Centre with even a 1966-dated Cortina Mk1 2-Door, well replicating a ‘Lotus Cortina’ with John Smurthwaite ‘Fast Road’ Twin Cam and early Lotus box with tall first gear, fetching a more than estimated £41,062.
The 1980 Escort RS200 with ‘Custom Pack’ in statistically rare Nordic Blue sold for a forecast £36,562 was not just a pretty face either, having a 2.1 motor on Webers, a Type 9 5-speed box to play with and vented front discs retarded by 4-pot AP Racing calipers.
The £20,025 performance of an only cosmetically fair, once top of the range in 1980 Ford Capri 3.0S Mk3 with 45,514 total mileage on the clock and one flat tyre from being stationary since 2008 was generously impressive.
Really beautifully turned out and Classic Ford Mag featured, a 1977 Ford Cortina 3.0S Mk4 in South African only market Grass Green, that had been tastefully shod with RS 2000 alloys, attracted the required £16,650 with premium. A second generation 70,987 mileage 1991 Escort XR3i 1.6 meanwhile that had only done 1,440 miles in the last seven years sold for £10,687, just over top estimate.
The £2m results were topped however by an Audi UR-Quattro 2.1 5-cylinder 20v RR beside the rostrum, a right-hand drive ‘original’ driven just 32,622 miles by the vendor, who had bought the 3 month old from VAG in 1990, and which, 32 years later, sold to a CCA Live on-line bidder for £86,625 to much applause in the very well attended saleroom.
A first generation 1988 Audi Quattro MB Turbo 10v with 220,000 mileage that had been freshly back to bare metal repainted and mechanically recommissioned did not sell under the hammer. But along with 11 other of the accessible classics in the catalogue, the AWD icon did sell immediately afterwards for £25,000, the lower estimate.
Two Jaguar E Types were offered Without Reserve, not projects, but restored right-hand drive cars. A 1973 V12 Auto Series 3 2+2 Fixed Head on wires, rebuilt at an invoiced cost of nearly £61,000 spent at noted specialists like VSE on the engine and Aldridge Trimmers, inspired a bidding battle in the hall until hammered for £47,500, costing the winner £53,437 with premium. Whilst a 1970 4.2 Manual S2 Roadster, driven 70,000 miles by three keepers before recent refreshment, was contested by telephone and room bidders before selling for £52,312.
A just below £60,000+ estimate £56,812 was accepted for a now right-hand drive 1967 4.2 S1 Roadster that had been originally exported to the US as a left-hand drive FHC, but had been repatriated in 1988 and converted during extensive restoration.
An Aston Martin Rapide in launch Hardly Green had only done 33,000 miles. The 12 year old 5.9 V12 4-Door Coupe for four, which had cost £159,212 when new in 2010 and been estimated at £38,000-42,000 by the auctioneers, was valued by the buyer at £44,437.
An apparently well cared for 1984 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera with 32 old MOTs for 112,418 mileage had been driven less than 500 miles in the last seven years and duly made a forecast £39,375. A 2001 911 Type 996 Turbo driven 92,962 miles by four former registered keepers was cheaper for £38,812. While a 1988 944 Turbo S ‘Silver Rose’ , one of only 77 of the LM3Z painted edition in right-hand drive allocated to the UK, had done 58,915 mikes and fetched a just below estimate £32,400.
The all ‘No Reserve’ Pat Callis Collection cars and projects were really popular with the 500 viewers and salegoers who attended the consumer-friendly WEC venue in person, with the late enthusiast’s cosmetically sharp but dormant 1968 Ford Mustang 289 GT Fastback realising £41,062. A 1961 Jaguar 3.8 Mk2 road car made £16,650, his 1957 3.4 Mk1 race car £8,437 and a part-done 1961 Ford Consul 204E Mk2 project with boot full of useful bits £7,425.
The tireless duo of Jonathan Humbert and Rob Hubbard, alternately and efficiently, auctioned 192 cars without rest and sold 136 or 71% of them for a premium-inclusive £2,030,844, an average of £14,933 per car sold.
CCA Sales Manager Gary Dunne told C.A.R.: “It was great to be back in Warwickshire, and the strength of our catalogue was reflected in the fact that we had 500 visitors across the two days of viewing and the sale itself, and  more than 750 registered bidders. There really was something for everyone – from military vehicles and campervans to hot hatches and sports cars.”
“We had a number of cars that were either unique or part of a very limited production run, and they deservedly attracted a great deal of interest. There was certainly spirited bidding for the Ford Capri RS3100 and it was a real thrill to see how happy the new owner was.”
The CCA subsidiary of Silverstone Auctions will return to the WEC beside the Fosse Way near Leamington Spa for their Autumn Sale 24 September. RH-E

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5 year old Ferrari F12 ‘Tour de France’ sells for over £678k at Silverstone Auctions 4 June Owners’ Day Sale at Sywell Aerodrome

One of the ultimate front-engined, rear-wheel drive Grand Tourers has been the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Packing one of their last naturally-aspirated V12 6.3-litre engines, which fires this missile for two astronauts to 61 mph in 3.1 seconds with a top speed potential of 211 mph, the standard model was only surpassed by the 799 limited edition factory-uprated F12tdfs.
The tdf nomenclature references a competition version of the 250GT that celebrated the latter’s many victories in the Tour de France Automobile in the late 1950s/early 1960s.
The January 2017 built F12tdf auctioned, in left-hand drive as a Gulf-spec car destined for Kuwait, had recently been resident in that underground car park playground for the Middle Eastern and Oligarch Russian exporters of their energy profits, London. With just 1,275k (795m) on the odometer, the UK import tax paid lefty had come to public market in Northamptonshire, where it had been pre-sale estimated by the auctioneers at £550,000-650,000, but now heads to a new Swiss home for a premium-inclusive auction record of £678,500.
In front of a marque-targeted audience in the room and on-line, 16 of the 22 Ferraris in the catalogue sold (so only 6 did not) during a 73% sold Saturday afternoon for £2,858,573 with premium, an impressive average of £178,661 being spent per auction Ferrari bought.
The £475,000 that was paid for a Ferrari Classiche certificated 1974 Dino 246GTS Targa-Top Spider in left-hand drive that had been in receipt of a £350k Cremoni Carrozeria of Modena restoration, which had included a return from Giallo Fly to original Nero paint, was another record price breaking performance.
Another Classiche approved 1973 Dino 246GTS in factory colours, but with 24,277 mileage, had a Maranello Concessionaires1973 Bill of Sale for £5,998.52p on file, but changed hands in 2022 here for £372,200 with premium, top estimate money.
Whereas a just under guide £258,750 was accepted for the fixed head version of the Dino, in the form of a Brexit-drive (one of less than 500) 1973 Dino 246GT in Nuovo Giallo Fly from some 20 years vendor ownership with indicated mileage of just over 31,000, which may have been correct for car and year.
A square cut 1991 Testarossa in Rosso Corsa (what else) with the distinctive tiered side vents, one of 438 UK-supplied TRs in right-hand drive with only 10,475 total mileage, looked to be an exceptional original, for the more than £120,000 top estimate £129,375 with premium paid.
A 22,500 miles from new in 2011 458 Italia in the stealthily cool colour combo, though easily marked Nero Daytona with Nero leather/alcantara interior fetched £121,500, forecast money. A 2011 California 4.3 F1 DCT in trad Red with Tan leather, driven 19,600 miles supported by main dealer service history, made an over £20k more than guide £96,187.
Nigel Mansell Sports Cars supplied a 328GTS to the first owner in the tax saving Isle of Man in March 1990 for £97,500. 32 years and only 2,670 miles later, a just below £90,000 lower estimate £86,625 with premium was accepted from only the third owner.
Other buyer valuations here included an £82,687 two owner 2006 F430 F1 with 22,137 mileage, £70,312 1997 F355 Spyder with 34,974 mileage, £66,375 for both a 2001 360 Spider F1 with under 7,500 mileage and a 1998 F355 Challenge left hooker race car for recommissioning, £60,000 50,500 mile 1989 328GTS, £53,437 left to right-hand drive converted 54,000 mile 1981 308GTS and £38,250 95,874k (59,573m) 1994 456GT, the final Ferrari with ‘pop-up’ headlamps and the lowest priced Ferrari on a Saturday afternoon in Northamptonshire.  
At the same heritage airfield venue, the Midland auction house had already sold 50 all makes ‘Iconic and Classic Cars’ for £3,643,342 during the previous weekend’s Supercar Fest event, grossing therefore £6.5m for 66 cars sold in a week when the bad news obsessed ‘Remoaner Media’ were doing their usual worst to depress the inflating economy into a really good recession. RH-E

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Hailwood Iso Grifo S1 GL350 Coupe, crashed South Africa 1968, repaired 1972, German restored 2011, sold by Silverstone at Sywell £309,375

The right-hand drive 1967 Iso Grifo S1 GL350 Chevrolet 327ci Coupe, famously crashed into a cow by 9 times Motorcycle World Champion Mike Hailwood in South Africa in 1969, repaired by 1972 and restored again in German more recently, was valued by the next keeper 28 May during the Silverstone Auctions sale at the inaugural Supercar Fest at £309,375 with premium, just over lower estimate.
Prices on the Northamptonshire Aerodrome were headed by the £427,500 paid for a 1962 Maserati 3500 GTI Spyder by Vignale in White with Blue hardtop matching the Pelle Blu interior.
£435,000 on the electronic trading screen was not enough to buy the 1964 Earls Court Motor Show exhibited Frua styled Mistral 3700 Spyder, bought off the stand by the then blonde starlet Diana Dors, for which £475,000-550,000.  
A £380,000-440,000 Eagle-endorsed 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster, upgraded to 4.2 by Fullbridge with 5-speed box, also ran out of bids at £310,000. A 1961 E Type 3.8 lefty with External Bonnet Lock secured bonnet, for which £190,000 or more had been suggested, ran out of road at £162,000.
Although a below forecast £208,125 was accepted for another early EBL 1961 Jaguar E Type 3.8 Roadster chassis number 38. Both right-hand drive 1959 Jaguar XK150 ‘S’ 3.4 Roadsters, of which only 32 were produced, had been restored and fetched £106,875 apiece.
£225,000-250,000 was not achieved for a 1985 Audi S1 E2 Sport ‘Pikes Peak’ Quattro Replica viewed more than 2m times on YouTube with 18 box files of history.  
Shipped from Malaysia to the UK in 2017 and converted to right-hand drive, a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster made a within estimate £102,375, and an always right hand drive 1962 190SL with hardtop sold for £90,000.
With odometer reading 27,772k (16,605m), a 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 1 ‘Giallo Ferrari Limited Edition’, for which £100,000 plus had been sought, raised £104,625 from the buyer. By contrast, a £20,000-25,000 Rosso Monza painted 1990 Delta HF Integrale 16v, shipped from Japan to the UK in 2004, had done 50,372k (31,300) and did £29,250.
The 1988 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 sold for £86,625 meanwhile had 14 MOT certificates on file, the most recent at 35,589 mileage, as well as 21 road tax discs, a 1987 example, sold for a within guide £73,687, had done 60,002 miles.
2010 Focus RS500 002 of 500 in unique Matt Black ‘Foil’ with matching alloys had been driven just 17,230 miles before selling here for the required £69,750, the highest price yet for one at auction.  A 2010 Focus RS to Lux Pack 2 spec driven a mere 8,050 miles also cleared its estimate to sell for £41,062.
A one owner and just 20,262 miles from new in 1986 Capri ‘Injection Special’ 2.8i raised £45,562, more than £5,000 above top estimate, and
UK-spec Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI ‘Tommi Makinen Edition chassis 014 with verifiable 25,000 mileage sold for £72,000, £8,000 less than sought. The same money bought a very freshly restored Bristol-engined 1960 AC Greyhound Coupe without bumpers fitted with Webasto sunroof.
£70,875 meanwhile, £10,875 over top estimate, was needed to buy a 2020 vintage Morgan Plus Six only driven 1,324 miles, £65,475 bought a £60,000-70,000 two owner 2013 Audi R8 Type 42 GT Spyder. A £60,000-70,000 guided 2012 McLaren MP4 12C that had been driven 34,393 miles when last MOT’d did look like value for the premium-inclusive £63,000 paid.
The Final Cooper S made in 2001, number 50 of 50 signed by John Cooper himself, had only been driven 952 miles before overtaking the £60,000 top estimate to sell for £64,125. A 1994 Lotus Esprit Sport 300 in Camel F1 Yellow with Royal Blue and Charcoal trim in Alcantara  that had been in receipt of a factory chassis transplant achieved £59,625, low estimate money.
£56,250, £13,250 more than the top estimate, was forthcoming for a 1995 Porsche 928 GTS A with 60,553 miles of service history and a better than forecast £51,187 was paid for a rebuilt and sensibly upgraded 1971 Jensen Interceptor II 383ci V8 Fixed Head Coupe.
A Concours award winning 47,000 miles since 2001 Lotus Esprit V8 GT in Norfolk Mustard driven 1000 miles a year with £12,000 worth of servicing bills made £50,625, top estimate money. Incredibly, in excess of £100,000 had been expended on a rotisserie resto for a 1973 Rover P5B, which was hammered for a more than £40,000 top estimate and world record for model £47,250.
A 45,237 mile 2003 RenaultSport Clio V6 Phase 1 in receipt of a complete underbody restoration in 2021 sold for £36,000. A ground-up rebuilt 1975 Triumph Stag Mk2 Manual with Overdrive was also very sharp for the top estimate £28,125 with premium paid.
The lowest priced car in the catalogue was a £25,000-30,000 1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus ‘Ladbroke Avon Limited Edition’, for which £23,625 with premium was accepted.
50 or 58% of the 86 classics auctioned by house gavel wielder Jonathan Humbert sold ‘live’ or immediately afterwards for a buyer’s premium inclusive £3,643,342, an average of £72,867 per car bought, while 36 cars were unsold.
One week later, at the same location, Rob Hubbard and the Silverstone team held their Ferrari sale during the Owners’ Club National Ferrari Day, where another £2,858,573 was spent on 16 Ferraris.RH-E

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Pristine 3,792m since 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale sold for £372,350 at well attended 74% sold £4.84m Historics sale at Ascot Racecourse

Seven year old very low mileage Ferrari 458 4.5 V8 Speciale with hydraulic front lift and carbon kit interior, guided by Historics at £295,000-350,000, sold for £372,350 including 10% buyer’s premium at the Royal Racecourse.
A pre-covid level 800 attended sale day Saturday 21 May and, during three days viewing, a further 600 checked out the 194 collector cars, 143 or 74% of which had sold for £4,841,925, an average of £33,860 paid per car bought, before more ‘provisionally bid’ post-sale deals had been done.
Consigning 45 classics at ‘No Reserve’ certainly boosted the impressive maths, while the age range of cars offered was the widest yet at an Historics sale, from a really ancient 1906 Brasier 15hp Edwardian with Side-Entrance Tonneau coachwork for 5 automobilists by Vedrine & Co to a 2021 vintage Ford F150. Double-Cab Pick-Up.
Also displayed in the Grandstand atrium was the 1966 Pontiac GTO ‘Monkey-Mobile’ James Benken chopped Custom Convertible employed by the management-manufactured Popster Group for The Monkees 2011 45th Anniversary UK Tour.
Some of the prices paid for mainstream stock here – 1961 Jaguar E Type 4.2-engined Left-Hand Drive S1 Roadster with outside bonnet locks £156,200; UK market 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia £154,000; 1972 Porsche 911T Right-Hand Drive with external oil filler £137,500; Rare in Manual 2004 612 Scaglietti £105,600; and always Right-Hand Drive 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster £94,325; and 11,084 mileage 2011 McLaren MP4 C12 in fetching Volcano Red £82,225.
Low mileage 1998 Bentley Continental T with good service history for an over top estimate £81,400; 1966 Jaguar E Type S1 2+2 Coupe in receipt of body restoration £71,500; H R Owen serviced 2004 Ferrari 575M with Fiorano handling pack £64,900; Upgraded 1958 Jaguar XK150 3.4 Roadster left hooker £60,500; 6-year restored 1972 TR6 with 150bhp fuel-injected motor £23,100; and a deceased estate consigned 1978 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II from same family ownership for the last 34 years £21,726.
One of only two known surviving One-Seater 1958 BMW Isetta ‘Pick-Up’ 4-Wheelers, manufactured for Isetta under licence near Brighton, made a mid-estimate £22,000 here.
A largely original 1971 Fiat 500 Vignale-bodied Gamine was very ‘Noddy Car’ for £17,050.  While a beaten-up looking 1968 Fiat Dino 2-Litre V6 Spider meanwhile, off the road since 1977 and auctioned with hen’s teeth factory hardtop, was optimistically taken on for £16,500.
And your reviewer used to attempt to master a 990cc Honda CBR900 RR Fireblade inline-four powered missile, exactly like the 2007 Westfield Megablade with very sequential motorcycle box in very Lairy Yellow, though not stuck with a Q-reg for life, which was the most exciting value for £10,450 including premium.
The very large sale started at the customary 9 30 early start, though bidding for the early and more affordable lots was uncharacteristically slow. As the 3-auctioneer, 8 hour long sale progressed however, those in the seats had to increasingly compete for medium to high value lots with on-line and telephone contestants, as normal.
And there were buyers for two out of three 1906-08 Oldtimers with £71,500 with premium for a Mr Selfridge on ITV exposed 1907 Renault 20/30 with Roi des Belges coachwork for the Touring family and £81,125 for a claimed to be run-worthy 1908 Renault Model VB 20/30 with still original Landaulette body crafted by Stareys and Woolleys of Nottingham and dating certificate.
Pre-WW2 (rather than 3?) lots to change hands included a 1933 Morris 10/4 Saloon with sliding runroof had come to market after 46 years in vendor ownership that had included a “lifetime restoration process”, resulting in one the finest examples that the Historics’ specialists had ever seen.
All of which explains why the 89 year old, pre-sale estimated at £15,000-27,500, inspired a buying bid of £25,000, costing the next guardian £27,500 with premium.
In the ‘Homage’ category, a now patinated ‘Tool-Room Copy’ C Type Jag hand-recreated in aluminium in New Zealand in 1996 raised a within estimate band £161,700.
Whereas a more than £60,000-80,000 guide £90,200 was forthcoming for a deceased one-owner from new in 2013 DBR 1 Rep with 3.8 XK120 motor built on a Norfolk farm in the AS Motorsport workshops of Andrews Soar.
And a 1983-dated Porsche 911 3.0 ‘ST inspired’ Recreation with wings on steroids and wide wheels driven 956 miles since build by marque specialists Riviera Autobody had been estimated at £95,000-120,000 and cost a buyer £100,650.
Modern classic milestone valuations were led by a 1974 Ford Capri 3.0 Mk1, rare in GXL guise with factory-fitted sunroof and estimated at £33,000-39,000, changed hands for £35,750.
38,213 miles since 1987 and very fully optioned, a No Reserve Volkswagen Golf Mk2 16v, auctioned Without Reserve, sold for £32,175, a new record price for this model. A 1600GT-badged late model 1971 Escort Mk1 2-Door with replaced shell and ‘Mexico’ recorded in the V5 sold for a within estimate £22,000.
Whereas No Reservists included a £20,350 1983 Ford Fiesta XR2 Mk1, acquired by a Film and TV production company for period-correct work on-screen and claimed to be in excellent original condition, and an £18,700 1983 Vauxhall Astra Mk1 GTE Warm Hatch with only 20,700 mileage.
For regardless of the incompetence of our majority-squandering liar of a leader and his under-taxed neighbour’s mismanagement of the economy, this latest Historics sale indicates that the real market for collector vehicles across all categories remains surprisingly strong.
The auctioneers next ‘Summer Sale’ will be held at their own green field Windsorview Lakes venue Saturday 16 July. RH-E

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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Ullenhaut Coupe is auctioned for 135m euros to become the most valuable car in the world

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé chassis 196.110-00008/55 has been sold in a by invitation auction for a record price of 135,000,000 euros (£115,101,000) to a private collector. The car, one of two created in 1955 and recorded in the M-B supplied archive shot abovei), has always been regarded as one of the great jewels of motoring history, but few ever imagined that it would be offered for sale.
One of just two prototypes built by the Mercedes-Benz racing department, the car is named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of automotive engineering and design, often cited as being ‘the most beautiful car in the world’ by automotive experts and enthusiasts worldwide.
The remarkable 300 SLR was based on the hugely successful W196 R Grand Prix car which won two World Championships in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio, but with its engine enlarged to 3.0 litres for sports car racing. The car was capable of 180 mph, making it one of the fastest road--legal cars to have ever been created at the time. 
The sale of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé took place 5 May at an auction - held behind closed doors with admission strictly by invitation - within the Mercedes­-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Among the invitees were selected Mercedes customers and international collectors of cars and art who share the corporate values of Mercedes-Benz. And after much on-line chatter, and 14 days after the event, manufacturer and their appointed auctioneers have now gone public with confirmation of auction and record price, which presumably has now been paid.
For what felt like a surreal experience for invitees, M-B and RMS staff, and the rest of us on the briefest PR video-cast, the bidding opened at a price higher than the $48.4m selling price of the 1962 Ferrari 250GTO sold by RM Sotheby’s in 2018, the car which previously ranked as the most valuable ever sold at auction.
Many of the around a dozen invitees opted to play their cards privately and out of sight via a bank of specialist-manned telephones in the saleroom. And after bids had ascended through the 90,000,000 euros (£76,734,000), 100,000,000 euros (£85,260,000) and 110,000,000 euros (£94,182,000) ceilings, the winning bid for the car in the room was a new record setting 135,000,000 euros (£115,587,000), making it the most valuable car ever sold, and for a price that has exceeded the existing record by more the 90,000,000 euros (£76,734,000).
The 300 SLR now sits in the top ten most valuable fine art and collectible items of all kinds ever sold at auction. Whilst we are told that the huge proceeds will be used to establish a worldwide “Mercedes-Benz Fund”, declared to be non-profit-making and fashionably worthy, that will provide educational and research scholarships in the areas of environmental science and decarbonisation for young people. 
“We are proud that we can contribute with our historical collection to this initiative, connecting the past with the future of engineering and decarbonisation technology”, says Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage.
“The private buyer has agreed that the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe will remain accessible for public display on special occasions, while the second original 300 SLR Coupé remains in company ownership and will continue to be displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.”
Speaking on behalf of RM Sotheby’s, Peter Wallman, Chairman, UK & EMEA, said: “Words can’t really do justice to the importance and significance of this sale. It’s reasonable to say that nobody ever imagined that this car would ever be offered for sale, so for Mercedes-Benz to ask RM Sotheby’s to conduct the auction was an absolute honour.”
Oliver Barker, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, and the house’s Principal Auctioneer, who wielded the record setting gavel, said “What an absolute thrill to bring the hammer down on this masterpiece of design and engineering, which now stands shoulder to shoulder with the greatest works of art ever sold.”
“Few ever dreamt that this great jewel of motoring history would ever come for sale, and how fitting that it should happen now, just as we embark on a new and exciting chapter with our partners at RM Sotheby’s.

The world’s highest priced car, the history so far –
This hugely significant machine is the second of only two examples of the ‘Uhlenhaut Coupé’ ever made. Initial construction took place in December 1955, then six months later an Eberspächer silencer was installed. One week later, 29 June 1956, the car was deemed ready to drive.
Incredibly, the heritage asset has been retained by Mercedes-Benz since the first time it left the factory. In the earliest years of its existence, the car served to fulfil demonstration drives around Europe with dignitaries such as the Duke of Kent and Lord Brabazon, and is known to have been used by the company in the USA between 1961 and 1963. From the mid-1960s onwards, the 300 SLR was exhibited by Mercedes-Benz at numerous events.
Between January to July in 1986, the car was sent to Tony Merrick, one of the pre-eminent historic vehicle restorers and race preparation specialists of his era. Full correspondence between Mr Merrick and Mercedes-Benz is documented on file, together with invoices for the work, further to a Technical Condition Report carried out by Mercedes-Benz in 2022.
Following the restoration work, the car attended the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in August 1986, before featuring in an article in Road & Track magazine, later appearing at the Geneva International Motor Show in 1988.
Extended display at a number of noteworthy museums followed, with the occasional appearance at high-level motorsport and concours d’elegance events, including outings at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the 1999 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2001, as well as appearing in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren brochure when launched in 2003.
This 300SLR had served M-B well on the marketing circuit, but at least they do still have the other one. Whilst new management have been seen to thin the company's fossil-fueled collection, which celebrates a polluting past, and raise a huge amount of money from the unamed 'private collector'  for far more politically correct 'environmental science' and 'decarbonisation for young people'.
Even with uncontrolled inflation devalueing the buying power of most currencies, and with mis-managed UK Sterling in the lead, the milestone price paid for this 300SLR may never be overtaken. Especially if other motor manufacturers were also inspired to thin their collections, triggering an over-supply avalanche of more top cars than collectors still prepared to buy at such unsustainable levels. RH-E
 
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Nigel Mansell sees his Williams and Ferrari F1 cars sell for 7.7m euros (£6.5m) during RM Sotheby’s 30m euros (£25.5m) Monaco sale

RM Sotheby’s returned to Monaco for its 6th biennial sale with a Saturday evening 14 May record breaker, which grossed 30.9m euros (£26.3m) with buyers for 82% of cars and the warm-up automobilia lots, 100% of which sold out.
Headlining were two Formula One cars owned by 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell, who was present Med-side in the Grimaldi Forum venue to see his Williams and Ferrari sell for a combined price of 7,660,000 euros (£6.5m including premium) during Historique Grand Prix weekend.
You could feel the energy in the post-Covid packed room as all eyes fell on the pair of stunning Formula One cars offered from the private collection of the former World Champ.
For this was a very rare opportunity for the ‘High Net Worthy’ to acquire two completely original Formula One cars directly from their World Champion owner and driver and, unsurprisingly, both machines found delighted new owners.
Selling for a million euros over the auctioneers’ high pre-sale estimate, the iconic Mansell Mania era Williams FW14 from 1991 - upon which the Brazilian icon famously perched when the race winning Brummie gave him a lift back to the Silverstone pits - was the undoubted star of the show with a final sale price of 4,055,000 euros (£3,446,750) after a heated bidding battle.
The 'Senna Taxi' had been driven to victory five times by Our Nige during the 1991 F1 season, at the end of which it had been gifted to him when a grateful Williams occupied the podium regularly.
Equally as stunning and historic, Nigel Mansell’s 1989 Ferrari 640 F1 - the first Ferrari F1 to be equipped with a semi-auto gearbox that The Lion drove to victory in Brazil and Hungary - crossed the block to fetch 3,605,000 euros (£3,064,250).
The considerable and unforgettable success that these Mansell single-seater cars both achieved, in the Brit's personal collection since 1989 and 1991 respectively, is testament to their historical significance.
After the excitement of parting with his two old war horses, Nigel Mansell said “I am delighted with all the work that RM Sotheby’s did to bring my beloved cars to market. Deciding to sell them after all these years was a huge decision.”
Not to be outdone by such historic F1 machinery, other significant sales included a stunning 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti. Finished in unmissable Giallo Fly over Pelle Nera Vaumol leather, and thought to be one of just 16 US examples of the factory-opened Daytona, sold for an impressive 2,592,500 euros (£2,203,625).
And maintaining the Italian marques theme in this tax-friendly playground, a truly special 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV, powered by its original “sperimentale” engine and expertly restored to factory specifications, sold for a cool 2,480,000 euros (£2,108,000).
Other notable highlights on a Saturday night in Monte Carlo includes a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight, believed to be one of only 200 examples produced for 1973 in 'Factory Lightweight' configuration. Going under the gavel in factory-correct Light Yellow over Black, the matching-numbers example went to only its second owner for 1,287,500 euros (£1,094,375).
Also, with multiple victories in period on file and plenty of potential for being a front runner in historic F3 racing, a 1967 Tecno T/67-Ford Formula 3 - the 1967 Ex-Works Tecno Race Team car - sold for a strong 132,250 euros (£112,413).

The RM Sotheby’s Monaco top ten -
1.1991 Williams FW14 F1 ex-Mansell   4,055,000 euros (£3,446,750)
2.1989 Ferrari 640 F1 ex-Mansell   3,605,000 euros (£3,064,250)
3. 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti   2,592,500 euros (£2,203,625)
4. 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV   2,480,000 euros (£2,108,000)
5=1965 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti   2,030,000 euros (£1,725,500)
5=1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II   2,030,000 euros (£1,725,500)
7. 1988 Jaguar XJR-9   1,917,500 euros (£1,629,875)
8. 1969 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 Race-Sports   1,636,250 euros (£1,390,813)
9. 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight   1,287,500 euros (£1,094,375)
10.1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante 'X-Pack'   680,000 euros (£578,000)                                     

After 50 or 77% of the 65 consigned cars on offer had sold for 31.9m (£27.1m), an impressive average of 638,484 euros (£542,712) per classic bought, Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Director of Sales – EMEA stated “It is fantastic to be back in Monaco after a break of four years. This year we brought a truly stunning selection of road and competition machinery to the Grimaldi Forum and there was a lot of anticipation around the sale.
“It is fitting that the results were led by Nigel Mansell’s incredible collection as those cars really grabbed the imagination of the public, and it is clear that the market for historic Formula One cars is stronger than ever.”
It certainly looked that way in Monaco, for sure, but at the annual Monterey auction week in California in August? Mmmm...

Crystal ball time -
For most stakeholders in the collector vehicle market will not be immune surely from the after-shocks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine? 
Energy profiteering with sky rocketing costs for consumers, with no ceilings in sight, affects not only planet-polluting drivers and aviators, but all householders. In the UK, excessively taxed fuel prices are at an all-time record price at the pump and are most unlikely ever to fall back to pre-Russian invasion of Ukraine levels. The less than £100 fill-up may become an historic memory. 
And then there are the now global commodity shortages, currently reducing manufacturing numbers and responsible for increasing prices of what can be produced and bought. Food prices are going up in the UK at the fastest rate for 40 years, while uncontrolled inflation will devalue most currencies, with over-printed Brexit Sterling currently leading the inflation race in the Western World.
While corrective interest rate hikes in the reality pipeline will become progressively unaffordable for the tax-paying majority, and even the most optimistic pundits are bracing their hedge funds for the inevitabily of global recession, our incompetent and sleaze-ridden politicians will continue to screw up both the present and the future of everything they debate.
Even with politically incorrect exhaust pipes, old motor cars might just be a better bet than money itself, a much needed tonic from permanently bad news 24/7, and a great deal more fun than worrying about an unnecessarily Green-taxed future. RH-E

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Bugatti 35B of Type that won first Monaco GP in 1929 made 2m euros to top 76% sold £10m Bonhams Historic GP sale

At the very first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929, it was a Bugatti Type 35B which took the chequered flag, and the same Type 35B led the 26 achieved prices track-side at The Fairmont, where Bonhams held their first Monaco sale for 4 Covid-depressed years.
Offered from 47 years’ private ownership by the vendor, a Belgian ‘Gentleman Racing Driver’, the highly original 2,000,000 euros (£1,763,247) 1927 chassis 4888 with still matching engine number 127 TC starred at what was the 30th Anniversary Edition of Bonhams’ bi-annual gig in the tax haven, where buyers spent 11,519,575 euros including premium (£9,902,365) during a Friday 13 May afternoon.
Before the champagne was flat, 26 or 74% of the 35 cars parked on the luxury hotel carpets had changed owners, and an average of 443,062 euros (£380,880) had been invested in the far from certain futures market for collector automobiles.
A second Bugatti, a late 1990s refurbished 1929 Type 37 which raced in Grand Prix of the period, was also offered from long-term family ownership of more than six decades and was sold to a new custodian for 862,500 euros (£734,686).
With the saleroom located at the Med-side Fairmont Monte Carlo, against the backdrop of The Monaco Historic Grand Prix weekend, it is not surprising that motorsport-related lots proved popular.
A Ferrari Classiche Certificated 1965 275 GTS, formerly owned by the Matra F1 and BRM driving 1972 Monaco Grand Prix winner, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, made a mid-estimate 1,495,000 euros (£1,273,456).
The ex-Alessandro Zanardi 1999 Williams-Supertec Renault V10 FW21 F1 Single-Seater meanwhile, driven to fifth place by the Italian in that year’s Monaco Grand Prix and static displayed for some 15 years, raced past its pre-sale top estimate of 150,000 euros, to sell for 362,250 euros (£308,568).
Just nudging ahead was another Formula 1 veteran from an earlier era – the 1962 Brabham 1 1/2-litre Brabham-Climax V8 BT3 Formula 1 Racing Single Seater, which made 385,250 euros (£328,159).
This genuinely historic race car was the first Formula 1 car to carry the Brabham name and was the first car constructed by its driver - three-times Formula 1 World Champion, Jack Brabham - to take a Formula 1 chequered flag, which is did twice in 1963 at the Solitude GP at Stuttgart and at the Austrian GP at Zelweg.
Overtaking the former Wheatcroft restored and Donington Collection displayed Brabham in distinctive period-correct Turquoise with Gold noseband was a once works 1956 AC Ace Bristol Roadster.
Ordered new by Jacques Swaters, founder of the renowned E´curie Francorchamps and later owned by racing driver Armand Armand ‘Blary’ Blaton, who tested it for his 24 Heures du Mans campaign, the sixth Bristol-engined completion Ace topped its pre-sale estimate, selling for 460,000 euros (£391,827). Great history though, including the 1956 1`2 Hours of Reims.
More contemporary precious metal also set the saleroom alight today with a Middle East Royal circa 26,000k exercised 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort realising 1,437,500 euros (£1,224,476), and its Stüttgart supercar sibling, a less than 9,000k since Japanese market spec 1997 911 GT2, achieving 1,046,500 euros (£891,919).
A fellow German performance car, a one owner and just 77k from new 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG ‘Black Series’ Coupe in White, doubled its pre-sale estimate, racing away to end up with a 301,875 euros(£256,742) Monaco saleroom valuation.
Philip Kantor, Bonhams International Chairman Collectors’ Motor Cars, said: “It’s been a delight to return to Monaco with our first live sale for four years on the Historic Grand Prix weekend. With the lots on offer representing close to a century of motoring excellence, we had international bids across the board. As ever, quality rather than quantity made for a successful sale in the principality today.”
Further highlights from this Monaco hotel auction included: A French delivered in 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series III Saloon, which had had only two owners from new, one from 1961 to 2008, sold above estimate for 356,500 (£303,610). Its younger stablemate meanwhile, a 1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante ‘X-Pack’ also surpassed its estimate, achieving 310,500 euros (£264,487).
There were also gems to be found in the preceding Automobilia session, most notably an original lithograph poster by Robert Falcucci. The ‘2nd Grand Prix Automobile – 1930’ signed by the artist, more than doubled its pre-sale estimate to achieve 26,775 euros (£22,759).
Maarten Ten Holder, Managing Director, Bonhams Collector’s Motor Cars, added: “We are pleased to again have excelled in the categories of collector’s cars that Bonhams has always been well-known for – and at the same time, it’s encouraging that cars with a motorsport pedigree and more modern ‘youngtimers’ are becoming more and more a mainstay of our sales. Furthermore, it was gratifying to see how our clients thoroughly enjoy the new format of our live sale experience, enthusiastically participating as bidders, buyers and spectators.”
The Bonhams European Moror Car Equipe now gears up for its first sale in the Swiss Alpine resort of Gstaad for twenty years on 3 July and, just a week earlier, the Festival of Speed Sale at Goodwood in Sussex on 24 June. Consignments for both auctions are still being invited. RH-E

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1929 Brough Superior 996 SS100 Alpine Grand Sports Sprint headlined by fetching £253,000 in Bonhams Stafford sale, where 95% of bikes sold

A brace of exciting Brough-Superior SS100 restoration projects achieved considerably above estimate, each realising more than £200,000 to lead the blockbuster Bonhams Spring Stafford 23-24 April weekend, when over £3 million was spent by buyers and 95% of lots sold (99% by value) over International Classic MotorCycle Show weekend at the Stafford Showground.
On pole and heading the results was an iconic 1929 996CC SS100 ‘Alpine Grand Sports’ Sprint Special, which had been campaigned by notable Brough-Superior riders Reg Barton and Dick Knight, doubling the auctioneers’ pre-sale top estimate of £100,000, finally selling for £253,000, following a spirited battle between determined on-line and saleroom bidders, earning applause from the packed Bonhams saleroom.
This top performing lot of the weekend had been fitted with an ex-Eric Fernihough Brooklands racing engine and was offered for sympathetic restoration to retain its ‘warhorse’ character, with its original gearbox, tank and front number plate present.
The second most valuable lot of the day meanwhile was a 1936 Brough Superior 982CC SS100, one of the earliest Matchless-powered SS100s, which achieved £235,750, also earning an enthusiastic reception from the room.
The SS100 had been owned by its vendor for more than 50 years, during which time 90mph was clocked on one occasion at Pendine Sands. Retaining its original frame and engine, the Brough was offered as an exciting restoration opportunity.
Motorcycles with a motorsport pedigree finding new owners at Stafford over the weekend included a 1951 Swiss Grand Prix-winning 1948 Velocette 348cc KTT MkVII Racing Motorcycle.
Ridden to victory by the first 500cc Grand Prix World Champion, Les Graham, the beautiful Velocette sold for £57,500, just pipping the £57,000 achieved by a 1977 MV Agusta 832cc Boxer motorcycle, originally loaned to World Champion motorcyclist Phil Read.
One of only two Boxers imported into Britain before the model’s name was changed back to ‘Monza’, the ultra-rare machine, was loaned to the seven-time World Motorcycle Grand Prix Champion and former factory rider, when new. It was offered at Stafford in excellent condition, having been ridden just over 11,500 miles from new, and having been museum-stored in a temperature-controlled environment since 2009.
After the sale of 518 of the 548 lots in the traditionally glossy old school catalogue had sold for £3,087,494 including premium, James Stensel, Head of Bonhams Motorcycles (UK), told C.A.R.: “The Bonhams Stafford Sales continue to set a benchmark, attracting a truly international audience, with bidders from no fewer than 36 countries – living up to The International Classic Motor Cycle Show’s name. 
“We are pleased to have been entrusted by our clients to offer so many of their prized motorcycles, and the team look forward to returning to Stafford in the Autumn for another exciting auction.”
As ever, the Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale offered several high-quality collections of motorcycles and bike spares, led by the Alan Windsor Collection. This selection of British and key Japanese models was built up by the well-known figure of classic motorcycle racing, the highlight being an only one-owner, low-mileage 1988 Honda VFR75OR Type RC30, which doubled its pre-sale estimate to make £47,150.
Another highlight of the Sunday session was the auction world record set by a rare 1921 Wooler 348cc Model B, known as the ‘Flying Banana’, which sold for £40,250, also doubling its pre-sale estimate.
The first day of the auction meanwhile saw more than 300 lots of spares and memorabilia go under the hammer, including three considerable collections, and was a white glove sale, with 100% sold. An outstanding result was achieved by a dismantled Vincent project motorcycle, which made £41,880, four times its pre-sale estimate.
Ben Walker, Global Head of Bonhams Motorcycles added:This bellwether sale demonstrates that the market is strong for collectors’ motorcycles, despite the challenging past couple of years
“Having recently signed for a further three years as the exclusive auction partner to The Stafford Classic Motorcycle Shows, we look forward to continuing to achieve these fantastic results at Stafford. The weekend figures bring Bonhams Motorcycle UK sales totals up to more than £43 million since 2016.
The Bonhams Motorcycles team will return to Stafford 15-16 October for their Autumn Sale, for which consignments are currently being invited, following a visit to Rome for the department’s first sale in Italy - Passione Moto - taking place at the world-renowned Moto de Miti in Civita Castellana, near the Eternal City two weeks earlier (1-2 October).
Meanwhile, the team is currently hosting its first dedicated on-line auction: the Phil Morris Road Racing Collection of Memorabilia and Motorcycle Spares, one of the world’s largest selections of motorcycle racing memorabilia and motorcycle spares founded by leading figure of the paddock, Phil Morris.
The internet-only sale runs until 3 May, before which all lots on offer can be viewed on-line on the Bonhams website. RH-E

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DB5 requiring recommissioning made retail £506,000 in 92% sold £7m Bonhams Goodwood sale, where ex-Prince Philip speedboat set £69k record

A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Sports Saloon - offered from more than 50 years’ vendor ownership (he bought it from H R Owen in February 1969 for £1,950) - raced past its pre-sale top estimate of £350,000 to sell for the princely sum of half-a-milion (£506,000).
The two-owner DB5 had only covered 27,000 miles over the past forty years before being laid up in 2018. Although the DB5 required some recommissioning, its provenance ensured its strong, more than retail performance at the rostrum.  
The Sixties icon was the most valuable lot in the Sunday 10 April Bonhams sale during Goodwood Members Meeting weekend (the first for Members held at the circuit since 2019), where well-dressed crowds enjoyed two days of historic racing under completely clear blue skies. Only five auction lots were unsold after 71 collector cars, an impressive 93% of the 76 in the glossy catalogue, sold for a 15% premium-inclusive £7,120,636, an average of £100,291 paid per car bought.
In the DB5’s wake was a classic Albatross speedboat, formerly owned and driven by HRH the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh for more than 30 years, which sold for £69,000, more than twice its pre-sale estimate and setting a new auction world record for an Albatross craft.
The Duke’s 1956 Albatross MkIII Super Sports Runabout, in ali with original Ford 100E engine and costing £550 66 years ago, was carried on the Royal Yacht Britannia for more than a decade, being famously photographed at Cowes driven by Prince Philip with the eight-year-old Prince Charles as his passenger.
The second most valuable lot of the day was a 1967 Maserati Mistral 4.0-Litre Spyder, the sale’s 'catalogue‘cover car’ displayed on a floral-edged plnth, which achieved £299,000. One of only 123 Mistral convertibles built, this example acquired as a partly dismantled restoration project by the UK-based vendor, who oversaw a comprehensive restoration of the Italian thoroughbred sports car, during his forty plus years ownership.
Another strongly performing Aston Martin was a 1961 DB4 4.5-litre Competition GT, which sold above estimate, achieving £235,750. Offered without reserve, the DB4 had been built for the AMOC racing series by renowned marque specialist, RS Williams and had enjoyed considerable racing success in North American events.
The 1976-dated Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 Rally Car had covered more competitive kilometres – equivalent to circumnavigating the world three times – than any other Porsche. Built for the 1977 London to Sydney Marathon and driven in period by Polish rally ace Sobislav Zasada and Wojciecj Schramm, and retrospectively in the 2005 Classic Safari by four-time Safari winner and World Champ Bjorn Waldegaard. A best bid of £180,000 was accepted for the £200,000-300,000 estimated and much rallied 911, which cost the winner £207,000 with premium.
Other highlights of the sale included, The Irvine-Fynn AC Collection, which had been collected over five decades by the vendor and spanned 70 years of the independent British marque, achieving a white-glove result, with all seven cars sold. Leading the pack was a 1958 Ace Roadster which achieved £200,100, one of the sale’s top ten results.
The top ten was completed by a pro-restored 1959 Jaguar XK150S 3.8 Drophead, one of only 69 in right-hand drive, and an NP Veteran Engineering rebuilt and maintained 1902 MMC 10hp Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau, a London to Brighton regular, both of which were hammered for £172,500 with premium, below their estimates.
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “We were delighted to return to the Goodwood Members Meeting with a live sale. We presented a wide variety of cars to suit all aspects of the market, which attracted bidders from all over the world, in the saleroom and online, resulting in the high sell-through rate and strong results achieved.” 
After only 5 cars were unsold, all of them redundant historic race cars, there were 71 sales, 93% of the 76 cars auctioned, 25 or 36% at No Reserve, while 23 or 33% changed owners for within their auctioneers’ estimate bands.
Whereas best bids were accepted for 13 or 18% of cars sold for below their pre-sale estimates, while 10 or 14% made more than their top estimates. Whilst a poignant sign of these i-times was the fact that 66% of registered bidders bid via the internet and bought 44% of the cars by mouse!
No mega-priced ‘superstar cars’ had been consigned for this sale however. Although one car did sell for more than £500,000, and seven made from £300,000 to 200,000. One of them was a WW2 car from the late 1930s and one was made in the late 1950s, while three were from the 1960s and three from the 1970s.482 registered to bid, 68% of them bidding on-line.
Both private and several trade bidders bid for cars in the light and airy auction tent, which was pitched alongside the circuit, where historic competition cars raced all weekend. On the infield, Saturday night revellers were entertained by a huge choice of bars and interesting food outlets, very loud live pop music bands, scarey fire-eaters, very high-wire acts with no safety net, concluding with F1 quality fireworks.
Maarten Ten Holder, Managing Director, Bonhams Motoring, commented: “This was a great start to our UK calendar. We are pleased that the British market is showing the same strength as displayed in our first US and European sales of the year, proving that the market in general is rebounding after the challenging last couple of years.”
Bonhams Motoring is now gearing up for The Monaco Sale, which will be staged at the Fairmont Hotel Monte Carlo, Friday 13 May, during Monaco Historic Grand Prix long weekend. The London team will then return to Goodwood (Goodwood House, not circuit) for the Festival of Speed Sale 24 June, for which consignments are currently being sought. RH-E

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Lotus Elite Climax with Crown Prince of Johore provenance topped Brightwells on-line prices where there were buyers for 86% of classics

Despite the surging price of fuel and all the other upheavals caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, bidders ‘kept calm and carried on’ at Brightwells’ second classic car i-auction of the year.
By the time the computers had cooled down on Wednesday evening 30 March, 86% of the 108 cars on offer had successfully changed hands in a £1,032,726 sale with absentee bidders contesting cars from as far afield as Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Top priced lot was a 1962 Lotus Elite Type 14 with twin Weber fed Coventry Climax 1220cc engine, first owned by the Sultan of Johore - Crown Prince of the State of Johore and had remained in Malaysia until 1985.
Restored to factory-spec by Tony Thompson Racing in the UK in 2008, with the FWE Climax engine stripped and rebuilt by Phillips of Wormley, it was successfully hammered away for £58,250, and will soon be heading out east again when it is shipped to a new owner in Singapore, where it had first seen some action 60 years ago.
In second place in the results was a 1996 Bentley Azure with 77,000 mileage which had been consigned from a deceased estate. 'For re-commissioning and with a non-functioning hood' to sort, the 26 year old from Crewe still raised a healthy £56,000.
Also fetching the same amount was another much older convertible, a 1936 British Salmson 20/90 Drophead Coupe. One of only 12 made, and memorably described by the late Tony Dron as “the best car you have never heard of”, the rare six-cylinder tourer had been carefully restored over a 20-year period and the price realised sets a new UK auction record for this obscure marque.
Remarkably, there was also another British Salmson in the sale, a slightly more common four-cylinder 12/70 S4C Sports from 1934, which fetched £16,250, despite being in need of full restoration.
In fact, all but one of the 15 pre-war cars on offer were successfully sold, a 1934 Singer Nine Le Mans also going to Singapore for £16,800, while a 1934 Riley Nine Lynx Special went to a buyer in the Netherlands for £15,680. A 1931 Alvis 12/50 Drophead made £24,100, and will only need to move as far as Cornwall.
Also staying in the UK were three Austin Sevens, a 1930 Ulster Replica fetching £20,500, while a rare 1926 Gordon England Cup made £19,050 and a delightful 1929 Chummy raised £14,900.
Jaguar E-Types certainly appear to have rallied again following a brief dip in value over the last couple of years, and both the Series One 2+2 models on offer were comfortably sold, a dark blue 1968 example fetching £47,050 while a red 1966 one made £39,200
A still fashionable looking 1968 Marcos GT 1600 with styling that has been compared to an ‘E-Type from the dark side’ shot way beyond estimate to finish on £17,500.
A 1974 Jensen-Healey with only 22k miles from new and in really super condition also did remarkably well at £14,350. A 1998 Aston Martin DB7 i6 Coupe with 41k miles had no trouble in fetching £24,100.
Another car with an interesting story behind it was a 1968 Mercedes 280SE Coupe, which had been first owned by Nazi rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun. Running and driving, but otherwise in need of full restoration, it sold for £13,600 and will soon be joining a collection of cars with World War Two connections in the Czech Republic.
Land Rover Defenders continue to dominate auction entry lists and continue to have a hard core following, especially on the export market, so it was therefore no real surprise that all six on offer were eagerly snapped up.
Top 4x4 honours went to an exceptionally smart 2015 Defender 90 XS County Station Wagon with less than 2,000 miles on the clock which made £56,000. An extremely rare 1997 Defender Wolf TUL HS, believed to be one of only 28 air- droppable examples made for use by the British Army, fetched £24,300.
Also unusual was a 2003 Defender 90 G4, an ultra-rugged limited edition model made to celebrate the success of the Land Rover G4 Challenge, which saw 16 teams battling it out in a round-the-world expedition. Looking very mean in black with lots of rufty-tufty extras, a TD5 engine and sensible 70k mileage, it made £20,750.
Analysis of the sale stats, including post-sale deals, shows that 93 or 86% of 108 car lots sold, for a 12% buyer's premium inclusive £1,032,726 (£1.1m+ including including classic bikes), an average therefore of £10,986 spent by i-punters per classic car bought.
While 15 cars were unsold, 18 or 19% of the 93 classics sold were auctioned 'Without Reserve', 24 or 26% sold for within their pre-sale estimate bands, below estimate bids were accepted for 31 or 33% of cars, whereas 20 or 22% of cars sold did so for more than their top estimates. 
The next Brightwells Classic Vehicles auction will be on 11 May, the closing date for cataloguing and pre-sale marketing entries being 29 April. RH-E
 
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Rare 1972 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 in Pink was applauded for £53,437 result during CCA’s £3m weekend at NEC in Brum

The 19-20 March weekend sales at The Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show, which returned to the National Exhibition Centre, for the first time in three years, was CCA’s largest ever with 237 accessible classics going under the gavels of auctioneers Jonathan Humbert and Rob Hubbard.
Saturday’s auction commenced with 29 projects, surplus to manufacturer requirements and 100% dispersed Without Reserve, among them a 1974 Range Rover Classic ‘Suffix D’ rolling chassis with engine, gearbox and axles, but without body, taken on for £25,312 with premium.
A 007 movie ‘Spectre-Look’ 2011 Land Rover Defender 110 XS 2.4 TD out-performed the £47,000-52,000 estimated to sell for £60,750. While a forecast £65,812 was paid for a 63,059k since 1995 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo 2 ‘original’ in standard-spec.
The required £48,375 was forthcoming for a 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth with 56,516 mileage displayed and a 90,100m 1987 Ford Capri 2.8i ‘Injection Special’, the penultimate Capri prior to the run-out 280 Brooklands, overtook the £18,000-23,000 guide to sell for £24,750. A cosmetically sharp 1988 Escort RS Turbo 1.6i CVH S2 sold for £18,225, double the lower estimate.
A bidding battle in the seats for a 1988 Audi UR Quattro WR 2144cc 10v was eventually resolved when the winner had paid £37,687, nearly £10,000 more than top estimate.
In receipt of a photo-recorded rebuild, a 1968 MG C Roadster on wires with less than 69,000 warranted mileage made the required £27,562 and a C GT of similar vintage on steels with hubcaps and 5-speed conversion sold for a just below guide £24,750. A down to last nut and bolt restored 1965 Austin Mini Cooper 998 meanwhile fetched £27,000, close to top estimate.
A 1990 Renault 5 GT Turbo Phase 2 driven just over 70,000 miles made £20,252, top estimate money, a 88,956m 1991 Peugeot 205GTI 1.9 Phase 2 sold for £16,312 and a 127,870m 1990 GTI 1.9 £14,400.
Welsh Gilbern’s final design, the 1972 Invader Mk3, one of a mere 200, found £10,687 and the Salvage Hunters 1965 Saab 96 powered by 2-stroke triple was auctioned Without Reserve until sold for £5,062.
By Day 1 book close, 93 or 78% of the 119 Saturday classics on the CCA stand had sold for £1,620,841, an average of £7,428 with premium paid per car bought.
The Sunday auction opened with the 100% sold sale of 8 No Reservists, previously restored 1932-70 Americans from a £4,275 1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville to a £17,437 1938 Plymouth P6 Coupe.
Another deceased estate collection consisted of barn-dusty, spares-only 1950-82 Landies, Rovers and Jags were all swept up, ranging from £225 securing a 1972 Rover 3500 V8 P6 to £14,400 buying an LGB (‘Lights Behind Grille’) 1950 LR S1.
Top cat on a Sunday afternoon at the NEC was a freshly rebuilt open-top 1967 Jaguar E Type 4.2 S1 - a left-hand drive FHC when repatriated from the US  in 1988, when the subject of left to right-hand drive Coupe to Roadster conversion – sold for a within guide £63,000.
A below £44,000-50,000 estimate £39,375 was accepted for Number 4 of just 86 Ford Capri 2.8 Turbos with body kits produced in 1983 by the Tickford division of Aston Martin. The required £20,812 bought a clearly well restored 1970 Capri 3000GT Mk1 with believed, though unwarranted 32,633 mileage
Driven only 21,600 fully serviced miles from new in 2007 by 3 keepers, an Aston Martin DB9 6.0 V12 Volante sold on the net for a low estimate £34,875.  Whereas a below guide £32,062 was accepted for a 41,000m 2008 420bhp V8 Vantage Roadster.
A showroom quality £30,000-35,000 Elise S3 with 1ZR-FAE 1.6 with Valvematic and Dual VVT-1 technology had only been driven 2,100 miles since new in 2014. Bid to £26,500 by four i-bidders, the £30,000-35,000 estimated Lotus sold afterwards for circa £29,250. The 2006 Elise sold for £9,562 was a racer without V5C with rear clam shell damage.
A bid of £16,200, £18,000 with premium, was accepted for the whitewall tyres shod VW Beetle ‘Ultima Edition that was still ‘as-new’ as it had been in 2003 with only 679k on the clock, but for which £20,000 or more had been suggested.
A fully restored 1962 Lamborghini 1R Tractor, powered by air-cooled 1.5 2-cylinder diesel, ploughed swiftly through a £10,000-12,000 guide to be valued by a new owner at £17,437 with premium.
Restored and expertly re-engineered in 2016, and estimated at £18,000-24,000, a 1974 vintage MG B Roadster fitted with Mazda 1.8 motor and auto-tranny was valued by the new owner, whose £16,312 with premium was accepted by auctioneers and their vendor. £12,937 also bought a £15,000-18,000 1994 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R ‘Hot Hatch’ with 90,611 mileage.
A within estimate £9,562 bought a Honda Mugen Jordan F1 celebratory 2000 Honda Civic VTI-S 1.6 16v VTEC Jordan and £13,275 owned a 48,000m 2002 S2000 GT in Silverstone Metallic Silver with hardtop. A No Reserve 1988 Austin Maestro 700L Van employed as a 2018 Mongol Rally back-up vehicle was acquired for £1,860.
Day 2 book closed with 91 or 77% of 118 sold for £1,408,481, an average of £15,478 with premium paid. These were the first auctions for CCA’s redesigned website, which streamed the sales in real time and allowed 327 registered bidders to bid on-line on the platform for free.
The weekend sales amounted therefore to 184 of 237 classics sold, a 77% sale rate, for £3,029,322 with premium, £16,464 average per car bought. RH-E

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Mortal remains of ‘No Reserve’ 1963 AC Ace project taken on for £202,500 at H&H Duxford, where 70% of classics sell for £3.5m

Attendance in the Imperial War Museum hangar was up to pre-covid levels for the H&H 2022 auction season opener Wednesday 16 March 2022, when buyers present in Cambridgeshire or via phones or net bought 71 classics for £3,456,762, spending an average of £48,687 including 12.5% buyer’s premium per classic bought.

Original parts from 1963 Ace Ford Zephyr 2.6 Sports with chassis number RS5032 - comprising engine with May cylinder head, gearbox, differential, AC Cars chassis plate, bonnet/bootlid/doors (all correctly stamped ‘032’), much of the internal panelling, steering box/column, wheel spinners, over-riders, fuel tank, heater, headlamp rims, tail lights, pedals, rad grille, assorted brake/suspension items, factory-fit seats, door cards, carpets, dash and instruments, side-screens, tonneau, hood, hardtop, odometer showing 58,423 mileage, even original ignition key – had come to market for the first time in 53 years.
Even though sister AC Ace chassis number ‘030’ had sold for $500,000 during the Monterey California sales in August 2021, the £180,000 auction performance under the H&H gavel, amounting to £202,500 with buyer’s premium, was an extraordinary vote of confidence in the totally uncertain future of some of the bits of a Ford powered AC Ace Sports.
For a less than four years old right-hand drive Lamborghini Aventador LP740 S Roadster in the coolest Arancio Atlas with Nero leather stitched in Arancio Leonis, driven less than 6,000 miles by only the one owner from new in 2018, ran out of road with an insufficient £190,000 on-screen, £40,000 below the £230,000-270,000 sought by auctioneers and their vendor.
The highest priced vehicle midweek in Cambridgeshire was a £500,000-600,000 guided 1929 Bentley Speed Six, that had been in period (though no longer matching) component form in 1995 and had been subsequently rebuilt with Le Mans Rep coachwork by Bedfordshire Bentley specialists RC Moss, for which a real world £438,750 with premium was accepted. It had been insured for £1,200,000!
A Fullbridge and Rikki Cam restored 1964 Aston Martin DB5, estimated at £400,000-500,000, sold for £435,000 and a £290,000-330,000 1971 DB6 Mk2 with 61,746 mileage during vendor family ownership since 1972 fetched £310,000.
The subject of back to bare metal rotisserie restoration, a left-hand drive 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster made a more than estimated £151,875. Whereas a running, but rust-munched 59,124 mile 1965 230SL with hardtop and over £6,000 worth of genuine Merc panels was taken on for £30,375, top estimate money.
A Dry State sourced 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 had been repatriated from the US and left to right-hand drive converted during 2013-15 restoration before selling here for £72,000, £5,000 more than estimated.
The 1961 Greyhound, one of only 83 of the Fixed Head Coupes produced by AC, had been previously owned by explorer Blashford-Snell when he was at Sandhurst, and sold on a telephone for £70,875, just over the top estimate.
Much admired during viewing and keenly contested ‘live’ was a 2016-17 built Realm Heritage C Type Evocation with tubular steel space-frame and 420 donor, whose GRP bodywork had been finished in Fangio C Type Jag celebratory Bronze, and which convincingly overtook the £40,000-50,000 suggested to sell for £65,250.  A genuine ‘Barn Find’ 1965 Jaguar E Type S1 4. 2 FHC with some parts and a 1974 tax disc in the screen meanwhile was auctioned Without Reserve and raised £40,500.
A Thunderbirds puppet maker’s 1981 Ferrari 308GTB, driven 35,000 miles by two owners, sold for £52,875. While a Mercedes-Benz SL500 ‘Silver Arrow’ driven 14,000 miles from new in 2011 by the one family fetched £50,825. Both making forecast money.  
A £28,000-32,000 guided 1928 Austin Twenty Landaulette defied unfashionability by selling for £45,000, the same over-estimate money needed to own a beautifully restored 1935 Morgan Matchless V-Twin Three-Wheeler Super Sports.
Forecast money of £36,000 apiece was needed to own two more JAP-powered Morgan Three-Wheelers, a 1928 Aero 1100 upgraded with front pedal-operated hydraulic brakes and a rear hand brake, and an ex-'Family' model restored to 1930 ‘Flat-Sided Aero’ spec with 998cc V-Twin and including bespoke trailer.
One of 178 Right-Hand Drive CV-8 Mk3s built by Jensen in West Brom in 1966, one of 21 UK survivors, was recommissioning-ready for £40,500, more than double top estimate.
One of only 15 surviving Triumph Gloria 10.8hp Southern Cross Tourers from 1935 was offered at No Reserve and pulled a best bid of £30,000, £33,750 with premium.
A 1961 Vauxhall Cresta 2.6 Manual PA, comprehensively restored over a thirteen year period, sold for an estimated £29,250, an exceptional 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100 Mk1 with 117.900 mileage also made the £18,000 required.
A better than forecast £16,875 was forthcoming for a 68 years family owned 1929 Austin Seven AD Chummy for 4 small people. While £15,750 bought a Ford 1600 Kent powered 1968 TVR Vixen S2 that had been an abandoned restoration project in 1998 and benefitted from a replacement chassis during restoration, for which £16,000-20,000 had been sought.
Some really interesting cars for most budgets here. The next classic car sale for the Warrington auction firm’s next fixture for classics returns to their spiritual home ground of the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton Spa, in the Peak District, 27 April 2022. RH-E

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Well attended by punters, Historics season opener at Ascot saw 77% of runners sell for £2.8m, including £46,200 1965 Mini Cooper 998 Mk1

Over 1,000 punters physically attended the three viewing days before Historics’ 2022 season-opener in the Royal Ascot Racecourse Grandstand atrium during a full auction card Saturday 12 March, when 103 classics sold under the hammer and, by the end of the weekend, 124 or 76 % had changed hands for £2,844,154 with premium, an average of £23,123 spent per car.
Maintaining its focus on holding open-to-public ‘live’ auctions in the real world, rather than the virtual one, where time runs out on a computer, most of the seats were kept warm from 9 30am for most of a long day, which was orchestrated by three auctioneers, while a further 600 registered to bid on-line (less from outside Brexit Isles) in conjunction with auction platform partner, Bidpath.
Post-Covid, Fast Fords can still pull men and women of a certain age and a 51,000 mile 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 3-door did not disappoint by achieving a within estimate band £77,825 result.
Of similar vintage, a 1988 BMW 325i Convertible with impeccable service history for a mere 22,400 miles since new comfortably overtook a pre-sale estimate of £20,000-25,000 to sell to the next owner for £35,200.  Interestingly, this March 2022 valuation is six times more than a 1989 example previously sold by Historics for just over £6,000, but that was almost exactly eight years ago when inflation was under control.
More traditional 1960s British classics motored well at the racecourse a down to last nut and bolt restored 1968 Triumph TR5 with ten years receipts totalling over £40,000 made a triumphant £73,700 with premium, close to its double estimate.
A £28,000-32,000 1965 Austin-badged Mini Cooper 998 Mk1 with spotless sub-frames had been beautifully restored with commendable attention to detail, hence the £46,200 premium-inclusive result, previously Cooper 1275S money. For a restored 1966 Austin Mini Cooper 1275S Mk1 with £37,000-42,000 on the screen ran out of road at £35,000, but sold afterwards for £40,000, less than the 998!
Porsches valued here include a newly repainted and air-cooled 1968 912 sold for a close to top estimate £51,700, and there were buyers for both 928 GTS autos, that had been first owned by the acquisitive Brunei Royal family, with £46,200  paid for a 1994 with 8,200 mileage and £47,000 for a 4,400 mile 1992.
A 50th birthday present to vendor 10,250 miles since first registered in 2002 Dax Cobra 427 with Chevrolet 383ci 5.7 V8 and rare hardtop option must have cost more than the more than top estimate £42,900 paid by the next jockey at Ascot.
Very art-deco was a US-manufactured 1934 Nash ‘Advanced Eight’ 128R Coupe with Dickey-Seat that had been restored in Australia before being shipped to the UK in 2005. With custom trunk on the back containing a set of hickory shaft golf clubs, picnic set and wind-up gramophone, the multi-concours award winner sold for £39,600, top estimate money.   
The Elite 502, photographed being handed over to Team Lotus F1 driver Ronnie Peterson by Lotus founder Colin Chapman in 1974, had come to market after 26 years in vendor ownership. In only fair cosmetic condition, but offered without reserve, the GT for four sold for £19,800.
A quirky 1964 Fiat 600D Multipla 6-seater that had undergone a no expense resto and been twice a best of show winner raised £26,400, more than top estimate. While a forecast £20,350 was forthcoming for a US, UK and Ireland resident and Pinnfarina-styled 1962 Fiat 1200 Cabriolet with rare hardtop option.
The high speed Mercedes-Benz S600L Limo that had been owned by Queen’s Roger Taylor from new in 2001, since when the W220 S-Class had been driven 109,000 miles by the rock band drummer, was auctioned without reserve and may have been good value for the £4,950 paid.
And finally, a VEB Sachensring manufactured and No Reserve 1978 Trabant 601, the smokey 2-stroke East German answer to its West German counterpart the VW Beetle, was the last of the 163 classics to cross the Historics block. In Capitalist Lime Green, the Commie-mobile, for which there was once a 10-year waiting list, was hammered for a novelty purchase £2,310.
The 124 lots or 76% that had sold by the Monday morning after the sale did so for £2,844,154 with premium, the average spent by buyers being £23,123 per classic.
The auctioneers are consigning for their next ‘open to public’ auction, which, again, will be held at the Ascot Racecourse Saturday 21 May.
In addition to again returning to their regular Windsorview Lakes and Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands sale venues, Historics have just announced an additional debut fixture in the WW2 auction hangar at Bicester Heritage Saturday 24 September, when Historics will occupy space previously occupied by Brightwells and Bonhams MPH, and where prices paid will be monitored and market trends analysed, right here on C.A.R. RH-E

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Colin McRae 2001 Acropolis winning Ford Focus which was multiple-rolled out of Network Q Rally GB sells for WRC Focus record £423,300

After the Rhonda 1 special stage crash, the ‘4 FMC’ registered remains of the ex-McRae 2001 Ford Focus WRC were subsequently rebuilt by Fomoco team cars M Sport in Cumbria for more rallies and retirement, before achieving this epic £423,300 auction result during Silverstone Auctions first London sales for cars Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 March among the old warbirds in the RAF Museum Hendon.
Earlier, during what were only sparsely attended ‘live’ sales, but which were well supported by absentee salegoers who left commission bids, contested cars on telephones and, inevitably and increasingly, did so on the net at The Saleroom website, incurring 1% plus VAT on same, though free of charge via the new Silverstone Live platform.
Although, statistically, redundant competition cars have been the toughest category within the collector vehicle sector to disperse, a 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Turbocharged 2.5 5-Pot, at 2.2 bar producing circa 650bhp, an awesome Homage to the Hannu Mikkola tamed Group B, realised a more than top estimate £292,500.
While the second day comp car starlet, the re-shelled and Dave Jacobs 2000-2004 tarmac stage rallied Group B 1988 Rover Metro 6R4 in ‘International’ 2.5 spec, also sold for a more than £170,000-190,000 estimated £196,875 with premium.
Highest priced classic road car to change hands in Silverstone’s 2022 season opener and be valued in public auction was a still matching numbers Jaguar Heritage production traced 1961 E Type 3.8 S1, the 90th ‘Outside Bonnet Lock’ Roadster, that had been in receipt of total restoration by marque specialists Rothwell Engineering in Cornwall. Guided at £260,000-320,000, the better than new OBL OTS sold to an ex-Pat bidder on a telephone from Spain for £292,500.
Even though inflation - currently ‘officially eroding the buying power of UK Sterling by 8%, and very likely up 10% after less than three months of what will also be a Ukrainian War torn global economy without stop losses - is responsible for most hikes in achieved prices, there were still two further records set by the Silverstone Auctions team in North London.
For a ‘No Reserve’ Daimler Six 4.0 Saloon, costing the one registered keeper over £50,000 when new in 1995, had been driven only 1,500 miles, having been clearly stored correctly for the past 27 years. 15 telephone bidders versus room and net players contested second ownership, until ever enthusiastic auctioneer Jonathan Humbert hammered the record breaker away for £32,250, the i-winner paying £36,362 with premium for an unrepeatable X300.
The other milestone performance was that of a 1963 Jensen CV8 Auto, one of 250 Mk2 that had been in receipt of an older and photo-recorded body-off chassis restoration, and still presenting really well. Pre-sale estimated at £48,000-56,000, the car was bid to £60,000 and sold for £67,500 with premium.
£260,000 was accepted for a £280,000-340,000 guided and UK-supplied 1989 Lamborghini Countach Celebratory 25th Anniversary Edition in right-hand drive, good for 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds and up to 183mph before speed cameras and public opinion stopped play.
£216,000 gross bought a 2006 Ferrari 575M Superamerica lefty, one of 559 of the innovative convertible/retractable-top versions of the 575M with 2,776 mileage, estimated at £220,000-250,000.
A mid-estimate £81,000 meanwhile was needed to buy a 1989 BMW M635 CSI E24 Manual Coupe with 19,498 warranted mileage, but “requiring an element of recommissioning”. Whilst £76,500 with premium was forthcoming in the saleroom for a UK-supplied 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE W111 Coupe with 46,472 mileage indicated and for which £65,000-75,000 had been forecast.
Already cool, Nissan Skyline Coupes changed hands and were valued at auction here, with a within estimate band £67,500 paid for a 1990 GT-R R32 ‘Nismo Edition’ with an indicated 39,491k, and a forecast £42,258 landing a two owner since 1998 vintage GT-R R33 ‘V-Spec’, a UK-supplied car,
A No Reserve 1979 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Super driven just under 32,000 miles raised an applauded £11,250, with all proceeds benefitting ‘Feedback Madagascar’.
After the two days takings were added together, and before some post post-sale deals had been, 62 of the 101 collector cars on offer had sold for a premium-inclusive £4,824, 034, amounting to an average of £77,807 paid per auction car bought.
Including automobilia sales, over £5m was spent on non-essential acquisitions, which has to be quite remarkable in the badly-governed UK with apocalyptic Russian atrocities and the highest number of Covid infections to date dominating the permanently bad news bulletins. RH-E

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Over $46m (£35m) spent on 77 cars at The Amelia, where 89% of cars sold including 1934 Packard Twelve for $4.13m (£3.14m)

RM Sotheby’s returned to the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island for the company’s 23rd annual sale as the official auction house of the renowned Concours d’Elegance, The Amelia. A single-day live auction for 2022, the sale was a resounding success, grossing $46,636,640 (£35,443,846) with 89% of all lots offered finding new motor homes.
Showing evidence of the strength of the market for rare pre-war cars, the highest sale price of the 5 March sale was set by one of the most significant Packards ever produced. The 1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria by Dietrich is one of just three known examples remaining today.
Boasting excellent provenance along with show-winning history, this incredible Packard won First in Class and runner-up to Best of Show at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Such a magnificent Packard is extremely rare to find at auction and crossed the block selling for an astounding $4,130,000 (£3,138,800).
Following the Packard, the air left the room as a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy shattered its high estimate by over a $1,000,000 (£760,000), selling for $3,525,000 (£2,679,000).
Not far behind the pre-war showstoppers, a beautiful trio of the world’s fastest production cars crossed the block. Selling for $3,360,000 (£2,553,600), the stunning 2019 Bugatti Chiron Sport is the first example to ever be publicly sold at auction in North America, and is one of approximately sixty Chiron Sport examples produced, wearing a striking colour combination of Nocturne exterior over Beluga Black and Italian Red interior. This once-in-a-lifetime Chiron is an exquisitely optioned, beautifully maintained example of the world-renowned hypercar and sold with a mere 3,950 miles on the clock.
Joining the French hypercar and selling for $2,700,000 (£2,052,000), the 2020 McLaren Speedtail is known as the most aerodynamic and fastest car ever produced by McLaren. With each of the 106 examples being purchased by pre-selected customers before the model’s announcement, the availability of this Speedtail, number 87, now offers its new owner the most advanced road-going vehicle that McLaren has built to date.
Representing the legendary Italian brand and boasting the most extreme performance ever achieved by a Ferrari production car, a striking black 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for a market-boosting $3,662,500 (£2,783,500) with only 576 original miles on the odometer.
Other notable highlights from the sale included a pristine 1991 Ferrari Testarossa, which sold after a spirited bidding contest for an impressive $321,250 (£244,150), well past its high estimate of $180,000 (£136,800).
The iconic Mercedes 300 SL continues to prove they belong in any well-curated collection as a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing sold for $2,040,000 (£!,550,400), along with a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster selling for $1,545,000 (£1,174,200).
Porsches dominated preview and sale with over twenty crossing the block, but none demanded a higher price than the 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S ‘Package’, which rounded out our top ten list by selling for $1,105,000 (£839,800). Not to be outdone by the Porsches, a showfield-quality 1993 Jaguar XJ220 set a world record sale price crossing the block at an incredible $687,000 (£522,120).
Along with world-class cars, special items of automobilia were sold at the beginning of the sale, with none being more memorable than an Original Painting of Mario Andretti by Kelly Telfer, signed by Mario Andretti himself, which sold for $138k (£105k). With all proceeds going to charity to research Spina Bifida, not a dry eye was left when Bill Warner, founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, slammed the gavel.
Reflecting on an eventful week in Florida, Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, said: “The 2022 auction season has continued to show us that the collector car market further gains momentum. We broke records in Arizona and Paris, and Amelia Island has proven to be a great success as well, having sold over $46 million on Saturday.
“One of the most exciting moments of the auction was selling the 1930 Duesenberg for more than $1,000,000 (£760,000) over its high estimate. The Duesenberg came from a long-standing client and friend of RM Sotheby’s, so it was great to see it exceed all expectations.
“Lastly, The Oscar Davis Collection just announced this past weekend received an incredible amount of attention as we placed two of Mr. Davis’s cars on display. Our entire team is motivated and ready to continue the charge in Fort Lauderdale, Monaco, and Monterey.”

The RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2022 Top Ten
1.1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria by Dietrich $4,130,000 (£3,138,800)
2.2015 Ferrari LeFerrari $3,662,500 (£2,783,500)
3.1930 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy $3,525,000 (£2,679,000),
4.2019 Bugatti Chiron Sport $3,360,000 (£2,553,600)
5.2020 McLaren Speedtail $2,700,000 (£2,052,000)
6.1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe $2,040,000 (£1,550,400)
7.1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster $1,545,000 (£1,174,200)
8.1953 Cunningham C3 Cabriolet by Vignale $1,215,000 (£923,400)
9.1964 Shelby 289 Cobra $1,132,500 (£860,700)
10.1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S ‘Package’ $1,105,000 (£839,800). RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
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Porsche 550 Spyder fetches over $4m (more than £3m) at auction in Florida, where Bonhams buyers buy 95% of cars for $13.5m (nearly £10.3m)

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, offered for sale for the first time in 50 years, was the highest value lot at Bonhams Amelia Island Auction Thursday 3 March 2022, achieving $4,185,000 (£3,180,600 with premium), following a tense bidding battle in the Florida saleroom. This was the headliner of a statistically successful fixture, which realised a premium-inclusive sale total of $13.5m (£10.26m), with a market satisfying 95% sell-through rate.  
A seminal model for Porsche, the 1500cc 550 Spyder was the manufacturer’s first genuine racing car, earning the ‘giant killer’ soubriquet for its victories over larger-engined rivals in the most challenging races such as the Le Mans 24 Hours.  
The sale car had its own racing pedigree, having been campaigned extensively in Europe, including at the Nürburgring, by its first owner, German racing driver Theo Helfrich. The Porsche was acquired in 1959 by an American military man stationed in Germany, who shipped it back to the US, where it was purchased by the vendor in 1972. 
Cherished for 50 years, including a factory-correct five-year restoration, the car had been under wraps since the early 2000s. Its first public outing in 20 years earned applause from the saleroom before the auction process had even started. The Porsche was finally hammered down to a telephone bidder after a tense bidding battle, earning a second ovation. 
Jakob GreisenBonhams Vice President - Head of US Motoring, said: “We were immensely honoured to be entrusted with the sale of this spectacular 550 Spyder, direct from half a century of ownership, and are very pleased with the result. We look forward to seeing this highly genuine example of an iconic Porsche at the finest international Concours and driving events around the globe.” 
Another seven-figure result was achieved by a real ‘Doozy’ - a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Victoria, which achieved $1,066,500 (£810,540). With coachwork by respected US coachbuilder Rollston, this car, arguably one of the finest American automobiles of the American Classic Era, had been the subject of an extensive restoration which had been well-preserved over recent years.  
A fellow American legend also set an auction world record at the Fernandina Beach venue. Believed to be the oldest surviving Ford Model T, the 1908 Touring variant, extensively restored some 20 years ago, achieved $246,400 (£187,264), becoming the highest value example sold to date. 
The ‘Best of British’ meanwhile was represented by two unique examples. The first was a 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE Fixed Head Coupé, the only XK120 bodied by the Italian Carrozzeria Pinin Farina, which realised $940,000 (£714,400). On the very edge of WW3 potentially, this was an extraordinarily bullish valuation for an XK120 FHC, even for this one-off Italian.
From its introduction as the 1955 Geneva Motor Show car, the Jaguar was found in a sorry state in a field in 1972, but was returned to its former glory by the vendor with a down to last nut and bolt restoration.
Lining up with the Jaguar was the very first Rolls-Royce-built Derby Bentley, the pivotal link between the WO Bentley and Derby eras. Originally used extensively as a promotional model, this historic 1933 Bentley 3½-Litre Sports Tourer, chassis number B1AE, was driven in period by some of the greatest racing drivers, including Sir Malcolm Campbell and Woolf Barnato.
Offered from 60 years' ownership, the matching numbers Bentley changed hands after six decades for $428,500 (£325,660).
Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Motoring Director, who auctioneered the sale, commented: “Bonhams was delighted to offer such a strong line-up at our eighth Amelia Island Auction, among which were truly unique collectors’ cars such as the Porsche 550 Spyder and the Derby Bentley. We were privileged to present both of these to the public after so many years, and look forward to seeing them at events in years to come”
“The auction was certainly well-received by bidders. We had a busy saleroom, complemented by activity on the telephones and internet, with the participation of many international bidders.”
Other highlights of the Bonhams Amelia Island Auction included: A prized ‘White Glove’ result for the Charles Jacob single-owner collection of 46 motorcycles and eight cars. The 100% sold collection of largely British ‘Golden Age’ motorcycles and American automobiles of the US Classic Era had been amassed over several decades by the late long-time Jacksonville, FL resident.
The Jacob 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Open Two-Seater, sold for an above estimate $335,000 (£254,600). One of the most unusual and striking Phantom IIs, this automobile’s one-off coachwork was designed by a former owner and built by renowned Rolls-Royce coachbuilder Hooper of London in the 1950s.
The 100% sold Charles Jacob single-owner collection of 46 motorcycles and 8 cars, largely British ‘Golden Age’ motorcycles and American automobiles from the US Classic Era, had been amassed over several decades by the late long-time Jacksonville, Florida resident
The Bonhams Motoring Team will be crossing the Atlantic for their next auction, the Goodwood Members Meeting sale, which will be held on the Sunday 10 April of race weekend, with viewing Saturday 9 April. Classic Auction Review will, of course, be there to bring you an ‘insider review’ for this website of what will be the first of three Goodwood fixtures in 2022 at the West Sussex estate for the 1793-founded auction house. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
Most recently reviewed, the latest Brightwells Timed out sale, during which a one owner low mileage Honda NSX comfortably broke the £100k barrier, while The Market US by Bonhams clocked up another record price for a Japanese Modern Classic. Also, scroll through the RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Paris sales, preceded by the UK sale rate topping ACA & SWVA Drive-Throughs. The Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above meanwhile will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 

 

£55,000-65,000 guided 1992 Honda NSX Manual driven 11,000 miles by one owner fetched UK record £110,880 during Brightwells on-line auction

There were 83 bids posted before auction time ran out on the Brightwells computer in Herefordshire and a 1992 Honda NSX Manual driven a mere 11,000 miles by only one owner had sold for £99,000 on-screen, costing the winning contestant £110,880 including 12% buyer’s premium, double the lower estimate.
After less than three hours on a Wednesday evening 16 February, there were absentee buyers for 100 or 78% of the 128 classics offered in the Leominster auctioneers’ units where all cars offered on-line, together with their history files, could be physically checked by those wise souls prepared to do the miles.
After the book had been closed and the results published, the internet sale grossed a premium-inclusive £912,482, an average of £9,125 being spent per classic bought.
A deceased estate sourced 1967 Jaguar E Type S1 2+2 Fixed Head, in receipt of show-winning restoration in the 1990s and uprated to 4-pot brakes, had been estimated at £35,000-45,000 and attracted 28 bids until virtually hammered for £43,766, £49,018 with premium.
Whereas after 18 bids had been logged by time-out, £40,833 with charges was accepted for a one owner since new in 2014 Land Rover Defender 110 XS-Spec Diesel County Station Wagon for 7 in seats, for which £48,000-52,000 had been  forecast.
Just 9 bids were enough to buy a £20,000-22,000 estimated 1971 Citroen DS21 5-speed manual lefty for £24,889. Resident in the climate-friendly South of France until 2004, since when during three UK owners it had been a class winner on Le Jog.
Whereas 40 clicks were recorded before a 1952 Armstrong Siddeley Whitley Coupe with Double-Cab Pick-Up, one of only three survivors, changed collectors for £23,520, more than double the £8,000-10,000 estimate.
A £24,000-28,000 estimated 2003 Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 in desirable XS-spec with 39,783 mileage by three owners pulled 19 bids before selling for £23,146.  
Other internet sale valuations here included an ex-Triumph management 1974 TR6 estimated at £14,000-16,000 and after 11 bids sold for £17,472. An extensively restored 1971 Fiat 500F with £15,000-17,000 estimate and 17 bids made the required £16,240 and, after 20 bids, a 1997 rebuilt 1972 Triumph Stag 3-Litre Manual with Overdrive sold for £14,112, top estimate.
An earlier twin-turbo W12 Bentley Continental GT from 2004 with 68,307 mileage had 26 clicks before fetching an only just below guide £15,837. Much physically viewed was a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230CE Auto ‘original’ that had only done 46,000 during two family ownership before overtaking £6,000-8,000 estimate and eventually selling for £12,164.
A chrome-bumper converted 1978 MGB GT that had done 15,000 since full restoration had 12 bids until sold for a within estimate £11,934. An only 21,993 miles since 1986 Renault 4GTL original from long term ownership guided at £11,000-13,000 attracted 16 bids an sold for £11,872.
From unfinished project when acquired in 2018, a 1974 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE5A Ford 3-Litre V6 Manual raised 35 clicks until sold for £8,822, nearly double lower estimate. A very rust-munched No Reserve 1974 Lancia Fulvia S2 project with many replacement panels to fit was bid 58 times until taken on for £2,912.
In view of their perceived form, and even though reportedly a regular attendee at the extraordinarily well supported Caffeine and Machine’s Japanese/JD Daikoku nights in Warwickshire, a 2003 Japanese import 1995 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo RZ MkIV with optional 4-pot front brakes, Bilstein suspenders and Torsen lsd and 66,400 mileage ran out of road after only 6 bids and with a £10,000 below estimate £25,000 offered.
There were only 12 bids logged for an old school, chassis-up restored in 1983, 1934 vintage Riley Lynx Open Special for four from a deceased estate. £17,000-19,000 had been sought, but only £12,200 bid.
Time will again run out for classic cars and bikes virtually 30 March, when again lots will be offered by Brightwells on-line only without a live auctioneer on a rostrum or any punters in a saleroom. For there are no plans at present, say the Leominster auction firm, to return to holding live format sales or drive-throughs with the public present. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
Most recently reviewed the newly launched The Market US by Bonhams internet auction platform, the RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Paris sales, preceded by some Brexit UK reality of the sale rate topping ACA & SWVA Drive-Throughs.
Whilst the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 

 

1999 Mitsubishi 4000GT VR-4 quadruples pre-sale estimate to sell for world auction record $100,499 (£75,374) on new US internet platform

The Market by Bonhams, who claim to be the fastest-growing on-line car and motorcycle marketplace and which launched last month in the US, has witnessed an impressive debut with several six-figure automobiles successfully selling and a new auction world record being set.  
One of the highlight cars of the launch, a 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, quadrupled its pre-sale estimate to sell for $100,499 (£75,374), the highest price paid for the Japanese GT in an auction.
Following a bidding war across the US, the successful surfer effectively became the first registered owner of the only 168-mile young-timer, which had been kept in dealer inventory until purchased by the vendor who kept it off the road on static display.  
Another six-figure sale was achieved by a 2019 Porsche Supercar, a 911 GT2 RS ‘Weissach’, which also fetched above estimate for $435,500 (£326,625). A single-owner, 363-mile example of Porsche’s top of the line race car for the road in Miami Blue featured the high-performance Weissach option, making it one of the most powerful 911s ever. 
Other lots successfully sold since launch have included a one-of-a-kind 2017 Dodge Viper GTC ACR Extreme Dealer Edition, which made $299,500 (£224,625), and a rare coach-built 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Continental, which realised $79,500 (£59,625). 
The newly launched The Market by Bonhams US has introduced its innovative digital platform to North America, combining technology and traditional auction practices, with its winning formula of no buyer fees and a flat 5% sellers’ commission, already proven in the UK and Europe resulting in an average 90% sell-through rate.  
The simple on-line only process allows an auction to be set up in a few days from initial contact. Sellers receive a comprehensive professional auction listing at no extra cost, written by a team of motoring experts, depicting all aspects of the automobile offered. 
Each auction is live for seven days, during which time registered bidders submit their bids to their desired maximum. Would-be bidders can quickly register with their credit card details and are immediately able to bid. Successful buyers a 5% deposit to The Market by Bonhams and then agree payment terms with the seller before collecting their new vehicles.
Importantly for consumers though, but In line with The Market by Bonhams US’ policy of transparency, and even if a car doesn’t reach a vendor’s reserve, ALL auction results are listed and remain visible on the website. 
Forthcoming auctions include a brace of Aston Martins: a 1977 V8 Vantage 4-Seater Coupe, estimated at $70,000-100,000 (£52,500-75,000), and a 2003 DB7 Vantage Convertible, guided at $25,000-35,000 (£18,750-26,250), both offered at No Reserve.
Caroline Cassini, General Manager Stateside of The Market by Bonhams, said: “Our successful debut has shown that we clearly have the viewers and real-time bidders engaging with The Market. To have such a strong start like this is a fantastic achievement.” 
Caroline and other members of her US team will be in attendance at the traditional format Bonhams Amelia Island Auction 3 March in Florida, where they will showcase the platform’s latest consignments and will be on hand to give advice to potential buyers and vendors.
The on-line option was launched by the 1793-founded London and now international auction house in 2016 in Oxfordshire. The Market helps people to buy and sell their classic vehicles through innovative curated auctions via its state-of-the-art, high security online platform and app.
The platform was conceived from a passion for classic cars and motorcycles as well as for technology and the crossovers that exist between the two. Along with the i-sector leading Collecting Cars, Car and Classic and physical auctioneers Silverstone with their Silverstone Digital, H&H and Manor Park Classics, all of whom now offer digital options, the resultant internet facility has certainly been disrupting the old world classic car auction market by providing high levels of transparency, accessibility and security as well as highly competitive buyers’ and sellers’ fees.
The Market charges a seller’s commission of just 5 per cent + VAT with no fees (buyers’ premium) for successful bidders, many of whom physically check out those auction cars and their all-important documents which are present at  the UK platform’s viewing facility south of Oxford rather than at vendors’ homes or businesses.
It remains to be seen, when (and if) selling and buying classic cars ever returns to how things used to be pre-pandemic, and how many punters choose to return to actually kicking tyres in salerooms and auction tents rather than doing most of their shopping by mouse or i-phone. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
Most recently reviewed have been RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Paris sales, preceded by some Brexit UK reality of the VERY successful ACA & SWVA Drive-Throughs, where nearly all cars and projects offered sold out, plus the 2022 US auctions year opening RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Scottsdale sales.
Whilst the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 

 

RM Sotheby’s Paris prices include 1985 Ferrari GTO 3.46m euros (£2.94m), 1996 F50 3.44m euros (£2.92m), 1966 275GTB/4 2.37m euros (£2.01m)

Immediately following their recent Arizona auction, RM Sotheby’s held the company’s ninth annual Paris sale Wednesday 2 February at the Sotheby’s salerooms in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in the heart of the French capital, again in front of a live audience in the saleroom.
The one-day auction totaled 24,913,510m euros (£21,176,483) in sales, including 16 nostalgia items, with buyers for 91% of all lots in the catalogue. Thanks to internet and telephone, this was a global event and registered bidders hailed from 38 different countries.
After a 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible had sold afterwards for 1,130,000 euros including charges (£960,500), and pre any more post-sales, the collector vehicle stats amounted to 50 or 89% of the 56 cars selling under the gavel for 24.5m euros (£20.83m), 6 therefore being still available.
The highlight of the night was The Petitjean Collection ‘Part II’, a collection of 28 Ferrari road cars spanning 30 years from 1959 to 1989. The collection of Marcel Petitjean represented one man’s passion and dedication to building a fine collection of automobiles.
All lots were vigorously contested, and it was the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO, one of the ultimate supercars of its era, which sold for 3,464,375 euros (£2,944,719), establishing a record for the model and topping the entire sale.
The Collection’s second-highest sale was a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti, the first production GTB/4 produced and the Paris Salon show car, which was still remarkably original and brought 2,367,500 euros (£2,012,375).
One of the most desirable of all the great V12 250s, the forever good looking 1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta ‘Lusso’ by Scaglietti, another great survivor in wonderfully original condition, sold for 1,186,250 euros (£1,008,313).
Presented in the factory-correct colour combination of Argento over Rosso leather interior, the matching-numbers example had been in The Petitjean portfolio for over 35 years.The 2022 Paris sales going rate meanwhile for a 1973 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta by Scaglietti was 522,500 euros with premium (£441,125), to take tenth place overall in the sale results.  
This dispersal of the second tranche of the Petitjean Collection was both a statistical and financial success for vendor and auctioneers, with all lots fetching strong money and many exceeding their pre-sale estimates.
Outside of the Collection, a number of market significant results were achieved. The Ferrari Classiche-certified 1996 Ferrari F50 was the second-highest selling lot of the sale. Boasting just 12,722k on its odometer, the example on offer sold for 3,436,250 euros (£2,920,813).
Proving that Ferraris aren’t the only supercars attracting collectors, the 1994 Bugatti EB110 GT was another record-breaking result for the model (but for less than 24 hours, before being overtaken by a 1996 EB110GT sold by Bonhams by the Tour Eifel for 1,817,000 euros (£1,544,450)! Believed to be one of only 84 models built to ‘GT’ specification,  and with benefit of low mileage and full service history, the RMS Bug achieved 1,805,000 euros (£1,534,250).
Rounding out the top ten results were a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, which sold for 916,250 euros (£778,813), and the 1954 Fiat 8V Coupe, one of just 114 8Vs built and one of only 29 second-series cars built in-house by Fiat, which deservedly fetched 905,000 euros (£769,250).
One of the most exciting moments during the sale was the 1983 Ferrari Meera S by Michelotti, which had observers marvelling as the bidding rose to unexpected heights. This unique car, a true one-of-one created exclusively for Saudi Arabian royalty in the 1980s sold for an astonishing 245% over its high estimate and made 432,500 euros (£367,625).
Oliver Camelin, Director of Sales, Switzerland at RM Sotheby’s, commented: “We are beyond pleased with the results of Monsieur Petitjean’s collection and the entire event overall. The success of these sales comes down to the trust that clients put into RM Sotheby’s when consigning their cars or entire collections, especially when the cars have been in such loved and long-term ownership. Across the board, the entire sale was a huge success and to achieve an overall sale rate of 91% really signifies just how strong the market is, at present.”
RM Sotheby’s continues to build its European leadership team with the appointment of Peter Wallman as Chairman for the UK and EMEA, who rejoins the company after five years of developing auction and private sales projects elsewhere in the industry.
Peter originally joined RM in Europe in 2007 and took on the role of Managing Director of RM Sotheby’s in April 2016, heading up the team based in London and was responsible for consigning numerous important cars and single-owner collections from around Europe, and was an integral part of the team that launched RM Auctions into Europe, helping to establish core sales for the business in London, Maranello, Monaco, and Villa Erba.
Speaking of his return to RM Sotheby’s, he said: “My approach to the business is driven through a genuine love and enthusiasm for the cars and the people. I’m delighted to be back at RM Sotheby’s, as it’s now so much easier for me to see how the company leads this industry, having benefitted from five years away and viewed through a slightly different lens.
“Let’s not forget that this is a business that has a soul and is underpinned by beautiful objects and experiences, a passion for storytelling, and a love for historic and collectable cars of all ages. It’s a world where people have fun, swap tales, and make friends, and as a business, our role is to help let that hobby thrive.”
Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions at RM Sotheby’s, added: “I am personally delighted that Peter is back in the business. He has incredible knowledge and an astute understanding of the luxury goods sector and the broader environment in which we operate. Peter will be an integral part of the team in Europe, working alongside Managing Director Greg Anderson and the rest of the leadership team.”
The RM Sotheby’s traditional auctions charge continues at Amelia Island Florida 5 March, and then Fort Lauderdale 25-26 March, followed by Monaco 14 May. All these sales will, of course, be reviewed right here on this site. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market - most recently, Bonhams Paris sale, preceded by Brexit UK reality of the VERY successful ACA & SWVA Drive-Throughs, where nearly all cars and projects offered sold out, plus the 2022 US auctions year opening RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Scottsdale sales have been fully reviewed.

 

Record 2.56m euros (£2.12m) paid for 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari and 1.82m euros (£1.55m) for 1996 Bugatti EB110 GT during Bonhams Paris Sale

With the backdrop of an illuminated Eiffel Tower, a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari lit up the Thursday 3 February Bonhams auction in the Grand Palais Éphémère, achieving 2,558,750 euros (£2,174,938) and setting a new auction world record for a European-specification variant.
One of only 499 examples of the hybrid hypercar, this was the first production car to feature the F1-derived HY-KERS hybrid system, this yellow over black LaFerrari had covered fewer than 930km from new and was offered by its second owner. The seven year old Italian supercar was the top priced lot of the Grand Marques du Monde à Paris Sale, after which 90 or 81% of the 111 cars on view realised 18.53m euros (£15.45m).
In its slipstream was another auction record-setter, a 1996 Bugatti EB110 GT Coupe, which sold for 1,817,000 euros (£1,544,450), several hundred thousand above its top estimate and setting a new auction world record for the model. At launch, the first new Bugatti to be produced since 1956 set four world speed records, including for the fastest series production sports car. One of a mere 95 GT examples, this three-owner EB110 GT car had covered 10,000kms from new. 
Another star was the 1964 Porsche 904 GTS, formerly owned by Hollywood actor Robert Redford, which also achieved seven figures, selling for 1,345,500 euros (£1,143,675). Originally owned by Steve Earle, founder of the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, this GTS was raced by subsequent owner Steve Berg in North America before it was later acquired by Redford, who kept it for nearly a decade.
Contrasting with the sports and supercars was an unearthed collection of three barn find veteran cars, including a 1904 Pipe Serie E 15CV Four-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau, which tripled its pre-sale estimate, achieving a staggering 759,000 euros (£645,150).
Offered from a single-family ownership from new and placed in storage at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the high-quality Belgian motor car had retained its original coachwork and was offered with the potential to be eligible for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run or for preservation for future generations. 
A matching numbers, French market suppled in 1960 Aston Martin DB4 S2 went for a within estimate band 437,000 euros with premium (£371,450). Whereas a just below guide 333,500 euros gross (£283,475) was accepted for a Don Law up graded to 680bhp S-spec and repainted in non-original black 1993 Jaguar XK220 in left-hand drive on BBS alloys, number 38 of 280, which had been retained by Danish Government Customs 2006 to 2010.
As ever at the Bonhams Paris Sale, Veteran and Pre-WW2 motor cars proved popular with connoisseurs and collectors in attendance with several appearing in the top ten and exceeding their top estimates. A time-warp 1921 Hispano-Suiza H6B Torpedo, offered from the Dolleschel Collection, achieved 402,500 euros (£342,125), while the ex-Bernard de Lassée 1913 S.P.A 25 HP Torpedo Sport fetched 396,750 euros (£337,238), nearly doubling its estimate.
Another Dolleschel Collection car making more than forecast was a remarkably authentic 1902 Panhard & Levassor Type A2 7HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau sold for 379,500 euros (£322,575).
Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale offered its largest array yet of more than 110 collectors’ motor cars spanning over a century of motoring excellence and history. 
Among the other noteworthy performances, a 2010 Tesla Roadster, demonstrated by one of the greatest names in motorsport – Michael Schumacher - at that year’s Race of Champions event in Düsseldorf, which made 138,000 euros (£117,300)
The standout result of the automobilia sale, which preceded the motorcars auction, was a pair of Heuer rally stopwatches mounted on an original Heuer plate to be attached to a racing or rally car’s dashboard. Following a bidding frenzy, the pair sold for 17,812 euros (£15,140), nearly ten times pre-sale estimate.
Philip Kantor, Bonhams newly appointed International Chairman for the Motoring Department, said: “We are all delighted with the strong results across the spectrum of the superb selection of motor cars offered – from Veteran through Pre-War to Classic and Contemporary Supercars. 
“It was a pleasure to host a live sale in Paris again after two years, and the Grand Palais Éphémère provided a stunning venue for the busy saleroom of enthusiastic bidders.”
In this new role, Philip will be working with Maarten Ten Holder, Managing Director, Bonhams Motoring, helping to set the agenda for the global motoring division as well as playing an ambassadorial role, including establishing an exclusive programme for top-tier clients across the various regions in which the auction house operates.
Since joining Bonhams Motoring Department in 2007, Philip has overseen and launched successful motor cars sales on the continent, including introducing the Bonhams Paris Sale that same year. Philip later secured the city’s prestigious Grand Palais as a venue for the sale, which has been a much-anticipated season-opener on the European motoring calendar. He also established the Zoute Sale in conjunction with the Zoute Grand Prix a decade ago. 
Commenting on Kantor's appointment, Maarten Ten Holder said: “With his wealth of experience and successes in the past and recent years, Philip is the ideal person for the job. Philip already engages on a regular basis with our most important clients and so this is not only a natural development for our business, but for him personally too.”
Bonhams Motoring will cross the Atlantic for the Amelia Island Auction 3 March at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club, Florida, before the team’s first UK Goodwood Auction, The Members Meeting Sale 10 April.
Bonhams Eurocars team meanwhile is actively consigning for The Monaco Sale 13 May, taking place during the Monaco Historic Grand Prix meeting, where a 1970 Jaguar E-Type S2 4.2 headlines from the SOLAR productions compound at the 1970 Steve McQueen film Le MansRHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market - most recently, the reality of the VERY successful ACA & SWVA Drive-Throughs, where nearly all cars and projects offered sold out, plus the 2022 US auctions year opening RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Scottsdale sales have been fully reviewed.
And with collector vehicle economies being allowed to function again (for now anyway!), the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar

 

 

Punters were present again to see ACA sell 95% of 216 classics in Norfolk for over £1.6m led by £87k George Formby Jag

Anglia Car Auctions top priced seller Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January in their 2022 season-opening weekend was a £30,000-50,000 1959 Jaguar 3.4 Manual Mk1 with GF reg, which had been crashed near the King’s Lynn sale location by entertainer and movie star George Formby and his wife in period, but which had clearly been well looked after for many years. The vendor was in tears when the hammer finally fell at £81,000 and his car had sold for £87,450 with premium.
A mid-estimate £78,840 was forthcoming for a 1996 Ferrari F355 GTS manual with 39,000 mileage, and a well prepped 1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2, that was mint after 25,265 miles, was provisionally bid to £60,000 and sold afterwards on the net for £69,120. While a deceased estate 1973 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 2+2 Fixed Head from 22 years ownership made a top estimate £47,520.
The most bullish valuation of all though was the applauded £42,660 paid for a No Reserve 1985 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection Special which had been driven only 28,460 miles from new. The £19,440 result on saleroom.com of a 1964 Zodiac Mk3 with fins which had been guided at £8,000-10,000 was noteworthy too.
A £25,000-35,000 estimated 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.8 S Auto Cabriolet ‘for spares or repairs’ excited much bidding until sold on the internet for £42,120.  Driven 47,000 miles from new, a 2008 Bentley Continental GTC just cleared its top estimate to sell via a telephone in the room for £32,400.
A locally produced and apparently presentable £18,000-22,000 guided 1988 Lotus Esprit X180 was bought in the hall for £21,870, a very dormant 1984 Excel No Reservist outside for £4,212. A striped and well restored and upgraded 1975 Triumph GT6 on Minilites realised £18,360 on a telephone, £8,360 more than estimated.
A 1968 Volvo 221 Amazon Estate inspired a really long bidding battle on the net until the winner had provisionally bid £14,300, but had to pay £17,280 with premium to own the £16,000-20,000 estimated Swedish rarity.
The restored 1938 Morgan F-Super 3-Wheeler sold for nearly £5,000 more than forecast £16,740 had been consigned from the Irish Republic, these days subject to 5% duty if UK resident. A 1969 Morgan 4/4 Ford Kent 1600 Sports had most attractively estimated at £7,500-9,500, but was driven past the rostrum to sell on a telephone for £13,500.
The Jensen Healey GT was unusual when new in 1975 and sold here 47 years later for a just over low estimate £12,150. A 1992 Nissan SX Turbo Auto had only done 19,037 miles and fetched a more than forecast £11,488 and a 1973 Lancia Beta 1400 S1 Berlina that had survived the rust plague that killed off most of the others sold on the net for a much better than expected £10,260. A UK market 1968 Fulvia Rallye 1.3 Coupe, even though non-running, looked well worth buying for £6,480.  
Best daily driver buy was a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback Auto Estate with 12,052 warranted mileage which deservedly cleared the top estimate to cost a new owner £5,616. Only just more than the £5,508 paid for a 141,026 mile, but neat and tidy 1988 Toyota MR2 Mk 1 T-Bar with Cat C repair on file.
A No Reserve 1976 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk2 with four headlights and rust eaten panels that one could see headed the resto-project prices by being taken on for £15,120. A pair of barn-distressed 1969 Minis were popularly picked over by vultures in the hall, the remains of a Cooper 998 Mk2 project fetched £10,800 and a rustier Cooper 1275S Mk3 £9,504.
A really dusty and non-running 1952 Daimler DB18 3-Seater Sports Special Drophead by Barker meanwhile was auctioned Without Reserve for £10,152. By contrast, an East European 1977 Trabant 601 always smokey lefty was swept up for £810.   
The Anglia Car Auctions hall has been newly opened right up by removing by one of the unit dividing walls and mini-grandstand, so that the area in front of the rostrum was punter-free with unrestricted shooting for the camera crew.
At the conclusion of the Saturday session, and once many provisional bids had been converted into sales, 91 or 86% of the 106 cars that crossed the block, most of them driven past the rostrum on YouTube, had sold for £490,678, an average of £5112 with premium.
The Sunday sale, when many of the higher value cars were offered, again driven past the rostrum or, if resto-projects, static displayed, all of them pro-camera shot for the YouTube-cast, another 96 or 87% of the 110 classics offered changed hands for £1,080,577, an average of £11,874 with premium.
By the end of the two day auction, which was modestly attended by real punters with catering options again, the weekend stats, BEFORE post-sales, amounted to 29 cars still for sale, but there being a market-encouraging 187 changes of ownership from 216 entries, an 87% sale rate.
The two days action had totalled a premium-inclusive £1,571,255, while the average spent by telephone (via call handlers in the room), on the net (through the saleroom.com platform) or by real punters who had made the journey again to the vehicle auctioneers premises being £8,402 per classic.
By midweek, after post-selling, car sales had risen to 206 though, leaving only 10 classics unsold and the sale rate was up to a new UK market leading 95%. Whilst 100% of the 250 lots of automobilia had sold out, 32 registrations had been bought and only 1 motorcycle was left on the shelf!
The most extraordinary stats of all however were the YouTube viewing figures (additional to those bidding by saleroom.com or those attending the sale in the auction hall).
For after the less than 2,000 ‘live’ audience had risen to just over 17,000 after 24 hours, after 4 days streaming 38,000 had logged onto the Saturday cast, and after only 3 days, the Sunday sale had already surpassed 31,000 views (with unhelpful ‘live comments’ disabled).
These quite extraordinary on-line viewing figures confirm the sheer strength of the High Street destroying internet in 2022.
As Government locked down economies stagger back to life, these were the second and third traditional ‘grass roots’ collector vehicle auctions to take place in Brexit UK as the 2022 selling and buying season ramps up. ACA have scheduled more of the same over the 2/3 April, 11/12 June, 20/21 August and 5/6 November weekends.
All will be reviewed, of course, right here on C.A.R. your truly independent resource, where there are no ads or even pop-ups to filter out any of the facts of life on the auction circuit. Thanks for your support. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market - most recently, the reality of the SWVA Drive-By, and RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Scottsdale sales have been fully reviewed.
And with covid regs relaxed (at last, and for now anyway), the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar

 

One owner DB9 Volante manual sells for £41,256, £9,200 more than estimate, during first UK classics sale of 2022 when 93% of cars sold

A fully serviced and rarer in manual 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante with 50,496 warranted mileage by one emigrating ownership had been pre-sale estimated by SWVA 28 January 2022 at £27,000-29,000, but was contested by five telephone contestants versus the internet until sold for £41,256 with 8% premium (10% with vat).
Market watchers will be reassured with the 93% sale rate achieved by the South West Auction Vehicle Auctioneers at their Friday morning Drive-Through, the first collector vehicle auction of the 2022 trading season in Brexit UK, where there were buyers for 51 classics (including 2 post-sales) and only 4 were unsold!
Having started standard production life as a Ford Escort 1300L in 1970, a big-winged Mk1 2-door ‘Track Day’ toy with a battery of rally lamps fitted with 2-litre Cosworth turbo motor, T5 box and Willwood 4-pot discs all round sold to a telephone buyer for a more than top estimate £31,320.
A deceased estate entered 1933 J Type OHC, one of 2,499 manufactured by MG 1932-34 and previously fully restored, was also acquired on a telephone for a more than forecast £22,032. By contrast, a 1965 Ford Mustang 302 Notchback-Coupe lefty auto, in receipt of a claimed to have been in receipt of a £70k resto by another deceased owner, made £19,360, top estimate money.
There were buyers for all three Triumph TR6s, led by a 1973 with engine uprated to 150bhp spec 3,000 miles ago sold for £18,144, £3,644 more than estimated. During 40 years ownership, a 1972 TR6 had had many steel panels and clutch, flywheel, bumpers and wheels renewed before changing hands here for £11,340 and a 1976 with 125bhp motor and 56,353 warranted mileage for £10,368, both more than had been forecast.
Over £2,600 more than estimated 1980 TVR Taimar Ford 3.0 V6 Coupe that had been taken back to gelcoat and pro-painted sold for £17,172 and an apparently clean 2002 Maserati Cambio Corsa Spyder semi-auto with 42,489 warranted mileage for £14,364, nearly £2,499 over guide. A Bell & Colvill Edition upgraded to circa 160bhp in 1999 Lotus Elise was neat for a top estimate £14,202.
All four Morris Minor entries sold, a 1955 Convertible in receipt of body and engine rebuild found £8,856, a previously restored 1957 1000 £7,776 , a 1970 1000 2-Door Saloon with 2022 MOT £4,320 and a bereavement sale 1951 918cc Sidevalve 4-Door Saloon with split-screen from long term storage £3,348, £2,348 above guide.
Particularly noteworthy were a 100,000m+ since 1972 Saab 96 V4 with gearbox replaced 1986 and an engine change in 2012 sold for £7,128, over £2,000 more than estimate, and a renewed 1972 Triumph 2000 4-Door Estate, a manual with overdrive, though with non-original steering wheel and road wheels, sold for £6,048, £1,000 more than forecast. A 1960 Austin A40 Farina Mk1, period-correct restored with servo-assisted brakes, fetched a mid-estimate £5,076.  
Although cars for sale could be physically viewed pre-sale by appointment, the Drive-By itself was again held behind closed doors in front of one locked off camera on YouTube with bidding via Livebid, by telephone or on commission.
Successful absentee bidders spent £400,189 with premium on 51 cars, an average of £7,847 being spent per classic.The stats were helped once again, too, by 16% of cars having been consigned 'Without Reserve', while 29 - an impressive 57% of those sold - did so for above top estimate sums.
Indeed, while 8 or 16% of sellers sold for within their pre-sale estimates, only 4 or 8% went for below estimate prices and just 4 were unsold after the 2 post-sale deals had been concluded.
The next selling and buying opportunities at SWVA Drive-Throughs are scheduled for the Spring Classic Friday 29 April and the Summer Classic Friday 29 July, by when ‘live’ audiences may well be accommodated again. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market - most recently, RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Scottsdale sales reality has been reviewed.
And with covid regs relaxed (for now anyway), the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar


 

USAF Pilot’s Ace soars above top estimate to sell for $516,500 (£387,375) to top Bonhams 95% sold $11.64m (£8.73m) Scottsdale Arizona sale

1958 AC Ace Roadster, first owned by a USAF pilot who brought it from France to the USA, was the top gun, soaring above its top estimate of $375,000 (£281,500) to sell for $516,500 (£387,375 including buyers’ premium) Thursday 27 January during Bonhams Scottsdale, where the sell-through rate was a vendors encouraging 95%. 
Offered from a prominent US-based collection of show winners, the impeccably restored left-hand drive Ace, which had retained its original aluminium bodywork and matching numbers AC 6-cyliner engine, had itself won many trophies at major Concours d’Elegance. 
In its slipstream at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa sale venue was a very special ‘barn find’ Mercedes-Benz, surely one of the last ‘unrestored’ 1953 300S Roadsters, of which only 141 were produced, which sold for $472,500 (£354,375).
Still largely original, it had spent many decades of its later life off the road, and was offered as an exciting restoration project, a rare opportunity to restore one of the finest post-WW2 high performance luxury automobiles to its former glory.  
Interestingly, nine of the top ten-selling collector motor cars at the Bonhams sale had been consigned in the UK and EU before crossing the Atlantic, representing the greatest European and British automotive names.
Two particularly strong performers were more contemporary classics - a 1997 Porsche 911 ‘Type 993’ Turbo S Coupé, which had covered just 14,000 miles since new, achieved $467,000 (£350,250), far exceeding its top estimate. While the other, an even lower mileage 1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary, which had driven fewer than 11,000kms, also accelerated past its estimate achieving $445,000 (£333,750)
The Stars and Stripes however were flown by an American automotive icon, a 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible, the ‘third character’ in the 1988 multi-award-winning road drama motion picture Rain Manoffered direct from the ownership of Dustin Hoffman.
The 'best supporting car' of this Bonhams US season opener sold for $335,000 (£251,250) to a telephone bidder, setting a new world record for a Roadmaster Convertible, following a spirited bidding against rivals online and in the Arizona saleroom.
Jakob Greisen, Bonhams Vice President - Head of US Motoring, said: “We are so pleased to have started the year on such a high note, with a near perfect sell-through rate and strong prizes realized across the board. Bidders attended from all over the world, both in person, via phone, or online via the Bonhams app."
This, the eleventh edition of the Bonhams auction presented 90 collectors’ automobiles, spanning all eras. Other highlights of the sale included - 
1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series 2 Sports Saloon, Coachwork by Touring, sold for an above estimate $381,750 (£286,313). This left-hand drive example, with original, matching numbers engine, was delivered new to ‘Los Angeles Socialite’ William Winans, and remained in California for more than 40 years. 
Another 1962 DB4 S2 also fetched a more than guide $379,000 (£284,250). While a Ferrari 512TR with fitted Schedoni leather luggage driven 20,700 miles since new in 1992 made the $296,500 (£222,375) forecast.
A 1967 Porsche 911S 2.0 ‘Soft Window’ Targa, matching numbers in original Bahama Yellow, fetched a well over estimate $288,250 (£216,563), and an early bent-window Pre-A 1954 356 1500 with Reutter Coupe coachwork with sunroof $257,600 (£193,200), again more than had been forecast.
A 1961 Porsche 356B 1600 Super T5 Cabriolet, sold for $226,240 (£169,680). A highly collectible matching-numbers example of the classic 356 Cabriolet in the desirable Reutter T5 body style, also the subject of a Concours d'Elegance winning restoration. 
1995 Ferrari F355 Spider, sold for $224,000 (£168,000). With its odometer reading less than 900 miles from new, this 6-speed manual F355 Spider must be among the lowest mileage examples left of the Pininfarina-designed convertible. 
While Bonhams Motoring’s next sale takes place in Paris 3 February, at the Grand Palais Ephémère set against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, their US team is actively consigning for the 3 March Amelia Island sale. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market. Most recently, the RM Sotheby’s Scottsdale sale and immediately before that the launch of the US edition of Bonhams The Market on-line platform, amongst very many more auction posts
And with covid regs relaxed, for now anyway, the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar


 

$43.25m (£32.44m) spent on 65 collector automobiles by bidders from 30 countries during 94% sold RM Sotheby’s one-day sale in Phoenix

Alloy-bodied Mercedes-Benz 300SL (image above by Forest Casey, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) became a $6.83m (£5.12m) headlining world record breaker under the RM Sotheby’s gavel Friday 28 January, when the company’s 23rd annual Arizona sale at the Biltmore in State Capitol Phoenix grossed $43.3m (£32.44m) in sales, with 94% of 69 car lots sold to bidders from 30 different countries.
Interestingly, 24% of registered bidders were first-timer clients, which, and despite the Green politician directed compulsory electrification of all new road cars, most encouragingly showcased continued strength in the collector vehicles industry and the growth in the auctions sector.
Establishing a record price for a 300SL Gullwing offered in public auction, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing sold for an incredible $6,825,000 (£5,118,750) as the undisputed star of the sale. Boasting exceptional provenance and in the ultimate specification, the Alloy Gullwing is considered one of the most desirable road-going models of the marque. This particular car was one of very few to retain its numbers-matching 3-litre NSL engine and original alloy body.
The 1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster, one of the most iconic of all American cars of its era, drew crowds during preview days. Boasting magnificent original coachwork, this CCCA Full Classic had received a meticulous restoration by RM Auto Restoration, retains all its original components, and sold for an outstanding $3,415,000 (£2,561,250), exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. 
The third highest-grossing car was an exceptional 300 SL Roadste, one of just three cars invoiced in 1964. The 1964 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster offered in Arizona was the third-to-last 300 SL to be produced. The late production model car remained in single ownership from 1971 to 2013 and received a full cosmetic restoration in 2014. Being outfitted with the rarest specifications, such as an alloy block and disc brakes, the 300 SL Roadster sold for a recent market exceptional $2,315,000 (£1,736,250).
RM Sotheby’s continued to break new ground in the collector car market by offering a world-famous supercar alongside a unique NFT package, owned and created by Oscar-winning music legend and the “Father of Disco,” Giorgio Moroder. Rounding off the top 10 most valuable lots of the evening, the 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T received more attention as it drew onlookers all week. Being the original Cizeta-Moroder prototype and the most famous example of the model, the Cizeta did not disappoint selling for $1,363,500 (£1,022,625) alongside the first of its kind NFT.
Additional top sale highlights from RM Sotheby’s Arizona auction included two impressive collections. The Tenenbaum Collection featured a selection of European sports and supercars. Holding desirable specifications, low production numbers, originality, and unique colour combinations, the collection sold in its entirety for an impressive $7.5m (£5.63m), well over high estimate.
The star of the collection was the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder selling for $1.6m (£1.2m). The Dr Terry Maxon Collection offered a variety of classic Ferraris, which did not disappoint. For the star of the Maxon Collection was a stunning 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS sold for $1.9m (£1.47m).
Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions at RM Sotheby’s, said: “The Arizona auction was an outstanding success thanks to our amazing team and a client base which is the finest in the industry. Our specialists consigned a great offering with high-quality examples. The whole team worked tirelessly to maintain the quality RM Sotheby’s is known for.
“When you bring some of the best and rarest examples of collector cars to market, you know that those cars will find willing new owners prepared to pay strong prices to secure exceptional examples. Our 95% sell-through in Arizona is a testament to that. The Alloy Gullwing was a once in a generation opportunity, as was the Cizeta-Moroder, which saw us break new ground with its associated NFT.”
RM Sotheby’s continues its 2022 calendar with the annual Paris sale, which still takes place 2 February, as scheduled, even though the normally coinciding Retromobile at the Porte de Versailles exhibition complex has been postponed until March, when they will be competing 5 March with Bonhams and Gooding at the annual sales at Amelia Island in Florida. RHE

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
And with covid regs relaxed in an attempt by the partying Boris regime to save their voter-funded lifestyle, the Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar

 

Bonhams regain UK market lead with 50% UK market share, and with 50% more hammer sales increase worldwide market share by 19%

Highest-value collector car sold by Bonhams in 2021 was the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180 S-Type Supercharged Sports Tourer, above, which achieved $5,395,000 (£3,992,300) at their Quail Lodge Auction at Carmel in August. Offered from more than 50 years of private family ownership, it far-exceeded its $4,000,000 (£2,960,000) top estimate in a sale which grossed more than $37m (£27.38).
Close behind however as another pre-war equivalent of a supercar, a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S, which sold for £4,047,000 in their Legend of the Road Sale at the company’s flagship New Bond Street saleroom in February, where the white-glove 100% sold sale totalled more than £7 million.
2021 highlights and innovations  - with 34 sales globally , there was a return to ‘live’ Bonhams auctions, which benefited from busy salerooms, notably at Amelia Island, Goodwood, Quail Lodge and Zoute, complemented by dedicated on-line sales for cars, motorcycles and automobilia.
A 50% increase in hammer sales, compared to 2020, resulted in a strong for market average sell-through rate of 86%. The department also increased its worldwide market share by 19%, while the UK team regained its footing as the dominant auction house with 50% of the UK market share, a greater share than its three main competitors combined.
New auction in US -  The inaugural Bonhams Audrain Concours Auction was staged in Newport, Rhode Island, where a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, was the top seller, soaring to $1,556,000 (£1,151,440).
Auction world records set on both sides of Atlantic - 1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12 sold for $1,677,000 (£1,240,980), at The Quail Lodge Californian sale in August, setting an auction record for the model. This was the last works Alfa Romeo at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where it finished in 4th.place.
At the same sale, two marque auction records were also set by a 1934 Riley MPH Sports Two-Seater, which achieved $967,500 (£715,950), and a c1928 Pedroso Roadster, which made $296,500 (£219,410), while another auction milestone valuation for the Porsche 993 Turbo S was the $654,000 (£483,960) paid by a 1997 911 Turbo S.
At the Goodwood Revival sale a month later, a Jaguar XJ220 sold for £460,000, more than any XJ220 has achieved at auction to date, the 1993 car driven just 400 miles from new.
Another record for the house on the net was set by a 1989 Ferrari F40, well known on the net for being in non-factory Blue, which became the first car to break the seven-figure barrier on a UK/European on-line platform, achieving £1,000,500 on The Market by Bonhams in July. The on-line only marketplace for classic and collectable cars and motorcycles had been acquired by the auctioneers three months previously.
Celebrity provenance - A 1993 Porsche Type 964 Carrera 2 Convertible Works Turbo Look, formerly owned from new by football superstar Diego Maradona, netted €483,000 (£405,720), nearly double its high estimate, following a lengthy bidding battle, in the Bonhams Motoring’s first fully digital auction.
Other vehicles with celeb provenance successfully sold in 2021 include, the four-vehicle Tom Hanks Collection - led by a 1992 33ft Airstream Model 34 Limited Excella Travel Trailer. Ordered new by the actor to his own specification and signed by him, the luxury American Motor Home sold for $235,200 (£174,048) at The Quail Lodge Auction.
2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series, formerly owned by Swiss tennis great Roger Federer, was another smash, achieving CHF 195,500 (£158,355), at The Bonmont Sale. 2013 Range Rover Vogue SE, formerly belonging to the Royal Household and used by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge exceeded its own top pre-sale estimate, making £50,625 at Bicester Heritage.
Bonhams 2021 Cars Sold Top Ten -
1928 Mercedes S-type sold for $5,395,000 (£3,992,300) Quail Lodge
1937 Bugatti 57S sold for £4,047,000 New Bond Street
1934 Mercedes 540K made $4,900,000 (£3,626,600) Amelia Island
1960 Aston DB4GT sold for £1,975,000 New Bond Street
1994 Bugatti EB110 achieved €2,242,500 (£1,883,700) Zoute
1913 Mercer 35K Runabout sold for $2,425,000 (£1,794,500) Amelia Island
1989 Ferrari F40 made €1,840,000 (£1,545,600) Zoute
1948 Talbot Lago T26 sold for $1,875,000 (£1,387,500) Quail Lodge
1952 Ferrari 212 Europa realised $1,820,000 (£1,346,800) Quail Lodge
1959 BMW 507 made $1,809,000 (£1,338,660) Scottsdale
Motorcycles - 2021 was another strong year for the Motorcycles Team who achieved an average 96% sell-through rate in their Summer and Autumn Stafford Sales, which were able to return to their traditional venue of the Staffordshire County Showground. 
Both sales witnessed new auction records too. An ultra-rare 1940s AJS 497cc E90 'Porcupine' Grand Prix racing motorcycle, previously owned by post-war AJS works rider Ted Frend, set a new auction world record for the model selling for £293,250 in July. At the Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale meanwhile a 1973 MV Agusta 750GT, belonging to the late German film critic Hans Schifferle, was the top lot, more than doubling its pre-sale estimate to achieve £126,500, a new high price for the model.
Bonhams Motoring 2022 calendar - Two new major European sales, in Switzerland and Italy, are being added to this year’s sales calendar, which opens 27 January with The Scottsdale Auction in Arizona.
The Gstaad Sale of collectors’ motor cars will take place in the chic Swiss Alpine resort 3 July, in partnership with the Gstaad Palace Hotel, where the late Robert Brooks used to hold the annual Ferrari sale in the snow before Christmas, The historic luxury hotel will host this new biennial sale, with the now-established Bonmont Sale taking place every other year. 
The new venue joins an array of prestigious locations and world-class events staging highly curated Bonhams auctions this year, including Monaco, Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival, the Zoute Grand Prix and Monterey Car Week.
For the first time, the Motorcycle Division will offer a live sale in Italy, staging Passione Moto 2-3 April, offering more than 100 collectors’ motorcycles and racing machines at the world-renowned Moto dei Miti museum, in Civita Castellana near Rome. 
Complementing these flagship auctions will be a greater focus on digital sales, with a greater number of cars offered through The Market by Bonhams digital sales platform, replacing the MPH-branded Drive Throughs in the hangar at Bicester. Beaulieu, an MPH sale in 2021, also takes place in 2022, though under the Bonhams brand again. RHE
To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar)
And with covid regs being relaxed in an attempt by the partying Boris regime to save their voter-funded skins while they prepare for a distracting adventure in Ukraine, Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above shows the regularly updated ‘live’ trad auctions calendar
 

UK on-line auction platform The Market, acquired by Bonhams in 2021, goes ‘live’ Stateside, the world’s largest collector car market

The Market by Bonhams, the record-setting and claimed by them to be the fastest-growing online car and motorcycle marketplace, launches 24 January across the US, with the first sales going live on that day, with cars offered closing 31 January 2022. 
Combining traditional auction practices on an innovative, user-friendly digital platform, The Market already has a proven track record in the UK and Europe for delivering results, service and quality since conception in 2016, with an average sell-through rate so far of 90%. So, only one in ten cars auctioned on the platform has failed to sell. 
No Buyers fees and a flat 5% Sellers’ Commission – claimed to be the lowest in the industry - are the key benefits offered by The Market by Bonhams to their US clients from launch. Cars auctioned and their custodians and customers will receive the same 5-star service that has been delivered for the past five years.
The Market by Bonhams US will be headed by General Manager Caroline Cassini, supported by US-based consigners and the wider Bonhams motoring team.
Early consignments to The Market by Bonhams US range from an all-American Pontiac GTO and quintessentially British classics such as a 1952 MG TD and a 1964 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Continental to youngtimers such as a 1999 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4 and contemporary collectibles including a 2019 Porsche GT2 RS
Launching The Market by Bonhams into the US meets a growing demand for the platform among buyers and sellers across North America and marks a natural progression following the success of the platform in the UK, where it has doubled its hammer value over the past year, and the EU mainland, where it was launched in August 2021.
In July, The Market by Bonhams sold their ‘2021 Star Lot’, an ultra-rare metallic blue 1989 Ferrari F40 for a record-breaking £1,000,500 ($1,325,482), the first seven-figure result for an on-line platform in the UK and Europe.
The introduction of The Market by Bonhams in the US marks the latest development in Bonhams Motoring’s ‘always on’ strategy, with its successful and prestigious ‘live sales’ at Amelia Island in Florida March, Quail Lodge California September and, of course, Scottsdale Arizona this month, complemented by the platform’s daily on-line auctions, allowing clients to buy and sell collectors’ cars on a 24/7 and global basis. 
Caroline Cassini, General Manager of The Market by Bonhams US, told C.A.R. “The Market by Bonhams has a proven track record for delivering results, service and quality, backed by Bonhams’ heritage and history. We are looking forward to providing US collectors with this premier service.”
Maarten ten Holder, Gobal Managing Director of Bonhams Motoring, said: “This is a natural progression for our Bonhams Motoring business to further expand into the US. This launch marks a key milestone for our ‘always on’ approach offering cars at all price points, around the clock, to collectors wherever they are in the world.
“Prospective clients want to have choices when working with auctioneers and we are now able to provide these options, from live sales to online timed auctions and daily online sales via The Market. There is clearly an appetite from buyers and sellers for this service and the launch marks the next step in our motoring strategy.”
The owners of Bonhams have certainly been acquisitive of late, also buying leading Nordic auction house Bukowskis.
Established in 1870 and with its flagship saleroom in Stockholm, Bukowskis is renowned throughout Scandinavia. During recent years, they have transformed themselves from a much-loved, traditional, and respected brand into an innovative digital presence that attracts more than one million users every month.
Last year, Bukowskis sold 11 out of the 15 most valuable artworks in the Swedish market – including achieving the highest price for Swedish artwork ever sold at auction – as well as several prestigious collections. In addition to selling fine art and collectibles at its salerooms in Stockholm and Helsinki, Bukowskis has extended its global reach digitally through its app and website presence.
Announcing this latest expansion, Bonhams CEO Bruno Vinciguerra, said: “Bonhams Bonhams’ acquisition of such a celebrated auction house is an important part of our strategy to further the development of Bonhams into a digital leader and a truly global player with a balanced presence across the US, Europe and Asia. We are very excited to welcome Chief Executive Louise Arén and the entire Bukowskis team to the Bonhams family.” RH-E

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
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RM Sotheby’s extends auctions global market lead with $406.6m (£305m) in auctions sales and grosses $150m+ (£112.5m) in private sales

As a less disrupted year draws to a close with a repeat round of politician directed lockdowns disadvantaging most of the main markets for transacting collector vehicles, RM Sotheby’s can justifiably celebrate really strong results for 2021, when their 2021 book saw total gross sales in excess of $550,000,000 (£412,500,000) across auction and private sales transactions, private sales more than doubling from the previous year.
Clocking up over 46 years of experience in assisting clients with buying and selling automobiles, RM Sotheby’s has always coupled its base with a world-class restoration shop located at its headquarters in Blenheim, Ontario.
With further dedicated investment, RM Auto Restoration has added a complete machine shop making it possible for a car to be restored end-to-end, all in-house and located next to the company’s auctions HQ offices.
“Our global footprint and extensive client base helped lead us to a phenomenally successful year, thanks to a diverse line-up of automobiles and events that captured the hearts and minds of customers and enthusiasts across the globe,” said Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s.
“This is a testament to the ongoing commitment of our team and valued clients as we navigated the continued challenges of the pandemic together, and it positions us for a thrilling 2022.”
2021 opened with a strong performance in Arizona, where their first live event of the year resulted in sales of over $35m (£26.3m) and a 90% sell-through. Strong results in North America continued through Amelia Island and onto the auction house’s flagship sale in Monterey, which grossed $148,528,300 (£111.4m) in total sales with 90 percent of all lots sold.
The Paul Andrews Estate Collection was a highlight, led by the stunning 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato (photographed above by Rasy Ran 2021, Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) sold for $9,520,000 (£7.1m), while the whole collection totaled $34,439,000 (£25.9m), further cementing RM Sotheby’s as the global leader in estates sales.
In Europe, the ‘Passion of Elegance Sale’ in Lichtenstein featured a single-owner collection of important Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars that grossed CHF11.1m (£9.1m), vastly exceeding pre-sale estimates.
The St Moritz ‘Boutique’ event - the first Sotheby’s auction ever held in Switzerland - grossed CHF16.5m (£13.5m), with eight lots exceeding CHF1m (£830k) each.
There was also another collaboration sale with Formula 1 for the sale of the race-winning 2010 McLaren MP4-25A, chassis number 01, driven by Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Auctioned at the 2021 F1 Pirelli British GP before a live audience of nearly 140,000 spectators immediately after running demonstration laps on the circuit, the Hamilton car secured £4,836,000, making it the most valuable McLaren Formula 1 car ever sold at auction and the fourth most valuable Formula 1 car ever sold publicly.
The live sale auction calendar concluded with the No Reserve ‘Guikas Collection’ sale at the Circuit Paul Ricard, one of the most anticipated European sales of recent year with all 87 lots including cars, parts, and memorabilia finding new homes at a total sales figure of €39,532,700 (£33.6m).
The ‘Open Roads’ series of on-line auctions throughout 2021 truly broadened the auctioneers’ geographic reach, expanding the list of countries in which buyers purchased cars and becoming an important gateway for new customers building or expanding their collections. In total, these internet-only sales grossed $33,283,091 (£25m).
RM Sotheby’s ‘Private Sales’ business expanded its global footprint substantially in 2021, conducting a number of significant discreet transactions and more than doubling their total sales year-over-year, grossing in excess of $150,000,000 (£112.5m). RH-E

The 2021 RM Sotheby’s Top Ten –
1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato | Sold for $9,520,000 (£7.1m) | Monterey
1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi | Sold for $7,705,000 (£5.8m) | Monterey
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione by Scaglietti | Sold for $7,705,000 (£5.8m) | Monterey
1955 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione by Pinin Farina | Sold for $7,024,370 (£5.3m) Guikas Collection
2010 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25A Formula 1 | Sold for $6,528,470 (£4.9m) | The Lewis Hamilton GP Winning McLaren   Silverstone Circuit
1955 Jaguar D-Type | Sold for $6,000,000 (£4.5m) | Arizona
1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Scaglietti
Sold for $6,000,000 (£4.5m) | Monterey
1929 Duesenberg Model J ‘Disappearing Top’ Torpedo by Murphy | Sold for $5,725,000 (£4.3m) | Amelia Island
1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I by Pinin Farina | Sold for $5,014,470 (£3.8m)  Guikas Collection Circuit Paul Ricard
1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer by Corsica | Sold for $4,735,000 (£3.6m)  Arizona.

And some of the other 2021 RMS sales numbers - 25 auctions, 13 live auctions, 12 on-line auctions, 3,446 lots offered, over $550,000,000 (£413.5m) global sales transactions, $134,540,214 (£100,905,150) sold in Private Collections, 46 countries from which cars were purchased, bidders from 70 countries, 14.2m website page views, over 51% first-time purchasers with the auction house.

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
  
 

9 out of 10 Astons sell at Bonhams salerooms, where £5.4m spent on 26 classics during Christmas shopping spree in London’s West End

An Austin-Healey so nearly topped The Bond Street 4 December Sale prices with the 1955 100S, raced in period by David Shale and Tony Lanfranchi, selling for £575,000 with premium. In the up-market West End shopping street, the 66 year old traditional British sportscar out-performed all but 1 of 10 Aston Martins, 3 Bentleys, 2 Ferraris, 2 Mercedes-Benz as well as auction-worthy examples of Bugatti, Porsche, BMW and Rolls-Royce!
The Donald Healey AHS 3509 chassis with ‘EW 106’ registration, one of only four UK-supplied 100 ‘S’, last changed hands more than seven years ago in the same auctioneers’ 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed sale, where, estimated at £600,000-700,000, the vendor had to bid £673,500 with premium to secure the historic Brit.
Whereas in pandemic 2021, guided at a market-corrective £550,000-650,000, the £500,000 bid and £575,000 paid by a telephone bidder was £98,500 or 17% less than the valuation in public auction in bullish 2014.
The highest priced lot in London's West End this Christmas however was a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 with 4.2 upgrade, pro-restored from ‘Barn Find’ to concours, sold for a within estimate band £586,200. While there were buying bidders for eight other Astons, too, only one of which, a left-hand drive 16,000k since 1998 Vantage Coupe, was unsold with £90,000 on the screen, £30,000 below estimate.
Prices paid for Astons in the UK’s swishest auctions salerooms, where the very first lot was actually hammered away by the then London Mayor Boris Johnson, were 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Mk2 £253,000, 1971 DB6 Mk2 £218,500, 1979 V8 Vantage £151,800, 1967 DB6 Auto £119,600, 1995 Vantage Left-Hand Drive Manual £101,200, 1961 AML Rapide 4-Door Auto £98,600, 1979 V8 Vantage with Factory-Fit Auto £94,300 and 2004 Japanese Import Vanquish S £69,000.  
The first Bugatti Type 46S imported into the UK in 1933, when the rolling chassis was topped with Coupe coachwork by James Young, sold to an absentee bidder for more than mid-estimate £460,000.
All four cars from the collection of the late Brian S Wiggins sold, and sold well, led by a 1928 Bentley 6½-Litre Tourer that raced at Brooklands before it was vandalised by property development sold for £460,000, from a £448,500 1930 Bentley 4½-Litre, originally a Saloon by Harrison that had been re-bodied as an Open Tourer for four in Vanden Plas style by James Pearce.
The collection 1937 Jaguar SS100 3½-Litre, originally a 2½, fetched £264,500 from a buyer in the room. While a Lord Astor owned in 1935 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom II , first bodied as a Sedanca de Ville by Barker, then an Armoured Car, followed by Hearse, but nowadays a 4-Seater Tourer, raised £80,500 on a telephone.
A 2010 Porsche 911 997 Sport Classic, one of the 250 made with double-bubble roof that had only been driven 182k during Swiss ownership, was bought by another bidder on a telephone for £333,500, though attracting 20% import VAT if remaining in the excessively taxed UK.
There were new owners for both ‘No Reserve’ Mercedes Gullwings with a mere 50k on their clocks, paying £235,700 for a one owner 2014 SLS AMG GT Final Edition and £216,200 for a 2011 SLS AMG. The same underbidder was unsuccesful for both of them!
A one owner from new in 2000 BMW Z8 Roadster with circa 41,500 mileage found the £132,250 forecast. Another one owner since 2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta was auctioned Without Reserve for £115,000 to an internet contestant and £97,750 bought another No Reserve 2015 FF 4x4 GT-Hatchback.
Well bought for £101,250 on a telephone was a Polsons maintained 1933 Talbot AV95/105 ‘Alpine Team Car Replica’, which had started a previous life as an AV95 Saloon, but which could provide a new owner-driver with excellent event-compliant wheels for The Flying Scotsman, Shamrock and 100 Mile Trials rallies.
Whilst the lowest priced classic beside the Christmas tree was a very French 1964 Rene Bonnet Djet II Coupe with twin Weber fed Renault 1149cc motor in the tail, another No Reservist, which was well bought surely for £24,150.
By the end of the Saturday afternoon shopping session, 26 of the 30 cars displayed in the most sumptuous surroundings on the UK if not EU auction circuit had sold, an 87% sale rate, for £5,400,960 with premium and a very festive average of £207,729 had been spent per car bought. For before any post-sale negotiations had been concluded, only four cars were unsold under auctioneer Sholto Gilberston's enthusiastic gavel.
After both Ducati superbike stocking fillers had been snapped up for man caves, a 1998 916 SPS 'Fogarty Replica' riddden 9,920 miles for £23,862 and a c2001 748 R S2 with only 200k displayed for £15,525, plus some car-preceding automobilia had also sold, 44 or 80% out of the 55 lots auctioned had grossed £5,465,356 with premium..
Tim SchofieldHead of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “We are so pleased to have ended the Bonhams UK motoring calendar on such a high. This strong-performing sale offered a comprehensive selection of collector’s cars covering 100 years of motoring which clearly appealed to our international clientele, attracting some 300 registrants for the 32 vehicles.
"We were privileged to have been entrusted with the Brian Wiggins collection and are delighted with its ‘white glove’ strong performance, which shows that the market for pre-war collectors’ cars remains buoyant, as does the wider market.”

EU Mainland On-Line Sale Sells Out
The international auction house’s European Car Department has also ended the year on a high, with another ‘white glove’ result for its Autumn Motoring Online Sale, which achieved a 100 per cent sell-through rate - the first such for a Bonhams motor cars fully-digital auction – and a sale total just shy of 2 million euros (£1.7m).
Leading the internet-only sale was a 2012 Maybach 62S Saloon LWB, a one-owner from new example of the ultra-exclusive luxury sports limousine, which achieved 345,000 euros (£258,750), more than three times its top pre-sale estimate of 100,000 euros (£).
In its slipstream were a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series 2 Saloon, a Rallye de Monte Carlo Historique participant, which sold for 287,500 euros (£215,625) and a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Mk 1, which made 207,000 euros (£155,250) – both original left hand drive cars. As in London, the British marque dominated the top ten most valuable lots in the i-sale.
Other results of note included a 1973 Ducati 750 GT project. In single family ownership since 1974, the motorcycle sold for 21,850 euros (£16,388), more than double its pre-sale estimate. 
Paul Darvill, Bonhams European Sales Manager, said: “This is a great result and reflects our clients’ increasing confidence in the fully-digital sales platform. We are delighted to finish our year with a white glove sale and look forward to continuing our on-line auctions into 2022 with new sales for Automobilia alongside the growth of The Market in the European Union.”
The department is now looking ahead to next year and their 2022-season opener, the Grand Marques du Monde à Paris Sale to be staged 3 February in its new location in the heart of the French capital, at the Grand Palais Éphémère, for which consignments for exceptional collectors’ motor cars are now invited. RH-E

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
And for the most up to date listing of when, where and by whom the next batch of auctions are taking place, check out Upcoming Auctions on the Home Page menu bar.

 

DB4, Dino 246GT, 190SL, Lynx D Type and Pop Larkin Roller headline among 77% of H&H cars sold at Duxford for £2.8m

An Aston Martin DB4 Series IV, supplied new in 1962 to a member of the Whyte & Mackay scotch whisky dynasty, and successfully evented on the 2003 Scottish Malts Rally and 2004 Irish Trial, was bid to a top estimate £320,000 Wednesday 17 November in the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, where the 4-Seater Coupe sold for £360,000 with H&H premium.
A £20,000 below guide £90,000 bid was not enough however to buy a 1972 Aston Martin V8 that been the subject of a five year restoration and the AMOC Concours ‘virtual winner’ of the Newport Pagnell V8 class in locked down February.
By contrast, the £220,000-250,000 estimated and 1991-95 restored 1971 Ferrari Dino 246GT Series M Coupe parked in front of the rostrum had come to market for the first time in 46 years to sell for £286,875 including premium.
Whilst a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster treated to restoration costing £104,000 also fetched a more than forecast £219,375 from a buyer in the Duxford hangar. Both Dino and 190SL were rarer in right-hand drive cars.
The third D Type Jaguar to have been authentically recreated from a 1977 E Type donor by Guy Black and Roger Ludgate at Lynx, with aluminium bodywork crafted by Williams & Pritchard and Coventry ‘OKV 421’ registration, was auctioned beside the M11 in Cambridgeshire ‘Without Reserve’.
With 1955-spec long-nose and high tail-fin, dry-sump conversion, and 1956-spec passenger door and full-width wraparound windscreen added retrospectively, the ‘OKV 421’ Coventry registered Rep raised £190,000, £213,750 with premium, from a buyer in the front row.
A telephone bidder paid £211,500 with premium for an ex-Captain Ivan Forshaw 1925 Bentley 3-Litre with original Dual-Cowl coachwork for four by J Gurney Nutting of Chelsea that had been resident in Tennessee, Ohio and Austria before repatriation in 2018.
Within-estimate band £61,875 with premium bought both a 66,000 mile Jaguar E Type S3 5.3 V12 Roadster in left-hand drive, a 2007 US frame-off restored 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe with 4-speed manual shift, and a 1938 Brough Superior 3½-Litre with Dual Purpose Drophead coachwork by W C Atcherely of Birmingham.
A top estimate ‘Commission Bid’ of £50,000 secured a 1934 Birmingham registered Wolseley Hornet ‘Shelsey Special’, typically bodied by Samuel Holbrook Limited of Wolverhampton, that had been in the fifth of six ownerships from new for 47 years.
Extensively restored 1992-98 and further rejuvenated 2017-21, 6-cylinder Hornet Specials do not come better than this one, which cost the seventh guardian £56,250.
Much restorative work had been done to the chassis and fixed head bodywork of an AC Aceca with rebuilt gearbox with overdrive added, and AC 2-litre straight-six present, though requiring a complete overhaul. Estimated at £45,000-55,000, the Coupe project which started life in 1955 at AC racer and tuner Ken Rudd’s K N Rudd Ltd AC dealership was taken on for £48,938 with premium.
An imperfect Bentley R Type Saloon with delightfully original interior from single family ownership from new in 1954 raised £31,500 from an internet bidder, £9,500 more than the top estimate.
One of only four Volkswagen SP2s in the UK, a VW Heritage replacement 1641cc powered 1974 SP2 Coupe lefty based on the Variant and developed by VW Brazil, fetched a within forecast £22,500.
Leading the celeb classic prices here was the 1926 Rolls-Royce 20hp Landaulette by Park Ward adorned with the Larkin coat of arms, that had been driven by David Jason during ITV’s adaptation of H E Bates’ ‘The Darling Buds of May’ Series 1 on ITV, and had cost the vendor £100,000 in 2019. Two years later, and still looking film set worthy, the Larkinmobile changed nostalgics for a mid-estimate £63,000.
Comedy actress Jennifer Saunders’ everyday 2005 Porsche 911 Type 997 Carrera S that had been driven 153,500 miles by the Ab Fab screenwriter since 2006 was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, and contested by room and on-line bidders until hammered away to the latter for £21,600.
Previously unsold under the H&H hammer, despite have been formerly owned by Oscar-winning film actor Rex Harrison (photographed in black and white giving superstar Rita Hayworth a lift), his WW2 1943 Ford GPW Jeep did find a fan prepared to spend £20,000 with premium.
Another bidder in the seats had to pay £21,375 with premium, £5,375 more than had been suggested, to land a well presented 1973 Lotus Elan +2s 130/5 Coupe with £11,500 worth of restoration and more recent recommissioning bills on file.
£19,125 on the internet bought a 1988 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8-valve driven 146,000k, and £16,312 by telephone secured a 1966 Reliant Scimitar GT SE4 that had made a TV cameo appearance in the 2002 Heartbeat Christmas Special on ITV.
The late Gordon Jarvis had most authentically ‘Replicated’ the Works 1968 London to Sydney Marathon winning Hillman Hunter Saloon. Complete with large and stuffed kangaroo, the Rootes Rally Tribute was well captured on a telephone for a just under guide £11,250.
A 1967 Fiat 850 Sports Spider from the Petitjean Collection based in Strasbourg was bought in the room for a £2,000 below estimate £9,000 with premium plus some import duty to pay. The unique 1963 Ford Cortina Mk1 6-Door Limo, with complimentary bottle of champagne and two flutes included, also sold to a bidder in the hall for £9,000, £3,000 less than had been estimated.
After several ‘provisionals’ had been converted into changes of ownership, 67 or 77% of the 87 cars displayed inside and outside the impressive Duxford hangar venue had sold  for a premium-inclusive £2,833,513, an average of £42,291 spent per car bought.
With a wing of old war birds to see in close-up, ample car parking without traffic wardens or monstrous charge, a proper glossy catalogue, while cheery catering points refuelled the faithful. What more could a persecuted petrolhead on a day out in Cambridgeshire possibly want.
One week later behind closed doors in their Warrington HQ, H&H sold another 17 cars for £118,109 Wednesday 24 November in an ABC ‘Live’ On-Line auction, during which a Helensburgh resident 1932 MG F Type 6-Cylinder Magna Stiles ‘Threesome Sports’, one of 30 to have been bodied by James Young, topped the prices by selling for £67,500 with premium.
The Northern firm’s final sale of the year, a traditional format auction, will be held on home ground at the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire, Wednesday 8 December, when punters can watch cars cross the block ‘live’, follow the sale from home on the H&H website or retro-view proceedings on YouTube. Bids can be placed on an absentee basis on commission in advance, via the website or on phones at the time, or by attending the sale in the listed Octagon saleroom in person.
Simon Hope, the Chairman of H&H Classics has transferred his complete 100% shareholding in H&H to a trust owned in its entirety by the employees. This development means that H&H Classics, after 28 years, is now completely employee owned and on the next stage of its continued development as a business.
The structure means there is a Board of Trustees, of which Simon is the Chairman, to ensure the company is run in the best interests of the employees. While the day-to-day management of the company will remain with the team that has been running the company for the past two years, led by Colette McKay and Damian Jones, it now means that clients dealing with any member staff will know they are speaking to one of the owners of the business.
Colette McKay comments: “On behalf of all the staff at H&H I thank Simon for this fantastic opportunity to build on his success and to further develop the business. Our brand values of professionalism, efficiency and friendliness will continue as will our commitment to provide clients with unequalled levels of service and customer care. Our plans for next year will continue much as before with six car, three motorcycle and online sales in between.“
Simon Hope comments: “I am delighted to be able to hand over the business to the right team to take the business forward. I am confident that they will take the business from strength to strength.” RH-E

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
And for the most up to date listing of when, where and by whom the next batch of auctions are taking place, check out Upcoming Auctions on the Home Page menu bar.

 

Bugatti Veyron gets hammered in Saudi Arabia for $1.42m (£1.06m) during $9m (£6.75m) Silverstone Auctions powered sale at Riyadh Car Show

By invitation of Severn Concours, Silverstone Auctions returned for the second year to the high profile collector vehicle exhibition at The Plaza, Riyadh, where Thursday 25 November waiter-refuelled bidders from the Middle East competed for ownership of 46 lots from superbike to supercar with international competition on commission, phones and internet.
Bidding fell short of vendor reserves however for a 2020-manufactured ‘DB5 Goldfinger Continuation’, which took Aston Martin 4,500 hours to perfect. Estimated at £4.4m+ (£3.3m), bidding was abandoned at $4m (£3m). The required $1.7-1.9m (£1.28-1.43m) in the catalogue for a 2021 McLaren Elva Spider was also unachieved.
Apart from the Dubai-registered 2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Mansory Linea Vincero Edition (image above) - subject to a full carbon body and custom interior programme, and driven just 2,646 miles from new, before selling for a within estimate $1,417,500 (£1,063,125) - a Saudi Arabia consigned 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder with Weissach pack and 2,757k on the odometer changed owners for $1,575,000 (£1,181,250).
A best bid of $1,200,000 (£900,000) was not enough to buy a Saudi-registered 2019 McLaren Senna though. Still brand new after just 15k, it had been guided at $1.55-1.75m. Whereas the $2,300,000 (£1,725,000) lower estimate of a Lamborghini restored Dubai-registered 1967 Miura P400 was matched by the next owner, who paid $2,415,000 (£1,811,250 including just 5% buyer’s premium).
Other public valuations in the oil rich Gulf included the $861,000 (£645,750) paid by telephone bidder for a 2015 Mercedes Brabas B63S-700 6x6 from Saudi. $546,000 (£409,500) was bid in the seats for a Dubai-registered 611k since new in 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV. While $336,000 (£252,000) bought a Saudi resident 2008 M-B SLR McLaren SLR Roadster.
$252,000 (£189,000) was forthcoming for Number 18 of 500 Mercedes-Benz 190Es. 97,003k had been clocked up in the 1990 2.5-16 Evo II on Dubai plates with no shortage of spoilers, splitters, skirts and air dams. The same money bought a Saudi 2018 Porsche 911 Turbo S All-Wheel Drive Exclusive in Golden Yellow Metallic with 5,435 on the odometer.
A 14,733k since 2004 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale from Dubai picked up £231,000 (£173,250), and a Saudi 60,500k since 2000 550 Maranello Coupe $147,000 (£110,250). A 1996 F355 Spyder manual had done 35,000, before selling here for $126,000 (£94,500), and a 27,200m 1997 F355 Spyder manual cost the successful bidder $115,500 (£86,250).
Of even more UK interest were a Saudi 48,364k 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V RS, sold to an internet bidder for $105,000 (£78,750), and an only 21,206k 2004 Renault Clio Sport V6 Phase 2 with Saudi reg cost a bidder in the seats $99,750 (£74,813.)
A Dubai resident 660k 2017 Morgan S&S X-Wedge V-twin powered and Mazda 5-speed box transmitted 3-Wheeler was acquired for $84,000 (£63,000), and an extensively customised Saudi 1991 Land Rover Defender 110 Pick-Up with air-con, hands-free coms and central-locking upgrades was applauded for selling for $57,750 (£43,313)!
After this efficiently orchestrated, fully transparent and politely conducted auction had concluded in multi-national English, 22 or 54% of the 41 cars on display had sold for a premium-inclusive $8,935,500 (£6,701,625), an average of $406,159 (£304,619) being spent per car bought.

Silverstone Auctions rebrand Automotive Auctions
Silverstone’s Auctions ‘Automotive Auctions’ on-line business is being integrated with newly branded ‘Silverstone Digital Auctions’. The new platform will allow sellers to quickly list their vehicle for sale to an audience of credible buyers, with the support and assistance of the Midland firm’s physical auctions consignment experts.
The launch capitalises on the recent growth in digital car auctions during the pandemic and means the Silverstone Auctions Group, which includes their CCA subsidiary and Silverstone Motorcycle Auctions, can supplement their UK market leading position with a complementary digital experience.
Silverstone Auctions has an average sale price of £76,000 at their in-the-room sale events and hopes to attract a similar quality of vehicles for the digital offering.
The auction house claims that speed of listing, exceptional customer service and a trusted reputation will set their new platform apart from rival offerings. Their new platform will consign sports, classic, modern and luxury vehicles, including SUVs and race cars.
Nick Whale, Silverstone Auctions founder comments: “We recognise the convenience and benefits that a digital auction platform can deliver for both buyers and sellers. Whilst we remain formerly committed to our very successful physical auctions under the Silverstone Auctions and Classic Car Auctions banners, it makes sense for our company to offer this service.
“Combining our first-class expertise, knowledge and audience, our team will be focussed on providing the best auction solutions for our discerning customers. The Silverstone Digital Auctions brand is an exciting further development for the company and our customers.”
The Digital platform goes live 1 December, from when each car consigned will be on sale for 7 days, with full marketing support through the company’s extensive database and social media channels.
Selling a car through the platform is free, too, while buyers pay a low 5% buying fee. Advice on how to proceed and free valuations can be obtained by contacting the Digital Auctions team, who are consigning cars immediately.
Already well established in the digital auctions field are - Collecting Cars, who have expanded into the US market; The Market powered by Bonhams, who now offer their i-resource Stateside as well as catering for online vendors on the EU mainland, and offer a concierge service at Abingdon, where auction cars and documents can be physically inspected; the classified advertising websites market leading Car & Classic, who have been increasingly auctioning cars on the net; and Hereford auctioneers Brightwells, who have switched from staging physical sales to running regular Timed-Out auctions, where consigned classics can be stored and physically viewed in person pre-sale on-site at Leominster.
As the latest Omicron variant of the dreaded virus threatens to lockdown 'live' interaction and commerce all over again, and whether you are in the market either to buy or disperse a classic dinosaur, the digital field of alternatives has become very overcrowded. Although consumers being spoiled for choice may be no bad thing as the pandemic boosted revolution changes retailing and auctioning forever. RH-E

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
And for the most up to date listing of when, where and by whom the next batch of auctions are taking place, check out Upcoming Auctions on the Home Page menu bar.

 

No Reserve single owner collection sells out for £33.2m at Circuit Paul Ricard, where £5.2m 1955 Ferrari 250GT Competizione tops results

A stunning single-owner collection - offered entirely Without Reserve in the South of France - grossed 39,532,700 euros (£33,207,468) including buyer’s premium.
Enthusiasts flocked to Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet Friday 19 November, when 77 cars from the once-in-a-generation single owner collection belonging to go GTC founder Jean Guikas, who bought his first Ferrari at eighteen, went under the RM Sotheby’s gavel.
Global bidding across all lots saw representatives from 38 countries clean out all 87 lots of one man’s cars, spares and automobilia, to establish several new world-record prices during what amounted to the end of season EU collector car sale by value.
Indeed,  the auction beside the once French F1 GP track offered salegoers an entirely unique auction experience, with many of the cars on offer being demonstrated on track as they went under the hammer.
With the entire collection being offered without reserve, anticipation for the sale was high, with many enthusiasts and collectors physically present at the circuit to see the sale unfold under the bright winter sun of the South of France.
The forever beautiful 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione inevitably proved to be the day’s top seller. Displayed at the 1955 Turin Motor Show, chassis 0385 GT (image above at the circuit by Peter Singhof courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) was clothed in special one-off bodywork, similar to the 375 MM Berlinettas of the period and what clearly became a prototype for the first series of Ferrari 250 GT LWB ‘Tour de France’ GT cars.
Offered with full Ferrari Classiche certification, this historic car presented a rare opportunity to acquire one of the great 1950s GT prototypes and brought 6,192,500 euros (£5,201,700).
The second most significant sale of the auction was the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I by Pinin Farina, the 23rd of only 40 examples produced and a car originally supplied new to Italy. One of the few examples to retain its matching-numbers engine, gearbox and rear axle, this timeless Ferrari cabriolet was offered in beautiful, restored condition, boasting an extensive history file documenting the car’s provenance, and deserving its 4,420,625 euros with premium (£3,713,325).
Rounding off an all-Ferrari podium, was the 2005 Ferrari 575 GTC, chassis 2224, one of 12 Ferrari 575 GTC examples made between 2003 and 2005. Significantly, chassis 2224 is considered to be the very last, V12 race car built by the Ferrari factory and is a car that boasts an extensive competition history over the 2005/6 seasons. By hammer fall, this important piece of Ferrari racing heritage cost a new owner 2,648,750 euros (£2,224,960).
Other Top Tenners included an endurance raced 1976 Renault-Alpine A442 sold for 2,255,000 (£1,894,200), a 1965 Ferrari 275GTB 2,142,500 (£1,799,700) and a 1981 Ferrari 512 BB/LM 1,193,750  euros (£1,002,750).
Particularly notable sales included the 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C, chassis B 0209. A highly desirable ‘riveted’ Grifo A3/C, and the eighth of only 10 such examples built, the car in question having a strong place in French popular culture for having been owned by Jean-Philippe Smet, aka French icon, Johnny Hallyday.
This well-known and important Iso Grifo has recently been repainted in its original dark red exterior and still retains its carefully preserved original interior. The 1,805,000 euros (£1,516,200) price paid by the new guardian was claimed by the auctioneers to have been a new world record auction valuation for the model.
Being one of only 157 desirable LP400 ‘Periscopio’ examples made, Guikas’  stunning black 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 'Periscopio' by Bertone attracted significant pre-sale interest. A desirable early example with adjustable suspension and lightweight mechanical components, this exotic 70s supercar inspired the winning bidder to part with an impressive 905,000 euros (£760,200).
The leader board concluded with a ninth-placed 1933 Delage D8 S Cabriolet at 848,750 (£712,950) and a 1993 Jaguar XJ220 C LM for 826,250 euros (£694,950) tenth.
An equally iconic supercar of the 1980s also attracted huge interest. The 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, a desirable, early "monospecchio" and "monodado" Testarossa, and one of only six monospecchio constructed in the original colour scheme of Argento over Rosso, more than doubled its pre-sale low estimate, selling for 286,250 euros (£240,450) to set another world record for a  model at this sale.
Historic Brit racers to transact here included a 2001 season Lister Storm GT for 736,250 euros (£618,450), a 1967 Lola T70 Mk3 Coupe  432,500 euros (£363,300), a 1977 March 771 F1 314,375 (£264,075) and a 1990 Arrows A11B F1 161,000 euros (£135,240).
After there were buyers for 77 out of 77 cars on the grid, Augustin Sabatie´-Garat, Head of Sales at RM Sotheby’s Europe said: “It was an honour for us to be entrusted to sell the Guikas Collection, bringing so many important road and race cars to market in such a unique way.
“Each of these incredible automobiles is sure to provide their new owners the same gratification they did to Mr Guikas, whether occupying a place of honour on display, in the heat of vintage rallying and competition, or simply being exercised on a carefree drive on their new owner’s favourite road.
“This has been a project of epic proportions and a huge team effort for everyone here at RM Sotheby’s, and we are delighted with the results.”
The Guikas Collection sale, where payment could be accommodated in advance by cryptocurrency for the first time, concluded RM Sotheby’s ‘live sales’ for 2021.
The 2022 live auction season will however begin again in Arizona January 27, when the global auction house again returns to The Biltmore in Phoenix, where this long-established annual fixture during Arizona Car Auction Week will present in excess of 150 blue-chip automobiles spanning the spectrum of the market, from pre-war classics through to modern supercars.
Market significant movers and shakers at what has traditionally been the first major international test for the collector vehicle sector will, of course, be reviewed on this ads-free website. Thanks for your interest. RH-E

To check out all recent Sale Reviews, select ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options above) and scroll-down to scan all recent reality posts on the collector vehicle market.
And for the most up to date listing of when, where and by whom the next batch of auctions are taking place, check out Upcoming Auctions on the Home Page menu bar.
 

Over £9.2m spent by over 1500 bidders from as far afield as Australia during Silverstone’s well supported return to NEC Classic Motor Show

Wheeler Dealer Mike Brewer had consigned five cars from his collection, introducing them from the Silverstone Auctions rostrum to a packed hall during the Saturday session.
A within estimated £41,062 was forthcoming from the next owner in the seats for his 1972 Citroen SM 2.7, which had been acquired as a project only a few years ago. The bidding battle for the French Lefty concluded with a round of applause and a handshake with the winner from Brewer himself.
The TV presenter’s 1967 Mini Cooper 1275S Mk1 had previously served John Cooper himself in the Brighton area during the 1980s before selling in front of a large ‘live’ auction audience for a mid-estimate £54,000.
His 1961 Austin Seven badged Mini 850 Mk1 made a forecast £15,750. While his 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider F1 made an estimated £56,250 and 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Lotus Mk1, which took eight years to restore, £63,000  to a buyer on a telephone. The TV personality’s surplus quintet grossed £230,000.
Fellow TV restoration expert and presenter Ant Anstead had flown in from the US to brief punters in person before his 2018 Dowsetts Comet crossed the block. Powered by a GM LS3 V8 with Tremec 5-speed box to play with, and having only done 2,500 miles, the Coupe sold for £65,250, nearly £5,000 less than catalogued.
A 1979 VW Type 2 Camper Van, meticulously restored over three years in the pages of Practical Classics Mag with support from event sponsors Lancaster Insurance Services, was the very first lot, selling for a parrticularly good value £15,750, though with all proceeds generously benefiting Prostate Cancer UK
The highest priced classic of these multi-million pound weekend sales though was a rare in right-hand drive 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC, the subject of a twenty year restoration that had been pre-sale estimated at £495,000-545,000 and sold for £540,000. Serious money post what one hopes may be post-pandemic.
The first UK supplied in 2009 F430 Scuderia 16M Spider with 17,700 mileage meanwhile made a £20,000 more than top estimate £320,625. A spectacularly wide-bodied 2015 Ferrari F12 N-Largo by Novitec with a claimed 781bhp on tap to tame raised a close to top estimate £225,000 from a clearly very brave soul in the hall. £202,500 on a telephone bought a 46,200 mile 1995 Ferrari F512 M Coupe of only 41 UK RHD manuals.
The front of house parked 1955 AC Ace, with AC 2-litre engine replaced with a more desirable Bristol D2 in the early 1960s, raised £195,000 under Jonathan Humbert’s gavel, costing the buyer a mid-estimate £219,375 with premium.
Even though a 2015 Land Rover Defender SVX ‘JB24’ had been rolled into an expensive snowball by 007’s wingless-Islander on-screen in Spectre, before being treated to a £46k rebuild by Bowler, the appropriately ‘A007 SVX’ registered movie extra was auctioned Without Reserve to an applauded £162,000 result.
A No Reserve Williams-built 1991 Nigel Mansell ‘Red 5’ F1 display car with genuine FW14 bodywork, but without engine or transmission, also clocked up a £154,125 valuation.
Although a right-hand drive 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B-ST1 driven 15,500 miles by three keepers, the first of which was the video game developer for the Colin McRae Rally Series computer games, could not raise the £230,000 or more suggested, a 2000 Impreza P1 with 78,313 mileage on freshly refurbished Prodrive alloys was sold for £29,000.
A £110,000-120,000 guided 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec 2 failed to take off, but a 1995 R33 GT-R V-Spec did make the required £43,875.
There were buyers for two out of three Mitsubishi Evolutions, led by a UK-spec 2001 Evo VI Tommy Makinen Edition, one of 50, sold for a way over top estimate £73,125, from the Xtreme website’s featured 2003 Evo VI SC, a seriously upgraded missile, which was secured for £60,750, forecast money.
Surprisingly, an ex-Derek Warwick 1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2, a well presented pocket rocket, recently health checked and serviced by John Price Motorsport, failed to shift for the £65,000-75,000 suggested.
All thirteen ‘Fast Fords’ offered over the two days sold out though, with a 1989 Sierra Cosworth RS500 with 15,103 mileage making £110,250, mid-estimate money, a 23,222 mile 1987 RS 500 a top estimate £83,250 and a 10,490 mile 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth £103,500, more than forecast and a record for the model. A 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth came to market for the first time in twenty-six years to raise £73,687, more than £13,000 over guide.
A front-wheel drive 2003 Focus RS Mk1 with 355 miles on the clock found the required £77,062 to set another world record auction price and a 1996 Escort RS Cosworth with 30,000 miles displayed sold for a mid-estimate £71,437.
Whereas rear-wheel drive Escort prices achieved in public auction included £66,250 for a Malta sourced and UK restored 1971 RS1600 Mk1, £52,875 for a 28,250 mile 1980 RS 2000 Custom Mk2 and £47,250 for an RS OC Concours evented 1968 Twin Cam Mk1.
Locally-manufactured Jaguars rehomed and applauded included the ex-Experimental Department 1961 E Type External Bonnet Locks Flat Floor Roadster, chassis number 39 consigned from the Devon Collection, sold for £297,000, while a 1937 SS100 2½-Litre Roadster fetched a just over lower estimate £281,250.
An exported 1961 E Roadster with Flat Floor sold on the net for £144,000 and a 1961 S1 Flat Floor from the Avengers on TV for £130,500.
A racey 1953 Allard JR ‘Continuation’ Sports made in 2019 headed for Switzerland for £146,812 and a 1968 M-B 280SL with factory hardtop found £106,312 on a telephone.
A 1993 600SL that transported a foreign royal family only 5,037 miles round London picked up £69,750, while one of the two 1965 Mini Moke converted by Wood & Pickett for the 1966 The Prisoner series on ITV was also applauded for raising a Moke record £69,750 with premium.
The 1969 Triumph GT6 Mk2 sold for £40,500 was another milestone result and a record auction valuation for a GT6, as was a world record £73,125 invested in the present of a left-hand drive DeLorean DMC-12 Gullwing driven a mere 463 miles since 1983.
And how about the No Reserve 2007 Audi RS4 B7 Saloon with 217 miles on the odometer that sold for £65,520, another world record auction price, and the 640 mile 2001 BMW M3 E46 Convertible bought for £63,000? Even a likely to be smoke emitting, but cute in a Ye Olde East German way 1985 Trabant P601 did not deter a capitalist  from parting with £3,150!
The Saturday stats added up to 54 cars sold from 71 offered, a 76% sale rate, for £4,069,192 with premium, with another 57 from 88 selling Sunday, an 86% sale rate, for £4,178,745. Even before post-sales had been tied down, the sold cars amounted therefore to 111 or 81% classics sold from 137 offered for £8,247,847, the premium-inclusive average paid per classic bought being £74,305. Whilst the 7 World Record Auction Prices (another record in itself), were both an extraordinary vote of confidence by consumer-collectors in the fossil fueled classic car and eye-watering proof of inflation in action.
This was the tenth time that Silverstone Auctions had been the ‘Official Auction Partner’ at the NEC Classic Motor Show, the first with a dedicated motorcycle sale on the Friday 12 November, when 100 classic bikes were offered with over 81% selling for over £500,000.
Stand-out performances were an immaculate 1939 Brough Superior SS80 with Alpine Petrol Tube Sidecar selling for £61,875 and a 1946 Indian Model 346 for £24,750. Whilst the Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 morning Automobilia sessions also generated £180,000 in sales of collectables, watches and registrations, many achieving well over their top estimates.
Apart from lively ‘live’ bids being cast by consumers in the seats as well as via a bank of manned telephones, significantly, over 1,500 registered to bid for these sales from the US to Monaco, from Portugal to the Isle of Man, from Swansea to Cleethorpes, many competing for cars on the auctioneers’ own website as well as the other major bidding platforms.
Reviewing their weekend sales, Nick Whale, Silverstone Auctions’ Managing Director commented: “I am delighted with how the weekend went. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the room - a real buzz, something we really missed last year. I am happy we could sell so many fantastic vehicles on behalf of our vendors; no doubt the buyers are just as thrilled with their purchases. We are already looking forward to a busy, successful year in 2022.”
Indeed, the Silverstone team go into bat again next week, with a return to Saudi to conduct another ‘live’ auction in front of an international supercar audience at the 2021 version of The Riyadh Car Show Thursday 25 November.
Their first Silverstone branded UK sale in 2022 will again be held during Race Retro 18-19 February at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, where the final CCA subsidiary sale of this year will also physically take place Saturday 3 December, when C.A.R.will, of course, review which classics sell for how much and why. RH-E

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1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 sells for £91,800 at ACA Drive-Throughs, where 196 classics sold ‘live’ during eventual 88% sold £1.5m+ weekend

One of the final Mk1 DB2/4s built by Aston Martin at their Feltham, Middlesex works, the 1955 ‘Hatchback’ (the first?) of a model that could be raced at Le Mans and rallied on the RAC, had been re-painted, re-trimmed and re-wired during the last 15 years of vendor ownership before selling on a telephone for £91,800.
After three days of being able to view cars being auctioned in masks at the Norfolk firm's King's Lynn auctions centre, without having to make appointments, the two sale days with ‘live’ Drive-Throughs’ were conducted behind closed doors, though telecast on YouTube to many more thousands than ever attended pre-pandemic auctions in person, with pre-registered bidding by telephone or on the internet via the global-reach of the saleroom.com platform.
A ‘No Reserve’ 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Auto Cabriolet, one of only 26 for the UK in right-hand drive with long MOT, some lifting chrome and deteriorated dash-top wood, fetched £76,680 with premium
Preserved by 10 years storage earlier in the century, a 1974 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 was an original home market car in Stardust Silver, which made a forecast £38,880. A 1978 vintage and South African assembled RS2000 Mk2, again with 2 doors but 4 headlamps and a period-fit Weathershields sunroof, also sold for a mid-estimate £24,300.
Apart from its still original plastic rear wing being lightly patinated, a 1985 Mazda RX-7 Coupe with Wankel rotary engine had been totally restored and really was as the vendor claimed “the best UK right-hand drive RX-7 in existence”. The winning bidder’s £25,380 valuation was therefore entirely justified.
A 1966 Triumph TR4A IRS with overdrive on wires, requiring recommissioning due to ill health, made a more than £5,000 over estimate £23,328, while a 1967 TR4A IRS with Surrey top, off the road since 1983, was taken on for £8,100.
A 1973 TR6 PI that had only done 500 miles since a 2017 restoration realised £19,764 and another 1973 TR6 P1 with 2002 rebuilt motor £12,960. Sympathetically improved three years ago, including refreshed paintwork and a set of wires, a 1959 TR3A with aero-screens fetched £18,630.
Locally produced Lotuses that changed hands here were a 1968 Lotus Elan S4 Drophead with 5-speed box sold for £20,304 and a much dry stored Lotus Esprit Turbo, a post-angular 1988 model re-designed by Peter Stevens, though without paperwork, raised a more than estimated £20,196.
Q-registered Westfields looked value with £5,940 buying a flared front wing 1992 SE1 with Ford Pinto 2.1 and T9 5-speed box, and a 1994 Westfield SE 1.7 with cycle-type front wings and roll-over bar costing £5,508.
Among other market-significant valuations in public, a 29,030 mile since 1976 Jaguar XJS 5,3 V12 Coupe £17,820, a 1972 Rover P5B 3.5 V8 Auto Coupe in recent receipt of a lower-half repaint sold for £16,200, and a 1972 Volvo P1800 ES with Britax sunroof for £14,850.
A once 100mph 1952 Austin A90 Atlantic Coupe for improvement was hammered for £14,310 with premium, a previously restored 1980 Austin-Morris Mini 998 Pick-Up for £13,770, a 1967 Morris Minor 1098 Traveller with front disc brakes £12,690, and a 1989 Austin Mini Thirty driven 6,773 miles from new £9,828.
Resto project prices paid included a really barn-weathered, but apparently complete 1954 Bristol 403, displaying 51,383 mileage from 46 years of vendor ownership, for £16,308, and a similarly cosmetically distressed 1956 405 with engine removed and absent, but with gearbox, £5,400.
A previously mag and book featured 1975 Jensen GT required total restoration for £3,942, while £3,294 was available for a statistically unusual, though non-running 1989 MG Montego Turbo.
The ACA ‘live’ sale stats held up well again with 98 of 125 classics driven past the rostrum selling during a 78% sold Saturday session for £470,305, before 98 or 79% more cars and projects out of 124 then sold Sunday for a further £949,268.
Even before post-sale deals had been done after the weekend to convert more of the provisional bids into results-boosters, 79% of the 249 vehicle entries had sold, buyers paying a premium-inclusive £1,419,573 for 196 cars, an average of £7,243 being paid per classic bought.
All 16 motorcycles and the personal registrations sold out, and there were buyers for 99.5% of the automobilia that preceded the two Drive Through sessions. By mid-week, 88% of the cars on-site had been sold too.
Five such auction classic sales weekends are scheduled for 2022 in January, April, June, August and November, with car, motorcycle, automobilia or registrations entries already being consigned (via 01553 771881) for the first ACA selling opportunity of the New Year, which will be Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January, followed by Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April 2022. RH-E

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Uniquely specified LaFerrari hypercar makes cool £2,142,500 at RAC Club in St James during RM Sotheby’s new look £7.7m London sale

While the ‘live’ auction process was conducted within the Royal Automobile Club, 40 sale cars present (one 1963 Ferrari 250GTE 2+2 was auctioned in absentia) could be viewed under canvas in nearby Waterloo Place, where the 1993 Jaguar XJ220 above went on to be applauded for selling to a buyer in the saleroom versus a telephone bidder for £432,500 with premium.
Although there were casualties under the gavel - notably, the 1952 Jaguar C Type XKC 014, for which £4m+ was not forthcoming (the same asset did not sell either at Bonhams Amelia Island 5 March 2020, when estimated at £4.8-5.6m).
Also, the £3.8-4.2m pre-sale estimate for The Motor mag road tested 1929 Blower Bentley 4½ with VDP coachwork for four with '2 FBG' reg could not be achieved on the night, and VAT being levied on both hammer price and premium was too much for potential bidders for an £875k+ estimated 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo Group IV Racer. Whereas the headlining Ferrari LaFerrari, one of 499, and a Porsche 957 Komfort, were successfully rehomed.
The 2016 Ferrari LaFerrari, finished in an exquisite, one-of-one ‘special order’ livery of Vinaccia paint over Pelle Chiodi Di Garofano interior, sold for £2,142,500 including premium. A star of the legendary hypercar trio that set the standard for high performance and high technology motoring in the last decade, this LaFerrari had been driven just 918 miles in 5 years of documented service history by authorized Ferrari dealers and had fitted luggage, manuals, and toolkit as new.
Thirty years before the LaFerrari was made, it was the Porsche 959 that embodied all that automotive technology had to offer in the 1980s. The Grand Prix White 1987 Porsche 959 was first delivered to Germany and had, unusually, been in the same ownership since 1989. The ultimate ‘poster car’ of the 1980s, the 959 exceeded its pre-sale high estimate bringing in £1,158,125 with premium..
Another car to magnetise much pre-sale interest was the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 630 K which had, incredibly, been in same family’s ownership for the past 90 years. This historic and powerful supercharged pre-war touring car was presented in apparently unrestored condition and boasted unique features, such as bullet holes inflicted during the 1936 Spanish Civil War! Characterful and unrepeatable, the war veteran with a back story pulled an outstanding £792,500 to become the third highest selling lot in the sale.
The rest of the London Sale Top Ten – a 1960 Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato  ‘Sanction Lost’ Speedster sold in the room for a just over top estimate £455,000 with premium, while a 1961 356 Carrera Zagato ‘Sanction Lost’ Coupe sold on the internet for a mid-estimate £426,875.
A 1928 Bentley 4½ with early 1990s 4-Seater Tourer coachwork in the style of VDP raised a well over £360,000 top estimate £416,625 in the room, a 1960 AC-Bristol Sports a within guide price range £252,500.
A just below £240,000 lower estimate £230,000 gross was accepted for a 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300S Coupe, one of 216, and the top ten prices concluded with the same paid for a Porsche 356A 1600 Super Coupe by Reutter, first owned in 1959 by Land and Water Speed Ace Donald Campbell.
The sale was conducted by Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, who, although previously auctioning a painting for $105m, declared that this was in fact his very first collector vehicle sale.
Sotheby's UK Chairman however had to re-offer a £120,000-160,000 estimated 1957 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Series VI, for which interest wained at £95,000 on the screen, but for which an absentee bid on the book for £100,000 had been overlooked, which was then accepted, the car selling during its second run across the block for £115,000 with premium.
The last three lots in the sale were auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, a £60,000-80,000 estimated Lee Noble designed 1993 Ascari FGT ‘Ecosse Prototype’ being hammered for a best bid on the internet of £17,000 (amounting to a bargain basement £19,550 with premium) and a £40,000-60,000 estimated 1998 Bentley Arnage 4.4 V8 being declared sold by the Old Etonian auctioneer for just £10,000 (£11,500 with premium). Both assets were extraordinarily well bought at these prices..
Only a £50,000-60,000 guided 173k 2019 Morgan Plus 4 Ford 2.0 110 Edition left-hand driver was popularly contested to a £48,000 top bid in the seats (selling therefore for a mid-estimate £55,200 with premium).
The sale grossed £7,726,025 with 25 or 61% of the 41 cars auctioned selling for a premium-inclusive average of £309,041.

Will Smith, car specialist at RM Sotheby’s Europe, who introduced the cars on the rostrum, said: “It has been great to host a live sale in London this year and to conduct the auction in such a prestigious new location in Pall Mall as part of The London Motor Week.
"Our partnership with The Royal Automobile Club has been an exciting new element to the sale, and we look forward to working alongside them for many years to come.

“A hallmark of our London sale has always been the diversity of the cars offered, and this year we had cars ranging from 1928 to 2016, which found new homes amongst an international client base.
"To also participate in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, as the title sponsor, is a fantastic way to finish sale weekend. ” 


RM Sotheby’s 2021’ live’ auction calendar draws to a close later this month with The Guikas Collection, being held at the Circuit Paul Ricard of former F1 fame in Le Castellet, South of France, Friday 19 November. Comprised of 75 desirable road and track cars from a single-owner collection, each lot is offered entirely without reserve.
A full Review will, of course, appear right here on C.A.R. RH-E

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117 years old Brighton Run Veteran contested by 6 bidders until sold by Bonhams for £264,500 during 89% sold £1.9m West End sale

Pioneer Peugeot was results leading lot at Bonhams Golden Age of Motoring annual for 1886-1939 automobiles Friday 5 November, selling for £264,500 including buyer’s premium and far exceeding the auctioneers’ £140,000-170,000 pre-sale estimate, during a successful afternoon at the 1793 founded auction house’s New Bond Street flagship salerooms, where an 89% sell-through rate was achieved.
The 1904 Peugeot Type 67A 10/12hp Twin-Cylinder Swing-Seat Tonneau, a stalwart of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, for which an entry for the Sunday’s Run had been included for the winning bidder, was purchased by a private overseas collector following a six-way bidding war, earning applause from a target audience of Run regulars in a consumer-packed saleroom
Indeed, with many members of the Veteran Car Club in attendance, it was perhaps no surprise that a clutch of examples from the dawn of motoring performed particularly well, selling above estimate under Rupert Banner’s gavel.
1903 Wolseley 10hp Twin-Cylinder Four-Seat Rear-Entrance Tonneau, which had been guided at £120,000-150,000, required a buying bid of £140,000, amounting to £161,000 with premium, from a German enthusiast who then drove his acquisition to Brighton on Sunday.
Five automobilists could be accomodated in the seats of a 1904 Brennan 14/18hp Twin Cylinder Rear Entrance Tonneau with a 2021 Run entry, one of only four pre-1905 survivors of the American marque, for which £80,000-100,000 had been correctly forecast, and which changed preservationists in London’s West End for £115,000.
Also exceeding expectations were a 1904 Crestmobile Model D 8½ hp Four-Seater Rear-Entrance Tonneau, which achieved £66,700, and a 1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope Four-Seater, possibly the only surviving 6hp Warwick, which made £63,250. 
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “This is an excellent result, and proves the continued enthusiasm for these very special motor cars. We were delighted to have so many friends from the Veteran Car Club attending the sale and were particularly pleased to see the Wolseley taking part in Sunday’s London to Brighton Run with its new owner."
As well as these Pioneer Automobiles, the annual sale also presented a fine selection of pre-WW2 and vintage era vehicles, which sold well.
Among them, a 1939 Brough Superior SS100, one of seven examples of the pre-war ‘superbike’ originally delivered new to Sheffield Police, which sold for £253,000, the second most valuable lot of the sale.
Whilst a 1928 Bentley 3-Litre Blue Label Tourer, fetched £241,500. A highly original example, the Bentley had been offered for public sale for the first time in 60 years.
The Golden Age of Motoring billed event, also offered an unrivalled selection of period-appropriate automobilia, the star lot being an oil on canvas by Terence Cuneo, Danger! Passage à Niveau, a humorous depiction of a 1904 Sunbeam in a near miss with a French locomotive at a level crossing, smashing its pre-sale top estimate of £12,000 to achieve £45,000.
An accompanying artwork by the same artist, ‘Sunbeams at the London to Brighton Run’, another 1904 12hp overtaking a 1901 Sunbeam-Mabley Cycle car on the A23, doubled its estimate, too, selling for £16,500.
Together, the works raised more than £60,000 for the West Midlands Police Heritage Project to establish a permanent home for the West Police Museum at Birmingham’s Steel House Lane.
The automobilia-inclusive stats for this sale record that there were buyers with £1,923,327 for 127 of the 143 lots, an 89% sale rate, with 16 of the 18 cars on offer selling for £1,517,850 with premium, an average of £94,865 spent per car and only 2 unsold. An additional £253,000 had been invested in the future of ‘Old Stormalong’, the 82 year old Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle.
Bonhams UK motor car team are currently consigning for their final auction of the year, The Bond Street Sale, again at the same up-market West End location Saturday 4 December. While the final MPH Sale of the 2021 selling and buying season will take place the following Saturday 11 December in Hangar 113 at Bicester Heritage. RH-E

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1975 Ford Escort RS1800 Custom makes more than top estimate £81k during 94% sold SWVA Drive-Through where only 5 classics were unsold

Internet bidding commenced at £60,000 at this 29 October 'Behind Closed Doors' 'Drive-Through and the winner paid £81,000 including 8% buyer’s premium for a 1975 Ford Escort RS 1800 Custom Mk2 with only 16,484 mileage driven past the one locked-off camera in the South West Vehicle Auctions hall at Parkstone, where 94% of cars sold.
After the UK classic auctions sale rate leading West Country firm had closed their book after a 2021 season closing Friday morning, only five of the 81 car lots were unsold, and buyers on phones and net had spent £706,945 with premium on 76 classics (plus one Honda Goldwing sold to an Easy Rider for another £1,300).
The highest priced car driven past the rostrum was a 1967 Mecedes-Benz 250SL Roadster with hardtop, which had been guided at £51,000-59,000, but which was valued by the buyer on the end of a telephone at a results topping £88,560.
There were buyers for all three Minis for the early self-employed market, with £17,496 on the phone for a 1960, but mint Austin Mini 850 Van, £9180 on-line for a 1981 998cc Mini Van from the same source, and £17,280 from another internet player for a 1979 Mini Pick-Up, even though it had run out of petrol crossing the block!
But then coming to stop in front of the ‘Live’ rostrum, and also having to be pushed out of the hall, did not impede the auction performance of a perfectly presented half-timbered 1957 Morris Minor Traveller, that had been estimated at £12,500-15,000, but which inspired a buying internet bid of £17,872. Major money for a Minor Estate.
A more than guide £24,840 was forthcoming remotely for a 2000 Aston Martin Vantage Volante, whereas a below forecast £43,456 was accepted for a well presented, and therefore good value 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 Fixed Head.
Nearly triple estimate money, £14,688 with premium, was handed over for a previously restored 1951 Austin A40 GD Sports, while £9828 on the net bought a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine Convertible with Holbay motor and the same on a phone secured a really futuristic for 1938 Peugeot 302 Airflow 4-Door Saloon.
Looking like good value for £4,428 just outside Poole was a 1990 Toyota Supra 3.0 auto with 79,000 mileage, so run-in then, and a 2001 Celica VVTI 1.8 Coupe for a mere £1,080, even with 133,232 miles on the clock.
There were nostalgic smallholders for both cosmetically refurbished Classic Tractors, which concluded another most successful selling and buying opportunity for stakeholders in the mainstream, with £5,348 invested in the working future of a 1961 David Brown 990 Selectamatic and £5,238 landing a 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X. Both sold for more than their estimates, which is one of the keys of SWVA’s continued success in the auction market.
With the Christmans and New Year break to accomodate, there will actually be the briefest interval for the SWVA team before their first Drive Through of 2022 takes place Friday 28 January, for which the catalogue closes for entries 22 January.
In Rome and then Glasgow meanwhile, jet-setting politicians and unelected royal hypocritters - not to mention pro-protestors, who glue themselves to the highway and ignore court injunctions in order to prevent the rest of us from earning a living - are hell-bent on screwing our economy by failing to neutralise carbon emissions in most of the rest of the world.
The ignored majority did not vote for Green Socialism being dished out by sleazy MPs or being told to scrap perfectly functioning combi-boilers and fossil-fueled motor cars long before their sell by date. Neither Sleepy Joe’s gas guzzling motorcade being flown across the Atlantic Pond first to Italy, and then being air-lifted from Rome to Scotland to clog the streets of Glasgow, or Mayor Khan’s ever expanding and revenue-raising ULEZ no-go fiefdom, are going to save the fragile planet. RH-E

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Latest Classic Car Auction Yearbook records positive figures, reporting more spent at auctions, average prices paid up and higher sale rates

On-Line auction turnover tripled this past season, as recorded across 124 international auctions, yet California continues to attract the most important cars and bids with traditional August auctions.
The Classic Car Auction Yearbook authors of this essential annual read resource have marked the passing of the late Brooks and Bonhams auctioneer Robert Brooks (1956-2021) on the front cover of their new 26th edition.
Italian consulting specialists Adolfo Orsi and Raffaele Gazzi have just released their 26th edition of the Classic Car Auction Yearbook, which covers sales from September 1 2020 through to August 31 2021.
The co-authors, who have recorded, analysed and published auction sales data since 1993, again launched the latest edition of their annual, hardback collector’s reference tome during the popular Auto e Moto d’Epoca Fiera in Padua, Italy, Thursday, October 21.
As every year, the launch of the new Classic Car Auction Yearbook marks the end of one season and the beginning of another, and provides collectors, professionals and enthusiasts alike with the opportunity to reflect on the market as a whole with long-term perspective and easy-to-read statistics for various categories and interests.
In US Dollars, the Yearbook reports an increase of 52% in annual turnover from last year with $1.037 billion in sales and an overall sales percentage of 75%, which is 4% greater than last year, a significant indicator of market health.
Although it hasn’t returned to the $1,229m gross zenith of 2014-2015, this past season’s turnover is just a shade under what it was back in 2016-2017 and a huge improvement over the lockdown-depressed $683m spent at auctions reviewed by Historica Selecta 2019-2020.
And the rocketing growth behind American sales this season, when compared to a slower Europe, reminds the authors of the significant sales discrepancy between the US and the EEC as it was back in 2012-2013.
Aside from a few spectacular auctions during the first six months of the season, revenue was down due to the pandemic despite the on-line platforms; this said, the second half of the season rebounded with extraordinary energy and activity as people were finally able to gather again.
The authors are optimistic about these positive trends, however, they do question whether or not these statistics are the result of a “technical rebound.”
In this year’s Authors’ Comment found on page 14, the general feeling of the season may be best summarized by this excerpt: “During Monterey week there were less people around, however, international interest and enthusiasm was abundant. The auction houses presented circa 50% of their cars without reserve and the overall results were better and higher than even the most optimistic of forecasts would have expected.”
American collectors led the world market, representing 63% of total turnover for 2020-2021. Adolfo writes “…last year US auctions (due to the absence of the Monterey sales) represented 57% and, in the 2018-2019 season, this figure was 67%. Internet sales tripled their weight this season, increasing from 4% to approximately 13%.”
The top lot of the season was the 1995 McLaren F1 sold by Gooding & Company in Pebble Beach for $20,465,000.
Crunched numbers indicate 20.29% of the pie charted amount invested in collector grade automobiles at auction bought Ferrari stock, the Prancing Horse commodity once again being by far the most popular punt with buyers at auction, compared to 7.38% being spent on Aston Martins, 6.71% on the Mercedes-Benz marque and 6.43% on Porsches.
Hosted at the ACI/ ACI Storico stand, the live presentation welcomed senior auction representatives from leading European auction houses who reflected on the past season by sharing their unique perspectives and answering questions from the room.
The 26th edition of the Classic Car Auction Yearbook reports on the results from 124 auctions held from the 1st of September 2020 to the 31st of August 2021. With 400 pages, 834 photographs, 33 graphs and extensive statistical charts, it covers 5,407 cars listed from 334 different marques with indication by chassis number and auction results in three currencies (Euro, US dollar and GB pound sterling).
Historica Selecta was founded in Modena, Italy in 1990 by Adolfo Orsi. As leading specialists in the international collector car market and champions for historical preservation, Historica Selecta often advises many of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers, museums and collectors.
Launched in 1993, the Classic Car Auction Yearbook, sponsored by Credit Suisse since 2009, has been published by Historica Selecta since 2008, the new 2020-2021 Classic Car Auction Yearbook being available for €80 (circa £68) through an international network of automotive bookstores as well as internet-based retailers. Indeed, Classic Auction Review cannot recommend this annual bible for the industry enough. RH-E

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German film critic’s Italian GT sets new £126k world record during 92% sold £2.1m 527 lot Collector Bike sale at Staffordshire Showground

A 1973 MV Agusta 750GT, belonging to the late German film critic Hans Schifferle, was the top priced star of the Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale, more than doubling its pre-sale estimate to achieve £126,500, a new auction world record for the model.
The rare Italian grand tourer led a 40-strong collection of motorcycles amassed by the late enthusiast, which all sold during Day 2 of the 9-10 October auctions, after which £2.1 million had been spent by buyers on 92% of the 527 race and road bike, and spares lots sold.
Five Hans Schifferle (1957-2021) Collection machines made the sale’s top ten, including a 1941 Indian 1,279cc Four and a 1955 Vincent 998cc Black Knight which both also exceeded their top estimates, selling for £57,500 and £37,950 respectively.
Another strong result was that of a 1911 Pierce 592cc Single which achieved £74,750, the American pioneer racing past its pre-sale top estimate. A 1931 Vincent-HRD meanwhile also made more than top estimate, selling for £73,600.
Collections dispersed included the Senior Collection of 75 motorcycles and the John Renwick (1938-2021) Collection of sidecar racing motorcycles, with both achieving ‘white glove’ sell-out results.
The Phil Morris Collection, an extraordinary grouping of racing motorcycles campaigned in the highest levels of two-wheeled motorsport, from the TT to Moto GP, also performed well with 22 machines finding new homes, led by the ex-Steve Hislop, Niall Mackenzie, James Whitham ridden Cadbury’s Boost circa 1995 Yamaha YZF750 Superbike Racing Motorcycle sold for £35,640, double its pre-sale estimate.
A further notable result was the £34,500 achieved by a timewarp 1989 Suzuki RG500 Gamma, effectively a brand-new motorcycle, which had covered only two ‘push’ miles from new.
James Stensel, Head of Bonhams Motorcycles UK, said: “We’re delighted at achieving yet another world record at Stafford. It felt like a return to normal in the saleroom, with very high attendance in person, and the strong results overall show the resilience of the collectors’ motorcycle market. As well as our bidders in the saleroom, there was much online engagement, with enthusiasts from all over the world bidding and buying.”

New Italian Sale in April at Roman Bikes Museum joins Bonhams calendar in 2022
The Bonhams Motorcycle team is now gearing up for 2022, which opens with the Spring Stafford Sale 23-24 April. This follows a brand-new 1-3 April auction in Italy, the first overseas foray for the department, which will be hosted by the world-renowned Moto Dei Miti Museum founded by ‘Paddock Great’ Genesio Bevilacqua, founder of the Althea Racing team.
The new sale is the result of a new partnership with Genesio, which will see his museum, located in Civita Castellana (on the outskirts of Rome) provide a fitting venue for the 100-plus collectors’ motorcycles to be offered.
Telling the evolution story of motorcycle racing over the past 50 years, the museum represents Genesio’s own racing experience – as amateur rider and professional team manager - and his passion for two-wheeled sport and culture, featuring some of the most important sports and competition motorcycles of the modern era.
Genesio became General Manager in 2007 of the start-up Althea Racing Team, which picked up trophies in the World Superbike and Supersport series, winning both world championship titles in 2011, with Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano respectively riding to victory.
In 2016, with BMW as partner, Althea again won the World Superstock Championship, with Raffaele Da Rosa in the saddle. Genesio will offer 27 machines from his collection for sale in the debut auction, including the two 2011 World Champion motorcycles: Carlos Checa’s Ducati 1198 RS and Davide Giugliano’s Ducati 1198 F12 and one of Raffaele De Rosa’s victorious BMW S 1000 RRs from 2016.
All motorcycles in the collection are ‘on the button’ and ready to race, having been maintained in the museum’s dedicated workshop by technicians with years of experience in the paddock, and have recently ridden by Genesio and other professional riders.
Ben Walker, Global Head of Bonhams Motorcycles, said: “We are really excited to be hosting our debut sale in Italy - arguably THE home of motorcycles - and to have the ‘man who defeated giants’ as our new partner.Genesio’s spectacular private museum will provide a stunning backdrop for the sale, and we are delighted that it will be open to the public for the preview and the auction itself.”
Further important collectors’ motorcycles and collections are currently being invited for consignment to both this new sale and Stafford in 2022. RH-E

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Bugatti EB110 SS sells for 2.24m euros (£1.9m) and 1.84m (£1.56m) is bid for No Reserve Ferrari F40 at 12.3m euros (£10.46m) Zoute sale

1994 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport - the only Bugatti to be designed and built in Italy – took the chequered flag beside the North Sea in Belgium and became the top lot, selling for 2,242,500 euros (£1,906,125) at the Bonhams Zoute Sale Sunday 10 October in a successful post-pandemic return to Knokke-le-Zoute.
A total of 12.3m (£10.46m) was spent on 40 mainly higher value classics, the largest sale total achieved since the international auctioneers first staged this fixture in 2012.
Unveiled on the 110th anniversary of Ettore Bugatti’s birth, the EB110 was a poster car of the 1990s, and the 30,000k example offered, one of just 30 Super Sport variants produced, was the star of the show for the Zoute Grand Prix crowd, being photographed and filmed throughout the weekend.
The Silver Bug’s popularity continued in the packed saleroom, which had a new cabaret-style layout, with the star car being the subject of a 15-way bidding war between the saleroom, the internet and telephone bidders, before sold to a private Dutch collector on the telephone, to applause from the lively Zoute crowd.
In its slipstream was a 1989 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta which achieved 1,840,000 euros (£1,564,000) at the Belgian seaside resort. The one-owner supercar celebrating Ferrari’s 40th anniversary, ordered from famous racing Ferrari dealers Garage Francorchamps and dry-stored since 1992, had covered a mere 1,790k from new. 
Another of the Italian Stallions which performed well at the seaside was a 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Coupe, the marque’s first production four-seater, with a top speed in excess of 230kmh. Delivered new to Garage Francorchamps, and concours-restored with Ferrari Classiche certification, this timewarp example achieved 592,250 euros (£503,413).
A 1968 Ferrari 365 GTC by Pininfarina, offered for the first time on the open market, realised 655,500 euros (£557,175). The original matching numbers example had been owned by one Italian family from new.
Other Zoute highlighters included a 1957 AC Ace, a Bristol-engined Roadster in left-hand drive with matching numbers and hardtop, which had been bodily restored by Rod Jolly and which raised 356,500 euros (£303,025) with premium, more than had been forecast.
A matching numbers 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Sports Saloon with ZF five-speed ZF and factory Normalair air-con, also surpassed its estimate, to achieve 241,500 euros (£205,275).
The 1956 Paris Motor Show Jaguar XK 140 Coupe, one of only four originally bodied by Carrozzeria Ghia of Torino, which had raced through the 1970s, but had become an abandoned restoration project with MkIX 3.8 engine block, was taken on for a mid-estimate 287,500 euros (£244,375).
A 1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible ‘State Limo’ with VIP Bubble-Top by Duchatelet and King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium provenance, which famously served as the Royal couple’s wedding car in December 1960, made an equally Royal 86,250 euros (£733,125).
A dinky 1964 Fiat 500D Trasformabile charmed the Zoute crowd, achieving a far from diminutive 57,500 euros (£48,875), nearly doubling its pre-sale estimate.
The Zoute sale stats record changes of ownership of 40 of the 52 entries, a 77% sale rate, for 12,227,425 euros (£10,393,311) including premium, an average of 305,686 euros (£259,833) spent by buyers per auction car bought.
Although 12 entries were unsold, 23% of the total, 40% of cars sold had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’, including the one owner F40 and an ex-US DB4. While 32% of sellers did so for within guide price band prices, 15% went for more than top estimate prices, whereas below estimate offers were accepted by the vendors of 13% of cars sold.
Maarten Ten Holder, Managing Director, Bonhams Motoring, and the multilingual auctioneer at this EU mainland sale, said: “It was a fantastic return to Zoute for us. The sale’s success and the energy and enthusiasm of the Zoute crowd made it a very festive afternoon. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves and, of course, to have achieved such a strong result.
Philip Kantor, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars Europe, added: “Congratulations from us both on a fabulous new set up in the form of the PRADO on the beach and our thanks, as ever, to the organisers of the Zoute Grand Prix. We look forward to returning next year for our decennial anniversary auction at this superb international venue.”
The final sale of 2021 for Bonhams European Motor Cars team will be the EU Autumn Motoring On-Line Timed-Out Auction, 19-29 November. RH-E

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1931 Duesenberg Model J ‘Green Hornet’ Roadster makes $1.65m (£1.2m) during 97% sold nearly $13m (£9.4m) RM Sotheby’s 15th Hershey Sales

An exceptional line up spanned over 80 years of automotive history, which included three stunningly American Classics from the Collection of Robert Thayer for who RM Sotheby’s had carefully sourced collector vehicles for  almost three decades.
Top seller Thursday 7 and Friday 8 October was the 1931 Duesenberg Model J Roadster “Green Hornet” (on stage image above by Forest Casey, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s). The CCCA Full Classic, one of very few true roadsters on the Model J chassis which would be welcomed to any number of important concours and club events, sold for $1,650,000 £1,204,500) including premium.
Following in the Duesenberg wheel-tracks across the auction block was the 1935 Auburn Eight Supercharged Speedster. Presented in well-maintained concours restoration condition, this exceptional Auburn, also warmly welcomed to any number of events, sold for $891,000 (£650,430).
Rounding out the top three sales was the 1930 Packard 745 Deluxe Eight Roadster. One of the finest extant 745 Deluxe Eight Roadsters, one of just a handful genuine examples believed to still be in existence, brought $407,000 (£297,100).
Another significant cache to go under the hammer during the Friday session was that of Les Holden, who had collected five American classics, four of which exceeded their high estimates, the most notable being his 1909 Peerless Model 19 Touring.
Featured in numerous magazines and driven in many tours over six decades, this Peerless, one of just two surviving T-head, 40hp 1909 Model 19s, smashed its pre-sale estimate of $150,000 (£109,500), selling for $286,000 (£208,780).
Two more American Classics also left the auction room with a selling price that exceeded their pre-sale estimates. Both restored to a level beyond what is normally seen makes it nearly impossible to find any others like them.
A one-off 1934 Pierce-Arrow Model 840A Convertible-Sedan, highly respected in Pierce-Arrow circles, being a two-time Pierce-Arrow Society Best in Show winner, had been consigned from the Collection of Charles Gillet and fetched $330,000 (£240,900).
While a National First Prize CCCA badged 1931 Buick Series 90 Sport Roadster, acquired in the early 1990s by one of the nation’s most dedicated Buick collectors, sold for $222,750 (£162,608).
Other ‘Top Tenners’ to be valued in public by the Hershey audience in the fall of 2021 included a 1931 Cadillac V16 Sport Phaeton sold for $242,000 (£176,660), a 3.5-propelled 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE Cabriolet for $198,000 (£144,540), the same as a 1904 Winton 20hp Rear-Entrance Tonneau, while a 1936 Pierce-Arrow Twelve Town Car Prototype cost the next occupant $187,000 (£136,510).
Worthy of mention in review despatches, too, was a beautifully restored 1948 Diamond T 201 Pickup. Known by enthusiasts as “the Cadillac of Trucks”, this example was offered from 26 years of single ownership and inspired much applause from the large ‘live’ crowd when hammered for a remarkable $176,000 (£128,480), well over forecast money.
The Hershey auction stats were surely most encouraging for all stakeholders with 131 cars of the 135 offered selling for $12,850,063 (£9,380,546) including premium, an average of $95,186 (£69,486) per car spent by buyers in a year when only four automobiles were unsold.
Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s Global Head of Auctions, said: “It was great to return live in Hershey alongside the AACA and welcome back our good friends and long-time clients to our 15th annual sale. The weekend’s results prove that the brass era and classics market is very much alive and well.
“Presenting such a diverse offering across all price ranges really shows our ability to sell well throughout all sectors within the market. Our team of specialists did a great job sourcing the very best examples for all categories and this weekend demonstrated that buyers continue to be eager to take them home.”
The international auctioneers continue their 2021 auction calendar as new title partner to the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run with a return to the capital for a coinciding 15th annual London Auction, this time being held not in Battersea Park nor at Olympia, but at St James in the Royal West End 6 November.
The RM Sotheby’s motoring team will then be auctioning race and road cars from The Guikas Collection 19 November at the Circuit Paul Ricard Circuit in the South of France, where ALL sale cars will definitely sell, being offered entirely without reserve. RH-E

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Gullwing flies away from International Tennis Hall of Fame to head $9.26m (£6.76m) 83% sold Bonhams US sale at Newport, Rhode Island

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing justified star billing in the Bonhams Audrain Concours Auction by selling for a within forecast $1,556,000 (£1,148,931 including premium) on a Friday 1 October evening during the auction house’s debut sale at the Newport, Rhode Island event, where an 83% sell-through rate was achieved.
Delivered new to M-B Salzburg, Austria, the early matching numbers European-spec example 300 SL, equipped with racing-derived Rudge wheels from new, and retaining its original engine and coachwork, had been consigned from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where it had been kept for the past decade in their Classic Automobile Museum.
The second most valuable lot in the sale was an early 1963 Cobra, the 47th of just 62 early ‘Street Shelby Cobra 260’ examples with original 260 cubic-inch engine, that had been previously resident in California since the 1960s and which made a below $750,000 lower estimate $728,250 (£537,731) in the 2020s.
A still matching numbers 1929 Bentley 4½-litre meanwhile that had started life with HJ Mulliner crafted Weyman Fabric Saloon body, but had been topped with original Vanden Plas coachwork from another 4½ since before the 1950s, fetched $651,250 (£480,875), again below the $700,000 sought.
A two owner since 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona guided at $650,000-750,000 was bid to $590,000 and sold afterwards for an unpublished figure, presumably circa $655,800 (£478,734) with premium.
A 1959 Silver Cloud I H J Mulliner Drophead, one of only eleven made by Rolls-Royce in left-hand drive that had been preserved in the Yankee Candle Collection of Massachusetts for the last twenty years, nearly made the $400,000 lower estimate sought with premium by selling for $392,750 (£290,001).
The 1913 ALCO 40 454ci carrying Five-Passenger Touring Car coachwork by ALCO sold for $373,500 (£275787) was a highly original and authentic example, and one of only four surviving 4-cylinder automobiles from the local Rhode Island marque that was being offered for sale in public for the first time.
Nearly a century younger by contrast was a bespoke, handbuilt and already ‘Classic’ Spyker C8 Laviolette Coupe with Audi-derived V8 in Burnt Almond Orange that had been driven less than 700 miles from new in 2009, and which realised a within guide $370,750 (£273,757).
A below estimate $368,000 (£271,726) was accepted for an enormously long 1933 Marmon Sixteen Convertible-Sedan by LeBaron, one of only 390 built and just eleven survivors, that had been treated to a nearly $700,000 restoration.
A 2008 vintage Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Coupe, one of just two US-supplied cars in Park Yellow, had only been driven 4,200 serviced miles before selling here for a more than top estimate $346,000 (£255,482).
While a three owner 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Coupe with 750 mileage, one of 150 2006 cars delivered to the US, went for a within guide $324,000 (£239,237).
The 1962 New York Show exhibited 3rd Series and left-hand drive Aston Martin DB4, had been repainted and re-trimmed before being offered here Without Reserve and selling for a more than estimated $307,500 (£227,054).
The new sale at the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week offered a boutique selection of collector motor cars, reflecting the event’s theme of history, luxury and sport.
All were showcased against the backdrop of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the venue for the Bonhams auction, where 83% of the 41 cars offered sold and only seven did not.
When the book had been closed, the sale had grossed $9,262,800 (£6,761,844) with premium, a punchy average of $272,435 (£164,923) being spent per auction car bought.
Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Motoring Director, said: “We are delighted with this successful debut. The International Tennis Hall of Fame served up a perfect setting for the Bonhams saleroom, which was busy both in the preview and during the auction. We would like to thank our hosts and look forward to returning to Newport in 2022.”
The next auction for the Bonhams US Motorcar team will be the Greenwich Concours D’Elegance On-Line Auction, October 21-25, which will be conducted in their website. Early consignments are led by a brace of 1966 Aston Martin DB6s, both offered at No Reserve. RH-E

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Morgan Aero 8 that cost £62,000 in 2007 sold for £50,625 in 2021 to headline during Manor Park Classics £658k Autumn Sale

‘Modern Classics’ Morgan Aero 8 with bonded aluminium chassis and BMW engine of 2007 vintage that had cost £62,000 14 years ago and been driven a fully charted 28,000 miles realised a top estimate £50,625 including 11% buyer’s premium from an internet bidder to head the 22 September Manor Park Classics sale results at what was an additional fixture.
Also sharing the podium at this, the Runcorn firm’s third sale during their first year in the ‘live’ auction market was a fully restored 1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 with JD Classics’ executed upgrades, including Sport front seats, air conditioning and upgraded suspension and brakes, which overtook the upper estimate by more than £8,000 to sell for £50,288 to another i-bidder.
A 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300B Adenauer, essentially a 300SL era with still handsome pillar-less Saloon bodywork, was claimed to have covered just 29,000 miles from new. With its restored black coachwork and period working valve radio, sun visors and wind-deflectors it also exceeded the estimate band to sell for £42,750.
The front of rostrum parked £35,000-45,000 1978 Ford Escort RS Mexico Mexico Mk2 in Kermit Green was minter than new following restoration and deserving of the £38,250 paid.
The 74 classics afternoon kicked off with a fastidiously maintained 1995 Mercedes-Benz E 220 Coupe with previous ownership going back 20 years and history from new. Dry-stored for the last two decades and with 86,000 mileage, its Mo Reserve status attracted a flurry of bids, until a winner in the saleroom had bid £5,700 and paid £6,412 with charges.
So much more accessible than any of the Astons abused by 007 during the making of the much delayed latest Bond movie were a couple of 21st century versions which successfully crossed the block. For a just below lower estimate £29,250 was accepted for a 2008 DB9 with touchtronic-shift and full main dealer history, while a 2006 V8 Vantage with 46,000 documented miles and bills for £10,000 from last year realised a forecast £28,687.
Much more traditional were a usable 1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk2, in previous ownership for 22 years and with sensible upgrades, which found a new home for a more than estimated £28,687. From the same era, the ex-Sir John Rogers of the MSA owned 1957 Triumph TR3, complete with BMIHT certificate and numbers still matching numbers, also achieved its estimate band either, being re-homed for £24,750.
A 1989 BMW 318i 4-Door Saloon was super clean and tidy and estimated at £5,000-6,000, but raised £7,875 from an absentee bidder on the net.
“A new kind of buyer is emerging,” said Julian Royse, MPC’s always transparent auctioneer.  “They may only have had a passing interest in classic cars until recently, but as we see some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, they now want to take the plunge and own something themselves. But they want a car that’s not too old, original, with a well-documented history and – most importantly – ready to be used without too much fettling.”
A 1971 VW Beach Buggy with hardtop evoking a Meyers Manx (as dune stormed by Steve 'Thomas Crown Affair' McQueen) had been displayed in the documents office and sold in the saleroom for £19,125, £3,000 more than forecast.
In very much better condition than when manufactured by Ford in 1955, an E83W Van that had been in receipt of £10,317 worth of parts to be cosmetically ready to be sign-written and tax deductible collected £16,875 from the next owner-drive, nearly £3,000 more than had been forecast.
A 1991 Peugeot GTI 1.6, in stunning and apparently original condition from 12 years of previous ownership, and with MOT certificates from first to last on file, cleared the £7,000-9,000 estimate band until sold to an internet contestant for £13,500.
Whereas the dinkiest motor was a Toyota-style 150cc petrol jeep fit for a spoiled child of a well-heeled parent. With benefit of electric 2000lb winch, inertia-reel seatbelts and even a trailer, this very early Christmas prezzie doubled its upper estimate to make a very adult £4,837.
By lights out, and before post-sales, 43 or 58% of cars had sold for a premium-inclusive £685,628, an average of £15,945 per classic bought, around 25% of which were bought by internet bidders. Analysis of those cars sold indicated that 14% were offered Without Reserve and were going to sell anyway, and while 45% went for within their guide price bands and 19% fetched more than their top estimates, only 12% went for less than their lower estimates with vendors accepting less than reserve returns.
Manor Park is rapidly growing its reputation in the auction circuit,” said Sam Grange-Bailey, MPC’s Sales Director. “Unlike many other auction houses, we offer buyers the luxury of unhurried viewings at our inspection ramp-equipped facilities five days ahead of sale, and allow them a reasonable time frame to collect the car after purchase. Our facility is a genuine one-stop-shop, and our ability to store all cars inside will be a real boon through the winter months.
“But our message to vendors is to price their cars realistically. If reserves are set too high, there’s a risk that bidding will collapse before it gathers momentum, and that helps no one. Genuine, sensibly-estimated vehicles will always gain traction, as will those with no reserve at all. And don’t worry, we’re always here to provide expert advice if you’re unsure.”
The newcomers’ next auction will again be held at its user-friendly Runcorn HQ not a weekday next time, but at a weekend on a Saturday, November 20 from 1pm. C.A.R. will, of course, be there. RH-E

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1980s built Jaguar D Type ‘Historic Racer’ with some period parts fetched £799,000 to lead Bonhams £11.5m sale results at Goodwood Revival

1956 replicating, 1980s assembled, DVLA registered, front of auction rostrum parked, D Type Jaguar with genuine engine block and front wishbones, and correct disc brakes, had been a Goodwood, Spa, Le Mans Legends support race and Mille Miglia Retrospective participant in the hands of Valentine Lindsay.
Pre-sale estimated to sell for £900,000-1,200,000, a top bid of £700,000 was accepted and a new-owner driver paid £799,000 including buyer’s premium.
By Saturday 18 September afternoon sale end, and following 4 post-sales (including a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider Ameriica project with non-original engine out of the car taken on for £325,000), 64 or 78% of the 82 vendors’ cars displayed inside and outside the Bonhams auction tent had sold for £10,880,250 with premium and an average of £170,039 been spent by buyers per car bought.
All 24 cars from the Stan West Collection sold out led by the late motor factor’s P&A Wood restored and maintained 1955 Bentley R Type Continental Fastback by H J Mulliner selling for a within forecast band £642,200.
The former GSF Car Parts supremo's Earls Court Motor Show exhibited and Carrozzeria Zagato bodied 1960 Bristol 406, again pro-restored, made a more than estimated £200,000 with charges.
Pre-WW2 Bentleys certainly proved fashionable again with the Goodwood crowd. For a double lower estimate £603,000 with premium was forthcoming for a ‘No Reserve’ 1931-dated and 2015-2017 built Special, consisting of shortened 4-Litre chassis, front axle, rear axle, differential, suspension and brakes with 8-Litre capacity engine and D-type box, topped with open two-seater body and evented at Silverstone and Goodwood.
Whereas another 1930 Bentley, formerly a 6½-Litre Barker-bodied Saloon, had been rebuilt with shortened chassis to 11ft wheelbase to replicate a works Le Mans Team Car. With many original works items and accurate Vanden Plas Long Door style coachwork for four, it was only completed just over a year ago and was bought for £501,400, nearly £100,000 below estimate.
On one side of the front of rostrum parked D Type was a truly unrepeatable 1971 Iso Grifo S2 Coupe, one of only three right-hand drive 7-Litre cars that had factory-fitted Can Am 7.4 390bhp engine, 5-speed box and dual Targa-top.
Extraordinarily well preserved by being dry-parked in a West Country garage since 1974, the one elderly gentleman owned from new Grifo, which he collected from the factory and had only driven a mere 20,873 miles, was the most viewed lot in the sale and explains why the £200,000-250,000 guided 50 year old Italian cost a second owner £345,000.
On the right of the rostrum, the seventh of only 353 Pininfarina Coupes built in 1958 on the Ferrari 250GT chassis, with wheel-arches uniquely flared and boot lid unusually in grp. Resident in Italy, the US and Switzerland before recent restoration in Nero Tropicale with Tan leather, it sold in West Sussex for a below estimate £331,200.
An only 400 miles from new and Don Law mechanically overhauled Jaguar XJ220 Coupe with refreshed Monza Red paint and Sand leather trim was dispatched to Germany August 1993, but never road registered.
Consigned from second ownership, the supercar was knocked down to the third owner for £460,000. After several corrections in achieved prices in public for the XJ220, this was a new world record price for the model.
The still matching numbers 1937 SS100 Jaguar 2½-Littre Roadster sold for £368,000 had been fully restored and fitted with a 5-speed synchromesh gearbox during Davenport Cars restoration.
Whilst a 4-wheel drive 1971 Jensen FF Mk1 with working 8-track stereo, which had come to market from single family ownership having been restored ten years ago, also made the £110,000 forecast.
An estimated £149,500 was forthcoming for a 1993-restored 1958 AC-engined Ace from the Stan West Collection and a previously rebuilt 1960 Aceca Coupe with desirable Bristol motor fed by an electric pump and overdrive option fetched £80,500, top estimate money.
The Repco Brabham-Climax BT3/4 Prototype Single-Seater driven at the 1962 Australian GP at Perth by Sir Jack Brabham and by Graham Hill in the 1964 Tasman Series Tasman Series had been treated to a two year restoration by Hawker Racing, but failed to find a new owner-driver with the necessary £300,000 or more among the many Revival drivers who came to the tent during the weekend.
There were buyers however for two out of four ‘Fox & Nicholl’ and ‘Syndicate’ campaigned 2-Litre Lagondas with consecutive ‘PK’ registrations ‘9201’, ‘9202’, ’9203’ and ‘9204’ from the Forshaw Collection. The 1929 Le Mans 24 Hour Tim Rose Richards/Honorable Brian Lewis raced ‘PK 9203’ Low-Chassis Tourer fetched a less than forecast £230,000 after the gavel had cooled.
Whereas the Rose-Richards/Cecil Randall ‘PK 9201’ registered sister car sold to Captain Forshaw for £2,000 in 1973 was hammered for a below estimate £178,250. There has been post-sale interest in the two unsold 'PK' reg Lagondas.
The Lotus Type 14 Elite-Climax S1 first owned by Team Lotus driver Innes Ireland as part of his engagement fee in 1960 presented really well on the auction tent carpet following another Hawker Racing restoration recently.
Subsequently part-exchanged by the Scot for a hot Mini from next owner privateer Tom Threlfall, who upgraded and raced 'Elite chassis 1182' to a second in class at Snetterton, third in class at both the Brussells GP meeting and at Spa, before finishing strongly in the 1962 RAC Tourist Trophy GT World Championship qualifier at Goodwood, where it was surely well bought for £97,750.
The 55th Cooper and the first MkV F3 Monoposto built by John Cooper in 1950 with 500cc Alfin-barrelled JAP engine coupled to a Norton ‘Dolls Head’ gearbox, a Goodwood Revival competitor in 2019, cost the next intrepid owner a very reasonable £26,450.
Commenting on the first Bonhams Goodwood Revival Sale in two years, Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, told C.A.R.:“This was an excellent result, and we are thrilled to have set yet another auction world record with the sale of the XJ220.
“We are also especially pleased to have achieved a white glove sale for the Stan West collection. Stan was a great friend to Bonhams, and we were proud to have been entrusted to handle this collection, which reflected his passion and enthusiasm for the finest British marques.”
Preceding the motor cars sale was the always entertaining automobilia session, led this year by the sale of UK vehicle registration number ‘8 X’, which sold for £197,800 with premium, massively exceeding its pre-sale top estimate of £120,000!
With the imminent release of the new James Bond film No Time to Die, 007-fever had clearly swept the Bonhams sale room, when a 1970 UK tax disc issued to the original ‘Goldfinger’ Aston Martin DB5, used by Pinewood Studios in the James Bond film, sold for a staggering £25,250, more than 10 times its pre-sale estimate, following a two-way bidding war in the tented saleroom on the Goodwood Motor Circuit campus.
Having crunched many numbers, 21% of cars sold were auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and another 24% made within pre-sale estimate band prices compared to 41% for which below estimate sums were accepted. 14% of cars sold though did so for more than their top estimates.
In summary, while current market makers in tent, by phone or on-line have bought 64 well promoted motor cars (so far), they were not prepared to meet vendors reserves for 18 other vehicles at this very well dressed auction facility at what continues to be one of the major ‘must-attend’ events on the collector car calendar.
The £11,498,621 spent on a Saturday afternoon on cars, memorabilia and that registration really was most encouraging for all stakeholders.
The much travelled Bonhams Motor Car department meanwhile will be heading to the USA for its next sale, the debut Newport Concours Auction taking place October 1 in Rhode Island, followed by The Zoute Sale a week later (10 October) in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. RH-E

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Liverpool garden recovered 1959 DB Mk3, treated to 10 year restoration and evented for 21 years, sold for £135k at H&H Duxford

After ‘provisional’ bids had been converted during and immediately after the latest 8 September H&H Duxford sale, 78 of the 127 classics displayed inside and beside the main Imperial War Museum hangar had sold for £2,379,307 including 12.5% premium, an average of £30,504 spent by buying bidders per car.
Top seller was an only 1,311 mile since 2004 and UK-registered Shelby Cobra 427 Cobra CSX - number 02 of only 10 officially manufactured with carbon-fibre bodywork by Shelby Automobiles Inc. who issued the car with the Shelby CSX series 4502 chassis number - sold to a winning telephone bidder for a close to top estimate £146,250.
Guided at £100,000-120,000, a 1967 Jaguar E Type 4.2 Coupe, totally mint following a back to bare metal restoration and conversion from left to right-hand drive for an auction house estimated £250k + VAT, fetched £114,750 in the saleroom.
A just below £100,000 lower estimate £96,750 including premium was accepted for a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Series IV with larger 2.5 V6 from single family ownership since new in 1955. While a 1977 Aston Martin V8 S, retrospectively known as the Series 3, came to market after 24 years to sell for £71,663, again over £8,000 below forecast.
There was no buyer with the £350,000-400,000 sought however for an Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 with 61,746 mileage from new in 1971 from vendor family ownership of 49 years. Whereas a 1964 Flavia 1.8 with Convertible by Vignale, one of just 40 in RHDs, did sell for a mid-estimate £45,000.
By contrast, a way over £30,000-40,000 estimate £105,750 was required from a bidder in the room to secure a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 300SE Cabrio with micro-blistered paint, one of 78 manufactured for the UK in right-hand drive, which had been contested by telephone and internet bidders.
A customised 1973 De Tomaso Pantera Ford Cleveland 351ci 5.8 V8  one-off, catalogued as ‘The Egginton Special’ with front air dam, rear wing, side skirts and bulging wheel arches covering wider Compomotive split-rims, realised the necessary £67,500 from a commission bidder who took out the room to win the car.
An only recently completed Realm Heritage C Type Rep, powered by a 4.2 Jaguar engine injection-fed via Jenvey throttle bodies with Omex 710 controlled ignition and servo-assisted disc brakes all-round fetched a close to top estimate £48,375.
The same money bought the 1964 Ford Mustang Notchback Racer last driven at Curborough in 2018 by H&H founder and auctioneer Simon Hope, who is hanging up his helmet, but hammered it way to the next owner-driver for £48,375  
While a more than top estimate £47,250 was required to be the next owner of a statistically rare 1939 TB 1250cc Sports, of which only 379 were hand-built by the MG Car Company and which was driven by Guy Martin on C4 in ‘Guy Martin’s Battle of Britain’.
One Jensen Interceptor, a 1968 Mk1 restored 2008/9, sold for a within forecast £46,125, and a nearly £4,000 below estimate £10,125 did buy another 1969 Mk1 runner for improvement from 20 years dry storage.
Among other valuations to qualify for inclusion in this review, £38,250 was forthcoming for an August MOT’d, £26,000-30,000 estimated 1998 ‘Dare Ginetta’ G4 propelled by a dry-sumped 2-Litre Ford Zetec with a Type 9 5-speed box to play with and a Sierra LSD.
A £30,000-34,000 guided 1964 Triumph TR4 in receipt of photo-recorded TR Bitz body-off restoration was thoroughly deserving of the £32,625 result. £30,375, top estimate money, was available for a 1969 Rover P5B Coupe with more powerful, fuel-injected 4-litre Rover V8.
A £25,875 internet bid with premium was needed to own “the nicest” 1979 Austin Morris Mini 95 Pick-Up consigned by the auctioneers, which had been a Goodwood Revival Team support vehicle. While the 1977 Triumph Stag sold to a couple in the front row for £19,125 had been upgraded from auto to manual and had only been driven 27,450 well-maintained miles from new.
The BMW 635 CSI High Line sold for a more than top estimate £27,000 had full service history on file or the 68,190 mileage driven by one family since new in 1989.  A previously revived 1951 501 Left-Hand Drive Saloon, UK resident for nearly 60 years that had been a resto project in 1990, looked well bought for £12,938.
The WW2 1943 Ford GPW Jeep sold for £24,750, very nearly lower estimate money, has seen some action when owned by Oscar Winner Rex Harrison who is photographed giving fellow movie star Rita Hayworth a lift.
A 1938 Vauxhall Trials Special with Marshall Rootes-type supercharged 12hp motor bored out to 1489cc made a more than estimated £16,875, and a No Reserve part-restored 1979 Bristol 412 Zagato Targa-Top with overhauled and running 6-litre Chrysler V8 was taken on for £13,500. A 1979 Triumph TR7 30th Anniversary Edition with 36,741 mileage was also auctioned Without Reserve for £4,725.
Of the 78 cars that sold, 61% of those auctioned, 11 or 14% were offered Without Reserve and were going to sell anyway, 29 of them or 37% sold for within their pre-sale estimates and below estimate prices were accepted for 21 or 27% of them. Although 17 or 22% of sellers achieved prices above their over top estimates.
The next H&H auction for Automobilia takes place on the internet-only from Sunday 19 and will time-out Sunday 26 September.  Whilst the next sale for Classic and Collector Cars takes place Wednesday 6 October ‘Live’ with punters in the Pavilion Gardens Buxton saleroom and on the telephone and internet. RH-E

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£86,625 bought 2-owner 1959 Alvis TE21 Drophead during £2.5m weekend in newly pitched Bonhams MPH tent at Beaulieu International Autojumble

After pitching their new-look ‘framed tent’ with more civilised windows and floor on the former Motor Mart sales hard standing between the National Motor Museum and the Autojumble itself, all the Bonhams auction cars were much better spaced out for viewing than used to be the case when surrounding the traditional Big Top with tent poles and coconut matting covered grass
For the first time, an all-automobilia Saturday sale preceded the cars on Sunday, by when a 90% sell-through rate had been achieved and just shy of £2.5m had been spent by 800 global registered bidders. While those who bid in  person were far more Brexit resident autojumblers this year as noticeably fewer EU mainlanders make pilgrimage than during the Common Market days of old.
Nearly post-pandemic, there was also two fields less of trestle-tabled jumble to browse too. Could the pandemic pause have deleted some of the spares hoarders and hunters, who used to fill the hotels and campsites for miles around and now inhabit ebay?
A numerically rare 1949 Bristol 402 Drophead Coupé bought new for the Hollywood actress Jean Simmons by her future husband and fellow star Stewart Granger, most justifiably topped the bill at the 4-5 September weekend's Bonhams MPH Beaulieu Sales, by achieving a results-heading £159,750 including premium.
One of only 24 examples of the glamorous and exclusive convertible produced, and one of only 12 to survive, the glam Bristol was one of a ‘Matching Pair’ bought by Granger for himself and Simmons, and was extensively used to promote the 1949 romantic film Adam and Evelyne, in which the couple starred.
The streamlined convertible had retained its registration number ‘NFP 2’ (Granger's car had the ‘NFP 1’ reg) and had covered just over 32,000 miles from new.
As auctioned, the Simmons car was powered by a more potent Frazer Nash 2-litre engine first fitted by its next owner, Bristol dealer (and later owner of Bristol Cars) Anthony Crook. In 2001, pro-restoration had also been carried out in the workshops of specialists Alpine Eagle, Bob Price and Spencer Lane-Jones.
In the Bristol's slipstream was another example of elegant post-war open-top motoring on near deserted highways: a 1948 Delahaye Type 135M Three-Position Drophead Coupé, that had been pre-sale estimated to fetch £250,000-300,000, but for which a more modest £153,125 was accepted immediately after the sale.
Featuring rare coachwork by concours-winning company Pennock, the three-owner motor car had undergone a full restoration and had been driven a mere 26,000 miles from new.
Other highlights of the sale, during which 116 classics, plus two tractors from Porsche (1956 A122 Diesel Twin sold for £14,625) and Lamborghini (1964 FL3 5C Tracked-Crawler for £5,063), as well as a circa 1959 Healey Marine speed-launch with MGA engine (£12,375) went under Rob Hubbard and Sholto Gilbertson’s busy gavels, included:
A very 1905/06 ‘Work Racer’ replicating Lorraine-Dietrich 60hp CR2 for two exposed pilotes, which made way over its £80,000-120,000 estimate  to sell for £138,375.
Built out of a rolling chassis in this century by Edwardian-era gurus John Brydon and Richard Black, and powered by a Formalls-rebuilt and thumping ‘Four’ of 8620cc capacity, the Hinton Historic Engineering fettled bolide looked VSCC event ready to entertain and terrify in equal proportions.
The 2012 vintage Rolls-Royce Ghost Saloon with Panoramic sunroof option, sold for £96,750, also far exceeded its top estimate of £75,000. Driven just 3,145 miles from new by one owner, the BMW 6.6 Twin Turbo V12 Ghost would be good for 155.3mph on another planet.
A matching numbers £35,000-45,000 Ford Escort Mexico Mk2 2-Door had only done about 5 miles since a better than new in 1978 restoration before costing the next owner in the room £42,188. A 1963 Ford 'Consul' era Capri Deluxe Coupe had only done 14,799 mileage in 58 years before realising £19,125 here.
The late Bryan Parkes, nephew of former Alvis Chairman and MD John Joseph Parkes, had owned a 1962 Alvis TD21 Drophead with the two headlights since 1979. 42 years later, catalogued as a “reliable runnerand estimated at £20,000-30,000, it cost the next guardian £36,800.
Whilst the Morgan Works 1966 Development Plus 4 Competition car failed to find the £45,000-55,000 sought, a £30,000-35,000 guided 1977 Morgan +8 Lightweight, number 19 of 19 that had only done 12,387 miles on Guernsey during the ownership of John McLaren (brother of Bruce McLaren), did sell in the New Forest for £29,250
A 1996 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 road car in the sale had been, previously owned by the McRae family and driven by the late Colin McRae, who won the 1995 World Rally Champion in a Subaru Impreza 555. With 92,159 miles on the clock, the 4-Door with wing cost a fan £11,250.
The Sunday Car Session stats were 82 sold from 119 offered, a 69% sale rate, for £2,304,537, a premium-inclusive £28,104 being spent per classic and project.  Reassuringly, too, there were still Beaulieu buyers for the 12 'No Reserve' restoration projects from the 13 for sale in the catalogue.
Saturday’s 358 lots of Automobilia, curated and auctioned by Toby Wilson, grossed £200k and included an Austin Pathfinder child's pedal car requiring restoration, guided at £2,500-3,000, which was taken on for a vey adult £5,355. A Spirit of Ecstasy showroom statue after Charles Sykes, for which £1,000-1,500 had been sought, flew out of the tent for £4,462.
A weathered ‘Mixtrol’ upper cylinder lubricant forecourt display stand, estimated at £400-500, raised £2,805. An illuminated Mercedes-Benz showroom sign in moulded plastic in circular frame had been guided at £150-250, but cost one marque enthusiast £1,466, and a £350-450 HJ Mulliner Park Ward ‘Service Department’ sign made £1,403.  All very Old School and very Beaulieu.
Rob Hubbard, Head of Bonhams MPH, said: "We were delighted to take MPH on tour to Beaulieu, where Bonhams has staged an auction for many years. The weekend attracted over 25,000 visitors resulting in a busy saleroom, leading to our high 90% sell-through rate; proving the appetite for live sales and events among motor car collectors and enthusiasts remains."
The final MPH sale of the year will take place 11 December, when the team return to Bicester Heritage for the traditional ‘Drive-Through’ auction. Entries are being invited now. Consign early for Christmas. RH-E

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Restored 1973 TR6 Pi and 1967 Volvo P1800S sell for £18,360 and £22,140 on-line during 88% sold £1.5m ACA Drive-Through

1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 BN6 was bought for £38,889, 1972 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 2+2 FHC manual £36,720, 1969 S2 4.2 2+2 FHC manual £30,240 and 1966 Mercedes-Benz 220SE auto cabriolet £31,000 during Anglia Car Auctions 28/29 August Bank Holiday weekend sales.
1972 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ‘Big Block’ Coupe was landed for £29,160, the same buying a 1991 Porsche 911 Type 964 Carrera 2 Cabrio auto, a 1973 Datsun 240X 3.1 £27,000, a 1975 Jensen Interceptor III auto £22,680 and a well presented 1967 Volvo P1800S (pictured above) £22,140.
A 1998 Bentley Arnage Green Label on LPG fetched £19,440, its mid-estimate, a 1947 Triumph 1800 Roadster with floor change realised a forecast £18,630  and the TR Enterprises restored 1973 TR6 (also featured above) £18,360.
A military vehicle enthusiast armed himself with a beefy 1954 Volvo Sugga lefty for £19,710, while a 1972 Land Rover 88 S3 also looked to be conflict-ready for £11,610, both more than had been estimated.
The Saab 9-3 Aero V6 S-A Estate had only been driven 4.175 miles from new in 2007 before raising a more than double guide price £13,230. There were buyers for three other Saabs in the sale too.
From the deceased estate of Mike Crow came a 1938 Fiat Topolino ‘Hot Rod’ packing a Rover 3.5 V8 motor, which required work to run and for which a brave punter  on the internet paid £5,670.
Whilst a non-running 1971 Silver Shadow Roller, which had been in receipt of severe roof-lowering surgery and fitted with a turbocharger before lapping the full Nurburgring, was much viewed, but could only muster £1,860 from an i-gambler.
An FF-ised, so 4WD and customised 1974 Ford Capri Oldsmobile 3.6 V8 Mk2 with ABS and Recaros with speakers in headrests had gathered dust for years, but ran out of interest at £6,250, well short of the £10,000 minimum sought.
But then nobody out there had spotted a working 1959 Fairthorpe Electron Minor with far too modern high-headrest buckets, for which bids ran out at £4,000, £3,500 short of vendor’s expectations.
A 1962 Ford Zodiac Mk2 in two-tone with period screen-top eyeshade achieved a more than top estimate £12,690, a 1951 Prefect E493A £5,670 and a below guide £3,672 was accepted for a father and daughter owned since 1966 1955-made Anglia 100E.
Other noteworthy items to change items during the holiday weekend in Norfolk included a smart 1974 Fiat 128 1399 SL Coupe sold for £14,310, a really original 1985 Toyota Celica Supra 2.8i Coupe with 121,747 mileage £12,960, a shiney 1986 Panther Kallista Roadster £11,610 and a 1968 Lancia Flavia 1800 Coupe for improvement if not full restoration £7,290.
Preceded by affordable and therefore accessible automobilia and a Transit load of classic bikes, and after 16 ‘provisionals’ had been converted into sales, the Saturday session saw 105 of the 120 cars offered change hands for £520,919 including premium, while 15 failed to sell.
After 10 more ‘provisional’ conversions, there were also buyers with another £1,009,980 with premium for 110 of the 125 Sunday cars, when again 15 were unsold.
The overall stats for the Bank Holiday weekend sales therefore amounted to a total of 215 sales from 245 car lots offered, an 88% sale rate, for a gross cars sold total of £1,530,899, an average of £7,120 with premium spent per car bought.
These ‘Drive-Through’ car auctions were again held in covid-cautious conditions ‘behind closed doors’, with some pre-registered absentee bidding via tables of masked telephone handlers or most clicking away on the saleroom-com platform.
Although very many more punters than ever crowded into the ACA halls and cafeteria followed the sales by viewing both ‘live’ and retrospectively the two YouTube webcasts, which were again very professionally broadcast.
For even by Bank Holiday Monday end, 27,000 ‘views’ of the Saturday drive past had been logged by the YouTube counter, while 24,000 had checked out the Sunday sale from as far away as Abu Dhabi in the Westernised Middle East and Sydney Australia.
Huge audience numbers like these could never, of course, be accommodated in any traditional ‘live’ auction for classics in an increasingly insular market, which has been forever Brexited from the EU mainland. Although whether the all-important market makers will ever vote with their everyday cars to return in economic numbers to old school salerooms cannot be guesstimated in an increasingly virtual world.
For the majority of auction bids today are now cast anonymously on-line by computer mice and a minority of auction consumers may wish to return to openly voicing their offers in person in a physical auction tent, exhibition hall or hotel conference centre.
Only time will tell whether auctions, as we knew them pre-pandemic, may have irreversibly changed - like so many office blocks, car showrooms or the local high street – very possibly forever. Or will normal auction service be resumed sooner, later or never? You will decide. RH-E

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Mecum sale of 411 cars in 80% sold 3-Day Drive-Through at Monterey for $55.7m (£40.1m) was auctioneers’ Daytime Best Seller

Mecum Auctions has been holding its annual Daytime Auction in Monterey during the global market sales month since 2009, and this year’s return to the Del Monte Golf Course in the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa marked the volume auction house’s most successful Monterey auction to date.
As a total of 519 vehicles crossed the block throughout three auction days, Aug 12-14, 411 cars hammered sold for an exceptional sell-through rate of 80% and total overall sales of $57.4m (£40.1m). All 10 of the auction’s top-selling vehicles eclipsed seven figures with the top slot claimed by a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari that brought $3.41m (£2.46m).
There are very few vehicles that can hold a candle to a 131-mile Rosso Corsa LaFerrari, but the remaining top sellers at Mecum’s Monterey auction all boasted fiery flames of their own. Ferraris and Shelbys dominated, claiming seven seats among the top 10 sales list.
CSX 3045, a celebrated Semi Competition Cobra that is one of just 29 built, took the second seat in top sales bringing in $2.86m (£2.06m), and the Ford Special Project, Codename: Daisy - a 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept Car - came in next selling for $2.64m (£1,9m).
The three remaining Ferraris to land top 10 seats included a 1966 275 GTB/6C Long Nose that sold for $2.64m (£1.9m), a 1965 500 Superfast that brought $1.88m (£1.35m) and a 1963 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta Scaglietti that achieved $1.76m (£1.23m), and the lone remaining Shelby on the list, a 1965 GT350R Fastback brought $1.27m (£914k).
Other marques to make an appearance in top sales included Duesenberg and Porsche, with a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible-Sedan achieving a final sale of $2.37m (£1.71m), a 2015 Porshe 918 Spyder Weissach selling for $1.6m (£1.15m) and a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT reaching $1.21m (£871k).
Another hit with bidders at the Daytime Auctions in Monterey was Serial No.1 of just 350 2022 Acura NSX Type S slated for production. The yet-to-be-built car was offered with all proceeds to benefit charity—including the Center for Science and Industry, and an innovative STEAM education program for under-served youth—and it ultimately achieved a final sale price of $1.1m (£792k), far exceeding its base mid-estimate of $171,495 (£123,476).
Similarly, a 2002 Triumph Scrambler 1200 ‘Steve McQueen Edition’ crossed the Monterey auction block with proceeds to benefit the Boys Republic non-profit youth-treatment community. Both bike and charitable cause were well-received by the crowds in Monterey, and the lot achieved a final sale of $55,000 (£39,600), more than three times its $16,400 (£11,808) base price.
Other notable motorcycle salesi at these sales in Monterey included a 1953 Vincent Black Shadow that sold for $148,500 (£106,920), a 1914 Harley-Davidson Model 10F 2-Speed that sold for $101,200 (£72,864) and a 1917 Henderson 4-Cylinder Racer that brought $100,100 (£72,072).
Private collection offerings are a highlight at nearly every Mecum auction, and Monterey 2021 featured a top-shelf selection from ‘Big Al’s Collection’ of 84 cars, engines, motorcycles and more achieved total sales of $12.05m (£8.7m), and the more modestly sized Don Wallace Collection of six stunning collector vehicles saw all six hammer-sold for an aggregate $2.2m (£1.58m).
2021 Mecum Daytime Auctions ‘Top Ten’ at the Del Monte Golf Course –
1.2014 Ferrari LaFerrari $3,410,000 (£2,455,200)
2.1967 Shelby 427 'Semi Competition' Cobra $2,860,000 (£2,059,200)
3.2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept $2,640,000 (£1,900,800)
4.1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Long Nose $2,640,000 (£1,900,800)
5.1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Sedan $2,365,000 (£1,702,800)
6.1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast $1,875,000 (£1,350,000)
7.1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta Scaglietti  $1,760,000 (£1,267,200)
8.2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach $1,595,000 (£1,148,400)
9.1965 Shelby GT350R Fastback $1,265,000 (£910,800)
10.2004 Porsche Carrera GT $1,210,000 (£871,200)
By volume, these noisy ‘Mecum Drive Throughs’ were by far the largest of the Californian sales and a Free World away from the consequences of a dangerously speedy execution by an incompetent Biden of The Donald's capitulating deal with the bearded ones to pull out US troops from Afghanistan, which has gifted Kabul to the victors in their Japanese Pick-Ups.
After all, helicopters on TV ferrying the losing side from the roof of an American embassy in Saigon also held the front pages in 1975, when the Viet Cong liberated South Vietnam to inflict the most crushing defeat in US military history.
This object lesson of the relatively recent past however, albeit now 46 years and many movies ago, plus consigning the horror of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 to the 'old news archives', and failing to find any 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' in a defeated Iraq in 2006, have all been responsible for there now being majority indifference by US (and UK) voters to wasting more service lives in foreign adventures, even at the expense of abandoning upholding women’s rights in the world's most productive terrorst breeding ground.
Whilst facilitating the new all-male regime's access to all that Afghan lithium, which they can flog to the Chinese Communist Party's battery manufacturers, may also have been an extremely costly mistake for increasingly electric vehicle dependant democracies.
Although entirely understandably, capturing a frisky Mustang for the right price in Montana, and being able to source cheap petroleum to fuel same, will become more of a priority for consumers of muscular automobiles in the once Wild West than trying to change the other side of the world. RH-E

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26 year old 1995 McLaren F1 road car sets $20.5m (£14.7m) auction record for model on Gooding stage at Pebble Beach

The official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Company, made a memorable return to the live auction stage, setting numerous world records and realizing a grand total of $107,045,410 (£77,072,695) at the 17th year for its revered Pebble Beach Auctions.
Once all the numbers from the 2021 Monterey sales were crunched together, some $343m (£242m) worth of collector automobiles changed hands, 37% up from the total sold in 2019 Monterey auction week, when there were buyers for only 59% of cars offered in 2019 compared to 80% this year.
The true extent of how much achieved prices for much the same sort of cars have inflated has been highlighted by the overall average price paid per auction lot on the Monterey Peninsula in 2021 amounting to $443k (£310k) compared to $335k (£241k) back in 2019, only two years ago!
Over the course of the Friday 13 and Saturday 14 August 2021 sales, while 17 cars were unsold at Gooding, 13% of the total, 115 or 87% of the 132 cars crossing the stage did sell for an average price of $930,829 (£670,197). Four of those lots were among the top ten sales across all of car week, with the first and second most valuable cars being sold by the auction house.
After last year’s hiatus with most trad live sales locked down and held on the distanced internet, enthusiasm and anticipation for this year’s event by real people in salerooms was at an all-time high, and the weekend kicked off with a record-setting series of sales on Friday evening. A sleek red 1992 Ferrari F40 from the collection of Donald L. Weber achieved $2,892,500 (£2,082,600), setting a new world record price at auction for an F40.
Additional stunners from the Weber estate excited the audience, with the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 raking in a hefty $3,662,500 (£2,637,000), and the robust collection garnered an overall 100% sales rate. The evening continued with the sale of a pristine, show-quality 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, which sold for $1,902,500 (£1,369,800) and set a new world record for a Miura P400 at auction.
The crowd in the packed marquee cheered excitedly as celebrated auctioneer Charlie Ross presented ‘Fan Favorites’, including an elegant 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, selling for a remarkable $3,085,000 (£2,221,200).
Heads were turned by the gorgeously vibrant Tricolore livery of the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, which achieved a final selling figure of $10,840,000 (£7,804,800), the second highest price of the week.
The star of the show, and all of car week in entirety, was surely the unparalleled, time-capsule 1995 McLaren F1, which set a world record auction price for the model at $20,465,000 (£14,734,800).
Tensions were high across the tent as bidders and spectators witnessed automotive history written in front of their very eyes with this historic sale. Notably, the F1 also made headlines as the most valuable car sold at auction this year. The monumental evening closed out with yet another captivating bidding war with the record-setting sale of the 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300 SD. The car achieved $156,800 (£112,896), a figure triple that of the estimated value, unsurprisingly turning most heads in the room. 
Saturday’s auction kept up the momentum with yet another set of incredible valuations, which included the 1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe, which brought in $3,965,000 (£2,854,800), and the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet, which achieved $4,405,000 (£3,171,600).
An iconic 1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat also crossed the block with a selling price of $2,920,000 (£2,102,400), setting a world record for any Stutz ever sold at auction - but then the US stock market has ascended to unprecedented heights and milllions more dollars have yet to find an inflation-resistant home.
Gooding & Company also held the honor of selling the collection of the late and great Neil Peart, the world-renowned lyricist and drummer for Rush. In an endearing and bittersweet moment, the crowd witnessed his “Silver Surfers” presented on stage, embodying Mr. Peart’s deep passion for collector cars. 
The star car of the second day’s auction was undoubtedly the 1929 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix, which made a grand entrance on stage through the enthralling roar of its engine. Selling for a world record auction price of $5,615,000 (£4,604,300), this historic Grand Prix-winning veteran stole the show with its unmatched pedigree and provenance.
The 92 year old show-stopper was also decorated with designations at the official Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on the Sunday, being awarded with the Chairman’s Trophy presented by Sandra Button.
“It was beyond a pleasure and joy to return to the live stage with our expert auctioneer Charlie Ross and present an exceptionally stellar collection of cars this year,” said Gooding & Company President and Founder, David Gooding.
“We were so grateful to see everyone and welcome their patronage, while reminding them what a Gooding & Company auction is all about: distinct quality, full integrity, and true showmanship.”
For throughout the weekend, the auction house captured the attention of many more absentee viewers who tuned in to witness the magic of Atlantic hopping auctioneer Charlie Ross as he masterfully conducted the successful sale of 115 cars.
The Pebble Beach Auctions also brought in an unprecedented number of internet bidders taking part in the action via the company’s digital platform. From the multiple world records set, to a return to the good old days of a traditional Gooding full house, with ‘live’ viewing of a top-of-the-line selection of collector cars from all periods catering for all preferences,
Their 17th running of their Pebble Beach Auctions certainly shifted some heavy metal and clocked up some quite extraordinary headline results which are listed below. RH-E

Gooding & Co ‘New World Auction Record Quintet’ - 1995 McLaren F1, sold for $20,465,000 (£14,734,800) -record for the model, 1929 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix, sold for $5,615,000 (£4,042,800) - record for the model, 1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat, sold for $2,920,000 (£2,102,400) - record for the marque, 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, sold for $1,902,500 (£1,369,800) - record for the model and 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300 SD, sold for $156,800 (£112,896) - record for the model
.
Gooding & Co ‘Over $1m Club’ - 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, sold for $10,840,000 (£7,804,800); 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet, sold for $4,405,000 (£3,171,600); 1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe, sold for $3,965,000 (£2,854,800); 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, sold for $3,662,500 (£2,637,000); 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT, sold for $3,305,000 (£2,379,600); 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, sold for $3,085,000 (£2,221,200); 1992 Ferrari F40, sold for $2,892,500 (£2,082,600); 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series II Coupe Aerodinamico, sold for $2,535,000 (£1,825,200); 1910 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Pullman Limousine, sold for $2,535,000 (£1,825,200); 1980 Porsche 935 K3, sold for $1,930,000 (£1,389,600); 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, sold for $1,792,500 (£1,290,600); 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS, sold for $1,765,000 (£1,270,800); 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach, sold for $1,682,500 (£1,211,400); 1953 Siata 208 CS, sold for $1,627,500 (£1,171,800); 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, sold for $1,490,000 (1,072,800); 1986 March 86C, sold for $1,435,000 (£1,033,200); 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, sold for $1,325,000 (£954,000); 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, sold for $1,325,000 (£954,000); 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra, sold for $1,160,000 (£835,200); 1964 Porsche 356 C Carrera 2 Cabriolet, sold for $1,039,000 (£748,080).

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$9.5m (£6.85m) Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato heads 91% sold RM Sotheby’s Monterey sales where 146 cars sell for $148.5m (£107m)

RM Sotheby’s flagship auction in California grossed an auction week and weekend topping $148,528,300 (£106,793,496) in total sales 12-14 August, when over three nights a market-reassuring 91 percent of all lots sold.
Following covid restricted 2020, the preview exhibition and sales at the Monterey Conference Center were well attended, resulting in bidders from 34 countries with 20% representing new to house clients.
The 2021 edition of these sales featured numerous blue-chip automobiles at multi-million-dollar estimates. In total, 44 lots exceeded $1,000,000 (£720,000), 16 lots exceeded $3,000,000 (£2,160,000) and 4 lots exceeded $5,000,0000 (£3,600,000) over the course of the three nights.
The opening session kicked off with the presentation of The Paul Andrews Estate Collection, offered almost entirely without reserve, totaled $34,439,000 (£24,796,080) with 25 of the 26 lots finding new homes,  led by the stunning 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato (image above by Ben Majors c2021 courtesy of RM Sotheby’s).
One of only 19 DB4GT Zagatos built and ordered new with numerous unique features specified by the original owner, one of the most collectable of Aston Martins achieved $9,520,000 (£6,660,000), proving to be the top seller of the night and overall top selling lot of the three days.
Another highlight of the Thursday's collection-dedicated event was one of the oldest cars in the Andrews motor house, the beautifully restored 1929 Duesenberg Model J ‘Butterfly’ Dual-Cowl Phaeton, which sold above the high estimate for $3,305,000 (£2,379,600). Also selling above its high estimate was the collection 1965 Aston DB5 Convertible for $3,195,000 (£2,300,400), far higher than in the EU or UK, where most AM DB prices fell during pandemic.
The two other lots to round off the top three sellers in Monterey were the 1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi and 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione, both of which were offered on the second night of the sale, when seven of the top 10 most valuable lots to sell were Ferraris, the lure of the best examples of Maranello marque being stronger than ever in California.
The 268 SP by Fantuzzi was a Scuderia Ferrari Works entry for the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, and also a Factory racing and development car for the mid-engine V-8 configuration that became integral to the evolution of the Ferrari P-car series cars.
Of the six produced, this is the only original example remaining that is fitted with the larger 8-cylinder engine. It is Ferrari Classiche Certified with the original Fantuzzi “shark-nose” body configuration, boasts matching-numbers throughout and has had only two private owners since 1969. One of the most desirable competition Ferraris in the world, it sold for $7,705,000 (£5,547,600).
The 275 GTB Competizione is the 11th of 12 examples built featuring a 250 LM-type dry-sump Tipo 213 competition engine, thin-gauge aluminum alloy coachwork, and an extensive use of lightweight components. Campaigned by Scuderia Filipinetti; one of four factory-supported privateer teams, the car is a three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans entrant in 1967, 1968, and 1969, a class winner at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1969 1000 KM of Spa-Francorchamps, and 1969 500 KM of Imola.
Like the 268 SP, and representing the peak of blue-chip, competition Ferraris from the 1960s, this exceptional Ferrari matched the 268 SP by also selling for $7,705,000 (£5,547,600).
Another standout competition Ferrari was a 1958 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Scaglietti, a two-time competitor at the Tour de France in 1958 and 1959, driven by privateer racer Jacques Peron, who specified its light-blue-over-Havana livery. Achieving 4th overall in the 1958 Tour de France and 6th at the Monza Lottery in 1959, enviable period history, the Ferrari achieved $6,000,000 (£4,320,000).
The sale also saw exceptional results with the 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra Works, which brought $4,130,000 (£2,973,600) after being driven across the auction block by Peter Miles, son of legendary racing driver Ken Miles, while the pristine 1995 Ferrari F50 achieved an impressive $3,965,000 (£4,320,000).
The third day of the sale also saw an incredible single-owner collection of supercars. Offered entirely without reserve, The Fox Collection featured some of the world’s most desirable modern era supercars and hypercars, all boasting unique or rare specifications.
Again, Ferraris were star features within the Collection, and it was the 2003 Ferrari Enzo, one of two cars delivered in a Nero-and-Cuoio combo, which proved to be the top lot, bringing $3,360,000 (£2,419,200).
The 2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring resulted in an outstanding $1,600,000 (£1,152,000), breaking the record for Japanese road cars (excluding charity lots). While of the 11 cars offered from The Fox Collection, eight secured a final price beyond their pre-sale estimate.
Another lot to excite significant pre-sale interest was the 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, a US-spec Miura with an incredible history having been hidden away in a California Bay Area warehouse for over four decade. A unique time capsule, it had been driven fewer than 16,000 miles. Recently guided through a no-expenses-spared, but sensitive revitalization, with the aim of keeping it as authentic as possible, the Miura offered a once in a lifetime opportunity for one lucky new owner who secured it for $2,095,000 (£1,508,400).
Additional records were broken throughout the auction as the 1995 Ferrari F50 sold for $3,965,000 (£2,854,800), the 1994 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport for $2,755,000 (£1,983,600), and the 1991 Jaguar XJR-15 for $1,902,500 (£1,369,800), all record prices for the models. The 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R was also an auction record for the R33 generation Nissan Skyline, selling for $235,200 (£181,584).
Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s said: “This is another landmark sale for RM Sotheby’s, as we achieved a sale total that ranks in the top three best Monterey auctions of all time. We pulled together a three-night sale featuring some of the most significant cars to be found anywhere in the world.
“Above all, this week has demonstrated that the market is as strong today as it has ever been, with collector-grade cars finding willing new buyers from all over the globe. We have also proven, once again, how high-quality cars can be offered without reserve and achieve record results, as demonstrated with many lots in this sale.”
After three days, 146 of 161 cars that crossed the auction block did sell, a 91% sale rate, and only 15 cars did not -  most notably the $16-18.5m (£11.5-13.3m) estimated and UK ownd 1970 Porsche 917 in Gulf colours that famously starred in the Steve McQueen Le Mans movie, but which ran out of track with an insuffcient $15,000,000 (£10,800,000) on the auctions screen.
RM Sotheby's 2021 Monterey sales total nonetheless soared to a premium-inclusive $148,324,300 (£106,793,496), which, even with all major economies printing more money like confetti, is a huge amount of dollars and the average of £731,462 spent per car bought is a momentous valuations stat.
For despite the best efforts of the wall-to-wall Bad News Channels, and the electrification tsunami now on this side of the horizon that threatens to extinguish fossil-fuelled entertainment, the Monterey 2021 auctions figures were an extraordinary vote of confidence in at least the immediate future of the collector vehicle sector. RH-E

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Bonhams £26m results with 4 record auction prices during annual Californian sales confirms continued strength of world’s largest market

A Supercharged Pre-War Mercedes Sports car was the top lot in Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction Friday 13 August, far exceeding its estimate of $3,000,000-4,000,000 (£2,160,000-2,880,000) to sell for a way over forecast $5,395,000 (£3,884,400).
One of a clutch of market-making auctions that take place in California each August, the international auction house’s annual Carmel sale was certainly a powerful global magnet, with more than 800 registered bidders participating from 38 countries.
By the end of the afternoon on the Lodge and Gold Club’s West Field, the auction had achieved an 89% sell-through rate with 124 of the 139 cars in the glossy catalogue selling for a premium-inclusive sale total of $36,877,800 (£26,552,016).
Offered from more than 50 years of private family ownership, the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180 S-Type Supercharged Sports Tourer carries a reputation as the ‘acme of motor car perfection.’ It was one of just 146 examples of the firm’s flagship automobile built between 1927 and 1930 and engineered by Ferdinand Porsche.
Described by Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Motoring Director and auctioneer of the sale, as “one of the legendary cars, far ahead of others of its time.” The S-Type, was the subject of a competitive battle from bidders around the world, in the saleroom, on the phones, and on-line.
This incredible car remarkably had been bought ‘sight unseen’ for $15,000 (£10,800) by the vendor’s father in 1964. Four years later, he commissioned an extensive restoration, with a distinctive two-tone colour scheme which it would wear for fifty years.
During this period, it was pressed into service for the ‘school run’, as well as winning prestigious concours and competing in road rallies, most recently the Colorado Grand in 2015.
The car was handed down in 2016 to his children, who decided to repaint it in a striking raven hue, accented simply by its copper brake drums and chrome accessories. The Bonhams’ Quail Lodge Auction was the very first time the car was seen publicly in this guise.
Following closely in the S-Type’s tyre tracks were two automobiles from the Art Deco era.
A two-toned 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Cabriolet Décapotable sold for $1,875,000 (£1,350,000). One of only four of its kind fitted with bodywork created by leading coachbuilders Figoni et Falaschi and previously sold by the auction house in 2006, this Talbot-Lago achieved four and a half times the price it fetched fifteen years ago!
A second phenomenal result from a post-war-era vehicle came from the 1952 Ferrari 212 Europa Cabriolet, coachwork by Carrozzeria Ghia, which sold for $1,820,000 (£1,310,400).This 1952 Geneva and Torino Auto Show car was Ferrari-Classiche Red Book certified and retained matching numbers.
Fourth in the results, an end of the run 1992 Ferrari F40 with still original bodywork and Classiche certification fetched a forecast $1,600,000 (£1,152,000).
Fifth in the top ten, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe sold for $1,710,000 (£1,231,200), $200,000 over guide, strong for a non Rudge-wheels Gullwing. Delivered new to Southern California, this vehicle was in single-family ownership for 40 years, from 1979-2019, restored and maintained by Steve Marx and Hjeltness Restoration.
In sixth place, an Autodelta works team car from the 1975 World Championship winning season, a 1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12, selling for $1,677,000 (£1,207,440), a world record for a Tipo 33 Alfa.
Then came three AC Cobras, a 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra, formerly owned by Le Mans 24 Hour winner Didier Pironi and converted to 427 S/C specification, sold for $1,050,000 (£756,000), the lower estimate. A 1964 Cobra 289 with original chassis, body, engine and transmission from single family ownership of 45 years made the required $995,900 (£716,400) and the same was available for a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 with 7-litre ‘Big Block’.
In tenth place, believed to be the London Motor Show Stand 1934 Riley MPH 2-Seater Sports, the first of fifteen chassis built and a recent concours winner, sold for  $967,500 (£696,600), within the estimate band and one of four world auction record prices for models.
Among them, a 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S, a Type 993, sold for $654,000 (£470,880) and a circa 1928 Pedroso Roadster for $296,500 (£213,480).
15 lots did not sell under the hammer though and were still available in a house e-newsletter, led by a 1967 Ford GT40 MkIV. One of only 10 such MkIVs manufactured in period, when tested by Mario Andretti, GT40 chassis JP-9 had beenestimated to cost a new owner $3.0m-3.5m (£2.2m-2.5m).
A 1992 33ft Airstream Model 34 Limited Excella Travel Trailer ordered new by Tom Hanks to the actor’s own specification and signed by him, sold for $235,200. The Airstream led a four-vehicle collection which was 100% sold.
The movie star's customised, fully-restored and autographed 1980 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser achieved a stellar $123,200 (£88,704), while a 2010 Ford F-450 Super Duty Pick-Up, which towed the Airstream to the various movie shoot locations, made $84,000 (£60,480). His high-performance 2015 Tesla Model S P85D also made a suitably electrifying $67,200 (£48,384).
Jakob Greisen, Bonhams Head of US Motoring, commented, “We were delighted to have returned to Monterey Week and to have welcomed our clients back to our saleroom. We are thrilled and proud of these results which prove there is nothing like a live auction.”
Bonhams Motoring in the US is currently consigning for the Audrain Newport Auction taking place October 1 in Newport, Rhode Island, where the sale will offer an exclusive 'Boutique Selection' of collectors’ automobiles, reflecting Motor Week’s theme of History, Luxury & Sport. RH-E

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XK150SE 3.8 Drophead sells for £88k to head 91% sold Brightwells internet auction during which 137 classics sell for over £1.3m

151 collector vehicles could be physically inspected within the Herefordshire auctioneers ‘Classic Garage’ viewing units at Leominster, where after their time ran-out during Thursday evening 5 August absentee i-bidders had spent £1,340,500, an average of £9,785 with premium.
There were 108 bids recorded for a 1939 Daimler Light Straight Eight E4 Charlesworth Saloon project with fire damaged interior taken on for £13,927.
An equally noteworthy 94 bids meanwhile were logged before a 1920 Ford Model T from The Automobile Magazine’s ‘Oily Rag Collection’ with really rare Saloon coachwork by Ball of Birmingham was virtually hammered for £11,274.
The oldest No Reserve lot from the Automobile mechanical archive to sell was a 1908 Franklin Model G Tourer that had been off the road since 1910 and preserved for 111 years before being contested by 62 bids and eventually selling for £25,025.
Whereas one of the youngest items to be dispersed from the mag’s vaults was a diminutive 1958 vintage Berkeley 328 Excelsior 4-Wheeler Sports, for which a winning bid of 58 posted paid £4,675, a good buy for a microcar enthusiast. 100% of the publication’s ancient relics sold out to a global audience.
Other noteworthy classics to change owners at this, the auctioneers fifth such on-line auction buying and selling opportunity included an upgraded 1969 Jaguar E Type S2 4.2 Manual Roadster with factory hardtop from ten years vendor ownership bought for £71,632, more than £51,000 over guide.
A 1966 E Type S1 2+2 Coupe, restored and converted from auto to manual in South Africa during the 1990s, fetched £41,800 in the 2020s, top estimate money, despite being a visual candidate for repainting.
A 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth ‘Big Turbo’ with 57,613 mileage made the required £55,550, at least double what it would have made only five short years ago.
A freshly recommissioned 1972 Jensen Interceptor III from 32 years ownership, “never used in the wet” apparently, sold for £49,904, the lower estimate. While a 1934 Alvis Silver Eagle TE 19.82 that had been an open-top Special for 50 years raised a higher than forecast £34,650, and a 1970 Morgan 4/4 with 1700cc Ford crossflow in receipt of a factory-supplied galvanised chassis pro-transplant cost the next keeper £25,696.
A restored 1953 Jowett Jupiter Jupiter 1500 Roadster needing minor jobs plus the fitting of new inner wings to finish went to a new home for £25,520, and an 8,000 miles since restored 1973 Triumph Stag Roadster with original V8 was acquired for £14,688, £5,000 more than the lower estimate.
The performance of a one woman owned since 1997 Mercedes-Benz E320 Type A124 Cabrio of 1994-manufacture was particularly bullish. Market-correctly estimated at £11,000-14,000, and with AMG body-kit, the 88,000 miler was valued by the next keeper at £26,923.
Classic BMWs have always had a strong following as they can still be employed for daily driving, two of them comfortably beating their estimates, a 1995 BMW M5 (E34) 4-Door with 90k miles romping to £20,350, while a 1974 BMW 2002Tii with around 70k miles made £17,435.
By way of contrast, a much rarer, but rather less usable 1959 BMW 501 V8 fell some £9k short of its £28k low estimate, no doubt being further hampered by a few cosmetic issues and UK-unfriendly Left-Hand Drive.  
Even though LHD, too, a 1962 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII BT7 on wires with hardtop on the other hand in useable and to improve condition was snapped up for £27,500.
TVRs still pull at auction, two successfully transacting, although it was puzzling that a face-lift 1999 Chimaera 400 4.0 with 56k miles made rather more than the rarer and more powerful ex-promo 1998 Chimaera 500 5.0 V8 with 77k miles - £14,850 and £11,495 respectively. Admittedly the 400 was slightly better cosmetically, but the 500 did seem something of a bargain by comparison.
Also well bought was an apparently cosmetically smart 1955 Ford Zephyr Six Convertible with power hood from 30-year ownership, which went for below the £20k reserve at £16,500.
A 1993 Bentley Continental R also looked like a lot of car for £19,800 although it had covered an unusually high 150k mileage. Whereas a tidy 1952 Bentley MkVI ‘Big-Bore’ Saloon in a rather ‘Marmite’ Gold/Brown colour scheme fetched £27,500.  
An even rather primitive in 1911 AC Sociable 3-Wheeler that had done the 2017 Banbury Run also did well at £14,972, while a 1935 Austin 7 LWB ‘Ulster Replica’ and a Primrose 1932 Austin 7 Chummy for four small persons with a later Ruby chassis both made £11,000 apiece.
Analysis of the 91% of cars that did transact successfully shows that 18% had been consiged Without Reserves, and were going to sell anyway. Whilst 34% sold for within their pre-sale estimate bands and 15% went for more than top estimate prices, whereas 33% of vendors were prepared to accept below estimate returns, presumably below Reserve. Only 9% of cars offered on the website meanwhile did not sell before the sale and stats became historic.
In addition, all but two of the 14 motorbikes on offer were successfully sold, top price going to an Automobile mag entered 1921 ABC 398cc TT, which made £8,421, while a nicely original 1952 Sunbeam S8 fetched £4,370.
A pair of otherwise fairly unremarkable Japanese machines virtually doubled their estimates, a 1997 Kawasaki KE100 raising £2,910 and a 2000 Honda CB600F £3,150, the explanation being that both had been owned from new by Pink Floyd drummer and legendary car collector, Nick Mason.
The next Brightwells Classic auction, in the same format with viewing on-site by appointment and buying/selling on-line only on a timed-out basis, will take place from 7pm 16 September with a closing date for internet cataloguing entries of 3 September.
Nationally, many sale rates, though not all, have been really bullish in recent on-line sales, with buyers meeting vendors’ requirements for 58 or 87% of the 67 cars auctioned during July on The Market by Bonhams platform, whereas there were also buyers for an even more impressive 89 or UK-leading 95% of the 94 cars driven past LiveBid viewers on the latest SWVA webcast from Poole.
For whilst huge numbers of classic cars are being auctioned in saleroom and on net - numerically more than ever before and, thus far, with absolutely no sign of vendor shortages – perhaps surprisingly in an increasingly green regime, there are still nearly the same number of buyers with devalued money prepared to bid for and buy such an extraordinarily high percentage of them. RH-E

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£163k Audi Ur-Quattro 20v and £146k Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V1 Makinen among 4 world record auction prices paid at Silverstone Classic

In their eleventh year as official auction partner at what was the 30th Anniversary staging of The Silverstone Classic weekend, Silverstone Auctions sold 70% of the 127 cars in The Wing for £6,628,188, the average premium-inclusive price paid by the buyers of the 89 collector cars bought at the two sales amounting to £74,485.
The £950,000 or more sought for a front of rostrum parked Porsche 911 Type 964 Turbo S ‘Leichtbau’, supplied new to Japan in 1993, and the £700,000-800,000 suggested for a 1973 911 Carrera 2.7 RS ‘Touring’ Porsche were not forthcoming however.
Although during the Saturday 31 July sessio, a very late production 1991 Audi UR Quattro 20-Valve RR, possibly the very last made and driven only 9,654 warranted miles by two owners, finally came down to a battle between a bidder in the very well attended saleroom versus another contestant on one of several telephones, until umpire Jonathan Humbert's gavel determined that the winner in the seats had paid an applauded world model record £163,125 with premium. More than double the £75,000 lower estimate.
There was then some more "wow" when the 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI ‘Tommi Makinen Edition’ UK-spec chassis 001, driven 11,000 miles by two owners, speedily overtook its £115,000-125,000 guide to sell to a telephone bidder versus the room for £146,250. Heady stuff.
While earlier on Day One, a freshly Pre-Delivery VW Dealer inspected 2002 vintage Golf GTi 25th Anniversary, with an unrepeatable 8 miles on the odometer, was auctioned Without Reserve for a record £38,250.
Whereas on the Sunday, a telephone bidder needed £31,500 to own the former Patrick Collection 1983 Golf GTi 1.8 Cabrio with 11,861 mileage that had been pre-sale estimated at £20,000-25,000.
While a fifth owner had to pay the same money for an unregistered since 1990 Mini Cooper RSP, one of 1050 that stayed in the UK, mainly preserved in climate-controlled storage and only driven 39.9 delivery miles during four tenancies. This was another record valuation for the model.
A £55,000-65,000 guided Ford Sierra RS Cosworth ‘original’, that had been Channel Islands dealer serviced 16 times in 30,279 miles from new in 1987, fetched a surely very healthy £73,125. Whereas £63,000 was required to secure a £38,000-45,000 1985 Escort RS Turbo S1 that had been driven a mere 14,829 miles in 36 years.
One of The Three Wise and very Grand Tourists, Richard Hammond, plus Discovery+TV crew, were present to record the 100% dispersal of three of his cars and five of his classic bikes, all of which were auctioned Without Reserve and raised £231,525 with premium, their proceeds being employed to fund his The Smallest Cog restoration venture in Herefordshire.
A circa 47,000 mile 1999 Lotus Esprit Sport 350 fit for a high speed Hamster found £65,250 from a fan in the room, his 1970 Model Year and apparently unmolested Porsche 911T lefty sold to an internet mouse for £60,750, and his 1959 Bentley S2 with previously refurbished bodywork for £32,625 to another absentee player on a phone.
After a modern Ford GT supplied in left-hand drive in the UK in 2018, since when it has only done 648 miles, had failed to inspire buying bids anywhere near the £540,000-580,000 sought, a 1997 Porsche 911 993 3.8 RSR Carrera Cup, one of 45 produced for Endurance Racing, became the weekend’s top performer selling for £652,500 with premium.
A 2010 911 997.2 GT2 RS driven 2,464 miles by two owners was bought by a third for a forecast £306,000.
A racey-looking Alfa Romeo 1900 ATL Barchetta 2-Seater, that started life as a Berlina Saloon in 1952 and had been open-topped in 1959, made a cool £202,500.
Much-viewed, a ‘Barn Discovered’ Porsche 356C 1600 Super, upgraded with a Super 90 motor by AFN on delivery in the UK in 1966, had gathered dust for decades before being taken on here for £69,750, more than double the top  estimate.
Used and signed pairs of F1 drivers race gloves, donated by Mercedes-AMG Petronas and worn by Lewis Hamilton and Valteri Bottas during the Spanish GP in 2021, were auctioned for £3,600 and £1,080 respectively, their proceeds benefiting official charity partner Alzheimer’s Research UK.
The three-day sale opened with a dedicated motorcycle auction Friday 30 July, a first for Silverstone Auctions Classic menu, which saw 62 classic bikes cross the block with 70% selling, including a 2018 Brough Superior SS100, ridden just 74 miles from new, sold for £31,950, and a restored 1975 Kawasaki Z1 B in correct Candy Super Blue for £16,875. Much earlier was a 1925 Sunbeam Model 5 'Light Solo' which changed sheds for £10,125.
The world’s biggest classic motor racing festival meanwhile, consisting of 900+ competing cars taking part in 21 retro-races, plus a celebratory convoy of 375 Triumph Stags circulating the GP circuit, took place on track and campus right outside the saleroom windows.
Inside the futuristic F1 pits building, over £7m worth of collector cars, bikes and automobilia changed hands during the 3-day weekend sales, after which 89 classics sold and 38 did not before a tradtional 'live' auction audience.
Silverstone Auctions final trio of sales of the 2021 auction year will take place at The NEC Classic Motor Show over the 12-14 November weekend in Birmingham. Before that though, Silverstone’s CCA subsidiary have a Saturday 25 September sale at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. RH-E

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Largest sale in Historics 10 year history sees 201 lots cross block during £3.3m garden party at auctioneers’ 100-acre Windsor Lakeside site

After 670 attendees had checked out the 183 classics for sale during three of viewing, and to the sonorous accompaniment of The Candy Girls, 124 changes of ownership and a 68% sale rate were achieved during the Saturday 17 July sale day when an average of £24,896 was spent per car bought.
Although ‘live’ attendance had returned in tandem with the progressively double-jab population, 670 surfers from 27 countries registered to bid on-line, buying 62 lots, 29% of consignments sold.
A below estimate £130,900 was accepted for a UK right-hand drive 1991 Ferrari Testarossa with full set of unused Schedoni luggage, the sale’s top-seller that had been guided at £138,000-160,000, and £61,050 with premium bought a 1989 Testarossa estimated at £65,000-72,000. Whereas the required £82,500 was forthcoming for a 1998 F355 GTS manual for which £78,000-88,000 had been sought.
Griffith Motorcar Co of North Carolina confirmed that a 1966 TVR Griffiths 400 was one of only 56 genuine 4.7 V8 GTs produced worldwide. The still matching numbers example sold in Berkshire for a forecast £93,500 with premium.
Earlier in the session, a No Reserve Blackpool-manufactured in 1996 Chimaera Clubman 4.0 V8 Convertible with only 5,799k (3,603 mileage) had been repatriated from Japan to sell below here for £31,000.
Top performing Merc (of 38 in the sale, for which there were buyers for 70%) was an extensively restored 1972 280SE Coupe with 3.5 V8 sold for £91,300, though the catalogue estimate had been £120,000-170,000.
A 1963 220SE Cabrio offered as a project requiring recommissioning was taken on for £55,000, £15,000 more than the top estimate, and a former awards winning 1965 220SE Coupe went for £44,000, close to top estimate.
The highest priced Jaguar E Type, a bumper-less 1967 Series 1 Roadster in Lightweight-spec with 265bhp 4.2 power unit fetched £83,600, mid-estimate money.
Whereas American classics were led by a Best in Class winning 1961 Chevrolet Corvette C1 upgraded with six pot Willwood disc brakes and independent coil-over adjustable front suspension which went for £80,300, way over the £59,000-68,000 estimate.
A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible packing 5.1 V8 made a mid-estimate £32,725.
Fast Ford values were headed by a Type 49 re-shelled 1970 Escort Twin Cam Mk1 sporting a quartet of rally lamps which raised a more than forecast £51,700.
The 1980 Ford Escort RS2000 ‘Custom’, cover-featured on the January 2014 issue of Retro Cars Modified Classic Mags, sold for a mid-estimate £49,500 and a more than estimated £21,725 was paid for a 1985 Capri 2.8i, apparently in good all round condition after 70,780 miles.
50 marques spanning ten decades were represented on the spacious sale field, the oldest automobile to change hands beneath the Heathrow flightpath being a 111 year old Cadillac Model 30 from the brass era with VCC 1910 dating certificate, for which a forecast £33,000 was forthcoming.
By contrast, a very Lake Como 1967 Riva Junior Speed Boat left hooker on period-correct Balbi 2-wheeled trailer, that had been rescued from over-dry storage in the South of France in 1998 and extensively rebuilt in the UK over many years to as good as new condition, was super cool surely for £47,300.
Analysis of classics sold indicates that 33% of them were auctioned Without Reserve and were going to sell anyway, whereas 14 or 11% made more than their top estimates, and 50 or 40% sold for within estimate prices. While below estimate bids were accepted by the auctioneers and their vendors for 19 cars, 15% of those sold, 59 cars, 32% of those offered, were unsold 
The auctioneers next fixture, The Autumn Sale, will be held Saturday 25 September on more regular turf at Ascot Racecourse, the auction itself taking place within the all-weather protected grandstand atrium with all cars viewable inside or displayed on hard-standing around the parade ring. When punter bidding will again be accommodated in-hall, on telephone and on-line. RH-E

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Le Mans Alfa and Royal Aston failed to meet their reserves, but 37 cars sell for £7.3m in biggest grossing sale of month

First past the post during Bonhams long running Festival of Speed fixture under canvas behind Goodwood House was a 1960s-style Ferrari Dino 246/60 F1 Recreation which headed the 60 strong field of auction runners to sell for a forecast £967,000 with premium.
Retro-raced at Monaco and Monza by the Bergamo-based dealer-broker Corrado Cupellini, it was sold together with a spare Dino 246/59-spec chassis, providing the new owner with an opportunity to revive a long-lost Grand Prix racing car
Sharing the podium with the front-engined Historic GP car on a 9 July Friday afternoon in Sussex was a non-catalyst non-adjust Ferrari F40 that had been driven 17,789k by four owners from new in 1990 before selling in the well-dressed auction tent for £883,000, again within the estimate band. The functional Grand Tourer had been personally collected from the Maranello factory by its first keeper, gentleman racer Sir Paul Vestey.
Over £900,000 was sought for a supercharged straight-8 Maserati Tipo 26 B, also from the Cupellini stable. With successful Argentina 1930-1938 racing past, and chassis side rails and engine considered to be “substantially the originals”, the modern-era bodywork for brave pilote and riding mechanic had been recreated most authentically.
After a stream of high bids from £700,000 up to £850,000 from room, phones and internet had been logged in the tent and the car certainly appeared to sell under the gavel with a price posted on the website briefly, the 1928-dated Gran Premio Racer failed to do so. Maserati chassis 35 was soon sold afterwards however for an unpublished price believed to have been close to estimate.
A deceased estate consigned quartet of Ferraris all sold, led by a 1958 250GT, one of 50 bodied by Carrozeria Ellena, albeit for a well below estimate £514,167 with premium, while £379,500 was accepted for a 2005 575M Superamerica that had been catalogue-priced at £450,000 or more.
Finishing 4th after circulating Le Mans for 24 hours in 1972 with Andrea de Adamich and Nino Vaccarella sharing the driving did not help a 1971-manufactured Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT3 3-Litre cross the auctioneers £1,800,000-2,200,000 finishing line after bids on the screen ran out of track at £1,300,000.
Even though Aston Martin DB5 Convertible ‘DPH 5B’ had been first supplied in 1964 to movie star Peter Sellers, before the much photographed occupancy of his friends HRH Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowden, and then raised huge sums for UK children’s charities during eight years of celebrity vendor ownership, bidding was abandoned at just over £900,000 when £1,300,000-1,700,000 had been sought.
But then a 1966 DB5 with lower estimate of £500,000 ran out of bids at £440,000 and a £200,000+ 1935 1½-Litre Mk2 Short Chassis was unsold at £140,000, though an RS Williams 1962 DB4 ‘Series IV’ with non-original Special Series motor and Webasto sunroof did sell for an estimated £327,750, and a £160,000-180,000 estimated 2007 V12 Vanquish S ‘Ultimate’ Coupe with only 10,550 mileage for £155,250.
A left to right factory-converted 1989 V8 Vantage Volante X-Pack 7-Litre could not achieve the £300,000-400,000 suggested, whereas a 1970 DB6 Mk2 Vantage, in receipt of 1980s restoration, raised a more than £220,00 top estimate £258,750 in the room. £124,166 with premium also bought an unrestored 1967 DB6 auto ‘original’ and £102,350 the ex-Lord Macpherson of Drumochter 1967 DB6 Vantage, one of only three DB6 V automatics.
A No Reserve 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition ‘Scissor-Door’ lefty driven a mere 8,044k (4,998m) miles had been predicted to cost £180,000-240,000, but fetched £287,500.
The ex-Riley factory 1936 Grand Prix Team 1½-Litre TT Sprite with Le Mans, French GP and RAC TT race history, was contested on internet and telephone until sold to the latter for the required £207,000.
Temptingly displayed Automobilia preceding the cars generated much interest, with a circa 1909 posh picnic set for six by G W Scott & Sons making a cool £25,250 and a Porsche 917 Junior Child’s Car racing past its top estimate to make a very adult £24,000.
An Ayrton Senna steering-wheel from his 1991 GP season McLaren MP4/6 Honda F1 doubled the pre-sale estimate to sell for £10,200. A 1:15 scale scratch-built model of a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO by Gerard Wingrove for parking on a motor house desk top cost £8,287. £16,100 was paid for the ‘1 CSX’ registration.
With fewer ‘personalities’ and punters present, and much less buzz than at this garden party fixture pre-pandemic, when prices usually rose by the sale and had yet to correct, and when confidence in the sector was far more stable, the reality stats were 37 or 62% of the 60 cars on the carpet sold for £7,343,924, a premium-inclusive average of £198,484 spent per car bought. Both gross and average figures were nonetheless still month-topping.
And although only 8% of sellers made over their top estimates, 49% went for within guide price bands and below lower estimate prices were accepted for another 43% of cars sold. For the auction going at this ‘Special Event’ status and Covid-compliant Goodwood however was certainly soft during over-auctioned July with 23 cars, 38% of the entry, unsold.
Sholto Gilbertson, Director, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, who took the sale, said: “It was great to be back with a live sale at the Festival of Speed and a pleasure to be at the rostrum in front of an enthusiastic audience. We would like to thank the Duke of Richmond and the entire Goodwood team for their support.”
The Bonhams UK Motor Car team return to West Sussex 14 September for their Revival Sale at the Goodwood circuit, where Revivalists will exercise a full range of classics and the market will determine the transacted prices of collector vehicles in their auction tent. RH-E

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Internet-celeb F40 consigned by Podcast and Instagram influencer Sam Moores is first motor to break £1m barrier on UK/EU on-line platform

1989 Ferrari F40, a worldwide social media star due to its ultra-rare blue livery, has sold for £1,000,500 on The Market by Bonhams, the first seven-figure result for an online platform in the UK and Europe.  
Offered by Sam Moores, creator of the popular Car Chat podcast and Instagram star, who commissioned the Aqua Blue metallic paintwork from Carrozzeria Zanasi of Maranello (approved by Ferrari), the Classiche-certified F40 had covered a mere 16,000 miles from new and was sold with its private and so appropriate reg ‘F40 BLU’.
This Ferrari has to be one of the most photographed and socially-shared examples ever. Owned since 2015 by international commercial photographer, Instagrammer, YouTuber, amateur racer, podcaster and self-confessed car nut Sam Moores, who wasn’t even born when the F40 was first launched.
F40BLU has often been seen and snapped at car meets and petrolhead venues up and down the UK. Indeed, so well known has it become, scale models and artworks of it are commercially available. It even has its own Instagram account!
It was first registered upon the shores of Lake Geneva in July 1989 by Ferrari Suisse in Nyon. It is an earlier “non-cat, non-adjustable” example but with wind-up windows rather than the very early sliding ones.
By 2004 it was in Japan and was bought by famous customisers Liberty Walk who, in around 2010, rebodied it into a road going F40 LM and painted it white. Four years later, Joe Macari Performance Cars London acquired the car and offered it for sale.
As a non-standard F40 with a white-painted body-kit, our vendor cut a deal that involved stripping it down, rebuilding it to factory specification and painting it in blue by Carrozzeria Zanasi.
‘Officially’, all F40s left the factory in Rosso Ferrari (red). This one is painted in blue, but you won’t find this particular shade on any Ferrari colour chart, as it is based on Porsche’s Aqua Blue Metallic.
Purists may not approve, of course, but thousands of fans out there in social media land think it looks fantastic and more faithful to the type than its previous ‘Liberty Walk’ incarnation.
Shod with the correct 17-inch Speedline light-alloy wheels fitted with type-appropriate Pirelli P-ZERO tyres, it was annually maintained and serviced in the Joe Macari Ferrari workshops, most recently in June after being driven 25.975k.
Stored professionally when not in use, F40BLU has regularly been on camera.  You only have to search ‘F40BLU’ and you’ll find numerous articles, videos and photos of the car to show that it has been owned and enjoyed by a true supercar enthusiast. Having had several years of great fun with the car, the podcaster felt that it was time to move it on.
The virtual hammer eventually fell after a four-way bidding battle drove the price past the seven-figure mark in the final hour of the seven-day continuous online auction. The F40 is the first million-pound motor car to be sold on The Market by Bonhams, which claims to be the fast-growing online marketplaces for classic and collectable car and motorcycle auctions.  
Only founded in Oxfordshire in 2016, The Market has performed strongly and rapidly, selling vehicles with a total value of £13m in 2020 and increasing its turnover by almost 300% compared to 2019. It was acquired by Bonhams in April this year. 
Tristan Judge, Director, The Market by Bonhams, told C.A.R: “We are thrilled with this result. Not surprisingly, the F40 was the subject of a lot of attention and activity, with 15 bidders submitting a total of 128 bids.  
"This car was one of only a handful of blue examples in existence and while many collectors favour tradition – such as a red-liveried Ferrari – this sale indicates there is a younger generation of serious collectors who appreciate something different.”
Maarten ten Holder, Managing Director of Bonhams Motoring, said: “We are delighted with this sale which shows that Bonhams is now able to offer and successfully sell the most coveted collectable motor cars around the clock, and not only at our flagship events.”
Located for physical viewing of car and docs at The Market HQ near Abingdon, and pre-sale estimated to sell for between £725,000 and £900,000, on the 19th of July at 19:41:31, a supercar-winning bid of £1,000,500 was placed by the car’s new owner. An i-auction milestone. RH-E

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Lewis Hamilton GP winning 2010 McLaren Mercedes M94-25A, also raced by Jensen Button, sold by RM Sotheby’s for £4,836,000 during British GP

With what could be considered to be the largest audience ever for a live auction, many thousands of race fans witnessed the sale of the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix winning McLaren sell for more than £4.8m at Silverstone circuit.
The car was sold by RM Sotheby’s in a unique auction environment while performing demonstration laps of Silverstone Grand Prix circuit immediately after the F1 qualifying Sprint Race.
Formula 1 and RM Sotheby’s have achieved a near record sum for a F1 car, selling Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2010 Turkish GP race winning McLaren Mercedes MP4-25A, chassis no. 01, for £4,836,000 including buyer’s premium.
The unique sale, conducted 17 July at the race circuit immediately after F1’s first ever ‘Sprint Qualifying Race’ for the Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix 2021, saw the car perform demonstration laps in front of more than some 100,000 spectators, while Sotheby’s European Chairman, Oliver Barker, conducted proceedings from the winners’ podium..
No Lewis Hamilton F1 car has ever been offered for public sale, making the auction a unique event in an even more unique setting, and which saw the car achieve a near-record price for a F1 car at auction, second only therefore to the previous Sotheby’s record for Michael Schumacher’s 2001 Ferrari F2001 sold for £5,449,607 in 2017.
McLaren MP4-25A, chassis number 01, was a key chassis in Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes’ 2010 season campaign, a year which ultimately saw the historic British team secure 2nd place overall in the Constructors Standings.
As well as taking Hamilton to victory in Turkey, chassis no. 01 also netted him the Fastest Lap and a 2nd place finish in the 2010 Formula 1 Chinese GP. Additionally, the chassis was also driven by Jenson Button to a 3rd place podium finish in the season’s final race in Abu Dhabi.
Unsurprisingly therefore, a race car driven by both Hamilton and Button attracted significant pre-sale interest from collectors around the world wishing to acquire an important piece of motorsport and F1 history, driven to victory by the Sport’s most successful ever driver.
As auctioned, the car was no dormant museum piece as it had been fully race-prepped by McLaren Racing’s Heritage team, and ran its demonstration laps fully supported by McLaren and Mercedes technicians.
Powering its way around the Silverstone circuit in the hands of McLaren test driver, Rob Garofall, by far the largest ‘live auction crowd’ for any motor car in the UK, perhaps even ever on the planet, were witnessing auction history as they could audio-revel in the sound of the mighty Mercedes Benz 2.4 litre V8.
Oliver Barker, Chairman Sotheby’s Europe said: What an incredible experience it has been to conduct this auction of this incredible car in such remarkable and unique circumstances.
“We are deeply thankful to the entire team at Formula 1 who made it possible for us to sell the car at the British Grand Prix and in the privileged surroundings of the F1 winners’ podium that has hosted so many legends of the sport.
“We knew this was a unique opportunity for a collector to acquire an extremely important racing car, and I believe the result is testament to that.”
Shelby Myers, Car Specialist and Global Head of Private Sales at RM Sotheby’s, said: ““It is not often that a car as special as this comes to market, from the start we knew it truly represented an unrepeatable opportunity. RM Sotheby’s is fortunate to have an ongoing partnership in place with Formula 1, and so we always hoped to provide a unique environment in which to present the McLaren and to conduct the auction while the car was at speed was a true first
“Sir Lewis Hamilton’s achievements in the sport are so remarkable that they may never be bettered, and so cars with which he is associated are likely to be the most coveted in the decades to come. We are delighted that this fantastic car has found a new home and we hope it see on the track again in the near future.”
This, the first-ever Sir Lewis F1 GP winning car to come to market, potentially of many more over the years, achieved a close to World Record price for a modern era, petroleum-fueled F1 car in a public auction.
After work for the F1 drivers on a Saturday afternoon in Northamptonshire, bids for this historically important race car were received by the auction house on-line, on telephones and in person at Silverstone. After gavel fall, the winning and masked bidder came onto the podium-rostrum and waved to the fans. Unprecedented at any auction.
The next day, and witnessed by a capacity 140,000 fans, the resident and newly agressive Champion's left front tyre smashed into the right rear wheel of rival Verstappen's Red Bull Honda, which was truly trashed in the ensuing 51g eliminating shunt, thus enabling Hamilton in the 2021 Mercedes-Mercedes Turbo Hybrid to overtake Monagesque Leclerc's Ferrari and clock up his 8th British GP victory and win his 99th race in F1.
Mission accomplished for one hard man versus all the others with a diminishing dozen more chances to be the only winner rather than one of the losers.
Along this long and winding road of good fortune and bad, 15 seasons worth of Hamilton-raced F1 cars may continue to appreciate. Only when they come to market, will we see by how much. RH-E

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Although plastic-bodied Ferrari sells for £108k, £67,500 C Type Replica headlines during £1.6m 80% sold ‘live sale’ return by H&H to Buxton

An only two owner 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB ‘Vetroresina’ with non-rusting plastic bodywork, one of 154 of the UK-supplied Lightweight Berlinettas, justified its front cover of catalogue placement for selling for £108,000, top estimate money, to top the H&H 7 July £1.6m results at Buxton Spa in the Derbyshire Peak District.
Much viewed and admired during physical viewing behind masks in the Octagon Theatre ballroom though was a really well executed in 2014 Realm Heritage C Type Replica (pictured above) with grp body in Pastel Green over a tubular chassis frame powered by a modified 4.2 XK engine, a tribute to the Tommy Wisdom driven, factory-supported C Type XKC 005.
Estimated at £40,000-50,000, and driven only 4,500 miles and little used since its creator’s death in 2019, the C Type Evocation soon attracting bidding up to £60,000, the winner paying £67,500 with premium.
Close behind the C Type Rep on the price list was an Allard K1 supplied in 1947 as a bare chassis to Performance Cars of Dagenham, completed by their in-house coachbuilders with unique open two-seater tourer coachwork with curved shorter doors and a large hinging boot-lid, more stylish than an Allard factory-bodied car.
With period competition history on file and having been treated to a seven year restoration completed in 2020, UMX 82 achieved a close to top estimate £64,125 with premium on weekday in Derbyshire.
All six Jaguar E Types in the sale sold, led by a UK market 1974 S3 Manual Roadster with matching numbers, but without wooden floorboards in the boot and a scruffy 5.3 V12 engine bay, which nonetheless sold for a way over £40,000-50,000 estimate £67,500 with premium.
Another of the 2,116 RHD 1973-manufactured S3 V12 Coupes claimed to be excellent 5.3 engine and manual gearbox, with 2013 renewed interior and still very good paintwork, also outperformed its £50,000-55,000 pre-sale estimate to sell for £61,875.
A RHD 1970 4.2 Coupe, in receipt of body and mechanical restoration in 1996,   fetched a within estimate £56,250, and one of 1,041 RHD E Type S2 4.2 2+2 Fixed Heads, a 1969 car with Webasto-vandalised roof and repainted in cellulose with re-trimmed interior, realised £42,750, mid-estimate.
While a £5,000 below lower estimate £40,000 was accepted for one of 374 Home Market 1967 E Type S1.5 4.2 Coupes with claimed to be ‘good’ bodywork, but only ‘average’ paint.
£40,000-50,000 meanwhile had been sought for another RHD 1971 E Type S3 5.3 V12 Manual FHC with 25 old MOTs and several tax discs (remember those?) during 35,126 mileage. Although bid to £33,000 however, it was bought for £37,125 with premium.
There was not one LHD Auto among these E Types though, all of which were RHD Manuals in Brexited Britain.
An all-Black 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo, a Cabriolet with Tiptronic gearchange that had done a mere 49,586 miles, looked super cool for £47,250. While there were old school buyers for both MG TCs with £22,500 for a still cosmetically very clean 1949 car that had restored in 1991 and £14,606 for a 1947 with claimed to be ‘good’ engine and gearbox, but ‘average’ body, paint and trim.
The 1957 Magnette ZB in Island Green with particularly well preserved interior and credible 51,000 mileage really was ‘excellent’, as described, hence the £18,000 result, which was £5,000 over top estimate.
A previously restored 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1 Frogeye in Pale Blue, vendor owned since 1991, was also deserving of the £18,562 paid, again £3,562 more than the guide.
£29,500 had been spent on renovating a running 1931 Lagonda 3-Litre Low Chassis, which was still a Saloon, but which had then been inactive for the past six years before selling for £23,125 in Buxton.
There were also buyers for other pre-WW2 cars with £10,688 for a 1935 Morris Oxford Sixteen ‘six’ that had been in receipt of an eight year restoration and £8,348 for a 1934 Wolseley Nine SOHC ‘four’ that purported to be ‘in good order’
A Citroen 2CV6 Special with recently refreshed interior that been driven only 43,400 miles from new in 1989 sold for £7,312, and No Reserve 1977 Saab 96 V4 with 87,680 mileage £3,538, 36,000 mile 2003 Rover 75 1.8 Club SE £1,350 and 31,236 mile 1999 Rover 200 SE £1,250.
Auctioned classics were either displayed inside the listed building beside the Pavilion Gardens, which was always the Northern auction house’s home ground, with more convertibles safely sheltering under an open-sided gazebo by the preserved trees outside, and saloons and coupes lining the hard-standing walkway past the restored Bandstand right down to the Opera House.
After some ‘provisional bids’ were converted into ‘definite sales’ during the auction, and several more post-sale deals had been done afterwards, 78 cars had sold, 80% of 98 in the glossy catalogue, for £1,620,358 including 12.5% premium, an average of £20,774  spent by buyers per classic bought.
Happily, a not too far from traditional ‘live’ format car auction had returned to the Pavilion Gardens venue, which was the H&H home ground for so many years.
Although who actually knows what national as well as mayoral politicians or local authorities - not forgetting the dreaded virus itself and strains of same - will do next to screw things up as a third wave gathers momentum? RH-E
 
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60 accessible classics change hands during near £1m afternoon at Manor Park Classics own purpose-designed auction centre in Cheshire

Manor Park Classics went into bat first in what will be a seven mainstream sales fortnight with only their second auction, after which 60 cars, 71% of the 84 offered, had changed hands for nearly £1m and buyers spent an average of £15,916 per classic.
The 1956 AC Aceca Fixed Head Coupe (pictured above) fitted with Ford Zephyr 2.6 engine with Raymond Mays 12-port alloy cylinder supplied by triple SU carbs was parked on pole in front of the rostrum and duly delivered a close to top estimate £78,750 performance to head the results.
In second place was a big turbo 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth with Recaro leather seats that that had worn its 84,700 mileage well and sold for a premium-inclusive £65,250, also just over forecast money.
Fast Ford one decade earlier and you might have been fashionable enough to own a Ford Escort RS2000. The bodily-restored in 1996 Custom example of 1980 vintage with recent big-valve conversion simply flew past the £24,000-28,000 figures suggested to sell for a stonking £38,250 with premium. While a 64,393 miles since 1980 Sierra 2.8i Ghia 4x4 Estate with rather cool RS Body Kit and every tax disc from 1990-2015 again overtook the guide band to sell for £11,250.
Porsches proved popular with punters in room and on phone or net, too, with buyers for both 1970-71 911s and a circa 1959 tractor. One 911E had been back-to-bare-metal rebuilt in 2010 at a cost of more than £100k as a 2.7 RS Evocation, which actually packed a later 3.2 Carrera motor, and which cost a buyer £59,063, top estimate money.
The other £40,000-50,000 guided 911E was still an original 2.2 on triple Webers with S cams and Wevo gear shifter, which had been in receipt of sixteen year restoration and for which £58,500 was forthcoming.
While the 62 year old 217 Standard tractor that started life in the former Zeppelin factory could be seen ‘working’ around the Manor Park site on video (like all running classics in the sale). Newly restored with fresh tyres, the twin pot diesel 'Agricultural Porsche' had been estimated at £5,000-6,000, but raised £9,675 on the internet, presumably from a marque-obsessed small holder.
A Volkswagen GTI Cabrio on BBS alloys with 17 service stamps during 44,300 mileage had been vendor-owned for 25 years before selling at this purpose-designed 30,000 square foot auction facility in Cheshire for £18,000, £7,000 over top estimate.
Also viewable during a five-day window on-site at Runcorn was an only 37,000 miles since 1991 time warp VW Scirocco GT II with original interior (apart from Blaupunkt Casablanca radio), which greatly impressed both your Reviewer and House Ambassador Fuzz Townshend, before selling for £13,500, £5,188 with premium and over £6,000 more than had been forecast.
A 1995 Aston Martin Virage Volante, driven only 46,000 miles by two keepers and unused since 2017, was running and driving and fetched £58,500, £13,500 more than forecast.
Very much older was a 1914 Morris Oxford ‘De Luxe Special’, a Tourer for two from the late Tony Chesters collection. With acetylene headlamps, scuttle lamps and horn in brass to polish, but requiring recommissioning, the 107 year old motored past the £18,000-22,000 estimate to cost the next guardian £29,531.
With factory hardtop and history on file since 1975, a 1974 Triumph TR6 attracted £19,688, mid-estimate. A 1970 MGB Roadster that had been treated to restoration without budget in 1988/9 still looked like the work had been completed more recently, hence the £14,062 paid, again mid-estimate. While a 1973 GT6 with benefit of overdrive had been bodily restored in 2016 and in 2021 made £12,375, £2375 over estimate.
A well refurbished and repainted 1950 Rover P4 75 ‘Cyclops’ was particularly fine, hence the £14,833 valuation by a new owner, and £12,375 with premium was forthcoming for an £8,000-10,000 guided home market 1958 Austin Metropolitan Series 3 Convertible. A £4,000-5,000 estimated 1958 Standard 8 Saloon, apparently sound with some dings and original interior, which had been one family owned until 2012 with MOTs back to 1969, sold in the room for £5,850.
Also performing well before the camera on YouTube was a 1938 Austin 14/6 Goodwood Saloon with fully operational sliding sunroof and olde worlde trafficators, as well as new-fangled flashers, that had been recently employed as a ‘daily driver’, and which sold on a telephone for a within guide £5,625.
Just discovered after almost 30 years slumber was a decayed, but largely complete 1983 Bristol 412 Beaufighter 5.9 V8 Turbo Project, one of only 20 produced that cost £105,000 by 1991, but which was hammered away by auctioneer Julian Royse’s transparent gavel for £9,250 to be taken on by the fifth keeper for £10,406 including premium.
Under the Chairmanship of Stephen J Ashworth, Managing Director Roger Nowell, Sales Director Sam Grange-Bailey, Operations Manager Nik Askins and team efficiently auctioned another interesting selection of accessible classics during an entertaining Tuesday afternoon at their own premises in Runcorn, where an additional and third sale has now been scheduled for Wednesday 22 September preceded by five days of viewing, including some evening and weekend opportunities to check out auction cars.
For apart from being able to securely store a car on-site before auctions, Manor Park Classics own permanent premises provide prospective buyers with the facility to see consigned classics started up, running and driving as well as inspected underneath on a four-post ramp. Sale cars can also be delivered and collected, at the consumer’s convenience, without any of the constraints of event venue timetables.
Less sense of occasion maybe, but a more auction-focused experience and, as ever, the consumer will decide what route to market to take. For choice aplenty there most certainly is. RH-E
 
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1946 AJS ‘Porcupine’ E90 500 GP Bike sells for record £293,250 during 97% sold by lot £3.6m 3-day Bonhams Summer Stafford Sale

An ultra-rare 1940s AJS 497cc E90 ‘Porcupine’ Grand Prix racing motorcycle, previously owned by post-war AJS works rider Ted Frend and which had been pre-sale estimated at £250,000-300,000, set a new auction world record for the model selling for £293,250 including premium at the three-day Bonhams Summer Stafford Sale during 'The International Classic MotorCycle Show' at the County Showground, where the 97% sell-through rate (90% by value) were market-leading and collector-buyers spent £3,585,000 with premium over the 2-4 July weekend.
The Porcupine led a cavalcade of motorcycles of all eras which found new homes at the first Bonhams Stafford Sale that could take place at the Staffordshire County Showground due to the andemic since the autumn of 2019.
An extraordinary Brough Superior SS100 1,000cc Supercharged Special Re-creation, the brainchild of master craftsman and engineer Ewan Cameron and guided at £120,000-170,000, also duly achieved £126,500, the second most valuable lot sold, and an earlier 1914 Brough 497cc Model H, offered directly from the National Motorcycle Museum at Solihull, accelerated past its £70,000 top estimate into six figures, making £103,500
Considered one of the ‘Holy Grail’ classic racing motorcycles, the E90 was the first motorcycle to win the 500cc World Championship in the series’ debut year of 1949, carrying Frend’s fellow works rider Les Graham to his (and AJS’s) first and only world title.
Dubbed the Porcupine by the era’s motorcycle press due to its distinctive spiked ‘head’ finning, the E90 remains the sole twin-cylinder machine to have won world motorcycling’s flagship series. Just four E90s were built by the British firm, purely for its works team.
Ted Frend was the first rider to win on the Porcupine at the 1947 Hutchinson 100 race. The motorcycle offered was purchased in a dismantled state from the estate of the late rider in 2006 by his friend and neighbour Ken Senior, who oversaw the Porcupine’s rebuild, with the missing parts custom-made.
Ben Walker, International Department Director, Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles, said: “We are so pleased to have achieved such a fantastic result for this exciting machine. It was a once in a generation opportunity to acquire such a rarity and a hat-trick for Bonhams, as we have previously set world record prices for the only other two examples to have been sold publicly.” 
The Porcupine led a collection of nearly 90 racing motorcycles and ‘everyman’ classics amassed by the late Ken Senior, of which 99% sold at the Stafford Sale, where selling 811 lots kept auctioneers Malcolm Barber, Rob Hubbard and Toby Wilson fully occupied for a long weekend.
Other highlights over the three-day sale, which also encompassed bicycles, motorcycle spares and memorabilia, included the 100% sold Ron Cody Collection, consisting of a selection of mainly Italian marques, including many MV Agusta examples, from the collection of the late enthusiast, a former sportscar racer and engineer. 
One headliner was a 1973 MV Agusta 750S, which had covered fewer than 12,000 miles from new, topping its pre-sale estimate of £60,000--80,000 to make £81,650.
A 1937 Brough Superior 1,096cc 11-50 & Petrol-tube Sidecar meanwhile, delivered new to the Sheffield Police force and guided at £55,000-75,000, sold for £78,200, leading a selection of sidecars, tri-cars and hybrids that were surplus to the requirements of the Roy Richards founded Museum Collection beside the M42 and whose 'Reserve Collection II' was dispersed at Stafford.
An unmodified 1954 Vincent 998cc Series-C Black Shadow with matching frame and engine from another source that had not been ridden since the 1970s or started for years overtook the £45,000 top estimate, to make £54,000.
The 1973 Norton Commando 850 Roadster offered by the family of the late Keith Emerson, founder member of the 1970s ‘Progressive Rock’ group Emerson, Lake and Palmer, hit a high note, selling above the £5,500-7,500 suggested for £12,650 with premium.
A circa 1885 Singer & Co of Coventry High Wheel Tricycle with period Lucas King of the Road oil illuminated lamps had been forecast to fetch £3,000-4,000, but made £7,562. A £4,000-5,000 38 inch 'The Facile' Safety Bicycle by Ellis & Co of 165 Fleet Street in circa 1882 however was acquired for £2,550, whereas a £1,400-1,800 guided higher rise 50 inch Ordinary Bicycle with Lucas bell from circa 1878 was bought for £2,295.
Walker continued: “It was a joy to return to Stafford for our first ‘Live Auction’ in more than 18 months. The saleroom was buzzing with bidders, who nevertheless also had healthy competition from telephone, internet and Bonhams app bidders.”
Bicester Heritage based Ben Walker, James Stensel, Bill To and Andy Barrett of the Bonhams Motorcycle Team are now inviting entries for their Autumn Stafford Sale, which takes place again at the Staffordshire County Showground over the 9-10 October 2021 weekend during The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show. RH-E

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ACA Drive Through webcasts pulled just over 100,000 views within one week of selling 212 of 243 classics and 180 lots of automobilia

Buyers of 87% of the 122 cars offered by the King’s Lynn vehicle auctioneers during the Saturday 26 June sale spent £523,040 on 106 cars and £1,366,624 on another 106 or 88% of the 121 Sunday 27 June cars.
The sale of 212 of the 243 cars over the weekend therefore, an 88% sale rate overall, grossed £1,889,664 including premium, while most of the 180 lots of automobilia, pedal cycles, classic bikes and registrations sold on phone on phone and net.
In addition to the vast audiences for the two live-streamed ACA sales on YouTube, the majority of bidders were simultaneously logged on to market-leading Saleroom.com.
Even though, historically, Anglia Car Auctions sales for classics were the best attended on the provincial auction circuit during the most recent boom years, these latest ACA viewing figures37,706 views Saturday and 62,604 Sunday vastly exceed pre-pandemic gates for the Norfolk firm’s traditional format Saturday events.
On the Saturday, a telephone bidder bought a 50,641 miles since 1959 Mercedes-Benz 450SE W116, estimated at £12,000-14,000, for £18,090 and a 1979 Triumph Stag 3.0 Auto with 46,452 recorded mileage for £16,740.
After the ex-BBC Lovejoy series 1961 BSA A10 650cc Combination had raised a far from antique £12,150 on the Sunday morning and a one family owned 1981 VW Passat GLS ‘Time Warp’ that had gathered thick dust since 2005 was taken on for £4,860, a 1986 Porsche 911 3.2 Supersport Turbo-bodied Cabrio was well contested until marathon vehicle auctioneer Jim Ronan determined new ownership at a more than top estimate £61,560.
A BBC Antiques Road Trip exercised 1965 Triumph TR4 prop car was acquired by a telephone bidder for £14,040 and a 2004 restored 1962 Austin Mini 850 De Luxe Mk1 sold to another for £12,960, both within their guide price bands. The going rate for a restored 1965 Austin Mini Cooper 127S Mk1 in Norfolk was £27,000.
A 1972 Jensen Interceptor SP, taken off the road 20 years ago, was taken on for £36,720 and 1975 Interceptor III with 90,000 mileage for £30,240.
Apparently ‘Staycation-ready’ were a 1969 VW Devon Eurovette in Righthand Drive, which deservedly raised a better than forecast £20,250 for a deceased estate, whilst a Left-Hand Drive Texan 1966 Split-Screen Camper had won a concours award before picking up £24,840 here.
A vendor owned since 1991 and always right-hand drive Jaguar E Type 4.2 Series 2 Fixed Head from 1970 (photographed above) had been subject to some restoration and purred past the rostrum to collect £68,250 from an absentee bidder on Saleroom.com. While £64,500 secured a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP500 E-Gear missile with 32,359 warranted mileage backed up by 10 service stamps.
A Carcoon temp-controlled 1972 BMW 3.0 CS with new engine in 1979 failed to attract the £120,000-130,000 suggested, while a restored 1971 NSU 1200 TT in search of £14,000-16,000 was also unappreciated.
Although an equally rare 1966 Panhard 24C 728cc Right-Hand Drive Coupe in receipt of mechanical and bodywork restoration 2012/13, though with original interior, did sell for £8,370.
A more than top estimate £22,680 was required to secure a 1969 Volvo P1800S with 16,665 mileage. While a vendor family owned since 1994 Lancia Beta 2.0 Coupe from 1978, estimated at £8,000-10,000, was unusually neat for £9,720, while a one family from 1978 Peugeot 604 2.6, driven 72.258 miles and guided at £4,000-6,000, made £7,830.
One of the most viewed possibilities in the main viewing hall however was a 1977 Toyota Celica 2000 ST Liftback that had been well stored and untouched for years. With radiator removed and in the boot, this was a genuine ‘Survivor Car’ with original panels and paint, which was auctioned without reserve and quickly shot to £15,500 on the internet and ended up on a telephone at £17,000, costing the winner £18,360.
Only a public auction, I would suggest, could have determined this valuation with any accuracy. RH-E

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14,000+ event-starved enthusiasts could attend relocated London Classic Car Show in Syon Park, where CCA held first sale outside Midlands

At this, Classic Car Auctions first sale with a London audience, the auction performance of the very first lot, a No Reserve 1986 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Supersport in Guards Red (what else) boded well for the Silverstone Auctions subsidiary’s 26 June debut fixture in the South East.
Fully and well restored, and with the benefit of a £13,500 Porsche Solihull rebuilt engine, the 104,000 mile Targa-top with whale-tail flew well under the Heathrow flightpath, selling for £67,710 with premium.
Although the highest priced car on a Saturday afternoon under canvas in outdoor Syon Park was the 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL in whiter than White with Pagoda-top that had been delivered to Pinewood Studios for Britt Ekland, who was married to movie star and petrolhead Peter Sellers at the time. Although estimated to cost £80,000-100,000, a best bid of £70,000 in the room was accepted and the fifth owner paid £77,700 with premium.
The 1989 BMW Z1 Roadster in Dream Black Metallic previously owned by Chris Low of The Pet Shop Boys had 19 stamps in the book and had been vendor-owned for the last 22 years before fetching a forecast £32,967, again in the tent, where CCA clients could physically bid in a saleroom for the first time in pandemic since 2019.
There were 29 old MOT certificates in the history file of a Jaguar E Type Series 3 V12 Roadster that had been driven 32,600 miles since new  in 1975 and which was deservedly applauded in 2021 for selling here for a more than top estimate £75,480.
Other low mileage classics transacted included –
Driven just 4927 miles since 1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo for £20,535
12,000k (7,500m) 1992 Jaguar Sovereign 3.2 auto £5,228
8731 mile 1984 Mini 25 Edition £9,213
11,101 mile 1997 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i £9,990
21,000 mile 1998 Maserati Quattroporte IV 3.2 Evoluzione RHD £18,315
22,100 mile 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL280 £15,540
22,707 mile 2001 Rover Mini Cooper 40th Edition auto £10,545
1986 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 CDi with 25,568 mileage £3,552
27,000 mile 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 in Orange in receipt of 2000 man-hours restoration with over £35,000 spent £58,830
35,192 mile 1983 Ferrari 400i S2 RHD auto for four £26,640
All four Audi Quattro sold out, led by a 1992 20-valve RR, one of 295 produced in RHD with rebuilt 5-pot 217bhp motor in an impressive engine bay, which sold for a mid-estimate £52,170.
A UK-supplied in 1988 Audi Quattro Turbo B2, the first generation Ur-Quattro that appeared to have been revived to a good standard with genuine parts sourced from South Hereford Audi, raised the estimated £29,970 in the tent.
Whereas a rare pre-production prototype right-hand drive Quattro, an early ‘C’ chassis numbered car from 1982, substantially restored in 2014, cost a bidder in the room £25,752, just over low estimate.
Another earlier 1985 first generation Ur-Quattro B2 from long-term ownership meanwhile also found the required £23,865 from an absentee bidder on a telephone.
This was also a positive sale for Lancias with meaningful results for three really well presented right-hand drive cars consigned from one source at No Reserve, which certainly magnetised much interest from marque enthusiasts.
A 45,529 mile 1984 Beta HPE Volumex, accompanied by specially commissioned hardback book with images documenting a down to last nut and bolt restoration,  fetched £23,865.
While a recommissioned Gamma Berlina 2500 with non-original engine had only done 79 miles since new in Turin in 1979, sold to a commission bid of £19,000, costing the next owner £23,865.
And a cosmetically and mechanically, but sympathetically restored 1981 Lancia Trevi, one of only two or three of this quirky model with the Swiss Cheese dash that has survived the rust mice in the UK, found a friend with £7,770.
A first Spanish registered in 1990 Delta HF Integrale 16v lefty driven 79,100k (49,437 miles) immigrated in 2014 and changed keepers for £21,090 here.
By the time Jonathan Humbert’s gavel had cooled down and four post-sale deals had been concluded by the CCA team, and after two cars in the catalogue had been withdrawn, the Midland firm’s debut South East sale rate for the 107 entries had risen from 72 to 76% and their buyers had spent a premium-inclusive total of £1,916,060 on 81 classics, a far from provincial average of £23,655 spent per car bought.
Further analysis of these stats shows 18 cars had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’, 17% of the entry and accounting for 22% of cars sold, and 23 cars were unsold, 21% of the total auctioned.
While below estimate bids were accepted for 17 cars, 21% of those sold, 38 or 47% of cars sold for within estimate prices, and 11 or 15% of them made more than top estimate money.
The organisers, who must be congratulated for persevering with and mastering ever-changing regulations, and providing an event to go to (for some their first day out for more than a year!) say that they will announce their plans for The London Classic Car Show in 2022 later in the year, when there may be more clarity over the future of live indoor and outdoor events. RH-E

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78% of 123 classics sell for £928,893 on-line at Brightwells, where 1993 Morgan Plus 8 inspires 113 bids before selling for £34,272

Displayed on pole within the ‘Brightwells Classic Garage’ signed viewing units was a recently overhauled 1996 Lagonda LG45 Rapide, for which £165,000-185,000 had been sought, but which ran out of interest with an insufficient  £151,000 on-screen after 22 i-bids had been posted.
Also viewed on-site, but sold along with 95 other car lots, was a results-topping deceased estate entered 1972 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 Roadster with factory hardtop and new 5-speed manual gearbox conversion.
Only driven 31,200 miles in 49 years and pre-sale estimated to fetch £40,000-50,000, it was ‘virtually hammered’ when bidding time ran out 23 June to the 25th bid, costing the next owner £58,240 with premium.
In second place was another 1949 Bristol 400, a Brightwells ‘House Speciality’ model at recent sales, which had been usefully upgraded with overdrive and electronic ignition, sold to the 19th bid for £44,800, top estimate money.
Whilst third, and attracting the most bids in the sale, 113 of them, was a 1993 Morgan Plus 8 with 44,500 miles on the clock and fresh MOT (pictured above) sold for £34,272 with premium, more than £6,000 over top estimate.  
There were 87 bid for a No Reserve 1947 Rover 14 Saloon with nine recorded keepers, which made £7,056, and 62 bids for a £7,528 1995 TVR Chimaera 4.0 V8 with 16 stamps in the book, but “scope for minor cosmetic improvement”. A definitely “shabby” 1976-manufactured Land Rover Petrol Lightweight ‘No Reservist’ had been driven to market from Cheltenham and pulled 56 bids before selling for £3,416.
An always Carmarthen resident 1925 Morris Cowley Pick-Up for restoration encouraged 52 bids before being taken on for £2,884. After 43 clicks, the ex-James Hull and then JLR Collection 1972 Reliant Scimitar GTE Ferguson 4x4 Prototype, which had been improved by the vendor since acquisition and was offered Without Reserve, fetched £19,040.
A just within guide price band £31,584 was forthcoming for a rakishly elegant 1936 Alvis Speed 20 2.6 Charlesworth Saloon which had been run and driven on-site. A last repainted in 2008 MG TF 1500 from 1954 with recently rebuilt engine and the usual 5-speed box upgrade realised a top estimate £28,000, and a 25,700 miles since 1974 Rolls-Royce Corniche with claimed to be working air-con a cool and within guide band £27,160.
21 bids contested a former Concours award winning 1946 MG TC, until sold for a forecast £21,404, and a mid-1990s restored 1968 MGC Roadster on wires made the required £21,280. It took 35 bids and £20,832 meanwhile to determine next ownership of a 1954 MG TF “original” with commercially transferable registration from a deceased estate.
A more than £14,000-16,000 estimate £19,712 with premium was required to own a 1928 Austin Seven Chummy that had been Concours shown many summers ago.
A 55,709 miles since 1966 Daimler 250-V8 Saloon auto in restored order made a more than £3,000 over top estimate £19,432 and £1,000 more than guide £19,040 was needed to own a 1965 Triumph TR4A in recent receipt of body-off restoration. A left-hand drive 1965 Fiat 1500 Cabrio penned on a Pininfarina drawing board was bought for a just below estimate £19,952.
A Paris Motor Show introduced 1975 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 project for restoration, without interior and with engine and gearbox out of the car, was bravely taken on for the best bid, which was the 32nd on the screen and cost the winner £11,424.
Be aware that entries close 23 July for the Herefordshire firm’s next Timed-Out On-Line sale, where bidding ends during the early evening of Thursday 5 August.
Brightwells say that they intend to continue with their behind closed doors sales held on a ‘Timed Out’ basis on the net, with vendors’ vehicles and documents all on-site for physical viewing by appointment over several days before the auction. Even their regular 4x4 sales, which used to be ‘Live Drive-Throughs’, are now all conducted on the internet only.
For many more bidders than used to be the case when attending sales in person now register to do so on-line and more bids are made, whilst sale rates have been higher and achieved prices have not been impacted by going on-line only.
Even if pandemic restrictions were eventually fully lifted, a return to traditional format auctions therefore with the much higher staffing levels that would be necessary has now to be unlikely. Besides, the once heaving cafeteria, where the reward of Full English Breakfasts at affordable prices awaited those who had made the journey, has closed, and new businesses now occupy most of the former saleroom HQ building. RH-E

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Silverstone sell 14 Ferraris for £2.28m in One-Make auction during Ferrari OC Day at Sywell attended by 1800 people in 837 Ferraris

In terms of punters being allowed to be present at a traditional-format sale, where cars for sale and their documents could be physically viewed and witnessed going under the hammer, this was by far the best attended collector vehicle auction and motoring event since before the four far from United Kingdom Governments shut down such ‘live’ entertainments.
For encouraged by glorious weather under jet-free blue skies, 1800 Ferrari-centric enthusiasts were easily magnetised 5 June to drive their 837 Ferraris to The National Ferrari Owners’ Day at well-manicured Sywell Aerodrome, where the Silverstone Auctions team occupied Hangar One for their Single-Marque sale of 26 Prancing Horses from Maranello and one Simulator.
Ferrari Dinos were certainly in vogue on a Saturday afternoon in Northamptonshire with all four selling, led by a 1974 246GTS with Factory ‘Flares’, one of only 12 in Right-Hand Drive, and Classiche-certificated too. Estimated at £375,000-425,000, the Targa-Top (pictured above) was bid to £345,000 and sold for £388,125, to deserved applause.
A Nick Cartwright restored 1972 Dino 246GT, also in Right-Hand Drive with all numbers matching still matching and tool kit present, had been guided at £265,000-285,000 and incited a bidding battle between two telephone bidders, the winner applauded, paying £277,875.
An HR Owen supplied in 1973 and £225,000-255,000 estimated Dino GT ‘E Series’, again in Right-Hand Drive, but with “room for cosmetic improvement”, fetched £213,750.  Whereas a Left-Hand Drive £200,000-240,000 estimated at 1971 246GT ‘M Series’, driven few miles since a full engine rebuild, sold to a Roman on a telephone for £202,500.
The 1972 365GTB/4 Daytona, UK-supplied and owned by Sir Elton John 1972-75, had been forecast to fetch £440,000-500,000, but its sale was abandoned at £385,000.
A 2010 458 Italia DCT with Chris Evans and Chris Hoy provenance with benefit of comprehsive service history however did sell for £120,375, top estimate money, and a 2003 575M Maranello F1, formerly owned by Eric Clapton and serial Ferrari consumer Chris Evans, also sold for £92,250, just over the lower estimate.
The 2008 599GTB Fiorano F1 once owned by Eric Clapton had done 19,500 miles and sold for £107,500, only just within the guide price band. The late TV chef Gary Rhodes, then Chris Evans owned 2006 F430 F1 Coupe had only been driven 1,313 miles before fetching a mid-estimate £95,062 under auctioneer Jonathan Humbert’s gavel.
A telephone bidder meanwhile paid a mid-estimate £90,000 for the ultimate F355, a 1996 GTB Manual, one of only eleven Berlinettas in Black with carbon seats and 17,500 mileage. After much bidding activity by internet and telephone, a more than top estimate £92,250 meanwhile was forthcoming for a 2007 9,907 mile F430 F1 Spider in far from shrinking Giallo.
By end of play, 14 Ferraris, 56% of the 25 offered, had sold for £2,277,625 and an average of £162,638 had been spent per Ferrari bought.
After one £15,600 2006 F1 Simulator and seven £12,870 ‘ENZ’ prefix Enzo-relevant registrations, which had once adorned a DJ’s fleet of Ferraris, plus another £67,225 worth of Ferrari Automobilia had been taken into account, Silverstone’s Ferrari Sale total amounted to £2,373,320.
Gary Dunne, Sales Controller of Silverstone Auctions noted: “We were honoured to be a part of such a special day which celebrates Ferraris. We were delighted to see so many faces in our auction hall as we safely welcomed back bidders into the room.”
In terms of real people physically checking out cars being auctioned inside and outside the Sywell hangar, rather than virtual surfers searching for i-eye candy with their mice, and before visitor numbers can be counted at the London Classic Car Show, where Silverstone’s sister CCA hold their sale 26 June, this had been the best attended classic car auction in the UK during nearly unlocked June.
Silverstone Auctions next sales, three of them, will be held during Silverstone Classic weekend, when a Friday 30 July dedicated sale for Motorcycles precedes Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August sales for Collector and Competition Classics, all which will be reviewed on this website of course. RH-E

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R-R & Bentley cache sells out in Liechtenstein where record CHF 2.6m (£1.78m) is invested in future of ‘Princess Margaret’ HJM Phantom IV

The dispersal of a one owner collection smashed RM Sotheby’s pre-sale expectation by grossing CHF 11,074,125 (£8,748,559 inluding 15% premium) at the auctioneers’ Passion for Elegance  billed ‘Live’ 19 June evening sale, during which 100% of lots sold out, the top four exceeding CHF 1m each and twenty-one of them exceeding their pre-sale estimates.
The 1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limo, which had been in service with Prince Margaret and had transported a history book of equally famous guests in period, quadrupled its pre-sale estimate to achieve an impressive CHF 2,255,000 (£1,781,450) to set a new world record auction price for the model and become the highest priced post-WW2 Roller auctioned..
Whilst an only slightly less historic 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Brougham by Brewster, which has also been far less fashionable in recent years than it had been in the immediate prewar and postwar years up to the 1970s, sold for a generous CHF 1,580,000 (£1,248,200).
The 26-lot sale held on-site at Eschen, Liechenstein, which represented a unique, single-owner collection of 1930s-1990s Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars (image above by Dirk de Jager, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s), and one of the finest collections of luxury British automobiles ever to be publicly offered for sale. While pre-sale interest in these cars had, naturally, been high, the results achieved on the day were also particularly strong.
The top-selling lot was also the most notable in terms of exceeding its estimate. The 1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Limousine 'Princess Margaret' by H.J. Mulliner, one of only 18 Phantom IVs produced, was the exclusive domain for many world leaders and much Royalty.
Of particular interest to collectors was the fact that the car offered was built for HRH, Princess Margaret, completed and delivered to her in 1954, boasting a plethora of bespoke, luxury features, befitting her position as a senior member of the British Royal family. It was also retained by her for 13 years, travelling 27,000 miles in her ownership, and in which she was frequently seen and photographed.
With few subsequent owners, and offered in largely original condition, this Phantom IV Limousine was both rare and collectible with exceptional provenance that justified the remarkable CHF 2,255,000 (£1,781,450) valuation.
Another star of the sale was the 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Town Car by Brewster, a one-off design and the first and only of the three special town cars built that still retain their original coachwork.
Created for American millionaire, Matthew Dick of Washington D.C., this one-off car, which cost an astonishing $31,000 in 1933, sold very well at mid estimate, bringing CHF1,580,000.00 (£1,248,200).
Two other lots in the sale exceeded the Swiss currency CH1m mark, with the third top-selling lot in the sale being the 1958 Bentley S1 Continental Drophead Coupé.
Considered by many to be one the finest of all post-war Bentleys, and another undoubted highlighter of the cache, the exceptional example offered was one of only 94 produced and was the worthy recipient of a winning bid of CHF1,220,000.00 (£963,800).
The final lot to exceed CHF1M was the 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner, which was purchased new for iconic actress Sophia Loren by her husband, Carlo Ponti.
With full documentation, this car boasts incredible provenance and featured with Ms. Loren in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and is one of only 25 original left-hand-drive models produced. It was not a surprise that this car attracted a great deal of interest, but it’s final selling price of CHF1,045,625.00 (£826,044), made it another car in the sale to double its pre-sale estimate of CHF530,000-CHF660,000.
The other Top Tenners were –
5.1967 R-R Phantom V Touring Limo CHF 567,500 (£448,325)
6. 1990 R-R Phantom VI Special Limo CHF 511,250 (£403,888)
7. 1937 R-R Phantom III 4-Door Cabrio CHF 455,000 (£359,950)
8. 1965 R-R Silver Cloud III Saloon CHF 389,750 (£315,013)
9. 1920 R-R Silver Ghost Pall Mall Tourer CHF 342,500 (£270,575)
10. 1938 R-R Wraith Sedanca de Ville CHF 342,500 (£270,575).
Tonnie Van der Velden, Car Specialist at RM Sotheby’s says: “Above all else, we always endeavour to achieve the best possible results for our clients, and we have an enviable reputation as the leading specialists for selling single-owner collections.
“This was a stunning collection of cars that represented one man’s passion for the Rolls-Royce and Bentley marques, and we are delighted all the cars sold so well. It is also a significant indication that the market for these luxurious British cars is extremely robust, and it reinforces RM Sotheby’s credentials in this area of the market.”
Indeed, these sort of cars, traditionally appealing to older consumers, who tend to be net sellers rather than buyers, have become much less fashionable in the classic mainstream over recent years.
Their high for recent market valuations in Liechtenstein and on the internet, plus the unexpected average of CHF442,965 (£349,942) per car spent by buyers in pandemic 2021, were therefore all the more noteworthy. RH-E

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Seven year old 8,900k McLaren P1 Hybrid generates CHF 1,207,500 (£946,763) during Bonhams Bonmont Sale where 89% of cars sell for £8,069,109

A 2014 McLaren P1 - number 180 of the 375 Supercars in the British manufacturer’s limited-edition of electric hybrid hypercars, which had at least been actually driven 8,900k by two owners - sold for a premium-inclusive CHF 1,207,500 (£946,763) 20 June during the third such Bonhams Sale at Cheserex near Geneva to lead a flight of high-performance dinosaurs displayed in the unseasonal rain at the Golf & Country Club de Bonmont Chateau venue.
Nostalgic petrolheads who had made pilgrimage to view and bid in person in the auction tent also salivated at the prospect of capturing one of the coolest of the 2020 dinosaurs, a second generation Ford GT with 600bhp providing escapists with the theoretical potential of being able to reach 60 mph in 3 seconds and clock 347km/h (216mpg) top speed on speed and dash-cams.
On a Sunday afternoon with the rival live attractions of the Euros and the French GP taking place elsewhere though, it was an absentee contestant on the internet though who won the day and the car with a close to lower estimate bid of CHF 840,000 accepted, amounting to an invoiced CHF 966,000 (£757,410).
The equivalent of a supercar from a very different era occupied third place on this sale’s valuations podium. A Roots-Supercharged 1939 Bugatti Type 57 C with matching chassis, engine, gearbox and rear axle numbers had been shipped from the US to Rotterdam in 17 crates by the vendor.
Having been re-bodied with ‘Aravis’ 2-3 Seater Cabriolet body crafted in the UK to 1938 Gangloff drawings however, what became a major resurrection had taken two years and cost some CHF 600,000 (£474,000). The lower auction of CHF 700,000 (£553,000) was bid in Switzerland though and the unique 57C with the body beautiful had cost the eighth owner CHF 805,000 (£631,175) with premium.
By quite early on the Sunday afternoon, Bonhams new International Managing Director and impressively multi-lingual auctioneer Maarten ten Holder had hammered away 40 or 89% of the 45 collector vehicles on offer for a premium-inclusive CHF 10,291,350 (£8,069,109), an average of CHF 257,284 (£203,254) spent per car bought.
Only 5 cars were unsold therefore, notably the perfect-bound catalogue cover featured 1963 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta Lusso 5187 in Brown Metallic, the sale of which stalled with an insufficient CHF 1,250,000 (£987,500) called, and the Dijon and Bahrain raced 2000 Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 V12 GTR 12481, an unregistered Swiss resident, which ran out of track at CHF 760,000 (£600,400).
Meanwhile, AMGs again proved popular with the Swiss audience, both in the sale tent and on the internet, with all the high-performance Mercs offered changing keepers.
An ultra-rare and very long 2014 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6 4-Door Cab with Pickup tail, powered by the G-63 AMG's 5.5-litre twin-turbo V-8 engine, stormed through its top estimate of CHF 350,000 (£276,500) to applause to sell in the tent for CHF 667,000 (£522,974).
A 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ’722 edition’ meanwhile inspired a three-way battle between room, telephone and Bonhams App and the double pre-estimate CHF 460,000 (£360,671) price paid by an i-bidder was also accompanied by applause to pre-Covid levels.
Yet another AMG, a 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG ‘Black Series’ in Silver, formerly owned by Swiss tennis great Roger Federer and with a mere 4,100k on the odo, was also a smash hit with the Bonmont players, raising CHF 195,500 (£153,285) and more applause. Delivered new to the former world number one, the CLK63 AMG 3-Door Coupe was, at the time, the most powerful of the Mercedes-Benz AMG series and was one of fewer than 1000 produced. 
Classic Astons performed well, with a 1964 DB5 FHC, finished in classic ‘James Bond’ Silver Birch with Black interior, topping its estimate band to sell to a telephone bidder for CHF 540,500 (£423,789).
A later incarnation of the ‘Gentleman’s Express’, a left-hand drive 1966 DB6 Vantage with factory-fit air-con, but without documentation, and requiring mechanical and electrical recommissioning after years of storage, also out-performed its top estimate, raising CHF 304,750 (£238,945) via another absentee bidder on a phone.
Paul Darvill, Bonhams European Auctions Manager, said: “We are pleased to see the return of live auction and with it strong post-lockdown interest from buyers, reflecting the strength of the collectors’ car market. 
“This sale has again proved the appetite of the discerning Swiss market for the finest collectors’ motor cars, and also demonstrates Bonhams’ growing presence in Continental Europe as a whole, with buyers from over a dozen countries represented."
With the close of The Bonmont Sale, the firm’s Continental Equipe are hosting  a Time-Out On-Line ‘Boutique Sale’ of circa 40 motor cars, which runs for five days from 21 June with bids closing 26 June.
The next traditional format ‘Live Auction’ for the house will be Friday 9 July of the Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend, when the ex-Peter Sellers, HRH Princess Margaret/Earl of Snowdon 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible headlines with a pre-sale estimate £1,300,000 – 1,700,000.
Bonhams Motor Cars then returns to the EU mainland for The Zoute Sale 10 October. All these sales - and many more - will usually be comprehensively reviewed first on this website. RH-E

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Last Ford GT40 to be ‘Numbered in Period' and 'Retrospectively Built’ makes over £2.5m during Gooding On-Line Only auction

No expensive for auction house or potentially inaccessible venue with the deterrant of a traffic-jammed event for buying bidders at the latest Gooding internet-only auction, where successful ccontestants bought 12 or 86% of the 14 cars in the digital catalogue for £5,259,650 with premium, spending an average of £438,304 per car.
Where i-bids were made too close to ‘Time Out’ 21 June, and to combat sniping, bidding was extended by the house computer in California to give tardy mice a chance to increase their offers, something which added £40,000 to the £2,240,000 already bid for the sale starring GT40.
Just seven examples of the street MkIII were built, leaving 13 unused chassis, among them P/1085, the last GT40 to be numbered in production sequence by Ford Advanced Vehicles, and the basis of the car auctioned by Gooding.
The 1966-dated chassis was purchased from FAV in the UK by Malcolm Guthrie 20 March 1969 for supply as a rolling chassis, together with GT40 P/1008 (originally the Alan Mann Racing GT40 XGT-2), to client Gil Jackson of Garden City New York, where GT40 authority Ronnie Spain photographed and documented both chassis in 1990.
Building up P/1085 and a treasure trove of original components collected by Jackson over the years commenced in 2006, after which chassis and parts were acquired in 2007 by major UK collector and historics competitor Jonathan Turner, for whom Racing Fabications completed the project with comp-spec 1968 Ford 5.0 V8 in March 2008, Turner testing the car at Donington before completing the 2009 Tour Auto.
Turner sold the GT40 to the consignor in March 2011, after which it was maintained by Maxted Page, before being estimated at £1,800,000-2,200,000 by the auctioneers and selling on the internet ten years later for £2,508,000 with premium.
A digital catalogued £800,000-1,200,000 had been forecast for a Porsche 962C Race Car in Repsol colours. One of the last seven Customer Cars based on the 1988 works-spec built by the Porsche factory in 1990, the sale car was one of three sold to Brun Racing, with whom 962-163 failed to finish races twice. Prior to acquisition by the consignor, the car fitted with correct twin-turbocharged 962C engine had been in Henry Pearman’s Group C Collection.
Following an extension to the bidding window, bids ran out at £690,000, though the Reserve had been met and the new owner had bought a Historic Group C eligible race car for £759,000 with premium.
Following many Italian residencies and one Swiss ownership, the GTC Engineering of Stowe, Bucks, maintained 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S chassis 3799 with period-correct, but non-original DOHC V12 fed by multiple Webers, came to international market in search of £800,000-1,000,000. When auction time had run out, the best bid on the screen was £670,000 and a new owner had bought the Bertone-penned icon for £737,000 with premium.
One of only 153 built and reassuringly Ferrari Classiche Red Book Certificated in October 2020, 1968 Dino 206GT V6 00210, factory-finished in Verde Scuro Ferrari (their Dark Green), had been guided at £450,000-550,000 and sold for £456,500, though no UK taxes had been paid.
A Swiss supplied 1955 Bentley S1 Drophead by Graber, one of only two, had been restored in 2019 and, estimated at £300,000-400,000 in 2021, fetched £255,000 with premium. Whereas a £120,000-160,000 guided 1960 Maserati 3500GT by Touring, restored in Germany before coming to the UK, sold for £154,000, and a below £140,000-160,000 forecast £137,500 was accepted for a 1928 Lancia Lambda 4-Door Tourer from one Portugese family ownership for over 92 years.
The 1957 Lotus Eleven Climax displayed at the 1958 Motor Show Geneva had been much raced until 1973, when acquired by Lotus historian David Morgan, in whose ownership the car was fully restored, which included having the aluminium bodywork partially renewed by original oanel makers Williams & Pritchard. Although estimated at £125,000-175,000, a best bid of £93,000 was accepted and this interesting example was surely well bought for £102,300 with premium.
The other internet sale valuations – a carriage-like 1906 CGV 20hp TC1 Landaulet, made in Paris, sold for £72,600; a 1912 Paterson 30hp Touring Car with well upholstered seats for four from Flint Michigan made £18,150; a Wolverhampton-made in 1910 Briton 10.12hp Twin with bench seating for two was i-hammered for £17,050; and a left to right-hand drive converted during restoration 1974 Fiat 500 cost the nex keeper £17,050 with premium.
As our snap of the £2.5M GT40 above shows, all the cars on offer could be viewed pre-sale, by appointment, in really well distanced and well-lit storage facilities in Hertfordshire, comfortably north of the M25 and the anti-car Mayor Khan’s no-go capital. RH-E

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1929 Alfa Romeo 6C Supercharged 1750 Spider sold for £588,000 in Richard Edmonds tent was highest priced classic auctioned in UK during May


The 3rd Series Alfa 8C Super Sports from the first year of 1750 production, with Zagato Spider bodywork still original, but replacement 1933-manufactured 1750 SS engine, had come to market from the estate of the late Michael Hirst.
The proprietor of Frenchay Garage had owned the car for sixty years, during which time he and his wife Jo, stalwarts of what was then the Alfa Romeo section of the Vintage Sports Car Club, drove their ‘JYH 98’ registered 6C to many events both in the UK and abroad.
On a 23 May Sunday morning in the Richard Edmonds auction tent pitched on a farm near Chippenham, and even though £650,000+ had been suggested, a provisional bid of £525,000 was accepted and the 1929-dated 0312931 numbered 6C chassis car with 1933 engine number 121215071 was sold for £588,000 with premium.
Whereas a Rolls-Royce Phantom I, supplied new in 1927 with a Landaulette body by Park Ward, but topped with the current open Tourer coachwork for four or more in the 1970s (possibly by Tony Robinson), had been pre-sale estimated at £25,000-35,000.
Even though the ‘MP 1140’ registered chassis 7UF had not been driven anywhere since 2014, and the clutch and Autovac had seized, there were two offers on commission on the book versus nine more contestants on telephones, all of whom wanted to own the car, which soon sold in the socially-distanced auction tent for £70,500, £78,960 with premium.
A once considered to be ‘1902 Georges Richard’ in the sale had been more correctly catalogue-described as a circa 1903 ‘Veteran Anonyme’ of 16.4hp (2.3 twin) engine capacity with full four-seater double-phaeton body.
For in 1994, the learned Veteran Car Club Dating Committee had been unable to confirm that the chassis was Georges Richard or that the engine was original. They were of the opinion however that all the parts were of the correct period and that the main components were an entity from an unknown maker, and issued the car with the all-important VCC Certificate of Eligibility, enabling it to take part in the London to Brighton Run, which it did until 1999.
The ‘BS 8083’ UK registered Veteran with 490 numbered chassis had been guided at £40,000-50,000 and cost the next London to Brighton Runner £49,280 including the premium.
A UK market Renault Type AZ 12/16hp 2.4, supplied new in 1909 by ‘Renault Freres Ltd for Great Britain and the Colonies’, and fitted with Landaulette coachwork by Lucas of London, had been first registered in Kent and then  Wiltshire, before residency in the US followed by repatriation in 1990. The latest guardian paid £30,520 for it, the lower estimate.
£20,000-30,000 had been suggested for a one family owned 1965 VW ‘Split-Screen’ Deluxe ’21-Window’ Microbus with fold-down gas stove and removable table, original features so often lost after fifty-six years.
But despite some rust-munching to the edges of some of the lower panels and declared “exhaust blow and historical gearbox oil leak”, a bidder in the auction tent had to bid £36,000 to win the keys of the Camper and pay £40,320 with premium.
Purchased in 2003 as a part-done resto-project in receipt of older repaint, that took the vendor three more years to complete and drive to events, a 1960 MGA 1600 with £12,000-15,000 estimate to reflect a scratched and dented driver’s door realised £20,160 with premium.
An £8,000-12,000 guided MG TD left hooker first owned by a US serviceman in 1952, repatriated in 2000 and acquired by the vendor in 2001, had benefited from retro-conversion from original 4-speed to Ford 5-speed gearbox. Fifteen years later, it sold here for £8,960.
A 1964 Morris 1098 Light Van, clearly restored to a high standard with bills and photos supporting work carried out, deservedly picked up a more than top estimate £11,700. Whilst a 1967 Minor Traveller/Woody upgraded with 1098 engine that had been evented in Wales and Ireland found £4,400 in England.
A forecast £15,008 bought a Canadian-built 1928 Ford Model A 3.3 Tourer for five, six at a squeeze, £7,280 an Iowa sourced 1926 Model T for further recommissioning.
Slightly younger, a 1928 Austin 7 Chummy with flexible driveshaft coupling replaced by a properly engineered Hardy Spicer one looked neat for £11,200. Whilst a 1932-dated A7 Special chassis with body, but engine and gearbox dismantled and registration no longer on the DVLA system, was taken on for £3,300.
A 1931 Austin 16/6 Burnham Saloon with flashing indicators from the clearly caring ownership a late member of the Austin Ten Drivers Club was deserving of the £12,320 paid, top estimate money. Previously restored and now extremely rare examples of a 1932 10/4 Saloon with sliding rood working had to be worth the £5,488 paid and a 1947 Austin 8 Saloon in need of only minor recommissioning £3,360.
A 1974 Rover P6 3500S, repainted following wings renewal during continuous Bristol ownership by three registered keepers in two families, made a more than top estimate £14,000. Whilst thanks to the starring 6C fetching £588k, the 61% sold car section grossed £1,042,496 and buyers had spent a premium-inclusive average of £27,434 per classic bought. .
And where else on the UK auction circuit, but at a Richard Edmonds auction could one find and land a 1973 Citroen SM rolling project for £19,040 – or how about a pleasantly patinated 19th century horse-drawn Victorian Gentleman’s Carriage for the conservatory or smoking area for a mere £1,680?
The Wiltshire firm’s website with details of their next sale can be accessed via clicking onto their logo among our supporting auction houses on the right of our Home Page. RH-E

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14 top cars sell for 11.6m euros (£10m) at Milanese Palazzo where Roger Vadim/Jane Fonda 1966 Ferrari 275GTB achieves 2.26m euros (£1.94m)

RM Sotheby’s conducted its first ever Milan auction as a ‘Boutique Sale’ with the 19 classics grossing 11,635,000 euros (£10,006,100) at the Palazzo Serbelloni, where a new world record price was paid for 1988 Lamborghini LM002.
The 15 June auction, held ‘Live’ with ‘In-Person’ bidding, saw high levels of interest and activity across all 19 lots, with the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, 2000 Ferrari 550 GT1 and 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Scaglietti occupying the top three steps of the podium.
This was the first RM Sotheby’s sale in Europe to welcome clients back to a live auction environment, and the well-attended event was a stunning spectacle with the specially curated roster of cars displayed under the Italian blue sky and surrounded by some of Milan’s most historic buildings.
It was perhaps no surprise that the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, chassis 08641 (photographed by Paolo Carlini for RM Sotheby’s and whom we gratefully credit), which was bought new in 1966 by Roger Vadim and subsequently owned by his then wife, Jane Fonda, was the top seller on the day. Beautifully restored and presented in its original Azzuro with black leather interior, the Ferrari Classiche certificated Italian achieved 2,255,000 euros (£1,939,300).
A performance Ferrari from another era, the 2000 Ferrari 550 GT1, was the second highest price achieved on the day. One of 2 cars built by Italtecnica for Team Rafanelli for the 2001 FIA GT Championship, and originally driven by Naspetti and Schiattarella, and with a successful period racing career over two full seasons of GT racing, the car sold for an impressive 1,805,000 euros (£1,552,300).
Rounding out the top three sales was the much-admired 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta, the 65th of a total of only 350 units built, and presented in its original shade of metallic silver grey and fitted with a black interior. With bnefit of matching numbers and Ferrari Classiche certification, it transacted for 1,478,750 euros (£1,271,725).
While the final car to bring over 1,000,000 euros (£860,000) in public in Northern Italy was the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, a car with fantastic provenance and featuring a unique glass hardtop, which brought 1,051,250 (£904,075).
Other notable sales include the 1996 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI ITC, a formidable 155 DTM/ITC Works Touring Car from Alfa Corse. Piloted by Nicola Larini during the 1996 ITC Season, and offered in event-ready condition, this not so old factory racer car achieved 792,500 (£681,550).
The 2004 Koenigsegg CCR sold in Milan meanwhile was the first CCR revealed to the public at the 2004 Geneva International Motor Show, and achieved a final price of 798,125 (£686,388), exceeding its pre-sale estimate, as did the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series III, a fine restored example which brought an impressive 466,250 euros (£400,975).
Another stand-out result was the 1988 Lamborghini LM002. Lamborghini only made 328 of these Desert Stormers between 1986 and 1993, and the car offered was a desirable early production, carburettor-engined version. Smashing its pre-sale estimate, it sold for 393,125 euros (£388,088), a world record auction price for an LM002.
Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Head of Sales at RM Sotheby’s Europe, said: “We are really delighted with the results of our first ever Milan sale. Our intention was to bring a small boutique style auction to Milan, close to the hub of the Mille Miglia activity in the region, and offer a selection of very high-quality cars.”
“We have achieved our goal and have once again proven that demand for exceptional cars is very strong, and that the traditional live auction format taking place in an outstanding location, is still highly sought after by both buyers and sellers of high-end automobiles.”
The Top Ten in Milano were –
1.1966 Ferrari 275GTB 2,255,000 euros (£1,939,300)
2.2000 Ferrari 550GT1 1,805,000 (£1,552,300)
3.1963 Ferrari 250GT/L Berinetta Lusso 1,478,750 (£1,271,725)
4.1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster 1,051,250 (£904,075)
5.2004 Koenigsegg CCR 798,125 (£686,388)
6.1996 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI ITC 792,500 euros (£681,550)
7.1951 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupe 640,625 euros (£550,938)
8.1931 Bugatti Type 46 ‘Superprofile’ Coupe 545,000 euros (£468,700)
9.1963 Ferrari 250GTE 2+2 S3 466,250 euros (£400,975)
10.1960 Aston Martin DB4 S2 455,000 euros (£391,300)
Whereas the 1980 Lancia Rally SE 037 Prototype 037-001 failed to attract a new owner-driver, running out of road with an insufficient 630,000 euros (£541,800) on the screen.
A 1973 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta was also unsold at 490,000 euros (£421,400), whilst 340,000 euros (£292,400) was also insufficient for a 1973 Dino 246GTS. Whilst 240,000 euros (£206,400) did not buy the 1994 Alfa Romeo 155 TS BTCC number 90080 nor was 70,000 euros (£60,200) enough for the vendor of a 1959 Giulietta Spider.
Just 5 no sales therefore, but with 14 sold and therefore a 74% sale rate with an average of £71,472 spent per car bought. RH-E

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Over nine auction days Mecum sell 83% of the 2,057 muscular automobiles that crossed their Indy block for $107.8M (£76.5m)

With sales totalling more than $107.8m (£76.5m) during a 14-22 May bonanza, Dana Mecum’s 34th Original Spring Classic became their second auction in 2021 to achieve more than $100m (£71m) in overall sales, a first within the collector car auction industry, and another in a long line of record-setting events for the world’s largest collector car auction company.
Of the 2,057 cars offered throughout the nine auction days, 1,715 hammered-sold for a healthy sell-through rate of 83%, with the six highest-priced sellers clearing the million-dollar barrier, and the results-topping 1930 Duesenberg Model SJ Rollston Convertible Victoria, originally built in Indianapolis and shown above, fetching $2.97m (£2.1m).
There was a tie for the auction’s second spot on the podium with the Parnelli Jones 1969 Ford Bronco ‘Big Oly’ selling Friday 21 May for $1,87m (£1,32m) to stake a claim as the world’s most valuable truck, while a technologically much more modern 2020 Ford GT Mk2, driven just 15 miles and sporting one-off Ken Miles livery made the same money Saturday 22 May.
Although this was not the first time Mecum had broken the $100m (£71m) mark with a single auction event, it was the first time that their flagship sale in Indianapolis had grossed so much and the first time any collector car auction company had done it twice in one year,.
Private collections were plentiful in Indy, with more than a dozen of them achieving overall sales in excess of seven figures, and some of the largest and highest quality assemblages reaching well into the multi-millions.
The headlining ‘Personal Collection of Parnelli Jones’ brought a total of $3.15m (£2.24m), and the six top-shelf Select Red/Red Survivor Corvettes from the Dr. Mark Davis Collection achieved a total of $1.05m (£745,500).
The expansive Charlie Thomas Estate Collection saw 145 of its cars hammer-sold for a total of $6.67m (£4.74m), and the 26-car ‘No Reserve’ Collection offered by Marshall Goldman achieved a similar $6.59m (£4.68m). Gene Hetland’s celebrated Deuceheaven Collection reached $2.68m (£1.9m) and ‘John Lucey’s Nine Fine Rides’ totalled $1.35m (£958,500).
The Mecum 2021 Indy Top Ten included two Brits, both McLarens, a P1 and a Senna -
1.1930 Duesenberg Model SJ Rollston Convertible Victoria at $2,970,000 (£2,108,700)
2.1969 Ford Bronco 'Big Oly' at $1,870,000 (£1,327,700)
3.2020 Ford GT MkII at $1,870,000 (£1,327,700)
4.2014 McLaren P1 at $1,347,500 (£956,725)
52019 Ford GT Lightweight at $1,100,000 (£781,000)
6.2019 Ford GT at $1,045,000 (£741,950)
7.2019 McLaren Senna at $946,000 (£671,660)
8.1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster at $907,500 (£644,325)
92011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta at $880,000 (£624,800)
10.2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition at $572,000 (£406,120)
In addition to the cars, more than 2,709 lots of Road Art were auctioned and there were buyers for 2,628 of the items. Among them, a Miles Ahead Carroll Shelby Statue sold for $41,300 (£29,323), a Ford Double-Sided Porcelain Neon Sign brought $35,400 (£25,134), and the Big Oly Race-Worn Helmet and Goggles sold for $25,960 (£18,432).
One unique offering at the Indy Sales this year was Mecum Bidder Badge No 2, which was offered as part of an Estate Collection with all proceeds to benefit Mecum Auctions’ charity of choice, Curing Kids Cancer. The badge itself brought a total of $236,000 (£167,560) to benefit the honorable CKC mission, while the remaining three cars in the high-quality estate offering achieved an aggregate $662,200 (£470,162).
This epic 9 Day Indy Drive-By Auction meanwhile grossed £12.5m more than all the other UK auctions reviewed on this website during the month of May added together. While 615 more mostly Muscular American Automobiles changed hands at the Indy sales than the 1100 classics sold in Brexit Blighty last month. RH-E

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The Market tops £2m in May with UK records of £34,000 for TVR 450 SEAC and £17,850 for Honda Integra Type R

May was a record breaker for The Market by Bonhams as the now well established On-Line Only Classic Car Auctioneers clocked up sales of clients’ cars that exceeded the £2m milestone for the first time with total sales of £2,018,526. The stats for the month being 78 cars successfully sold from 90 offered, so 12 unsold, although an 87% sale rate.
The internet headliners were headed by a Jaguar XK150 that had started life 9 August 1960 at the Browns Lane works in what used to be The Midlands Motown, but is the current City of Culture, first as a Home Market Fixed Head, but was retrospectively converted into a Drophead. The Heritage Certificate on file showed that this 150 – a 3.8 265bhp ‘S’ - was manufactured sixty-one years ago, since when chassis, engine, body and gearbox numbers all still match.
Only 926 S Roadsters, 249 S Coupes and 140 S Dropheads were made. Only a minority had the 3.8-litre engine, and even fewer were in Right-Hand Drive. For Jaguar built only 23 OTS (Open Two Seater Roadsters), 69 DHCs (Drophead Coupes) and 115 FHCs (Fixed Head Coupes) in 3.8-litre S RHD form.
By the time its digital time had ran out, the apparently cosmetically sharp XK150S FHC to DHC, pre-estimated by the i-auctioneers at £85,000-110,000, had been valued by the new owner at £109,503, more than a similarly restored FHC and considerably less than most always DHCs.
Another noteworthy performer during May was a MGA Coupe in Chariot Red 2-pack with Monte Carlo Rally history (pictured above). Expected by the auctioneers to cost a bidder £32,000-45,000, the sixty-two year old rally MG duly cost the winning bidder £45,250.
Original owner Frank ‘Cliff’ Ward had purchased the Mk1 A FHC 1 August 1959 with a view to competing as a privateer on the 1960 Monte, and that’s exactly what he did, starting at The Hague in Belgium and finishing in the Principality of Monaco in 130th place. Once he had finished the rally, Ward flew home and his co-driver then drove ‘YDU 55’ solo back to the Midlands.
A British Heritage Motor Trust certificate confirmed the sale car’s chassis number, recorded in both V5 and original buff logbook, while car and crew featured in action in a Pathé newsreel clip of the 1960 Monte Carlo Rally on YouTube.
With special-order comp seats retained, the passenger one reclining, the car was comprehensively restored 2010-2013 before being period-corrected with authentically turned out steel wheels in Red Oxide and refitted with full complement of rally accessories, such as Lucas roof-mounted lamp to spot signposts and bends, now illegal to use, but once obligatory for the all night road eventer.
There were also two UK auction record prices on this platform in May, with a 1989 TVR 450 SEAC Convertible - produced for one year only between 1988 and 1989,  and for many, the “ultimate” wedge-shaped, but tail-waggy TVR money can buy - sold for a new high for model £34,000.
Initially produced as a ‘420 SEAC’ with a 4.2-litre Rover V8 between 1986 and 1988, the 450 version with 'Aramid Composite' body over a tubular space-frame received the enlarged 4.5-litre engine, which was also Rover-sourced, boosting power to around 324bhp and slashing the 0-60 time down to just 4.3s. “That’s a figure that is shocking even in today’s world, let alone at the tail-end of the 80’s”, opines The Market’s cataloguer.
The other record buster was a Honda Integra Type R in White with over-large rear wing, hailed in 1999 as a ‘Race Car for the Road’. In UK-spec, with therefore smaller-diameter four headlights, not larger twin lamp, and driven less than 35,000 miles over 22 years, the VTEC powered pocket-rocket had been estimated to sell for £15,000-£25,000 and sold for £17,850.
Tristan Judge, Director at The Market by Bonhams, told C.A.R:” We’re very pleased with our results from May and the excellent progress that we continue to make. We think these are clear proof that the link with Bonhams is now adding to our credibility with both buyers and sellers alike.
“We are seeing further strength in the classic car market in general, with particular interest in the more modern examples. We’re also seeing continued interest and strength from enthusiasts and, unsurprisingly, the better the condition of the car, the more those cars are achieving higher prices and this is just as true for E-Types through to modern classics”
Viewing of internet auctioned cars is always encouraged, either by appointment with vendors, or when cars are physically located at The Market HQ near Abingdon, which is open 9am-5pm Mon-Fri. Surfers may find ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ on the website menu helpful.
All on-line shopping, which no longer diffentiate between night, weekdays and weekends, has boomed during pandemic, and 24/7 on-line platforms, like this one, are most unlikely to decline in popularity with vendors and buyers, even when the normality of live selling during saleroom or office opening hours is permitted to make a comeback. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be - click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. And thanks for visiting this independent resource which can be surfed entirely free of charge
 

‘Drive Through’ before live punters returns to Bicester, where Bonhams MPH bidders competed for cars in Hangar 113 versus phones and net

All six Aston Martins sold out last month, led by a £170,000-190,000 estimated 1966 DB6 uprated to Vantage engine on SU carbs, for which a buyer paid £177,750 with premium.
A 1968 DB6, an ex-auto now manual from storage, and a 1968 DB6 auto with webasto requiring recommissioning were both auctioned during this 22 May sale Without Reserve for £168,750 and £153,000 respectively.
A No Reserve 1974 V8 auto with electric sunroof fetched £64,175. Whilst a 1971 DBS V8 manual for restoration was taken on for £48,375 and a 1973 AM V8 auto project for £39,375.
A 1974 Jaguar E Type S3 Roadster in “well used condition” and currently on its second V12 in a “relatively tatty engine bay” had been realistically guided at £35,000-40,000, but realised £57,375 with premium.
By far the most extraordinary Jaguar valuation during a Saturday afternoon in Oxfordshire though was the £90,000 paid for the remains of a 1960 XK150 Drophead, admittedly a ‘3.8 S’ from deceased single ownership since 1969, but which had crashed head-on into an apparently very sturdy tree in 1996.
Another memorable performance under Bonhams MPH auctioneer Rob Hubbard’s gavel was that of a No Reserve 1935 MG L1 ‘K3 Special’ with Marshall blower, crash box and 13in Electron drum brakes. When ascending Prescott in 1978 however, the 1087cc straight six ran a big-end bearing and, with a potentially ruined crank, ‘ARH 701’ had been parked up in a dry barn ever since.
On auction day, the £30,000-50,000 guide was rapidly overtaken, and a clearly determined winner had to bid £68,000 and pay £74,250 with premium to become the next owner of a most charismatic MMM Registered Pre-war MG.
By contrast, a fully loaded Range Rover Vogue supplied new by JLR to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2013, since when it had only done 38,420 miles and was still in warranty, was virtually still new for the £50,625 paid in the WW2 hangar.
The 1958 Austin A40 Farina Rally Car ‘XOE 778’, driven by Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom to win the Ladies Prize and finish tenth overall on the 1959 Monte, was globally and pro-webcast by steadycam when driven past the rostrum into new hands for £45,000, a new record auction price for an A40 Farina at auction.
Much admired was the 1930 Austin Heavy Twelve Tourer Deluxe for four, which had been affectionally named ‘Old Min’ - the nickname for The Goons Show character, the elderly spinster Minnie Bannister – when acquired by Spike Milligan in the 1950s.  When Milligan lost his licence, fellow Goon and serial petrolhead Peter Sellers owned ‘GO 3232’ until his death in 1980.
Having been acquired in 2010 by Aston Martin specialist Richard Williams, who had been virtually ‘fleet manager’ for the superstar’s car collection, ‘Old Min’ was treated to a £45k restoration completed in 2016. Freshly serviced and fully operational, the 91 year old Austin with double Goon provenance was driven through to sell for a mid-estimate £30,375.
Two other stand-out cars were a totally optioned 1988 Mercedes-Benz 500SE, a one owner right-hand driver with a mere 8,400 mileage on the odo, which was claimed to have been well maintained and dry-stored. Guided at £15,000-20,000, the autobahn-stormer was keenly contested in room and on telephone until gavel fall at £26,000, costing the second owner £29,250 with premium.
While a Morris Minor 1000 Traveller in receipt of 2012-2015 restoration, but which, like the majority of classic cars in the UK, had not be out on the road for the last year. With only one previous owner recorded from new in 1967, this “honest example” of the half-timbered wheels of choice for Middle Englanders in the post-war shires comfortably cleared the £6,000-8,000 estimate to sell for £10,687.
By the time the aircraft doors of Hangar 113 doors had been shut, 72 or 80% of the 90 classics on the runway had flown away to new airfields. Buyers paid a premium total of £1,812,690 for them, paying an average of £25,176 per classic bought.
Consigning 21 No Reserve cars, 29% of those sold in Oxfordshire, certainly boosted the feel good factor for market watchers. Whilst although below lower estimate figures were accepted for 21% of cars sold, 30% made within estimate money and more than top estimate prices were paid by buyers of 20% of them.
Rob Hubbard, Head of Bonhams MPH, said: “We were delighted to welcome bidders back to the traditional live auction at Bicester Heritage and the activity in the room shows that they were pleased to be back too. They had healthy competition however from online and Bonhams app bidders, who followed the livestreamed sale with our enhanced video presentation.
“The enthusiast market is in rude health at present and we are delighted to continue to support this essential element of the collectors’ car market.”
The next physical sales for the Bonhams MPH team, where bidding in the saleroom (actually hangar or tent) will be welcomed again, have been scheduled for Saturday 17 July, when the next Drive Through takes place at Bicester Heritage, and then Saturday 4 September for Automobilia with Sunday 5 September for Cars in the grounds of the National Motor Museum during Beaulieu International Autojumble weekend. RH-E

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Austin Allegro outperforms E-Type Jag and Ferrari 308, say Hagerty analysts, who add 196 unexceptionally average cars to their Price Guide

Once everyday cars are now rising at a rapid rate year on year, the Triumph 1300 increasing more than 20 per cent over the period, claim the leading collector vehicle insurance brokers.
Their experts identify the 20 biggest climbers in what they call ‘The Unexceptional Market - with models rising between 4 and 20 per cent. By comparison, Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12s have increased in value 8.2 per cent over the same period (2020-2021).
The ‘2021 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional’ takes place at Grimsthorpe Castle on Saturday 30 July, where forgotten vehicles, once a common sight on UK roads and most of which have been scrapped, will be showcased.
Ordinary, everyday cars – affectionately known by the brokers as 'Unexceptional'  – that were once the motor industry manufactured backbone of Britain are now proving so sought-after that many are rising in value faster than versions of the Jaguar E-Type.
The latest data from the Hagerty Price Guide reveals everyday cars have enjoyed a bumper year of growth, with values rising as much as 20 per cent year on year.
This resource actively tracks market values for nearly 2,200 cherished cars so owners, as well as buyers and sellers, have an accurate picture of their car's worth.
The latest update has seen 196 once-average models added to the guide, and the analysts that compile the data – taking sales results from UK auctions, trade sales and private sales – have compared average value in 2020 with their average in 2021 to date.
Models - including the Ford Cortina, Renault 4, Hillman Imp, Austin Princess, and the infamous Allegro - have posted the biggest increases in value, so far this year. Their values, say the number crunchers, have increased between 4.4 and 20.4 per cent for the top 10 performers, at a time when precious few bank savings accounts have bettered returns of 1 per cent.
These once daily drivers have been joined by other strong performers that became household names, such as the Ford Fiesta, Austin Metro and Vauxhall Cavalier, formerly humble family cars or rep-mobiles that now have fans.
With a healthy rise in value, these cars often offset any associated running and maintenance costs, making them a surprisingly sound investment, say the brokers, whose Top 10 performers are led by the 1965-1970 Triumph 1300, with a charted increase in achieved prices of 20.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2020.
In second place, the 1962-1966 Ford Cortina Mk1, with an increase of 19.4 per cent, and third, the 1973-1982 Austin Allegro, an increase of 13.6 per cent.
Fourth, the 1962-1980 Renault 4, increasing by 10.6 per cent
Fifth, 1963-1976 Hillman Imp, increase 10.1 per cent
Sixth, 1970-1976 Ford Cortina Mk3, increase 7.8 per cent
Seventh, 1968-1979 Renault 16, increase 7.4 per cent
Eighth, 1948-1960 Peugeot 203, increase 5.2 per cent
Ninth, 1975-1981 British Leyland Princess, increase 5.1 per cent
And in tenth place, 1987-1994 Alfa Romeo 33, increase 4.4 per cent
The rest of the top twenty and their monitored gains in one year, 1980-1985 Alfa Romeo 116, increase 4.3%; 1986-1989 Ford Fiesta Mk2, increase 4.1%; 1980-1990 Austin Metro, increase 3.2%; 1982-1993 Ford Sierra, increase 2.9%; 1979-1979 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, increase 2.7%; 1967-1970 Ford Cortina Mk2, increase 2.7%; 1965-1968 Wolseley 1100, increase 2.5%; 1967-1973 Wolseley 1300, increase 2.2%; 1966-1977 Hillman Hunter, increase 1.8%; and 1969-1980 Peugeot 304, increase 1.6%.
As a yardstick, the Price Guide’s latest data shows that the Jaguar E-type Series 3 V12 has risen in value by 8.2 per cent in the past year, from an average sale price of £54,988 across all models in 2020 to £59,500 in 2021.
Whereas the Ferrari 308 GTB has gone from £61,200 to £65,475, gaining 7 per cent. And some affordable sporty classics have gone up too, a Triumph Spitfire now being worth on average 4.5 per cent more than it was this time in 2020.
For enthusiast, these unexceptional classics represent an affordable as well as an enjoyable route to owning a now special survivor. The majority of risers still cost no more than £4,000, but the stats indicate are on the up.
John Mayhead, Head of Automotive Intelligence for Hagerty, reckons that there is a simple reason seemingly ordinary cars are becoming more sought-after by Britain's car enthusiasts. "These everyday cars are becoming increasingly rare. For decades the vast majority were unloved workhorses that would eventually be sold for scrap at best.
“Now, with rarity on their side and nostalgia tugging at the heartstrings, enthusiasts are snapping up the remaining examples, sometimes because of an emotional connection and sometimes perhaps because they feel a duty to preserve them for the enjoyment of future generations."
Many of these increasingly rare, once everyday cars may be found at the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional, the concours event dedicated to unexceptional classic cars which will be staged 31 July at Grimsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire.
Best advice has to be to enjoy the unexceptional - and the exceptional - while petrol can still be legally purchased, old cars are permitted to exercise in public and green zealots have not extinguished what remains of our automotive heritage. RH-E

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Astons sold-out and three world auction records were set by Silverstone during Midland firm’s return to trad-format auctions at Stoneleigh

The Silverstone Auctions 22 May Sale at Stoneleigh Park, where cars on offer could be viewed in person by appointment during a very wide window 12-21 May, was the Midland firm’s first auction to be held in front of a ‘live audience’ for many months.
Noteworthy valuations for the current market on a Saturday afternoon in Warwickshire included the Petter Solberg 2004 Rally Japan winning Subaru Impreza S10 WRC. In receipt of Prodrive Legends restoration and forecast to cost £385,000-450,000, the factory team car was declared sold for £369,000.
Whereas a 1999 Subaru 22B-STi, one of just 16 assigned to the UK that had been treated to some mods, had been forecast to fetch £120,000-140,000, but was hammered in the room for £152,000, costing the third owner £171,000 with premium.
The rarest and most sought after Lancia Integrale, a one UK keeper Delta HF Evo 2, -a 1995 'Editzione Finale’ no less driven 5,400k from new - convincingly overtook a £145,000-165,000 forecast to make £218,250 on a telephone.   
An Italian registered 1965 Alfa Romeo 1900 Twin Cam, one of only eight with Coupe bodywork crafted by ATL beside Lake Como, attracted a more than top estimate bid of 180,000 to sell for £202,500.
A claimed to be ‘Tool Room Copy’ 1959 Jaguar C Type in aluminium with £150,000-180,000 on the price ticket did not sell under the hammer for £135,000, but sold afterwards for £155,000.
By contrast, the incomplete remains of a 1970 Jaguar E Type S2 4.2 Roadster left hooker, auctioned without reserve, was bravely taken on for £22,500, which, when rebuilt, may turn out to have been inexpensive or too much!
Another No Reserve 1998 Bentley Arnage, driven only 6000 miles in 23 years by husband and wife first owners, did well for the vendors by selling for £39,375. The third oldest Morris Mini Cooper from 1961 meanwhile, a pre-998cc 997cc engined Mk1, had been fully restored for the £31,500 paid to overtake a £20,000-25,000 pre-sale estimate.  
Neither of the front of rostrum parked headliners achieved their reserves however. For interest from three telephone bidders for the very first of 375 McLaren P1s to have been registered to a customer in 2013, for which £885,000-985,000 had been sought, petered out at £850,000.
While the sale of a £600,000-700,000 UK-supplied Ford GT that had been driven only 1000 miles since new in 2018 was abandoned with an insufficient £530,000 on the bids screen.
The £3,565,335 premium-inclusive cars section total was headed therefore by a 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Mk 1 Volante, an ex-auto retro-upgraded with a manual box, sold to a telephone bidder for £380,250, close to top estimate money.
There were buyers for all 10 Astons in this sale, including a 1957 DB2/4 Mk3 Left-Hand Drive Drophead sold for £218,000 (below the £240,000-280,000 estimate) and a 1969 DB6 4.0 5-Speed by Tremec for £196,875 (within the £185,000-220,000 estimate). By sale end, 43 or 68% of the 65 classics in the catalogue sold for an average of £82,915 per car and 62% of the classic bikes change hands.
This was actually Silverstone’s first dedicated sale for collector two wheelers, which included a 1973 Triumph X-75 Hurricane ‘Triple’, one of 1,152 produced by the old Triumph regime, sold for £29,813.
The 1969 Honda CB750 K0 has become sought after, particularly if in factory-correct Candy Blue and with 19,500 recorded miles as the bike auctioned, which sold for £15,638. A late production Norton Model 30 International from 1957 meanwhile had been restored to a very high standard and achieved £20,475. amSilverstone's sales of bikes and cars amounted to £3.8m with premium.
With the auction house’s first all-Ferrari sale 5 May 2020 at Sywell Aerdrome in Northamptonshire, their CCA subsidiary’s first sale outside the Midlands 25-27 June at the London Classic Car Show in Syon Park, Brentford, and a return to hopefully normal format sales for bikes 30 July and for cars 31 July during the Silverstone Classic, the 2020 UK auction collector vehicle market leaders will never have been busier. RH-E

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128 classics could be physically viewed at Brightwells in Herefordshire, where 91% sold on-line for over £1.4m before their i-time ran out

With economic restrictions eased (for the moment at least) as the double-dose vaccinated outnumber the statistically at-risk remainder, the muffled voices of mandatory masked consumers could again be heard in the Brightwells display units as physical viewing was permitted for the first time in many months.
For despite a techy-glitch between the Herefordshire auctioneers HQ and the Amazon server, which shut down the first running of the Timed-Out sale on the Thursday evening, by Monday 17 May evening normal service had resumed on the internet for the 128 classics consigned for the car section, and by the time bidding had ended 89% of the entry had changed hands.
After a few more post-sale deals had been concluded by telephone however, the sold rate increased to 91% and a premium-inclusive total of £1,423,093 had been spent on 116 classics (actually over £1.5m including bikes and registrations) and an average of £12,268 spent per car.
A particularly interesting assortment of vehicles also attracted absentee bidders to contest their ownership from as far afield as Hong Kong, the US and Australia plus one intrepid surfer from Saint Kits and Nevis!
The Car of the Sale’ for this reviewer was a 1947 Bristol 400 (pictured above), only the 9th example made and used by the factory as a development car to refine features for the production version.
Fitted with engine No 6, it had also doubled as a demonstrator, being loaned to the motoring press and to high profile customers like the Shah of Persia, who actually tried to buy the car, but was told to join the queue for the production model, just like everyone else!
Presenting really well following what had clearly been a meticulously executed restoration in the late 1990s, the Period Road Test Star inspired 28 bids before being purchased for what is claimed to have been an auction record £76,160 for the model.
The evening’s top seller was also rare. An 1963 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide, number 53 of only 55 made, had already had much money lavished upon it, but still had a few cosmetic issues to sort.
After 21 bids had been recorded, the ‘four door DB5’ was knocked down to an English collector for £100,800. Given that finer examples have been achieving £150k+, the price paid here left reasonable scope for funding any improvements or detailing required.
Three interesting cars from the John Malyan Collection were also successfully hammered away, top honours going to another 1948 Bristol 400, which was bid 19 times until electronically hammered for £41,440.
The 1951 Bentley MkVI from the same stable was contested by 74 bids before making £37,100, while an equally smart and TT Workshop restored 1938 Frazer-Nash BMW 320 Saloon, believed to be the sole survivor in roadworthy condition, raised £27,780 after 12 clicks.
Also attracting huge interest was a rather sorry-looking 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 750D in need of full restoration following 35 years in storage, the latter years unfortunately spent outdoors.
Fitted with a rare factory hardtop, the project was hotly contested by numerous overseas bidders before falling to a German collector for £20,050. Given that it should be worth at least three times that once restored, and was far from being a basket case, this could yet prove to be the canniest buy of the evening.
Much admired during the viewing was a very neat 1971 Fiat Dino 2400 Coupe, which was reckoned to be one of the best in the country. Having been pre-sale estimated at £45,000-55,000, a tenth bid of £38,800 secured the Ferarri engined Italian, costing the new owner £44,888 with premium.
Appealing to more Brist fanbase was a 1974 Jensen Interceptor MkIII, upon which over £20k had been recently spent on refurbishment. Thanks to 34 bids, the 4-seater from West Brom comfortably overtook the £25k bottom estimate with a winning bid of £38,200, the new owner’s valuation with premium being £42,780.
An apparently nicely sorted 1965 Sunbeam Tiger MkI with various MkII upgrades, guided at £39,000-42,000, was only let down only by micro-blistered paintwork following restoration more than twenty years ago. Even so, a 31st bid of £35,100 was the last one on the screen and the Tiger was bagged by the new owner for £40,320 with premium. The last three sold by Brightwells all made over £55k.
A Heritage Engineering 1975 SS100 replica with Jaguar 3.8 motor and 5-speed gearbox looked convincing for £42,100. Whilst Mercedes 107 Series Roadsters have been steadily rising in value of late and a tidy 1989 300SL in black with 107,000 mileage and aftermarket electric hood comfortably beat its £15k bottom estimate to finish on £25,200. A still air-cooled 1991 Porsche 911 Cabriolet (Type 964) with a slightly scruffy interior, 148,000 mileage and a few electrical issues still found a buyer on-line with £25,760.
The Fast Ford phenomenon showed no sign of abating with a very original 1979 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk2 in need of light restoration making a healthy £26,550, while a smart 1972 Alfa Romeo 1300GT from the same Irish collection made £20,720.
All but one of the ten MGs that crossed the virtual block found new garages with £20,160 the top price paid for another ex-Japanese market 1995 MG RV8 with only 27,000 mileage, while a 1953 MG TD wasn’t far behind at £19,660.
A 1959 Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite Mk1 fetched £15,800, a 1968 Mini Cooper Mk2 £16,860. Rather more quirky was a 1951 Jowett Javelin, originally manufactured in Bradford, but fresh from a nut-and-bolt restoration, which surely deserved the £10,860 valuation by the next keeper.
A still original 1974 Jensen-Healey MkII with only 21,800 mileage made £15,230. The £10,800 raised by a 1982 Triumph TR7 with 42,000 mileage was double the usual going rate for this once-unloved model.
A pair of classic off-roaders also fared well, with a freshly restored 1943 Ford Jeep GPW selling for a market-correct £24,750, while a highly original 1955 Austin Champ, one of a batch originally trialed by the Australian Army that had been museum stored for many years afterwards, went for £11,300
All but one the pre-war lots auctioned found new homes, top price going to a rare 1936 Railton Cobham Deluxe original sold for £20,750. A 1936 Fordson Model 61 E88W 25cwt Truck with interesting history, including carrying the priceless Mappa Mundi from its home in Hereford Cathedral to a place of safety on Clee Hill during World War Two, deservedly made £19,660.
A 1935 Talbot AW75 Six-Light Saloon sold for £16,800, a 1929 DeSoto Model K Roadster £15,680 and a 1924 Buick Type 35 Tourer £11,880. A 1929 Austin 7 Mulliner Fabric Saloon, one of only 36 surviving, looked like cramped fun for £10,200.
At the other end of the spectrum, a 1995 Toyota Supra MkIV Twin Turbo Automatic, in need of a full repaint following 20 years in storage, made £24,640, thanks to its high state of originality and 66,000 mileage. An only 22,000 mile example sold for £38,200 at Brightwells in April.
All but one of the 12 motorcycles on offer also changed hands with a top price of £8,680 going to a 1965 BSA A65 Lightning. The next Brightwells Timed-Out sale on the internet will be 23 June, for which entries close 11 June. RH-E

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Although price analysis show Ferraris depreciate less than Astons or McLarens, pre-owned supercars are now more affordable for more of us

Insurance brokers Hagerty monitors the global classic car market enabling their data team to provide insight to the car community and media alike.
In a new report, their global Automotive Intelligence team has investigated the depreciation curves of modern supercars, taking a departure from the more familiar classic market reports most often associated with the brand.
In an era of effortless performance, the market for modern luxury sports cars has become increasingly crowded with vehicles reporting performance statistics that would have once seemed impossible. Hagerty specialists compare them based on depreciation rates and suspect most owners would be more concerned about which loses a quarter of its value in three years, than which is faster to 60.
Using data from the UK and US markets, the number crunchers have chosen marques that reflect the traditional European supercars in this segment: Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.
The poster supercars analysed typically cost at least $100,000 (£70,000) – but less than $500,000 (£350,000), excluding optional extras. Each can be grouped into two categories, flagship models and the more accessible entry models. Typically, flagship statements require 12-cylinders or at least 700bhp. Whereas lower-level cars usually have 8 to 10-cylinders and around 500bhp.
While the brokers have lots of policy quote data (over 24,000 data points) for vehicles in this sector, they worked with expert industry partners at AutoTrader UKPremier Financial, and Woodside Credit to diversify the data. Within each data source, their analysts looked at how values for a vehicle changed over time.
A 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB Coupe was worth a certain amount in 2017 (year 0), a different amount in 2018 (year 1), and a third amount in 2019 (year 2). The change from year 0 to year 1 for a vehicle like a Ferrari 488 GTB Coupe revealed its depreciation over time irrespective of the model year.
After categorising vehicles by marque, model, sub-model, model year, body style, and engine type, they then calculated the losses.
Conclusion. All these kerbside head-turners depreciate – typically, by 20 per cent after three years. No amount of power, technology, or “specialness” can help a performance car completely escape the inevitable gravity that pulls down the values.
There are however differences, depending on the circumstances of their launch and, it seems, where they come from. In terms of the launch of a new supercar, the hype that accompanies the introduction of these cars seems to be a double-edged sword.
In some cases, it might create more initial demand than the factory is willing to meet, causing a blip of appreciation. For instance, the Ferrari 488 Pista Coupe was typically worth 6 per cent more a year after it launched as enthusiasts tried to jump the queue.
But by year three it, too, had fallen in value. The Pista falls by around 7 per cent; at the opposite end of the scale, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS has dropped by 30 per cent since launch.
Some cars with prominent launches depreciated more after the first year because they were purchased new at unsustainably expensive prices, perhaps driven by dealer markups and speculative buyers prepared to pay over the odds to jump the queue. The recent Porsche 911
GT2 RS saw an average of a 12 per cent decline in the first year, likely because of buyers who paid over list price – the manufacturer’s recommended retail price – and sold soon after.
Geography matters, too. The Italians, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, tend to depreciate less in three years than the Germans. Britain’s Aston Martin and McLaren depreciated by anywhere from a fifth to a quarter.
Porsche 911 GT3s (plotted as one model but calculated as separate GT3 and GT3 RS versions) show a bit more depreciation than the Turbo coupes, seemingly due to increased speculation. The Lamborghini Huracán depreciates more modestly than its cousin, the Audi R8 5.2 V10.
And generally, the convertible versions of the cars in the accessible set depreciate less than their coupe counterparts, except for the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT and Porsche 911 Turbo.
The Transatlantic conclusion of the market leading brokers is that this initial depreciation doesn’t mean these cars won’t be collectable in the long term, and there’s nothing here to say that tomorrow’s enthusiasts won’t lust after a contemporary McLaren.
However, for those who buy these cars new, and move on shortly after to the next big thing, there are clear disparities to consider. And to those who pick them up hoping to make a quick buck: look elsewhere.
For the rest of us, the good news is that pre-owned supercars will almost certainly continue to become more accessible to a much wider fan-base as confirmed by the achievable sums being paid in the real world for relatively recent McLarens, Astons and Lotuses, which can now be enjoyed for a more affordable fraction of their premium price past.
Although while the mass-electrification of increasingly autonomous private road transport may accelerate the descent of such petroleum-fueled dream machines through the bargain basement floor, their compulsory insurance premiums will continue to be prohibitively expensive for the very young or the far too old, who can only use taxed income to pay their bills. Life has always been most unfair to pedestrians. RH-E

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All 11 Astons sold out in Bonhams West End salerooms, where £4.2m was spent in an afternoon and only 2 classics were unsold

The Aston Martin best seller in New Bond Street was a 1968 DB6 Volante, one of 140 long-wheelbase Mk1 convertibles with the desirable five-speed manual transmission. Although forecast to sell for £400,000-500,000, a telephoned best bid of £370,000 was accepted and the matching numbers open-top in triple black sold for a results-topping £425,000.
One of a clutch of left-hand drive Astons, a ‘No Reserve’ 1960 DB4 S2, which required recommissioning before use and attracted import duty rate of 5% if remaining in Brexit Britain, overtook the £180,000-240,000 estimate to sell in the room for £240,000, costing a new owner £276,000 including premium.
A once Glasgow resident 1971 DB6 Mk2, one of 71 with factory-fitted Vantage engine, also required recommissioning after long term storage before being hammered away by auctioneer James Knight to an internet contestant for a within guide £218,500.
The earliest Aston to be displayed within the fine art saleroom was a 1930 1½-Litre International, one of 122 of the short-chassis tourers, which realised the lower estimate by being sold in the room for £126,500.
Whereas the cheapest on the day were dormant examples of a 1980 V8 Oscar India and a 1968 DBS Six, both of which were subject to 5% import duty if remaining in the UK, but which were sold ‘Without Reserve for £69,000 and £55,200 apiece.
A pre-war tourer from Bentley’s golden age, and one of the oldest motor cars in the sale, the ex-Forrest Lycett, Don McKenzie and ‘Jonty’ Williamson 1927 Bentley 3/4½ -Litre Speed Model Sports, estimated at £280,000-340,000, sold for £322,000. ,
While a statistically rare in left-hand drive 1961 Ace Ford Zephyr Six 2.6-litre Roadster, the sixth of only 36 production models built by AC owned by its vendor for 50 years, guided at £240,000-280, 000, sold for £287,500.
A Monaco Historique raced 1927-dated Bugatti T35B GP for two that has regularly ascended Prescott and Shelsey had been originally assembled in the 1970s on an Alan Wragg repro-chassis frame and powered by a Crosthwaite & Gardiner supercharged 2.3 8-cylinder engine.
With confirmed to be genuine Bugatti unnumbered front axle, numbered rear axle and Brescia gearbox, the ‘CPW 940’ registered chassis BC43 appeared to be on the handle and event-ready for the within estimate £333,500 paid by an absentee bidder.
With restoration receipts on file totalling £322,000, a 1962 Lancia Flaminia Sport 3C Zagato had won several concurs awards since completion in 2019 before also selling for £281,750, forecast money.
Restored to concours-standard, a 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta Coupé, one of just 50 ‘single-headlight’ variants of the Ghia-designed Mangusta with gullwing engine covers, had been forecast to fetch £200,000-250,000, was bid to £175,000 and sold for £201,250 with premium.
After three post-sales had been concluded, the stats were certainly market-assuring. For the eventual sale rate for cars in the New Bond Street flagship salerooms was 92% (up to 94% if £13,725 worth of Bugatti spares and two registrations sold for £2989 were included,) and buyers spent £4,216,300 on 24 cars, a premium-inclusive average of £175,679 per classic.
This 19 May Wednesday afternoon sale in the West End preceded a $20m (£14m) 83% sold Bonhams US sale the next day of 95 more collector vehicles at the Fernandina Beach Gold, Amelia Island, Florida.
Another 72 cars and projects then changed hands for £1.8m on the Saturday during the 80% sold MPH subsidiary’s Drive Through in the WW2 Hangar 113 at Bicester Heritage. Over £20m therefore had been spent on 191 cars on both sides of the Atlantic Pond at one auction house in one week.
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, who are currently consigning cars for their 9 July return to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed, said: “The Bond Street Sale was a welcome return to the live sale format and we were pleased to witness lively bidding from the saleroom as well as from online and telephone bidders. The impressive 94 per cent sale rate shows that there is a keen appetite for buying and selling collector’s motor cars in the capital.”
The recent run of classic auctions held by five auction firms in front of real punters meanwhile has been a most welcome comeback for the ‘Live Auction’ experience, which one can only hope will be spared any more lockdowns. RH-E

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Car & Classic ‘Green Top’ site records classified searches are up 39% across top 200 cars with Porsche 911 number one with surfers

Covid-19 has impacted on classic car ads searches at Car & Classic, where Europe’s leading classified site for classic car reveals the market has shifted post-lockdowns.
Latest data reveals pandemic has led to substantial changes in the marques and models buyers are clicking onto.
Overall searches are up 39 per cent across the top 200 cars. Whilst interest in ‘dream’ sports cars has surged with the Porsche 911 the surfers’ number one search (the model being down in fifth place during a Q1 2020 numbers crunch).
In second place on the website hits list currently is the Jaguar E-Type with both the Ford Mustang and the Nissan Skyline also putting on more visitor numbers.
Everyday classics such as the Ford Cortina meanwhile have dropped in the C&C rankings, and the Capri no longer occupies the top spot, although three Fast Fords are still in the site’s top ten, and there has been a surge in interest in Japanese ‘Modern Classics’, such as the Nissan Skyline, Toyota AE86 Corolla and Supra.
This latest data from the Green Top highlights a significant shift in the volume and type of cars that enthusiasts are searching for after more than a year of restrictions and lockdowns.
Their findings are already reflected in the numbers of registered bidders at auctions for those classics whose classifieds have become the most i-searched by internet browsers.
And so it is that popular classics, such as the MGB GT, Volkswagen Beetle and Ford Cortina (the latter falling from second to ninth when compared to Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 searches), have become less fashionable and slipped down the rankings, while some higher value icons have become more popular with surfers with pent-up money to spend.
The site’s latest data highlights other substantial movements that reflect trends in the wider European classic car market. Young timers or modern classics have risen in popularity with the 1980s E30 BMW 3 Series now the third most searched for car on the site.
Enthusiasts have also warmed to 80s hot hatches with a 25% rise in the number of searches for an XR2 and 44% for the Ford Escort XR3i. Japanese marques are also increasing in favour, with the Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota MR2 now featuring in the top 16 with the Nissan Skyline moving up 131 places to 27th place.
“So many of us spend time ‘Car and Classicing’- searching through the 40-odd thousand cars we list for sale either in our classifieds or auction,” says Chris Pollitt, Head of Editorial at Car & Classic.
“The searches highlight how the pandemic is driving and accelerating change in the classic car field. For some, it has meant more time to start a new project, for others, money saved not going on holiday could mean now buying the dream car they always wanted to own.
“The data also underlines that the classic car world is always changing. Whether that’s a new wave of cars such as 80s and 90s modern classics that are increasingly in vogue or a new generation of enthusiasts coming through with more time looking for some nostalgia. Or even pre-war or early post war cars becoming more affordable as fashions change.
“It’s truly fascinating to see what people are looking for. I still can’t quite believe there were 10,000 searches for the Reliant Robin!”
Alongside their classified offering, and as a reaction to the market demanding online-only car sales in pandemic, Car & Classic launched its stand-alone auction site last July and the platform has sold over £7.5m worth of vehicles from 750+ auctions since inception.
The website is currently having its busiest period with over 100 classics auctioned in the month of April, when UK lockdown rules eased, proving therefore that it may not be just Covid-related and a short-term project.
Formed in 2005, Car & Classic claims to be Europe’s number one classic and specialised vehicle website with over 3,800,000 unique visits from classic car enthusiasts around the globe every month. It is claimed that over 40,000 cars are listed at any one point from both private enthusiast and trade vendors.
The auction part of their platform meanwhile offers sellers of 'sight-unseen' veterans, pre-war and modern classics, barn-finds and concours-winners free escrow for secure payment and buyers 0% fees. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.

 

Over $42m (£29.4m) spent at RM Sotheby’s sale in Florida, where 95% of cars sold, including $5.73m (£4m) 1929 Duesenberg J Convertible-Coupe

A return to a traditional auction with real people present again confirmed some high prices paid for ‘Best of Category’ cars, ten of which achieved results of more than the magic $1m (£700,000) apiece, as bidders from over 27 countries competed on-line and via telephone with a ‘live’ in person audience.
RM Sotheby’s returned to the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island 22 May weekend for the company’s 23rd annual sale as the official auction house of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Although a single day live auction for 2021, the sale still totalled $42,174,340 with 95% of cars offered finding new homes. 
The undoubted star of the afternoon was the 1929 Duesenberg Model J 'Disappearing Top' Torpedo Convertible Coupe by Murphy (image by Mike Rioux above, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s). Beautifully restored, and one of only two examples built with polished and brushed bare aluminum coachwork, this still absolutely stunning looking automobile is reportedly ‘the sole intact survivor’.
With a well-known history from new, chassis 2199 passed through the hands of a few Southern California owners through its early life and, in 1951, was purchased by a long-time Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club member, remaining as his prized possession until 1985.
Recently, the Duesenberg underwent a meticulous restoration by RM Auto Restoration that has resulted in a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance award win plus Amelia Island Concours ‘Best in Class’ award. Smashing its high estimate of $4m (£2.8m), the Duesenberg ultimately hammer-sold for $5,725,000 (£4,007,500) with premium.
In keeping with their strong market segment, five of the top 10 sellers were Ferraris, proving that the Maranello marque has lost none of its lustre with investor-collectors. Topping that list was the 1995 Ferrari F50, a very desirable US-spec car and the 48th of 349 examples produced, being just one of 55 supplied to the US market.
Built to celebrate Ferrari’s 50th anniversary and the company’s only convertible, manual-transmission supercar, this stunning example achieved a final price of $3,772,500 (£2,640,750).
Rounding off the top three was the 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, one of 330 examples produced between 1966 and 1968, and of the most purposeful-looking and effective sports cars of its era.
Maintained and enjoyed by the same owner since 1973, this example benefitted from a full restoration by a leading specialist and is stunning in its Giallo Solare paint and Campagnolo alloy wheels, selling for $2,810,000 (£1,967,000), matching its pre-sale high estimate.   
Also noteworthy was the 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider, being one of only 121 examples built and the 1972 New York International Automobile Show car.
Retaining its matching-numbers chassis, engine, and gearbox, finished in the original Giallo Fly over Pelle Nera, and having covered fewer than 13,500 miles from new, the Ferrari Classiche Certified example sold for $2,452,500 (£1,716,750).
Despite there now being high depreciation rates for most recently retailed supercars, be they of Italian, German or British manufacture with premium prices now a phenomenum of the racent past, a 2012 Lexus LFA certainly excited some serious bidding in Florida.
For the 430th of 500 LFA’s produced between 2010 and 2012, and one of only 11 examples in Steel Grey, had less than 500 miles on the odo and sold for a remarkable $700,000 (£490,000) against its pre-sale high estimate of $500,000.
A homespun favourite for collectors, the 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra, originally used at a Shelby American demonstrator between September 1964 and January 1965, and completely restored by a leading Cobra authority, also achieved a very modern $967,500 (£677,250).
Other notable highlights from the sale included the second car to cross the auction block, an albeit pristine 1965 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8, which, after a spirited bidding contest, made a model-impressive $168,000 (£117,600) to set the tone for the afternoon.
A delightful single-family owner from new 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly exceeded its high estimate achieving a final price of $106,400 (£74,480), while an equally impressive condition 1965 Porsche 356 C Cabriolet smashed its high estimate, ultimately selling for $280,000 (£196,000). 
Reflecting on an exceptional afternoon in Florida, Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, said: “For reasons that clearly don’t require explanation, the past twelve months have been a turbulent period for the collector car market, but during that time RM Sotheby’s has demonstrated that both our online and live sales have maintained very good energy, engagement and solid results.
“What our Amelia Island sale has demonstrated, is that the market really is remarkably strong, with exceptional cars achieving great prices. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this sale is the sell-through rate, which at 95 percent demonstrates that cars coming to market with attractive pre-sale estimates, will always find a new home.”  
RM Sotheby’s returns to European live sales in three weeks, when it conducts its first Milan sale, taking place at the historic Palazzo Serbelloni in Italy. This boutique sale of 21 curated lots 15 June will be a live-streamed sale with two full days of preview.
Hot on the heels of Milan, RM Sotheby’s have consigned a single-owner collection of Rolls Royces and Bentleys, called ‘A Passion for Elegance’. Taking place on 19th June in Liechtenstein, the sale comprises 25 exceptional examples of some of the most desirable pre and post war cars from the iconic British marques.
Formula 1 together with RM Sotheby’s have announced a very special, single lot auction of the Lewis Hamilton 2010 McLaren Mercedes MP4-25A Formula 1 Race Car. Taking place 17 July during the weekend of the Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix, this marks the first time any Lewis Hamilton F1 Race car, let alone a Hamilton Grand Prix winning car has ever been offered for public sale.
This year their Monterey auction makes a hopefully post-pandemic return, taking place 13 and 14 August at the Portola Hotel, this in-person auction and long-standing event promises to offer a spectacular roster of cars. Headlining will be one of the most iconic sports-racers of all time, the Steve McQueen, ‘Le Mans’ movie legend, 1970 Porsche 917K Gulf-Racing Car.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. RH-E

 

With 100,000 jobs at risk as Red Tape threatens to strangle Classics Trade, newly launched HCVA will campaign to secure industry’s future

More than 100,000 jobs are in peril as a combination of bureaucracy and poorly-focused environmental legislation threatens Britain’s world leading classic vehicle industry.
With economic revival a top priority as the UK strives to recover from the Covid pandemic, highly-skilled engineers, restorers, craftsmen and parts suppliers face uncertainty over their livelihoods.
Leading figures in the classic vehicle industry fear complex new rules around exporting and importing cars and parts to and from the EU and widespread misunderstanding of the environmental impact of vintage motoring are damaging owners’ confidence and enthusiasm.
They are calling on British Politicians and Regulators to use their post-Brexit regulatory independence to help grow this valuable sector of the economy.
They have formed a new trade association, the Historic and Classic Vehicles Alliance (HCVA), which launches today (25 May) with a mission to protect and promote the sector and secure its long-term future.
The ‘not for profit’ organisation intends to campaign on behalf of individuals and companies in the classic vehicle world including specialist restorers, dealers, parts suppliers and a broad cross section of the multi-billion-pound industry.
The sector’s contribution to the UK economy is huge. Annual turnover including substantial international trade is estimated at £18.3 billion, the three-million-strong British classic fleet is valued at over £12billion and annual tax revenue generated for the exchequer is close to £3 billion!
Significantly, the industry is spread the length and breadth of the country, with clusters of specialists operating in the West Midlands, Lancashire, Kent and Sussex – and only 5% of activity based in London.
The trade, in which British craft skills and engineering excellence lead the world, supports around 113,000 jobs in thousands of specialist small businesses and supply chain firms. It also provides training places and apprenticeship schemes, giving opportunities to young people.  
HCVA Director Harry Whale said: "Our sector is a great British success story and has been for decades. But it’s in serious jeopardy and may not survive to continue providing opportunities for future generations if we don’t act now. In a world of mind-boggling bureaucracy, with environmental and other legislation looming, we need to ensure the voice of the industry and owners is heard and understood by regulators and those in power.
"We’ll work hard for the whole sector. We’re taking the initiative now to address current challenges, clear up confusion and grasp opportunities to find solutions. These problems span the world and we’re determined to take a long-term view as we campaign to secure the future."
Fellow Director Henry Pearman said: "Classic and historic vehicles invariably bring a smile to the face of people who see them on our roads or TV screens. There are more than a million passionate owners in the UK and around 10 million people who are interested in these vehicles which really are an important element of our national heritage.
"The time has come for us in the industry, owners and enthusiasts to all to join together to correct a host of myths and misconceptions and to protect and celebrate the world we love."
HCVA Advisory Board Member Emma Crickmay added: "It is absolutely vital we take steps to preserve jobs and encourage new generations into pursuing fulfilling careers in our industry. It is so important that conditions are created that allow us to develop training programmes, support skills transfer and boost diversity.
"We are very keen to see a boost in apprenticeships – it’s investment in the future. There is a passion, enthusiasm and devotion to the craftsmanship, materials and traditional skills of the individuals who work tirelessly restoring classic cars.
"These vital skills preserve historically and culturally important rolling pieces of mechanical artwork which educate and delight owners and enthusiasts, and light up a child’s face in wonder when they glide by. I’ve been that child and I’m now that enthusiast."

Sympathetic supporters of the new alliance include prominent politicians such as former transport minister and East Sussex MP Nus Ghani who has classic car trade firms in her constituency. She said: "The classic and historic vehicle industry is a great British success story that gives pleasure to millions and it would be disastrous if it suffered serious damage through neglect or ignorance.
"We need to do all we can to support a sector that provides thousands of highly skilled and well-paid jobs in my constituency and across the UK and preserves exemplary skills and craftsmanship.
“We should be looking for ways to help businesses find solutions to problems and, now more than ever, we should be making it easier – not harder - for reputable high-quality companies to serve their customers. In the current economic climate we certainly can’t afford to risk letting valuable jobs die. The HCVA has my wholehearted backing."
Fellow former minister and MP for Ludlow, as well as Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Philip Dunne, has also lent his support to the establishment of the HCVA, saying: "The historic and classic car sector plays an important role not only in preserving heritage, but also delivering skilled jobs. I wish HCVA success as they look to address issues facing the owners, enthusiasts and the industry as we emerge from the impact of the pandemic and seek to re-energise the economy.”
The HCVA is seeking solutions, as many businesses and owners find themselves trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare as they navigate red tape surrounding the movement of vehicles and parts for sales, restoration, competition preparation and events.
Alliance founders are on a mission to educate public, politicians and regulators on environmental issues. They are respectful of the green agenda and argue that restoration and revival of classic and historic vehicles is in fact the epitome of sustainability because it is all about applying enduring skills to prolonging the life of great pieces of craftsmanship rather than surrendering to built-in obsolescence.
The Alliance can demonstrate that, contrary to popular misconception, classic vehicle emissions have a relatively modest impact on the environment compared to many modern cars because they are typically better maintained and driven sparingly.
Restoring and improving a classic, they argue, creates far less emissions than producing and shipping any new vehicle. On average classics are only driven around 16 times a year covering circa 1200 miles, with many doing much less, and producing just 20% of the CO2 emissions from using a computer and a mobile phone for a year. 
Legendary Formula 1 Designer Professor Gordon Murray is also backing the HCVA. He said: "It has always been important to support individuals, companies and organisations that preserve our Automotive Heritage. The restoration and preservation of classic cars keeps our rich history in the automotive sector alive for future generations.
"As we move towards electrification and ever more stringent regulations, in my view it will become even more important to support and protect our classic automotive heritage."
A key aim of the HCVA is to instil confidence in the millions of classic vehicle owners when they deal with specialist firms. The alliance is committed to accountability and pledges to introduce reliable common standards and a code of conduct that all members sign up to.
HCVA membership is open to businesses and individuals from across the sector including established dealers, marque specialists, restorers, parts specialists, competition preparers, importation and registration services, transport and storage specialists.
The association will also welcome vehicle owners and enthusiasts as well as specialist auction businesses, historic racing and rallying organisations, classic car tours, concours and events organisers, museums, specialist insurers and car finance providers. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
Check out ‘Upcoming Sales’, too, for the most comprehensive one-stop diary listing when and where auctions may be taking place, if permitted to do so live’ - as the Number 10 Road Map continues to open up and economic life returns to the throttled economy  - or has to revert back to an internet-only activity if not.
 


 

1934 Mercedes 500/540K Spezial Roadster sells for $4.9m (£3.43m) during Bonhams return to ‘live’ auctions in US where 83% of vehicles sold

An always impressive 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K Spezial Roadster, from the collection of real estate developer, the late Howard Fafard, was the top lot, selling for $4.9 million (£3.430,000), at the 20 May Bonhams Amelia Island Auction.
The 500K led a successful return to live sales in the US for Bonhams, with the auction achieving an impressive 90 per cent sell-through rate (83% for the cars and carriages), with several multi-million-dollar sales, including the sole surviving 1913 Mercer Type 35K Runabout with its original bodywork, which sold for $2,425,000 (£1,697,500), doubling its pre-sale estimate.
The top-of-the-line Mercedes of its day, the Spezial was welcomed by applause from the audience, appreciating its unique specification with its plethora of chrome accents and factory-upgraded 540K engine.
Discovered as a dismantled barn-find in 1970s Poland, the Spezial was restored to its former glory by a previous owner who kept it for 40 years. It was then acquired by Mr Fafard, who had a particular passion for Mercedes-Benz, in Bonhams 2014 Mercedes Benz Sale in Stuttgart, where it was sold for charity.
Another collection which was 100% sold was the Clem and Mary Lange Collection of 13 seminal Brass era automobiles, which made a total of more than $8 million (£5.6m), exceeding its high estimate.
Its capstone was the Mercer, a supercar of its era and the luxury version of the legendary Indy 500 competing Type 35 Raceabout, which was the subject of a tense bidding war in the Bonhams saleroom. 
Two of its stablemates to also achieve seven figures were a 1933 Duesenberg Model J ‘Sweep Panel’ Dual Cowl Phaeton which sold for $1,655,000 (£1,165,500) and a 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet, which achieved $1,325,000 (£927,500) – both exceeding their top estimates. The Byer’s Collection was also 100% sold, exceeding its high estimate to realize $798,500 (£558,950) in total.
The Bonhams Amelia Island Auction assembled more than 100 collectors’ motorcars representing over a century of automotive history on the lawns of the Fernandina Beach Golf Club.
More contemporary highlights included -  2019 Porsche 911 Speedster, sold for $412,000 (£288,600), exceeding its top pre-sale estimate of $350,000 (£245,000), and a 2006 Ford GT Heritage edition, one of only 343 limited examples of the supercar finished with the ‘Gulf Oil’ Heritage livery of blue and orange, which made $387,250 (£271,075).

Horse-drawn to Horsepower –
The Fafard Collection presented some of the finest pre-war and Brass Era automobile and also included an exclusive selection of 19th century horse-drawn carriages. Produced by the most notable builders of their day, including Brewster & Co of New York and the Hume Carriage Company of Amesbury, Massachusetts, the carriages achieved a 100 per cent sell-through rate, led by a majestic Mountain Touring Coach by Boccardi E Alessio of Turin which sold above estimate for $162,575 (£113,925)
The collection contributed to the 100% sell-through rate of the auction’s automobilia section which realized a total of $637,000 (£445,900). 

Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Motoring Director and the auctioneer for the sale, said: “We’d missed the atmosphere and fun of the live saleroom over the past 14 months, but the results of this auction were truly worth the wait.”
“Our bidders were clearly pleased to be back in the saleroom with lots of spirited bidding from the floor, which were well-matched by much activity online and on the telephones.
“We were particularly delighted to have been able to offer several outstanding collections including the Fafard and Lange Collections.”
The Bonhams US team are now looking ahead to The Quail Auction which will be staged at the Quail Motorsports Meeting for the first time in two years. Cars are currently being invited for the August 13 sale. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
Check out ‘Upcoming Sales’, too, for the most comprehensive one-stop diary listing when and where auctions may be taking place, if permitted to do so live’ or on the internet-only if not.
 

1960 Aston Martin DB4 S2 makes £377,850 and 1998 Porsche 911 993 Turbo S £273,900 to head 77% sold £4.4m Historics Ascot sale

Having twice rescheduled their April date at Royal Ascot, due to the pandemic and then the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, Historics were able to run a May Sale as planned within the atrium of the racecourse grandstand and in front of a ‘live audience’.
Even though only three weeks after the last auction, over 800 visitors checked out another 166 consigned cars from a house record 47 different marques for all tastes and budgets over three days viewing.
While 1200 socially distanced catalogue holders attended the Saturday 15 May sale day itself, though the numbers in the saleroom area were limited by Ascot.
Bidding from attendees who had made the journey to a traditional auction, many for the first time for more than a year, was strong throughout the more than six hour sale and matched by significant numbers of phone bids. A further 827 absentee bidders from 24 countries meanwhile registered to compete for cars on-line via Historics’ internet bidding partner, Bidpath.
After many provisional bids had been converted into sales and transparently declared as ‘sold’ by the three auctioneers during the sale, and a few more post-sale deals were successfully concluded, 127 or 77% of the 166 cars that crossed the auction block in Berkshire on a Saturday had sold for £4,428,815 including premium, an average of £34,956 being spent per classic car bought.
Another irreversible sign of the pandemic era was that 50% of cars sold by number sold on-line, but 40% by value.
The largest jump above top estimate was the £92,400 with premium that was paid for a part and well restored 1971 Mercedes-Benz 250SL Roadster, with some parts to complete, that had been estimated to cost somebody £39,000-36,000. At the final bid of £84,000, remember, there would have been at least one under-bidder also trying to buy it.
Two more positive investments in their future were made when a pair of right-hand drive Alfa Romeos projects, both externally depreciated by damaged garage roof leaks and both auctioned at No Reserve, were hammered away for £77,000 for a 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale by Bertone and £34,100 for a 1967 Duetto 1600 Spider.
The Rolls-Royce Shadow 2-Door MPW Fixed Head Coupe first owned by movie star Sir Richard Attenborough in 1970, restored to a high standard and guided at £48,000-55,000, also performed well, realising £60,500 with premium.
Consigning 38 cars ‘Without Reserve’, 23% of classics in the traditional printed catalogue, certainly helped the more than three quarters of cars entered to sell, 30% of which were No Reservists.
Vendors reserves were rated too high by bidders for 39 lots though, 23% of cars in the sale being unsold at the end of the auction process.
This was however a very nearly back to normal experience for those many punters who ventured out of enforced hibernation to enjoy a day at the races without any horses.
The Historics team will next go out to bat in High Summer at Windsorview Lakes beside the Thames 17 July. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
Check out ‘Upcoming Sales’, too, for the most comprehensive one-stop diary listing when and where auctions may be taking place, if permitted to do so live’ or on the interne-only if not.
 


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No Reserve Alfa Sprint Speciale stored for 23 years in leaky garage taken on for £77,700 during traditional Historics Ascot £4.4m sale

Previously auctioned 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale by Bertone had been previously restored when consigned to storage in 1998 by the vendor whose career required him to travel much more. Unbeknown to him meanwhile, the double garage roof was holed by a fallen tree branch and the car, along with a similarly parked up 1967 Alfa Duetto 1600 Spider, exposed to the deteriorating elements for many years.
In the metal however, when viewed over three days by Historics Auctioneers catalogue holders within the socially-distanced Royal Ascot Racecourse atrium, both projects were well worth salvaging - the BAT show cars and Disco Volante inspired Sprint Speciale being taken on for £77,000, and the former concours winning right-hand drive Duetto Spider for £34,100.
Whereas earlier in the same sale £39,600 bought a well maintained 1970 1750 GT Veloce that could be instantly enjoyed this summer.
The top selling lot under the hamme of 166 physically cars on offer Saturday 15 May 2021 was a recently JZM serviced 1998 Porsche 911 Type 993 Turbo S Coupe, one of only 26 in right-hand drive, sold to an internet bidder for £273,900 with charges, within the auctioneers’ guide price band.  A 1963 356C Coupe, also right-hand drive, fetched a forecast £84,425.
By the end of the weekend however, a results topping £377,850 had secured  a 1964 Aston Martin DB4 S2 in iconic AM Metallic Green. that had been pre-sale estimated at £360,000-400,000, but run out of puff at an insuffient £345,000 on Saturday afternnon.
A left to right-hand drive converted when recently restored 1965 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Roadster cost a bidder a mid-estimate £123,200, while a below £125,000 lower estimate £95,700 was accepted for the Lister ‘Press Car’ 1986 XJS 7.0 Coupe chassis 001 and another ex-lhd 1966 E Type S1 4.2 Roadster, an older restoration, realised £79,200, within estimate.  
Venue controlled numbers watched a 2019 458 Italia Coupe with 18 months Ferrari warranty sell for £112,200, a 1991 348TS with 43,803 mileage for £53,800 and  66,408m sine 1998 456M GTA £42,900.
After several provisional bids had been converted into results during the more than 6 hour session and some post-sales concluded afterwards, 127 sales had been clocked up, while 39 cars were unsold under three gavels energetically wielded behind a screen by auctioneers Fabian Hine, Edward Rising and house ambassador and preview video presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson.
On the ‘Still For Sale’ list though were a headlining 2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato double-bubbles in aluminium, one of two pre-production prototypes rebuilt by Am Works before sale, for which £540,000-620,000 was not forthcoming, and a restored 1958 Ferrari 250GT Pininfarina S1 Coupe with  £360,000-410,000 estimate unachieved.
£150,000-180,000 was not bid for an apparently well restored left-hand drive 1961 E Type S1 3.8 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster. While a 1974 Alpine Renault A110 1600S that competed in the 1975 Targa Florio history could not muster the £105,000-135,000 suggested 'live', but was acquired afterwards for £103,125 with premium.
The newest collectible successfully crossing the block, a brand new and UK taxes paid 2020 MY Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray Coupe with Z51 package and 4 miles on the odometer did sell for £100,100, top estimate money.
Whilst by far the oldest, a 1908 dated - and therefore London to Brighton ineligible - De Dion-Bouton AL2 8hp Rear Entrance Tonneau for four also made a more than forecast £38,500.
While £280,000-330,000 was not possible on the day for a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman with division, a nearly finished 1971 230SL Pagoda with parts to complete did raise £92,400, way over the £29,000-36,000 estimated.
£63,250 was accepted for a £67,000-75,000 guided 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 with the benefit of many Denis Welch upgraded items and a more than top estimate £48,840 bought an equally well presented 1973 Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF.
There were buyers for both 1977 Morgan Plus 8s, a road car with 4.1 motor and an FIA race car much campaigned on the EU mainland, both sold for £35,520 apiece to internet contestants.
The rarest car in the sale was an Elan-reminiscent 1988 Evante S1 by Vegantune with S2 Sprint 1700 Twin Cam which seemed to have been well bought in the room for £11,660.
Cars with celeb-provenance to change hands at the Berkshire racecourse included the 1970 Rolls-Royce Shadow 2-Door MPW Fixed Head Coupe first owned by film star Sir Richard Attenborough, restored to a high standard, sold for £60,500 and the 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250S, twice owned by Bill Wyman of the Stones, for £20,350.
Consigning 38 cars ‘Without Reserve’, 23% of the 166 in the traditional printed catalogue, certainly helped Historics sell 127 or 77% of them for £4,428,815 including 10% buyer’s premium (in room and on phone,11% if sold on-line) , including some post-sales.
This well presented sale itself was very nearly as things used to be pre-restrictions. With no reversing on the Number 10 road map, the Buckinghamshire auction firm’s next sale – ‘The Summer Sale’ - should take place 17 July in the sunshine or under canvas beside Windsorview Lakes SL3 9HX. R.H-E

Check out ‘Upcoming Sales’, too, for the most comprehensive one-stop diary listing when and where auctions may be taking place, if permitted to do so live’ or on the interne-only if not.
 
 

Rare in manual rhd 1962 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide 4-Door achieves more than top estimate £167k result during £1.9m ACA weekend

During an 81% sold Sunday 2 May session, a home market 1962 AML Rapide 4-door manual on wires, estimated at £120,000-160,000, realised £167,400 including premium and a within guide £126,900 was forthcoming for a well repaired 2016 Huracan LP610-4 Spider in receipt of recent Lamborghini Brum service.
The Lagonda was discreetly turned out in Black, though the leather within was in acquired taste Yellow, whilst the Lambo was in Lairy Orange which could never be missed.
Among Sunday sellers, and the top priced BMW of a market-making weekend, was a 1989 M3 E30 lefty, number 240 of the 505 Cecotto Edition, which sold for £61,020, £6,000 more than the top estimate.
A 1989 M635 CSI manual with 39,042 warranted mileage from many years dry storage made £52,920, again nearly £5,000 over forecast, and a three owner 1981 328i E 21 manual with 89,754 mileage £15,120, more than £3,000 over estimate.
A No Reserve 1960 BMW Isetta 300 3-Wheeler Bubble Car in RHD from last registered ownership of 38 years had been fully restored some 30 years ago, but repainted recently,  and cost the next collector £18,090.
Fast Fords transacted included a No Reserve 1986 Escort RS Turbo S1, last restored whilst off the road 2011-2018 and littler used since, acquired for £22,680.
An unrestored or modified 1989 Fiesta XR2 with 58,000 warranted mileage by four owners did particularly well here, selling for £20,250, doubling the top estimate, and a No Reserve 1988 Escort RS Turbo with 24 old MOTs substantiating 76,429 mileage attracted £15,660 from the buyer.
A telephone bidder had to pay £19,200 with premium to beat off competition to secure a £6,000-8,000 estimated 1969 Morris A60 Half Ton Van in receipt of much restoration work.
Whereas a much more Norfolk estate appropriate 1955 Morris Oxford Traveller S2, a ‘Woody’ 2-Door that had been same family service 1956-1997 and guided at £8,500-10,500, duly realised £9,180. A buying bid of £7,000 was required to land a once Countess owned half-timbered 1962 Minor 1000 Traveller, guided at £4,750-5,750 and which cost the new owner £7,569 with premium.
A Sunbeam Rapier S3A from same family ownership from new in 1963 that had been unused for the past 25 years, but recently recommissioned, went for £9,990, just over top estimate money.
Well rust-munched , a 1970 MGC GT project with V5C emerged from a container, in which it had been incarcerated since 1981, to be taken on for £4,050. And appearing to be far less rusty, and with engine running, was a 1964 Ford Anglia 105E for restoration for £3,240,.
While beneath many layers of dry dust, a 1958 Rover with extraordinary time warp interior was also well worth saving for the £2,430 paid, while a 1952 Riley RME Saloon with tax discs from the 1950s and 60s, but off the road since the 1970s and without engine, was hammered for £810.
A wide range of Automobilia preceded the 121 cars Sunday and included an engineer-built Land Rover S1 for Junior with Reliant 4-cylinder motor and 4-speed box to play with, for which £4500 was bid, but was subject to VAT as well as 15% premium.
A ‘No Reserve’ Austin J40 Pedal Car cost £2,675 and a 6-wheeled R-R ‘FAB 1’ Thunderbirds Recreation in Pink (without chauffeur Aloysius Parker at the wheel or Lady Penelope in the back) fetched a cool £1,035.
All cars and projects could be viewed on-site by prospective bidders during several preceding days, whilst even before post-sale hits, up to 1,435 YouTubers were watching the Sunday webcast ‘live’ at one point and many more dipped in and out of the Saleroom.com output throughout the weekend.
By the time another 100 classics and projects for all budgets had sold for £1,334,856 with premium on Day Two of the King’s Lynn firm’s latest ‘Drive Through’ weekend, 81% of the 236 cars offered had changed hands.
Over the two days, absentee buyers on phones and net spent a premium-inclusive sale total of £1,891,120 on 192 collector vehicles, an average of £9,850 being spent per car bought.
Even in semi-lockdown, and actually throughout the events-banned pandemic thus far, thanks to there being vendors and buyers prepared to consume at sales like the Anglia Car Auctions ones held over the Bank Holiday weekend, the provincial collector auction sector in particular has continued to function without depression. R.H-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
 
 

Norwich Vauxhall dealer supplied 1961 PA Cresta with fins and microblistered two-tone opened 80% sold £561K Day One ‘Drive Through’ at ACA

Saturday 1 May auction prices in King's Lynn were headed by the 225th of 385 Land Rover 50th Anniversary Edition Defender 4.0 V8s, the sale example with 140,000 mileage, sold for £27,000, just within guide.
A 2004 Porsche 911 Type 996 3.6 Carrera 4S Tiptronic Coupe driven 79,705 warranted mileage fetched £24,840, £7,840 more than the top estimate, and another 130,656 mile 2004 911 Carrera 4S Coupe from a deceased state sold for £16,740, just over forecast.
Nearly £4,000 more than suggested meanwhile was forthcoming for a 58,000 mile 1992 944 S2 Cabriolet with damaged engine rebuilt in 1997 sold for £9,990.
Whereas a nearly £6,000 over estimate £19,900 was paid for a 1965 Triumph TR4A with recently rebuilt engine and new Surrey-top in grp. A 1974 Stag Auto in receipt of work costing £8,000 since bought at ACA in 2016 changed hands in 2021 for a better than expected £11,610 and an older restored No Reserve 1969 Vitesse 2.0 Convertible cost the next owner £11,610. An open-top 1981 TR7 with 59,043 warranted mileage went for a nearly double lower estimate £8,640.
A same family owned from new in 1963 Jaguar Mk2 2.4 manual with overdrive that had been restored in 1989 and estimated at £8,500-10,000 sold for £11,880.  Whereas a No Reserve 1966 S Type 3.8 auto runner requiring some recommissioning  was taken on for £7,290.
Top priced Ford on Saturday meanwhile was a 1961 Consul Mk2 with external sunvisor restored in 2011 which went for £8,460, more than double the lower estimate.
The preceding enamel signs all sold out to those wanting to dress or disguise their garage walls with £978 paid for a ‘Porsche Stuttgart’ shield, £838 for a double-sided ‘Morris Retail Dealer’, £748 for a ‘Shell Motor Oil’ and £604 for a once patriotic Union flagged ‘BP Motor Spirit’. A leaping cat ‘Jaguar’ display-sign in cast aluminium was acquired by a marque enthusiast for £748.
In compliance with Covid 19 regs, both weekend sales again had to be held ‘Behind Closed Doors’ with no punters present. So no fish and chips or ice creams for them.
The entire proceedings however were live-webcast to up to 1,435 viewers at one point on YouTube with very many more following the sale on the Saleroom.com.
28 of the 115 classics entered for the opening session of this auction weekend being offered ‘Without Reserve’ certainly contributed to Anglia Car Auctions 80% Saturday sale rate for the 92 cars sold for £561,264. While the 8% premium-inclusive average per car bought on the first day amounted to £6,101.
Another 120 cars and projects then went under Jim Ronan’s gavel during Day Two in King’s Lynn, after which full analysis of the stats for this, the ACA's second auction weekend for classics of the year will be posted on this site. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the Home Page menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.

 
 

80% of classics sell during Manor Park Classics £1.4m+ inaugural at Runcorn where £24k is paid for Triumph 2500 and registration makes £230k

Among the stand-out cars successfully auctioned during Manor Park Classics 27 April debut sale at their auction-consumer friendly facility at Runcorn, Cheshire, was the 1973 Triumph 2500 Pi Mk2, owned and fully sorted by Triumph Test and Development Engineer Gordon Birtwistle, and fully rebuilt by Sydney Meek Motorsport, for which a telephone bidder paid £24,188 with 12.5% premium, double the top estimate.
It had taken four years to ground-up restore a Mini Mag cover featured 1966 Austin Mini Countryman with front disc brakes and servo, which had cost £31,000 to complete, and which most deservedly fetched a more than forecast £24,750. A 1992 restored Austin Mini Cooper 1275S on Dunlop D1s with extra tank and oil tank from new in 1966 sold for £38,750, again more than the guide.
£40,000-50,000 was not forthcoming however for a Neville Trickett 1963 Mini Sprint R with lowered roof without seams. Although an apparently still largely original 23 November built, so really early, 1959 Morris Mini Minor 850 De Luxe did muster £18,233, the lower estimate suggested.
A 1989 Toyota MR2 with all services stamped and MOT certificates present for 86,000 mileage sold for £7,988, double the top estimate, a 104,000 mile 1992 Peugeot 205GTI 1.9 with history from 1993 for £14,062, £3,000 more than the guide.
The £18,000-22,000 estimate for a ‘pull-handle’ 1964 MGB Rally Roadster in Abingdon Red with White hardtop that had been seriously road rally prepped during 19 years ownership was convincingly overtaken by the next owner-driver who paid £28,125. It would take several years and circa £50,000 to replicate what was an event-ready 1950cc B to this specification however.
An always right-hand drive 1959 MGA 1600 Roadster, cast in movies as well as episodes of Miss Marple and Murder obsessed Midsomer on TV, starred in the metal here by realising £22,781, top estimate money.
The top-priced classic under the Royce wielded hammer during a glitch-free afternoon viewed by up to 656 webcast Youtubers at one point, plus a socially-distanced masked audience of those registered bidders who made appointments to attend, was a front of house displayed 1967 Porsche 911 ‘Soft Window’ Targa-Top sold for a within estimate £94,500.
On triple Webers, the March 2015 Evo mag featured car had been in receipt of a £21,450 body-resto 2016/18.
While £60,000-70,000 was too adventurous for a perfect Land Rover Defender 90 Adventure TD, which had only been driven 195 miles by one owner since new in 2016, a cool in 1960 and 2021 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Roadster with uprated 327ci V8 and rare and desirable 4-speed manual with Hurst shifter did over-top the £50,000-60,000 estimate band to sell for £61,875.
A well below £44,917 was accepted for a once Jensen ‘Factory Demonstrator’ Interceptor III with Webasto roof and bills on file for £22,000 over the last ten years (and a claimed to have been £63,000 spent since new in 1974), for which £50,000-60,000 had been sought.
There was no shortage of accommodation-hungry ‘Staycationers’ for both Veedub T2 Camper Vans with a forecast £22,050 for a mint 1967 13-Window Samba upgraded with rock n’roll upholstery, retro sound gear, power steering and disc brake. Whilst a genuine 1972 Devon Moonraker 4-Berth Conversion with (display-illuminated) Pop-Top looked very inviting for the £19,125 with premium paid.
A No Reserve 1971 Austin-badged (Morris Minor like) 1098cc 6cwt Pick-Up with correct factory-made steel rear tub, which had only done 650 miles since a comprehensive restoration with upgrades, cost the next Independent Trader £14,175.
After a £15k rebuild of engine and transmission in 2017, a running and driving 1929 Vauxhall 20/60 Princeton Tourer for up to six Vintagents had been pre-sale estimated at £15,000-20,000, but was eventually hammered away to a winning telephone bidder versus an internet contestant for £30,938.
Two transporters full of Vauxhall Heritage Collection exhibits were also successfully dispersed at this sale, ranging from a 1929 R Type 20/60 Saloon with Vauxhall mascot and Klaxon horn bought for £16,875 to a 1937 Big Six BXL Limo for £6,750.
A 1953 Vauxhall E Type Wyvern with external sun visor cost a new guardian £6,975 and an only 18,922 miles since new in 1966 Viva HB SL £8,775. A 2000 vintage Tigra 1.6 16v with 43,352 mileage and no MOT made £4,050, and a 22,476 mile 2004 Frontera B 4x4 with heated seats and air-con and marque-appropriate ‘VXL’ plates £6,862.
Manor Classics ‘Brand Ambassador’ Fuzz Townsend had introduced a ‘No Reserve’ 1972 Fiat 500L - the very first car the newcomer house had auctioned - for £4,838, and by the end of the afternoon, pro-auctioneer Julian Royse had hammered another 69 classics out of the 93 offered for £1,095,112 including premium to achieve a 75% sale rate for cars in ‘Sale One’.
After another 5 post-sale deals had been done however, the cars totalled £1,117,507 with premium and the sale rate had risen to 80%.
Analysis of the 74 cars that changed owners shows that while 19% had been consigned without reserve and were going to sell anyway, 28% sold within estimate bands and 29% realised over-estimate prices, and only 5% went for less than had been forecast.
Including the preceding sections for automobilia, classic bikes and cherished registrations, which included the sale of ‘DW 1’ for £232,300, a total of £1,413,966 with charges had been spent by buyers at this inaugural sale.
Classic Auction Review congratulate the Manor Park Classic Team on their first of many auctions, and wish Chairman Stephen J Ashworth, Managing Director Roger Nowell, Sales Director Sam Grange-Bailey, Operations Manager Nik Askins and Director of Photography (and BAFTA winner for Granada’s 42UP) George Jesse Turner well on their journey along the auction road.
The next buying and selling opportunities for buyers and vendors at the new Ikon House facility on Manor Park - where sale cars can be stored securely undercover, viewed by appointment (even inspected underneath on a 4-poster lift), and seen working on video with 360 degree interior footage - will be Tuesday 6 July and Wednesday 10 November, when C.A.R. will of course be there. R.H-E

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With access to Monaco restricted by day and curfew at night, only the Bonhams auction was held before this year's Historic GP weekend

The highest priced car to sell under the gavel at the Fairmont Hotel, the sale’s trackside venue, was a wedge-shaped 1991 Isdera Imperator 108i Series 2 Gullwing-Coupe - one of only 30 examples of the Eberhard Schultz engineered, Mercedes-Benz 5-Litre M119 V8 powered 275kph Supercars, manufactured by his Isdera AG at Leonberg in Germany – which had been estimated to cost a successful bidder 500,000-700,000 euros (£435,000-609,000).
After an exciting bidding battle, and accompanied by applause from the saleroom during what was the international auction house’s first ‘live’ sale of 2021 on the European mainland, the only Imperator to have been exported to Japan when new was hammered by auctioneer Sholto Gilbertson for 600,000 euros, costing the buyer 690,000 euros with premium (£600,300).
A rare 1936 Delahaye 135 S Competition Court Race Car, known as ‘Buzz II’ which campaigned in 1930s endurance races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was actually the top lot of the ‘Les Grandes Marques à Monaco’ billed sale.
For having been bid to 650 euros ‘live’, chassis 46810 was declared sold immediately after the sale for an unpublished amount “within estimate”. At the 800,000-1,100,000 euros forecast therefore, and including premium, amounting to circa £700,000). 
The 135 S made its track debut at the 1936 ‘Three Hours of Marseille’ endurance race 1936 as part of Ecurie Bleu, the three-car semi-works team of Lucy Schell former racing driver and the first female motorsport team owner. The car's Sky-Blue paintwork, together with the muffled ‘buzzing’ sound of their engines earned them the nickname ‘Blue Buzz’. 
Blue Buzz II competed in pre-war Grand Prix races at Donington, Pau and Comminges, as well as endurance races such as the Tourist-Trophy on the Ards circuit near Belfast before its greatest challenge, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1939. 
The 135 S was offered with coachwork in the style of the Chappes Frères bodyshell, retaining its original period running gear, engine and, most importantly, the original chassis –a rarity for a racing car of this period.
A Supercar in its day was the Jean Bugatti designed Type 57, the 1934 T57 Ventoux 2-Door 4-Seat Coupe with raked screen and factory sunroof in the sale being the first produced too. With known history from new and Pebble Beach and Villa D’Este concours potential, it was purchased here for 385,250 euros (£335,168), within 350,000-450,000 euros (£304,500-391,500)  forecast,
Two Aston Martins were also valued in international auction, a 1968 DB6 Volante, an AMOC trophy winner guided at 450,000-550,000 euros (£391,500-478,500), making 460,000 euros (£400,200).
An earlier 1958 DB Mark III Drophead Coupe meanwhile, with coachwork by Tickford, motored past its top estimate of 300,000 euros (£261,000) to sell for 368,000 euros (£320,160)
Although the number of competing classics and permitted spectators had been dramatically reduced for this year’s Monaco Historic GP meeting with the virus rampant next door in France, a 1947 Cisitalia D46 in the sale was still in the right location to catch a new owner-driver.
An important post-war competition racing car, the 74 year old Monposto had been campaigned by the Horschell Racing Corporation and Écurie de Paris in period. 150,000-200,000 euros (£130,500-174,000) had been suggested and it scraped home for 158,125 euros (£137,569). 
One of 14 of the Giacosa penned bolides built, of which 12 are known to survive, this diminutive rarity is believed to be the Grand Prix de Bern car, driven by Harry Schell, the first American driver to start a Grand Prix race.
Other highlights at the Fairmont Monte Carlo included the third most valuable motor car to change hands during the Friday afternoon session, a forever classic 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Touring. In original and rare Bahia Red with the iconic Carrera script on the flanks, the Monaco registered car had 450,000-550,000 euros (£391,500-478,500) expectations and achieved a top estimate 540,500 euros (£470,235).
A No Reserve 1983 Ferrari 400i GT 2+2 Coupe - originally owned by Piero Lardi Ferrari, the younger and only surviving son of founder Enzo, and produced to his own specification with third rear seat instead of an armrest - sold for 69,000 euros (£60,030)
300,000-350,000 euros had been sought for a Ferrari Classiche Certificated 1973 Dino 246 GTS ‘Targo-Top’ with matching numbers, one of 72 in Nocciola Metalizzato (Hazlenut Metallic) that had been treated in to pro-restoration in Italy in 2016. Bidding was abandoned at 280,000 euros (£243,600) on the screen, but the car was declared sold afterwards, albeit for an undisclosed amount.
Also apparently sold, though again with no price published on the auctioneers' website, was a 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello GT LM Competition-Coupe with Le Mans, French and Spanish GT Champ history. Pre-sale estimated to sell for 500,000-700,000 euros (£435,000-609,000), the last bid on the screen had been 460,000 euros (£400,200).
A Henri Chapron Cabriolet-bodied 1968 Citroën DS21 Décapotable, estimated at 160,000-200,000 euros (£139,200-174,000), sold for 195,500 euros (£170,085).
The unique 1949 Georges Irat Sports Two-Seater, guided at 70,000-100,000 euros (£60,900-87,000) sold for 71,300 euros (£62,031). The distinctive bodywork of this final prototype, the last representative of this historical French manufacturer, had been crafted by Parisian coachbuilder Labourdette.
While every Monaco sale catalogue is not complete without a Fiat-based Beach Car (or actually Motor Yacht ‘Quayside Go-For’ provisions device). And the No Reserve 1968 Fiat 500F ‘Albarella’ original here, one of 20 produced by Carrozeria Savio with trad basket-weave seating, had been preserved in a family holiday villa beside the Adriatic for the last 53 summers before picking up 32,200 (£28,014) at the Fairmont.
Big number Porsches that ran out of interest beside the Med were a maybe still cooling 2005 Carrera GT unsold at 760,000 euros (£661,200) and a 1958 356A T2 Cabriolet by Reutter with a difficult to achieve estimate band of 650,000-850,000 euros (£565,000-739,500), but really rare Carrera 1500 GS roller-bearing engine from new in the tail, abandoned at 560,000 euros (£487,200).
The Jolly Club Aurio/Occelli rallied 1991 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v Group A also ran out of bids at 315,000 euros (£244,050).
Under the hammer, while 11 out of the 26 cars on offer did not sell, 15 or 58% sold for 3,804,900 euros (£3,310,263) with premium. While after 3 more were post-sale sold, 9 did not sell and the 18 or 69% that did sell did so for circa 5,454,900 euros (£4,745,763), an average of £263,523 with premium being spent per car bought this year in Monaco, where there have been as many as four auctions held in town during Monaco GP weekends pre-Covid.
Bonhams are to be congratulated therefore in flying the solitary auction flag. With auctioneer Gilberston on the rostrum and Paul Darvill introducing the lots, this Monaco Sale also marked a very welcome return to the traditional Bonhams format.
In accordance with local COVID-related restrictions however, the ‘live audience’ in the seats had to be limited on this occasion. Although the auction was livestreamed to a worldwide audience via Bonhams.com and the Bonhams app. 
The next Continental mainland sale - with more people physically rather than virtually present, it is hoped - will be hosted by the Bonhams European Motoring Equipe at Cheserex in Switzerland, where The Bonmont Sale, accessed via Geneva, is scheduled for 20 June. RH-E

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Covid-compliant capacity Ascot crowd compete with record 1,136 i-bidders from 30 countries to buy 90% of Historics catalogue for £5.14m

Even before Historics ‘live’ sale had commenced at 9.30 am on Sunday morning 18 April, there had been 1,299 socially-distanced attendees to the three previewing days at Ascot Racecourse, where Health and Safety measures limited the numbers in the main hall on sale day to 500.
Telephone bidder registration was unprecedented with 63% of lots (56% by value) being knocked down by auctioneers Fabian Hine, Edward Rising and ‘House Ambassador’ Vicki Butler-Henderson to contestants in the saleroom or on the phone. Internet buyers from four Continents meanwhile secured 37% of entries (44% by value).
The headlines were written by an admittedly exceptional right-hand drive 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL with sideways rear seating for one setting what is believed to be a world record auction price of £181,500 with premium. The subject of a two-year, ground-up £80k plus vat restoration completed four years ago by Red Castle Classics in South Wales, the UK-supplied Pagoda-top with 45,700 mileage had been pre-sale estimated to raise £95,000-120,000.
A well restored 1966 230SL lefty with manual box went for a more than forecast £85,250. While another right-hand drive Merc, a 1954 170 SV Saloon with bills for £19k on file, most with marque specialist John Haynes, realised £44,000 from the internet, more than double the £21,000 lower estimate.
£325,000-375,000 had been suggested for the 97th Jaguar XJ220 from 1992, which had been recommissioned by model expert Don Law at cost of over £61,000, but ran out of bidding road after £260,000 had been offered on the internet, though was eventually sold for £300,025.
Whereas an apparently unmarked and appearing to be still original XJS Celebration Convertible had only been driven 10,567 miles since new in 1995 and had been guided at £25,000-30,000. Very many bids later however, a new owner was prepared to pay £44,000 to own an unrepeatable example.
Just 27 examples of the AC Cobra Mk3 were built, making it the rarest series manufactured Cobra variant before production ended altogether at the end of 1968.
Showing a mere 3011 English miles on the odometer and with a reassuring Certificate of Authenticity in the history file, 1965 chassis COX6136 (the Cox prefix denoting ‘export’) was shipped without a powertrain for completion on arrival in the US, in this case in the workshops of Bill Kemper. The resultant Cobra Mk3 427 (4727cc Ford V8) SC had been catalogued at £185,000-260,000, but was bid to £168,750 on the internet and sold for £185,625 with premium.
One of 50 cars auctioned by Historics ‘Without Reserve’, the 1970 Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk1 without big wing extensions ‘GNO 415H’, driven to victory on the 1970 Rally of Cyprus by the great and sadly now late Hannu Mikkola, overtook the £48,000-58,000 guide price band to sell for £62,799.
A Thomas Motors of Blackpool 1970 Escort RS1600, once in Ermine White, had been repainted in Broadspeed Silver over Metallic Burgundy when converted by Broadspeed Engineering in 1979 to 1300cc BDA to win the class in sprints and hillclimbs. Big-winged, half-caged with much trim in place, though without bumpers and shod with very wide Minilites,and an RS1600 engine back under the bonnet, it sold for £42,075.
The personal 1956 Lincoln Continental Mk2 of the 41st US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller - a set of very cool wheels favoured by other luminaries of the day as the President Dwight Eisenhower himself, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley – made £72,050 compared to an estimate of £43,000-52,000.
Also attracting a more than estimated £48,000 was a right-hand drive 1987 BMW 5-Series M5 4-Door and a left-hand drive 1972 Citroen SM a better than expected £35,475.
With restoration invoices of file for £113,000, one of 200 Range Rover CSK 2-Doors in Black from 1991 was bought for £55,275, the lower estimate with premium, and a lightly restored 1979 Classic 2-Door in period cool Bahama Gold an £8500 more than top estimate £27,500.
Mark Perkins, Managing Director of Historics, commented:  “We continue to be passionate advocates of open-to-public auctions and are thrilled at the tremendous turn-out at both preview days and the sale itself.
With a greater proportion of entries selling in the hall, it shows there is still a great appetite for a traditional sale, supported by a thoroughly professional on-line bidding platform from our partner Bidpath - and, with on-line registrations from 30 countries across four continents, it demonstrates that our sales are now truly global events.”
By the time the sale day book had been closed, 2446 attendees had checked inbefore and during the weekend, while only 17 of the 166 cars displayed in and outside the Royal Ascot atrium had not changed hands. The 90% sale rate was not only a house record for this venue, but a testament to both the auctioneers’ performance and what remains, even in semi-lockdown, a surprisingly robust market that only unrealistically green people can destabilise.
After so many solitary ‘Behind Closed Door’ on-screen experiences, here was a refreshingly traditional auction with real live punters clutching printed catalogues (do you remember those?) before catching the auctioneer’s eye in real time. And Historics are back at Ascot Racecourse again for more of the same Saturday15 May, for which their next catalogue has already closed.
Being able to order and drink a pint at a bar inside a pub may be the next freedom returned to us. RH-E

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On-line platform The Market has been acquired by Bonhams Motoring who will now auction classic cars and bikes around the clock

Bonhams announces it has acquired The Market, one of the leading and fastest growing online marketplaces for classic and collectible car and motorcycle auctions.
Founded in Oxfordshire in 2017, The Market has taken the industry by storm. In the last year, the company sold vehicles with a total value of £13 million and grew its turnover by almost 300% compared to the previous year.
Its success lies in its technology, transparency, and customer service, which led to exceptional auction results: the company now sells an impressive 94% of lots offered for sale
The acquisition adds another dimension to Bonhams. Founded in 1793, and one of the oldest and most venerable international auction houses, it has salerooms in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Hong Kong. The First Division ‘Motoring Division’, headed by Maarten ten Holder, has sold many of the legends of road, including the world’s oldest surviving Rolls-Royce.  
Maarten ten Holder, Managing Director of Bonhams Motoring, said: “This acquisition is a perfect fit for Bonhams and is happening at an exciting time in the car auction world. For the first time a classic car auctioneer will now offer cars at all price points, around the clock, to collectors wherever they are in the world.” 
Bruno Vinciguerra, Bonhams CEO, added: “Bonhams is renowned globally for its heritage and entrepreneurial spirit, its expertise, transparency, and great client service, and these are all qualities also at the heart of The Market’s operations. This combination will play to both our strengths and allow us to become even more accessible to a wider range of clients. I am very excited about the future.”
Tim Joslyn, Founder of The Market, said: “I am delighted that Bonhams will be taking The Market to the next level. The combination of such a prestigious auction house, representing traditional high-end car auctions, with our premier digital offering will create an incredible opportunity to reach a wider, more global audience.”
Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner of Epiris, said: “We have always had a clear vision for Bonhams: a digitally-enabled business occupying the leading global position in its niches. This acquisition is another step towards fully realising this vision, further advancing the digital transformation we started with Bruno almost three years ago, whilst building scale in an important specialist area. We are thrilled that Tim and his team will join the Bonhams family and share this vision.” RH-E

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Former RM Sotheby’s auctioneer Maarten ten Holder joins Bonhams Motoring Department in London with worldwide brief for auction house

Bonhams has appointed Maarten ten Holder as Managing Director for Bonhams Motoring. He will be based at Bonhams’ UK headquarters in New Bond Street, London, with a worldwide remit.
Maarten arrives at Bonhams from RM Sotheby’s where he was the Executive Vice-President, heading up the European Region. During this time, he was responsible for the day-to-day operation, creating new sales, and driving the company’s European offline and online strategy.
Maarten instigated partnerships with Formula 1 and the Royal Automobile Club, and spearheaded the company’s first auctions in Germany, Portugal and the Middle East. The latter taking place during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His other role was Chief Auctioneer, where he was on the rostrum in more than six countries.
Born in the Netherlands, Maarten joined Sotheby’s in 1996, after studying history at the University of Amsterdam. One of his first initiatives was to introduce the Netherlands to the concept of Sunday auctions.
During his career at Sotheby’s, Maarten has held senior management roles across the major divisions, including Fine Arts, Decorative Arts, Asian Art and Luxury and Lifestyle, while based in Amsterdam, Milan, New York and London.
He launched various new collecting categories such as Contemporary African Art and Latin Contemporary Art, oversaw the opening of new offices across four continents and, while Managing Director for Global Luxury & Lifestyle in New York, Maarten created Luxury Week New York. He left the company to take on his most recent role as Executive Vice President of RM Sotheby’s in 2018.
Bonhams CEO, Bruno Vinciguerra, said:I am delighted that one of the most influential figures of the auction world is joining Bonhams. Maarten is a game-changer. With his extraordinary breadth and depth of experience, I know he will bring his incisive intelligence to the Motoring department, one of Bonhams’ flagship divisions.”
Maarten ten Holder said: “Bonhams occupies a unique position in world of motoring and I look forward to working with some of the finest specialists in the field and building on such successful and illustrious foundations.”

RMS CONSIGN EXTRAORDINARY R-R & BENTLEY PORTFOLIO FOR DISPERSAL SALE HELD ON-SITE IN LIECHTENSTEIN

Former employers RM Sotheby’s meanwhile have consigned a single-owner collection of fine Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars, to be sold almost entirely ‘Without Reserve’ in Liechtenstein during the month of June as a limited-attendance, live sale.
The collection, representing one man’s passion for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, features 25 carefully curated automobiles spanning 88 years of manufacturing from the golden era of what are still, even though German owned, the two most famous British-based manufacturers of luxury cars at Goodwood and Crewe.
The Collection being dispersed has been 30 years in the making, resulting in a wonderfully curated selection of cars that reside in a beautiful purpose-built facility and which have been the subject of a dedicated book.
The auction will take place in that facility and will, subject to all relevant restrictions, be conducted as a live sale with limited attendance. All the cars are offered in exceptional condition and are ‘on the button’, and thus present a wonderful opportunity for any enthusiast of fine British luxury automobiles.
According to the anonymous owner: “The Collection is complete. In the case of Rolls-Royce, every single relevant period has at least one representative. While ‘The Collection of Bentleys ‘shows the development of the marque from the time it was acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1931 up to the present day.
“Similar to an art exhibition, where objects are displayed in relation to each other, the cars can be grouped in accordance with various aspects which is, without doubt, one of the strong points of this Collection.”
The undoubted star of the collection is the 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Town Car by Brewster, a one-off design and the first and only of the three special town cars built that still retain their original coachwork.
Created for American millionaire, Matthew Dick of Washington D.C., the car is a truly one-off, bespoke automobile which cost an astonishing $31,000 in 1933, making it the most expensive car in the world, built that year. With only five owners from new, this remarkably original car is a rare opportunity.
For the more European-centric R-R aficionados however, the post-war highlight of the collection is an exceptional 1958 Bentley S1 Continental Cabriolet by Park Ward, one of the most stylish British open grand touring cars ever made.
The date of the planned physical sale on the EU mainland will be announced just as soon as the Covid combating lockdown situation in the surrounding EU mainland becomes clearer. RH-E

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Auction record breaking auctioneer James Knight hands over Global Motoring Group Chairman steering wheel at Bonhams to become Consultant

James Knight, who has been a key member of Bonhams’ Motoring Division since 2000, steps down from his role as Group Chairman of Bonhams Motoring. Knight will take up a new role as a consultant with the department and continue to work closely with the team.
In his press statement from the international auction house’s New Bond Street offices, Knight said: “It has been an enormous privilege working at Bonhams. Having been an integral part of the motoring management team for decades and heading the motoring group for more than 15 years, I felt it was time to hand over the steering wheel.”
In a career that spans five decades and counting, Knight had many triumphant moments, including bringing to market renowned collections such as Rosso Bianco, Bernd Holthusen Lagondas, ‘The Autocar’ Archives on behalf of the Haymarket Publishing Group, and the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust.
Knight also sold exceptional individual motor cars such as the ex-Earl Howe Bugatti T57S Atalante, Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 short chassis Spider, numerous C-Type and D-Type Jaguars, and the Coventry marque’s unique 1960 Le Mans Cunningham team prototype ‘E2A’.
Finding new homes for cherished Aston Martins – and fulfilling their vendors’ aspirations – has also become a James Knight speciality, highlighted by ‘2 VEV’, the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato that achieved a record-breaking £10.1m at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018.
Under his stewardship – and very often his gavel – Knight was responsible for establishing many world records, notably for the ex-works Austin-Healey Special Test Car/100S ‘NOJ 393’ that sold for £843,000, ‘Red 5’ - the Nigel Mansell Formula 1 Williams-Renault FW14B for £2,703,000, and for the world’s oldest surviving Rolls-Royce that achieved £3,521,500 in 2007.
Knight entered the motoring world in 1984 when he went to Christie’s where he worked with Robert Brooks, then head of the Motoring Department. Brooks and Knight left Christie’s in 1989 and established BROOKS, the specialist Collectors Motor Car auction house.
When Brooks acquired Bonhams in 2000, Knight followed to become one of the founding directors and over the next 20 years, he built up the Motoring Division to become one of the major forces in the car world.
Bonhams CEO, Bruno Vinciguerra, said: “Jamie is rightly celebrated for his astonishing track record. He is known throughout the auction world and has been a magnificent leader of the Bonhams Motoring division. I am delighted he will continue as a consultant where he can further contribute to the success of the department and the company as a whole.”
C.A.R. and other members of the motoring media have enjoyed a valued working relationship with James Knight over many years.
The entertaining presence on the rostrum of a true car guy, who often arrived at the auction tent at the wheel of his beloved Austin-Healey 100/4, has been greatly appreciated by salegoers for decades.
Whilst his informed comment and analysis of market reality has always been hugely valued by this Correspondent. RH-E

PLEASE NOTE: HISTORICS DELAY THEIR ASCOT SALE TO SUNDAY 18 APRIL
As a mark of respect to the sad death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral takes place at nearby Windsor Saturday 17 April, Historics Auctioneers have rescheduled their 2021 season-opener at Royal Ascot Racecourse, where the sale will now be held Sunday 18 April from 9.30am.
This change of date does not affect viewing arrangements at the Racecourse, where cars for sale, and their history files, may be physically inspected by catalogue holders Thursday 15 to Friday 16 April, 9am-5pm each day. The Ascot venue will however be closed all day on Saturday. RH-E

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Internet bidder pays more than double top-estimate £82,150 for 107 year old Daimler 20hp during Brightwells latest 85% sold £1.3m sale

With a full national lockdown still in place during the 28 March-1 April bidding window, but with consigned classic cars and bikes and their documents on-site at their Leominster HQ, Brightwells sold 125 of 144 entries, an 87% sale rate, for a premium-inclusive £1.4m during an entirely virtual affair with no physical viewing on this occasion and on-line only bidding.
The highest priced seller from the 117 cars offered was a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL with Pagoda-top hardtop, side-facing rear seat option and previously renewed sills and rebuilt engine, for which bidding time ran out after 51 bids had been cast at an over top-estimate £81,500, costing an absentee winner £91,280 with premium.
But the £85,120 paid for 1914 Daimler 20 hp TW20 ‘Bodmin Landaulette’, forecast to fetch £36,000-42,000, was the more unexpected result however. Fit for a Dowager in the day, and very much at home at Downton Abbey, the stately Edwardian had reportedly been cast in the House of Elliot series on Beeb TV.
Another noteworthy change of ownership was the 1950 Jowett Jupiter, one of only four such Specials to have been crafted with aluminium coachwork by Rawson, which attracted 33 bids until sold for £35,800. First owned by Sir Hugh Bell, father of World Sportscar Champ Derek Bell, the Jupiter Special is apparently Mille Miglia Retrospective eligible.
And from the same postwar austerity era, a recently body-off restored 1950 Alvis TB 14 Sports-Tourer has also become a statistical rarity. The 16th of 100 made, but one of less than 30 survivors, made a forecast £33,600.
A much earlier Austin Seven Ulster Sports-Tourer with original 1930 chassis, but non-original supercharged engine, had once been in the Hull Collection, and therefore acquired by JLR, before selling again here for a top estimate £40,320.
Whereas by far the oldest automobile in the sale, a 1901 Locomobile Style 2 ‘Steam Runabout’ had been last restored 1996/7 and included a bespoke trailer for the £27,440 paid, forecast money.
Fresh from a “nut-and-bolt restoration” that had included tasteful upgrades, a £30,000-35,000 estimated 1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.4, a manual with overdrive, pulled 35 bids before achieving £42,448 with premium, a new house record for a Mk2 Jag.
A £14,000 body-restored 1965 Daimler 250-V8 auto meanwhile, guided at £10,000-12,000, made £19,500, and another absentee bidder paid £29,340 for a 1976 Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1600 estimated at £17,000-19,000. A 1948 Armstrong-Siddeley Hurricane Drophead was acquired for £13,780.
There were buyers, too, for all eight MGs, five of them MGBs, led by a pair of period 1953 TD 1250s sold for £17,978 and £16,016, while a near identical, but much more modern 1985-dated Naylor TF 1700 with only 12,000 mileage raised £15,100.
No Brightwells sale would be truly complete however without some Land Rover valuations, and this selling and buying opportunity was no exception, with two Series Ones changing keepers under the virtual hammer, a slightly scruffy, but characterful 1951 80 making £14,560 and a 1953 86 £12,992.
A Coup-ready 1999 Land Rover Defender Wolf with only a peaceful 800 miles under wheel was captured for £30,240. Whereas a 1942 US Ford Jeep restored by ‘Car SOS’ in 2013 for TV changed collectors here for £13,780.
Despite having done 121,000 miles, a £12,000-15,000 guided 1996 BMW 840Ci Coupe realised £17,470 and an 82,000 mile 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII FQ330 £17,450.
The Modern Classic superstar among the relatively newcomers however was a 1998 Toyota Supra MkIV Twin-Turbo Auto, forecast to cost the next owner £20,000-25,000, which, after a sale-topping 63 bids had been logged, finally timed-out at a really bullish £38,200 gross. Although a 2004 Aston Martin Vanquish left hooker with under 10,000 kilometres on the odometer did eventually make £62,000 with charges and heads for a new home in Denmark.
After the car lots had been ‘timed out’ and the auction book for this sale had been closed until the next time, 85% of the 117 entries had sold to 100 absentee bidders for £1,304,043 with premium, an average of £13,040 per classic bought, all on-line.
Additionally, there were buyers for all but three of the 17 motorcycles on offer, the top price being paid for an ex-military 1941 Indian 500 Scout, which had been stationed at RAF Sealand in Wales while the base was under US Air Force Command during WW2, and which was transported away from Brightwells Leominster GHQ for £14,780. RH-E

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Additional Automotive Auctions internet platform offering vendors free route to market added to Silverstone Auctions Group portfolio

With an already experienced team behind it, newcomer Automotive Auctions will provide both buyers and sellers with the same level of service and professionalism as the Group’s established auction houses, Silverstone Auctions and Classic Car Auctions (CCA).
For unlike so many of their competitors, the Silverstone Group now has the facility to offer potential sellers and buyers the choice of both online and event-based auctions and the added benefit of a proven and successful trading history.
Selling with the 9 April launched Automotive Auctions is completely fee-free.
Launched to provide an efficient on-line only process for buyers as well as sellers, who can opt to sell at a time that suits them as they enter a 7-day auction cycle.
Unlike most other internet platforms though, the new website offers buyers a vast range of lots, including classics, race, rally and hillclimb historics, more modern competition and sports and GT cars, supercars, even halfway house hybrids and full-electrics, motorhomes and camper-vans, motorcycles of all kinds as well as the full range of automobilia & cherished registrations.
Silverstone founder Nick Whale commented: “2020 was a huge success for the Silverstone Auctions Group; our team quickly adapted to the pandemic, which resulted in a new hybrid auction format, the Group becoming the new UK market leading classic car auction house.”
The Group Managing Director continued: “2021 looks to also be a year of change with the launch of our online-only platform, Automotive Auctions, as well as our return to live events on the Silverstone Auctions and Classic Car Auctions side. Having the ability to offer our trusted clients a choice of routes to market, with the same high standard of service, is hugely significant.”
Additionally, Motoring TV presenter Mike Brewer has been confirmed as ‘Brand Ambassador’ for Automotive Auctions. Such Ambassadorial Influencers have become a new strata in collector vehicle auction society, Motoring programme presenters Vicki Butler-Henderson carrying out the same role at Historics for some time and Fuzz Townsend hired as a  Youtubing frontman for North West auctions newcomer Manor Classics, whose sales will be reviewed on this channel.
AA's Mike Brewer has been surrounded by cars all of his life, of course, and has a lifelong passion for enthusiast motoring matters. With his expertise, enthusiasm and dedication to the industry, Mike is the perfect choice to host the Automotive Auctions podcast, you can also expect to see him reviewing cars that will be offered for sale on the platform and across their social media channels.
With an established, relevant, and global audience, a team of Silverstone Auctions Group experts, who are bang up to date with the current valuations and a wealth of hands-on auction experience, Automotive Auctions is all set to provide buyers and sellers with what is promised to be a straightforward and professional experience. 
Those looking to sell their car, motorcycle or automobilia can get in touch with the Automotive Auctions team on 01926 929199 or by email enquiries@automotiveauctions.co.uk. Prospective buyers (and potential sellers) have been able to check out the first lots going ‘Live’ from Friday 9 April, the platform’s buyer’s premium being just 5% plus VAT.

Other On-Line Only players however already compete for your business -
The Market, whose transparent process and statistical analysis of prices achieved are regularly reviewed on this website, are already well established in On-Line Only collector vehicle auctioning, of course. They can now also offer a concierge service at their new premises in South Oxfordshire, where vendors classics and their documents are not somewhere else, but on-site, so that they may be physically inspected by prospective buyers before they bid.
In March, 90% of 89 classics on their website sold for £1,845,169, a record in one month for The Market, headed by a 2005 Kirkham Cobra driven only 622 miles sold for £96,500.
Last month, too, a 1966 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 2+2 Coupe made a way over estimate £75,000, a 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo X50 also a more than forecast £48,248, and a 1995 VW Corrado VR6 Storm £27,250, an i-record for the model.

The Collecting Cars platform meanwhile, founded by dealer and CEO Edward Lovett in 2019 to compete for market share with both traditional auctioneers as well as classified advertisers, claims to have become the sector leader by selling more than 1300 lots for £48m during 2020.
They report another 311 classics sold for £10m in March alone, including 42 Porsches from a reportedly well maintained 968 Boxster 2.7 for £3,950 up to a 2016 911 R with a mere 327 mileage on the odometer for £375,000.
Other changes of ownership published on their site during March were a 1966 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2, in receipt of "extensive body restoration", one of 224 built, sold for £370,000, one of 833 Mazda Cosmo S2s £55,000, and an original UK supplied E30-era BMW M3 Sport Evolution 2-Door, one of the 600 'Homologation Specials', £100,000.
A new record price at auction has been claimed by CC for a Land Rover Defender 90 Works V8 70th Edition, also sold in March for £146,000. Although apparently the highest price paid on this platform so far has been a 1973 Porsche 911 Carerra 2.7 RS, which reportely sold for £538,500 in November 2020.

On behalf of our collector vehicle consumers, Classic Auction Review welcomes the new Automotive Auctions internet facility to this independent resource, which will continue to monitor this ever-changing market for absentee bidders, who do so 'On-Line' or by telephone, or who may prefer to physically check out the metal and docs by kicking real tyres in a bricks, mortar or canvas saleroom before bidding in person.
Even though the latest Number 10 Road Map has now at least removed a few of the UK economy's road closures, H&H had already postponed their 14 April sale at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, where their auction will now be held Wednesday 16 May.
'Real Punters' will however again be permitted to physically view the 170 Historics auction cars at Ascot Racecourse 9am-5pm Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 April. Although as a mark of respect to the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral takes place at nearby Windsor, Saturday 17 April, Historics season-opener will now be held from 9.30am Sunday 18 April instead and will, course, be reviewed first right here on C.A.R. RH-E

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98% of classics driven past SWVA rostrum sell at Poole, where there were absentee buyers for all but two of 82 lot entry

Rare 1967 Lancia Fulvia Rallye 1.3 HF in right-hand drive sold for £27,648 with premium 26 March 2021, over £10,000 more than the South West Vehicle Auctions £16,500-17,500 pre-sale estimate after an all internet-bidder battle.
The subject of an older restoration, the Italian Coupe had been fitted with a roll-over bar as part of 2000 road rally prep and Solex carburettors changed to Dellortos during an engine rebuild in 2007.
Many bids were cast, too, for a 1966 Volvo Amazon 131 2-Door Coupe sold in the Dorset firm’s Parkstone auction hall for £7,452, conclusively overtaking the £2,500-2,800 that had been forecast.
A £4,000-5,000 guided 1955 Wolseley 4/44 4-Door in receipt of photo-recorded restoration realised £11,988, a £8,000-9,000 1989 Bentley 8 with 32,500 mileage driven to the sale from Devon £19,368, and a £11,950-12,950 1987 Ford Capri 2.8i 5-speed restored in 2000 an applauded £19,764.
Although a premium-inclusive average of £9,816 was paid per car at this sale, a 1980 Aston Martin V8 Auto for four estimated at £38,000-39,750 sold to a telephone bidder for £63,720.
A more than forecast £32,940 was required for an internet bidder to buy an £18,000-19,000 estimated 1974 Ferrari 308GT4 3.0 that had been restored in the 1990s and had a cambelt change four years ago.
£23,112 was required to beat off 21 telephone bidders and buy a 1972 Rover P5B 3.5 Manual Saloon estimated at £17,950-19,950. A 1990 Porsche 928S auto with 88,000 warranted mileage, guided at £12,500-13,500, made £17,496.
One of the most interesting lots to be driven past the Youtube camera was a Morris Mini Mk2 850 in 1967 that had been fitted with 970S engine, gearbox and disc brakes since 2009. Estimated at £8,700-9,500 in 2021, a telephoned bidder had to bid £16,200 and pay £17,496 with premium to become the fifth owner.
Five more telephone contestants competed for the keys of a 1956 Jensen-Healey Convertible with some blemishes that had been expected to cost the buyer £3,000-4,000, but was eventually won by an internet bidder for £9,288.
A deceased estate consigned Metro Hatchback that had only done a warranted 179 miles since new in 2004 was also bought by an internet buyer versus a telephone bidder for £5,076.
A 1933-1937 Austin Collection also generated huge pre-sale and bidding interest, mainly by telephone players, headlined by a 1933 Austin Six Westminster 16/6 Manual Saloon, one of only three left, which left its £5,900-6,500 estimate far behind when hammered for £23,250 and bought for £25,110 with premium.
The No Reserve 1934 Prototype Thompson Dart Caravan that had been towed by the 88 year old Austin was also captured by the same buyer for £11,070.
From the same source, a 1937 14/6 Goodwood Saloon with still original interior and a 12 1½-Litre Saloon with gate-post damaged wings eventually cost internet buyers £8,208 and £7,020 respectively, both well over their estimates.
An upgraded 1966 Jaguar 3.4 Mk2 from another deceased estate more than doubled its £15,000 top estimate to cost a new owner £32,130.
While a Vauxhall Magnum 1800 Estate (when did you last see one living?), and with 14 reassuring service stamps authenticating the 45,596 mileage since 1977, was an all-internet bid tussle until acquired for £8,424, more than double the lower estimate.
Consigning 23 cars at No Reserve certainly contributed to SWVA's March 2021 UK  topping 98% sale rate. For by the end of the Friday morning and early afternoon session, only two cars were unsold, while a premium-inclusive £785,294 had been spent on 80 classics by 180 Telephone and Commission bidders, not forgetting the 370 who registered to bid on-line. Pent-up demand to consume classic motor vehicles was certainly released at this Dorset Drive-Through where stock so very nearly ran out. RH-E

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Audi Quattro 20V road car achieves record £85,470 during 90% sold £1.62m CCA sale where all 40 cars from major Midland collection sell

Classic Car Auctions Spring Sale, their first sale of what is shaping up to be another unforecastable year, was held Live & On-Line Friday 26 March, when there were absentee buyers on phone and net for 90% of the 131 classics auctioned, spending £1,620,154 with premium on 118 of them, an average of £13.730  per car bought. While 100% of the third tranche of 40 cars being dispersed for a major Midlands-based collection all sold out.
On a Friday in Warwickshire, the top seller, a rare and recommissioned 1990 Audi Quattro 20V in Lago Blue with just over 48,300 miles under-wheel inspired a significant amount of pre-sale attention and bidding until sold for £85,470, a record valuation for the model in an auction.
The sale mirrored the same On-Line format that had been perfected during Year One of Pandemic with most bidding from home by landline, mobile and mouse, or leaving bids on the commission book pre-sale, when professional inspections could be carried out to order over several days.
Mercedes-Benz SLs sold here included a 1963 230SL W113 for £56,610 and a 1987 300SL R107 for £41,070.
The 2000 vintage Rover Mini Cooper Sport had only been driven 117 miles in 21 years before achieving £33,300.
A Daimler 4.2 Sovereign meanwhile sold for £11,988 to a telephone bidder, who, after Jonathan Humbert’s gavel had fallen, informed CCA that his father had sold the car when it was brand new in 1971.
A 1985 Porsche Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet from 1975 Band member George Daniel found a fan with £33,000, and a £24,420 1969 VW Type 2 Westfalia Bay Window Camper longed for some long weekends away.
The 1969 Lotus Elan S4 Special Equipment FHC with faired-in headlights cost the next owner £21,645, and a really sharp 2008 Mercedes-Benz CL500 C126 2-Door consigned by actor Nigel Havers sold for £16,095.
Many of the 40 Jaguars and Daimlers from The Warwickshire Collection were offered ‘Without Reserve’, several exceeding their pre-sale estimates and others attracting more than 20 registered telephone bidders per lot!
The most powerful magnets in the 100% sold concluding session were a keenly contested 1996 Jaguar XJS4.0 Auto Convertible with ‘XJS’ reg sold for £27,195, whilst the so stylish 1983 Jaguar XJS HE 5.3 Eventer by Lynx predictably flew to an orbital £47,730 with premium.
Gary Dunne, CCA’s Sales Manager, told C.A.R.: “These kind of results are testament to the cars offered, our customers and, of course, the team. Last year, the Silverstone Auctions Group, which includes Classic Car Auctions, were recognised as the UK market leaders in the classic car auction industry and this latest sales rate demonstrates why and how we achieved this accolade.”
“We would like to thank our vendors and buyers, old and new, for their continued support – especially with the current restrictions in place. Our next auction will be a two-day sale held Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June during the seventh London Classic Car Show, which is being held this year at Syon Park, Brentford, Middlesex,"
For the Midlands firm's debut in London and the South East, and their first auction where event-starved punters should be able to attend in person, CCA have reduced sellers' commission to a one-off rate of 2.5% and are offering vendors an entry fee package at £495.
Their deal not only includes VAT, but also a space in the auction area before an estimated 15,000 visitors over the Show's three day run, pro-photography, 360 internal and external video shoot, internet-cataloguing and promotion of the sale car with e-blasts, providing secure storage prior to sale and covered transportation to auction site via EM Rogers, bespoke 'virtual viewings' conducted ahead of the event, for which two entry tickets are included, as well as managing enquiries from potential buyers before and during the sale.
CCA's season opener at the end of March was the third of five such ‘Live’ On-Line auctions in a four day run at three locations around the UK that were only allowed to take place ‘Behind Closed-Doors’ .
First was the Aceca-Bristol project record heading H&H sale at their Warrington HQ. Then, there was a 98% sold SWVA Drive Through in Dorset, followed by this CCA sale in Warwickshire, where the new world record price was established for an Audi Quattro 20V. While both Silverstone Auctions Race Retro replacement car sales - during which there were buyers for 58% of Historic competition cars and 84% of road classics - were webcast on YouTube from Stoneleigh Park Saturday and Sunday.
The maths from these sales concluded that 358 collector-classics out of 430 auctioned had sold for a premium-inclusive £11,839,487.
For despite most of the post-Brexit economy still being suppressed by Parliament-imposed regulations and EU mainland consumption depressed by even higher waves of virus and spreading lockdowns, an absolutely extraordinary average of £33,071 was spent by buyers of classic motor cars during this clutch of busy UK auctions. RH-E

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Partially dismantled Aceca Bristol comes to market for first time in 52 years to set £99,000 resto-record in H&H On-Line auction

The 1960 AC Coupe was one of three fresh to market ‘Garage Find’ restoration projects from the estate of the late Terry Harrison, former rally navigator and club racer, sold by H&H to absentee bidders during their 24 March ‘Live’ sale on the internet for strong money.
The still highly original Aceca-Bristol had been off the road for decade before prompting a bidding battle until hammered down by principal Simon Hope and the H&H auctioneers team to a telephone contestant for £88,000 plus premium, the project being taken on for £99,000 with premium.
Distributed via Ken Rudd of Ruddspeed fame, Aceca chassis BE 786 with more powerful Bristol 100D2 engine, overdrive and front disc brakes was registered ‘1 BMJ’ in 1960 to the first owner, from whom Harrison purchased the Fixed Head Coupe in 1969, using it as a daily-driver and weekend hill climber.
Harrison's circa 1956 Lotus Eleven Series 1 Le Mans Coventry Climax Sports-Racer, crashed by him at Thruxton in 1975, in bits, incomplete and identified by chassis number NW 204, made an impressive £45,000 with premium. The original ‘204’ numbered car is apparently in the US, while another 204 Eleven surfaced on this side of the Atlantic Pond during the 1990s.
The FWA 6577 numbered engine with the project is understood to have been first fitted to GP journalist Gerard ‘Jabby’ Crombac’s Lotus Eleven number 152 before being transferred to  ex-Le Mans 750cc Eleven number 519.
The remains of a second, even less complete Eleven Series 1 project meanwhile, consisting of a chassis sourced from Geoffrey Crossley, a Coventy-Climax FEW 1.2 engine, MOWOG 4speed gearbox and desirable 5.3:1 differential EW engine, raised £28,125.
The whole auction, including automobilia and classic bikes, achieved a sale rate of 85% and grossed a sale total of £1m in a day. From the 82 cars offered, although15 were unsold, 6 were auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, and 57 or 70% did sell for £725,731, most to bidders who had not physically inspected cars in the metal.
Some 800 bidders registered to do so, not only from around the UK, but also casting their bids by net and phone from as far afield as Belgium, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore and the US.
This was only the first of five such ‘Live’ On-Line auctions that took place behind closed-doors in the UK in five days - at H&H in their Warrington HQ, the SWVA Drive Through in Dorset, CCA in Warwickshire and at the two Silverstone Auctions Race Retro replacement sales at Stoneleigh Park - after which another 300 collector-grade cars had sold, 358 in total, for a premium-inclusive £11,839,487, extraordinary in pandemic.
For despite UK high streets being consigned to ghost town history, by the all bad news bulletins, and there being new waves of virus devastating confidence to consume on an increasingly commercially locked down EU mainland, last week and over the weekend, an average of £33,071 was spent by buyers of classic motor cars at the sales. RH-E

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1989 AMG wide-bodied 560SEC 6.0 Merc sells for £146,250 during 82% sold £1.49m Bonhams MPH Drive Through in Bicester Heritage hangar

The top selling 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC - one of just 26 such 5.6 to 6-litre upgraded wide-bodied AMG projectiles - was contested by bidders from Essex to the US, from where one telephone player had to pay £146,250 with premium to win the car at Bonhams MPH 20 March.
A Feltham-built in 1952 Lagonda 2.6 Drophead, sympathetically restored by a previous owner, found the next guardian with the forecast £76,500.
The same money also bought a Sonauto France supplied and still very original 1963 Porsche 356C Coupe. An ex-Sir Freddie Laker 1961 Mercedes 300d ‘Adenaur Limo’ also flew well to achieve a £54,000 result by telephone.
Rare in right-hand drive for the UK market and restored over several years by a previous owner, a 1965 Alfa Romeo Guilia Spider had been driven to market in Oxfordshire from Cornwall before making the required £52,875.
Although the sale of a £40,000-50,000 guided and 2016 Padua fair purchased 1959 Giulietta Sprint GT in left hand drive with 5-speed box option that had been in receipt of a £30,000 restoration in 2020 was abandoned with £34,000 on the screen.
The ultimate Esprit, a large rear winged 1998 Lotus V8 GT with uprated braking package made a more than expected £47,250.
By contrast, Spydersport Ltd‘s own DIY ‘Spyder Donington V8’  conversion for the 4-seater 1979 Lotus Elite, consisting of a Spyder rolling backbone chassis to accommodate a Rover 3.5 V8 engine and 5-speed manual transmission, stored since 2000, was bought for £11,200.
Five bidders competed for a North American market 1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk2 lefty with new floor panels, sills, outriggers and body panels sold for £45,000.
Internet bidders were prepared to take on a part-complete Jaguar XK120 Roadster project with some spares that had been shipped to the US in October 1952 and was taken on sight-unseen in Oxfordshire 68 years later for £36,000.
A 1995 Impreza ‘Series McRae’ in Mica Blue with refurbished Speedline alloys in Gold, number 12 of only 200 produced by Prodrive for Subaru, also sold on the internet for £24,750.
While £22,500 bought a really well presented 1966 Austin Mini Cooper 998, a Goodwood Sunday breakfast meet regular, and £20,250 a 2018 restored and utterly mint 1970 Mini 1275GT, a 1994 vintage Mini Cooper in Group A Rally spec with only 2764 mileage that had included the 1996 Network Q Rally was acquired for £16,875.
From the same source as the Rover era Mini Cooper, a stage rally-prepped 1972 Ford Escort Mexico non-runner requiring attention and rear trim, but with potential, was landed for £20,416.
Whilst a now really rare 1965 Saab 96 Monte Carlo 850 2-stroke 3-carb rally car in excellent cosmetic order, that could not be driven across the block and required mechanical recommissioning, ran out of interest at £14,000, £4000 less than the catalogue expectation.
On the day however, £50,000-60,000 was too much for the ex-works 1963 Vauxhall 4/90 ‘4 FTM’ that had not only competed in the 1963/4 Monte Carlo, RAC, Tulip and Welsh rallies, but the 1963 Rally of the Midnight Sun and Spa-Liege as well as the retrospective 1997-1999 Monte Carlo Challenge, 1998 Classic Marathon and three Monte Carlo Historiques earlier this century
There were 9 Land Rovers for sale in the WW2 hangar, the top performer being a 34,500 mile 2013 Defender 110 XS 2.2 TDCi with tail lift that raised a more than estimated £33,750.
Right behind it though was a 1950 Series 1 80ins Landy with canvas tilt and still original chassis that had been treated to ground-up restoration, and which was contested by 4 i-bidders and 2 telephone competitors until won for £32,625.
A rare 1962 Ford Zodiac Mk2 Convertible survivor, with overdrive and servo-assisted front disc brakes option, made £20,250, the top estimate, and a 1953 Consul Mk1 Saloon with original interior for rolling restoration was taken on for £4500 on the saleroom platform.
An ex-‘19 Amphibious Squadron of the Royal Corps of Transport’ 1943 GMC ‘DUKW’ 353 6WD Troop Carrier, a former resident of the deceased Museum of Army Transport in Beverley, Yorkshire, requiring recommissioning before any active service on land or water in the after-life, was very keenly contested by preservationists from Falmouth to Germany before being sold for £32,625, £12,625 more than the top estimate.
A 90 year old Standard 9hp 1135cc 4-cylinder powered 111 chassis meanwhile, topped with 1931 2-door saloon coachwork by Swallow, for revival by full restoration or oily rag preservation, achieved a more than double estimate £14,062, thanks to French and UK bidders on internet and telephone.
Despite having to be held behind closed doors with no punters present, at least this 20 March sale could be ‘Live Streamed’ before cameras, with lots enthusiastically introduced by Gillian Carr and Matt Roberts and illustrated by well shot and fully descriptive videos.
By the end of the Saturday afternoon session, Auctioneers Rob Hubbard and Malcolm Barber had hammered away 82 of the 99 vehicles offered (plus a £8437 Brian James Enclosed Tri-Axle Classic Transporter) to absentee-bidders on-line, commission or specialist-manned phones for £1,487,875, a 12.5% premium-inclusive average of £18,145 spent per lot.
"This has been a very good start to 2021," Rob Hubbard, Head of Bonhams MPH, told C.A.R. "Although the country is in lockdown, the classic and collector's car market is still active and our sale format has once again proved successful."
He was particularly pleased with the global reach achieved."We had bidders from the Eurozone, Canada and the USA, where the AMG found a new home."
While 18 cars did not sell, impressively 82% did, particularly noteworthy being the 33% of them that achieved more than their top estimates. Another 33 went for within estimate band prices, too, while below forecast offers were instantly accepted by vendors of 34% of cars sold.
Subject to local Covid-19 regulations permitting an Open Doors sale with the catalogue-buying public permitted to be present, the next Bonhams MPH sale will be staged 22 May as a traditional 'Live' Drive Through. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
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Divorce settlement drives £1.3m auction sale by Duke’s of 5 Bentleys and a Corvette belonging to West Country Care Homes owner

Lost and rediscovered in Afghanistan before being driven 5700 miles back to the UK, 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Vanden Plas 4-Seater Tourer sold for £534,750 including 15% premium to an international buyer on a telephone who out-bid five other contestants.
The 92 year old Brit had been pre-sale estimated by the Dorset auctioneers to cost the next owner £500,000-700,000.
With their No 10-compliant sale still having to be held behind closed doors, offers for the Newton House Collection cars were fielded by the Dorchester firm from phone and internet, via the saleroom.com and easyliveauction platforms.
A 1956 Bentley S1 Continental HJ Mulliner crafted Fastback Auto guided at £300,000-400,000 was bid to £295,000 and cost a buyer £339,250 with premium. Whilst a £140,000-180,000 estimated 1935 ‘Derby Bentley’ 3½-Litre Manual Drophead Coupe by Thrupp & Maberly realised a premium-inclusive £144,900.
While two more Bentleys, a £200,000-300,000 1962 S2 Continental HJM 2-Door and a £80,000-90,000 2007 Azure 4-Seat 2-Door Convertible were neither hammered ‘live’ nor post-sold, a 2014 Continental GT Speed Convertible did make a more than top estimate £77,050 and a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Roadster Manual Lefty sold for a within forecast £57,500.
Having bought their Jacobean mansion and estate, which straddles the Somerset-Dorset borders, in 2007, Robin Cannon ‘split’ from his wife Jane in 2019, since when Newton House - for sale with an ‘asking price’ of £5.95m - has reportedly now been sold.
The 67 year old vendor’s collection had been housed in a climate-controlled 12-car man cave, while Newton House Gin, which cost £35 a bottle, was distilled on the estate.
After more than a year of locked down domestic imprisonments, and as the courts begin to clear a backlog of pre-pandemic divorce hearings, many more adult toys may have to be sold to meet a projected glut in such settlement claims.
The stats for market watchers from Duke’s 11 March ‘Bijoux Dispersal’ were 6 out of 8 classics offered sold, a 75% sale rate, for £1,286,850, an average of £214,475 with premium being spent per car bought.

On YouTube meanwhile...
North of the Scottish border, at Errol in Perthshire, most of the classics consigned by Morris Leslie for their 13 March ‘Behind Closed Doors’ Sale were driven (or pushed) past the rostrum in front of YouTube cameras
Top seller of the 39 cars sold from 55 offered was a 1962 Jaguar E Type 3.8 Fixed Head, estimated at £65,000-75,000, which just sold for £65,038 with premium.
Whereas a £35,000-45,000 guided 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 3-Door realised a better than forecast £53,213. A 2001 Ferrari 360 Spyder also out-performed its £37,000-42,000 estimate to sell for £43,000, and a 2006 Bentley Continental GTC Convertible sold for within £28,000-32,000 estimate £30,906.
By the time 10 post-sales had been gathered in, 39 of the 55 cars had sold for £374,428 with premium, a 71% sale rate and an average of £9601 had been spent per classic acquisition. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.





 

Maradona Porsche Type 964 Cabrio scores more than double top estimate £413,713 during Bonhams Motor Cars first fully digital £3m auction

Bonhams ‘Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris’ Sale, held as a fully digital auction, the first sale in this format for Bonhams Motor Cars, concluded 10 March 2021 by when bidding time had run out for 36 cars sold for 3,560,975 euros (£3,052,056 with premium, an average of £84,056 spent per car).
Football legend Diego Maradona’s rare 911, which received worldwide pre-sale attention, grossed 483,000 euros (£413,713), nearly doubling its high estimate.
The late icon’s toy shared the top price in the results with a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series 2 Fixed Head for four also sold for 483,000 euros. Bids could be placed over seven days between 3-10 March on the Bonhams website and through their new app.
 “Combining our celebrated service and expertise with an innovative state-of-the-art technological offering, this was Bonhams Motor Cars first-ever digital-only auction,” said Paul Darvill, European Auctions Manager.
“We doubled the number of registrants and attracted bidders and buyers from 37 countries, 47% of bidders being new clients to the auction house. The market has great resilience and enthusiasm is enduring. We anticipate On-Line Only sales will become an important part of our calendar from now on.
Offered at auction for the first-time, Diego Maradona’s 1992 Porsche 911 Type 964 Carrera 2 Convertible with the ‘Works Turbo Look’ - delivered new to ‘El Diego’ in November 1992 and viewable in Belgium in 2021 - achieved 483,000 euros (£413,713), against an estimate of 150,000 - 200,000 euros, making more than double its high estimate.  
For the infamous World Cup winner, this had been a tricky time, both on and off the pitch. For having served a 15-month ban, he returned to playing football for Sevilla, in what proved to be his last season in Europe.
Maradona had rented the villa of Juan Antonio Ruiz Roman, Spain’s most famous bullfighter, and took delivery of the silver top-of-the-range Porsche on 6 November 1992. Only 1,200 variants of the 964 Carrera 2 Convertible with ‘Works Turbo Look’ were produced in a two-year run.
A supercar of its day, the 911 was powered by a 250bhp 3.6-litre Carrera 2 engine with a top speed of 260km/h. For within half an hour of taking delivery, the footballing legend reportedly cruised through the historic centre of Seville, famously jumping red lights and speeding up to 180kph. After just one season however, the waning star left the club in June 1993.
His Porsche meanwhile was sold to a private owner on the island of Majorca who owned it for 20 years before it passed through the hands of several private collectors. It had been catalogued as being practically original and yet in well-preserved condition, having covered circa 120,000 kms (75,000 miles) since new.
Unsurprisingly, a Porsche with Maradona provenance attracted attention from around the world, although it did share the top spot on the results with the original English Gentleman's Express, the DB4 being the fastest and most powerful British production car of its day. It was also the first Aston Martin to carry the 'Superleggera' all-aluminium bodywork by Carrozzeria Touring and the first to be powered by Aston’s all-new 240bhp six-cylinder 3.6-litre engine.
Delivered new to France in 1960, the DB4 had not left the French capital, where it could be viewed before selling for 482,000 euros (£413,950 with premium).
James Knight, Group Chairman of Bonhams Motoring said, “I was particularly pleased that the Aston Martin DB4 achieved such a good result. It demonstrates clearly the abiding interest in the marque, which we now find is increasing apace. The result comes hot off the heels of the very successful price we made for the DB4GT that sold at Bonhams’ Legends of the Road Sale last month in the UK.”
Other internet highlights included – a 1959 Porsche 356A T2 1600 Super Convertible D by Drauz in Belgium sold for 253,000 euros (£216,707); a French resident 1987 Ferrari 512BBi Coupe, one of 1007 with recent cambelt renewal, achieved 184,000 euros (£157,695); and a Belgian Henri Chapron certificated 1971 Citroën DS21 IE Décapotable maintained by Bart Kochen made 172,000 euros (£147,839).
A 1952 Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupe with Abbott of Farnham coachwork for four that had been supplied to New Zealand and had also ended up in Belgium fetched 126,500 euros (£108,253); a French consigned and resident 1926 Salmson GSS Sports-Tourer meanwhile sold for 115,000 euros (£98,559); and a Belgian-based 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 2.6 Mk1 Mulliner of Brum bodied 2+2 Hatchback, an older restoration for mechanical recommissioning at least, was taken on for 115,000 euros (£98,554).
The 2014 Belgium Historic Porsche Cup winning 1974 911 3.0 Carrera RSR Rep up rated to 325bhp was acquired for 109,250 euros (£93,578); and a 1955 Jaguar XK140 SE Drophead , one of 2310, that had started life in the US and was in Belgium found 109.250 euros (£93,578).
By the time bidding time had run out and international computer mice had gone elsewhere to click and collect, 36 or 54% of the 67 classics on the web had sold under the digital gavel, whereas best offers fell short of reserves for the other 31 unsold cars, all but two of which were left-hand drive.
For unless hooked on Maradonna memorabilia, pandemic malaise continues to globally depress unvaccinated consumers, it would seem. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.



 

Bond Bug makes record £29,160 at ACA, where 750 registered to bid on one platform and 93% of 171 cars sell for £1.7m

Apart from the mega price paid for the 1973 Bug that has been stored for 42 years until 2019, when totally restored, only 700 miles ago, other noteworthy valuations recorded at the Norfolk firm’s first 27 & 28 February ‘Drive Through’ weekend of the locked down New Year, included a 1974 Jensen Interceptor III driven a warranted 25,000 miles by one owner sold for £73,440.
After several days of socially-distanced trade appointments had been accommodated, the highest priced Fast Ford to sell on-line and telephone behind closed doors in King’s Lynn this time was an upgraded to 300bhp 1986 Sierra RS Cosworth with 69,000 recorded mileage sold on the internet for £59,400.
Right behind the 3-Door though was a 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 Roadster stalled project. In many bits and without seats and glass, the former US resident had been guided at £40,000-50,000, but was taken on for £56,700.
A 37,870 mile 1998 Land Rover V8 that had celebrated the 50th Anniversary in Japan, from where it had been repatriated in 2019, fetched a way over £25,000 top estimate to sell to one i-bidder for £38,880. A 2003 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante with 50,797 warranted mileage was bought for £32,400.
A No Reserve 1981 Ford Fiesta 1.3 Supersport Mk1 with 81,000 recorded mileage had been extensively restored with Recaro seats in 2011 and cost the next owner £24,840 in 2021. Driven 106,000 miles since 1987, a Capri 280 Brooklands Mk3 with 3.2 motor made £18,900, more than top estimate.
After many years inactivity, a well presented 1953 Bentley R Type was sold to one telephone bidder for a more than estimated £25,830 and a 2010-2017 stored 1990 Porsche 944 S2 Turbo sold to another for £23,220.
Much shown and diligently preserved, a 1972 Lancia 2000 Sedan had served an ex-Ghandi movie cameraman well before selling to the fourth owner on a Sunday in Norfolk for a more than double top estimate £21,840.
Restored in 2015 and 2016, and better than when it was new in 1981, a Monte Carlo S2 Spider from the same Fiat-owned marque had somehow survived the Comecon sourced steel rot that ravaged so many of its siblings to warrant a £20,790 result. A 1975 Alfa Romeo GT 1600 Junior in recent receipt of renewed sills and floor pans meanwhile made a double top estimate £20,250.  
A shining 1973 Morris Mini Moke had been shipped from Australia in 1982, since when it had changed hands nine times before doing the same here via a phone for £18,630, £3630 more than forecast. A high-spec BMW Mini John Cooper Works, which had been driven only 6490 miles since new in 2004, sold in front of a YouTube audience for £14,850, more than £6500 over top estimate.
The oldest cars to cross the block were a good looking 1930 Riley Nine Special sold to a telephone bidder for a within estimate band £23,760,  a 1932 Wolseley Hornet Special with Jarvis body for a below forecast £21,600 and an executors entered 1930 MG M Type which had to be pushed past the cameras, but still realised £17,550.
There were buyers, too, for the remains of all three 1957-1960 Heinkel-Trojan Microcars, which were bravely swept up for £2970, £2214 and £1010. A No Reserve Sinclair C5 trike with charger and weather gear sold under the hammer for £863.
Whereas the newest lot to cross the block with only 2864 mileage, a 2004 Subaru Forester being thinned from a collection was keenly contested until sold to an internet salegoer for £14,040, £6000 more than the guide.    
By Saturday lunchtime, 1357 were viewing Day One of the Drive Through webcast from Norfolk on YouTube, which inspired much absentee e-comment from as far away as Thailand to Melbourne in OZ, from Lhasa to Germany.
One Irish Republic punter complained via his keyboard that Brexit bureaucracy was impeding his former access to being able to buy UK classics at auction. Others cheerily contributed comment from “Sunny Clacton and Blackpool” as well as Hartlepool, which a YouTuber proclaimed was “The Caribbean of the North”.
100% of the preceding automobilia sold out both days. A Beckmeter Mobiloil Shot Delivery Petrol Pump was acquired for £1,121 and a Wayne Skeleton Petrol Pump for £920. A strictly ‘decorative’ Penny Farthing’ style bike was wheeled away for £1380. Being 246cm long x 100cm high, a ‘Duckhams 20-50 Lubrication Service’ sign in aluminium really was particularly large for £604. £4590 was required to retain the ‘RRX 6’ reg.
In summary, Day One saw 74 cars, 91% of the 81 offered sell for £523,342 including 8% premium and only 7 unsold. Halfway through the Day Two session, 2016 YouTubers were goggling 84 or 93% cars sell for £1,170,204 with premium and only 6 failing to sell.
Anglia Car Auctions season-opening weekend stats therefore amounted to 158 cars or 93% sold for a premium-inclusive £1,693,546, an average of £10,719 being spent per classic bought, and just 13 cars or 7.6% unsold.
More of the same, with viewings by trade-only appointments and a bespoke preview-video service before sale days held behind closed doors, but in front of high quality cameras, will again take place over slightly rescheduled 1/2 May and 26/27 June weekends.
By when, and with a great deal of luck, some Government restrictions may have been lifted and our pent-up demand released, so that the maturer boys and girls may be permitted to have days out at the races or auctions. RH-E

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White Gloves worn in West End after 1937 Bugatti T57S clears £4m and DB4 GT project nearly £2m during 100% sold sale

A rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S, which had been off the road and out of sight for the past 51 years, sold for just over £4m during the ‘Live and On-Line’ Bonhams’ Legend of the Road  sale at the international auction house’s flagship New Bond Street London saleroom Friday 19 February. 
The desirable pre-war supercar, the fastest road car of its time and one of only 42 produced, was the physical centrepiece of a carefully curated sale of just six collector vehicles, all of which sold in a 100% sold sale totalling more than £7m with automobilia.
By mutual agreement however, a £700,000-900,000 guided and Ferrari Classiche certificated 1965 275GTS Convertible, one of 19 in right-hand drive, had changed hands pre-sale for an undisclosed sum.
The much promoted and traditional catalogue cover starring Bugatti had been preserved since 1969 in the North Staffordshire workshop of its late owner, respected engineer and Bugattiste Bill Turnbull, and was presented in exceptionally time warp condition, with largely intact black paintwork, cream leather interior and original open-top 4-seater coachwork.
New Zealander Turnbull had embarked on a painstaking restoration project, which was his life’s work, the 57S was offered as a very advanced project in progress, close to completion and only in need of some final re-assembly. With the other 57S already in museums and known collections, this was almost certainly the last hidden away example to come to market.
With bespoke coachwork by Corsica of London to the specification of its first owner, shipping magnate Sir Robert Ropner, the 57S was built on a special lightweight chassis previously used on one of three Bugatti works 1936 Type 57G Streamliner ‘Tank’ Sports, which contested Grand Prix in 1936 and set high speed records, with such drivers as Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron at the wheel.
Estimated to realise £5,000,000-7,000,000, but auctioned Without Reserve, bidding opened on one telephone at £2,600,000, and in £200,000 and then £50,000 increments, auctioneer Malcolm Barber’s gavel finally determined new ownership of the ‘DUL 351’ registered 57S chassis 57503 after £3,600,000 had been bid in the saleroom, costing the next owner £4,047,000 including buyer’s premium.
Sholto Gilbertson, Director Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “This Sleeping Beauty was certainly one of the most important pre-war Bugattis. The Type 75S offers an exciting opportunity for its new owner to complete Bill Turnbull’s ambitious and exacting restoration.”
The Aston Martin DB4GT dispersed here had been supplied new in 1960 to Syd Greene and son Keith’s Gilby Engineering, whose cars raced in 12 F1 World Championship GPs 1954-1962. Consigned by the executors of the late David J Picking, in whose family ownership the ’36 HYL’ registered 0113 had been for some 54 years, the all numbers still matching GT had been last on the road in 1983.
Offered as a stalled restoration project on wheels, part-rebuilt and dismantled, but with nearly all its original parts present, including period push-button radio, both body and chassis had been expertly restored by Bodylines in 2010. The potential of the £1,400,000-1,800,000 estimated challenge inspired an eight-way bidding battle on camera between masked specialists manning socially-distanced lecterns in the saleroom until a winner had bid £1,750,000 and paid £1,975,000 with premium.
One of only 85 examples of the Frazer Nash TT, named after the short-lived British firm’s success in the Northern Ireland Tourist Trophy in 1931 and 1932, and aimed at the ‘sporting motorist’, the 1934 dated TT Rep chassis 2109 with the correct-type Meadows 4ED engine in the sale had been forecast to cost a buyer £200,000-250,000.
Topped with open 2-seater body by AFN, ‘AMT 411’ was tested by its first owner in high speed and reliability trials, and then in VSCC races by the recently deceased Ian Trainer, who kept the car for more than 50 years.
Having been off the road for at least the last 10 years, ‘AMT 411’ had recently been re-commissioned by marque specialists Blakeney Motorsports before being seriously contested by three internet bidders, who never let any telephone bidders into their scrap, until one had won the car for £253,000 with premium.
The car section opening 1955 Jaguar XK140 Roadster, the 21st of only 74 right-hand drive cars, had been upgraded with 3.8-litre competition engine formerly used by legendary Jaguar saloon racer Albert Betts and Getrag 5-speed transmission, although both original 3.4 engine and 4-speed gearbox were also included. Restored by CKL Developments in 2012 and with interior re-trim by Barton & Son including Reutter buckets, the Coventry Cat from long-term family ownership of more than 50 years was rehomed during the sale for £92,000 with premium, albeit £38,000 below the £130,000 lower estimate sought.
The brief evening session ended with a 1913 Panhard et Levassor 2.2-litre 12hp X19 for two sharing a bench seat, again offered from the Bill Turnbull stable. In Bill’s ownership for more than 65 years, the Panhard had been extensively restored by him and was offered with fantastically-detailed archive. £40,000-60,000 had been suggested, but the No Reserve car was knocked down for £28,000 most fittingly to a telephone bidder, an old acquaintance of Turnbull in New Zealand, who had driven the car in 1962 and for which he paid £32,200 with premium. 
The preceding Automobilia section also had a 100 per cent success rate, with the majority of lots selling in excess of their top estimates, including a Bugatti Type 57/57S gearbox, which achieved £24,000, and a Furet-Gergovia 1200kg jack, to suit Bugatti Type 57/57S, also offered from the Turnbull estate, which soared past its top estimate of £400 to realise £3,060.
James Knight, Bonhams Group Motoring Chairman, said: “This sale shows that exceptional examples of rare and pedigree collectors’ motor cars are attracting strong interest and bids from passionate collectors and enthusiasts. 
"It also proves the effectiveness of our proven Live and Online format - Bonhams innovative response to the global and local restrictions resulting from Covid-19 - which still enabled spirited bidding from around the world.”
The next auction to be staged by Bonhams Motor Car Department is their first fully digital ‘Les Grand Marques du Monde à Paris Sale', for which bidding by mouse opens 3 and closes 10 March, when time runs out. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Thanks for visting this media minnow. Do come again.



 

Over £8m spent on internet on 8 classics in UK, including £2.75m on 1961 AM DB4 GT, during 100% sold Gooding US sale

Gooding & Company, the Santa Monica California auction firm that has sold many of the highest value collector cars, realized £8,453,500 at its ‘Geared On-Line’ UK sale, bidding commencing 28 January and timing out 5 February. The American firm achieved a 100% sell-through rate with two cars selling for more than £1 million and the average paid per car amounting to £939,278.
"We are delighted to have a 100% sell-through rate in our second-ever UK auction," states Gooding & Company President and Founder, David Gooding. "This auction not only demonstrated the impressive strength of the car market, but also the company’s global reach. While the European Sporting & Historic sale also proves the success of our Geared Online series."
The nine-car collection, all displayed and viewed by interested parties in a storage facility in Potters Bar, Hertforshire, and consisting of fine examples of major collectible marques, saw Aston Martin take home the top sale, with a 2020  RSW restored 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT, one of 75 and one of 30 in left-hand drive, for which £2,000,000-2,500,000 had been estimated. realise a final price of £2,750,000 inluding premium.
The 1967 Brussels Motor Show Ferrari 275 GTB/4 with new interior became the second-highest selling car at a price of £1,870,000, £1,750,000-2,000,000 had been forecast, followed by an immaculate 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, from the final years of production with alloy block and disc brakes, for which £900,000-1,200,000 had been suggested, but which sold for £935,000.
The second Aston Martin in the sale, a £750,000-1,000,000 1963 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible,a right-hand drive car in receipt of Adrian Johnson restoration in 2008, fetched £836,000 after a lengthy back-and-forth between prospective owners.
The nine-day sale also included a 1930 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre 4-Seater Sports Tourerby Vanden Plas that was guided at £450,000-650,000, but which achieved £539,000, a 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Pointed Tail Two Seater by Hoffman and Burton, estimated at £400,000-600,000, that sold for £627,000, and a British Racing Grreen made 1950 Bentley B Special Speed 8 on a MkVI chassis with B80 Straight Eight on 4 carbs, which had been estimated to cost £225,000-300,000, but for which £214,500 was accepted.
A pair of pristine Rolls-Royces rounded out the on-line only auction with a £600,000-800,000 estimated 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupe by Freestone & Webb selling for a way under forecast £396,000, and a £450,000-650,000 guided 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental by Barker, a veteran from the 1932 RAC and 1933 Monte Carlo Rallies, for which £286,000 was accepted. Once the wheels of choice for the discerning and dashing automobilist pre-WW2, Rollers like these have become less fashionable than once they were.
Cars sold and their prices –
1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT £2,750,000
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 £1,870,000
1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster £935,000
1963 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible £836,000
1931 Bentley 8 Litre Pointed Tail Two Seater £627,000
1930 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Sports Tourer £539,000
1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupe £396,000
1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental £286,000
1950 Bentley B Special Speed 8 £214,500
Geared Online – The Phil Hill Automobilia Collection “A Life in Racing” –
Gooding & Co’s next sale will be The Phil Hill Automobilia Collection. The second of the three sales dedicated to legendary American race car driver, Phil Hill, will focus on the celebrated competitor’s life in racing. In total, over 300 lots charting the life and successful racing career of Phil Hill will be available for the first time ever at public auction will time out 'Without Reserve' 19 February.
Highlights include a Herbert Johnson Racing Helmet (Estimate: $80,000-$110,000), Phil Hill’s Le Mans 1962 Winner’s Trophy (Estimate: $20,000-$40,000), a Rolex 'Zenith' Daytona Ref. 16520 (Estimate: $30,000-$50,000), and a Shelby Cobra Team Jacket, c.1963 (Estimate: $20,000-$30,000).

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
Also don’t miss out on the latest analysis of what really happened on the auction circuit and prices in 2020 by clicking onto Market Commentaries on the Home Page menu bar. Thanks for visiting this Pop-Up Ad-Free site. RH-E


 

Brexit red tape will mean time-consuming Carnets and VAT taxation of previously free movement of classics between UK and EU

All sectors of the collector car industry are being hit by greatly increased paperwork as vehicle movements from the UK now require not only a Carnet, but a swingeing 40% (of Vehicle Value) Bond to be presented at the border, plus 20% VAT payable on cars purchased in Europe and imported to the UK.
UK classic car businesses, including auctions as well as classic eventers and tourists, all seek some urgent clarity from the small print writers.

It was at 11 pm on December 31 2020 that the United Kingdom definitely ended the transition period from Membership in the European Union and began trading under terms agreed with the EU just a few days before. The result has been increased red tape and a fair amount of confusion, reports John Mayhead of International Motor Insurance Brokers Hagerty, who monitor the global car market. “For after years of speculating about the potential impact of Brexit on the UK classic and collector car world, we are now experiencing it first-hand.”
“Any new system was always going to cause confusion at first, and Britain’s new relationship with the EU comes with a raft of new bureaucracy, where almost none previously existed,” said Hagerty’s Head of UK Valuations.
“We could plan for a no-deal, as we knew what that would look like” said Peter Bonham Christie, founder of Straight Eight Logistics, one of the UK’s historic vehicle transport firms “but we only found out what was in the treaty a week before we had to put it into practice, and now about 90 percent of my working life is spent working with the customs agency.”
Every vehicle movement from the UK now requires an ATA Carnet. An Access/Temporary Access Carnet is like a passport for goods, a bond that guarantees that your items won’t disappear after they enter the country. While an ATA costs just a few hundred pounds, a returnable bond payment of 40 per cent of vehicle value also has to be presented. Even if the value of a car is only £10,000, the bond is £4000; for a £1m vehicle it is £400,000.
Newly introduced costs and paperwork are also affecting British exporters. Julian Majzub of classic-specialist manufacturer Blockley Tyres told Hagerty “The paperwork, aggravation, increase in costs, real delays and inconvenience to customers will impact us. Obviously, we’ll make the best of it, but I’ve now got quite a heavy monkey to carry on my back that my competitors don’t.”
Dealers serving the enthusiast market have not been greatly affected: It’s a quiet time of the year for classic sales, and British buyers tend to favour right-hand drive cars from the home market. For those selling more expensive cars though, things are different. 
“Our business is very international,” said international collector car dealer Max Girado “The new rules are quite draconian, and everyone is getting used to them. With time we will all adapt, but from a business perspective, Brexit has not helped us in any way.”
Dealers of more modern collectable cars have their own specific issue - the addition of a 20 percent value-added tax (VAT) to the import of used cars from Europe that are less than 30 years-old. “This is a real problem,” said Edward Lovett, dealer and founder of the Collecting Cars internet platform. “A buyer searching for a rarer modern performance model might typically have looked in Europe. Now that comes with a hefty additional cost.”
UK-based auction houses have historically held sales all over Europe and also welcomed EU-consigned cars to British auctions. Now cars (and their sales rostrums, speakers, and other paraphernalia) will have to be temporarily imported, with all the extra paperwork that entails. But, have sales been affected?
Mark Perkins, founder and managing director of Historics auction house set an optimistic tone when asked about its Monaco sale scheduled for 23rd April. “Significant collector car consignments have already been sourced from UK vendors, together with serious consignment interest received at our UK and European offices by non-UK domiciled vendors. Three months before the sale, it’s too early to comment meaningfully on bidder registration but that again will give us some useful insights into UK/International buying patterns.”
Many in the industry claim the rules aren’t clear. Whether UK historic vehicles are still exempt from EU low-emission zone regulations, whether spares can be boxed together under one carnet, and what happens to them if they’re used rather than new; the answers are impossible to find in official literature and will only be discovered later, as the rules are tested.
However, the current COVID crisis could be unexpectedly acting in the industry’s favour as lockdown has given breathing space to many as they investigate how it all works.
Some fear that COVID could be shrouding the true depth of the crisis.  “How much of the downturn we have yet to feel is COVID and how much is Brexit?” asks Julian Majzub. “The British Government say everything is down to COVID, but when the country comes off furlough in June, we’ll see the state of things and where unemployment really is.”
John Mayhead, Head of UK Valuations, concluded “It’s a fair prediction to say that summer 2021 may be a watershed for the UK historic vehicle community. What effect this may have on the average enthusiast is yet to be seen, but most seem determined to work around the problems and get back to normal as soon as possible. The UK has always been a mainstay of the classic car industry and it seems our industry is determined to succeed; whatever barriers are put in front of them“

Don’t miss out on the latest analysis of what really happened on the auction circuit and prices in 2020 by clicking onto Market Commentaries on the Home Page menu bar. A change of UK market leader and the latest stats for 2020 have been posted on this page. Thanks for visiting this Pop-Up Ad-Free site. RH-E

1972 Le Mans winning Matra makes 6.91m euros (£6.01m) and 1.97m euros (£1.72m) Group B 1988 Audi becomes world's top priced rally car

In a crowded Paris saleroom, Artcurial’s Three Musketeers, orchestrated by Maitre Poulain and flanked by Motor Cars MD Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff, enthusiastically sold the 4.5-7.5m euros estimated Le Mans 24 Hours winning 1972 Matra Sports for 5,000,000 euros under the gavel, amounting to 6,907,200 euros (£6,078,736) including premium and French tva on the lot.
To loud and webcast applause, the Henri Pescarolo/Graham Hill driven Matra-Simca 670 - Museum-displayed for many decades by owners Matra Automobiles, but recently demonstrated by Beltoise Junior on video on track at today’s Le Mans circuit (image above by Phillippe Louzon for Artcurial) - became the highest priced Matra ever.
All 40 voitures auctioned in the Retromobile replacing 5 February’ Parisienne 2021’ billed sale could be previewed in a really well presented exhibition setting, including the world’s most selectively curated Group B Rally Car Collection from long term static-display at Le Manoir de l'Automobile at Loheac, led by the 1988 Race of Champions Audi Sport Quattro S1.
All the Group B greats - Michelle Mouton, Juha Kankunen, Timo Salonen - had tamed this, the ultimate Works Rally Quattro (rather than the even more extreme 1984-1987 'Pikes Peak Sport Quattro S1 Specials'), which went on to change hands for the first time since 1989 for 1,968,000 (£1,731,840), over twice its pre-sale estimate and the highest price paid at auction for any rally car worldwide.
Timo Salonen had also driven the Michel Hommell and Olivier Quesnel Collection’s Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, one of 19 Evo 2 versions, on the 1986 Swedish Rally and Bruno Saby won the Tour de Corse in the car, before it overtook its 800,000 euros top estimate to make an applauded 951,200 euros (£837,056 with premium), a record price for a Peugeot 205.
While Bruno Saby had rallied the Miki Biasion driven Martini-livered factory team 1986 Lancia Delta S4 which realised 788,000 euros (£694,144), top estimate money. The Martini advertising 1985 Lancia 037 Evo 2 Coupe, once in Olio Fiat colours when driven by Fabrizio Tabaton, was landed for 533,600 euros (£469,568), just over lower estimate.
The Didier Auriol 1986 French Rally Championship winning 1985 MG Metro 6R4 with ‘C206 JMB’ UK registration failed to reach the 280,000-360,000 euros suggested and was unsold with an insufficient 240,000 euros (£211,200) on the bidding screen.
The 1985 Renault 5 Maxi Turbo however, the most powerful 2WD Group B R5 Turbo, that had been rallied, crashed and a winner in the hands of multiple World Champ Carlos Sainz in period, did make a more than guide 649,600 euros (£571,648) to much applause. While the Renault Clio Maxi FIA Homologated ‘Kit Car’ driven by Jean Ragnotti during the 1985 French Rally Championship sold in the room to a masked buyer for 182,120 euros (£160,266), more than forecast.
Big euros cars that failed to excite sufficient telephone interest, waving hands or clicking mice included the 4-5m euros guided 1932 Bugatti T55 with Van Vooren Roadster coachwork, the winner of the first Lyon-Charbonniere Rally, a 3.8-4.4m 1957-63 raced Porsche 550A Speedster and a 1.4-1.8m 1954 Bentley Continental R HJM, one of 12 in LHD.
There were five price-significant Aston Martins sold in this, the first major test of the second year in pandemic for the EU mainland market. For a well below 1.6-2.4m estimated 1,324,000 euros (£1,165,120) bought the ex-Peter Livanos 1959 DB4 GT, one of 75 4 GTs that had been in vendor ownership since 1994. While a below 1.2-1.6m euros estimate 1,128,000 euros (£992,640) was accepted for the 1965 Los Angeles Motor Show Short-Chassis Volante.
The 1964 Paris Motor Show stand exhibited DB5 Vantage, one 25 in LHD, was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and went for 788,800 euros (£694,144). A 1961 DB4 with DB5 engine changed hands again after 25 years for 243,600 euros (£214,368), the lower estimate, and a 1955 DB2/4 Mk1 Drophead went for a close to lower estimate 243,600 euros (£214,368).
The next day’s Automobilia sale, held in two sessions with the mainly Ferrari-themed artefacts displayed in the Fine Arts gallery setting of Hotel Dassault saw 94% of lots sell for 905,554 euros (£796,888).
A highlight of the former collection of Giuseppi 'Beppe' Neri, friend of Enzo Ferrari and the emblematic figure of the 'Il Cavallino Restaurant' for over 35 years, was the last F1 V12 engine built by Ferrari at Maranello, which found a new owner with 169,000 euros (£148,720). While a Tipo 056 F1 motore fit for a well dressed man den also changed hands for 41,600 euros (£36,608), well above estimate.
Following a long bidding battle on the internet, telephone and in the room, one of the two sections of bodywork from Alain Prost’s Ferrari 641 finally sold to a bidder in the room for 143,000 euros (£125,840), over seven times their estimate.
The second part was dedicated to another enthusiast’s cache of Workshop Memorabilia, comprising spare parts, catalogues and manuals. Many lots fetched prices well over forecast, including five pairs of Ferrari mechanics’ overalls that raised 11,050 euros (£9724). Far too pricey to actually wear anywhere other than in a very well dressed paddock bar or at the right party.
Before any post-sales were concluded, ‘live’ and under the hammer, 26 cars, 65% of the 40 offered, had sold for 17,634,280 euros including premium (£15,518,166 in Brexit currency), but without TVA on same added, which remains custom and practice for French auction houses. The average spent per automobile bought at this sale was a premium-inclusive 678,242 euros (£596,853), a quite extraordinary amount in the most extraordinary of times. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
 

Mecum sell 2,230 cars for record $141m (£103m) in Florida at 89% sold Drive-Thru at Kissimmee and 100% Punta Gorda sell-out

The 2021 edition of the world’s largest Collector Automobile Auction was the most successful sale in Mecum company history. For 10 days at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, the Wisconsin auctioneers drove their vendors’ cars across the block, despatching 2,030 of them to new homes to achieve an Oldtimer Economy boosting 89% sell-through rate and overall sales of $122.9m (£89.7m) – the highest single auction total ever achieved in Mecum’s 34-year history.
Less than a week later, Mecum took the auction action just 2.5 hours southwest to Punta Gorda, where the company auctioned the Muscle Car City Museum Collection at ‘No Reserve’, sending 200 more collector cars into the hands of eager enthusiasts bidding both on-site and from the comfort of home.
Mecum Kissimmee 2021 was held January 7-16, the Friday 15 sale was the largest single-day total in company history, as the very well attended day’s sales reached $34m (£24.8m) with Carroll Shelby's personal 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra - the Holy Grail chassis CSX3178, ex-Shelby Estate, Legendary Motor Co restored, most atmospheric image above by Mecum- becoming the annual event’s top seller and taking the crown as the most valuable 427 Cobra ever sold at public auction with a $5.94m (£4.34m) final sale price.
The bids poured in from those on-site at the auction as well as from those bidding remotely by both internet and telephone, and the combined synergy of strong bids coming in from every avenue available created a symphony of sales and an overall sell-through rate of 89%, the highest ever achieved at a reserve-based auction and sustained over a 10-day period.
Friday January 8 meanwhile marked a ‘Single-Day Reserve Auction’ best for Mecum who sold 92% of cars offered.
Runner up to the nearly $6m (£4.4m) sale of CSX3178 was a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Roadster, unique in Tuxedo Black, raced in period and offered from the ‘Special Exhibition Mecum Gallery Collection’, that brought $2.5m (£1,825,000).
Five more vehicles broke the million-dollar mark as well, with another 1967 427 Cobra, restored chassis CSX3318, selling for $1.38m (£1,007,000), two 1956/57 Mercedes-Benz 300SLs, a matching numbers Gullwing with original belly pans selling for $1.57m (£1,146,100) and a Hjeltness Restorations restored Roadster with Bosch FI $1.21m (£883,300), A 1966 Ferrari 275GTS reaching $1.35m (£985,500) and a 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C Bizzarrini, one of 12 A3/'Competition' racers built by the factoryreaching $1.18m (£861,400).
Private collections were another auction highlight with more than two dozen being dispersed and some of the finest assemblages bringing in top dollar.
The headlining Larry Carrell Collection saw all 32 of the vehicles sell under the hammer for a total of $3.14m (£2,292,200), while the Michael Fux Collection also achieved a 100% sell-through and $852,500 (£622,325) in total overall sales.
The Marshall Goldman Collection was was another especially notable group that reached $2.42m (£1,766,600) as all 23 cars sold under the hammer, and the Aaronson Estate Collection brought $1.06m (£773,800).
Mecum kept the Florida auction action going strong with the offering of the Muscle Car City Collection in Punta Gorda the following weekend January 22-23. Another massively successful event, the collection auction saw all 200 vehicles, plus all Road Art and Memorabilia offered, hammer- sold for $18.4m (£13,432,000).
Top-selling cars included a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Resto Mod sold for $368,500 (£269,005), a 1969 Chevrolet COPO Camaro for  $297,000 (£216,810) and a 1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible Resto Mod that brought $253,000 (£184,690).
These were unprecedented valuations for such muscular US stock on the greener side of the Atlantic pond. But then this was Florida, one of the ‘Republican Red’ won territories, which has become a sanctuary for ex-President Trump in exile, and where Petrolheads can still play with their V8s.
The Biden-Harris regime however, who immediately re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement, have already directed their Department of the Interior to pause oil and gas drilling leases on Federal lands and water.
For under the new Administration, homeland drilled oil, previously regarded as the lifeblood of the nation, will no longer be protected by the new occupants of The White House, who may next attempt to extinguish automobiles with exhaust pipes.
In the meantime, and in the here and now, The Mecum Kissimmee 2021 Top Ten shows just how much consumers are prepared to pay for their hobby-mobiles -
1. 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster $5,940,000 (£4,336,200)
2. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Roadster $2,500,000 (£1,825,000)
3. 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing $1,567,500 (£1,144,275)
4. 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster $1,375,000 (£1,003,750)
5. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS $1,347,500 (£983,675)
6. 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster $1,210,000 (£883,300)
7. 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C Bizzarrini $1,182,500 (£863,225)
8. 2018 Ford GT '67 Heritage Edition No.174 $990,000(£722,700)
9. 1971 Plymouth Cuda Convertible $962,500 (£702,625)
10. 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster $935,000 (£682,550)
While those that made ‘The Muscle Car City Collection Top Ten’ chart were surely inspirational too -
1. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Resto Mod $368,500 (£269,005)
2. 1969 Chevrolet COPO Camaro $297,000 (£215,810)
3. 1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible Resto Mod $253,000 (£184,690)
4. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Resto Mod $231,000 (£168,630)
5.  1961 Chevrolet Impala Convertible $220,000 (£160,600)
6. 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible $214,500 (£156,585)
7.  1969 Chevrolet COPO Camaro $209,000 (£152,570)
8.  1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible $209,000 (£152,570)
9.  1965 Chevrolet C10 Pickup $198,000 (£144,540)
10. 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16 $187,000 (£136,510)
Clearly consumer demand for all of the above has been pent-up in many US States during pandemic paralysis and pre-occupation with losing or winning the Presidential Election.
Mecum's next ‘Live’ traditional format auction event will be ‘Glendale 2021’, which has been scheduled for March 18-20 2021 at State Farm Stadium, where, on past form, some 1200 vehicles are likely to cross the block. For more details on their upcoming auctions, to consign a vehicle or to register as a bidder, best advice has to be visit www.mecum.com or call (262) 275-5050 for more information.
Whether the same rush of enthusiasm to physically check out the metal again and wave hands at auctioneers in sweaty tents and characterless exhibition halls will happen with the same volumne of hullabaloo on this side of what has become a largely 'Virtual' planet' remains to be seen.
For so many of us, clicking away with an obedient mouse in lockdown has become easier, faster and so much cheaper than venturing out and about in the real world. Many of our batteries may be just too flat to accept charge.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.  RH-E

 

1955 D Type sells for $6m in Arizona, where RM Sotheby’s sell 89% of cars for $35m and 50% of bidding was on-line

The D Type Jaguar purchased new in in 1955 from Bernie Ecclestone by the late Peter Blond, who successively raced it in period, but who succumbed sadly to Covid in an Oxford hospital only very recently, was sold to a telephone bidder at the RM Sotheby’s Friday 22 January at Scottsdale for a within guide $6,000,000 (£4,380,000).
Our thanks to the auctioneers for the supply of the illustrative image (taken by Patrick Ernzen, who we are pleased to credit) of this year’s top priced Scottsdale car which heads this Review.
It was at the wheel of XKD 518 that Privateer Blond achieved second and first place finishes at Snetterton in June 1956, followed by another win at the Norfolk circuit in September. During hectic 1956 and 1957 seasons, car and driver also raced at Aintree, Silverstone, Oulton Park and Goodwood, where Blond finished ninth in the Goodwood Trophy.
The well documented car was sold by Blond to Jonathan Sieff in 1957, raced by Jean Bloxham in 1961, and subsequently owned by John Coombs and, later, by Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant.
Retaining many of its original components, and in BRG for a while, the car had then been returned to the ex-factory Bright Red with matching interior, one of only a very few of the production D Types to have been turned out in this colour combo at the old Browns Lane works in the once Coventry Motown.
A great car, with super and uninterrupted history, which duly set the 2021 price in public auction at $6m (£4.4m) for a privateer D Type. Not a works or Ecurie Ecosse team car, sure, but car and back story would tick most collector-driver boxes. And eligible for everything, everywhere too.
Second in the RM Sotheby results at Scottsdale this year was a 1937 Bugatti T57SC Tourer, one of eight to have been bodied by Corsica, only two of which were four-seaters. Retaining original chassis, engine, gearbox differential and body, the elegant automobile had been in the Judge North and General Lyons collections before transacting here for £4,735,000 (£3,456,550), the lower estimate with premium.
The final place on the webcast valuations podium was occupied by a 2020 vintage McLaren Speedtail, the first of the most technically advanced and fastest McLaren road models to have sold in public auction.
With central driving position and three-seat configuration, and one of only 106 produced (in tribute to the 106 McLaren F1s), 1035hp 250mph Speedtail ‘Number 36’ flew into new ownership for $3,227,500 (£2,356,075) with premium.
Premium price hunters for any of the other 105 Speedtails however will be only too aware that $3,500,000-4,500,000 (£2,555,000-3,285,000) had been sought for the highly MSO-optioned, only 20 mile supercar auctioned.
Whereas a 2019 McLaren Senna, the 95th of 500 produced with bodywork in ‘Dramatic Visual Carbon Fiber’, and just 450 miles on the odometer, had been catalogued at $1,000,000-1,300,000 (£730,000-949,000), but sold to another absentee bidder for $1,044,000 (£762,120).
A Ford GT in ‘Lightweight’ option spec meanwhile, also new in 2019 and estimated to cost a bidder $900,000-1,200,000 (£657,000-876,000), did achieve the $967,500 (£706,275) suggested though.
The at least $2,600,000+ (£1,898,000) sought for a 2019 Koenigsegg Regera, like the Speedtail, the first to chance its chances at auction, and with fewer than 200 miles on the odo, ran out of interest in public with $2,240,000 (£1,635,200) on the bids screen. According to their website, $2,700,000 (£1,971,000) would buy it post-sale.
Another big bucks headliner to run out of road after an insufficient $2,200,000 (£1,606,000) bid had been called in Arizona was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo in Giallo with 11,400 miles under-wheel, for which $2,250,000-2,500,000 (£1,642,500) had been sought.
A 1954 New York World Motor Sports and Geneva Motor Show exhibited Ferrari 375 America however, one of three of the 4.5 V12 powered Coupes bodied by Vignale, sold for a within guide $2,557,000 (£1,866,610).
While one of 14 Ferrari 250 GT Coupes to have been alloy-bodied by Carrozeria Boano between 1956 and 1958 had all numbers still matching and the reassurance of Classiche certification. Forecast to fetch $1,200,000-1,400,000, it sold for a close to top estimate $1,352,500 (£987,325).
$1,066.500 (£777,450) bought a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster on repro Rudge wheels. Recently reunited with its original motor and with benefit of discreetly installed power-steering, it had been estimated to cost the next owner $1,000,000-1,200,000 (£730,000-876,000).
A pair of pre-WW2s made strong money, a CCCA Full Classic 1932 Cadillac V16 Convertible Coupe by Fisher with spare wheel on the back, one of only 14 built, of which only four survive, surpassed its top estimate of $850,000 (£620,500) to sell for $1,022,500 (£746,425).
Another CCCA Full Classic, a multi-award winning 1933 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible, a completely matching numbers example and one of only two left, brought in $819,000 (£590,570).
A rare sighting on the road or at auction was a $600,000-750,000 (£438,000-547,500) estimated 1993 Geneva Salon stand shown Cizeta V16T. Styled by Marcelo Gandini and one of nine completed, this one had been ordered new by the acquisitive Royal Family of Brunei and, with 983k on the clock, was valued by the next owner at $665,000 (£485,450) with premium.
Another car to exceed the $525,000-575,000 (£383,250-419,750) forecast, and by a long way too, was a 1998 RUF 911 Type 993 Twin-Turbo R 3.6 490bhp AWD, which rocketed to a final $764,000 (£557,720).
“It was tremendous to start the year off on such a positive note given that we were the sole remaining auction company to host a live event for the annual Arizona weekend. In working with the local authorities and the capable team at OTTO, we were able to safely welcome clients back to the live auction format,” said Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s Global Head of Auctions. 
“Our team worked extremely hard to ensure that the auction preview and event itself provided a safe atmosphere for clients to inspect cars in-person. Additionally, we saw that the added benefit of our preparation, which included thousands upon thousands of additional detailed photographs, condition reports and documentation on all cars, all available to our clients in advance of the auction, truly helped make those who weren’t there feel comfortable bidding, whether via telephone, internet or absentee.”
By the time the rostrum lights had been turned off at the Otto Club in Scottsdale, RM Sotheby’s had sold 71 or 89% of the 80 consigned cars on their website for $35,000,000 (£25,550,000) with premium, an average of $492,958 (£359,859) being spent per car bought.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. RH-E

 

1966 Ferrari 275GTB Long Nose sells for just under $2m (over £1.4m) during 74% sold Gooding $7.2m (£5.25m) Timed-Out Scottsdale replacement

After their clients’ 34 cars had ‘Timed-Out’ from 10am 22 January, having been on-view on-line for four days, Gooding’s top selling Ferrari, one of only 107 ‘Long Nose’ 275GTB Fixed Heads was still in unrestored condition after 43,000 mileage since new in 1966. Pre-sale estimated by the auctioneers to cost the next owner $2,000,000-2,400,000 (£1,460,000-1,752,000), with the final click of a mouse, it was bought for $1,936,000 (£1,413,280).
$1,000,000-1,400,000 was sought for a David Brown era Aston Martin DB2/4 from 1954 with Drophead coachwork, one of only two to have been fashioned by Bertone, and with Innes Ireland GP driver provenance too, which, in the last few seconds, realised $968,000 (£706,640).   
Third highest priced seller was a 1926 Bugatti T37 Grand Prix for two from 60 years in single family ownership that overtook the $650,000-850,000 (£474,500-620,500) forecast when finally won by the next pilote for $935,000 (£682,550) with premium, a record auction price for a T37..
Another Ferrari from 19 years ownership with all numbers still matching, a 1968 330 GTC, guided at $500,000-650,000 (£365,000-474,500), sold on t’internet for £517,000 (£377,410). Whereas a well optioned 2011 Porsche 911 997 Generation GT2 RS in black with huge rear wing that had flown a mere 2600 miles from new was estimated at $300,000-350,000 (£219,000-255,500) and made $374,000 (£273,020) under the mouse.
“Among the Finest Restored E Type Roadsters Extant” was how a Jeff’s Resurrections resurrected 1966 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Roadster had been on-line described and estimated at $220,000-260,000 (£160,600-189,800). The 2013 JNCA Class C5 National Concours Champ fetched $231,000 (£168,630) with premium.
A highly original 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren with 7000 mileage meanwhile , estimated at $200,000-240,000 20,000, was acquired for $220,000 (£160,600), in the big scheme of things, only a little less than forecast.
Two of the highest fliers of the computer auction week were the Speed Record 1972 Citroen SM. which made a record $203,500 (£148,500) and a ‘No Reserve’ 1968 Meyers Manx Beach Buggy. One of 1500 Meyer Manxes produced, this was a well preserved ‘Pre-Tag’ time capsule retaining original Gel-Coat and interior that had been photographed on Baja trips 1968-1969 during original 1968-2002 ownership. Predicted to cost a budding Thomas Crown $40,000-60,000 (£29,200-43,800), by the time its time slot had run out, the dream machine raised a dune storming $101,200 (£73,876) from an absentee bidder. A record for a production Manx that hadn't been driven by Steve McQueen.
A No Reserve 1966 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser with roll-cage and winch on the front looked cool for the estimated $39,600 (£28,908) with premium paid and an unrestored Austin Mini Moke of the same vintage from single Hollywood family ownership offered even more affordable escapism for $24,200 (£17,666).
When the allotted bidding time was overt, 25 of the automobiles had sold, 74% of the 34 on offer, for a 10% premium-inclusive $7,188,000 (£5,247,240), an average of $287,520 (£209,890) being spent by buyers per car bought.
US house Gooding hold their next 'Geared Online' auction from Thursday 28 January through to Friday 5 February, when bidding for nine high value classics, all located north of London, begins to close from 17.00 GMT. While another totally independent Review of the next market significant auction, RM Sotheby's 'Live' and On-Line Scottsdale sale, will be posted within 'Stop Press' on this website shorttly.
For wherever and whenever, some will always need to sell, while even in the teeth of a perfect storm in Bidenland, others clearly are still prepared to buy. Although there were far fewer and much smaller physical auctions held during Arizona auction week this time and the Gooding ‘Scottsdale Sale’ was conducted on-line from their Southern Californian HQ.
Rarely were lower estimate figures matched or exceeded by bids, even after premium had been added, and many of the changes of ownership at these early 2021 sales in the US were only achieved by vendors’ reserves being lowered post-consignment.
For there to be a really healthy end-user market however, consumers and potential consumers, who might bid for or buy classics at auction, do need to be able to actually drive their acquisitions, not only attending events - most of which could again be cancelled this year, like Glastonbury 2021 has been already - but on runs that are strictly for fun.
Such planet warming activities are already officially deemed to be ‘non-essential journeys’ however, for which irresponsible classic vehicle drivers could be shopped by excessively green neighbours or harassed by nanny state police. Most of our trickle chargers have been working 24/7 for nearly a year now without a break!

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
Check out the latest ‘Sales Statistics’ via the menu bar, too, to keep a virtual eye on what is really go on out there. The sale rates achieved are monitored reality. These all-important percentages sold can also be accessed for previous months’ sales.
And you can also see how much has actually been paid for a range of classics on this website and, importantly, why - by clicking onto ‘Latest Prices’. Real world acquisitions have been listed in price order so you know how much what car has cost the buyer.
Your visit to this consumer-driven resource, where there are no charges, subscription requests, ads or pop-ups, has been greatly appreciated. RH-E

 

While soaring Covid stats kill ‘live’ classics auctions in UK, Bonhams buyer pays just under guide $1.81m (£1.32m) for BMW 507 in Arizona

Even though $1.9-2.3m had been sought Thursday 21 January 2021 at the socially-distanced Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, a buying bidder did acquire a 1959 BMW 507 Series 2 3.2 V8 Roadster for a Bonhams premium-inclusive $1,809,000 (£1,320,570).
Owner-drivers of the other 252 Albrecht Graf Goertz penned design icons over the decades have included pop idol Elvis Presley, motorcycling world champion John Surtees, movie stars Alain Delon and Ursula Andress, ski champ Toni Sailor, and motoring royals Prince Rainier of Monaco and the Aga Khan.
Whereas this auctions star automobile, the 1973 Pebble Beach Concours Best of Show winning Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Cabrio A - the wheels of choice of Third Reich management in 1939 - ran out of friends at $1,900,000 (£1,387,000), $1m short of the $2.9-3.2m (£2.12-2.34m) guide.
There were also no takers with the necessary $475,000-550,000 (£346,750-401,500) for a still matching numbers 1958 Porsche 356A T2 with Speedster coachwork by Reutter on date-coded Rudge wheels. Even though treated to award-winning restoration, the highest offer logged on the screen for this car was $380,000 (£277,400).
But after absentee bidders had all turned off their mice, only 8 cars were unsold at this, the first traditional car auction of what is shaping up to be another virus-restricted year. For 29 or 78% of the 37 cars on the carpet did sell for $5,896,400 (£4,304,372), while the average spent including 12% premium was a very far from locked down $203,324 (£148,427) per car bought.
Sharing the leader board with the top selling 507 was a $775,000-875,000 guided (£565,750-638,750) 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SC, one of 53 built, that had only been driven just over 500 miles since restoration 25 years ago. With numbers still matching and original coachwork, the Roadster with Triple Black exterior, top and interior was secured by the latest owner for a less than lower estimate $698,000 (£509,540).
An Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante, one of 99 and a long way from Gaydon, which had cost nearly $900,000 (£657,000) in 2018, since when the first owner had driven the 6.0 V12 powered Convertible only 1400 miles, was acquired here by the second owner for $538,500 (£393,105), £263,895 less than the car cost more than three years ago.
By contrast, a 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 NAS, the 34th of 500 US-market examples that had been driven 80,000 miles by one owner in 29 years, a modest 2759 miles per annum. Although pre-sale estimated at $60,000-90,000 (43,800-65,700), the Defender was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’. Hence, the winner had to bid $110,000 (£80,300) to land the lot, costing him $123,200 (£89,936 with premium).
A Triumph GT6 fetching $68,320 (£49,874) does not happen every day either. Although the 2005 ‘Barn Found’ Mk2 Fastback valued here had been a Group 44 race car, the 1969 National Championship Winner in the SCCA E-Production Class no less, with a restoration documented by Classic Motorsports Magazine recognised by a 2009 Amelia Island Concours award.
Surprisingly, there was no one on-site or out there with the $80,000-120,000 suggested for an Alfin-drum braked Elva MkIV Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc Sports from the Frank Nichols Elva manufacturing days at Bexhill and Hastings. Even though raced in the 1959 Sebring 12 Hours and photographed riding high up on two Elektron wheels for a sepia ad for Walker’s De Luxe bourbon, chassis 4L100/61 ran out of road and bids at $52,000 (£37,960)..
While a cosmetically and mechanically restored 1966 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Coupe, estimated at $160,000-210,000 (£116,800-153,300), did realise $195,000 (£142,350) under the gavel to sell for $218,400 (£159,432) with premium. But then it had had only a few Southern Californian guardians from new and been Best in Class at the San Marino and Palos Verdes Concours.
The going rate for a 1960 (so early) Mk1 Austin-Healey 3000 BT7 2+2 without fenders, with hardtop and 5-speed box upgrade, estimated at $40,000-50,000, fell to $36,960 (£26,981 including premium).
Statistically much rarer was a 1968 Lamborghini 400GT Islero 2+2. Packing a Lambo 4.0 V12 up front, the 175mph Coupe had first whizzed around the watering holes of Lake Como, before being refurbished in Bristol when UK owned from 1975. Shipped to the US in 1984, Delaware and West Coast residencies followed before, after 37 year, it had been pre-sale estimated at $200,000-250,000 (£146,000-182,500) in Scottsdale, where it sold for $183,680 (£134,086).
With latest Government restrictions causing the postponement of the early 2021 season fixtures in the UK, further reviews will follow shortly here on C.A.R. from both the Gooding & Co South California-HQ based internet-only auction of 34 cars, which Timed-Out Friday 22, and Saturday 23’s RM Sotheby’s ‘Live’ and On-Line sale for a further 80 cars.
There is 'some' auction action at least in what could be a very long tunnel, the light at the end of which is surely more than a glimmer.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. RH-E

 

The Market grosses £10.5m during 88% sold 2020 and invests in new HQ to accommodate three times as many cars as existing facility

On-Line auctioneers, The Market, has marked the conclusion to its most successful year to date by not only selling another £779,366 worth of cars in  public holiday shortened December alone, but relocating to a new 13,000 square feet global launch HQ to benefit both buyers and sellers of collector vehicles.
For £10.5m sales of 561 vehicles, 88% of the 640 successfully auctioned during 2020, has confirmed the internet platform’s status as one of the UK’s leading classic car auction houses.
While others trim their overheads, the Abingdon firm has invested in the future, by also relocating to nearby Milton Park, an innovative technology, science and business park, located just off the A34 in Oxfordshire, providing clients with fast and convenient access to and from the Midlands, London and the South.
“The move to new facilities is incredibly exciting and an important step for us,” Tristan Judge, Director of The Market, told C.A.R. “We’ve already developed an enviable reputation for giving users the best on-line experience possible, and we’re now making a significant investment to back this up with a similar, industry leading physical experience too.”
In addition to housing new offices for a growing team, the facility also includes enough space to store more than three times as many cars as its previous hub.
The new HQ will also house a dedicated photography studio, vehicle detailing and customer lounge areas, ensuring that both cars and customers are given the highest level of care and attention with its unique Concierge service.
“As well as being able to physically store more cars, the new facility should help us return more money back to sellers for several reasons,” continues Judge.
“Firstly, buyers tend to have greater confidence in the cars that are stored with us. They know that we will have looked over, described and photographed them extensively, which results in much stronger bidding.
“Furthermore, when cars are stored with us, we’re able to accommodate viewings much more easily than private individuals can, which again leads to much more confident bidding.”
To celebrate their new auction centre’s launch, The Market is offering its Concierge service free-of-charge on all vehicles with a value of £25,000 or above.
This service offers a turn-key service to sellers who do not wish to keep an auction car at home. Premium photography, hosted viewings, handover, storage and insurance is included for £250 plus VAT.
Among the 41 cars sold from the 49 cars offered on The Market website before Christmas, the top priced seller was a 2015 Bentley GTC Speed sold for £78,000.
A 2011 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, once owned by the Prince of Denmark (who was not called Hamlet!), fetched a princely £46,750 and a 1971 Maserati Indy was bought for £45,000 without premium, because buyers are not charged any at The Market.
While an early noughties Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen ‘G300 Convertible’ of 2001 vintage went for a cool £38,750 and a stunning looking 1973 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super £25,010. The latest consigned cars facing the Timed-Out market at The Market can be viewed on their website, a link to which can be found among the auctioneers on our Home Page. Happy browsing.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts.
To better inform you about the true state of the auction sector of the collector vehicle market that has  functioned during lockdowns various, check out  the reality figures for those transparently conducted sales reviewed on this website, by selecting ‘Latest Stats’ on the menu bar at the top of the Home Page.
Here you can see which house sells what proportion of cars consigned each month, while more vital statistics from previous months can be accessed beneath each listing.

Be assured that none of your data has been harvested during your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource, your visit to which has been appreciated. RH-E
 

Teeside supplied in 1970 Rover 3.5 V8 P5B Coupe with only 21,070 mileage set £45,510 record auction price during 89% sold £2.3m CCA sale

Freshly recommissioned following 18 years of dehumidified storage, during which it had been regularly run-up and only lightly excercised on private roads, the 1970 Rover 3.5 2 Door Coupe was one of the best preserved examples of the P5B to make the half century.
The premium-inclusive £45,510 record busting price paid by the winning absentee bidder at this behind closed doors Saturday 12 December sale could be heard by on-line viewers being deservedly applauded by the 14 other festive scarf wearing telephone bids handlers whose callers had been unsuccessful.
The 126 classics for all tastes and budgets webcast crossing the block were physically viewable by socially-distanced appointment over five days in the spacious safety of a Stoneleigh Park exhibition hall.
Hugely magnetic for viewers, bidders and buyers on this occasion though were ten No Reserve lots from the estate of the late Mike Bell, former Mann Egerton executive.  The Norfolk historic race competitor’s 1971 Ford Escort RS 1600 ‘Lairy Canary’ (Norwich colours) racer led the pack with a £83,250 result from the £67,710 performance of ‘Baby Blue’, his 1959 Supersports-spec and Goodwood podium Morgan Plus 4.
Bell’s 1972 RS1600 road car fetched £47,175 and his 1974 RS 2000 £34,965. ‘Gilbert’ the much raced and rallied 1965 Gilbern GT with MGB 1800 motor made a high for marque £23,310. A Czech concocted 1973 MTX 2-01 B5 BMW-powered Race-Spyder in large bits from the same East Anglian source headed back to the Czech Republic for £18,870 and £17,760 landed Bell’s Patrick Head designed, though recently inactive 1978 Delta T78/9 Formula Ford 2000 Single Seater.
A 1981 VW Golf GTI Mk1 had been freshly restored for a forthcoming ‘Mend it for Money’ on Channel and raised £15,318 and a 1968 MGC GT Auto in receipt of a glass-out repaint £12,210 for the same TV programme.
The Orchard Trust and Animal Aid Unlimited charities meanwhile benefited from the proceeds of five large Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, four of them W126, one a C126, ranging from a rust-holed, but running 1989 for £4440 to a 126,166 mile 1987 from two years inactivity in storage acquired for £9435.
Most ‘Fast Fords’ again proved popular here with both vendors and buyers, led by a 1987 Sierra RS500 Cosworth driven a mere 12,027 miles by two registered keeper for which £100,000 was paid.
A £65,490 1993 Escort RS Cosworth ‘original’ with fresh MOT had also only done 13,800 miles from new, while the 35,919 mile 1996 Cossie first registered to Hendy Ford, the sale of which fell through following the last sale, was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ this time and definitely sold for £43,845.
The 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth 3-Door bought for £27,750 required substantial recommissioning following 16 years inactivity, while a £25,808 1981 Capri 3.0S Mk3 with 61,250 mileage supported by 21 old MOTs and Recaros could still pull well and sold for £25,808. An Escort 1.6 4-Door Mk2 ‘original’ meanwhile had only done 4578 miles from new in 1978 before selling here for £17,000.  
Performing well above its £45,000-55,000 guide price band, a Hillclimb Champ and road-reg 1972 Porsche 911 2.4S with ‘Oil Flap’, uprated with genuine RS 2.7 motor rebuilt by Marque 21 and 5-speed close-ratio box by BS Motorsport, had come to market for the first time in 26 years to sell for a bullish £88,000.
An estimated £34,000-38,000 was achieved by a Barry Price 2007 restored 1950 Le-Francis 2.5-Litre Sports in aluminium bought for £34,410 with premium.
The substantially rebuilt 1968 Austin Mini Cooper 1275S Mk2 first owned by the Governor of Bermuda (whose two assassins were the last people to be executed under British Colonial rule anywhere in the world) made a slightly macabre, though more than top estimate £31,000.
A more Modern Classic 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 GSR 4-Door with Evotune remapped to 622bhp fully forged 2.3 ‘stroker’ engine, which ascended Harewood for four seasons when it wasn’t air-chamber pampered, made £28,250, forecast money.
Whereas a No Reserve 2007 Skoda Octavia vRS from a deceased estate, which had done 107,613 mileage, but upon which thousands had been spent, £1300 this year alone, was surely well bought for £2775 with premium.
By the time the Saturday 12 December book had closed for this, CCA’s third such ‘Live’ On-Line format auction, 112 or 89% of the 126 classics in the hall had sold for a premium-inclusive sale total of £2,330,250, amounting to a surely healthy average in pandemic dominated times of £20,805 being spent per car bought.
Sales Manager Gary Dunne was delighted: “I am truly thrilled for both our vendors, buyers and the CCA team itself. 2020 has been full of uncertainties, but we have continued to successfully bring amazing cars to the market for our buyers, achieving stand out results for our sellers, there has been something for everyone – all whilst operating in a safe and secure manner.” 
And even with the very real prospect of another national lockdown killing off the surviving elements of our Brexited economy, CCA hope to offer more of the same with their viewing by appointment facility in Warwickshire before a 2021 season-opening 'Spring Live & On-Line Sale’, which is scheduled to take place Saturday 27 March.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated. RH-E

 

Masked viewers reality check ‘No Reserve’ Sunbeam 16/20 before 1914 Cabrio sells for £50,625 in the WW2 hangar at Bicester Heritage

Four out of five cars from the collection of the late Les Thomas, all auctioned by Bonhams MPH ‘Without Reserve, ’bettered their top estimates, led by the sale results topping 1959 AC Aceca Coupe with AC 2-Litre engine sold for a premium-inclusive £94,500.
Fifty-three years younger was a still as-new Ferrari California Left-Hand Drive Hardtop-Convertible, driven a mere 3822k by two registered keepers since new in Kuwait in 2012, sold for £90,000, £10,000 more than had been forecast.
In third place on the prices list, a 1990s restored and recently refurbished 1965 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Coupe from the estate of the late John Hodgson, proprietor of restorers Alpine Eagle, sold for £74,250, again exceeding its top pre-sale estimate. A 1969 S2 2.2 Coupe, an older restoration maintained by Classic Performance Engineering Bicester, also found a buyer with the £47,250 required.
The final four valves per cylinder 1984 ‘Quattrovalvole’ version of the Ferrari 308GTS Targa-top, in receipt of a recent cam-belt change after 64,500 mileage, fetched a within-guide £46,687. A 1936 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Saloon, upon which £49,000 had been expended since 2014, made a £20,000 more than top estimate £45,000 with premium.
In styling contrast, a Cadillac Coupe De Ville from hugely tail finned 1959 will fill most barns for the £39,375 paid, over £9000 more than the guide price.
A 2015 Land Rover Defender 90 2.2 Turbo D in top-of-the-line XS spec was sold afterwards for a below estimate £37,125. While a recently renovated bespoke 1982 Land Rover 109 Gastrowagon, converted into a camper-cum-kitchen especially for the ‘River Cottage’ TV series of celeb-chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal, made a tasty £28,125, only just under guide.
In tenth place on the leader board, a home market 1966 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1A with replacement Ford US 260ci motor (and the original included) attracted a mid-estimate buying bid of £29,500, £33,187 with premium. While by far the largest lot in the hangar, a very high-rise 1989 Chevrolet Silverado-based Monster Truck for eight, known as ‘Havoc’, powered by a Chevy 7.4 Big Block V8 and the first to be auctioned in the UK, sold for £28,125.
The same money bought a much closer to the ground 2008 KTM X-Bow Sport projectile, the result of a collaboration between motorcycle manufacturer KTM and Italian race car builder Dallara with VAG 2.0 Turbo power unit. A two owner from new in 1985 Ford Capri 2.8i Mk3 exceeded its top estimate to achieve £21,375.
Two very special London Taxis International Black Cabs also changed fare payers here. Originally ordered new by the Sultan of Oman in 2003, a TX2 Gold Taxicab had only done 1300 miles around the West End before picking up £19,125 here, double the estimate. The 45,425 mile 2007 TX4 Gold Taxicab meanwhile, built to the special order of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber with full leather interior and dropdown TV screen, attracted £15,187, over £5000 more than forecast.
There were no takers for the £22,000-26,000 estimated Morris Mini Cooper 1275S Mk1 first owned by actress Sarah Miles in 1966, though now a 43 year barn-stored restoration project. But there were buyers prepared to pay £16,875 for a pro-rebuilt 1976 Mini Pick-Up with tweaked 1275 engine, £11,250 for an only 20 miles since equally well restored 1979 850 Mini Van, and £10,406 for a 998 powered half-timbered 1963 Morris Mini Traveller.
Sharing the spacious facilities in Oxfordshire with the Motorcycle Department, who grossed more than £3m in two days in the huge and covered space, Bonhams’ MPH team sold 68% of the 121 vehicles in their Friday 11 December catalogue for an additional £1,431,083 with 12.5% premium, an average of £17,452 per classic of 82 sold on-line or telephone.
“This has been a pleasing end top our first full year as Bonhams MPH,” Head of House and Auctioneer Rob Hubbard told C.A.R. “We have risen to the challenges presented by 2020 by hosting live and on-line sales as well as our popular drive-through auctions when permitted. We are now looking ahead to further growth in 2021.
"Record registration numbers for this auction, with over 500 clients registered to bid, gives us confidence that  people are still very much 'in the market'  for what we specialise in - modern, popular and historic Motor Cars sub-£100,000.”
The Bicester Heritage based firm will open their 2021 season batting with the ‘MPH March Sale’ Saturday 20 March, for which historic collector, pop and modern classic vehicle consignments are being invited. The team can be contacted via their website which can be accessed via their logo among C.A.R.approved auctioneers listed on the right of the Home Page. RH-E

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91% of classic bikes sell during £3m+ Bonhams weekend at Bicester Heritage, where 1928 Sunbeam and 1990 Norton broke records

The two world auction records for a Sunbeam and Norton F1 motorcycle were set over the 11/12 December weekend at the Bonhams Motorcycles Winter Sale at Bicester Heritage, which realised more than £3 million and had a pandemic defying sell-through rate of 91 per cent.
1928 Sunbeam 493cc TT Model 90 Racing Motorcycle, which had raced at Pendine Sands, powered through its top estimate of £24,000 selling for £41,400, while a 21,188-mile 1990 Norton F1, the roadster inspired by the sporting partnership with John Player Special, made £40,250, both setting new world auction records.
However, the name dominating the sale was Brough Superior, with no fewer than five examples featuring in the sale’s top ten, led by a highly original 1936 Brough Superior 982cc SS100, bearing the earliest engine number in a production model, which had been consigned from the National Motorcycle Museum Reserve Collection and which sold for a close to top estimate £276,000 with premium.
All three machines were offered direct from the National Motorcycle Museum’s Reserve Collection, an exclusive selection of 52 British motorcycles – and motorcycle-related cars - presented on the first day of the two-day sale. 
A brace of 1937 Brough Superiors offered from The Connoisseur Collection - comprising blue-chip examples from the estate of a late motorcycle enthusiast - also featured in the sale’s top ten, a 982cc SS80 and a 1,096cc 11-50hp, which both exceeded their pre-sale estimates, selling for £73,600 and £71,300 respectively.
The Connoisseur Collection also offered an example of one of the most desirable pre-war American motorcycles, a 1924 Henderson De Luxe Four, which made £48,300, again rising above its pre-sale estimate, despite requiring re-commissioning. 
Another 1937 Brough Superior 1,096cc 11-50hp, a project motorcycle offered for restoration rounded out the sale on a high note, trouncing its pre-sale estimate, selling for £57,500.
More modern metal also fared well at the Bicester auction, with three MV Agusta motorcycles achieving a combined total of more than £186,000, including a 1973 500cc Grand Prix Replica Racing Motorcycle which made £82,800, comfortably within its estimate, and a 1978 832cc Monza which pipped its top estimate, selling for £48,300
Another 1970s superbike that found favour in the Bonhams saleroom was a 1976 Honda CB750 K6 (with a believed 3.6 ‘push’ kilometres reading), which cruised past its pre-sale top estimate of £4,000 to achieve £9,800
There was also success for the motorcycle memorabilia sale which offered two special collections from the families of two late motorcycling greats: Barry Sheene MBE and Percy Tait.                                                          
Highlights from the Sheene Collection included a leather team holdall, featuring the motifs 7, Sheene and Suzuki, which sold for £3,187, ten times its pre-sale estimate, while a stainless-steel Gabriel chronograph wristwatch awarded at the 1976 ‘France de Chimay’ race made £7,650, again more than ten times its estimate, while a set of Percy Tait’s race-worn one-piece leathers raced away for £5,737. 
Ben Walker, International Department Director for Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles: “We are more than pleased with the sale which has been the subject of much interest from collectors around the world and competitive bidding. 
We were also honoured to have been entrusted with the premium collection from the National Motorcycle Museum, one of the most prestigious names in the motorcycling world, and well as the collections from the families of two of motorcycling’s national treasures, Barry Sheene and Percy Tait.”
The Winter Sale was a fitting end to another successful year for the Bonhams motorcycle department, with the two UK sales realising a combined total of more than £6.7 million in 2020.
The Motorcycle team, already looking ahead to next year, are currently consigning collectors’ motorcycles and collections to The Spring Sale 24 & 25 April, when Bonhams return to the Stafford Showground, where we all hope the 2021 edition of the International Classic MotorCycle Show can be staged. RH-E  

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84% of 183 cars auctioned sell for £4.5m to socially-distanced Ascot audience of 700+ and 837 on-line bidders from 32 countries

Two telephone contestants energetically competed for ownership of this 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GTS until the final ‘going, going’ call, when an internet bidder pounced, the Historics gavel fell at £254,000 and he had bought the car for £279,400 with premium.
The 85% sale rate at Ascot Racecourse 12 December surpassed the auction firm’s 80% sold sale in September, too, as well as July’s 77% and the 66% achieved in March just before the first lock-down.
The ‘live’ on-line audience throughout a very full Saturday’s auctioning averaged 275 and peaked at 410, while the auction attendance within the Grandstand Atrium was close to the maximum permitted through the majority of sale day.
On-line partner Bidpath recorded bids from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and even Afghanistan. 8 bid for cars in the US, 18 in Germany and 729 in the UK, which is where 63 of the cars sold on-line ended up.
Another extraordinary sign of these pandemic times was the fact that the on-line hammer price totalled £1,873,400, 44% of Saturday’s car sale total.
A manual to auto converted by Aston Martin Works Service 1994 Vantage V550 Coupe driven only 14,500 miles was bought for a just under lower estimate £130,000, one of 12 of 14 vehicles from one collection successfully dispersed here, which included a previously restored 1947 Jaguar MkIV 3.5-Litre Saloon that had emerged from a Carcoon to raise a more than forecast £37,400. A 1976 Jaguar XJ12 S2 Coupe from the same, mainly stored source realised £18,700, just over the lower estimate.
A 2018 restored and still left-hand drive 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 Roadster found £89,375 and a home market 1950 XK120 that had been originally bought at auction by serial collector Nigel Dawes, owned by Jeremy Wade and been more recently exercised on the Cote D’Azure found was also very well turned out for the £71,500 paid.
The ex-Patrick Collection 1991 Honda NSX auto, still with a mere 5673 miles on the odometer, clocked £55,590 this time around, top estimate money.
A more than forecast £68,750 was paid in the room for the ‘TURBO J’ registered 1983 Porsche 911 Turbo and a top estimate £59,400 was needed to own a Maserati Merak that had only been driven 2136 miles from new in 1975.
A non-running, but very vintage racey looking 1934 MG P Type Special, the single-seater previously campaigned by Colin Warrington and Barrie Gillies, latterly in Danish, German and Italian ownership, changed guardians here for £39,600, top estimate money.
Mercedes restoration projects taken on here were a right-hand drive 1968 250SL Pagoda-top for £24,750 and an Australian supplied 1968 300 SEL packing the 6.3 motor for £22,000.
A clutch of classics were being made redundant by a TV and film hire company, including a 1983 Ford Fiesta XR2 Mk2 original sold for £16,280 and a £5500 1959 Rover P4 75 Mk2 driven by a villain in ‘Pennyworth’. A ‘Bletchley Circle’and ‘Grantchester’ exposed 1958 Morris Oxford S3 fetched £3080. While a 1965 Vauxhall Victor 101 employed on the sets of ‘Endeavour’ and ‘A Very English Scandal’ picked up for £2700, a 1954 Standard Vanguard Phase 2 movie prop £2420.
By way of extreme contrast, a 2003 Bentley Speed 8 GRP Rep, a non-working copy of the ‘Number 7’ 2003 Le Mans winner, sold in the room for £112,200 and another Le Mans liveried 2001 Speed 8 Replica body (thought to be that of the actual EXP Speed 8) made an equally punchy £39,600.
The engine-less, but entirely real Damon Hill driven 1991 Lola T91/50 F3000 Race Car without transmission was also acquired here for £29,150.
Something genuinely interesting for all tastes and budgets during a most encouraging £4.5m+ day out at the races for those who are still prepared to be market makers in what are unprecedented trading conditions. Mark Perkins and his tireless team are to be congratulated for achieving the possible. RH-E  
 
 

670 registered bidders bought 98.5% of 800 lots of Automobilia for H&H house-record £220,000 including £6,900 motor insurance enamel sign

The motorised by Atco ‘Junior Trainer Car Joe 1’ pictured above had come to market on the H&H website from the collection of the late David Nudd to raise £5,750.
Yes, there was something for everyone in this astonishing cache from hood ornaments to photographs, kids pedal cars to automotive signage. For those in the market for petrol-head appropriate eye candy for their motor house wall, study, den or man cave, this was an on-line occasion not to be missed.
The top selling ‘British Dominions’ enamel sign, once nailed to a ‘Service Agent’ garage door proclaiming ‘Free Towing’ and ‘Instant Repair’ for policyholders, underwritten by assets worth £17m , made a sale topping £6,900 with premium on the internet.
A large Jaguar D Type bronze by Gordon Chism was captured for £5,060 and a Children’s Austin A40 Pedal Car, requiring some recommissioning and pre-sale estimated to sell for £1,800-2,400, realised a very adult £3,220.
Built by disabled Welsh miners 1955-1971 at the instigation of Lord Nuffield of BMC soon after the Second World War, such ‘Junior Austins’ with dummy engines and spark plugs, handbrake, electric lights and horn sold in dealers’ showrooms for £20, a considerable amount at the time.
A rare Victoire ‘Spirit of the Wind’ car mascot by the celebrated Rene Lalique in crystal glass, press-moulded, frosted and polished, with engraved post-war signature to underside, but with no cracks or chips, was auctioned Without Reserve and flew to a £2,300 result.
A rare Ferrari Sales Brochure for the 250 Granturismo Berlinetta and Spyder California, described as being in very good, original condition with multiple photographic plates to the rear, sold for £1,380.
Adam Sykes, Head of H&H Classics Automobilia sales, was delighted, having clocked up a new records for the company with their biggest sale ever of 802 lots, a £220,000 sale total, a 98.5% sale rate and 670 registered buyers worldwide. 

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated. RH-E
 

Rare 84 year old Hillman from 82 years in one family ownership sells for modest £6880 during 66% sold Morris Leslie Drive-Through

Driving the classics across the block on camera and live-webcasting proceedings on YouTube where a first for the Scottish vehicle auctioneers, who hammered away 41 of the 70 vehicles on offer and post-sold another 9 classics to achieve a 66% sold £414,842 Saturday afternoon and an average of £8297 per car sold.
Heading the 21 November sale prices in Perthshire were the £44,075 paid for a 1957 Jaguar XK150 3.4 Fixed Head and a £29,300 1969 E Type 4.2 2+2 Coupe. A 1966 Ford Cortina 2-Door Mk 1 ‘Lotus Cortina Evocation’ raised £26,606 to outperform a 1968 Cortina Lotus 2-Door Mk2 sold for £20,294.
Generating much pre-sale interest and bids on the day, a right-hand drive 1972 Alfa Romeo Series 105 GT Junior raised a more than top estimate £26,015 and £16,125 was forthcoming for a previous restored 1963 Morris Mini Cooper Mk1. £16,394 bought a much rallied Triumph TR2 and £14,513 an ex-US left to right-hand drive converted 1966 TR4A 2.2 IRS with many grp panels.
More contemporary kit to change hands in the Morris Leslie auction hall included a driven 63,573 miles since 2009 Ford Focus RS 2.5 Hatch sold for £18,168, a 2005 DB9 with 42,096 mileage for £18,544 and an 87,749 mile 2006 Aston Martin DB9 6.0 auto for £15,856.  A 2001 Bentley Arnage T had only done 33,605 miles before a change of ownership here for £18,006.
Much older were a 1949 Vauxhall L Type Wyvern 1.4 4-Door Saloon, presented as a taxi with fresh interior and chrome, which successfully picked up a fare with £8,063 including premium, £2000 more than had been forecast. An only Dundee and Aberdeen resident 1960 Rover 100 2.6 4-Door Saloon with £10,000 worth of invoices fetched £6988, nearly £3000 more than the guide.
By contrast, a 1936 Hillman Aero Minx Burlington 1.2 non-runner with 2-Door Drophead Coupe coachwork by Salmons, which previously had been in the service of one family for 82 years, had to be pushed past the rostrum, but did sell for £6880, well under half the £15,000-17,000 originally sought.
The next sale on the Errol airfield, where all cars auctioned by the Morris Leslie team will again be physically on-site, has been scheduled for Saturday 20 February in post-Brexit and, we hope, post-pandemic 2021.
Four days later, H&H held another of their ABC (Automobilia Bikes Cars) internet auctions at their Warrington offices with all but one of the 76 vehicles remaining with their vendors. After 14 vehicles had sold under the gavel and 3 more had been converted into sales during the sale, 15 more were post-sold and 32 or 42% of those offered had sold for £494,469, a premium-inclusive average of £15 452 spent by buyers per car.
The required £67,500 bought a left-hand drive 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL with hardtop in Helensborough and £55,125, the lower estimate, was paid for a 1955 Jaguar XK140 Fixed Head with Vicarage power-steering in Wiltshire. A 42,000 mile 1972 Jaguar S3 V12 2+2 FHC in Lancashire sold for £39,938.
 £28,125 meanwhile acquired a 1961 Daimler SP250 Dart in Fife, £22,917 a 64,500 mile 2001 Porsche 911 Type 996 3.6 Turbo in Cambridge and £21,094 a 1987 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa in Cheshire.
H&H had originally intended to hold a traditional ‘live’ auction at the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton 8/9 December.
Due to pandemic tiering however, their end of 2021 season sale for classic cars will now take place from 1pm Wednesday 16 December at their own Motor House, Lyncastle Road, Warrington WA4 4SN, where many of the 42 cars consigned so far can be previewed 9am-6pm Tuesday 15 December and from 9am sale day, by advance appointment. RH-E

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated.
 

80% of classics sell for over £8m during Silverstone’s NEC Show replacement sales where Porsche 928 S4 Manual takes £129,375 world record

Considering the shortage of international enthusiasm in several locked down economies, the 80.4% sold performance of successfully transacted cars at Silverstone Auctions 13 & 14 November replacement sales for the cancelled NEC Classic Motor Show fixture has to be enormously reassuring for all stakeholders.
Although there were no buyers for 29 cars, nearly 20% of the 148 offered, the average price paid by absentee bidders for the 119 cars sold for £8,027,887 by auctioneer Jonathan Humbert amounted to a really bullish premium-inclusive £67,461 per car bought.
A quite extraordinary 23,147 clicked-on to Youtube ‘live’ webcasts, while many more checked in to the Saleroom and Proxibid platforms or placed their bets via several telephone bids tables at the behind closed doors auction.
For although physically elsewhere, the consumer attendance, and the over £8.5m with automobilia spent, were therefore very much larger stats than they have ever been when traditional format sales were held at the always well supported NEC Show.
The star turn of the Friday cars session was the driven only 10,325 miles since 1988 Porsche 928 S4 Manual, pre-sale estimated at £60,000-70,000, that sold for £129,375, setting a new world auction record for the model.
A freshly restored and right-hand drive 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster raised a better than expected £129,375 and a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 Targa in rare Magenta £101,250, the lower estimate.
The same money secured both an FIA Tarmac Rally 1987 BMW M3 E30, which cost twice this, and a UK market 1990 Ferrari Testarossa. A mid-estimate £100,125 bought a 2004 911 996 GT2 3.8 Mk2, one of six in right-hand drive, with 24,956 mileage.
After a race paddock-ready 2008 Damon Astoria Pacific Edition 3772 Motorhome had been knocked down for £79,875 to an Estonian on the internet, three more staycation i-bidders and one telephone contestant were responsible for a £10,000-14,000 guided Chevrolet 320ci powered 1975 Airstream Argosy 20 Motorhome making £20,813.  A No Reserve 1980 VW Golf Mk1 GLD ‘original’ with 738 miles on the clock fetched £15,750.
By the end of the Friday afternoon, 58 or 84% of the 69 cars in the e-catalogue had sold for £3,032,549 with premium, an average of £52,285 paid per car bought.
Auction house principal Nick Whale told C.A.R.: “This is another great result for Silverstone Auctions, we have had a great year after quickly adapting to ensure we could safely operate during the global pandemic. The Live On-line format is safe for everyone involved; our vendors, buyers and, of course, the team."
The next day saw the weekend’s results topping 1980 BMW M1 with period-upgraded bodywork to factory Procar-spec and Boney M provenance sell for £382,500 with premium, just below the lower estimate.
Whereas only one of the Group B five-pack in the sale sold. For while the £475,000 sought for the Malcolm Wilson rallied factory 1986 MG Metro 6R4 was unobtainable, the 1982 Renault 5 Turbo Group 4 Rally, driven by Jean-Luc Therier, Jean Ragnotti and Erik Comas, and estimated at £340,000-380,000, did sell for £337,500 with premium
The latest valuation in a public auction for a benchmark 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS ‘Touring’, in receipt of £180,000 Gantspeed restoration and estimated at £300,000-350,000, sold for £315,000 with premium. The Gantspeed prepped 1962 Porsche 356B T6 Coupe, a regular PCGB concours winner when owned by the late Dennis Smith, was bid to £76,000, £85,500 with premium.
The uniquely liveried ‘Red Arrows’ 2017 Aston Martin Vanquish S that raised £1.5m for charity when sold for the first time was well bought this time for £250,000. While a very long bidding battle, between contestants on the internet and four telephones, eventually determined ownership of a £60,000-70,000 estimated 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 ‘Speciale’ Coupe in aluminium over a tubular chassis for £166,500 with premium!
An unrestored 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS 500 with 12,047 mileage sold here for £103,500 and a 1992 Airstream 350LE Motorhome in highly polished ali with sumptuous interior had graced Goodwood with its presence before achieving the required £76,500 in Warwickshire.
The Saturday session for cars was proceeded by the sale of a 1995 Rover Mini Cooper Monte Carlo Edition, donated by Silverstone Auctions principal Nick Whale and enthusiastically auctioned by Wheeler Dealer TV presenter Mike Brewer, which raised a most generous £37,125 with premium from a regular auction house client, all proceeds benefitting Sporting Bears children’s charities.
After seven post-sales had been successfully concluded and the Saturday book had been closed, 61 or 77% of the 79 cars offered had sold for £4,995,338 with premium, an average of £81,891 paid per car bought.
Preceding the Saturday cars session, and over-running by one hour because of the global bidding interest generated, were 49 lots of personal items belonging to the late Sir Stirling Moss OBE, all of which sold out for £269,526 with premium.
A Proxibid of £59,000 from Wilmslow, amounting to £67,850 with premium,  clinched the solid gold twin-bar watch band, engraved ‘SM’ and  worn by Stirling for 38 years in major races. His period Patey crash helmet meanwhile, which he wore for 49 years, fetched a heady £37,950.
Apart from i-bidders of the world, there were eleven telephones in play, one from Texas, for Stirling’s Silverstone won 1951 Daily Express Trophy for which a winning collector had to pay £12,075.The great man’s solid gold (and chunky) ‘Money-Tie clip, embellished with his good luck number ‘7’ motif and engraved ‘SM’, cost the next owner £9775.
The same amount secured his number ‘7’ cufflinks, and was also bid and bought the gold stopwatch, gifted to Stirling’s father Alfred Moss by his wife Eileen Moss and used by her to time her son’s early races.
Preceding the Friday cars were more automobilia lots from other sources. Headlining among them were the ‘0 10’ registration, only the 10th such road vehicle plate to be issued in Birmingham in 1902, which sold for a stratospheric £128,800. The right to display ‘HR 4’ on a car cost a buyer £49,950 and ‘E 75’ £36,800.
A 1971 Porsche 911 2.2S MFI motor on a display stand was uplifted for £10,925. While a Ferrari F458 Speciale 3-piece Schedoni luggage set was carried off for £6900 and an owner’s manual pouch set for a 1987 F40 was acquired for £4140.
Silverstone Auctions’ Nick Whale continued: “There were a lot of highlights in this two-day auction, from the Sir Stirling Moss Collection, to the record breaking 928 SE price and not forgetting raising over £37,000 for charity with Mike Brewer – a great way to end 2020.”
Considering the uncertainty of the times and the pandemic-driven economic malaise that has depressed so many sectors of the economy, these really were a most uplifting couple of days for socially distanced auction teamsters, their absentee vendors, bidders and buyers, and, not forgetting screen-bound reviewers  who are prevented by politicians from making pit stops in public houses. RH-E

 

Over 47,000 on YouTube alone see 208 classics sell for £1.61m on-line and phone during 89% sold ACA 2-Day Drive-Through

An impressive 208 classics, 89% of the 234 entered, sold for £1.61m with premium at the latest Anglia Car Auctions 7 & 8 November Drive Through in King’s Lynn. After two days of streaming on YouTube, a UK auctions market leading 46,943 surfers had viewed ACA’s pro-shot webcasts with many thousands more participating via the Saleroom and Proxibid bidding-platforms.
Saturday’s sellers were headed by a 1982-2015 resident 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 Gullwing lefty with 56,000 mileage rehomed on the telephone for £33,920. A repainted 1977 Land Rover S3 88 with windowed hardtop and £11k invoices cost an internet buyer £16,200 and a freshly re-shod 1993 Toyota Landcruiser VX 4.2D with 61,200 warranted mileage deservedly raised £15,120 from another absentee bidder.
A 2011-2017 stored 1990 BMW E30 320i Touring driven 70,250 miles was tidy for £11,070, a 1961 Austin A35 in receipt of Van body restoration by Apollo Sports picked up £10,530 and a 76,000 miles since 1988 Toyota Supra 3.0 Auto a double estimate £5,400.
After 103 cars had sold to those computer mice who could keep up Day 1, and thanks to the well marshaled  ACA team of masked drivers, another 124 crossed the block Sunday, when there were no buyers in the current market however, on the internet or blower, for the highest priced cars catalogued.
The reality results were led instead by a 1969 Jaguar E Type S2 4.2 2+2 FHC, for which a close to lower guide £39,485 was accepted and a Belgian-repatriated 35,000 mile 1981 Aston Martin Lagonda S2 William Towns penned 'Wedge' sold via one of several masked telephone bids handler for £33,920. The same money was required to secure a £25,000-30,000 estimated 93,000 mile 1991 Porsche 911 C2 Cabrio auto.
Exceptional ‘Fast Fords’ from the Tim Norton Ford stable to change hands here included a still to be unpacked 2018 Focus RS 2.2 with only 48 delivery mileage hammered for £30,000 plus VAT and premium.
A no expense restored 1983 Escort RS 1600i from the same impeccable source fetched £31,320 with premium, a model record surely, while a 2003 Focus 2.0 RS Mk1 with 63,000 mileage, bought back in 2018 and restored, made a top estimate £18,550.
A 1938 Triumph Dolomite with still cool waterfall grille was nicely patinated for £29,150  and a 1976 Alfa Romeo GT 1600 Junior, stored, unused and still cosmetically very sharp, cost the next owner £27,000.
A No Reserve 1988 Opel Manta GTE Coupe that had been vandalised, but well repainted, was bought by phone for £22,260. The £15,120 paid for a 1976 Ford Granada 3.0 Ghia Mk1 auto with 96,000 mileage was £5,000 more than had been forecast.
From same family ownership since 1977 and preserved in storage during the 1908s, an only 21,800 mile 1973 Jensen Healey Mk2 Convertible propelled by Lotus 2.0 twin-cam was most probably the best value motor car for the money at £12,190 including premium.
Prior to the disfunctional Government’s latest measure, all the cars and projects in this sale could at least be viewed by appointment. Whilst after some conversions had been concluded post-sale, 26 or 11% of the 234 cars consigned were unsold. Although as a second national lockdown depressed demand for most non-essential toys, the average of £7,798 spent per car bought in Norfolk was perhaps remarkable.
In addition to the 208 cars sold (71% of which sold on the internet, 29% to telephone bidders), all 69 lots of hugely entertaining Automobilia were offered ‘Without Reserve’ and duly sold out led by the ‘8572 PW’ registration at £2,226, a Stanley BRM child’s car £2,104 and a ye very olde Avery-Hardoll petrol pump £1,696.
Whilst on the Saturday, house partner Rob George donned pyjamas and dressing gown which inspired punters to i-donate £560 to be divided equally between the RNLI and the Poppy Appeal, whose collection tins could not be filled in locked-down high streets.
The £1000 proceeds of a 1971 MG Midget Mk3 rolling shell minus engine were also kindly added by the vendor to the charity pot as was another £100 pledged for the ACA principal gamely appearing on camera in a dress at the Sunday sale! All in aid of two very good causes.
Open for business as usual or compelled to lock down again, the next must-view ACA Drive-Through for sellers and buyers will be screened from the ACA studios 30/31 January 2021, which one can but hope will be less of an ‘Annus Horribilis’ for Queen and country. RH-E
 

DVCA internet debut sees 1937 SS Jaguar 2.5 Saloon make £50,600 and 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans head to Czech Republic for £26,400

Prevented from holding traditional  ye old world auctions under canvas on Henstridge Airfield by the pandemic that kills more than people, Brian Chant and team made their on-line debut Thursday 22 October behind closed doors via one camera at their Stalbridge HQ.
By the time auctioneer Matthew Denney had put his gavel back in its box, and a few post-deals had been done, 14 or 64% of the 22 cars on offer had been sold to new absentee bidders for £171,660 with premium.
The average per classic spent amounted to £12,265, in many cases sale cars being bought unseen in advance of viewing by appointment at DVCA HQ, because they were still lodged with their vendors.
The catalogue cover featured Dorset resident 1937 SS Jaguar 2½-Litre Sports-Saloon with working factory sunroof and original interior, valued by the Jaguar Driver’s Club in 2012 at £62,000, cost a new owner in Hampshire a more than top estimate £50,600 with premium in 2020.
A 1959 Armstrong-Siddeley Star Sapphire shined brightly following pro-restoration on YouTube and was bought over the telephone for £24,200 and a £28,000-33,000 guided 1955 Bentley R Type Standard Steel Saloon with £45,000 worth of invoices, though unsold under the hammer, was sold afterwards for £22,500.
The buying power of the worldwide web was powerfully proven by a Czech bidder securing a once Bangor, County Down, resident and well restored 1934 Singer 9 Le Mans 2-Seater in Dorset for £26,400 with premium.
Whereas a 1962 Beardmore Mk7 London Black Cab that had migrated to Dorset in retirement along with its taxi-driver owner will join a German collection of taxis for £7,150.
Although a 1952 Riley RMA, for which £10,000-12,500 had been forecast, ran out interest at an insufficient £6,500, a 1959 Morris Minor 1000 2-Door that had been retrospectively converted into a Convertible by the Charles Ware Morris Minor Centre in 2016 did raise the £7770 required.
The same money bought an open-top 1926 Renault OS Estate Bus that been employed pre-2007 by a hotel in Romania to transport guests to and from the local railway station!
The victim of much mechanical and cosmetic abuse, a screen-less 1965 Mini Moke Mk1 without seats in crudely applied garish orange, that had collected and refreshed calor gas bottles on a West Country Caravan Park in a previous life ,came to market here in search of £2,000-2,500, but was taken on for £5,060 by a telephone bidder.
Other dusty barn found projects to be rehomed included a 1931 Morris Cowley ‘Folding Head’ 11.9hp Saloon that had last been parked up in 1990 and found a benefactor at the end of another telephone with £4,840. A similarly abandoned 1938 Austin Big Seven had also been driven for the last time 30 years ago and was also bought on the phone for £2,090.
A once Jersey exercised 1979 MG Midget 1500 was far more conventional for £3,960 and a 44,200 mile 1998 Mazda MX5 cheaper at £3,740. A two owner since 1997 Honda Prelude 2.2 VRi Coupe with 52,350 mileage may be better value for £3,080.
Absentee bidders from as far afield as Monaco and Australia competed for the 224 lots of DVCA automobilia on the web. Although virus suppression regulations permitting, the Dorset firm do hope to physically pitch their tent at nearby Henstridge 11 March 2021. If not, and judging from this, their first venture into the virtual world of internet auctions, they could again be on-line. RH-E

83 year old petrol pump glass globe preserved in Yorkshire garage loft for decades fetched UK record £26,680 at Richard Edmonds

An extremely rare ‘Dominion Guaranteed’ glass globe that first adorned a petrol pump on a Yorkshire forecourt in circa 1937, but had been safely stored above a garage when they had switched over from dispensing Cleveland to Shell, set a new UK auction record for a globe when hammered away by auctioneer Richard Edmonds behind closed doors in the Chippenham saleroom.
Estimated to cost a Petroliana collector £3,000-5,000, competing absentee bidders battled it out at the end of three telephones and via the internet until £23,000 had been bid by the winner who handed over £26,690 including premium.
In such unprecedented times however, when the politicians are doing their absolute worst to kill off the private sector and stifle most entrepreneural enterprises by lockdownitus, such a high valuation by the new owner of the record smashing globe was a huge vote of confidence in mementoes of politically incorrect petroleum.
Indeed, most of the 650 lots of Petroliana, topped up with many parts store shelves worth of Lagonda and other spares being auctioned by the Wiltshire firm, sold out during this Saturday 31 October sale on the internet and telephone.
A possibly unique ‘Spur’ glass petrol pump glass by Hailware & Ackroyd had been estimated at £3,000-5,000 and raised £4,408, while a £800-1,200 ‘Cleveland Benzole Mixture’ glass globe by the same maker made £3,480.  A rare Webbs Crystal Glass Company produced ‘Regent Empire Spirit’ globe ‘original’ had been forecast to fetch £800-1,200 and was bought for £3,016.
Another Hailware November 1962 dated ‘Cleveland Super Discol’ glass globe was also guided at £800-1,200, but sold for £2,784. A ‘National Benzole Mixture’ 24ins diameter circular double-sided enamel sign in excellent condition more than doubled the estimated £400-600 to sell for £1,624 and a nibbled and chipped neck did not prevent a £500-800 guided ‘Fina Mixture’ glass globe from finding £1,508.
A ‘Pratts Commercial Sealed’ glass globe meanwhile overtook  its guide price of £500-800 to sell for £986 and the same was forthcoming for an early ‘ROP’ pill-shaped globe in glass marked ‘Foreign’ to the base. An early and rare ‘Dominion’ three-sided ‘lantern’ globe, a raised letter example with damaged corners and base attracted £870. And the same was paid by the next guardian of a £300-500 estimated ‘Hailware British Made’ marked ‘Super Fina’ glass globe with some discoloration.
A modest £80-120 had been sought for a Lagonda 2-Litre supercharger bevel box casing, which sold for £3,480, and the same had been suggested for a box of Zoller supercharged casings that cost the next project manager £2,552. Another supercharger bevel box casing for a 2-Litre Lagonda was acquired for £1,624 and a gearbox with some new gears £1,160.
“Even in these bizarre times, some extraordinary prices are being paid for things,” Wiltshire auction house principal Edmonds told C.A.R. “We had hopes of £10,000+ for the extremely rare Dominion Guaranteed glass petrol pump globe, which was in super original condition.
“With three phones and the internet battling it out, £23,000 was bid. Plus 20% buyer’s premium and vat, the £27,600 paid was a new auction record for a globe.”
The past is still a blast for nostalgics, clearly. Even in the short term however, a cloudy future looks obsessively green, virtually silent, zero-carbon and extremly unexciting.
Diesel will first go the way of smoking wherever you wanted to, drinking and driving, breaking reducing speed limits and sharing illegal jokes with fellow outlaws. Filling stations will increasingly dispense electricity (and hopefully some hydrogen) as petrol becomes yesterday's coal in the interests of climate change politics.
Best advice therefore is vroom vroom, while we can. RH-E


 

Steam Age Fowler Showman’s Super Lion Road Locomotive roared to £911,000 sale topping result in Bonhams £3.3m New Bond Street sale

Rare 1932 Fowler 10hp ‘B6’ Showman’s Road Locomotive, known as The Lion, employed on the fairground circuit during the final days of steam, was the pride of Bonhams, selling for £911,000 including premium during the former Veteran, now re-branded ‘Golden Age of Motoring’ sale at their New Bond Street London salerooms Friday 30 October.
Following a lively bidding battle between bidders in the UK and USA, ‘The Lion’ was finally sold when the gavel of auctioneer Malcolm Barber fell in favour of the Bedfordshire-based Saunders Steam Collection, one of the largest steam collections in the UK. 
The new owner, Mr John Saunders, said that The Lion was a “late birthday present” to himself and that he was looking forward to displaying the engine at steam fairs and shows next year – the current situation regarding COVID-19 allowing. 
The Lion was offered from the collection of late steam enthusiast Arthur Thomson of Salisbury, along with two other vehicles – a 1902 Arrol-Johnston 10/12hp Twin-Cylinder Six-Seater Dogcart, sold for £96,600, and a 1910 White Model 0-0 Five-Passenger Touring Steam Car, which steamed ahead of its top estimate to sell for £80,500.
Just one of four ‘Super Lion’ showman’s road locomotives, the 1932 Fowler 10hp ‘B6’ was originally built by agricultural engineers Fowler for the Bristol-based Showman Troupe Alderton and Rowland. In its working life, The Lion powered popular fairground rides of the period, such as the ‘Noah’s Ark’. 
The Lion had had only two other previous owners, both based in the West Country, one of whom, Arthur Thomson, buying the machine in 1995, when he oversaw its complete restoration over two and a half years to its former glory. In his ownership, The Lion made frequent appearances at steam rallies and other events including the Great Dorset Steam Fair and the Royal Bath & West Show. 
Tim Schofield, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, told C.A.R.: “This was the first time we had offered one of these particular machines and we are delighted with the result. The Lion has certainly made an impact, both in the saleroom and in New Bond Street when it arrived earlier in auction week.”
Other highlights from the 17 extraordinary early vehicles to sell for £3,328,150 including premium, an average of £172,692 being paid per artefact, included –
1901 Panhard-Levassor Type A2 7HP Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau, sold for £322,000. One of a handful of survivors of the transitional 7hp Daimler-Phoenix-engined Panhards delivered in 1901, it is regarded as the ‘first modern motor car’ due to its front-mounted engine, a three-speed manual transmission, piano-style pedals and a steering-wheel in place of a tiller, known as the ‘système Panhard’. 
At one time, this motor car formed part of the renowned Schlumpf Collection, belonging to the textile magnate brothers in Mulhouse, and was then owned by the Mercedes-Benz Museum Collection until 2010.
Ten years later, the 119 year old sold in London’s West End for more than the top estimate suggested to a telephone bidder from Germany following a multi-way bidding battle between European and UK bidders. 
1929 Bugatti Type 40 Grand Sport Open Tourer, made £310,500. Produced in the heyday of Bugatti’s Grand Prix success, the Type 40 offered exceptional handling, braking and performance, with a top speed of 75mph. Ninety-one years ago, a brand new T40 GS would have cost you all of £365! A remarkably original example, and one of fewer than 200 known surviving Grand Sports, the sale car had been owned by the the late Tony Clark since 1957.
1924 Vauxhall 30-98 OE Velox Tourer fetched £258,750. Considered the finest British sporting Vintage car, the 30-98 was more than a match for its rival Bentley. The first model set a new record at the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb and the later more powerful OE versions enjoyed success at the famous Brooklands motor circuit. This original bodied example had been owned by its vendor since 1968.
1903 Thornycroft 20hp Four-Cylinder Double Phaeton was bought for £304,750. A rare survivor from the British manufacturer, owned until 1957 by company founder, Tom Thornycroft. Offered in concours condition, the Thornycroft has successfully completed all the London to Brighton Veteran Car Runs it has entered – often carrying six people. 
Among the 15 non-sellers after the 56% early evening session, the 1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost with Semi Open-Drive Limo coachwork by Joseph A Lawton of Liverpool ran out of interest at an insufficient £900,000 (£1,000,000-1,300,000 had been estimated), the R-R Phantom III Gurney Nutting Sedanca De Ville first owned by the Marquess of Queensberry was unsold at £60,000 bid and £30,000 was also not enough to own the eve of 2007 Brighton Run Regent Street Concours winning 1903 Crestmobile 5hp Model D Runabout for two.
Despite the progressive shutdown of UK plc, the sale was still held as a traditional live auction, albeit with a more limited attendance than usual, respecting social distancing and in compliance with all COVID-19 related guidelines. 
Tim Schofield said: “We were pleased with the enthusiastic response to our new ‘Golden Age’ sale which brought together the best of the pioneers, vintage and pre-war cars. We look forward to seeing the successfully sold veteran cars with their new owners on the London to Brighton Run next year.”
As we post this on-line, Bonhams Motor Cars next auction, The Bond Street Sale, is scheduled to be held again at the auction house’s flagship salerooms in New Bond Street Saturday 5 December.

For the very latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice has to be to click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated. RH-E

 

Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5, 7 & 9 Concept Cars sell for $14.8m (£11.6m) to top Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction before global audience

The renowned trio of Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars, B.A.T. 5, 7 and 9d, raised $14,840,000 (£11,671,021) during Sotheby’s Wednesday 28 October Contemporary Art Evening Auction, achieving the top sale slot and setting a new record for the most valuable post-war Alfa Romeo sold as a single lot at auction, and one of the most valuable of any Alfa Romeo ever sold. 
With nearly one million viewers tuning in to Sotheby’s live-streamed sales of Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art, the trio of automotive icons, offered as a one lot, saw strong pre-sale interest, as well as bidding activity during the auction with Sotheby’s auctioneer, Oliver Barker, fielding bids from a global audience of specialists from New York, London, and Hong Kong,
Regarded by many as the seminal vehicle designs of the 20th century, the sculptural B.A.T. 5, 7, & 9d pictured above (image by Ron Kimball from RM Sotheby's) were produced by Bertone and presented individually to the public at the Turin Auto Salons over three consecutive years in 1953, 1954 and 1955.
Despite their individual popularity and collective significance, the B.A.T.s were never displayed together when new. Offered in the Sotheby’s sale from long-term ownership and for the first time as a united trio, the three cars showcased that the power of artistry and ingenuity is always attractive on the market, no matter the medium.
Ian Kelleher, Chief Marketing Officer, RM Sotheby’s, said: “The sale of the B.A.T. concept cars during Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale represents the second time a motor car has been offered as part of a Sotheby’s art sale—the first time being when we sold the Michael Schumacher Ferrari F2001 Formula 1 race car in 2017.
For in November 2017, RM Sotheby’s offered the Michael Schumacher Monaco Grand Prix-winning 2001 Ferrari, chassis 211, at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale, representing the car’s first presentation for public sale as well as the first automobile ever offered in a Sotheby’s art auction.
The Ferrari was sold before an enthusiastic audience, with spirited bidding both in the room and from Sotheby’s Contemporary Art and RM Sotheby’s specialists representing clients from each collecting segment on the phones. The car eventually sold to a private collector on the telephone for a final $7,504,000 (£5,678,778), more than doubling the previous record for a modern era Formula One car at auction.
Three years and one pandemic later, a most impressive digital presentation commenced with a 30-minute pre-show highlighting the sale’s top lots including the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. cars featuring journalist Kurt Anderson discussing the significance of the offering with auction house CMO Kelleher. The completely digital initiative highlighted the departure from the conventional means of print promotion and utilized an entirely digital format for the auction presentation.
Coming on the heels of Sotheby’s successful sales in Hong Kong, London, and Paris earlier this month, this Contemporary Art Evening Sale brought a total of $142.8 million (£112.3m) with 95% of lots sold. The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale meanwhile achieved $141.1 million (£111m) with a 100% sell-through rate.
With a combined total of $283.9 million (£223.3m), the two sales raised the worldwide total of the auction house’s October evening sales of Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art to over $500 million (£399.2m).
While the Contemporary Art Evening Sale was led by the trio of Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concepts, the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale was dominated by a prime example of Alberto Giacometti’s towering female sculptures: Femme Leoni from 1947, which brought a whopping $25.9 million (£20.37m) after 5-minute bidding battle between Hong Kong and New York. RH-E

 

100% of cars, bikes and memorabilia auctioned in Indiana for Bankruptcy Court sell out for $44.4m (£31.52m) led by $2.8m (£1.99m) Ferrari

Over the 23-24 October weekend, RM Sotheby’s presented the exceptional Elkhart Collection in a ‘Live Auction’ format held in Elkhart, Indiana, which grossed a premium-inclusive total of $44,385,420 (£31,513,648) in sales and saw a 1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta by Vignale (image above by Darin Schnabel), boasting period competition use, sell for $2,810,000 (£1,995,100)
The 588 lots, consisting of 236 cars, several trucks and trailers to transport them, over 50 bikes and scooters and some 300 items of memorabilia, were offered almost entirely ‘Without Reserve’.
The two-day dispersal sale, executed on behalf of trustees of the US Bankruptcy Court, saw some very spirited bidding both in the auction room and remotely from no less than 2,500 bidders from 53 countries from around the world, with 55 percent of bidders representing first-time clientele to the house.
Kenneth Ahn, President and CEO, RM Sotheby’s, said: “We are extremely pleased with the results, especially considering the complexities and challenges of executing such a high-profile auction with multiple constituents in the current market environment. The Elkhart Collection auction was also another case study for the power of ‘No Reserve’ collection auctions, with many of the lots seeing incredible results.
“The sale joins previous court-authorized bankruptcy auctions that RM Sotheby’s has successfully conducted such as the 2016 Duemila Route sale in Milan, Italy on behalf of the Italian Government, and the 2017 Level 5 Motorsports liquidation in Auburn, Indiana, on behalf of U.S. Federal authorities, further highlighting our company’s ability to execute complex sales successfully on a global scale.”
Considering the pandemic bad news wave in the US (and on this side the Atlantic), not to mention the wall to wall Presidential Election overload, some really strong prices were achieved across both sale days with a total of eight motor cars achieving in excess of the magic $1m marker.
The undoubted star of the auction though was the rare and beautifully turned out 1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta by Vignale, which sold for a final $2,810,000 (£1,995,100) during the Saturday sale session.The fifth of an estimated 21 examples built, the 225 S Berlinetta was highly competitive in period, having finished 2nd overall at the 1952 12 Hours of Casablanca, 4th overall at the 1952 Monaco Grand Prix, and 10th overall at the 1952 Mille Miglia, among other events.
Another rare competition car also took one of the top five sale slots, a 1955 Cooper-Jaguar T38 Mk II, selling for $1,765,000 (£1,253,150). The second of a mere three examples built of this unique Cooper design powered by Jaguar’s racing-specification XK engine, the highly authentic Cooper-Jaguar saw six victories at Goodwood and Silverstone in the 1956 and ’57 seasons and today has been recommissioned by marque specialists for recent participation in prestigious international events.
Rare and sought-after Fiats within the collection also drew much pre-sale attention, as well as in the auction room, with a one-of-15 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia, originally delivered to famed General Motors designer Henry S  Lauve, leading the pack and taking the top second sale slot at $2,040,000 (£1,448,400).
Following close behind was a unique pair of 1954 Fiat 8V Coupes by Vignale, the first of which was based upon the famous Demon Rouge design and the second of which wears stunning, subtle coachwork and is believed to have been exhibited at the VII Concorso d’Eleganza di Roma in 1954. The two Otto Vu examples achieved $907,000 (£643,970) and $775,000 (£550,250), respectively.
Also claiming spots within the top ten were three extremely rare Jaguar continuation cars— believed to be the first example offered publicly, a 1957 XKSS, one of nine examples produced, sold for $1,985,000 (£1,409,350); an as-new 1963 E-Type Lightweight, known as “Car 0”, the first of seven built by Jaguar Classic and used as the North American press car, brought $1,710,000 (£1,214,100); and a 1955 D-Type, one of 25 D-Types produced by Jaguar Heritage and finished in the iconic Scottish Racing Blue of Ecurie Ecosse, generated a final $1,325,000 (£940,750).
Additional standout highlights include a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, originally delivered to Scuderia Ferrari driver Umberto Maglioli and retaining its matching-numbers chassis, engine, gearbox, and body, which achieved $1,495,500 (£1,061,805) during the Friday sale session; a wonderful example of the original supercar, a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S by Bertone, boasting a very well-maintained restoration, which sold for $1,160,000 (£823,600) on Saturday; and a 1967 Toyota 2000GT, one of 62 original left-hand-drive, U.S.-market examples and retained for over 30 years by the original owner and famed American racer Otto Linton, which brought $912,500 (£647,875)
Following the auction, Donnie Gould, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s said: “We could not be more thrilled with the success of The Elkhart Collection auction. I am grateful to the consignors for entrusting us to offer this meticulously curated, high quality collection of cars and memorabilia.
“This was a truly unique collection representing exceptional quality, and we had nearly 75 percent of 2500 bidders participating over the phone or internet placing thousands of bids, with more than half of all bidders new to our company.  Overall, the results were exceptional proving that the market for high quality collector cars is alive and well across all price points.”
RM Sotheby’s continues its 2020 auction calendar with the ‘On-Line Only’ charitable auction of an all-new 2021 Ferrari Roma, one of the earliest production examples to be delivered to North America, offered in partnership with Ferrari. Currently open for bidding through 29 October, the internet auction will see proceeds benefiting Save the Children.
Also taking place via the company’s proprietary On-Line Only auction platform is the international auction house’ 14th annual London sale, which opens for bidding 26-31 October and features a wide array of collector cars alongside a handful of memorabilia. RH-E



 

1967 Ferrari 330GTS sells for £1.26m at £6m Bonhams sale during Goodwood Speedweek, where Invicta, F40 and DB5 were among 54 unsold cars

A 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS, one of only 100 Spiders produced, had been pre-sale estimated at £1,200,000-1,500,000 and incited lengthy “tactical and strategic” bidding by two determined absentee bidders, one on-line and the other linked to the New Bond Street saleroom by telephone.
As the increments rose and fell, their contest was likened to a boxing match, by the sale’s auctioneer, James Knight, Bonhams Motoring Group Chairman, until gavel fall at £1,120,000, the car costing the winner £1,269,400 including premium.
Fifty-three years ago, the 4-litre V12 powered 330 GTS was claimed by Ferrari to be the ‘world’s finest convertible two-seater’. With labour-saving electric windows and optional Borrani wheels, the sale car had been imported in 2004 and owned by the vendor, only the third owner, since 2005.
In second place was a rare example of its successor, a 4.4-litre 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC, guided at £500,000-600,000, which sold for £531,300. One of only 22 right-hand drive variants, it was certainly well travelled, having been owned in Italy, Canada and the USA before arriving in the UK for professional restoration by Colin Clarke in the early 1990s.
Whilst the third of only 6 Ferraris to sell was a 1974 Dino 246 GTS Coupé, one of 498 in right-hand drive, which sold for £300,000. A late ‘chairs and flares’ example, featuring Daytona-style seats and flared wheel arches, it had been restored 2017-2020 to 100-point concours-standard.
A 17,000k from new in 1991 F40 headliner with non-adjustable suspension and Ferrari Classiche certification meanwhile failed to clear the £900,000 barrier, one of 8 Ferraris which failed their fences at Goodwood without punters.
The required £700,000-800,000 was also not achieved by a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that had been pro-restored 2016-2018, one of 6 Astons to be unsold. By contrast, the 1959 DB4 S1, first owned by author Richard Gordon of the early 1950s Doctor series of comic novels adapted for movie and stage had been guided at £250,000-350,000, but was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and sold for £276,000.
Even though few contemporary domestic garages can accommodate their considerable dimensions, and a £1m 1931 Invicta 4-1/2 S Type Low Chassis 'Simplon' was too much for a global audience at the moment, severall pre-WW2 classics could still pull younger buyers, including two W.O Bentley designed Lagondas, among the most sophisticated and exclusive motor cars of the period.
1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupé, offered from the estate of Michael Patrick Aiken MBE and previously owned by another successful businessman, Eric B Fox of Fox’s Glacier Mints, sold for £230,000. It had been professionally restored and was a class-winner at Pebble Beach in 2007.
From the same marque, a 1938 V12 Sports in ‘Le Mans’ style achieved £207,000. The Tourer had had its chassis shortened in the 1950s for hill climbing and was further refurbished in 1994 to much more racey Le Mans specification by the vendor. 
The 17 October Bonhams Sale was part of the Goodwood SpeedWeek event, a one-off for ITV-only weekend celebrating the best of the traditional Festival of Speed and Revival meetings, both of which were cancelled - along with almost everything else that used to be worth going to - .due to mis-managed Covid-19 pandemonia,
One figure familiar not only to the famous Sussex circuit, but also at many Bonhams auctions held there over the years, the late John Surtees MBE, was celebrated in both the Goodwood and London salerooms.
For offered directly from the estate of the only World Champion of both Formula One and Motorcycle Grand Prix was a rare 1957 BMW 503 Cabriolet, one of just three right-hand drive Cabrios of the 138 made, which sold for £230,000. Surtees had been only the second owner of the 503 for more than 30 years, the first being AFN Ltd for Mrs Aldington.
Another Goodwood related car that took the chequered flag in auction again was the tuner Paul Emery designed 1961 Emeryson Coventry Climax FPF 1.5-Litre Formula 1 Single-seater, which raced away on the internet until sold for £161,000. Silverstone Auctions last sold it at Race Retro in February 2017, since when it had been treated to a £90k rebuild with invoices before finishing the 2018 Monaco Historic GP.
Originally raced by the Écurie Belge team, chassis 1004 had finished 11th at Aintree in the British GP. driven by American Tony Settember, and John Campbell-Jones drove it to 5th in the Brussels GP. An Emeryson-Climax also raced in the Lavant Cup and Glover Trophy at Goodwood in 1962 and at Silverstone, Crystal Palace and Oulton Park that year.
Notable valuations during the preceding Automobila and Vehicle Registations session included registration ‘RR 3’, which sold for £126,500, while a large desk-top grid of seven pre-war Alfa Romeo P2 Clockwork Tinplate Big Boys Toys, modelled on the successful 1924 racing car designed by Vittorio Jano, brought out the competitive spirit in bidders, racing past their estimate to achieve a very adult £30,062.
The overall sale total exceeded the £6m barrier with the 46 of the 100 cars and one Abatross-Climax speedboat consigned sold for £5,918,908 with premium, an average of £128,672 spent per vehicle.
Including 5 post-sales over the weekend, the overall 46% percentage sold was not dissimilar, in fact, to the 5 out of 11 sold Aston Martin 45% sale rate and the 6 out of 14 sold Ferrari 43% sale rate.
So many reserves, set only a few weeks ago, have become historic in unprecedented times. Who could have forecast that most of the economies of Scotland, Wales and Ireland would have been shut down again?
The next sale for the Bonhams team will be their Golden Age of Motoring Sale for Veteran, Vintage and Post-Vintage motor cars scheduled as a ‘Live’ sale for mask-wearing salegoers (and those viewing 29 and pre-sale 30 Oct). Proceedings will be simultaneously relayed to internet and telephone participants 1300 onwards Friday 30 October from  their New Bond Street HQ salerooms.
For the latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated. RH-E
 

Maximum of 175 salegoers at a time were permitted in War Museum hangar at Duxford to see 1934 Lagonda top £1.63m H&H afternoon

The catalogue cover, front of rostrum parked 1934 Lagonda M45 Rapide with T9-style Tourer coachwork for four and matching chassis and engine numbers duly delivered a more than top estimate result. One of 53 M45 Rapides made, and for many the ultimate Post Vintage Thoroughbred, had been pre-sale estimated at £170,000-190,000 and sold to an Italian bidder for a premium-inclusive £191,250.
Under the gavel of Guest Auctioneer Andrew Hilton, 39 out of the 80 cars displayed in and outside the Duxford hangar 14 October sold or had their provisional bids converted into sales before lights out. But after 5 more deals had been done overnight, 44 or 55% of the entry had sold for £1,628,101 with premium and an average of £37,002 had been spent per classic. The reserves of 36 cars meanwhile were not matched or bettered by bidders and, one must assume therefore, had been set too high for current market reality.
One of 80 right-hand drive 2016 Jaguar F Type Project 7 575bhp Supercharged 5.0 V8 Roadsters with 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds and 186mph capability had only been driven 650 miles before fetching £99,000 here, top estimate money.
A double estimate £78,750 was forthcoming for a well presented 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Freestone & Webb Coupe and a more than forecast £72,000 was bid for an extensively restored 1948 Bristol 400 with uprated engine, that had been first owned by the wife of the founder and chairman of Bristol Cars until 1973.
Although HRGs have become a house speciality however, a 1952 HRG 1500 with SCCA race history that had been resident in Denmark and most recently in the UK failed to achieve the bid of at least £60,000 required.
A 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible with side exhaust, that became an option in 1965, had been treated to a still excellent restoration in Florida in 2016 and pulled a more than top estimate £66,025 here.
In receipt of extensive bodywork refurbishment and part re-trim by marque and model specialist Ken Sparkes, and a full mechanical overhaul by Merton Motorsport, a 1953 Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Mk1 that had been upgraded with 5-speed box, front disc brakes and alternator looked very nice indeed for a mid-estimate £37,125.
The 1977 Motor Show displayed Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II with Crewe reg and 42,800 documented total mileage from new meanwhile had been guided at £15,000-17,000, but deservedly made £24,750.
Much more modern, and considerably cooler for cult members, was a 75,378 mile 1995 Nissan Skykine, one of 142 R33 GTR V-Spec S1 to be turned out in Super Clear Red with reputed 450bhp under foot. £18,000-20,000 had been predicted, but an internet player had to bid £23,000 to capture the Japanese rocket, which cost £25,875 with premium.
With 0-60mph in 4.1 seconds and 170mph top speed potential though, a 340bhp and lighter 1997 TVR Griffith 500 would give the Japanese projectile a  run for its yen for the £18,000 paid at the WW2 airfield beside the M11.
The Warrington firm hold their next ‘ABC Sale’ for Automobilia, Bikes and Cars ‘Live’ On-Line 21 October. A dedicated Classic and Collector Motorcycles Sale is scheduled for the National Motorcycle Museum just outside the dormant NEC complex in Brum 14 November followed by another ABC fixture 18 November for memorabilia, classics bikes and cars.
An Automobilia-only sale takes place at H&H HQ on a ‘Timed Out’ basis from 29 November to 6 December. While the Northern auction house’s final sale of this extra-ordinary season will take place ‘Live’ with socially-distanced viewing pre-sale at the auctioneers’ home ground venue of The Pavilion Gardens at Buxton 2 December. HMG and Local Authority Covid-regs and guidelines at the time permitting, of course.
For this has been a year to forget for many of us, who have not been permitted to attend most auctions or access those competitor-only events that could take place ‘Behind Closed Doors’ during 2020. RH-E


 

Lincoln Continental that transported JFK in Fort Worth, before a final flight to Dallas 57 years ago, made £375,075 (£266,303) in New York

Limo One, a white 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible, the final automobile to safely carry President John F. Kennedy on the fateful November morning, back in 1963 in Fort Worth, was the winner in the Bonhams American Presidential Experience Auction in New York on Wednesday, 14 Octoberselling for $375,075 (£266,303), the sale’s top lot.
Loaned as an official vehicle, and denoted ‘Fort Worth Limo’, for the Kennedys’ visit to the city, the Lincoln drove the President, the First Lady and Texas Governor John Connally from a breakfast at the Hotel Texas Ballroom in Fort Worth, where Kennedy delivered his last speech, to Carswell Air Force Base, where they boarded their flight to Dallas on the morning of November 22, 1963. 
Numerous photographs show the President, the First Lady and Texas Governor John Connally being driven past waving crowds in the white Lincoln, which was loaned by Bill Golightly, of Golightly Auto Sales, as an official vehicle for the Presidential visit. The limousine has had its engine replaced, and body and paintwork restored, but most of the interior, including the red leather seats, remains original and is as it would have been for the Presidential party.
The limousine was offered from the American Presidential Experience Collection, sourced from the eponymous traveling educational exhibition, founded by entrepreneur Jim Warlick, which has toured the USA for more than 20 years. The collection formed the centrepiece of the sale.
Darren Sutherland, Senior Specialist for Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts at the auction house, said: “We are delighted with the sale of this historically important automobile. There was so much excitement and interest surrounding it, and we’re pleased it generated much enthusiastic bidding.”
Another lot that certainly won the bidders’ votes was President Kennedy’s original government-issue Air Force One Bomber Jacket Given to David Powers, which achieved a mighty $250,075 (£177,553) in the saleroom. 
An original U.S. Government issue G-1 flight jacket, with a sewn patch of the Seal of the President of the United States over the right breast, which was originally owned by President John F. Kennedy and gifted to David Powers circa 1962-1963. Officially known as the President’s ‘Special Assistant’, Powers was a close friend of President Kennedy.
After President Kennedy's death, Bobby Kennedy appointed Powers as the shepherd of the Kennedy legacy and first curator of the JFK museum when a nascent collection travelled the world in 1965, until his retirement from the JFK Library in 1994.
This American Presidential Sale was conducted as a hybrid ‘Live and On-Line’ auction’, with a live auctioneer on the rostrum at the Bonhams New York salerooms in Madison Avenue. The auction was live streamed to a worldwide audience of bidders, via their website, with bids accepted via telephone, online and by absentee bids, in accordance with current local guidelines regarding COVID-19. RH-E


 

Bentley 8-Litre raises $885,000 (£628k) and Barn-Found Merc 290 makes double estimate $362,500 (£257k) in 68% sold $3.3m (£2.36m) US sale

A 1930 Bentley 8-Liter Tourer, W.O. Bentley’s final creation and one of 100 examples built, sold for $885,000 (£628,350 with premium), the top of its pre-sale estimate, leading the Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia Auction on Sunday October 11 at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, Philadelphia. The sale, conducted as a traditional live auction, realised a total of $3.32 million (£2,356,677) and, with buyers for 40 out of 59 automobiles on offer, a 68% sale rate with 19 cars unsold.
The second star of the sale was of the three-pointed variety. A rare 1935 Mercedes-Benz 290 Cabriolet A, the most desirable version of the 290 with coachwork by Sindelfingen, Mercedes-Benz’s in-house coachbuilder, was presented in enticing ‘barn-find’ condition. Offered from the famous Petersen Automotive Museum Vault Collection, the 290 caused a bidding frenzy, finally selling for $362,500 (£257,375), twice its pre-sale estimate.
Another pre-war European automobile that performed strongly yesterday was a 1934 Lagonda M45 T8 Tourer, which edged above its top pre-sale estimate, selling for $179,200 (£127,232). One of only 10 known survivors of the classic pre-war British 4 1/2-Liter Grand Tourer, this elegantly aged motor car had been in the ownership of the same US-based family since 1967.
However, the Europeans had stiff competition from American metal at the sale. Flying the stars and stripes was the quintessential ‘muscle’ car, a rare and powerful 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 which exceeded its top estimate, making $346,000 (£245,660). Beautifully restored by a marque expert, this example had been in private ownership for more than 35 years and had covered fewer than 3,500 miles since new.  
Another muscle car rarity to successfully cross the block was a 1971 Oldsmobile 442 W30 Coupé selling for $78,400 (£55,664). The restored 442 was one of 810 cars fitted with the performance-boosting W-Machine package and one of just 247 cars to benefit from the close-ration race bred M22 “Rockcrusher” Muncie 4-speed transmission. 
An American automobile from another era to find favour with the Simeone saleroom, was a 1913 Rauch & Lang Model J Electric Coach, which exceeded its pre-sale estimate achieving $80,640 (£57,254). This prestigious electric vehicle, a favourite in its day of wealthy urban women, was reported to have been delivered new to Bertha Palmer, the renowned Chicago socialite. 
Greg Porter, Bonhams Motor Car Specialist and Head of Sale, said: “It is always a pleasure to return to Simeone and we were excited this year to see strong bidding from US and international buyers, with the sale live streamed across the globe via bonhams.com. 
"We were also pleased to welcome our collectors back to a traditional live auction, with an auctioneer in the sale room, while respecting the all local COVID-19 guidelines – the bidders were pleased to be there too. We achieved fantastic results for our highlight pre-war lots and also great results for some of the outstanding American muscle cars.”
The Bonhams US Motor Car Team is already gearing up for 2021, with the Scottsdale Auction, its next major sale, taking place in Arizona 21 January.

Royal BMW and Aston Martin fly on a Sunday afternoon in Belgium where Bonhams sell 71% of the auction cars for 8.4m euros (£7.6m)

The 1959 BMW 507, first owned by King Constantine II of Greece, was the star performer at the annual Bonhams Zoute Sale on Sunday 11 October, selling for 2,070,000 million euros (£1,863,000) to a telephone bidder, earning applause from a live audience in the saleroom.
Another regal ride came from the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 3.0-litre Fixed Head, originally owned by King Baudouin of Belgium, which successfully sold for 264,500 euros (£238,050) during the 36 lot sale at Zoute beside the North Sea, where 8,434,675 euros (£7,591,208) was spent on 25 of the 35 cars on offer and a respectable 71% by lot and 75% by value was achieved.
The Monarchs’ motor cars holding court at the eighth Bonhams auction at the North Belgian resort were both really chic models in the 1950s. The BMW 507 was one of the era’s most expensive and exclusive convertibles, with only 252 cars produced. King Constantine’s car, fitted with options fit for a King including a Nardi steering wheel, had been fully and beautifully restored in the early 1990s and has since taken part in the world’s most prestigious motoring events.
The Aston Martin DB2/4 was also restored, in the early 2000s, to the original specification of King Baudouin, which included the aptly named ‘Royal Crimson’ coachwork with contrasting beige Connolly leather. Originally supplied by the Belgian Aston Martin concessionaire Mannès, the Royal motor car was delivered to the Belgian embassy in Paris, for security reasons, and registered on diplomatic number plates.
Another strong performer at the sale was the 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta. The subject of a Ferrari-certified concours-standard restoration in 2018, the Pininfarina-styled very Grand Tourer raised 1,782,500 euros (£1,604,250). The Lusso was the second most valuable motor car in the sale.
Significantly, with wall to wall misery dominating every bad news bulletin, the top ten lots all achieved their pre-sale estimate prices, highlights including: 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster with Hardtop, a rare ‘triple black’ liveried and fully restored example, sold for 851,000 euros (£765,900)1957 AC Bristol Roadster, which campaigned in the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, sporting number 57, for the Rambaux-Boutin team, sold for 454,250 euros (£408,825), a high for model figure, accounted for by its sporting provenance and unique spec.
A 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Coupé, one of 33 left-hand drive Park Ward derivatives produced and first owned by another King (of ‘Hollywood)', Lew Wasserman, sold for 368,000 euros (£331,200).
Another motor car catching bidders eyes and mice was an ex-Belgian Gendarmerie 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 MFI Targa, one of twenty ordered by the Belgian government and the fastest cop cars of their day, sold for 189,750 euros (£170,775).
Philip Kantor, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars Europe, said: “We were honoured to have been in the company of automotive royalty this weekend and are delighted to have had such a successful sale in these challenging times. The overall results – and indeed the number of registered bidders - show that the appetite for exceptional motor cars with interesting provenance and potential is still very strong.
“We are grateful to have had the co-operation and support of the Zoute Grand Prix organisers with hosting this successful auction. We look forward to returning to Knokke-Heist next year and hope to see a number of the motor cars sold this weekend taking part in the 2021 Zoute Grand Prix Rally.”
The Bonhams Zoute Sale was conducted as a traditional live auction, with auctioneer Malcolm Barber on the rostrum in the saleroom at the CWART in Knokke-Heist, in accordance with current local COVID-19 guidelines, while the sale was also live-streamed across the globe via Bonhams.com.
The so far unconquerable Covid 19 permitting, of course, the next Equipe Bonhams Motor Cars fixture on the EU mainland will be their 10th running of the Grand Marques sale at the Grand Palais Thursday 4 February during Retromobile week 1.
 

2018 McLaren 570S driven 4650 miles during late Joy Rainey’s ownership made more than forecast £95,625 at latest Bonhams MPH Drive Through

A 1935 Alvis Speed 20 with Charlesworth Drophead Coupe coachwork from another deceased estate also sold for £78,750 with premium, close to the top estimate 20 September during the recent Bonhams MPH Sale Bicester Heritage.
From the same collection, a 1965 Alvis TE21 Saloon also raised a better than expected £25,312, while from another source, a driving TE21 for improvement with suspect head gasket declared was bought for £9281 by a bidder in the WW2 hangar.
Held in front of a live, but well distanced audience again during Classic Drive In weekend, with MPH chief Rob Hubbard on the rostrum, there were also buyers for both Jaguar E Type Fixed Heads. For £76,500 was forthcoming on a telephone for a cosmetically sharp 1962 S1 3.8 Coupe that had been left to right-hand drive converted and £54,000 on the internet bought a 1966 4.2 Coupe with some room for improvement.
The oldest resident on offer, a 1922 Rolls-Royce 20hp Tourer by Charlesworth for four or more was re-homed for £50,625. A 73 years younger 1995 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2 high mileage lefty with worn driver’s seat wear fetched a top estimate £45,000.
A once Taunton Fire Service in 1952 Land Rover S1 80 in Brigade Red that had been in receipt of down to last nut and bolt restoration that had included a galvanised chassis and bulkhead made £33,750.  A David Berry restored 1931 Leyland Lioness Six FE (Fire Engine) with Braidwood body had put out fires in Bristol for 35 years before ringing the bell of a telephone bidder, who paid £34,875 with premium, £14,875 more than had been forecast.
Driven just 26,600 miles by three owners, a 1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus had been recently repainted in model-correct Moonstone Blue before fetching £29,250 here. While a 1953 Martin 500cc F3 single seater with short-stroke Triumph in the tail with early 1990s scrutineering tickets was acquired by an internet bidder in Essex for £20,250, the top estimate.
A 1968 Wolseley 6/110 Saloon did look like it was in very good shape indeed after 103,311 mileage and realised a more than guide £16,875 as a result. A ‘No Reserve’ 1989 MG Maestro 2.0 EFI hatch with good body and paint from the same cache appealed to a telephone bidder with £6750, whilst a BL era 1972 Vanden Plas 1300 Princess auto with oil leak and without reserve was not driven through, but still sold to somebody in the room for £5512.
By the end of the Sunday afternoon session, and with further post-sales the subject of negotiation, 66 or 65% out of 105 of the vehicles in the Bicester Heritage hangar had sold for £1,230,804 with premium and an average of £18,649 had been spent per classic.
Simultaneously at Bonmont, near Geneva in Switzerland, the Bonhams team sold another 35 cars from 54 in their on-line catalogue during a 65% sold afternoon, when the average price per car sold under the Sholto Gilberston wielded gavel amounted to £215,264. But then a 2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 1000bhp Super Sports did account for £1,559,253 of the £6,404,091 (7,534,225 Swiss Francs) sale total. In mid and trans-European pandemic, the £7.63m spent on classics simultaneously at the two sales was extraordinary.

For the latest insider take on the ever-changing and increasingly internet-dependent auction scene, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan all our recent posts. Your visit to this entirely free of any charge and ads-free resource has been appreciated. RHE
 

1909 Riley 12/18 made £16,500 more than forecast £50,600 at Richard Edmonds new sale venue, where £1,169,852 was spent over two weekends

The Riley 12/18 Long Chassis of 1909 vintage with distinctive round radiator, 3-speed gearbox and shaft-drive, one of only seven known to exist, had been pre-sale estimated at £30,000-35,000, but realised £50,600 with 10% premium in the Richard Edmonds marquee pitched on the Wiltshire auctioneers’ new Showell Farm venue, only just outside Chippenham.
Even more spectacular was the performance of a Crestmobile Type D with Rear-Entrance Tonneau, the 4-Seater version of which cost $850 in 1904. For 116 years later, having been guided at £20,000-30,000, which was quickly matched by one of four telephone bidders, two even more determined contestants in the tent took bidding up to £66,500, costing the winner £73,150 with premium.
The annual London to Brighton Run eligible Veteran for up to four intrepid automobilists was propelled by a single cylinder air-cooled engine, rated at all of 8hp, with mechanical inlet valves fed with drip-feed lubrication and a choice of 2 epicyclic gears with foot and handbrake operating on the transmission.
A proven early Brighton Run starting 1901 Renault 450cc Series E with trad side radiators, that were characteristic of Renaults at the time, and that seated four, attracted a commission bidder, four on telephones and two more in the room. Once again, the £40,000-50,000 estimate was quickly overtaken until a socially-distanced contestant in the tent had bid £68,500 to secure a car for which full history was known from new.
Having been estimated to cost the next owner £35,000-40,000, £22,400 was accepted for a 1906 Darracq 10/12 Model R with detachable rear-entrance tonneau coachwork for four. While a less than £28,000-35,000 guided £22,000 was enough to catch a still shooting 1908 Star, one of the UK’s top motor manufacturers pre-WW1, and £15,400 sufficient to buy a VCC New Zealand 1912 dated De Dion Model DH. All the Veterans and Edwardians will remain in Brexit Britain.
The highest priced lot of the Saturday 19 September afternoon cars session however was a 1954 and 4th Series Lancia B20 GT Coupe with De Dion rear suspension, plus factory-option floor-mounted rather than column gear-change, that had been twice owned by prolific motoring author Anthony Pritchard, and which scored over a century by selling for £100,100 with premium.
The required £46,200 was forthcoming for a hill-climbed 1987 Ferrari 328GTS with full harnesses, and a better than expected £31,900 paid for a 1978 Lotus Esprit S1 Type 79, treated to grp body-off chassis restoration in 2012.  Also restored some years ago, but in storage since, was a front of rostrum parked 1973 Alfa Romeo Montreal V8 GT, in need of passenger seat cloth repair at least, that sold for an only just below estimate £29,700.
Star of a clutch of Austin Sevens, all but one of which sold out, was a formerly Streatham resident 1925 Pram-Hood Chummy that had been preserved in authentically weathered ‘Oily Rag’ condition, but was claimed to be in full running order with Ian Bancroft engine, and which most deservedly raised £14,500. The buyer is determined to keep it as bought.
Two more Chummy found new chums here with a 1928, restored over many years with a Hardy Spicer coupling replacing the flexible coupling, and reconditioned dynamo and magneto, making the £13,200 forecast. While a 1927, re-bodied with John Heath made coachwork during 2003 restoration and benefiting from a 12-volt conversion, looked like good value for £10,450, even with noisy timing gears declaration.
Having been restored in 2015, a show-winning 1933 A7 4-Seater Tourer changed tenant here for £10,450, while £8800 landed a 1929 A7, previously purchased as a chassis, but now with reconstructed Coupe bodywork and fresh interior with reassurance of recon engine and gearbox.
After three full days of well distanced viewing by appointment before sale day, and following 670 lots of Spares & Automobilia had crossed the auction block and on-line attendee screens, the Vintage & Classics stats were 33 sold from 55 offered, a 60% sale rate, for a premium-inclusive £711,835, an average of £21,562 spent by buyers per car bought. The previous Saturday, 88% of the Classic Bikes were hammered for an additional £310,000, while the hammer price total for the two weekends exceeded the still magic £1,000,000. RH-E

 

1956 Vauxhall Cresta E treated to £50k restoration set world record auction price of £52,860 during £4.3m Historics sale at Ascot

The figures from the latest Historics 26 September Autumn Sale - which was able to accommodate a tracked and traced audience of 900+ with viewing on auction day which followed two full days of socially-distanced viewing for another 750 - were impressive.
A Mercedes-Benz SLS 6.3 Roadster with Brabus ride control system that had only been driven 8532 miles since new in 2011 roared past the top estimate suggested of £115,000 to sell for £133,100.
An ex-US 1958 190SL that landed in Felixstowe in 2004 and was the subject of a restoration completed in 2017 also realised a more than forecast £91,300 – as did the German market supplied 1961 190SL acquired by singer-songwriter Will Young in an Historics sale in 2017 for £89,600 which made £86,900 this time around.
By far the punchiest performance for a Merc in this sale however was the £68,730 premium-inclusive result of a 1989 300SL Roadster that had been driven only 10,000 warranted mileage from new and had 16 main dealer service stamped during one lady ownership in Guernsey. It had been pre-sale estimated to fetch £25,000-30,000!
Indeed, Mercedes-Benz was the most consigned marque with 25 of 1958-2011 entered and 22 or 88% of them sold.
All 4 Lamborghinis sold out, including a 1985 Jalpa Targa, one of 35 in right-hand drive, valued by a buyer at a within guide £57,200. A Japanese sourced 1986 Jalpa ‘Barn Find’ which had been prepared for restoration was also taken on for a forecast £20,350. A well below estimate £64,350 was accepted for a 2011 Gallardo with 38,630 mileage and a 92,000 mile 2007 Nero Edition made a forecast £49,500.
There were buyers for 7 or 70% of 10 MGs and 8 or 80% of 10 Rolls-Royces, including a No Reserve 1979 Silver Shadow II sold for £16,500 and a £12,000-16,000 estimated 1980 II for £15,950.
16 or 76% of 21 Jaguars changed hands at the Royal Racecourse. The required £90,200 bought an always right-hand drive restored 1974 E Type Series 3 Roadster with Winspeed rebuilt V12 engine. While a well below estimate £84,700 was accepted for a previously restored 1962 E Type Series 1 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster with a different chassis number on the car and Production Trace certificate to the DVLA one.
A 1967 Aston Martin DB6 with Webasto sunroof and Borg Warner auto-shift, but engine rebuilt to 4.2-spec in 2016, was one of 6 or 75% from 8 Aston Martins in the huge and glossy traditional catalogue to be rehomed successfully. Pre-sale estimated at £175,000-195,000, the matching numbers car with factory-fitted power steering was keenly bid until sold for £216,700 to become the highest priced car of the sale.
Only 1 in 4 Ferraris on show failed to get away, a UK-supplied 1990 Testarossa  in right-hand drive driven 30,866 miles making £81,400 and an EU registered 1987 TR lefty with only 13,513 mileage £67,100, both within their estimate bands. Whereas while 3 Bentleys had to return home unsold, 6 others headed for different motor houses.
Consigning 25 classics ‘Without Reserve’, 18% of the 136 sold, certainly helped to boost the sale stats. While 821 bidders from 31 counties registered to do so on-line and bought 72 lots, which accounted for around half the hammer price total.
For after most provisional bids had been converted into sales, 79% of the 173 cars auctioned from 9.30am on a Saturday morning sold for £4,332,460 including 10% buyer’s premium, a lower rate charged than most of their competitors, and an extraordinarily bullish £31,856 average was spent per car bought.
The next and final sale of 2020 for Historics - who have ambitiously announced a Friday 23 April Monaco debut sale held within Le Chapiteau de l'Espace Fontvieille during the build-up for the re-scheduled 2021 Historic GP weekend - is scheduled for 28 November within Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands. RH-E
 

CCA’s second ‘Live’ On-Liner was Warwickshire auctioneers’ biggest yet with 87% of 229 classics viewed at Stoneleigh selling for £3.2m

After a very popular week’s socially distanced viewing in the main exhibition space at Stoneleigh, which has been annually occupied by Race Retro exhibits, a 92% sold Friday 18 September session saw 82 of the 89 cars from ‘The Warwickshire Collection’ sell for £787,514 including 11% premium, an average of £9604 per car sold. After four after-sales had been concluded post-hammer, only seven collection cars were unsold.
Standout cars that were surplus to vendor requirements and changed hands here included a Gaydon exhibited 1953 Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Special, well restored in ‘To Catch a Thief’ Sapphire Blue (as driven by Grace Kelly on the road above Monaco in the Hitchcock movie), which sold for a double top estimate £58,830. A 1960 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC Coupe also fetched a more than forecast £14,985 and a just 19,479 miles since 1961 Morris Minor ‘Million Edition’ in compulsory Lilac was acquired for £15,318.
Bentleys were certainly popular with the previous owner of the Collection with one of three James Young of Bromley ‘New Look’ bodied in 1949 Bentley MkVI Coupes finding £37,740 and another 1949 MkVI Lightweight Saloon by Mulliner, one of 125 skillfully fashioned in ally, hammered for £26,085.
A Jensen CV8 Mk2 had been the 1964 Earls Court Show car before selling on the telephone here to an absentee bidder for £24,420. One of a forest of Woodies to change keepers here was a 1947 Alvis TA14 Shooting Brake by Barnard of Norwich which found £14,652. While an HR Owen, Crayford and FLM Panelcraft of Battersea concocted 1972 Rover P6 Estoura (Estate Tourer) was landed for £5328.
This was the third batch of classics from the same source to be efficiently dispersed at auction in Warwickshire this year and previously in the Bicester Heritage hangar in Oxfordshire.
Although in terms of putting all these valuations in public auction in true perspective, after many years of inactive storage in no more than three locations, market watchers should be aware that all the Collection cars required full and potentially costly recommissioning (and more…) before actually being driven again.
Day two Saturday19 September saw 140 more classics consigned by other vendors cross the clock in a six hour session, during which superhuman auctioneer Jonathan Humbert did not lag and, though 26 lots were unsold, 114 or 81% did sell for another £2,399,858, an average of £21,051 with premium being paid by buyers on-line and telephone.
A 1971 Porsche 911S 2.2 had come to market from long-term ownership to make £103,230 to become the highest priced Saturday car. A 1988 911 930 3.2 Carrera Sport Coupe achieved a high for current market £56,610 and a 1990 Porsche 911 Type 964 Carrera 4 got hammered for £39,960.
A 1987 Ferrari 328GTS transacted for £72,150 and £64,103 was recorded for a 1971 Mercedes-Benz W111 280SE Coupe offered directly from recording artist High Cromwell.  A 1972 VW T2 Bay Window Devon Conversion Campervan had been pitched at £16,000-20,000, but made £22,478.
A once top of the range 1991 Audi UR Quattro 2.2 Turbo RR 20v, one just 50 produced and in stunning condition, raised £84,360 from a new owner on the end of many telephones, whereas a genuinely dusty 1985 Audi Quattro UR Turbo 10v 'Barn 'Find' had emerged from 26 years hibernation to cost a project manager £17,205 for starters.
After a house record £3.2m sale and an 87% overall sale rate, Gary Dunne, CCA’s Sales Manager told C.A.R. “This was the most amount of cars CCA has ever offered and, with something for everyone, we are delighted with the result from the weekend. The viewing by appointment in the week prior to the auction worked really well, everyone respected the safety measures we had in place and really utilised the opportunity to view the cars of interest, in a safe and secure environment”.
As local lockdowns spread like the virus itself, could the now well tested Silverstone Auctions model become the new normal for safely run classic cars auctions in pandemonia without a halt sign in sight? More of the same is planned by their CCA subsidiary, whose next gig is set for Saturday 12 December, for which entries are already being signed up. RH-E
 

Equipe Artcurial led by Maitre Herve Poulain proclaim White Gloves 100% sold 4m euro result for Andre Trigano Collection in Haute-Garonne

On Sunday 13 September, at Gibel in Haute-Garonne under the late summer sun,  Artcurial Motorcars celebrated the ultimate auctioneers rostrum experience - a ‘White Gloves’ 100% sale – of the 170 automobiles from the Andre Trigano Collection. For not only did the auction total 4m euros (£3.67m) including 17% premium, world record prix were achieved for several models.
Conducted in a most convivial atmosphere, while adhering to current public health regulations, the sale was broadcast across two interconnecting rooms and via the internet, allowing an audience of over 11,000 people to pay tribute to the 60 year old collection of a well-respected public figure in France. 
Such was the pulling power of a fresh to market collection, over 10,000 enthusiasts had made the journey to the South West of France to attend the four days of viewing alone. Whilst on sale day itself, a large numbers of collectors made their way to Andre´ Trigano’s home town to attend and bid at the auction held by Maitre Herve Poulain and the inseparable duo Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff.
The star lots inspired fierce bidding battles in the room, on the telephone and the internet. One European collector became the proud new owner of Trigano’s favourite 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 featured on the catalogue cover which, after several tense minutes of competitive bidding, raised 468,000 euros (£425,880) with premium, to loud applause in the room.
Another hotly-contested model, the ex-Charles Aznavour 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine by James Young changed hands for 175,500 euros (£159,705), with Matthieu Lamoure in fine voice to deliver a tuneful tribute to the artist accompanying the bidding.
Other notable results included a low mileage, two-owner 1970 Aston Martin DBS V8 which set a new record price of 181,350 euros (£165,029) including premium. While the ex-Marcel Dassault 1983 Rolls Royce Silver Spur, driven just 11,000 km from new, sold for a strong 71,370 euros (£64,947) with premium.
Other highlights included the 1950 Delahaye 135M Cabriolet Esterel by Guillore , which fetched 117,000 euros (£106,470). A rare and elegant 1957 Lancia B24S Aurelia Convertible by Pinin Farina also attracted much interest and changed hands to applause in the room for 234,000 euros (£217,080).
Collectors showed their appreciation of French luxury. The 1960 Facel Vega HK 500, a rare representative of this prestigious French marque, found a new owner for 122,850 euros (£111,794). A two and a half times estimate 2925 euros (£2662) was available for a dormant 1978 Peugeot 604 V6 TI.
There were new record auction prices some Americans, a 1973 Pontiac Grand Safari 455CI flying to eight times its top estimate, selling for 47,970 euros (£43,653), and a 1976 Chevrolet Blazer for 63,180 euros (£57,494).
A 1966 Austin Mini Moke, which also fetched a record for model 44,460 euros (£40,459), had been presented to Andre Trigano by his company to mark 41 years in the business! While the 1967 Renault 4L painted by Arman became the most expensive 4L in history, achieving a remarkable 49,150 euros (£44,717) before joining the Parisian collection of an art and automobile enthusiast.
Popular models attracted interest, including the 1974 2CV Citroen AZA2, which doubled its estimate, selling for 6,435 euros (£5856). A 1985 Citroen 2CV6 Special found a new owner for 18,720 euros (£17,035) and a 1969 VW 1200 Beetle in highly original condition made 11,700 euros (£10,647).
Even in a pandemic, ‘Barn Finds’ still generate plenty of interest, a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr V12 Coupe´ changing hands for 25,740 euros (£23,423) after a battle between a bidder in the room and on the internet. A once commanding Dodge WC56 Command Car raised 9945 euros (£9050), over ten times its top estimate.
As Artcurial Motorcars MD Matthieu Lamoure said: “What a success for a sale that paid tribute to the passion of an exceptional man. The team spirit was fantastic and the auction a breath of fresh air during these extraordinary times.”

Your visit to this entirely free of any charge resource has been appreciated. RH-E


 

Viewed in the metal and on video in Brussels, sold on-line and phone, Peerless GT and MG J2 among 34 cars sold for £2m

A pair of restored and mint Mercedes Cabriolets from a single-owner collection headed a 61 car inaugural Bonhams Autoworld Sale in Brussels, from where socially-distanced bids were relayed to their Oxford saleroom studio and the sale was conducted on-line.
By the end of the Sunday 6 September 54% sold afternoon session, absentee bidders on the internet, telephone and in the seats in the EU capital had spent an average of 64,000 euros (£56,961) per car and a premium-inclusive 2,240,050 euros (£1,989,131).
1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 'Adenauer' Cabriolet D, the rarest variant of the luxurious custom-built 300 series, sold for 270,250 euros (£249,732) to a bidder in the Brussels saleroom, comfortably within its pre-sale estimate. Secured by the vendor following a Europe-wide search, the matching-numbers example had undergone a down to last ‘nut and bolt’ restoration.
Its concours-standard restored stable mate, a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 220 SEB Cabriolet W111 with manual ‘floor shift’, achieved 143,750 euros (£132,836). Another matching-numbers example, the 220 had caught the eye of its vendor when he visited the Stuttgart Classic Car Fair in search of spare parts for the Adenauer. 
Among the Top Tenners in Brussels was a 1938 Peugeot 402 in the style of a Legere Dar’l Mat Roadster with Cotal eletro-magnetic gear selection which fetched a more than top estimate 201,250 euros (£185,971).
A 27,500 mile 2001 BMW Z8 Roadster BMW with hardtop was acquired for a just below low estimate 138,000 euros (£125,523) and 117,875 euros (£108,925) bought an only 100k from new 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT C Edition 50 Roadster that had been forecast to cost 180,000-220,000 euros, but was auctioned Without Reserve.   
A left-hand drive 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mark III Phase 2 ‘Original’, driven only 8143 miles, mainly by one family, was contested by three telephone bidders until hammered away by Chef d’Equipe James Knight in the UK for 92,000 euros (£85,015).
A transporter load of Jaguar E Types were successfully auctioned on this platform, led by an ex-US and early 1961 Jaguar E Type 3.8 ‘Flat Floor Roadster with ‘External Bonnet Locks’, number 289 no less, sold for a 16,500 euros below lower estimate 103,500 euros (£95,642).
An unrestored and still very original 1971 4.2 Series 2 Roadster with 39,000 mileage cost the buyer 92,000 euros (£85,015), another US-sourced and Italian restored 1968 4.2 Series 1½ Roadster 86,250 euros (£79,701), and an also US-supplied in 1973 two owner 5.3 V12 Series 3 Roadster with retro air-con £80,500 euros (£74,388).
A well below forecast 184,000 euros (£170,030) was accepted for a late 1980s Lynx XKSS 3.8 Prototype, the first of nine Lynx SS ‘Recreations’ that had started life as one of their short-nosed D Type Reps, and 92,000 euros (£82,179) an Italian restored 1956 XK140 SE Roadster. A pre-WW2 1935 Jaguar SS1 4-Seater Tourer was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and cost the buyer 46,000 euros (£40,900).
Representing the zenith of Cadillac’s ‘tail fin’ era was a vast 1959 Cadillac 391ci 6.4 Series 62 Convertible with original leather, period ‘juke box’ dashboard and acres of chrome, which had been owned by three Belgians from new, including Thierry Culliford, Belgian comic writer and son of ‘Peyo’, creator of ‘The Smurfs’. A mid-estimate 86,250 euros (£79,201) was required to become the fourth owner.
If you could fit into it, a 2018 restored 1933 MG J2 with Volumex supercharger looked like fun for a just below guide 56,350 euros (£50,334).
One of only 70 left-hand drive versions of the Peerless GT meanwhile could audition for a supporting role in a Goodwood Revival and would be eligible for the Le Mans Classic. Peerless made 325 of their GT 4-Seaters for weekend event owner-drivers, one of whom landed this 1958 example with race-prepped TR3 engine for a within estimate band 46,000 euros (£42,507).
The Autoworld Autumn Sale was a new fixture on the Bonhams European motoring calendar, which, despite the latest increases in the infection rate in many parts of the hastily opened up EU, was still able to go ahead both ‘Live’ and on the internet at Autoworld in Parc de Cinquantaire, Brussels.
Philip Kantor, Head of Department, Bonhams Motor Cars Europe, told C.A.R: “Thanks to the support of the Autoworld Museum, we were able to admit a limited number of bidders to our Brussels saleroom, following the local guidelines regarding COVID-19. We were pleased that we had a lot of activity in the room, which led to some spirited bidding against our online, telephone and absentee bidders.”
Bonhams’ next European Sale will be 20 October at Bonmont, near Geneva, Switzerland, before one of the longest running international auction houses, founded in 1793, returns to Belgium for The Zoute Sale at Knokke-le-Zoute by the North Seaside 11 October. Cars will be physically on-site for pre-sale viewing with both auctions run ‘Live’ and On-Line. RH-E

For the latest insider take on the increasingly ignored guidelines-disadvantaged auctions scene, our independent best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan our recent posts. Your visit has been appreciated.

 

Multiple records were smashed during first Gooding sale in UK with 92% of single collection selling for £34m where Henry VIII lived

Three new Bugatti, one Lamborghini, one Lancia and one Vauxhall world record prices were established during the Gooding & Co European debut sale hosted by David Gooding himself in front of a Concours gathering with the priceless backdrop of Hampton Court Palace, where the 15 high value consignments had been viewed pre-sale in a Royal courtyard.
Top Bug in the 5 September ‘Passion of a Lifetime’ billed single collection sale was an ex-King Leopold III of Belgium 1934 Type 59. In unrepeatable time warp cosmetic condition, the 2-Seater Sports, which had never before been auctioned, generated multiple telephone bids until £8,500,000 was bid and a £9,535,000 premium-inclusive all-time World Record for any Bugatti had been set.
With Atalante Coupe coachwork penned by Jean Bugatti, the Type 57S delivered new in 1937 to Earl Howe still benefited from having original chassis, body, engine and period-installed supercharger. Most sensitively restored by marque specialist Ivan Dutton, one of the most glam motor cars of all time also soared into new record territory for the model with a £7,000,000 hammer price and a £7,855,000 valuation at public auction.
Finally, the famously scruffy and exceptionally original 1928 35C Grand Prix 2-Seater known as ‘The Red Bug’, which was seen in action on new level videos that potently illustrated every lot, was bid to £3,500,000 and, like all the star exhibits, was applauded for selling for a model record £3,935,000 with premium.
The 1955 Aston Martin DB3S Sportscar number 102, raced by the Kangaroo Stable in period and crashed heavily at Bathhurst in 1960, had subsequently been much evented during 27 years of vendor tenancy before making a cool £2,675,000 hammer to cost the next preservationist £3,011,000 with premium.
The Ecurie Bertelli restored Ulster Aston raced in 1935 by Prince Bira and his White Mouse Stable, with spare engine fitted for retrospective events and the original supplied with the car, was eventially knocked down for £1,400,000, costing the buyer at the end of a telephone £1,583,000 with premium.
The £3,207,000 with premium invested in the vendor's Tour Auto exercised 1971 Lamborghini P400 SV Speciale Coupe, one of 150 SVs, was another applauded milestone moment for the market at this sale, especially for the Miura sector, as was the £1,247,000 result for a 1924 Vauxhall 30-98 OE Wensum boat-tail with decking, which was also a record auction price for a 30-98 OE.
The least expensive cars in the sale meanwhile were a £310,500 1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport 2500 S1 Coupe, another world record action price for the model and the sixth record busting stat at this sale. While a 1927 Bentley 3-Litre Red Label Speed Model for four cost a buyer £354,000 and £379,500 bought a 1965 Lamborghini 350 GT by Touring.
All but one of the cars from Hubert Fabri's very  well stocked stable were rehomed 'live', the sole exception being the Belgian enthusiast's 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato which was apparenly bid to a deemed to be insufficient £6,300,000 on the prices screen. The other 14 cars all sold under the smashing gavel of the ebullient Charlie Ross, making this a near white glove 93% sold pre-dinner evening.
No cars were knocked down to mere internet players. Two were sold to bidders seen and heard in the socially distanced seats, where 48 invitees were accomodated within the open sided tent. While a clear majority of 12 bidding numbers were taken from successful global contestants who joined this sale of the year, if not decade, via a bank of Gooding team telephones. There was then standing room only for a large crowd of concours ticket holders behind a no more than token socially-dividing fence.
The fact that a UK venue, and a Home Counties one at that, was chosen to stage this single collection sale - rather than holding it in the US, on the EU mainland, in Monaco perhaps, or in either the Middle or Far East - is also surely very telling, as was conducting proceedings in devalued pounds sterling. For despite the dire state of the public purse and soaring unemployment, London is clearly perceived still to be a friendly capital of capitalism.
Even without a DB4 GT Zagato post-sale, just over £34m, more than all other sales held in the UK so far this year added together, was spent at this multiple record breaker in less than two hours. One of those ‘firsts’ was the £2,432,064 with premium being the highest average price paid per car during one sale in collector vehicle auction history.
Even with these being very extraordinary times, this was one helluva sale. Starting bids of £2m, £3m and £5m for the three Bugatti superstars were unprecedented, while bidding increments of £100,000 a wave for many cars and up to £500,000 for two have not been heard by UK salegoers for years. RH-E


 

1960 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 with South African police past raised £27,500 during Barons first ‘Micro –Auction’ where MGB was most absentee bid lot

After a 14 day physical viewing window for consigned cars, Barons first On-Line Micro-Auction saw a wire-wheel shod 1960 Jaguar 3.8 Mk2 Manual Saloon top the prices with a £27,500 result.
An early example with the recessed sun-visors, pendant throttle pedal and smooth matt-black centre dash section, the Heritage Certificate confirmed that the UK-built car had been first despatched to South Africa. While the large CAV dynamo and regulator fitted may have been clues to a police past.
There were also buyers for both muscular Americans with £24,200 for a 1966 Mustang 289ci Notchback and £17,000 for a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette C3 350ci T-Top.
The most popular lot with the absentee bidders though was a 1967 MGB Roadster on wires, including hardtop to collect from the vendor’s home. In receipt of 1991 body restoration and a replacement engine in 2005, the car had come to market for the first time since 2004 to be bid to £11,250 and bought for £12,375.
Whereas the oldest car to change keepers was a very WW2 1938 Armstrong Siddeley 14hp Saloon ‘original’ that had served as the Navy staff car for Admiral Sir Arthur Dowding 1938-1945, but had been fitted with a 1600cc Perkins diesel at some time, and which sold for £5,500.
From 7pm on a Wednesday 2 September evening, Tim Gascoigne was still in the Barons offices on camera and 4 telephones were manned to auction 11 cars via easylive on the internet, selling 82% of them for £102,825, an average of £11,425 including 10% premium being spent on the 9 classics sold.
The Southampton-based firm’s first traditional format auction since 28 February - their last before Government guidelines closed down ‘live’ events in front of unrestricted audiences - was held 14 July at Epsom Racecourse, where they had their most successful 67% sold £581,000 sale for five years.
The next ‘live’ auction with punters present will take place 22 September back at Sandown Park, their regular venue, where their final sale of the season is planned for 15 December. Although another ‘Micro-Auction’ has been scheduled for the early evening of 10 November as a live i-filler between their two conventional fixtures. RH-E
For the latest insider take on the increasingly ignored guidelines-disadvantaged auctions scene, our independent best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan our recent posts. Your visit is appreciated.

 

Saab 900 SE Turbo driven just 10,741 miles since 1993 doubles top estimate to make £23,850 at ACA during 80% sold £1.8m weekend

Low mileage ‘originals’ that can be seen starting up and being driven past the webcast cameras continued to pull strongly in King’s Lynn where Anglia Car Auctions had sold 242 of the 305 classics at their 22 & 23 August 2020 weekend ‘Drive Through’ for £1,803,078 including premium.
Always garaged by two owners during 27 years, the Saab (photographed above) deservedly wrote the headlines, sharing the front page with a rubber-bumper 908 mile 1981 MG B GT from a Norfolk collection which scored a £15,740 result.
Consigning 71 cars ‘Without Reserve’, 24% of the total, certainly helped to boost the sale rate to 82% on Saturday and to 77% on Sunday.
Whilst although compliance with event guidelines meant both sessions could only be conducted behind closed doors, proceedings were professionally screened on YouTube by TV broadcast-quality cameras with competing bids cast from both the Saleroom and Proxibid platforms as well as a socially-distanced squad of telephone bid handlers.
With none of the usual throng of punters through which the saleroom drivers can only gingerly edge their way under nornal circumstances, both public-free auctions were concluded at speed - perhaps a tad too rapidly for many older viewers, who take longer to write the prices down!
Although higher priced items, such as a 1960 Jaguar XK150S 3.8 that had started public life as a Fixed Head, but had been the subject of Drophead conversion, ran out of road at £99,000, and £54,000 was not enough to land a US and then Tokyo resident 1974 E Type V12 Roadster, a South African supplied 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS 6.3 563bhp AMG Roadster did sell in Norfolk for £91,500 and a clutch of daunting restoration projects all sold out.
The £14,040 performance of a thickly dusty 1965 Ford Mustang 289 Fastback without paperwork was quite extraordinary. A barn-stashed 1965 Vanden Plas Princess with 4.0 R-R motor, CB radio and in-car record player also found a saviour with £1620 and the mortal remains of one of only three Especial editions of the 1977 Panther Rio Saloon, the HR Owen demonstrator no less, that had been abandoned since 1997, were taken on for £720.
Behind the AMG Merc, and in second place in the weekend’s prices, was a 1992 Porsche 911 Type 964 C2 3.6 Cabrio manual that had done 78,512 miles on two speedos before selling here for £39,220, virtually the lower estimate figure, which was also forthcoming for a home market 1954 Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 sold for £28,620. US resident until 1992, a Healey 3000 BN7 Mk2 from 1961 with working overdrive and renewed fuel tank also raised the required £24,380.
A former Land Rover Press Fleet 1982 88 County Station Wagon in receipt of a nut and bolt restoration, which had included a new galvanised chassis and much factory reconditioned hardware, was keenly contested. Provisionally bid to £20,000, the S3 2-Door sold for £21,200 with premium.
The Renault 5 GT Turbo in the sale was one of the rarer Raiders with wing extensions, which attracted a more than forecast £18,900 on-line, and a 30,000k 1962 Renault Dauphine lefty with magnetic clutch, driven only 200k since a 2016 MOT, inspired a buyer to pay £7,155 over the telephone, £655 over the guide price. An even more French Peugeot 172 Grand Sport of 1924 vintage, one of only 100, this one with engine enlarged to 720cc, also sold on the internet for a just under guide £19,710.
It was perhaps surprising that the very well documented 1963 Westfield Eleven Number 1 - the first car built by Westfield founder Chris Smith - did not find the £20,000-25,000 sought. Although even with a Q-plate, a 1993 Westfield SE1 Pinto-powered 5-speed Wide Body with full wet weather gear, driven 3084 miles by the one constructor owner, did sell for a more than estimated £8,370.
A couple of really interesting Sixties Specials were much viewed by-appointment during several days of masked and distanced inspections of sale cars and their documents. A previously Mistral-bodied and DVLA-registered 1966 Reliant Sabre chassis that had been rebuilt with pro-built Chevvy 283 V8 and Muncie M20 tranny realised £14,580.
A Ford 1600 Special meanwhile, consisting of a Bowden chassis and the front of an Ashley body with a back end looking like a Lotus XI, was driven past the rostrum and sold for £6,625, but will require completion and sorting before heading for the hills without a back-up car in pursuit.
Among other memorable movers to make your Reviewer’s notebook, a 1975 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I that had been in service in Hong Kong and the US and had only done 19,905 miles fetched a high for model £18,090. £14,575 was available for the 1932-dated Austin Seven Pocklington Special that had been sensibly upgraded during the last eleven years of vendor ownership.
A more than estimated £9,540 was required to own a 1965 Ford Anglia 105E with 29,540 recorded mileage, and an only three owner 1949 Standard Vanguard Phase 1 'Beetle-Back' emerged from many static years to sell for £7,685. An unrestored 1989 Toyota Supra 3.0 Turbo Auto with leather and 69,142 warranted mileage was bought by telephone for £6,890, a Rover V8-engined 1964 Vauxhall VX4/90 with 5-speed box cost a bidder £6,480 and a trusty 1952 Ferguson TVO TED Tractor in unmarked trademark grey that was far too nice to plough any furrow realised a far from agricultural £5,035.
After some more ‘provisionals’ had been converted into ‘definites’, 120 of the Saturday sale cars had changed owners and a further 122 entries had done the same on the Sunday. An encouraging total therefore of 242 classics had sold, while some more post-sales in the pipeline should reduce the 63 cars that were unsold in the first few hours after curtain fall.
And while shifting higher priced stock had certainly become very much harder here than it was pre-Covid, the £7,451 average spent by classics consumers during another well supported ACA weekend confirms that the market - for affordable collector vehicles at least - is still alive, whilst so much of the rest of the economy is not. RH-E

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Delighted Octogenarian telephone bidder collects Rossleigh Kirkcaldy supplied in 1973 Triumph Dolomite for £4510 at Morris Leslie

By contrast 14 year old Ollie, bidding on-line from a local hotel where he was staying with relatives, bought a 1966 Fiat 850 2-Door Coupe for £1450, collecting it the next day from the Perthshire venue before heading back to Devon. Our youngest saleroom contestant plans to restore it himself over what he thinks might take him three years!
Heading back to the South of England having been rallied in Holland from 1997 will be a November 1963 Dagenham-shelled Ford Cortina Lotus Mk1 2-Door that was first registered in London 1 January 1964. The afternoon’s highest priced seller sold for a within guide £31,175 including premium.
The newest Modern Classic meanwhile was a viewed by appointment 2016 vintage Ford Focus RS 2.3 in super-cool Pearlescent Nitrous Blue on 19ins forged alloys in Black, which, even with a 7-sevice stamped 87,004 miles on the clock, raised £17,469 to exceed the top estimate.
Both originally exported Triumph TR4s changed hands, an early 1961 car, repatriated from Nevada in 2014 and treated to a well detailed restoration, made £20,013, and a 1962-made former Detroit resident that had been the subject of a right-hand drive conversion and a pro-respray in 2019 £17,200. Both TRs cost new owners the lower estimate prices forecast.
A 1973 Volvo P1800ES 'Lifestyle Estate' with over £15,000 worth of recent bills on file was exchanged for £15,480 from a new owner. Wings and floors had been renewed in 2003, the car repainted in 2016 and a brand new leather interior and headlining fitted in 2019. The vehicle itself had really been included therefore at no extra charge.
Internet bids were placed for cars in this sale from Spain and Italy, and as far away as New Zealand. While the 96 classics physically auctioned on-line in Scotland, 95% of which could be accommodated under cover, could be checked out in the metal over a three day lead up to the 47% sold Saturday sale, which saw 45 of them sell for £244,359, an average of £5430 being paid per car with premium.
It was unfortunate for potential bidders and buyers however that there were same Saturday clashes with Day One of the mega two day ACA sale of over 300 cars in Norfolk, while another full Mathewson catalogue was simultaneously going under the i-hammer in North Yorkshire.
The next Morris Leslie auction for classics has already been scheduled at Errol Airfield for Saturday 21 November, on the web again on the same basis with the facility of previous days viewing of cars for sale by appointment, though depending on Scottish administration guidelines at the time, the closed doors may be open again for the sale itself. RH-E


 

105 year old Londonderry resident Hupmobile from one family ownership since 1915 was the oldest lot sold on the internet by H&H for £24,750

With consigned cars remaining at home until sold, rather than being transported to (and potentially from) an auction venue at their vendors’ expense, and after some provisional bids had been converted into sales, the North West collector vehicle auction house had sold 54% of the 68 cars entered in their latest ABC (Automobilia Bikes Classics) branded On-Line Only sale which took place on a 19 August Wednesday afternoon.
The 37 cars that changed hands did so for £353,130 including 12.5% buyer’s premium, absentee bidders paying an average of £9544 per car, many of which they had never seen in the metal. A Hupmobile-sized £24,750 also bought a 1959 Triumph TR3A, an older body-off rebuilt home market example, and £11,531 a previously restored 1975 Stag driven 46,900 miles by four previous keepers.
A just under guide £21,375 was accepted for a 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I and a one family owned since 1970 Morris Mini 850 Super DL Mk1 driven 82,433 miles from new in 1966 made a well over estimated £10,125. One of 88 1965 Ford Zodiac Mk3 Saloons known to the DVLA fetched £9000, only slightly less than had been sought.  
The newest car to successfully cross the virtual auction block was a one owner 4500 miles since 2007 Jaguar XKR 4.2 Coupe sold for £28,125, £3000 more than the top estimate, and a 1991 Nissan 300 ZX Twin Turbo with 34,500 mileage was acquired by a second owner for £24,000, £2000 below estimate.
Whilst a glass-fibre monocoque Clan Crusader 'wedge' with an Imp 875 motor in the tail, built in the North East in 1972 before the Washington factory shut its doors for the last time in 1973, raised a more than guide £6750. On this occasion though, 31 other cars were unsold.
The next H&H sale will again take place on the web, 'Live', but behind closed doors, Wednesday 16 September, commencing 10.30 with cars from 2pm. RH-E



 

Gooding’s first On-Line Only sale sees 71% of 77 cars sell for $14.5m (£11.02m) including 1966 Ferrari 275GTB Long Nose for $3.08m (£2.34m)

After their inaugural On-Line Only 5-day sale, which replaced the traditional auction held during pandemic hit Monterey week, and time had run out 7 August for the 77 cars offered, Gooding & Company had sold 71% of them, the 55 cars grossing $14,497,443 with premium  (£11,018,056) and five vehicles selling for over $1m (£760,000). The average price paid on the internet for classics transacted at this sale amounted ro $263,590  (£200,328).
Ferraris stole the show, taking home the top five sales of the ‘Geared Online’ branded auction. Easily the most exciting car of the sale, the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose, saw bidding placed up until the very last minute, before ultimately selling for $3,080,000  (£2,340,000), briefly a record for the most valuable car sold in an On-Line Only car auction.
A timeless American Duesenberg Model J Town Car from 1934 made a splash on the final day of bidding when it reached a final sale price of $1,012,000  (£769,120). A trio of Ferrari supercars from a private collection each performed exceptionally well, with all three rounding out the top five highest sales. An impeccable 2003 Enzo sold for $2,354,000  (£1,789,040), a 1995 F50 achieved $2,134,000  (£1,621,840), and a striking 1992 F40 realized $1,628,000  (£1,237,280).
The company’s offering of automobilia did not disappoint, with several lots smashing their pre-auction estimate. Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team sign sold for $51,250 (£38,950), surely completing its new owner’s garage or workshop. Additionally, a rare 1950s Ferrari factory perpetual calendar found its new home after reaching a final sale price of $17,500 (£13,300).
“Our first ever online only sale was a great success for both our clients and the company. Additionally, the introduction of automobilia into our line-up proved to be incredibly successful,” states David Gooding, President and Founder of Gooding & Company.
“The demand of quality cars has not faded during such uncertain times, and we are thrilled to provide Geared Online to the world. As we look ahead to our next On-Line Only sale in October, we invite collectors and enthusiasts to contact us today to find out how they can be a part of future Geared Online auctions.”

First Gooding UK sale to take place at Hampton Court

Gooding & Company’s next sale will be its first-ever UK auction. Entitled Passion of a Lifetime, their first-ever sale outside of the US will take place during the high profile Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace.
Once home to Henry VIII and the Tudors, the historic venue will serve as an awe-inspiring setting for the American firm’s UK debut sale. Originally destined for the West End, but postponed due to coronavirus lockdown of the economy (and airlines), the delayed sale has been relocated to the Palace’s elegant formal gardens, facilitating both telephone and absentee bids, but foregoing a traditional live audience.
Daytime TV auction celebrity and regular Gooding auctioneer Charlie Ross, who brings his charismatic British charm to every Gooding & Co live auction, will however again be commanding the internet auction stage this time. While enthusiasts worldwide will be able to watch the live broadcast from 5pm BST Saturday 5 September on the firm's website www.goodingco.com, YouTube channel, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Pre-auction viewing 10am-5pm both Friday and Saturday in the Tudor courtyards at Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Court Way, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU, is available to the public with ticketed entry to the Concours through  https://concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets/. RH-E

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1959 Bahamas Speed Week winning Porsche 718 RSK Spider raced to $2.23 (£1.7m) result during Bonhams $12.6m (£9.7m) 63% sold LA sale

An ultra-rare and champion racer 1959 Porsche 718 RSK took the chequered flag Friday August 14 during Bonhams Quail Motorcar Auction, where the 61 year old Race Spyder sold for $2,232,500 (£1,696,700). This was the top lot in the auction house’s ’Live’ and On-Line sale hosted in its Los Angeles saleroom - instead of Quail Lodge during pandemic cancelled Monterey week.
One of only 34 built, this rarity was ordered new by noted New Jersey motorsport enthusiast, Bernie Vihl. It was extensively campaigned by legendary Porsche driver Bob Holbert at numerous SCCA and international events, securing multiple wins, including the 1959 Bahamas Speed Week, where the ‘Giant Killer’ – as it was known – stormed to first place in the debut Governors Trophy race. 
The Spyder was offered in the sale following nearly 50 years in the possession of its third owner. It remains in the US following a tense bidding battle in front of an international audience, who were elsewhere, as the subsitute fixture had to take place behind closed doors.
Joining the Porsche on the saleroom ‘podium’ was a classic of the future, a 2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, which sold for $1,750,000 (£1,330,000). Even rarer than a standard-spec Veyron GSV, and having only been exposed to 400 miles since new, this was the only US-spec version of three ‘Meo Costantini’ Special Editions, honouring the head of the firm’s factory team and winner of the Targa Florio, and paying homage to the fabled Type 35, with a unique livery and motifs on the bodywork and interior depicting the glory days of Bugatti racing. 
The figurative third place step was taken by a beautifully restored 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Roadster which achieved $951,000 (£722,760). This example of the most exclusive Mercedes of the post-war era, owned by Cary Grant and the Aga Khan, was the Best in Show at Santa Barbara following a total ‘nut and bolt’ restoration in the 1990s. The quality of the work has stood the test of time. 
European exotica from all eras completed the top ten lots, including a 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GTC ‘Coupe Royale’ by Carrozeria Touring, sold for $582,500 (£442,700). One of very few surviving Touring 6Cs with original coachwork and matching numbers, the 6C was restored in the 1990s by Dino Cognolato and Gianni Trelli, second generation of Touring’s founding designer, and was a class winner at the Louis Vuitton Classic in Paris. 
Other Porsches enjoying success in the Bonhams saleroom were a 1957 356A 1500 Carerra GS sold for $428,500 (£325,660) and a 1964 901 Coupe for $340,500 (£258,780). By the time the auction book had been closed, 63% of the 99 cars catalogued were bought by absentee bidders for $12,802,150 (£9,729,634 including premium), and the average spent per car had been $206,486 (£156,930).
Rupert Banner, Bonhams auctioneer and Group Motoring Director, said: “Our live and online format is an innovative response to the global situation regarding Covid-19, and combines the best of both worlds. Interested clients previewed the majority of the cars at the Petersen Automotive Museum, as well as in New York and at other locations around the country. It led to a lot of interest and resulted in spirited domestic and international bidding, online and by telephone.”
Jakob Greisen, Bonhams Vice President and Head of US Motoring added: “This sale shows that the interest in collectors’ motorcars is as strong as ever and good examples of rare and pedigreed vehicles from all eras are attracting strong bids from passionate collectors around the world. 
“We are delighted to have played a part in the virtual Petersen Car Week and are grateful to the Petersen Automotive Museum for their support in facilitating our Los Angeles previews. While we missed being in Monterey, we look forward to working with the team at Quail Lodge and Peninsula Signature Events next year.”
The final two Bonhams auctions in the U.S. Calendar will take place at the Simeone Foundation Auto Museum on October 4, and the Barber Motorsports Museum on October 10.
Consignments are still invited for these and for Bonhams’ forthcoming sales in the UK and Europe, including The Autoworld Autumn Sale in Brussels September 6, The Bonmont Sale in Switzerland  September 20, The Zoute Sale in Belgium and The Goodwood Speedweek Sale  October 9 and 17 respectively. RH-E 

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$4.29m (£3.26m) Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive is most valuable car sold On-Line Only in $30.4m (£23.1m) RM Sotheby’s Monterey replacement sale

Largest collector car auction house by total sales grossed $30,412,810 (£23,113,735) in its On-Line Only: SHIFT/MONTEREY sale 10-15 August and established the highest price ever achieved for a motor vehicle sold in a dedicated internet-only car auction.
The Banbury UK perfected 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive, an icon of modern era sports car racing, realised a racey total of $4,290,000 (£3,260,400) including 10% buyer’s premium in a hard-fought bidding war on the final ‘Timed Out’ day (image above by Remi Dargegen c2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s).
Consigned to the i-auction directly from the Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive program promoter, Care Racing Development, single owner of the car since its race preparation in 2001, the Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive, serial number CRD 002/2001, is the second of ten Ferrari 550 GT1 examples to have been built by Prodrive beside the M40. The sale car went on to compete in 49 races, taking 15 pole positions, 14 outright race wins including The 24 Hours of Spa in 2004.
The 550 GT1 Prodrive is the last V12-engined Ferrari to win a 24-hour race overall, the model finishing on the podium some 29 times. Impeccably presented and in fully rebuilt, race-ready condition, the Ferrari Classiche-certificated Race Coupe also headed these auction results.
With Ferraris filling four of the top ten sales, it was the highly desirable first-generation ‘short-nose’ 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti that achieved the second highest price in the sale. One of the best examples in existence of arguably one of the finest road going V12 Ferrari sports cars built, this fully restored and, again, Classiche-certified car brought a deserved $1,980,000 (£1,504,800).
Rounding off the top three sellers and splitting an all-Ferrari ‘top five’ was a low-mileage, highly optioned 2014 Pagani Huayra, which brought $1,848,000 (£1,404,480). The 56th of just 100 bespoke examples produced and powered by a 730 bhp, 6.0 twin-turbo V12 engine, hand-assembled by Mercedes-AMG, this ultimate modern-era hypercar is one of the hi-spec examples created.
The appeal of the Prancing Horse from Maranello brand continues unabated it seems, even in pandemic times, and the top five results were completed by the 1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso by Scaglietti, offered from the Boniface Collection, which surpassed its pre-sale estimate following a flurry of last-minute bids and sold for $1,496,000 (£1,136,960); and a low-mileage, Classiche certified 1994 Ferrari F40, which sold for $1,386,000 (£1,053,360).
Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s, said: “The SHIFT/MONTEREY auction has been a phenomenal success for us, grossing more than the combined sales totals achieved by our two nearest competitors during what would have been the Monterey Car Week, and to have set some amazing records along the way. It’s also fantastic to see cars from all eras featuring in the top ten results of this sale, proving that there is still robust demand across a broad cross-section of the market.”
Other stand out highlights from across the sale include - the 1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Individual Convertible Victoria, the sole pre-war car within the top ten results, and a stunner, brought $1,056,000 (£802,560); the restored 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, with only four private owners since 1961, sold for $1,045,000 (£794,200); and the outrageous 1960 Porsche MOMO 356 RSR Outlaw by Rod Emory, smashed its pre-sale estimate to bring $858,000 (£652,080).
Also worthy of note were the ultra-rare factory prototype 1972 Porsche 916, the first of ten pre-production 916 models built and originally owned by Louise Piëch, which achieved $957,000 (£727,320); a race-winning 1980 BMW M1 Procar, the 36th example of a mere 54 Procars produced and sold new to American racing driver Joe Crevier, which sold for $913,000 (£693,880); and a 2017 Ford GT, one of 138 models built for 2017 and offered from single ownership with just under 1,300 miles on the odometer, which achieved $858,000 (£652,080). While although a 1955 Le Mans raced Works Experimental Triumph TR2 in Comps-spec did fetch $203,500 (£154,660), this was more than a £100k shy of the £258,750 paid for the sister TR2 Le Mans car sold at the Silverstone Auctions 2019 Classic Motor Show Sale at the NEC in front of real live punters actually sat in the seats.
After some post-sales had been added to the book, absentee bidders from 36 countries, 23% new clientele to the house, bought 78 or 72% of the 109 automobiles, seven of which car exceeded the forever magic million bucks line. But while the average premium-inclusive price paid amounted to £277,634 per car bought, the reserves of 31 or 28% of the entry were too high for those still in the market to buy and are 'Still For Sale'.
RM Sotheby’s continues an On-Line Only summer auction calendar with its Auburn Fall auction which is now in its 50th year. Taking place 3-5 September, the sale will see in excess of 500 diverse collector cars and as many as 400 lots of memorabilia go under the hammer, ranging from American classics to European sports cars, muscle, hot rods, customs, and modern collectibles.
Significantly, the next sale will allow admittance to the event for pre-registered bidders and accompanying guests only, making it the only their second sale of 2020 to allow bidders physical access, while maintaining safety protocols as recommended by the State of Indiana. RH-E


 

1964 Benelli 250cc GP ridden and signed by World Champ Provini set £149,500 auction record for Benelli during £3.67m 95% sold Bonhams sale

Two 250cc Benelli Grand Prix racing motorcycles, offered from the much-anticipated sale of the Morbidelli Motorcycle Museum collection, broke the auction world record for the marque at the ‘Live’ and On-Line’ Bonhams Summer Sale, which ended Sunday 16 August at Bicester Heritage, the auction house’s most successful sale for classic bikes to date, which achieved a total of £3.67 million over three days. 
A 1950 Benelli 250cc Grand Prix motorcycle, ridden to world championship victory by Dario Ambrosini, was the first to set the new record, selling for £138,000, only for it to be broken minutes later by its stablemate, a 1964 250cc Grand Prix machine winner of that year’s Spanish Grand Prix, ridden and signed by two-time world champion Tarquino Provini, which sold for £149,500, the top lot of the weekend’s sale. 
Meanwhile, another record was set at the sale, with a concours 1979 Ducati 864CC Mike Hailwood Replica – a landmark model paying homage to ‘Mike the Bike’s’ historic Isle of Man comeback victory in the 1978 Production Race – realising £36,800, a new UK auction record for this particular model. 
The Morbidelli Collection, offered as the finale of the three-day sale, comprised 200 mainly Italian post-war road and racing motorcycles, selected from the eponymous Motorcycle Museum in Pesaro, Italy.
With the late Giancarlo Morbidelli having a particular passion for Benelli, the oldest Italian motorcycle manufacturer, which also founded in Pesaro, the marque’s success in the sale was no surprise. An ex-works 1959 Benelli 250cc Grand Prix example, one of only four built, also sold for £83,950.
Ben Walker, International Department Director for Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles, said: “We were very proud to have been entrusted with the sale of this stunning collection, carefully put together over 40 years by Giancarlo Morbidelli, which was a fitting tribute to this master of the motorcycling world.”
He added: “Here was a unique opportunity for international motorcycle collectors and enthusiasts to bid for some truly special lots and we were pleased that the collection received strong interest from across the globe. We’re also delighted that several lots will continue to be displayed in public at various internationally acclaimed museums around the world.” 
A contemporary rival of the Benellis – a 1963 Honda 250cc CR72 Racing Motorcycle also raced home to a new owner, selling for £89,700 on Day Two of the sale, while the ex-Texaco Heron Team Suzuki 1975 750CC XR11 Formula 750 racing motorcycle sold for £51,750.
Veteran and vintage motorcycles performed particularly well, with a 1916 Harley-Davidson, 1,000 Model J & Package Truck Sidecar realising £56,500, while a 1909 Minerva 31/2hp with Wicker Side car, a regular participant in the London to Brighton Pioneer Run, achieved £29,900. An extremely rare 1928 Montgomery 680cc ‘Twin Five’, a Banbury-concours winner known as ‘Rommel’, sold for £37,950.
Beautifully-restored machines were also stellar performers. The successful bidder of the aforementioned Mike Hailwood Replica also bought a 1956 BSA 499CC DBD34 Gold Star, the subject of a total restoration in the early 2000s, for £23,000 from the same vendor. 
James Stensel, Head of Bonhams UK Motorcycles, told C.A.R.: “The new live and online format has performed incredibly well and exceeded all expectations, with more than 1200 bidders registering for the sale.
"The appetite for important motorcycles and for one owner collections continues to grow and the results achieved over our three-day Summer Sale clearly demonstrate a resilient and buoyant market.”
Consignments are now being invited both for The Bonhams Autumn Sale scheduled for 10-11 October 2020 in the UK as well as The Collectors Motorcycles and Motorcars Auction at the Barber Museum, Alabama, taking place on the same weekend. RH-E


 

Bricked up in barn to thwart Nazi theft during WW2, rare 1934 Peugeot 402 made forecast £12,320 in 76% sold Brightwells internet sale

After the 90th collector vehicle had timed out from 7pm 13 August 2020, 74 of them had sold for £799,882 and an average of £10,809 including 12% premium had been spent by absentee bidders on overworked computers or handy mobiles.
Leading the prices were two Mercedes-Benz 230SLs, both left-hand drive manuals with hardtops.
A 1966 Roadster had been recently imported from the US with 280 motor and a Getrag 5-speed gearbox conversion to make £42,560 in Herefordshire, while a 1964 230 bought by an American in Paris for 17,500 Francs in 1977, before becoming US resident for 42 years until earlier this year, also changed hands here for £37,520.
By far the most bids were recorded for the most unlikely lot, a now near extinct, but living example of a Morris Marina 1.3 L 4-Door Saloon of 1979 vintage, a time warp survivor requiring recommisioning. With 17 old MOTs issued during the first 29,931 miles, and only 48,000 mileage in total before being sentenced to a lock-up for the past 10 years, the one husband and wife owned 'origina'l from new attracted a bids-busting 116 clicks until 'virtually-hammered' for £6076 with premium. Some yellow cushions were still present within this relic from a best forgotten era.
An ex-lhd and now rhd during concours standard restoration 1958 Triumph TR3A with TR4A gearbox made a close to lower estimate £27,440.  A below estimate £26,750 meanwhile was also accepted for a 1992 Opel Omega Lotus 3.6 Saloon driven 121,062k. Issued with a V5C and UK plates in 2017, the German version of the Vauxhall Carlton Lotus will benefit from cosmetic tidying.
One of 20 1963 Sunbeam Alpine Harrington Series C Coupe, of which twelve survive, this one with Hartwell tuned 1.6, made £19,779, top estimate money.  An always 1954 MG TF with 1250 motor and aluminium hardtop also raised a forecast £17,024, whereas a 1953 TDTD/C (C for Competition) Mk2 with the bigger carbs, twin fuel pumps, Andrex suspension and a higher rear axle, of which 1700 were exported to where higher octane rather than pool petrol was available, was well bought for £14,280.
An ex-Japan 1973 Porsche 914, in receipt of over £7500 expenditure on a 2.0 engine rebuild and a glass-out repaint since immigrating four years, raised £14,784 from the best of 28 bids. A 1971 Mini 850 Pick-Up did well, pulling 43 potential owning offers until time ran out and the next keeper had paid £12,205 and a 1970 Opel GT, one of only 34 of GM’s only lhd 1.9 Coupes registered in the UK, was contested by 20 bids until it had cost the winner £10,864.
31 bids were cast to hook a 1971 Vanden Plas Princess 1300 Mk2 with 33,650 miles on the odometer for which a below estimate £10,920 was accepted. The final bid of 48 saw a 1973 MGB Roadster, guided at £7,000-9,000, landed for £8624, while the eighth bid bought a rhd 2003 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA 3.2 V6 for £8120 and the 14th a 1984 MG Metro Turbo 1275 Hatch for £6720.
Among oldtimers rehomed on the internet and telephone were a 1926 Sunbeam 14/40 4-Seater Tourer for £22,100, a 1927 Talbot 14/45 4-Seater Tourer for £19,040, a 1936 Daimler Light 20 Limo for £16,128 and a 1949 Daimler DB18 Drophead by Barker for £13,899.
Even before a few stragglers had been post-sold and added to the stats, 74 cars, 76% of those offered on the house platform, had sold and 22 or 24% had not. There were 8 No Reservists, which were going to sell for whatever was bid, while 37 or 56% of classics sold did so for within their pre-sale estimates.
In these sporadic lock-down times however, it was the more than forecast sums paid for 9 cars or 14% of cars sold that were significant buyer votes of confidence in a better future, whereas the vendors of only 20 or 30% of cars had to settle for below estimate returns.
All consigned vehicles were on-site at Brightwells HQ in Leominster, where, this time, cars for sale could at least be physically viewed by appointment. Dates for the next Timed Out session have yet to be confirmed however.
For having suspended their auction calendar of traditional ‘live’ sales due to the pandemic, the Herefordshire firm say they will review formats and publish some more dates once restrictions have eased. RH-E

Remember, for the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics as the on-line only sales ‘might’ be opening up again, click-on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending both recently and during previous months to buy a full range of collector motor cars, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for faster insider gen on the guidelines-affected auctions scene, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent e-transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear entirely free of charge to you or advertisers (because there are none!) in the ‘Market Commentary’ department. Thanks for your support
.







 

£1.9m Lamborghini Miura SV tops Silverstone prices during record Silverstone Classic replacement sale where 161 cars sell for £15.9m On-Line

The undisputed supercar lot of Silverstone’s behind closed doors on-line only flagship fixture Friday 31 July and Saturday 1 August was a 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV, even rarer in right-hand drive, for which £1,800,000-2,400,000 was sought.
At least five internet bidders were queuing to play for the Miura keys, but were unable to enter what quickly became a rapid-fire, all-telephone contestant battle from a starting bid of £1,450,000 to hammer fall at an audibly applauded £1,700,000, the Spinto Veloce costing the winner £1,912,500 with premium.
There were plenty of potential takers for an only 18,247 mile and right-hand drive 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Targa-Top with matching numbers that was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and eventually made a more than top estimate £337,500 to more on-line heard applause.
Other noteworthy sellers from the SA-30 Collection included a 1998 restored 1958 AC Ace Bristol Sports, sold for £220,500, and a £208,125 Porsche 911 Type 664 Carrera RS had been driven just 16,792k since 1994. A 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing with 13,346 mileage made £139,500, and a 10,804 mile SLS Roadster of the same vintage £101,250.
An exported 1961 Jaguar E Type S1 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster for restoration was taken on for £112,500, and a S1 FHC of the same age, in the same state, for £90,000. A ‘For Love of Cars’ TV-restored 1964 Austin Mini Cooper Downton Mk1 from the same source fetched £34,875, and a 1960 Austin Mini Seven Mk1 from one family ownership of 55 years £12,600.
A whole Panzer Division of Porsches (actually 35 low mileage minters) had come to market from the Stuttgart Collection, ranging from a 16,117 miles since 1995 911 993 RS sold for £315,000 to the first UK registered in 1967 911S 2-Litre SWB, that had done only 17 miles since restoration and which made £171,000. A still air-cooled 911 993 Turbo in right-hand drive had only done 745 miles since new in 1996, hence the £168,750 auction price paid,
The 2009-built 550 Chamonix Spider, really well replicated by Special Edition Inc in the US and previously owned by the late Herbie Blash from F1 Admin and the Brabham GP Team for many seasons before that, raised a well over estimate £52,875.
A stunning UK supplied 1988 924 S with subtle upgrades including a 944 2.5 motor during Porsche Centre Tonbridge restoration also fetched a more than forecast £29,025.
The highest priced lot from the 18 car cull of the Anthony Hamilton Collection in a Silverstone sale physically conducted in Warwickshire, whilst son Lewis again dominated a British GP in private at the Northamptonshire circuit, was an only 43 miles from new in 2006 Ford GT sold for an only just below forecast £241,875. An 11,000m 2006 Mercedes SLR McLaren Coupe did make £182,250, within the estimate.
Australian restored to better than new, Walsall-made 1954 Swallow Doretti Roadsters with TR2 mechanicals both sold for £74,250 and £69,750. 38,250 was accepted for Hamilton’s Wood & Pickett ‘Margrave Mini 1275S with Harold Radford hatchback conversion, and £23,625 secured the ex-Lord Mountbatten of Burma, half-timbered 1965 Morris Mini De Luxe Traveller.
There were buyers with £148,500 and £135,000 for both 1955 and 1970 Henri Chapron Decapotable Citroens that were surplus to requirements at a major Midlands-based Collection.
A once Royal family endorsed Alvis RE21 3-Litre Park Ward Convertible from 1965 raised a better than expected £51,750, and a 1953 T21 2-Seater Tourer from the same Coventry manufacturer £46,125. A dusty 1948 Alvis Coupe by Duncan for recommissioning, if not a full restoration, was taken on for £27,000. A previously restored and shiney 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabrio did not sell however after nowhere near the £315,000-350,000 suggested was bid.
Whilst the at least £300,000 or more suggested for actor Steve Coogan’s XK Engineering restored 1961 Jaguar E Type was not achieved in the 'live' show, the really early 'Flat Floor' Roadster with external bonnet locks speedily sold afterwards for £270,000. Both 1992 Jaguar XK220s in the sale were rehomed, too, £210,000 buying a 22,699k example from the Warwickshire Collection and a just 4014k from new car from the SA-30 Collection selling for £292,500.
Although 54 cars auctioned were unsold by the end of the weekend, consigning six headline collections for this sale, and dispersing one high value cache ‘Without Reserve’, hugely boosted pre-sale interest in the 170 cars that did sell.
The socially-distanced facility for prospective buyers being able to physically inspect all cars entered by appointment, at two viewing locations, over two working weeks, translated into multiple bids being placed for many lots via a bank of telephones and two bidding platforms
Indeed, absentee bids for this virtual auction experience were placed from Hong Kong and Hitchin, from California to Richmond, from Singapore, Essex and even Taku in the Sudan!
For after 70 or 65% out of 108 Friday cars offered had sold for a very bullish £4,716,782 (an average of £67,383 including premium), another 100 or 86% of 116 cars during the 6½-hour Saturday session then sold for an additional £11,183,761 (an even more bank-busting average of £111,838 per car bought).
Even before any more aftersales had been concluded, 170 of the 224 cars in the on-line only catalogue had changed hands during this 76% sold weekend for a 2020 UK and on-line auction record £15,900,543 with premium (an overall average of £93,533 per car).
By the time the 1904 issued registration ‘09’, which had been optimistically estimated at £130,000-150,000, had realised a stratospheric £216,000 however, and the former French Riviera resident 1995 Sunseeker Tomahawk 41 13M Speedboat enjoyed by the late 007 Sir Roger Moore had cruised to a £82,123 result, plus some stocking fillers had sold, the house record sale total had exceeded £16.4m, more than any other collector auction in Europe since the Retromobile week sales in pre-covid February.
Considering the perilous state of the mismanaged UK economy, which is sinking further and faster than ever before, and the very real prospect of enforced lockdowns for the classic car owning majority as a second wave gathers strength, the extraordinary stats from this two day epic really were most encouraging to those who have booked their seats in the lifeboat. RH-E

Remember, for the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics as the on-line only sales ‘might’ be opening up again, click-on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
And for faster insider gen on the guidelines-affected auctions scene, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent e-transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear entirely free of charge to you or advertisers (because there are none!) in the ‘Market Commentary’ department. Thanks for your support.


 

1993 Porsche 911 964 3.6 Turbo flies out of Bicester Heritage hangar to make way over estimate £164,250 during record Bonhams MPH auction

The top priced seller during a £2.6m Live On-Line Saturday 25 July afternoon, the highest grossing Bonhams sale at Bicester so far, was a sporting Bentley 3-Litre Tourer for two that had started life as a Gurney Nutting Saloon in 1927, but had been re-bodied as an open-top with cycle mudguards just after WW2, and which sold for £225,000, mid-estimate money.
Whilst a more than forecast £84,375 was forthcoming for a 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II 40/50hp H J Mulliner Saloon and a below guide £78,750 was accepted for a 1934 Talbot AV95/105 Alpine Rep, a £380,000-400,000 1928 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer in VDP-style and a £225,000-275,000 1922 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 40/50 Open Tourer were unsold.
Bidding also petered out at an insufficient £290,000 for the first 1985 production Aston Martin V8 Zagato, although £112,500 was accepted for a neat 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk1 with Four Ashes rebuilt engine and gearbox for which £140,000-180,000 had been sought.
A 1996 Virage Volante with 49,000 mileage did sell for a top estimate £54,000 to a telephone bidder however and a still futuristic Aston Martin Lagonda II from 1980 was keenly contested by on-line bidders from Scotland and Norfolk until won by the former for a forecast £27,563.
The 1963 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 Roadster that once featured in ‘The Man from UNCLE’ on TV and had been last rebuilt and upgraded in the late 1990s also made the required £78,750 from the internet. A better than expected £51,750 meanwhile was needed to own a discreetly upgraded 1964 Mk2 3.8 ‘Coombs Replica’ Saloon
Claimed to have been down to last nut and bolt revived, and driven only one mile since restoration, a better than new when it left the Ford factory in 1977 four headlight RS 2000 Mk2 fetched £36,562. A Sales Manger grade Cortina range-topping in 1972 GXL 4-Door that had been owned for 30 years and only driven 33,608 miles eventually sold to one of six bidders for £8437.
One of the final Rover-era Mini Cooper Sport 500s from 2000, the 10th from last off the line no less, since when it been driven only 391 miles, attracted six absentee bidders on the internet until sold for a within estimate £25,875. An OK looking 1968 Volvo P1800S Coupe cost the next keeper £22,500 and a restored 1949 Land Rover S1 80, which had avoided mud since restoration, £20,250.
A dozen motorcycles all sold, led by a deceased estate entered 1948 Vincent-HRD 998cc Rapide with modifications requiring recommissioning taken on for £36,000, and £45,313 was paid for the ‘BC 9’ registration, £40,500 for ‘GM 9’  and £27,563 for ‘LES 7’.
Including a £31,560 Airstream Caravan in shiney aluminium, a £21,375 ‘Rova’ (not Riva) Motor Launch and a £5062 Brian James Covered 4-Wheeler Car Trailer, the ‘something for everyone’ extras added up to £257,564. A record number of customers registered to bid and 65% of lots were bought online, with the balance coming via live telephone and absentee bids submitted in advance.
The auction process itself was conducted behind closed doors in the Oxford salerooms – with no public in attendance – and, in compliance with government guidance, by appointment-only viewing took place in advance at Bicester Heritage. By close of play, 76 or 67% of the 113 cars offered had sold for £2,333,959 including premium and an average of £30,710 was spent per car.
Head of Department, Bonhams MPH Rob Hubbard told C.A.R: “We are very pleased to see that our online consignment platform has, yet again, proved to be an effective and efficient way to consign and sell motor cars at auction. Results were strong across the board, particularly for pre-war, modern and popular classics, again proving confidence in the market.
“MPH is actively consigning for our next sale, taking place on 20 September, and then a Christmas finale on 12 December, both of which will take place at Bicester Heritage"
The Bonhams Bike team meanwhile are back in the Oxfordshire airfield Hangar 113 next month for their 580-lot three-day Summer Sale, including the Morbidelli Collection, 14–16 August. 75% of all lots are to be offered Without Reserve. The online catalogue is available to view on the Bonhams website.
James Knight, Bonhams Executive Director and Group Motoring Chairman said: “Following this series of Live Online Motoring Sales behind closed doors lead by MPH, the Bonhams Motoring team is gearing up for the rest of the year with a revised calendar, starting with the Los Angeles based Quail Sale (14 August) in the USA; then across Europe at Bonmont in Switzerland (20 September), and a new sale at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels (6 September).
“Our New Bond Street division is busy consigning some spectacular motor cars for the Goodwood Speedweek (17 October) and our new Golden Age of Motoring Sale 1886-1939 in London (30 October). Entries include a 1959 Aston Martin DB4 Series I offered Without Reserve, a 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead, a 1972 Ferrari 246 GT Dino, a 1924 Vauxhall 30-98 OE Velox and a 1904 Crestmobile Model D 8 ½ HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau.” RH-E

Remember, for the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics as the on-line only sales open up again, click-on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending both recently and during previous months to buy a full range of collector motor cars, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for faster insider gen on the virus-transformed auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear entirely free of charge in the ‘Market Commentary’ department. Thanks for your support.



 

Traditional salegoers were back in the Hotel Hermitage at Monaco to applaud 1955 Mercedes-Benz Gullwing make 1,380,000 euros (£1,255,800)

Buyers who were mainly in the room and on the telephone, rather than bidding on the internet, paid 6,993,020 euros (£6,363,648 including premium, without local tva) to own 47 classics, which could be physically viewed over four days on the F1-free Place du Casino and in HSH The Prince of Monaco’s private collection museum.
The Tuesday 21 July results topping Papillon, a still apparently original looking 300SL Gullwing Coupe with optional Rudge wheels and NSL engine that had only done 38,000 miles since new in 1955, had been freshly serviced by a German specialist before selling to the front of grid seats for 1,388,000 euros (£1,255,800). This was a market encouraging moment that was well caught for Artucurial by Pascal Pronnier, whom we are happy to credit.
A 300SL Roadster sold new in France in 1977 with 102,000k of fully charted history realised 835,700 euros (£760,487).
Although unsold under Matthieu Lamoure’s gavel, a 900,000-1,000,000 euros (£819,000-910,000) estimated 1990 Ferrari F40 ‘original’ with Swedish title and swish fitted luggage set was declared sold immediately afterwards for 933,800 euros (£849,758). 12 other Ferraris in the up-market sale were unsold however as only 7 or 37% of the Prancing Horses could be re-stabled.
Vendors’ reserves were also proven to be unrealistic for a 20,000 mile 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 with original interior that had been estimated at 875,000-1,050,000 (£796,250-955,500), but which ran out of road at 760,000 euros (£691,600) on the bids screen. Whilst the 280,000-360,000 euros (£254,800-327,600) sought for a 1985 Countach 5000QV was also an historic aspiration in the pandemic present.
A pre-WW2 Bugatti Type 57, one of the last five to be built and the final 4-seater Bugatti Cabriolet by Vanvooren, did change hands again. The 1938 Salon du Paris exhibit, which had been well restored, had been forecast to cost 600,000-800,000 euros (£546,000-728,000), but was bravely offered ‘Sans Reserve’ and was well bought for 487,200 euros (£443,352).
The required money was forthcoming for a 275,000-350,000 euros (£250,250-318,500) guided and UK registered 1966 De Tomaso Vallelunga. Originally intended for the competition owner/driver market, but in receipt of a high quality restoration for the road, the rare Italian was deservedly applauded for achieving 313,200 euros (£285,012).
One of the 26 left-hand drive Bentley S3 Continental Park Ward Cabriolet with politically incorrect Chinese eyes had been bought new in 1962 by Elizabeth Taylor and her husband at the time Eddie Fisher. 58 years later in a still glitzy champagne trough on the French Riviera, the glamorous couple’s wheels, which had been treated to a high quality restoration, made a cool and within estimate band 295,800 euros (£269,178).
From the same era and appealing to the same clientele, a recently repainted 1963 Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur with original interior also fetched the required 285,360 euros (£259,678).
Other Brits to successfully cross the Monegasque auction block included an ex-Italian Jag Club President 1962 Jaguar E Type S1 3.0 Roadster with numbers still matching sold for a low estimate 134,560 euros (£122,450), and a German delivered in 1956 Austin-Healey 100 BN2 for 63,800 euros (£58,058), its high estimate. A UK tax payers funded 1981 Delorean DMC 12 manual with claimed to be 20,000 total mileage meanwhile raised a mid-estimate 51,040 euros (£46,446).
French national interests were well served by a rally-inspired 1978 Alpine 110 1600 SX road car, the rarest of the 1600 Berlinettes from Dieppe that had been driven 9000k since restoration, sold for a forecast 78,880 euros (£71,781). By contrast, a 65,000-85,000 euros (£59,150-77,350) guided 1977 Alpine A310 V6 on Gotti rims with Group 4 body-kit and a battery of lights was retired with an insufficient 52,000 euros (£47,320) on screen
Whereas an all Renault 1980 5 Turbo that had been restored to a high standard to the original specification in 2016 raised the necessary 97,440 euros (£88,670), and a 1985 5 Turbo 2 ‘8221 Series’ with recently rebuilt engine a within guide 61,480 euros (£55,947). A more torquey ‘No Reserve’ 1954 Citroen Traction 16-Six H Berline went for 32,480 euros (£29,557).
By close of auction book, and in front of a live audience for the first time in many months, the Parisian house had sold 53% of the 89 automobiles consigned, the 47 sold costing buyers a sale total 6,993,020 euros (£6,363,648 including 16% premium), while the average spent per classic was a very Monaco-sized 148,788 euros (£135,397).
Spikes and local lock-downs permitting, live auctions such as this, with punters present again, would appear to be back in business. Although it is a wise auction house that can swiftly switch their sale from being open to an audience to one being run behind closed doors and on-line again as the infection stats and authorities dictate. RH-E

Remember, for the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics as the on-line only sales open up again, click-on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending both recently and during previous months to buy a full range of collector motor cars, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for faster insider gen on the virus-transformed auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear entirely free of charge in the ‘Market Commentary’ department. Thanks for your support.

 

Over £6m spent on 135 cars during 76% sold sale in Historics tent at one of first auctions since lock-down where punters could be present

Aston Martins headed the £6m+ results of the Historics 10th Anniversary Sale, the 44th major sale held by the Mark Perkins founded collector vehicle auction firm who have consigned close to 9000 classics during their first decade. The top selling Aston, a deceased estate entered 1964 DB5 from 36 years in single family ownership, extensively restored and 4.2-upgraded in 2013, made £550,000, forecast money.
Displayed under canvas and on sunny grass at a brand new Windsorview Lakes auction venue near Datchet Saturday 18 July, a below estimate £515,900 was accepted by Historics for another 1965 DB5, repainted and re-trimmed in 1990, and a within-guide £289,300 bought a 1989 V8 Vantage X-Pack Volante with 40,685 warranted mileage.
A below forecast £270,050 secured a Newport Pagnell built in 1961 DB4 S2 last repainted in 2003. Whilst a well under guide £88,440 was enough to secure a Vanquish S from the Gaydon era had been originally specified for and driven in 2005 by Dr Ulrich Bez, former AM CEO, and £75,000 bought a 1973 Vantage 3-speed manual with £50k bills.
One of only two right-hand drive Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 Commemorative Coupes from 2012 with Audi 4.2 V8 in the tail was keenly contested until a £220,000 conclusion, the new owner prepared to pay £60,000 more than the top estimate. A 23,375 mile 2016 McLaren 650S Spider with retractable hardtop cost the next owner £81,400.
One of just 58 right-hand drive 1975 Ferrari 365GT4 BBs with a mere 4487 mileage on the odometer changed keepers for £163,900 and a 9943 miles since 1989 Testarossa, also a UK-supplied car, made a better than estimated £101,200 with premium.
Jaguar prices paid included £99,000 for an always right-hand drive 1950 XK120 Roadster, £97,900 for a Twyfords restored 1958 XK150 Drophead to S-spec with 3.8 engine and Getrag 5-speed, £92,950 for a sympathetically revived 1970 E Type S2 4.2 Roadster, £92,400 for a 1955 XK140 Drophead in receipt of a 17 year restoration and £88,550 for a recently restored 1974 E Type S3 V12 Roadster with factory hardtop.
A former Californian 1954 XK120 SE Roadster, now right-hand drive on wires with front disc brakes, sold for £78,650 and a 1973 E Type S3 V12 Roadster with thought to be correct 35,512 mileage for £70,400. A 1965 E Type S1 4.2 FHC transacted at £67,100.
Some of the stand-out valuations here were the £56,650 record result of a £28,000-35,000 1972 Triumph TR6 that was truly stunning having been treated to a five year restoration costing £70,000. A £33,000-37,000 estimated 2010 Ford Focus RS500 2.5 Turbo in matt black had been driven 22,155 miles before selling here for £55,550.
A £32,000-38,000 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint FHC that had been restored and perfected by the late Mick Miller really deserved to fetch £44,000. A 1964 Ford Falcon 2-door leftie packing a 289ci with Hurst shift 4-speed manual box had been estimate at £18,000-22,000, but sold for £30,800.
Driven only 8968 miles from new in 2017, a deceased estate entered Subaru WRX STi UK Final Edition made a mid-estimate £28,875. While the rare in right-hand drive 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe once owned by Sir David Frost found £24,200 and £24,200 was available for the very last Silver Spur that silently came off the Rolls-Royce production line in 1998.
A house record 806 absentee bidders from 24 countries registered to bid on-line and bought 34% of the cars sold - and after provisionally logged bids were converted into sales, most of the them during the ‘live’ auction, 135 or 76% of the 177 cars offered had sold for £6,057,216. The premium-inclusive sale total was Historics highest during their 10 year history and successful bidders spent an average of £44,868 per car bought.
Although 42 classics were unsold under the gavel, there were buyers for 76% of the socially-distanced entry that could be safely viewed 9am-9pm over four days at the Thames-side location, which is only a very short flight for a bird from a unseasonally under-employed Heathrow in recession.
22 or 16% cars sold had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’ and were going to sell anyway, while below lower estimate offers were accepted by vendors of only 24% of cars sold and 60% went for within or above their guide price bands, 25% fetching more than their top estimates.
Reassuring stats such as these confirm that vendors seeking to cash in classics continue to be in plentiful supply, while thus far in the pandemic cycle, when auction sale rates have been generally higher than they were pre-Covid 19, there would still appear to be no shortage of buyers wanting to exchange their devalued currency for non-essential motor cars.
Local lockdowns permitting, even more normal service will be resumed Saturday 26 Sepember, when the Historics team hold their next match in front of a live crowd again at their original home ground of the Brooklands Museum. RH-E

For the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending during previous months to buy what classics, while an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition.
And for faster insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for your support.


 

Despite the pandemic-hit economy, The Market sell record proportion of more classics for their highest sale total in one month ever

The new £52,000 UK auction record result for a one owner 2005 Renault Clio V6 Phase 2, number 304 of 354 in Right-Hand Drive with eleven service stamps during only just over 7500 total mileage, certainly helped to boost the Abingdon-based firm’s record stats for one month.
The top selling Clio V6 under the global gavel was only a smidgeon less when a 2002 Phase 1 with 4340k on the clock was hammered by Artcurial at Retromobile 10 February 2017 for 61,984 euros (£53,306 including premium).
Bonhams MPH then sold a 2006 example at Bicester Heritage 26 September 2019 for £37,125 and CCA a 2005 3 August 2019 in Warwickshire for £34,410. More recently, a 2001 Clio with a V6 in the tail was sold by CCA on-line 28 March – 12 April for £21,870 and the ‘asking rate’ by a private seller in Surrey for a 2002 Phase 1 with 18,728 mileage on the Pistonheads site earlier this month was £27,500!
The Market’s top seller in June was a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG ‘Black Series’ with 11,690 modest mileage for which the buyer paid what he bid on this platform, namely £79,500, within the estimate band. A 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 Race Car also made the required £47,500, mid-estimate, as did a 2009 Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10 Coupe sold for £40,000.
A couple of other highlight lots were a 1959 Jaguar XK150SE 3.8 FHC for restoration taken on for £43,150, more than top estimate, as was a 1998 Lotus Esprit V8 sold for £32,950. A Rover Mini Cooper S Works 90 1430cc driven by one owner only 26,250 miles since new in 2000 was also acquired on this website for £21,250.
The Market stats indicate changes of ownership for 58 of the 61 cars timing-out on the platform in June, only 3 therefore being unsold during a 95% sold month when a house record £1,104,531 was spent on-line, absentee buyers spending an average of £19,044 per car bought. RH-E

For the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending during previous months to buy what classics, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for faster insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for your support.


 

Pre-viewed 1971 Jaguar E Type 5.3 V12 S3 Roadster V12 on wires makes £72,900 during CCA’s first 89% sold £2m ‘Live’ On-Line Sale

In addition to the bill topping £72,900 E Type S3 V12 and £57,200 S2 4.2 Roadster results, this was also a statistically good sale for Lotuses, all of which sold Saturday 27 June, led by an apparently well restored 1960 Lotus Elite Type 14 Climax Series 1, estimated at £50,000-60,000, which sold for £51,700 with premium. A low mileage and mint 2016 Elise 220 Toyota 1.8 supercharged in red made £25,800, top estimate money, and a similarly supercharged 2005 Exige S2 with rebuilt engine in yellow £22,000.
Looking like a Lotus XI in your rear-view mirror, but actually a really well executed in 2018 Westfield Eleven powered by a BMC 1380cc deservedly fetched a more than CCA estimate £23,650. The parts alone employed in its construction had cost £35,000.
A virtual saleroom notice health warning that the 3.4 engine might need rebuilding did not deter a buyer from spending £50,600, over £10,000 more than has been estimated, for an only two owner 1958 Jaguar XK150 Fixed Head with 37,925 mileage that had come to market after 45 years in current hands.
Particularly noteworthy was the way over guide performance of a 1970 Ford Transit Perkins Diesel Mk1 Van with distinctive ‘Pig Snout’ which made a snorting £28,600! A far more EU and over-priced coffee vending ready 1980 Citroen HY ‘High Top’ Van found a brave entrepreneur with £16,720.
Another -market-encouragng blip on the radar surely was the £21,120 valuation for a 23,000 mile 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I, which had been stored for 15 years during 46 years of one family ownership. While a 1960 Borgward Isabella Coupe with Webasto-style sunroof and 37,197 mileage attracted interest from as away as Germany before selling in rural Warwickshire for the required £15,950.
Having been Category D insurance claim repaired and reinstated in its past did not prevent a UK supplied in 2002 Mitsubishi Evo VII EQ-300 from making £14,300 in there here and now, £4300 more than top estimate. An 'Armoured' 2006 BMW 550i E60 4.8 V8 Left-Hand Drive Saloon meanwhle that had cost the first bullet-wary owner £100k+ transacted for a discreet £11,550.
Wheeler Dealer presenter Mike Brewer’s 1960 Bedford CA ‘Martin Walter Farmers Utilabrake’ Van, a really rare 10-seater ‘running restoration project’, was taken on for £7480. The 1972 BMW 1602 2-Door Saloon with round tail lights owned by petrolhead Jay Kay since he was a learner-driver also required restoration and was bought by a second owner for £5280.
Although 14 lots were unsold, 11% of the 127 auctioned, 113 or 89% of 'Everyman Classics' offered did sell for £2,024,676 including premium, an average of £17,917 therefore being spent by absentee punters per vehicle bought.
While 15 or 13% of cars sold had been consigned by Gary Dunne and team at ‘No Reserve’ and were going to sell anyway, and 15 below estimate prices were accepted by the vendors of 17 or 15% more, not only did 49 or 44% sell for within their forecast price bands, but a further 32 or 28% made more than their top estimates.
Even more detailed analysis of what was announced by auctioneer Jonathan Humbert on-line at the time indicated that only two cars were bought on commission, 52 to absentee bidders on telephones and 59, the majority, to those who elect to do their shopping, even for high value items, on the two internet platforms. RH-E

For the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending during previous months to buy what classics, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for faster insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for your support.



 

Absentee bidders spent £947,369 on-line buying 99% of the SWVA entry including a 1959 Ashley-bodied Fairthorpe with MGA engine for £12,960

After the vast majority of cars driven through the SWVA hall on Friday morning 26 June had sold under the hammer, and all but one of the stragglers had been successfully transacted by Saturday lunchtime, 99% of the 96 classics on offer were bought remotely by bidders without printed catalogues via telephones or on the internet for £947,369, an average of £9972 per car including 8% buyers’ premium.
Although the usual cafeteria-fed crowd were prevented from kicking the tyres and inhaling the gasoline by the current guidelines, many dozens of addicts did avail themselves of bio-gloved viewing of auction cars on-site, by appointment, during preceding days. Your Correspondent made the journey.
The results leaders screened via one locked-off camera on YouTube were a Ferrari Mondial QV 3.0 V8 Pininfarina Coupe, driven 56,500 miles since new in 1985, sold for £43,740, and a £43,700 1968 Jaguar E Type S1½ 4.2 Manual Coupe. A 1993 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton Turbo Saloon with 94,511 mileage, but newer old stock engine, made the required £30,975 and £27,000 was paid for a well presented 1953 MG TD 1250 Roadster.
The first three Toyota powered Lotus Exiges auctioned and valued within 24 hours in the UK, a 2008 Lotus Exige S Club Sports Coupe with Touring Pack and 29,153 mileage sold to an internet bidder for £26,550. Nine telephone contestants meanwhile contended a 1998 Jaguar XK8 Convertible with 35,546 warranted mileage until one had won the keys for £15,390 with premium.
A 1983 Daimler 4.2 Auto Saloon had done even less, just 7507 miles, hence the £18,630 paid by the next owner. A 1967 Austin Westminster A110 Super Deluxe Saloon more than doubled its estimate by selling for £11,880. The 1972 Reliant Scimitar GTE Manual known as ‘Henrietta’ found a new friend with a spare £7992, more than triple the estimate, and a 1973 Saab 96 V4 with nice West Country history really was very 'your garage worthy' for £6912.
Several transporter loads of summer-ready sports cars changed keepers in a morning. Among them, a 1967 Triumph TR4A IRS Sports sold for £20,790 and another TR4 IRS with ‘Surrey Top’ for £20,520. A 1967 Sunbeam Alpine 1725 Holbay Convertible fetched £16,416, a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine 1500 with hardtop £15,768.
One body-off restored Triumph GT6 Mk2 Coupe with Webasto-roof from 1970 sold for £13,392, another GT6 of the same vintage, rebuilt 19 years ago, for £9504. A 1971 MG B Roadster in receipt of a Heritage re-shell cost a buyer £13,824, a 1977 B Roadster with streamlined front and hardtop £7668, and a 1961 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1 ‘Frogeye’ still with 948 motor £11,272.
The three most unusual items on the West Country firm’s menu all sold too – a 1959 Ashley-bodied Special with Fairthorpe Zeta chassis and MGA 1500 engine for £12,960, nearly three times its lower estimate, an apparently well engineered South African Birkin 7 Ford 1.6 S3 Sports for £9504, and a 1998 registered Marlin Roadster that had given employment to an unemployed  BMW 320 donor for £6372.
More detailed analysis shows that 16 cars had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’, 17% of the total crossing the block, and these No Reservists were therefore going to sell anyway.
While below estimate bids were accepted by the vendors of only 3 cars and 5 more sold for within their guide price bands, over 70 cars, 73% of those hammered, achieved reality prices that were higher than their bidder-inspiring top estimates.
The extraordinary 99% sale rate for cars (100% for bikes) achieved for their vendors endorsed the methodology of Chris Holmes, Darren Loveys and the SWVA team. RH-E

Did you know that the most accurate reality scroll on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for visiting us.

 

1934 Lagonda M45 T7 comes to market for first time in three decades with £185k result to head 70% sold £910,000 i-sale

Viewed by six potential buyers at H&H HQ before the Wednesday 24 June Online Only sale, during which new ownership of the 86 year old Lagonda was contested by eight bidders, the still highly original Post Vintage Thoroughbred cantered past its £100,000-120,000 guide until hammered by house principal Simon Hope for £164,000, costing the new owner £184,500 including 12.5% premium.
An earlier 12/24 Tourer of 1925 vintage from the same marque, one of only five known to the Lagonda Club, also made a more than forecast £20,250.
A top estimate £69,750 meanwhile acquired a 1999 Ferrari F355 F1 GTS Targa-Top and the £63,000 sought for a 1965 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Auto Roadster that had been in receipt of a full body restoration with recent re-trim was also forthcoming. A pro-restored 1974 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 in Stardust Silver made a mid-estimate £40,500.
While a notably early, indeed chassis 01 no less, and therefore the first 1995 Bentley Azure raised £45,000, despite needing some cosmetic attention, and the same money was handed over for a 1928 Rolls-Royce 20hp Open Tourer for four that had started life as a much more formal Weymann Saloon.
A 2007 MG X Power SVR Coupe packed a 5.2 V8 and sold for a within estimate £33,750 and it took a more than forecast £14,625 to land a 1967 Saab Sonett V4 Coupe.
Much socially-distanced viewed before the sale - like most of the cars in the sale, located at a vendor’s home rather than at the Warrington auctioneers offices - was a characterful and yet relatively modern 2007 Alfa Romeo 3.2 V6 JTS Q4 Spider. Estimated at £7000-9000, the hot Italian made a cool £14,625 with premium.
All twenty automobilia lots found new dens, led by the definitive ‘Aston Martin Zagato’ tome by Stephen Archer and Simon Harries, which set the tone by making £1416 against an estimate of £400-600. Best seller among the bikes meanwhile was a 1938 Ariel Red Hunter VH which was caught by a new rider for £12,075.
Six ‘provisional bids’ were converted into sales during the ‘live auction and 19 more deals were done immediately afterwards, resulting in 48 of the 70 cars selling for £840,438, an average of £17,509 paid per classic bought.
After automobilia and bikes had been added however, the successful bidders from the 506 who registered to compete for ownership of lots on the internet, a fair number of them operating their mice from foreign parts, had spent an overall sale total of £910,000 with premium. RH-E

And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for visiting us.

 

Pedal Power auction grosses $149,334 (£119k!) in US, where little cars make big money and 1955 J40 sells for triple estimate $9900 (£7920)

The 53 museum-quality pedal-powered cars, trucks, boats, and airplanes dating from 1927 to 1977 had come to auction directly from pedal car expert and restorer Bruce Callis. Offered by the RM Sotheby’s On-Line platform 17-24 June on a Timed Out basis, and auctioned entirely ‘Without Reserve’, the collection duly sold out for $149,334 (£119,467) including 20 percent buyer’s premium).
The sale drew strong bidding activity on the internet with 44 percent of bidders representing first-time clientele for the auction house and nearly 85 percent of the lots in the collection exceeding their high pre-sale estimates, demonstrating a strong demand for pristine and collectible examples.
Leader of the pack was a Junior 'J40' Roadster of circa 1955, when unused materials from Austin A40 Devon and Dorset production at the Longbridge works in Brum were employed in their construction at Bargoed in South Wales, an area of high unemployment at the time.
A total of 32,698 J40s were produced at ‘The Austin Junior Car Factory’ by former coal miners with pneumoconiosis from 5 July 1951 until production stopped in 1971.  Featuring an opening bonnet and boot, spare tyre, working horn and battery-powered lights, the pedal-powered J40 in the sale magnetised a total of 38 bids on the internet before selling for $9900 (£7920), more than three times its high pre-sale estimate.
In second place in the pedal car Grand Prix was a luxurious 1941 Lincoln-Zephyr that had been estimated to sell for $2000-3000 (£1600-2400), but which generated the most interest for a single lot at 65 total bids before achieving an impressive $8,700 (£6960). While also on the pedal-powered podium in third place was a 1935 Chrysler Airflow. Produced by Steelcraft and featuring working headlights, the Chrysler pedal car surpassed its pre-sale estimate of $1200-1800 (£960-1440) to be re-homed for $6600 (£5280).
Also smashing their pre-sale guide prices were a 1941 Buick, estimated at $1000-1500 (£800-1200) which achieved $6000 (£4800); a highly original 1929 Scout Master, made of hardwood with an aluminium nosecone, propeller, seat, and wings, estimated at $1000-1500 (£800-1200), sold for $5520 (£4416); and a circa 1957 Jet Hawk, modeled after the Studebaker Hawk series and estimated at $800-1200 (£640-960) flew to $4800 (£3840).
A 1935 Dodge Fire Chief, featuring functional headlights, sold for nearly five times its high pre-sale estimate at $4440 (£3552); and a 1957 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer, featuring the distinctive tailfins seen on the adult-sized model and for which $1000-1500 (£800-1200) was sought, changed nurseries for a very adult $4200 (£3360).
Sadly however, after all signs of play-wear had been eradicated by restoration to better than new, children may never be allowed to sit in them, let alone drive or crash them again. RH-E

1954 Swallow Doretti makes £38,880 in first ACA on-line ‘Drive Though’ at King’s Lynn, where 205 classics sell for over £2m

After 82% of the 121 classics driven past the YouTube audience on Saturday 20 June had sold for £762,862 under the hammer, ACA’s first on-line only auction then clocked up an 85% sale rate Sunday 21 June, when another 106 cars sold to absentee bidders for £1,293,640.
Indeed, only 12 cars were definitely declared unsold by auctioneer Jim Ronan, who, during a two TV quality camera shoot, umpired bids from the Proxibid and Saleroom-com platforms and up to 11 socially-distanced telephone operators in an eerily unpopulated auction hall.
Even before some of the ‘provisionals’ had been converted into post-sales however, 205 of the 246 cars auctioned had sold for a very bullish £2,057,502, an average of £10,037 with premium being spent per car.
An immobiliser fault necessitating it being pushed rather than driven past the rostrum did not prevent a results topping 1988 Porsche 911 Type 930 Turbo with 88,747 mileage from raising a £68,040, its top estimate. Whilst a ‘Special Forces Edition’ 2015 Land Rover 110 TD Double Cab, only driven 5103 stone-chip free miles in its first year of civilian life before being ‘furloughed’, made a really cool £60,420, over £20,000 more than had been forecast.
The Walsall manufactured 1954 Swallow Doretti sold for £38,880 overtook the top estimate by nearly £19,000! While a genuinely dusty 1987 Ford Capri 280 Brooklands with 20,419 warranted mileage before spending many years in storage, but without any documents, was also driven into new ownership for a more than guide price £25,920. A well repainted 1963 Ford Zodiac Mk3 with pointed rear wings deserved its £18,550 and a 1990 Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4-door with minimal rear wing cost £17,550.
An only one recorded owner since new in 1949 Fordson E494C Van for restoration was taken on for £8745, whereas a 1959 Ford Pop 100E that had done only 2000 miles since restoration made a more than top estimate £5400. A running and driving 1172cc powered 1959 Thames E300 Van ‘original’ was secured for £7290 and a 33,000 mile 1953 Prefect E493A Saloon with factory fitted heater required recommissioning for £4590.
Some of the stand-out performances for this on-line reviewer were a 1968 Land Rover S2A Safari-Top that fetched £25,540, twelve years after restoration. Nearly the same, £24,380 with premium, was paid for a No Reserve 1939 Jaguar SS 1½-Litre Saloon that had been repatriated from foreign parts.
A pre-WW2 1934 Morgan F4 Ford 1172cc powered 3-Wheeler Tourer was hammed away to a new owner on Proxibid for a within estimate £16,200 and a way over guide £14,575 was required to land a down to last nut and bolt restored 1968 Morris Minor 1000 ‘Woody’ Traveller.
An East Yorkshire Shows shown 1951 Singer Nine 4AB Roadster for four with recently rebuilt engine moved house for £11,660 and a freshly movie shot 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE5A 3.0 with auto-shift also had some show winning form for £7420.
Top priced Toyota, the world’s top selling marque whose yesteryear models are increasingly appearing in classic auction catalogues, was a 1989 Toyota Supra 3.0 Turbo Auto Coupe with 35,355 warranted mileage sold for a close to top estimate £11,340.
An NEC displayed 1967 Toyota Corona 1500, one of only five known survivors, that had had been well restored in 2015 made a well over forecast £7420, and a 1996 Toyota Crown Royal 3.0 Auto Saloon that arrived from Japan in 2009 £4590.
Even at the peak of a Covid-19 summer, owning an open-top sports could provide some much needed fresh wind in the uncut hair. And so it was that a  below estimate £22,860 was accepted for a 1934 MG PA with 1930s events history and £26,460 bought a 1939 MG TB with replacement engine.
A 1953 MG TD LHD Roadster needed a push to get over the auction line where it cost a Saleroom.com bidder £15,120. Vendor owned for 25 years and restored 2005/07, since when it had only done some 150 miles, a very tidy looking 1966 Austin-Healey Mk3 1275 Sprite changed hands for £12,720, more than double the lower estimate.
A 1967 MG B Roadster that had been re-bodied with a Californian bodyshell in 1997 and had passed MOTs 1998-2016 went for £14,310, £2310 more than top estimate, and a same family owned from new in 1973 MG B GT with Webasto sunroof and 13,115 warranted mileage fetched £15,228, again, £3228 over guide.
Auction cars could be socially and correctly distanced-viewed, and docs inspected behind a newly screened office counter, by appointment during preceding days, a facility that many dozens of regulars availed themselves of.
Many more hundreds of auctions-starved punters then clicked on to YouTube for the live webcasts of the sales on both days, close to 1700 tuning in at peak viewing times, whilst more absentee bidders than ever before registered to do so either via the two internet bidding platforms or via house telephones.
Considering this was a first for all those concerned with the production, the 'live show' and economy-beating results were extraordinarily impressive in what are unprecedented times for all those who chose to comply with Number 10's ever-changing guidelines. Be prepared however, for this new way of auction life - always with the potential for becoming even more restrictive by the news bulletin - may well become the norm for the foreseeable future. RH-E

2002 Porsche Martini Edition sells in final minute for 1.32m euros to head 18.9m euros 91% sold out On-Line Only EU Sale

Absentee buyers spent a 10% premium inclusive 18,886,060 euros (£14,919,987) on 173 classics before the time ran out 11 June during the first RM Sotheby’s Online Only European Sale, overtaking their recent US sale total, making it the highest grossing online collector car auction thus far.
The internet only auction opened for bidding 3 June with an on-line house record close to 1000 registering to bid from 48 countries, 41% being first-timers to the database.
And after 100% of the Petitjean Collection ‘No Reserve’ cars had duly sold out, led by a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL sold for 759,000 euros (£596,610), and a total of 191 automobiles had crossed the virtual block, a week’s bidding finally closed across 10-11 June, by when 91% of cars offered had sold and only 18 cars were unsold.
Headlining the results was a 2020 Porsche 935 Martini Limited Edition, which inspired a flurry of last minute bids before cut-off and the winner had had to pay 1,320,000 euros (£1,042,800) with premium (image above by Raphael Belly @ 2020 courtesy of RM Sotheby's).
Lots offered over several days were originally set for RM Sotheby’s second annual Essen auction, which was cancelled, alongside the Techno Classica Essen motor show, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the change of sale format, The European Sale became the auction house’s first-ever European car auction held via its proprietary online platform, which recorded an average of 25 bids, up to an unprecedented high of 70 for a single offering.
Strong prices were recorded across all categories and marques. Another headliner was a  1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff with one-off special cabriolet coachwork by Lucien Schlatter, powered by Bugatti’s intricate eight-cylinder, GP-derived engine. This classic pre-war ‘Grand Routier’, the pinnacle of high-performance touring cars of the era, attracted much attention from bidders, eventually selling for 770,000 euros (£608,300).
The 1997 RUF CTR2 Sport brought game-changing performance to the 993-generation 911 Turbo platform. The example auctioned was one of just two built for the 1997 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which explains the successful bidder’s 682,000 euros (£538,780) valuation
Also noteworthy were a well maintained 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante at a final 627,000 euros (£495,330) and a mechanically restored 1981 Lancia 037 Stradale at 451,000 euros (£356,290).
The group of eight Lamborghini models through the years offered from the Petitjean Collection drew significant pre-sale interest, translating into strong results. Leading the group was an early thin-gauge-chassis 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 which brought a final 715,000 euros (£564,850). The first Miura delivered to Paris, the car had been owned by M. Petitjean since 1979.
Also performing strongly was the 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S, which sold well within estimate at 451,000 euros (£356,290). One of just 50 first-series LP400 S examples built, the car was offered from 33 years of ownership in the Collection.
The 1964 Porsche 904 GTS was another top lot of the sale, achieving a final 693,000 euros (£547,470). Offered from 27 years of single ownership, the 904 GTS was the first of a line of mid-engined Porsche sports cars that finished with the super-iconic, but fearsome 917 and was also the final design penned by F A Porsche for the family firm. Following appropriate preparation, the auction car would both eligible and competitive for many of the highest profile historic racing events.
“It was a noteworthy auction on many levels and perhaps most importantly it continued to reinforce that the collector car market is very much alive and well and clients and enthusiasts continue to display the enthusiasm for the hobby we were seeing before the onset of the pandemic”, said Auction Manager and Car Specialist, Augustin Sabatié-Garat.
All the cars auctioned would have been displayed at Essen, where they and their history files could have been physically viewed by potential buyers or their representatives. Due to the cancellation of the Show and the RM Sotheby’s live auction however, those collector vehicles that did sell were sold, buyer sight unseen, on their on-line and illustrated catalogue descriptions only.
Many of the prices paid and the percentage sold were therefore enormously confidence-boosting for market watchers on both sides of the Channel and Atlantic Pond. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending during May to own what models, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition
And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions. Whilst regular overviews of the auction market appear in ‘Market Commentary’. Thanks for visiting us.

 

Nearly 900 registered to bid, spending 7.3m euros (£6.5m) on 100% of Petitjean Collection on Day 1 of RM Sotheby’s Online Only European sale

The No Reserve 10 June sell-out was led by a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, which sold for a final 759,000 euros (£596,610 including premium). Delivered new to France, the 300 SL was one of fewer than 30 examples specified with factory Rudge wheels from new and has resided in the Petitjean Collection since 1976 (image by Diana Varga courtesy of RM Sotheby’s).
Nearly 100 cars and a selection of collectibles assembled by lifelong enthusiast Marcel Petitjean came under the virtual gavel, many seldom-seen European models from decades of ownership by the ex-racing driver.
Lots offered on the international auction house’s own online platform in the two-day auction were originally set to be auctioned in their second annual Essen auction, which was cancelled alongside the Techno Classica Essen motor show due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The collector’ eight different Lamborghini models drew significant pre-sale interest, particularly his early thin-gauge-chassis 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 which brought a final 715,000 euros (£564,850). The first Miura delivered to Paris, the car had been owned by Petitjean since 1979.
Also selling well was a 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S, which sold well within estimate at 451,000 euros (£356,290). One of just 50 first-series LP400 S examples built, the car was offered from 33 years of ownership in the Collection.
The 1964 Porsche 904 GTS was another top performer, achieving a final 693,000 euros (£547,470). Offered from 27 years of single ownership, the 904 GTS was the first of a line of mid-engined Porsche sports cars that finished with the lauded 917, and was also the final design penned by F A Porsche for his family’s firm. Following appropriate preparation, the car sold to an absentee bidder on the internet would be eligible for many top historic race events.
Day 2 of the auction firm's first Online Only Timed Out sale for EU-located collector vehicles on their global platform will see the closure of another 111 lots, the headliners being a 2020 Porsche 935 ‘Martini’, a 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff, a 1997 RUF CTR2 Sport, a 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante and a 1981 Lancia 037 Stradale.
And once all the numbers have been crunched, the stats and prices paid will be dissected and full analysis of this latest barometer reading for the international market will appear right here on 'Fake Nooze Free' C.A.R.
For even though in the mis-managed UK, the now largely anti-Government media is hell bent on discrediting life as we knew it and the economy is predicted by the learned OECD to be the sickest in the developed world, buying interest in classic cars would appear to be surprisingly healthy. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ during May on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, just how much successful bidders have been spending to own what models, an abbreviated indicator for which also gives you some idea of their likely condition.
And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions.


 

Bicester Heritage viewed Pre-WW2 1933 Riley 9 Monaco sold for £15,199 on the internet and 1935 Bentley 3½ Pillarless Coupe made £58,500

More than 500 registered to bid remotely for the inaugural Bonhams Live and On-Line Motoring Auction on a ‘Covid-19 guidelined’ Saturday 30 May, by when the auction cars and bikes had been viewed by appointment at a well-distanced Bicester Heritage. The internet only sale itself was held on camera, behind closed doors, in the studio setting of the Bonhams Oxford saleroom, where auctioneers Rob Hubbard and Malcolm Barber fielded multiple absentee bids on video-illustrated lots.
By close of play, 59% of the winning bidders had been on-line, ahead of those competing by telephone or leaving bids pre-sale on commission. The prices paid ranged from £1463 for a 1990 BMW K100RS requiring recommissioning and the mortal remains of a 1949 Riley RMC Roadster taken on for £2917 to a £79,250 Ferrari 360 Spider driven less than 4000 miles from new and a £59,650 1976 Lamborghini Urraco.
Lightly patinated, but for improvement, the Newport Pagnell manufactured 1966 Aston Martin DB6 4.2 top seller sold for £146,250 afterwards was an auto with roof panel modified by Webasto, delete options for many. Whereas £90,000, £10,000 more than top estimate, was required to secure a 1954 SB2/4 Mk1 from the Feltham works era needing some body and structural attention.
An aluminium-panelled 1954 Jaguar XK120 with aero-screens and without bumpers that had been restored and upgraded with 3.8 motor was bought for £69,750, £10,000 below the guide. The following lot, a rebuilt and period-correct XK 3.4 engine with C Type head and sand-cast SU carbs, was also bought by the buyer of the 120 for another £13,500.
Shedding their celeb status were the 1959 Jaguar XK150 3.8 Fixed Head that formerly inspired author James Leasor and fetched the required £39,375, and a 1964 Mk2 3.4 Saloon, consigned by actor Robbie Coltrane and benefitting from a Vicarage engine rebuild, that sold for £28,125. An ex-Roger Plant 2002 Audi S8 with 199,800 mileage was acquired by a Led Zepplin fan, one hopes.
While a 1987 ‘Fast Ford’ Sierra RS Cosworth 3-Door did not leave the ground with £45,000 on the bids screen, a 1969 Escort Twin Cam ran out road at £44,000 and £22,000 was not enough to own a 1990 Sierra Sapphire RS Cossie 4-Door with a 4-lamp pod, a close to top estimate £48,938 was required to secure a second generation 1977 RS2000 that had been driven just 17 miles since a down to last nut and bolt restoration.
An older restored, very early Austin Mini Seven Deluxe of 1960 vintage was keenly contested by absentee bidders on the internet from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, North Lancashire and Kent before gavel fall at £12,000, costing the winner £13,500 with premium. A 1957 A35 with Goodwood Revival race history cost the next owner-driver the same and a Historic Monte Carlo Rally proven 1959 Sunbeam Rapier with distinctive rear finlets was bon marche for £7875.
Statistical analysis shows that 68 cars (plus XK120 engine), 70% of the 99 car-related lots, sold for a premium-inclusive £1,753,713, an average of £25,790 spent per classic bought. Although 30 cars were unsold, 26 or 38% of those that did sell had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’. While below lower estimate bids were accepted for 20 or 29% of cars sold, 16 realised within estimate prices and 6 made above estimate money.
All eleven motorcycles crossing the virtual block were 100% sold out for £66,713 to absentee riders, led by a 1986 Ducati 1000cc Mike Hailwood Replica ‘Mille’ with 14,783k on the clock sold for a more than forecast £16,875. A 21,912m 1998 Ducati 748SPS with carbon fibre upgrades made the required £9563 and the same money bought an 851 ridden by one owner for only 5110k, though requiring recommissioning at least, if not restoration.
A modest £7873 landed a 2010 MV Agusta F4 1078 RR312 with 194mph capability and an 11,503 miles since 1996 CBR900RR for recommissioning raised £6188, quadruple the guide price. A still healthy £33,750 was accepted for the ‘7 RED’ cherished registration on DVLA Retention.
Bonhams Group Motoring Chairman, James Knight told C.A.R.: “We are delighted at the result which demonstrates a continued appetite from sellers and buyers for our Motoring sales. Our confidence in the technology that we put in place for this sale, and our determination to maintain the atmosphere and fun of a traditional sale paid off.”
The next Bonhams ‘Live’ On-Line Sale is scheduled to take place, again in a ‘Behind Closed Doors’ saleroom, Saturday July 25.
On the assumption that guidelines will not be re-tightened, auction lots may again be viewed before sale day, by appointment and outside, at a socially-distanced Bicester Heritage. RH-E

$2.64m (£2.14m) Ferrari Enzo becomes highest priced classic to sell at On-Line Only Auction and $2.31m (£1.77m) i-bid buys 288 GTO

RM Sotheby’s first-ever classics auction specifically curated by its specialists for their On-Line Only platform grossed $16.31m (£13,142,160 with premium). After bidding time had run out, 115 or 60% of the 193 collector grade automobiles offered had sold and an average of £114,280 had been spent per classic.
The one week 21-29 May 2020  process saw sales led by an as-new 2003 Ferrari Enzo, which achieved $2,640,000 (£2,138,400 with premium) to become the most valuable car sold in a dedicated On-Line Only collector car auction to date (the heading image by Karissa Hosek © 2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
One of 400 built, Enzo chassis 13303 had been previously owned by two California-based enthusiasts, having resided within the first owner’s collection until 2018. The hypercar packed an impressive amount of power thanks to its purpose-built Tipo F140B 651 bhp V12, which rocket-launches two groundnauts to 60 mph from standstill in just 3.3 seconds with 218 mph top speed potential. Regularly serviced and only exercised for 1,250 miles, the still as-new supercar had been optioned with rare two-tone racing seats with red 3D cloth inserts.
Additionally, the Friday session saw a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO sell for $2,310,000 (£1,871,100). Optioned with factory air con and electric windows, the race-bred 23,550k FHC in Red, of course, had been originally delivered to well-known Ferrari collector Hartmut Ibing and had changed hands only twice before being auctioned On-Line.
Thursday’s sale headliners were a 2017 Ford GT in Triple Yellow with Lightning Blue stripes, which achieved a final $836,000 (£677,160) and a beautifully restored, matching-numbers, one-of-50 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupes with rare coachwork by Ellena, which sold for $671,000 (£543,510). While an essentially brand new 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, stunningly specified, highly optioned and showing less than 90 miles, fetched $605,000 (£490,050).
As an antidote to the world leading coronavirus death toll in the largest market for classics and much reactive rioting in cities across the US to televised police homicide in Minneapolis, this sale, and these confidence-inducing valuations, did at least provide some much needed escapism for socially-distanced petrol heads most of whom have only been able to take exercise on their computers. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ (during April) on the home page menu-bar above. The May prices will be input shortly.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, how much successful bidders have spent to own what models, an abbreviated indicator for which gives you some idea of their likely condition.
And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions.


 

1984 Peugeot 205 T16 Group B rallied to £337k UK i-sale record in Silverstone Auctions first 'live' on-line only £4.6m 88% sold afternoon

Locally built by Peugeot Sport UK in Coventry in 1984 for the late American Real Estate Developer Jon Woodner to rally in the US 1984/88, and subsequently rebuilt and upgraded in New Zealand early this century, Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Group B chassis S007 inspired the longest internet versus telephones auction ever personally witnessed.
To the accompaniment of much applause from the telephone bids operators, Jonathan Humbert’s gavel finally crashed down at £306,000, costing the winning telephone contestant £336,600 including premium Saturday 23 May.
Streamed to a Zoom Conference for 'Rallying With Group B' members, the perfectly targeted audience participating in the Zoom hook-up alone had been a quite extraordinary 306 by hammer fall.
For one definite fact of lockdown life to be learned from this behind closed doors valuation was that even with no events taking place for big boys and girls to play with their toys in public places, fully working Group B cars with period history can still pull strongly in what is currently a futures only market.
Consigned cars for this i-sale had been comprehensively photographed, video-promoted, by drone in some cases, and physically viewed by appointment iduring preceding days at a nearby farm facility. In the internet-screened saleroom, all lots were then described ‘live’ by Head of House at Silverstone Auctions Nick Whale before being auctioned by regular bids umpire auctioneer Jonathan Humbert.
Even though no punters could be physically present in the room, bids were nonetheless plentiful and had to be fielded from those on the commission book, made via several telephone tables manned by socially-distanced Silverstone Auctions specialists as well as from international mice clicking away remotely on the proxibid and saleroom bidding platforms.
Some initial on-line overload apart, which resulted in a brief pause in i-proceedings, play quickly resumed and the match ran (without a tea interval for their team!) until stumps were removed after a very long innings at just after 7pm.
Another strong performance was the GT 40 built by the late Terry Drury, who was involved with the development of the GT40 whilst working at Ford Advanced Vehicles. Constructed 2017/18 as a homage to chassis 1005 and 1073 that Terry raced at Monza, Brands, the Nurburgring and Spa just over 50 years ago, the ‘works’ 302ci Gurney-Weslake V8 propelled GT with ZF Le Mans transmission was in effect the real 1968 GT40 experience for the £308,000 paid.
The afternoon’s highest priced seller however was actually a D Type Jag ‘Short Nose Recreation’ with period-correct 3.4 dry-sump motor fed by triple Webers and genuine D Type all-synchro box within a 1962 E Type donor ID. Catalogued as ‘a tool room copy’ with some claimed to be original and now unobtainable D Type parts, the result of ‘a collaboration in 2005 between Jerry Booen and David Duffy’, the VTK 705 registered icon was eventually contested by two clearly determined telephone bidders until hammer fall at £390,500 including premium. Very serious dough for any D Type Rep, however well baked.

The Best of the Rest
Other top tenners included a right-hand drive Ferrari 512BBi, driven just 21,000 miles by one family owned since new in 1982, which £189,200 and an apparently really well recreated Porsche 911 2.7 RS that had been a 1971 911 D Series in a previous life £161,700, way over estimate. A not insignificant £159,500 meanwhile was forthcoming for a 10,500 mile 1984 Aston Martin V8 Series 4 ‘Oscar India’ auto from one registered ownership.
Jay Kay’s 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL E9, which the auctioneers reckoned was the best they had ever seen, was dispersed for £151,200 and £92,950 was required to land the Jamiroquai frontman’s closed road or track ready 1987 BMW M3 E30 in Competition-spec. A 12,700 mile 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing flapped away into new ownership for £132,000 and a £97,500 secured a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ Group 2 Evocation.
Two other performances were particularly noteworthy. A 1961 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 manual with overdrive and a veriable 20,400 total mileage achieved a double guide £93,500, which was close to a world record for a Mk2 road car - and a fire-damaged Facel Vega HK500 project, once driven by Quentin W during his Top Gear days, raised a cool £63,500 from somebody with long-term vision!
Registered bidders competed for cars from Evesham to Poole, from Banbury to Bristol, from Amersham to Bude, from County Tyrone to Salzburg, even from Singapore. The first tranche of 16 largely non-running lots were being dispersed from a large, but dormant Midland cache and all sold out for £585,200 in an impressive warm-up act which certainly helped to boost the live show’s ratings on the internet.

The Numbers Crunched
Fuller analysis of prices paid for all 76 cars hammered away by curtain fall – 13% of them No Reservists, which were going to sell anyway – shows that 61 of them, 80% of those sold, did so for within or above their pre-sale estimates. Indeed such was the level of absentee bidder interest in the cars on offer that 25 even made more than top estimate money, whereas only 7 cars, just 9%, went for below their guide prices.
After a couple of post-sale deals had been done and only 10 car lots were unsold, the percentage sold rate achieved was 88%, surely impressive with what’s left of the economy well below basement floor levels, while the more than 5 hour sale total reached £4,623,820 with premium and an average of £60,840 had been spent per motor car during the highest grossing auction in the UK of coronavirus year so far.
One has to conclude therefore that for those 76 buyers who chose to bravely invest in classic stock during pandemic paralysis, collector cars are preferable to depreciating cash without interest in their banks, building societies or other bottomless pits. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ (during April) on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, how much successful bidders have spent to own what models, an abbreviated indicator for which gives you some idea of their likely condition.
And for much the fastest insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions.




 

Ferrari supercar trio headline among over 200 classics crossing virtual auction block at RM Sotheby’s On-Line, where bids close 28-29 May

The 2003 Ferrari Enzo, one of just 400 examples ever built, comes to market from just two California collector owners from new. Powered by the Tipo F140B V-12 engine developing 651bhp, if ever released from storage captivity, this Enzo has the potential of reaching 60 mph from standstill in just 3.3 seconds and doing 218 mph, purely academic for most licence holders.
Optioned with the very rare two-tone racing seats with red 3D cloth inserts, and only exposed to flying bugs in the real world for less than 1,250 miles, one of the hottest properties on wheels seeks a third guardian with $2,600,000-2,900,000 (£2,106,000-2,349,000).
A similarly successful absentee bidder will also need a cool $2,500,000-2,750,000 (£2,025,000-2,227,500) to land the Classiche-certified 1995 Ferrari F50, the second example of just 349 built, while a rare, race-bred 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO featured in a You Tube driving promo, has been estimated at a racey $2,200,000-2,400,000 (£1,782,000-1,944,000).
“The Ferrari Enzo is a fantastic addition to our Driving into Summer auction, which has been specifically curated with cars best suited to the Online Only platform,” comments Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s. “The line-up of Ferrari hypercars is certainly the most valuable and significant group to be offered in a dedicated online auction, there are cars for all tastes and budgets in the sale and we invite collectors around the world to check out the easy-to-use platform.”
For the North American market leaders, this ‘Driving into Summer’ billed internet auction is the company’s first collector automobile sale specifically curated by its team of specialists for their rmsotheby’s.com online only platform, where bidding opened 11am ET Thursday 21 May with staggered closing beginning 11am ET 28 and concluding 29 May.
A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe by Pinin Farina, retaining its original numbers-matching engine and presented in original Grigio Conchiglia over Blu Connolly leather, has special exhaust guards, custom Ferrari emblem and lettering on the bonnet, as well as a unique instrument and dashboard configuration, and both bonnet panel and boot in glassfibre, one of Ferrari’s first cars to utilize composite material. Sold new to one of the owners of the Johnnie Walker whisky importer for Italy and 60 years after being displayed at the 1960 Chicago Auto Show, the unique-spec 250GT could sell on the internet for $575,000-675,000 (£465,750-546,750).
A black-over-black 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta, one of 448 built and equipped with the rare carbonfibre hardtop and six-speed manual box has been estimated at $280,000-320,000 (£2,268,000-2,592,000). An as-new 2018 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, one of just 800 produced worldwide, equipped with an impressive 770-hp 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated V-12 engine and having travelled a mere 295 miles might make 450,000-550,000 (£3,645,000-445,500).
$525,000-625,000 (£425,250-506,250) is required for a 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, the company’s highest-ever performing Ferrari Spider, optioned in black with red racing stripe and with less than 100 miles on the clock. Whilst produced in RS Green finish, an extremely rare 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS equipped with the Chrono Package Plus, adding even more performance capabilities, and showing approximately 9,100 miles could cost a lucky mouser $175,000-225,000 (£141,750-182,250).
Offered from a Southern California collector, a 1952 Jaguar XK 120 Roadster, fully restored by a marque specialist with numerous upgrades made for extended driving and rallying, and accompanied by a JDHT certificate could sell for $100,000-125,000 (£81,000-101,250). $70,000-90,000 (£56.70072,900) meanwhile is predicted for a ‘No Reserve’ 1975 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 ‘Safari’ with matching numbers, still original engine and transmission, and recently upgraded to off-road “Safari’ spec. Whilst $55,000-70,000 (£44,550-56,700) is sought for a rare, Japanese-delivered 1992 Mazda RX-7 Efini Type-R, with just 9,160k on the clock.
Bidder registration is currently open for this sale and requires very simple steps to complete. RM Sotheby’s Client Service team is ready to assist interested bidders with any part of the account creation or registration process. Additional information on “How Bidding Works” will appear on each lot page once the lot is live and when clients are logged in as registered bidders. Responses to frequently asked questions are also available, while interested bidders are also invited to contact an RM Sotheby’s car specialist should they wish to discuss cars of interest. Additional information is available at www.rmsothebys.com.
With the glut of internet auctions, voyeurs will just have to wait and see exactly how much hard currency there is out there to buy the most auction cars that have ever been offered on-line. As ever, of course, it is the market makers at the time that establish current values.
Market watchers without vested interests - such as this C.A.R. website - will report back on which classics are selling and how much is being paid for them in what we are constantly being told by the sage likes of the Governor of the Bank of England and the Chancellor of The Exchequer with unlimited credit is an economy plummeting headlong into the worst recession since economic history began.
We shall all have to wait and see whether the doom mongers turn out to be right or whether a global bounce-back turns trading screen from red to green and champagne can again be guzzled. Keep the faith. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Here you will see, in budget-friendly price order, how much successful bidders have spent to own what models, an abbreviated indicator for which gives you some idea of their likely condition.
And for all the very latest (and much the fastest) insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, best advice is click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to scan recent transmissions.




 

Market leading 90% of classics, 43% from 1990s and early 2000s, sold for nearly £900k during The Market’s internet auction in April

The Abingdon firm’s top seller on-line during April was an always right-hand drive 1963 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 Roadster in described to be in very good restored condition with subtle upgrades, including an all-synchro 5-speed box, which timed-out at £99,000, virtually the low estimate.
In second place was a 21,744 miles since 1997 and forever cool Porsche 911 Type 993 Carrera 2S 3.6 Manual, turbo-bodied, wide-hipped with 6 forward gears to play with, for which a below guide £90,000 was accepted.  Recently restored, an ex-US 1964 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 FHC left hooker with matching numbers had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’, but made a within forecast £68,000.
A 22,800 mile 2004  Aston Martin Vanquish, strictly for two with awesome 6.0 V12 under-bonnet, had been driven only 22,800 miles and largely stored for £51,002, and a more than top estimate £44,750 was required to own a hooded 2007 4.3 V8 Vantage Roadster.
The stats for the month show that only 4 cars auctioned were unsold, while 31% of the 42 cars offered had been consigned ‘Without Reserve’, so were going to sell anyway. The buyers of the 38 cars that sold, a market-leading 90% sale rate of the 42 offered on the platform during April, spent £882,635 (without premium, because none is charged), an average of £23,227 per classic.
58% of cars sold did so for within estimate sums, 10% made more than top estimate money and the vendors of 32% of cars were prepared to accept less than had been forecast.
A 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver sold for a below estimate £32,000 was the oldest car in the sale and the only entry from the 1950s, now more than six decades ago. By contrast, 11 or 26% of the cars auctioned were from the 1960s, statistically still the most pop era for vendors and, more importantly, buyers.
The 1970s meanwhile accounted for 9 entries, 21% of those entered, the 1980s for 3 cars, 7%, the 1990s for 10 cars, 24% of the total, and the early 2000s 8 cars, a 19% share of the auction entry. The 1990s and 2000s therefore accounted for 43% of the cars transacted.
For despite the more than 36,000 'official' total (so far) of our fellow citizens being cruelly culled by the imported virus (a clear European leading stat!), and not forgetting the reactive destruction of the economy by the London-centric leadership and their considered lockdown of most private enterprises...The Market has at least proved that many prices are holding up remarkably well and there really is still a market out there. RH-E

Be aware that the most accurate reality check on what is really being paid for classics behind closed doors in the virtual world of on-line auctions can be yours, entirely free of charge, by clicking on to ‘Latest Prices’ on the home page menu-bar above.
Also, latest details of which auctions are actually taking place - and, importantly, in what formats - can be found within 'Upcoming Auctions', again accessible via the Home Page menu bar.




 

22 dusty classic bikes dragged out of Cornish barn found new riders on-line during £240k 57% sold Charterhouse sale behind closed doors

A record 500 enthusiasts registered to bid for the West Country firm’s specialist classic motorcycle auction Wednesday 6 May 2020, absentee buyers operating their mice not only around the UK, but also in the Isle of Man, the US and Australia.
The entire barn-preserved cache from a Cornish barn sold out for nearly £70,000, led by a Banbury Run eligible 1921 Royal Enfield V-Twin Flat Tank won by an internet player with a bid of £11,600, £13,108 including premium, versus a telephone bidder.
The earliest bike from the same source was a 109 year old Bradbury of 1911 vintage with a wicker-sidecar that a commission bidder just missed out securing having been overtaken by a winning on-line bid of £8600, costing £9718 with premium. Whereas a likely to be unrepeatable collection of Isle of Man TT course signs and memorabilia was acquired by a museum on the Isle of Man for £18,080.
A 1960 Rob North Trident replica raised the required £15,820 and an incomplete Manx rolling frame by Tony Dunnell without Norton engine or box was taken on for £9379. The same money bought a Steve Machin raced 1969/70 Yamaha TR2B and a 1985 TZ 250 N gained a new rider for £7910. Velocette Venoms changing sheds included a 1963 Clubman sold for £9492, a 1959 model for £7910 and a 1961 for £7119.
A George ‘James Bond’ Lazenby ridden 1969 BSA Rocket III failed to find the £25,000-30,000 sought, one of 38 unsold bikes from the 88 offered, 50 of which fetched £233,959 including the 13% premium (if bought on-line, 12% by telephone).
For house principal Richard Bromell, this fixture was a first. “Having worked in auctioneering for 35 years, it was a first to conduct an auction behind closed doors with just staff observing social-distancing for company,” the auctioneer told C.A.R. The Sherborne firm’s next internet sale for classics will be for cars Saturday 30 May. RH-E

For all the very latest (and much the fastest) insider gen on the virus-changing auctions circuit, click onto ‘More News’ below (or select ‘News’ on the menu-bar options) and scroll-down to check out recent transmissions.
 

H&H sell 44 classics for £520,648 with premium during 70% sold afternoon on internet, their fourth on-line sale during Covid-19 lockdown

The behind closed-doors Wednesday 29 April 2002 afternoon session, without a motor car or a member of the public present in person, attracted 387 on-line bidders who had registered to do so from as afield as California and New Zealand, 48% of these absentee participants new to the auction house.
Some preferred to leave commission bids on the book, others played by telephone. Although those who had tuned in to the auction firm's website however did struggle with the quality of the sound from the auctioneer's microphone which was barely audible at times.
One of the muscular headliners, a Dodge Charger ‘Vanishing Point’ Movie Tribute Car failed to vanish under Chairman Simon Hope’s gavel however, running out of revs at £45,000, unacceptable to the vendor, although a very 'Fast Ford' from the US, a 1967 Mustang 390 GT Fastback, did convincingly lead the field with a 12.5% premium-inclusive £61,875 result.
“If you are a fan of the model of Mustang immortalised by Steve McQueen’s Lieutenant of Frank Bullitt, then you’ll be blown away by ‘YTA 488E, which is without question the best 390 GT we have ever seen”, Damian Jones, Head of Sales for H&H told us.
By end of play, 5 No Reservists were going to sell anyway, which they did, and 23 more cars sold under the gavel, while 21 ‘provisional’ bids were successfully converted into what added up to a 44 car, 70% sold, £520,648 sale total with premium, an average of £11,833 spent per car bought.
Impressively, nine cars exceeded their top estimates, including an older restored, an ex-US lhd 1970 Jaguar E Type 4.2 S2 Roadster with hardtop from same family ownership for the past 19 years that sold for £49,500. A 99,000 miles from new in 1996 Ferrari 456GT also made £34,875. One of 141 RHD manual cars supplied to the UK had been first owned by serial entrepreneur Sir Peter de Savary (from whom, and versus under-bidder the late John Haynes of workshop manuals fame, your Correspondent acquired the ex-Buncombe Healey Silverstone at auction).
A 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 Phase 2 in LHD for much improvement fetched £29,250, forecast money, a 1981 Austin Maxi 2 1750 auto with 8,700 mileage a within guide £5769 and, thanks to determined bidding by two prospective owners, a Jaguar XK8 Convertible, driven 100,350 miles since new in 1999, a more than top estimate £7312.
By way of complete contrast, and on a sight-unseen basis with no physical viewings possible, surprisingly therefore there were enthusiastic bidders who were prepared to take on a clutch of Derbyshire barn-discovered and field-stored projects.
A sleeping 1933 Invicta 12/45 Saloon 95 that had been parked up in all weathers for 35 years was woken by a prince with £11,250, while from the same agricultural source, £4500 secured the remains of a 1933 Leyland Beaver based Breakdown Truck that had towed the broken down out of the bowels of the Mersey Tunnel in a previous working life. RH-E

For very latest listing of current prices paid for classics in 'Live' and 'Timed-Out' internet auctions during April, check out 'Latest Prices' option on the C.A.R. Home Page menu bar which will show surfers how much bought which model and, importantly, in what condition the cars sold were in. The page will then be refreshed with the prices paid at the On-Line sales in May, and so on.



 

Barn-stored for decades, 1911 Bradbury with wicker-sidecar for £5,000-7,000 is oldest survivor in 85 bike Charterhouse On-Line sale

The 85 classic bikes and an Isle of Man TT course signs collection are being auctioned ‘virtually’ by Charterhouse behind the closed doors of their Sherborne saleroom  from 12 BST Wednesday 6 May 2020.
From the well detailed to the barn-stored, and from a 1911 vintage Bradbury with whacky wicker sidecar (£5,000-7,000) to an Australian and UK retro-race winning 2014 Egli-Vincent (£31,000-33,000) and a 2017 constructed Triton with Domiracer frame (£15,000-16,000), classic survivors from over 100 years of motor biking history are being offered to absentee bidders, who may leave commission bids, or make their minds up ‘live’ by telephone or on t’internet.
The sole memorabilia lot, consisting of IOM TT signs and petroliana, includes six Milestone boards, each 6ft x 2ft that informed riders how many miles they had completed from the start line from the 1950s until the late 1990s. The famous Verandah Four Bends 7ft x 2ft 6 inches sign that warned the brave that the very high speed bend was in four sections and had been deployed trackside from the 1950s to 1980s.
Eighteen Location signs from the 1950 were particularly helpful to newcomers to the world’s most challenging circuit, while four pit lane Shell petrol fillers, each 2ft 6 inches high, were used by mechanics to refuel their riders’ tanks during pits-stops from the post-war period until 1977.
Complete with 24 Certificates of Authenticity issued and signed by Paul Philipps, TT and Motorsport Manager for the Isle of Man Government, reassuringly documenting their history and provenance, the ‘Biker Den’ ready collection of nostalgic eye candy has been forecast to cost a collector £20,000-25,000.
In compliance with HMG’s economy destroying edict, and although the M25 traffic has sufficient volume again to be held up by multiple vehicle accidents on a daily basis, even masked punters are not permitted to ‘gather’ at the  Dorset saleroom, while auction staff manning computers and telephones will be socially-distanced.
While as most of the bikes in this sale are still with their owners and have not made physical journeys to market, those that sell and need to be delivered to buyers will have to be uplifted by pro-carriers Chas Mortimer Ltd, who operate a no-contact collection/delivery service within the official guidelines.
In advance of the sale, and only a click or two away from your socially-distanced home, a well-stocked i-catalogue (which may well have killed off the printed catalogue before normal service can be resumed), contains many screens full of descriptions and multiple images of bikes for sale, some with phone shot videos.
For further information regarding this stand-alone classic motorcycle sale, contact Richard Brommell or former H&H bike supremo George Beale via Charterhouse HQ on 01935 812277 or email bikes@charterhouse-auction.com
All lots meanwhile may be viewed on www.charterhouse-bikes.com , where, and without consuming one drop of seriously depreciated petroleum, surfers can also see and hear Auction House Principal Brommell on a real rostrum wielding a real gavel in front of an on-line audience. RH-E

Vanishing Point Dodge Charger R/T Tribute leads 60 vehicle entry in H&H ‘On-Line Only Sale’ from 1pm Wednesday 29 April

On-line regulars H&H, who have held three internet-only auctions already for cars, automobilia and classic bikes within the last few weeks, have finalised the lot listing for their Wednesday 29 April sale for classic cars. To be compliant with Government requirements to limit Covid-19 spread, the Northern firm’s latest fixture still cannot take place at a physical venue, but will be conducted, not on a Timed-Out basis over several days, but ‘live’ on their well-tried on-line auction platform.
The 60 lots on offer range in age from the 1920s to the 2000s, and in described condition from resto-projects to a headlining 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Muscle Car Tribute to Kowalski’s rubber-burning wheels of choice in 1971 cult-movie ‘Vanishing Point’ estimated at £50,000-60,000. Whereas £60,000-70,000 has been suggested for an extensively restored 1967 Ford Mustang 390GT ‘Big Block’ Fastback with 4-speed manual-shift.
A bid of £38,000-42,000 will be sought for a 1970 Jaguar E Type Series 2 4.2 Roadster with factory hardtop that has been owned by the vendor for the past nineteen years. A repatriated ex-US 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 Phase 2 for improvement may cost £25,000-30,000, a once Peter de Savary owned 1996 Ferrari 456 GT in rhd with 99,634 mileage and two Schedoni suitcases £24,000-26,000, and a home market 1969 MGC Roadster that has only done 10,000 miles in the last nineteen years £20,000-24,000.
Having withstood the elements on a Derbyshire farm for nearly four decades, a 1933 Invicta 12/45 Saloon, said to be largely complete, seeks a benevolent saviour with £7,000-9,000. Whilst at £3,000-6,000, a 1933 Leyland Badger Breakdown Truck with Merseyside registration that used to rescue broken down motorists from the Queensway Tunnel beneath the Mersey may appeal to a Commercial enthusiast.
Fellow ‘Field Finds’ from the same agricultural source - the distressed remains of a 1929 Armstrong Siddeley 12/60 fabric-bodied saloon with 6-cylinder engine, last taxed in 1979, and a circa 1926 Graham Brothers Pick-Up with Dodge running gear on artillery wheels - will be dispersed ‘Without Reserve’.
By contrast, and having been well preserved in a garage following the death of its first owner 1998-2012, but MOT tested without advisories pre-lockdown, an Austin Maxi 2 1750L in 1981 popular Russet Brown, and with only 8700 warranted miles exposure to the open road, has been estimated at £3,500-4,500.
For more details and many digital images of all the vehicles that will be crossing the virtual block, view the www.handh.co.uk website. Their socially-distance specialists will also do their best to answer any questions you may have on 01925 210035 or via info@handh.co.uk.
Apart from Bidding On-Line, you can also participate in this, the next internet opportunity to sell or buy collector vehicles in the UK by registering for a Telephone Bid or leaving a Commission Bid. Both can be pre-arranged through the Northern firm’s website - via which, the auction, commencing 1pm 29 April, can also be followed.
May the bid be with you. RH-E

Last Porsche 911 off production line raises over $1m at RM Sotheby’s Online to aid United Way Covid-19 Fund in America

The single superstar lot of the seven day Timed-Out auction was the final 911 to enter and pass down the factory serial production line. The uniquely historic Porsche was sold by RM Sotheby’s for a hammer price of $500,000, $550,000 (£451,000) including buyer’s premium).
Porsche Cars North America then matched the winning bid to raise the total proceeds to over $1m (£820,000), money donated to United Way Worldwide to directly aid its work for COVID-19 relief in America. In addition, the auctioneers also donate a significant proportion of their buyer’s premium to the Covid-19 Fund.
There was considerable web traffic over the seven-day period, with more than 48,500 unique page views, resulting in significant bidder interest and a total of 32 bids. The winning bidder’s 911 Speedster will be handed over at a special event by Klaus Zellmer, PCNA President and CEO. Included with the car comes an exclusive tour of Porsche’s German Engineering and Design HQ at Weissach as the guest of D Frank-Steffen Walliser and Andreas Preuninger.
The winner also receives a bespoke Porsche Design timepiece complete with the chassis number of the 911 Speedster etched onto its casing, accompanied by a specially created single-edition book charting the construction of the last 991 as it entered  and passed down the Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen plant line.
The North American auction firm completed their first catalogue sale to be offered via their time-based On-Line digital platform only last month, the internet sale replacing their cancelled Palm Beach sale, a physical auction held annually at the International Raceway.
This year, the sale pages on their website attracted 615,000 page view over seven days, during which 900 on-line bidders from 44 countries participated via the internet. After staggered-format bidding had closed 25-28 March, 69% of the 259 collector automobiles and 21 items of automobilia had sold, absentee buyers spending $13.7m (£11.23m) on 173 motor cars.
With traditional sales closed down by compulsion on all sides of the Atlantic and English Channel, the next RM Sotheby’s ‘Driving into Summer’ sale will be their first to have been consignment-based and held On-Line only during pandemic reality. Among 80 entries crossing the virtual block will be the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show displayed Ferrari F50 with Classiche Certification which has been pre-sale estimated to fetch $2,500,000-2,750,000 (£2,050,000-2,255,000).
Driven only 471 mile from new, a 2017 Ford GT has been guided at $850,000-950,000 (£697,000-779,000), and $330,000-360,000 (£270,600-295,200) is sought for the final Ford GT Heritage made in 2006. $250,000-300,000 (£205,000-246,000) is forecast for a 2005 Ferrari Superamerica with Fiorano Handling Package and less than 3500 mileage, and $225,000-250,000 (£184,500-205,000) for an only 41 mile 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster.
Other entries will be posted for viewing on sothebys.com leading up to the auction start 21 May. The auction closing time on 28 May will be announced prior to the start of bidding once the offering has been finalised.
 “The offering has been built entirely for the virtual platform,” comments Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s. “This is a dynamic group of collector cars that duplicates the calibre of many of our established live auction events.
“The amount of interest and response that we received to our Online Palm Beach auction proved that collectors are still buying great cars, and they have confidence in our secure, proprietary transaction platform and the transparency that our section reports and research team provide.
“We are continuing to improve and adapt the platform as we learn more from each on-line auction, and we look forward to being another great group of cars to a global clientele.”
Each car offered in the On-Line Only auction will be comprehensively photographed and, in most cases, accompanied by condition reports, completed by house specialists, and traditional catalogue descriptions.
Where available, additional information on each lot, such as history files, production certificates, restoration documentation, service invoices, owner’s manuals, and accompanying parts can be viewed on-line, once logged in, by clicking the ‘View Files’ button on the individual lot page.
Bidding registration requires simple steps to complete, with the Client Service team ready to assist interested bidders remotely with any part of the account creation or registration process. Additional information on ‘How Bidding Works’ will appear on each lot page once the lot is live and when clients are logged in as registered bidders.
And if no vaccination that works can be produced, trialed, approved and manufactured in very large quantities, along with all who are permitted to leave their homes being reliably and regularly tested, then this may be the norm for those international auctions held on a ‘Timed Out’ basis for the rest of this year and for much of 2021 too. RH-E

 

Lewis Hamilton 2019 season race suit leads F1 content in Bonhams digital auction in aid of NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal

The racing overalls worn by six time World Champion Lewis Hamilton during practice for the Monaco, Austria and British Grand Prix during his 2019 Championship-winning Formula One season - verified by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, who have generously the race suit to the greatest cause of the moment - are being auctioned on the internet until Wednesday 29 April.
Also from the F1 grid memorabilia on offer are the race suit worn by Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate, in practice for the Azerbaijan, Monaco, French and British rounds of the 2019 World Championship, in which the Finn took second place.
McLaren F1 Racing donated race-worn overalls signed by Lando Norris, the youngest ever British GP driver, also come under the hammer - as does the BWT Racing Point F1 Team 2020 racing suit in this curtailed season’s colours, the first and only set of overalls worn by Sergio Perez at the Barcelona test sessions in February before the Australian GP that never happened.
The best bid will win a Williams VIP Experience for two at the 2021 British GP at Silverstone (which may actually be the next British F1 race if ALL sports events cannot be held in the socially-distanced immediate future). A factory tour of the Williams factory and museum will precede a behind-the-scenes look at race operations during a practice session, all followed by afternoon tea.
Lucky bidders will have grandstand tickets for the Saturday and Sunday of race weekend to include paddock access with full hospitality in the Williams motorhome, pit lane walks, viewing area session, driver meet and greet, and an item of team merchandise each.  
Away from the paddock, motor sports enthusiasts can also compete for a very exclusive chance for four to visit Roald Goethe’s extraordinary ‘The Rofgo Collection’, which had been put together by Adrian Hamilton over an eight-year period.
Adrian will personally show the successful bidder and guests around the collection of 38 of the finest Gulf race cars, including the iconic Ford GT40 sporting the celebrated blue and orange livery, and treat the party to lunch at ROFGO’s world renowned premises in Hampshire.
The three week auction, hosted at bonhams.com and running now, has been supported by other sports stars, such as UK Champion Flat Jockey Oisin Murphy and US Open Finalist Greg Rusedski, actors, musicians and artists with a wide range of pledges, details of which are available to view on-line at bonhams.com/theblueauction.
Bids can be made by visiting bids@bonhams.com or calling the auctioneers on +44 (0) 20 7447 7447. All charges are being waived by the international auction house at this not-for-profit fund raiser, from which 100% of the proceeds are going to the NHS Covid-19 appeal, which will help support the health and wellbeing of NHS staff and volunteers supporting Covid-19 patients in ways above and beyond which NHS funding can ordinarily provide. The appeal has a target of £100 million. RH-E

1955 Black Shadow leads Vincent domination of H&H ‘behind closed doors’ leader board of £900k Live On-Line 67% sold sale of 129 bikes

No fewer than five of the top seven classic bikes sold by the Warrington auctioneers to absentee bidders 7 April were Vincents, confirming the continued collectability of the HRD Vincent marque the world’s first superbike, the very last of which was ridden off the Stevenage production line in December 1955.
In pursuit of the results topping 1955 Black Shadow Series C sold for £47,150 were a £36,800 1954 Rapide Series C, a £35,075 1947 Rapide Series B and a £34,500 1938 Meteor Series A. Behind this Vincent quartet, 100% of the £27,600 raised by the sale of a 1930 Norton CSI goes towards saving a Somerset church, the Old URC Church in Stoke-sub-Hamden, originally built by a distant relation of the bike’s owner, former RAF pilot, Bill Southcombe.
The whole community is doing its bit to seal the deal on saving the church, which plays host to a number of community projects, as vendor Southcombe explains. “If we fail to buy the church, it will be auctioned by the Synod, to developers probably, or left to decay.” As a Trustee of the charity to set up to save the church, he has already donated the value of two other of his bikes.
“It’s a Congregational Church built by my ancestor, Richard Southcombe by my ancestor, Richard Southcombe, for the community in 1866. It is Grade 2 listed and in very good condition, and was given to the URC Synod in 2016 by the Elders. If we are able to save it though, we must pay the Synod this year, 2020”.
Mark Bryan, Head of Motorcycle sales for the Northern auction house says: “Given the context – a global pandemic – this is a remarkable result, which speaks so clearly of the passion collectors have for motorcycles and the trust they have in H&H. People were buying bikes they had not seen and without knowing precisely when they could take delivery”.
Head of Sales at H&H, Damian Jones responded to numerous requests for advice about buying at a strange time like this with the following thought about the state of the market: “The Bank of England’s recent interest rate cut to 0.1%, plus the volatility of the world’s stock markets (down circa 20% in places), may have given people more impetus to put money into an alternative asset class, what you might call an ‘investment of passion’. The collector vehicle market has softened overall over the past few years, but as the latest Knight Frank Wealth Report shows it is still performing well compared to its peers”.
But will those - who still have the appetite to buy anything that they can well do without (and have any money left to spend!) - invest in classic car or bike stock rather than a claimed to be tax-saving isa?  With no returns in prospect after inflation, let alone the Bank of England’s quantitive easing to come, of course, they should.
Although being prevented from actually driving or riding classics ‘legally’ is certain to deter consumption until lockdown is lifted…or at least eased. RH-E


 

£62,400 1962 Porsche 356B Coupe headed £1.71m 61% sold CCA internet sale during which Rowan Atkinson and Jay Kay successfully dispersed cars

Originally billed as a supporting act at the postponed Practical Classics Mag Show at the NEC in Birmingham, and then rescheduled as a controlled viewing, behind closed door sale at the Warwickshire Event Centre, the latest CCA sale could only comply with Government guidelines by being held in front of absentee bidders on the internet on a ‘Timed-Out’ basis.
The top priced seller was a former US resident 1962 Porsche 356B T6 LHD Coupe in Super-spec with Harry The Maestro Pellow built 1600 engine sold for £62,640 and a still drum-braked 1955 Jaguar XK140 3.4 RHD FHC for £42,660. Rowan Atkinson sold his 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124, a 2015 Japanese import and the fourth 500E he has owned, for £27,540.
A 1972 BMW 1602 for restoration had come to auction directly from Jay Kay, who learned to drive in it, and was taken on unseen by anyone in the virtual world for £16,470. Also, the Jamiroquai front man’s 1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I, acquired by the vendor in the Silverstone Auctions sale at Salon Prive in 2017, raised an auction high for model £30,780.
The range of transacted cars was really wide and included - 2006 911 Type 997 Turbo S at £37,800, 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Sport Targa or 1970 Jensen Interceptor FF resto-project both for £30,780, 2002 Porsche 911 Type 996 Turbo £30,000, 1986 Audi Quattro Turbo Coupe with 44,000m £26,190, 1961 Jaguar 3.8 Mk2 manual £29,000, and unregistered 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI ‘Tommi Makinen Edition’ £21,870.
Sub £20k were - 1974 Datsun 260Z in LHD or a 2006 Bentley Continental GT for £18,630, 1966 Austin Mini Cooper 998 Mk1 £17,550, 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage with a manual box £17,010, 2000 Lotus Elise S1 £16,470, another 1984 Audi UR-Quattro with 100,000m £13,770, 2006 Mini Cooper S JCW GP Special Edition £11,250, 1973 Triumph Stag 3.0 Mk2 auto on wires £12,960 and 1984 Rover 3500 SDI Vanden Plas Twin Plenum £10,260.
And below £10k – 1982 VW Golf GTI Mk1 £9990, 1971 MGB GT with overdrive £8910, 1995 BMW 849CI E31 £7830, 1988 Porsche 944S £6750, 1990 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9 £5940, 1961 Fairthorpe Electron Minor Mk2 with Dolomite Sprint motor £5500, 1985 Porsche 944 Lux Coupe £3456, and 1999 BMW 725i E38 driven 209,000 miles (so far) £2808.
Analysis of the 154 lots auctioned on the Proxibid platform during 16 nightly sessions shows market watchers that 94 were sold, as described to though unseen by absentee bidders on a Timed-Out basis (or, where unsold under the clock, in post-sale deals concluded within a day or two). When C.A.R. shut its electronic book on this sale, the success rate amounted to 61%, the sale total £1,712,968 including 8% premium, the average paid per car £18,223.
Many buyers were still sufficiently confident in the unknown, it would seem, to pay more than top estimate money for 16% of the cars and within pre-sale estimate sums for 58% of them, while vendors were prepared to accept below lower estimate prices for 25% of cars sold.
Having bought or sold a classic car on-line however, the physical and visually obvious transfer of the asset from vendor to new keeper by either party could incite local curtain twitching followed by police interest and potential prosecution.
IF a third party contractor IS prepared to transport a classic purchased in an internet auction however, an unmarked towing vehicle and box trailer with the subject motor vehicle inside and out of sight, with the driver armed with invoiced proof that the car was acquired on-line would be best advice. For at a regulations compliant stretch, such a non-essential movement could be deemed and proven to have been an internet shopping delivery, much like the sometimes masked and always bio-gloved Tesco and DPD van men can and do in our road.
For attempting to DIY tow anything does rather stand out on camera on deserted motorways as the motorist with a canoe on his roof rack heading for the Lakes found out on the M6 and several great escape caravan towing trips have been intercepted by police on the M5 and M4.
‘Stay at Home’, therefore, for vendors and buyers, has to be best though unexciting advice. RH-E

For very latest listing of current prices paid for classics in 'Timed-Out' internet auctions during March, check out 'Latest Prices' option on the C.A.R. Home Page menu bar which will show surfers how much bought which model and, importantly, in what condition the cars sold were in. The page will then be refreshed with the prices paid at the On-Line sales in April, and so on.

 

'Guest Auctioneer' Vicki Butler-Henderson selects Fifth Gear to auction 15 lots on Historics rostrum during last ‘live’ sale for months

Only one month ago, and as Historics remind us, 188 consigned classics were legitimately transported to market at Royal Ascot Racecourse, before ‘social distancing’ had become a necessary part of our vocabulary. Over 1300 attendees then physically and legally viewed the displayed cars with their history files, bid for them on sale day and bought 124 under the hammer and immediately afterwards for £4.09m before national lockdown.
Among them, a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 sold for £310,000, a £291,500 1969 Lamborghini Islero S driven by Sir Roger Moore in a movie and an only 2012 vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe, much contested until £187,900 including 10% premium had been paid.
While a sign of the already softening price times were the 40 cars in the catalogue consigned ‘Without Reserve’ and the 40 ‘Modern Classics’, cool from 1980 to 2005, that had become retrospectively fashionable in a market which will never stay the same.
With this Ascot auction likely to have been the last such ‘live sale’ held behind ‘open doors’ in the UK for many months, Historics have combined the scheduled 16 May sale at Mercedes-Benz World with their Saturday 18 July auction at their spiritual home, the Brooklands Museum, where the house first opened their doors in 2010.
An advocate of physical auctions being still by far the best route to sell your classic or collectible, Mark Perkins, Historics’ Managing Director, commented: “We truly value the wonderful and spirited classic car community, and are naturally disappointed to pass on our May sale. Nevertheless, we applaud the resilience and camaraderie of all like-minded enthusiast and join you in pulling together to help overcome this difficult period. We look forward to greeting you again in person and, in the meantime, extend our very best wishes.”
With the Government’s current virus spread measures being enforced however, and with the potential for restrictions on unnecessary movements either being tightened further or relaxed in stages, May sale cars have already been transferred to July’s 10th Anniversary sale, for which additional vendors are sought by the Historics consignment team, via 01753 639170, as well as for other auctions later in this curtailed season.
Although whether ‘untested’ citizens, who will be the vast majority for months (if not for most of next year) will actually be permitted to emerge from self-isolation to attend public gatherings at Museums, Exhibition Halls or Race Circuits, sharing unsocially-distanced loos and catering facilities, may be very unlikely, and for the foreseeable future too.
Indeed, only where Governments dare to put younger voters’ livelihoods before the lives of their maturer citizens however, will the good old days with business as usual return sooner rather than very much later. RH-E

 

Coronavirus lockdown did not prevent H&H from fielding 2,648 bids on-line and selling 98% of clients’ automobilia lots for over £132k

Top-priced item in the internet only sale, which went ‘live’ 22 March and timed out 29 March, was a partially surviving tool-kit from a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost which went for £4,830 including 15% premium. The 46 components within a custom leather tool-roll were primarily original, though there were a small number of high-quality like-for-like re-manufactured items.
A Mobiloil ‘Gargoyle’ enamel sign for the motor house wall raised £2530, a man cave ready Rothmans Porsche 956 showroom model £2300, a Steve McQueen ‘The Great Escape’ autographed display piece £1610 and a James Hunt autograph presentation £1380.  A 1933 Brooklands International Race poster made £1150 and the same was paid for a 1920 French Icarus mascot by Colin George for Farman Cars.
£920 was needed to advertise the 1963 British GP Silverstone with an original poster. A Bentley Boy bought a Speed Six instruction book for £748 and a ‘Seated Elephant in the Egg’ mascot fit for a Maharaja found £690. A dash panel with instruments may be reunited with a Jaguar XK150 for £483, while to display a 1930 BARC Brooklands Members enamel car badge by Spencer of London cost £437 and a handle to start a Rolls-Royce 20hp £230.    
Enabling punters to shop from home via lap-tops, tablets or i-phones, the H&H On-Line Only platform, in ‘Live’ and ‘Timed’ guises, has now been trading for over eighteen months. Their preferred mailing house, Mailboxes Etc, Altrincham, provided a fully insured packing and shipping service for Automobilia items purchased.
Commenting on their 98% sold £132,320 sale, H&H Classics Head of Automobilia, Adam Sykes told C.A.R. “The fact that the result was achieved during this difficult time for the country and the world speaks volumes about on-line sales as a powerful phenomenon in the tradition bound auction world.”
Indeed, such has been the recent i-sale revolution in most collector car, classic bike and motoring memorabilia markets, where absentee salegoers are now being compelled to bid from social-isolation, that H&H logged a sizeable jump in website visitors with over 780,000 page views recorded in March alone. With up to 150 images illustrating some lots being auctioned, even more i-traffic is likely to make the virtual journey to the platform. RH-E

As Covid-19 legislation closes ‘live’ auctions, The Market on-line only platform sells record £752k worth of classics during 86% sold March

On-line only classic car auction firm, The Market, sold 86 per cent of client cars auctioned in March for £752,000, a new house record in one month when the average spent per car amounted to £31,335. With traditional public sales prohibited, the Abingdon firm’s on-line auction platform and app have seen a 50 per cent increase in traffic over the past week alone.
Even in self-isolation, it seems, some enthusiasts are actively continuing both to sell (many because they really need do so) and buy classic cars, several at unimaginably reduced prices from only a few weeks ago and despite the coronavirus lockdown outlawing their non-essential use until further notice. There will also be those who want and need to have something to tinker with in domestic garage isolation, your Correspondent is one of them.   
Of the 25 classics sold by The Market in March, the highest priced lot was a 1973 Ferrari 246GT Dino, one of 498 UK right hand-drive cars, which sold for a within estimate band £215,000, while £87,000 was accepted for a claimed to be pristine 1976 308GTB with Vetroresina plastic bodywork.
A restored 1962 Jaguar E Type 3.8 Fixed Head Coupe with features found only on the very first examples sold for a forecast £91,000. Noteworthy, too, a said to be still highly original 1979 VW Golf GTI 1.6 Mk1 S1 driven just 17,000 miles sold for a just under estimate £27,695. Only four cars auctioned were unsold.  
“Our March results are great news for us at The Market, but also for the whole classic car industry”, director at The Market, Tristan Judge, told C.A.R.
“Classic car enthusiasts should feel reassured. We’ve upgraded our website server to cope with demand, and although our premises are currently closed to the public, we are able to provide delivery transport and storage for sellers and buyers as well as personal, live video viewing of cars if needed.”
To surf all The Market's auction results visit https://themarket.co.uk/
You could also download their free app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Unlike most of their competitors, The Market has been 100 per cent on-line since day one, hosting unlimited image galleries and descriptions on auction lots and returning an industry leading 95 per cent of the sale price to the vendor.
Cars are offered for sale every single day on their platform, rather than in whole catalogues on one day or in batches over several days, ensuring sellers have the opportunity to maybe move their cars on to new owners faster than is possible using most other dispersal routes.
Unusually, there is no entry fee for vendors, who are charged 5 per cent seller’s commission, while buyers only pay what they bid, with no additional fees. To date, over 600 vehicles have been sold on-line on this platform for prices ranging from £20,000-200,000 with a total value of over £5m and an overall sales rate of over 80 per cent.
Currently your virus-infected HMG is actively encouraging all (socially responsible) on-line selling and the employment that comes from their support services as practical ways of keeping at least part of the country’s embattled economy going.
Since our heading photo was taken, The Market have instigated remote working for employees and social distancing procedures, without reducing the buyer experience, and with transport and storage options definitely available to those that need them. RH-E

With HMG having been empowered to shut down car showrooms and auction salerooms until further notice, a selection of the very latest prices still being paid by punters for classics in socially-distanced 'Timed Out' sales on the internet held during March have been listed under this website's 'Latest Prices' option, accessed on the Home Page menu bar. As a useful valuations tool both for vendors and buyers during coronavirus lockdown, this page will be refreshed with On-Line auction prices paid in April, May and so on.

1996 Porsche 911 GT2 fetches $891k (£730,620) on-line and 2019 McLaren Senna $847k (£694,540) during RM Sotheby’s 67% sold internet sale

After more than 615,000 page views over seven days, nearly 900 bidders from 44 countries bought 173 of the 239 cars auctioned on RM Sotheby’s time-based, on-line only digital platform for $13,619,165 (£11,167,715 including 10% buyer’s premium).
Statistically interesting, too, the numbers of absentee participants were 23% up on the average that have registered for the North American firm’s ‘live’ auctions in South Florida over the last four years, while 36% of them were bidding with the company for the first time.
Sales for the internet auction that replaced the physical Palm Beach auction were led by a pair of supercars. A 1996 Porsche 911 GT2, a pristine example of the 194 road-going GT2s built, which was only recently added to the RMS i-catalogue following the transition to an on-line only sale (header image by Jeremy Cliff courtesy of RM Sotheby’s), sold for a results-topping $891,000 (£730,620).
Also headlining at this virtual event was a 2019 McLaren Senna, well optioned and presented in virtually as-new condition having only been driven 200 miles, which was clicked away for $847,000 (£694,540).
Other remarkable valuations as the global Covid-19 pandemic shuts down most economic activity in the classic car consuming world were the $682,000 (£559,240) paid for a 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra, the $434,500 (£356,290) for a 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III and the $324,500 (£266,090) for a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale.
$280,500 (£230,010) was spent on a 1961 Jaguar E Type Series 1 3.8 Roadster, $275,000 (£225,500) on a Dunes-ready 1992 Lamborghini LM002 and the same on a 1983 Countach LP 5000S. Whilst $260,000 (£213,200) was bid for a 1966 Ferrari 330GT Series 1 2+2 and $242,000 (£198,440) for a still nearly new 2006 Ford GT.
“This was an unprecedented on-line collector car auction in terms of both value of cars offered over four days and the speed at which we had to pivot from the regularly scheduled South Florida auction,” said Kenneth Ahn, President, RM Sotheby’s, after the auction.
“The decision to shift our long-established physical auction to our on-line platform was not without its complexities. However, as the industry’s largest market maker by total sales, we had many clients who were counting on us to sell their cars in this market and significant bidder interest gearing up to the physical auction.
“The Covid-19 virus pandemic is clearly a new challenge to our industry and business. We were able to quickly mobilise and adapt to the changing environment, allowing us to serve our clients in a meaningful and effective way. We have received tremendously positive feedback from our clients and industry participants over the past several days, and we will continue to refine and improve our digital platform based on this experience.” 
Some of the other noteworthy valuations during the 20-28 March process were a 1967 Shelby GT350 sold for $115,500 ($94,710), a 1950 Jaguar XK120 Roadster for $143,000 (£117,260), a 1997 Ferrari F355 Spider for $52,800 (£43,296), a 1982 Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser ‘Troopy’ for $50,600 (£41,492)and a 1967 Oldmobile Toronado for $60,500 (£49,610) on the Wednesday.
Thursday sales included a 1956 Jaguar XK140 MC Roadster for $165,000 (£135,200), a 1961 VW Deluxe 23-Window Microbus for $159,500 (£130,790), a 1997 Bentley Continental T for $82,500 (£67,650) and a 1966 Batmobile Replica for $148,500 (£121,770). During the Friday session, a 2010 Ferrari 599GTB sold for $137,500 (£112,750).
Whilst Saturday sales included a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE for $63,800 (£52,316), a 1999 Mercedes-Benz Brabus 7.3 S for $165,000 (£135,300), a 1987 Porsche 911 Turbo for $115,000 (£94,300) and a 1984 Lamborghini Jalpa for $99,000 (£81,180).
When and how all these successfully auctioned cars can be transported from wherever they currently are in the US to wherever the purchasers may want them delivered could be fraught with logistical difficulties however. For such non-essential movements could potentially be restricted for many months to come and new owners will therefore be responsible for banking and insuring their newly acquired assets far from their own toy cupboards. RH-E

 

‘Sealed Bids’ were accepted by vendors of 31 classics prevented from being auctioned at Bicester Heritage, even behind closed hangar doors

Even as the nation’s garage doors are compulsorily closed and our freedom of movement has been officially denied until further notice, one third of the 91 classics assembled behind closed doors in WW2 Hangar at Bicester Heritage and offered by Bonhams MPH on a ‘sealed bid’ basis were sold for £354,338 including premium, an average of £11,430 per car paid by absentee bidders.
The 31 cars that changed hands during the 34% sold on-line only sale were led by a 1988 Ferrari 412 4-Seater Coupe with manual-shift, for which a below £40,000-50,000 pre-sale estimated £35,625 was accepted. A 1976 Porsche 911SC 2.7 Sportomatic realised a more than top estimate £29,250 however, and an only just below guide £27,000 was forthcoming for a 1957 Land Rover S1 88 with canvas tilt that had only been driven 500 on-road miles since a 2014 restoration.
An only 12,500 mile 1948 Alvis TA14 with Coupe bodywork by Duncan that had been stored for 60 years was taken on for £25,987, nearly £11,000 more had been forecast, and from some 30 years hibernation, a 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I project, in need of mechanical recommissioning at least, made £19,968, top estimate money.
A mid-estimate £24,750 bought a 1983 Mercedes-Benz SL500 with limited-slip and air-con options and a factory hardtop, and the required £22,500 acquired a 2000 restored 1960 Daimler SP250 Sports. A 1967 Jaguar E Type 4.2 2+2 Coupe, dormant since 2012 and deceased estate entered, fetched £21,375, more than expected. While 91 years after being sold new in Vienna, a 1929 Renault 15cv Vivasox Landaulette de Ville sold again here for £20,708, only just over the lower estimate, and a repatriated 1957 Jaguar Mk VIII Saloon, an older restoration with still original interior, found a close to top estimate £14,625.
Those on-line auctioned cars that did sell at least provided depressed market watchers with some real world valuations to digest. Although faced with internationally applied lock-downs - already shutting down life as previously enjoyed for six months or more, and likely to be even more draconian potentially - being permitted to drive or transport non-essential collector vehicles to or from market may no longer be legal or wise, even in unmarked trailers by night. Police cars can see in the dark. RH-E
 

CCA on-line only Saturday 28 March sale sees batches of lots auctioned on 12 hour time-out basis on Proxibid website

Having already relocated from the cancelled Practical Classics Show at the NEC, and then prevented by the Boris Ban on gatherings from holding a physical auction at the Warwickshire Event Centre, CCA had hoped to have an on-line only sale for the 188 cars originally catalogued for Birmingham.
Bidders were encouraged to do so either by telephoning through commission bids, or bidding for cars ‘live’ by telephone or on-line via three digital platforms - Proxibid, The Saleroom and Invaluable.
In line with the latest Government ‘stay at home’ legislation however, which has compelled even car showrooms and auction salerooms to shut down, along with most of the rest of the economy, the CCA sale will be completely virtual, with no ‘viewing day’ the day before sale day, as had become custom and practice at previous sales held at the WEC.
The usual delivery and collection of auction cars from the sale venue cannot be accommodated either (via transport and storage contractor E H Rogers Northanpton HQ) until HMG lifts their current 'stay at home' instruction for all non-essential activities.
Where possible, video content has been increased for each of the now 160 on-line auction cars, while interested parties can always obtain further details on all the cars in the sale before they go under the virtual hammer by contacting the CCA team by telephoning  01926 640888 or via enquiries@classiccarauctions.co.uk
Nine to eleven lots will be offered from 7am-7pm each day during a 12 hour window on the www.proxibid.com platform over a 16 day on-line only process. Check out the lot list on the CCA website or the Proxid platform to see when these bidding windows are opened for which cars. To bid for cars though, you will need to register directly now only with Proxibid (0203 769 7206/0203 695 9870), whose software presumably enables them to manage the absentee bids process within the socially-distanced environment required.
For more details, please refer to the helpful Proxibid ‘Tutorial Series’ videos on ‘Creating an Account’ and ‘Live Bidding’ on-line. For this sale, CCA have also specially reduced buyer's premium to 8% (9.6% inclusive of VAT) and absorbed the usual 1% Proxibid charge for on-line bidding.
Postponements, cancellations, wasted deposits and no immunity for Princes, PMs or Peasants
In the meantime, and in compliance with the new legisation empowered directives from Number 10, neither the revised 'Behind Closed Doors' Bonhams sale planned for Sunday 29 March at the already cancelled Goodwood Members' Meeting or the ACA 'Drive Through, even though held within their own vehicles auctions centre at King's Lynn Saturday 4 April, can now take place, either 'live' or on-line.
The modern Le Mans 24 Hours has been moved to September, although when and whether Le Mans Classic and the Artcurial sale can still take place is also uncertain, while the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Bonhams auction have already been postponed to who knows when. Although as I write this, the Silverstone Classic IS still going ahead apparently.
Having personally incurred up-front airline ticket payments and advanced parking charges with no refunds however, and funded non-refundable hotel bookings for cancelled trips, best advice has now to be - do not advance-book or pay for any flights, ferries, event entry fees and admission tickets, or any accommodation deposits that may not be returnable, until further notice.
With Prince Charles, the PM and the Health Secretary all testing positve for Covid-19, clearly nobody is immune from becoming a mere statistic in what in a virus-driven Coup has become Big Brother Britain. RH-E

After Duxford viewing had been curtailed by Imperial War Museum, H&H were able to sell 63 classics for £1.85m, but behind closed doors

Although the sale of the catalogue cover featured 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead, for which £300,000-400,000 had been sought, was abandoned at £250,000, £204,750 was accepted for a once Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands owned 1938 LG6 Drophead estimated at £200,000-250,000.
The £260,000+ required for a 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Vantage manual was unavailable though and a £165,000-185,000 1926 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model owned by Le Mans winner Johnny Hindmarsh also failed to reach its reserve.
There were buyers however for a clutch of really old timers with a £19,188 more than forecast £69,188 for a 1934 Delage D6-11 Saoutchik-style Cabrio and a more than £10,000 over guide £65,250 for a 1938 Alvis Speed 25 SC 3-Position Drophead by Charlesworth.
Whilst the £27,000 bravely invested in the long term future of a dilapidated 1934 Alvis Speed 20 SB, one of 23 Charlesworth coach-built 4-Seater Dropheads requiring extensive restoration, was £9000 more than had been estimated.
The required £60,750 was paid for a 1912 Talbot 15hp Type M Open Tourer for four and a 1938 AC 16/70 Drophead raised a more than top estimate £56,250.
All three early MGs that had been previously restored sold, a 1933 J2 for £29,250, a 1949 TC for £23,062 and a 1935 PA 4-Seater £18,562. A 1993 vintage MG R V8 driven only 4865 miles from new during one family ownership realised the required £24,750.
E Types valued here included a former LHD 1963 S1 3.8 Fixed Head at £67,500 with premium, another 1969 S2 4.2 Roadster RHD conversion at £60,750 and a freshly repainted 1973 E Type S3 V12 Roadster auto at £51,570.  A 1970 S2 4/4 2+2 Coupe manual for restoration fetched £17,719.
Fast Fords sold were led by an only two owner 1974 Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 with Broadspeed steel arches from new in 1974 that had been in receipt of a nine year restoration sold for £65,250, more than £5000 over guide. A two private keeper 52,165 mile 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 3-Door found a within estimate £43,875 and a 1973 Ford Capri 3000 GXL a more tan expected £26,688.
A 1973 Triumph Stag with 20,700 mileage was exceptionally original and well preserved for a within estimate £25,312, and a 1961 Morris Minor 1000 Pick-Up with photographic record of body restoration and original seats and door cards warranted the £12,375 paid.
The Rolex CEO’s 1993 Bentley Continental R sold for £43,000, £103,000 less than it did 27 years ago, and a 32,000 mile since 2004 Continental GT 2+2 Twin Turbo 6.0 W12 with Tiptronic capable of 198mph on paper seemed good value for £20,812.   
Although many previously hot Modern Classics have cooled of late, a Limited Edition Subaru Impreza P1 2-Door produced by Prodrive in 2000 went well, selling for £24,750, and a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X GST FQ-300 4-Door auto for £10,125.
There was also a new owner for the most specialist item in the hangar, a 1959 front-engined Elva 100 Formula Junior Single Seater with DKW engine, which raced to a £29,250 result, better than expected.
The crunched numbers
Very few cars were hammered away under the hammer though. Although where there were highest bids, these were declared ‘provisional’ by the auctioneer and,  where returned amounts were acceptable to vendors,  declared ‘sold’ to the on-line audience.
After further conversions had taken place after the i-cast had finished however, 55% of the 155 lots in the catalogue had changed hands for £1,851,382 including 12.5% buyer’s premium, a far from unhealthy £29,387 gross being spent per car.
Whilst 52 cars were unsold, 45% of those offered to an absentee public, reflective analysis indicates that of the 63 cars that did sell, only 24% went for less than their lower estimates, whereas 55% sold for estimated prices and 21% made more than top estimate money. In these uncontrolled virus times, surely remarkable.
The future format for auctions?
This was the first collector vehicle auction were cars had been physically viewed the day before, in a pre-lock down Imperial War Museum hangar, but where the auction process itself was then conducted behind closed doors with no public access on sale day.
A well-oiled H&H on-line only auction machine for both cars, offered 'live' on the internet, and automobilia, on a timed-out basis, has been up and running for some time, so for the North West team this was just another day at the office, normally in Warrington in their own premises, where at least all their sales in whatever format can be accommodated in the future. For as the inevitable shut down of most economic life, as we have known it, ‘officially’ distances us all until further notice, only internet auction models like these may be permitted to survive.
Although on-line auctioneers not having their own controlled facility, so that consigned classics, collector bikes or higher value memorabilia and authenticating documents can be physically viewed in advance of being sold by prospective buyers would seem to be most unwise for all concerned. Those who play the e-bay game of chance on a regular basis, and whose computer mice have not been burned (so far), would disagree, of course. RH-E


 

Although Bonhams MPH ‘On-Line’ Bicester Drive Thru was cancelled in compliance with PM's event ban, 31 cars were sealed bid sold for £354k

Even though the numbers attending two days of viewing in the Bicester Heritage WW2 hangar had been strictly controlled, Bonhams cancelled their Saturday 21 March Drive Through sale on the eve of what was to have been an on-line only auction.
The PM’s shock announcement that all manner of enterprises, where the public could eat, drink, socialise, keep fit or congregate should be closed down overnight was responsible for this rapid change in management policy and even the revised format of a behind closed door sale having to be abandoned at the eleventh hour.
All 95 lots in the sale catalogue will however still be offered, but under a ‘sealed bid’ system with bids submitted with the MPH team by 17.00 GMT on Monday 23 March 2020, after which the best bids (subject to buyer’s premium) would be submitted to vendors. Offers for cars should be either emailed to mph@bonhams.com, or call +44 (0) 1869 229477.
The intention was for cars to have been driven past the rostrum with two separate cameras providing a real time ‘walk around’ view, so that the on-line audience would have seen and heard them running.
In view of this latest cancellation and to avoid any wasted planning and potentially costly journeys for surfers, this website’s best advice has to be always check with the auction firms themselves that sales in whatever format are really going ahead before travelling – and to do this by one to one telephoning a real person preferably rather than being directed by website information which may have become historic.
Welcome to the Covid-19 era, where few if any ‘gatherings' will be allowed to take place, the Monaco Historic GP races, along with both the Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s auctions, are only the latest casualties of many more such 'live events' to be deleted, some never to return. With normal service unlikely to be resumed for the foreseeable future, the on-line auction is likely therefore to be the only show in town without a High Street.
As it says on the tin, Classic Auction Review shall continue to review which cars actually sell at auction, albeit only on the internet, and importantly for consumers for how much and why. For as long as traditional markets remain compulsarily closed down and the values of most things freefall through the basement floor, advertised 'asking prices' can no longer be achieved and even previous auction results become increasingly historic. The prices actually paid for  classics on-line may well therefore become the only reality check for classic car values, and for the foreseeable future too.
In addition, regular and independent overviews of this changing collector vehicle auction market will continue to appear right here on C.A.R. where virus-free access is entirely free and only a click or two away.
As long as supplies continue to get through the road blocks to come, at least the 'Real Ale' of choice can still be embibed in the isolation of one's own home. Although sadly, I am not permitted to share any of the precious nectar with you. Cheers! RH-E

 

£5.5m 1932 Bugatti T55 heads 87% sold sale results in Florida, where £59.6m was invested in 306 cars before US auctions shutdown

Bonhams Thursday 1 March: One of only 11 Super Sport Roadsters retaining original and definitive Jean Bugatti designed coachwork, the 1932 Bugatti Type 55 was driven around Cambridge by first owner, 22 year old Trinity College graduate Victor Rothschild. Coming to market from single US ownership of the late Dean S Edmonds Junior since 1985, the former Pebble Beach Concours class winner had been pre-sale estimated by the auctioneers to fetch $6,500,000-9,500,000 (£5.01m-7.32m).
With still matching chassis, engine, drive-train and coachwork, and eligible for the Mille Miglia Retrospective and Le Mans Classic, this true icon of automobile design was driven across the block to sell for $7,100,000 (£5,467,000) to become not only the top priced car at the three Florida sales, but the most valuable car sold at auction this year on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the same Bonhams auction pavilion at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club, and in second place in the Amelia Island auction results, was a 1907 Renault Type A1 35/45hp, one of four survivors commissioned by Willie K Vanderbilt for American racing with Renault Bros coachwork. Having been previously exhibited in the Indianapolis Speedway Hall of Fame Museum for more than 60 years, one of the greatest motorcars of its era fetched $5,332,500 (£2,566,025), 113 years after most probably winning the 1907 Brighton 24 Hours.
The Schnuerer Collection 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, driven by Sir Stirling Moss to lead the 2015 Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, raised $1,028,000 (£791,550), close to top estimate, and an Edmonds Estate consigned 1931 Invicta 4½-Litre S Type Low-Chassis Vanden Plas Sports-Tourer sold for a low estimate $852,000 (£656,040). A well below estimate $725,500 (£558,635) was accepted for one of 7 factory-delivered left-hand drive GT-engined DB4s from the same source. While the 1967/68 Con-Ferr Meyers Manx Dune Buggy with Corvair 2.6 Flat-6 in the tail, cast for a supporting role to Steve McQueen in ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ movie, made $456,000 (£351,120), forecast money.  
By sale end, 89 of the 116 cars in 3 catalogues had sold for $21.2m (£16.32m), an average of $238,698 (£183,791) with a 77% sell-through rate. One year ago, 92 out of 108 cars sold for $15.8m (£12.17m), an average of $171,626 (£132,152) with an 85% sell-through rate.
RM Sotheby’s Friday-Saturday 6/7 March: Whereas by the end of their two-day sale on Saturday 7 March at the Ritz-Carlton, the RM Sotheby’s team had sold 92% of the 145 lots in their catalogue, their clients spending $35.4m (£27.26m) on 134 cars, an average of $263,502 (£202,897) per classic bought. At the same sale in 2019, 117 of the 141 cars sold for $38.1m (£29.34) at an average price of $325,219 (£248,879) with a 77% sell-through rate.  
Prices this year were headed by a new to the market 2003 Ferrari Enzo that had been in the care of the Lingenfelter Collection for 15 years for $2,782,500 (£2,145,525), the third highest priced car sold at the Amelia Island sales this year. In fourth place was a beautifully restored 1938 Bugatti T57 Cabriolet, the only 3-seater with Aravius style body by D’Ieteren, sold for $1,655,000 (£1,274,350).
RM Sotheby’s also sold a well restored 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso award winner for $1,600,000 (£1,232,000) and a 1961 250GT S2 Cabriolet for $1,352,500 (£1,041,425). There were buyers for both pre-war Duesenberg Model Js with $1,325,000 (£1,020,250) forthcoming for a 1932 Rollston Stationary Victoria and $1,132,500 (£872,025) for a 1930 Murphy Convertible Coupe. A Lola T165 Can-Am tripled expectations with a $665,000 (£512,050) result.
A Canepa-upgraded, California street-legal 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort cost $1,050,000 (£808,500), an as-new 2004 Porsche Carrera GT auctioned Without Reserve $786,000 (£605,220) and a 2019 911 GT2 RS Clubsport far exceeded pre-sale estimate at a final $527,500 (£406,175).
The same money bought a 2.4 mile 2006 Ford GT Heritage at $533,000 (£410,410) and a No Reserve four-option 2005 Ford GT from The Keith Crain Collection realised $384,500 (£296,065). A 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC AMG 6.0 ‘Wide Body’ nearly doubled its $220,000-260,000 estimate, selling for $390,000 (£300,300). Consigned from 45 years of ownership in The Todd & Peggy Naylor Collection, a 1925 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model Tourer was re-homed for $335,000 (£257,950).
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Oates drove a 1984 Tiga SC84 Sports 2000 onto the auction block, where the sports-racing car generously offered by John and his wife Aimee sold for $50,400 (£38,800), with all proceeds benefiting the Amelia Island Concours Foundation’s support of Spina Bifida of Jacksonville.  
Gooding Friday 6 March: At the beachfront Omni Amelia Island Plantation, the Gooding top ten was led by a 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 40/50hp Phaeton sold for $2,205,000 (£1,697,850) from a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S Coupe  at $1,435,000 (£1,104,950) with a 1976 Porsche 934 Race Car $1,380,000 (£1,062,600) in pursuit.
$995,000 (£766,150) was paid for a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster and $978,500 (£753,445) for a 2019 McLaren Senna Coupe. A 2017 Ford GT made $967,500 (£744,975), a 2009 RUF CTR Coupe $808,000 (£622,160) and a 1972 Maserati Ghibli SS Spyder $753,000 (£579,810).
Gooding & Co sold 83 of the 89 cars catalogued for $20.8m (£16.02m) at an average of $250,784 (£193,104) with a week-topping 93% sale rate. Whereas at the same sale one year ago, 78 of 89 consigned cars sold for $22m (£16.94m) with an average price of $282,666 (£217,653) and an 88% sell-through rate.
Although soldiering on in the face of apparently uncontrollable Covid-19, auctioneers and their vendors appear to have successfully adopted a business as usual stance in Florida, where some strong prices and surprisingly high sale rates were achieved.
These last hurrahs in the US may nonetheless have been the final major auctions to be held in front of ‘live audiences’ for months as grim reality shuts down international travel and whole industries run out of customers and money. Anyway, potential vendors and buyers may be otherwise preoccupied, whilst older players may be prevented from leaving the isolation of their homes by hasty legislation. RH-E
 

Over 750 checked in to £4m Historics sale, potentially one of final auctions to be held within UK public event venues for months

Historics’ top priced seller Saturday 7 March in the Ascot Atrium was an Aston Martin DB6 guided at £279,000-320,000. The subject of a recent £120k restoration, and one of 245 Mk2s with the benefit of power-assisted steering, but with the less desirable auto-shift and full-length Webasto sunroof, the 1970 4-Seater GT that changed hands in 1979 for £5600, 41 years later, sold for £304,480 here.
By contrast, a 2018 DB11 Volante in Skyfall Silver, costing £175,000 new in April 2018, less than two years ago, was hammered away for £88,000.
The right-hand drive 1969 Lamborghini Islero S that was driven by a pre-007 Sir Roger Moore on the set of ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself’ and subsequently treated to a £100k restoration at Gantspeed in 1986 achieved £291,500, £6000 more than top estimate.
A recently and extensively restored 1974 Jaguar E Type S3 V2 Roadster, a manual on wires with factory hardtop, also made a better than expected £127,600, £27,600 more than forecast.
The best-selling Mercedes-Benz of 28 in the sale, a 1957 190SL Roadster, found £110,000, £10,000 above estimate, and there were very brave buyers for both 600 Limo projects, a 1972 with division and engine on a pallet taken on for £15,400 and a more complete Kuala Lumpur sourced 1964 without division for £20,350.
Porsche prices were led by an Oregon supplied 1989 911 3.2 Speedster, one of 2104 with a pair of visually controversial camel hump cowlings concealing the stowed-away manual top. Driven a mere 11,848 miles in 31 years, and with Tony Lapine styled references to the original 356 Speedster, the 31 year old sold for £107,800, just below estimate.
A 2014 911 50th Anniversary, one of circa 100 UK residents, most like the sale car with only 70 delivery miles on the odometer, went for £105,600, low estimate money.
An only 27 miles since 2016 one owner BMW M5 Competition Edition, one of 200 produced and one of 40 in right-hand drive, realised £88,000 and a 2016 McLaren 570S with 36,000 miles of service history fetched £75,900, its top estimate with premium. There were buyers for both right-hand drive California Ferraris, £75,350 paid for a 2006 with 10,682 mileage and £55,550 for a 2010 with 43,500 mileage.
A 45 mile old Land Rover Defender 110 Heritage of 2015 vintage raised a £4500 better than expected £49,500, while a £4900 more than estimated £20,900 was forthcoming for a deliberately scruffy looking 1964 VW Splitty Panel Van with rebuilt 1500c engine and rock n’ roll bed within a timber and hessian trimmed interior.
Fast Fords transacted included a late 1990s ground-up restored 1966 Lotus Cortina Mk1 bought for £45,650, close to low estimate, a 40,403 mile 1980 Escort RS2000 Custom Mk2 for a within guide £33,440 and a No Reserve 1981 Escort XR3 1.6 in receipt of photo-recorded restoration for £10,725.
With original Ford V8 Suffolk factory-changed to an Essex V6, the first and therefore pre-production 1967/8 Trident Clipper GT built in only fair condition was acquired for £8800.
After some provisional bids were converted into sales, 124 of the 188 cars in the Historics catalogue had sold for £4,092,924 including premium and an average of £33,007 had been spent per car bought.
Although the stats indicate 64 unsold classics, 34% of those on offer, 66% did sell - 29% of them auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, which were going to sell anyway, 34% sold within their pre-sale estimate bands, 24% selling for less than forecast prices and 13% impressively making more than their top estimates.
Considering the wall to wall doom being peddled by 24 hour newsrooms, many of the prices paid were remarkably historic, while the 750 or more ‘live attendance’ at this sale was both encouraging and quite extraordinary. With the rapid shutdown of everything in prospect however, this may have been the last ‘auction gathering’ of any size that was permitted to take place within a major UK event venue, such as Ascot Racecourse, for the foreseeable future. RH-E
 

No shortage of buyers at well attended Brightwells in still virus-free Herefordshire, where three quarters of cars auctioned sold for £1.45m

Brightwells star turn, a 25th Anniversary Edition 1988 Porsche 911 Turbo in right-hand drive that had come to market from an Irish Republic residency since 2006, delivered a result’s topping performance for the Leominster house and their vendor by selling for a within estimate £84,000. Also displayed before the rostrum in the main saleroom, a better than new in 1969 Halewood-Ford built Escort Twin Cam Mk1, which cost £1163 when new, but made an only just below forecast £47,040 on a March 4 Wednesday afternoon here.
Billed as “a straightforward restoration project” and auctioned at ‘No Reserve’, a 1968 Aston Martin DBS Vantage with 5-speed manual box and matching numbers was taken on for £44,240, and a ready for assembly, ex-Champion Plug Company 1968 Jaguar E Type S1 2+2 Fixed Head in pro-restored component form realised £29,120.
A 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 Supercharged 289ci V8 with Borg Warner manual shift and photo album recorded 1990 restoration sold for a better than forecast £28,560 and a one owner 1991 VW T3 Synchro 4x4 with de-mountable Tischer T245 Twin-Berth Camper module also pulled well, selling for £20,770, £5770 more than top estimate.
From deceased ownership of 31 years, a 1954 Triumph TR2 with many upgrades, including TR34A engine and overdrive, and 30 MOTs had been clearly much loved and was worth owning for the £17,920 paid. A more recently restored 1934 Singer Nine Sports for four looked neat for £15,680 and a John Barlow overhauled 1935 Austin 7 Nippy was well bought for £10,080.
One of the highest fliers was a 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller that had been driven only 11,095 miles from new by two owners, the first of whom parked the half-timbered time warp in a garage for 45 years. Exhumed, pro-recommissioned and MOT tested following 45 years in storage, and pre-sale estimated at £10,000-15,000, the 51 year old real Estate fetched £16,800. By contrast, an outwardly original 1970 Traveller with Midget 1275 engine and disc brakes sold for a within-guide £8850, half price.
Another deceased estate consigned 1951 Riley RMA’s claim to fame was having a dead body discovered in its boot in the BBC Daytime’s ‘Father Brown’ series, which did not prevent the movie-ready prop from selling for a more than estimated £9520.
After an 11am start and more than 6½ hours under the hammer, and with many provisional bids converted into sales, 148 or 75% of the 198 cars in the catalogue changed hands for £1,446,683 with premium and an average of £9909 had been spent per car bought.
Analysis of the sale stats shows that while No Reserve lots, which were going to sell anyway, accounted for 20% of sales, below estimate bids were accepted for 35% of cars sold, another 26% sold for within estimated prices and 20% exceeded their top estimates. And although 50 vehicles were unsold, there were still buyers for three out of every four classics auctioned. Encouragingly for our particular sector, too, plenty of punters made often very long journeys to be in the ‘live’ audience at both viewing and sale days.

"Pandemic", it's official. After 2 months, WHO finally declares Wuhan spread virus does have global Pandemic status.
Italy has already closed for business, France has banned public events. There will be no Essen Show or RM Sotheby's sale in Germany. And with no vaccines available and hardly any organised testing facilities, all gatherings must now be under threat of official deletion.
Many markets have already tanked, including the FTSE which fell 11% in one day, and most asset values may have very much further to fall. Travel bans will ground the weakest airlines, dinosaur cruise ship operators will sink. The Covid 19 driven recession has most certainly arrived - but for how long and at what cost is still in the unknown.
With the Italian Government shutting down all economic activity by decree with compulsory quarantine for the entire population and even funerals banned, the potential for UK event restrictions, including auctions held in public-access venues, may now be only a Cobra meeting away.
For while the Irish Republican regime has shut down schools and limited the numbers attending meetings held inside and outside, and the Nationalist Sturgeon has cancelled Scottish sports events with more than 500 spectators, Team Boris did at least encourage Crufts to go ahead at the NEC and the Irish to spend a fortune during Cheltenham Gold Cup week.
But in the face of much media hostility, Number 10's commendable 'business as usual for as long as possible' stance has become unstainable and draconian powers will enable Goverment to shut down mass gatherings and put national life on hold.
The Geneva Motor Show never even opened its doors, two MOTO GPs have been cancelled so far and, after the virus infected a member of the McLaren Team, the F1 season opener at Melbourne was abandoned just before practice and the first four Grand Prix have been cancelled, so far.
Understandably, Italian ski resorts, indeed all sports in Italy, have been closed down and EU mainland soccer matches, first played behind closed doors, were then not played at all. President Macron has closed schools,universities, even the Eifel Tower, and limited attendances at all 'Gatherings’ in France to 1000. Spain has declared a State of Alarm and closed bars and restaurants, The Trump, a National State of Emergency which includes barring 26 European mainland airlines from landing in the States.
Such is the depth of UK depression and uncertainty, it is hardly surprising that few are now advance-booking admission tickets, flights, ferries or accommodation for events at home or away that may never be allowed to take place.
The wisest auction firms meanwhile have been making contingency plans to hold sales at venues, preferably their own, where they, rather than local authority health and safety obsessed clip-boarders in hi-viz jackets, can still call the shots. Viewing day/s may have to be more controlled, admission strictly ticketed, with the private event sales themselves mainly for on-line audiences.
In the meantime, best advice has to be - if you must go out, keep a regulation 1 metre distance from the next solitary diner in the Italian or Chinese restaurant, of you can find one that is still in business, and leave some goodies on your local supermarket shelves for others to clear. Mask up and don gloves like a pathologist on TV, continually wash those hands, whilst singing the National Anthem (or Happy Birthday), preferably twice, and abandon hand shaking and kissing foreigners on both cheeks.
Seriously though, we must all be prepared for what must now be an inevitable self-isolated shutdown with little consumer appetite for anything remotely commercial, and that, sadly, 'may' have to include traditional car auctions, for quite a while too. RH-E
 

TR2 with Goodwood history cantered to £52,800 result at Sandown Park, where Barons also sold 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster for £100,000

The Vic Derrington modified 1954 Triumph TR2 was road tested by legendary scribe John Bolster in the 16 September 1955 Autosport and regularly raced, including at Goodwood. Subsequently works Lola driver Peter Gammon can be seen driving the VPJ 778 registered TR in the 28 August 1958 issue of what used to be the definitive must-read mag for race fans. A £48,000 commission bid for the once Canley factory built sports car, which had been estimated at £30,000-40,000, eventually overtook the best offer in the room, the winner paying £52,800 with premium. Look out for it at Goodwood.
The top seller at the Surrey racecourse 25 February however, by several furlongs too, was one of only 64 right-hand drive 1989 Porsche 911 3.2 Speedsters with Turbo-look bodywork and distinctively lower and more raked screen. In Guards Red with Black leather piped in Red formerly beloved by City Traders in red braces, the 48,000 miler was provisionally bid to an only £5000 below forecast £95,000 and speedily converted into a £100,000 sale.
A 1976 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible in the sale was acquired at auction at the same venue in 2017, since when vendor and car had toured England, Scotland and Ireland, the South of France and New Zealand, both North and South islands. Despite dry-cracked seat leather and a travel-torn hood, the £23,000-30,000 pre-sale estimate soon become a historic valuation as a new owner had paid £42,900.
A left-hand drive 1966 Jaguar 3.8 Mk2 auto on wires, repatriated from the Continent in 1976 and estimated at £15,000-20,000, sold for £23,650. A sign-written 1954 Austin Devon Pick-Up with very original interior sought a new owner-trader with £12,000-16,000 and found one prepared to pay £13,200. Whilst a considerably older Standard SL04 13.9hp Park Lane Saloon from 1926 realised £13,750 and a 1925 Bean Model 12 Convertible £12,100 - in the early 1920s Bean outsold Austin and Morris!
After a 60% sold Tuesday afternoon at the races without horses, 41 of the 68 classics in the Southampton firm’s new auction season opening catalogue had sold for £492,085, an average of £12,002 being paid per car. RH-E
 

DB5 valued at £709k during Silverstone’s Race Retro Saturday Sale at Stoneleigh, where £4.6m was spent on 59 cars over weekend

UK supplied £725,000-825,000 guided 1964 Aston Martin DB5 manual with engine rebuilt to 4.2-spec and upgraded suspension was bid to £630,000 and sold for £708,750 with premium during the Saturday 23 February 2020 session. While £331,250 was accepted for a 2019 DBS Superleggera, one of 50 celebrating the 50th Anniversary release of Bond movie ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. In 007 DBS Olive Green, it had been pre-sale estimated at £390,000-430,000.
There were also buyers for both Jaguar E Type Roadsters, a previously restored 1965 S1 4.2 with Eagle upgrades and service history realised a virtually retail £233,438, and a 1973 S3 5.3 V12 manual on wires a within estimate £84,375.
The front of house parked Ford RS200, a late production 1986 1195 mile Group B with upgraded interior estimated at £175,000-225,000, was applauded by the Race Retro faithful for selling for £182,250. A US Fast Ford 1967 Mustang GT Fastback with 347 crated engine and C6 auto box found a way over top estimate £92,250 and a 1987 Sierra TS500 Cosworth, one of four prototypes, a more than forecast £78,750.
A still unrestored 64,450 mile 1979 Escort RS2000 Custom 2-door sold for £34,875, forecast money, while a more than top estimate £20,250 was forthcoming for an Australian 1979 RS2000 with rare 4-doors and almost identical mileage. An unmolested 1988 Ford Capri 2.8i Special with verifiable 15,000 mileage went for £30,938 and a much mothballed 1990 Escort RS Turbo S2 for £23,625.
A top estimate and new world record £168,750 was available for a double-bubble roofed 1992 Lancia Hyena Zagato, number 9 of 24 based on an Integrale HF Evoluzione II, and a 1985 Renault 5 Turbo 2 changed hands here for a mid-estimate £70,313.  A more than forecast £67,500 was paid for a Belgravia cossetted 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500E W124, one of 29 UK-supplied cars with 35,415 mileage, and a mid-estimate £45,000 bought a UK supplied 47,817 mile 1993 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton good for 176mph. The going rate in Warwickshire for a Japan market 1993 Honda NSX NA1 manual driven some 93,000 miles was £33,750, forecast money.
In terms of the amount paid over top estimate, the top performer was a former Californian supplied and early Porsche 911 2.0 SWB-Coupe built in March 1965 that had been a UK resident for 30 years. Dormant for the last three years and requiring light restoration at the very least, the front compartment was particularly disappointing under the underseal. Offered at No Reserve though and the first lot in the sale, the pre-1965 FIA event eligible 911 was really keenly contested until a very determined player in the room had bid an applauded £75,000 and paid £84,375 with premium. Whilst £77,625 was handed over for a 1973 911E 2.4 Targa MFI with 911S air dam, one of only 59 in right-hand drive supplied to the road salty UK market.
By contrast, the highest profile casualty of the afternoon was a right-hand drive Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary in stand-out Orange displayed on a plinth that had only done an unrepeatable 6390k from new in the hands of one owner since new in 1990. The £250,000+ sought was unachievable however and its sale was abandoned with £220,000 on the best bids screens.
After the second day’s play at the Race Retro auction, and after post-sale deals had been done, 33 other classic road car reserves had also been too high for a floods plus coronavirus depressed market. A head to head clash with the London Classic Car Show at Olympia may have been an unfortunate distraction too. Although there were nonetheless 59 changes of ownership at Stoneleigh, where 56% of the 103 car auctioned sold for just under £4.6m with premium and an average of £77,452 had been invested per classic. RH-E
 

Solberg Impreza WRC rallies to £189k result at Race Retro, where 70% of comp classics sell for £1.5m though star Lotus 19 fails to fly

Works Subaru Impreza driven on the 2007 WRC by Petter Solberg to second in Portugal and third in Greece achieved £189,000 with premium during the Silverstone Auctions Competition Car Sale at Race Retro 21 February 2020, when an untypically high 70% of the race and rally classics on the grid sold for £1.5m.
At the 2007 Festival of Speed, the Prodrive perfected ‘FT56 SRT’ was the very last rally car to be demonstrated in public by the late Colin McRae before being driven by Mads Ostberg to seventh in Finland and ninth on the RAC in the 2010 WRC. The highest price paid on a Friday afternoon in Warwickshire though was £213,750 (plus vat) which landed a brace of Invictus Games Racing Jaguar F Type SVR GT4 Coupes built by the bespoke division of JLR.
A just below forecast £143,333 was accepted for an FF Corse prepped Ferrari 488 Challenge with less than 5000 race kilometres underwheel that had included a pole, fastest laps and podiums. Whereas a most convincing looking 1987 Audi Quattro S1 Evo 2 with Porsche development RS2 ADU 2.2 5-pot engine and period ‘HB Audi Team’ paintjob flew above top estimate to sell for £110,250.
Repatriated in 2009 from the US to Germany, where well converted to RSR 2.8-spec, a once 1973 Porsche 911T lefty estimated at £65,000-75,000 cost an applauded winning bidder £101,250. The required £85,500 was available for a 1957 Cooper T43 Coventry Climax FPF 1.5 F2, the winner of dozens of historic races, while an East African Safari rallied 1972 Ford Escort RS1600 BDA Mk1 with strengthened AVO shell that made the Monte Carlo Rally Historique top twenty fetched £51,750.
A road legal 27,000 miles since 1973 Morgan Plus Eight Racer with two sets of Yokohama and Toyo shod wheels raised £40,500 and a 2018 Rally Isla Mallorca Legends Class winning 1986 Ford Sierra Cosworth Group A rally car with YB200 block and renewed floor was sold to an internet contestant for £35,438. A road event ready 1972 Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF Rally in externally fine cosmetic order, unexceptional engine bay apart, fetched £34,875, top estimate money.
Even though raced in period by a super-stellar line-up - Moss, Hill, Gendebien, Maggs and Ireland, and driven to victory by Jim Clark - the £375,000-450,000 estimated 1960 Lotus 19 Monte Carlo Climax chassis 953 ran out of bidding gas at £315,000 on the screens, one of 11 unsold cars under the hammer.
Consigned ‘Without Reserve’, 3 cars were going to sell anyway, while 6 made more than forecast, 12 sold for within estimate and only 5 went for less than their lower estimates in, traditionally and statistically, what has been the toughest auction category within the collector vehicle sector. RH-E
 

Bug flew Tricolore in Le Grand Palais with Retomobile sales topping 4.6m euros (£3.91m) result during 19.69m euros (£16.74m) Bonhams sale

A much appreciated 1932 Bugatti T55 Supersport with unique coachwork for two topped the sale results of all three Retromobile week auctions with a 4,600,000 euros (£3.91m) performance under the Bonhams gavel at the historic location of the very first Motor Show in 1901.
The Goodwood previewed Type 55 had started life as a 1932 Le Mans Bugatti works entry driven by Louis Chiron and Count Guy Bouriat-Quintart, before being re-configured by celebrated Parisian designer Giuseppe Figoni, who created the unique cabriolet coachwork still on the car 88 years later, albeit repaired and previously restored. It was in this new high fashion guise that Figoni bodied chassis 55221 became the overall winner of the 1933 Paris-Nice Rally with its second owner-driver, French publisher Jacques Dupuy.
Fresh to market in the French capital after more than 56 years in the ownership of leading British Bugatti connoisseur, the late Geoffrey St John, and latterly of his niece, Dr Alissar McCreary, the auctioning of this car was a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a fine example of the golden age of automotive craftsmanship with the benefit of period Le Mans provenance.
All of which explains why this great Parisian beauty excited a serious, yet spirited three-way bidding battle, before finally being hammered away by Bonhams Malcolm Barber to a clearly ecstatic Bugatti collecting couple from Switzerland in the seats for 4m euros (£3.4m) to much applause. In this, the most palatial saleroom in the French capital, the premium inclusive 4,600,000 euros paid (£3.91) was not only the highest price at the Paris sales this year, but also more than any car achieved in all eight of the sales held in Arizona last month.
Whereas the sale of the 1931 Australian GP winning 1925 Bugatti T39 Grand Prix 2-seater had to be abandoned with an insufficient 820,000 euros (£697,000) on the currency scoreboard. While an originated in 1967 Ferrari 206S Sports Prototype, re-bodied in 1969 as the current lightweight ‘Montagna’ and a finisher at the 1970 Targa Florio, fell short of vendor expectation and was also unsold at 2,850,000 euros (£2,422,500).
A sparkling 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K, one of only 31 Sindelfingen Cabrio A built, delivered new to leading French film actor of the day Henry Garat, did sell however for a within estimate 1,610,000 euros (£1.37m), while a below guide 1,033,333 euros (£878,333) was accepted straight afterwards for a 1963 300SL Roadster with disc brakes, all-aluminium engine and factory hardtop. A 1971 280SE 3.5 Cabrio with floor-shift box went for 299,000 euros (£253,312).
A more than top estimate 1,610,000 euros (£1,368,500) and a new world record price for the marque was forthcoming for a well-worn, but apparently working well 1931 Invicta 4½-Litre S Type Low Chassis Sports with original engine and registration and mostly original paint and interior. A Brooklands-winning, works-built 1934 Talbot AV105 in Racing Talbot distinctive Apple Green meanwhile, retrospectively a Plateau 1 winner at a Le Mans Classic and a past winner of the 2013 Flying Scotsman Rally, also changed pilotes for a healthy 879,750 euros (£747,788) with premium.
An only just below estimate 724,500 euros (£613,796) bought a brightly painted 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900SZ Zagato Coupe and an always rare 1952 Pegaso Z-102 2.8 Cabrio by ENASA fetched 713,000 euros (£604,053). While imposing Germans sold here included a 1937 Horch 853 Spezial Roadster in the grand style of Erdmann & Rossi captured for a less than estimated 563,500 euros (£477,397) and a Maybach SW38 Spezial Roadster of the same vintage in the style of Spohn for 517,500 euros (£472,397).
One of the most viewed lots in the Palais was a 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B with bespoke Phaeton Cabriolet coachwork by Derham of Pasadena to a Hibbard & Darrin design. Complete, but more than ripe for total restoration, the once Countess owned project, which was rediscovered on a Michigan ranch, was taken on in Paris for 333,500 euros (£282,541). The same money bought a run-ready 1927 Bugatti T40 which had been fitted with Grand Sport Roadster coachwork during an older restoration in the UK.
A 1958 Aston Martin DB Mk3 Tickford Fixed Head left hooker persuaded a new owner to part with 253,000 euros (£214,341) and the same was paid for a high rise 1915 Rolls-Royce 40/50p Silver Ghost London to Edinburgh Limo.  A buyer paid 241,500 euros (£204,598) for a 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster, while a 1938 Delahaye 135M ‘MyLord’ Chapron Cabrio cost the next guardian 235,750 euros (£199,727), a 1956 Lancia Aurelia B24S PF Cabrio 227,500 euros (£192,738), and a 1935 Delahaye 135 ‘Coupe des Alpes’ Labourdette Coupe 230,000 euros (£194,856).
And now for something completely different, from this century. Based on a 2009 Ferrari Scuderia donor was a 2019 Manufattura Automobili Torino Lancia Stratos look-alike with carbon-fibre bodywork and F1-type paddle-shifters to play with that packed a 540bhp 4.3 V8 in the tail. Number one of a planned production run of 25, and therefore also the first to be auctioned, had only done 3000k since transformation by MAT and fetched 690,000 euros (£586,500), a huge amount for what will always be a Stratos Rep.
And yet all three collector ‘Lancia’ Lancias did not sell. For a 1985 Delta S4 Stradale that had been driven less than 3000k since new by two owners ran out bids at 470,000 euros. A genuine Stratos HF Stradale from 1976 was unsold at 360,000 euros (£306,000) and a Markku Alen and Micki Biasion rallied 1988 Delta HF Integrale 8v Group A that Alen had driven to victory on the Rally Costa Smeralda also ran out of gas at 200,000 euros (£170,000) when at least 280,000 euros (£238,000) was sought.
Before any post-sales had been done, a total of 63 or 64% out of 98 voitures had sold for over 19.4m (£16.49m) and an average of 312,587 euros (£265,699) had been spent per car. Although 35 cars did not sell, several of the higher priced ones did, which bucked the trend seen at many end of 2019 sales in the UK.
In what remain most uncertain times internationally however, the T55 result was undoubtedly a huge fillip for Equipe Bonhams and their latest Paris sale also confirmed that enthusiast buyers for post-WW1 and pre-WW2 automobiles are far from extinct. RH-E
 

1995 Ferrari F50 sold for over $3.2m (£2.45m) & 1970 Porsche 914/6 GT set $995,000 (£756,200) record at Gooding who dominated Arizona Top 10

Now that all eight of the annual Arizona auctions have declared results, the final numbers can be crunched and a total of 2994 sales confirmed, 77% of the 3867 cars catalogued for this year’s January sales compared to the 81% sale rate in 2019. While the $244.1m (£185.52m) spent in ten days was only 3% down from the $251m (£190.76m) 2019 Arizona sales total. With 574 or 17% more cars consigned this year, the average spent per car at these US and global collector vehicle auction season-openers was $81,534 (£61,966), down from the $94,374 (£71,724) in January 2018.
Most significantly of all, market analysts Hagerty report that 25% fewer million dollar plus cars were offered this year and most sold below their Hagerty Price Guide HPG values. For the first time since 2012, the international insurance brokers point out that no car broke the $5m (£3.8m) barrier in Arizona this year.
The Hagerty market monitors’ top ten were led by –
1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe (Gooding) $3,222,500 (£2,449,100)
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe (Barrett-Jackson) $3,000,000 (£2,280,000) to benefit Detroit Children’s Fund
1932 Hispano-Suiza J12 Dual Cowl Phaeton (Gooding) $2,425,000 (£1,843,000)
2018 Pagani Huayra Roadster (RM Sotheby’s) $2,370,000 (£1,801,200)
1948 Tucker 48 Sedan (Gooding) $2,040,000 (£1,550,400)
2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible (Barrett-Jackson) $2,000,000 (£1,520,000)
1967 Ferrari GTS Spider (Gooding) $1,985,000 (£1,508,600)
1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider (Gooding) $1,930,000 (£1,466,800)
1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Cabriolet (Bonhams) $1,930,000 (£1,466,800)
1967 Ferrari 330GTS Spider (RM Sotheby’s) $1,710,000 (£1,299,600)
Stats per house show –
Barrett-Jackson declared 1908 cars sold, 99.9% of the 1909 offered for $137.1m (£104.2m), an average of $71,833 (£54,393). Two 2017 Ford GT Coupes sold for $1,485,000 (£1,128,600) and $1,182,500 (£898,700), 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO Sport Coupe $1,094,500 (£831,820), 2019 McLaren Senna Coupe $946,000 (£718,960) and 1963 Aston Martin DB5 $660,000 (£501,600).
Gooding sold 122 cars, 89% of 137 offered for $35.8m (£27.21m), average of $293,501 (£223,061). Sales included 1960 Ferrari 250GT S2 Cabrio $1,462,500 (£1,111,500), 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S Coupe $1,242,500 (£944,300), 2014 McLaren P1 Coupe $995,000 (£756,200), 1970 Porsche 914/6 GT Targa $995,000 (£756,200) and 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster $940,000 (£714,200).
RM Sotheby’s sold 128 cars, 90% of 143 offered $30.3m (£23.03m), average of $462,360 (£351,394).  Sales included 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Coupe $1,391,000 (£1,057,160), 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe $1,270,000 (£965,200), 1930 Cadillac Se452 Fleetwood Sport Phaeton 5-speed $1,105,000 (£839,800) and 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Coupe $1,105,000 (£839,800), 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540L Hebmuller Coupe $995,000 (£756,200) and 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster $973,000 (£739,480).
Leake sold 357 cars, 53% of 674 offered for $16.6m (£12.62m), average of $46,574 (£35,396). Prices were headed by a 2012 Lexus LFA Coupe $429,000 (£326,040), 1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible $357,500 (£271,700), 1958 Dual-Ghia Hemi Convertible $330,000 (£250,800) and 1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible $319,000 (£242,440).
Bonhams sold 88 cars, 81% of 108 offered $8.4m (£6.38m), average of $95,872 (£72,863). Sales included 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider America $810,000 (£615,600), 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly Special Roadster $368,000 (£279,680), 1995 Ferrari 512m Coupe $313,000 (£237,880) and 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GTS Spider $280,000 (£212,800).
Russo & Steele sold 251 cars, 49% of 513 offered for $8.0m (£6.08m), average of $31,998 (£24,318). The top sellers were 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster $258,500 (£196,460), 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC Wide Body Coupe $253,000 (£192,280), 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird Hardtop Coupe $214,500 (£163,020), 1966 Shelby GT350 Fastback $156,750 (£119,130) and 1973 Lamborghni Espada 400 GTE S3 Coupe $154,000 (£117,040).
Worldwide sold 42 cars, 76% of 55 offered for $6.1m (£4.64m), average of $144,264 (£109,641). Top sellers were 1936 Auburn 852 Supercharged Speedster $880,000 (£668,800), 1930 Duesenberg Model J Willoughby Berline $605,000 (£459,800), 1937 Packard Twelve-Series 1508 Convertible Sedan $451,000 (£342,760) and 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe $341,000 (£259,160).
MAG sold 98 cars, 30% of 328 offered for $1.7m (£1.29m), average of $17,846 (£13,563). On pole was 1968 Shelby GT500 KR Fastback sold for $167,400 (£127,224), 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 SportsRoof $64,800 (£49,248), 1934 Piece-Arrow Model 836A Sedan $47,250 (£35,910) and 1968 Dodge Charger Hardtop Coupe $44,820 (£34,063).
The sales stats at the Arizona sales every January accurately reflect reality in the world’s largest collector vehicle market, where although noticeably fewer mega buck automobiles bought for historic prices were consigned this year, very nearly 3000 classic cars did nonethess change their Petrolheads .RH-E




 

Over £1.9m spent on 190 classics during ACA’s best attended 85% sold Saturday sale ever as Bong-free Big Ben silently awaits Brexit Day


An unprecedented 40 classics, 22% of the cars that sold Saturday 25 January, were auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ including a much viewed 1988 BMW M3 Evo 2 lefty. Resident in Belgium for 22 years before migrating to the UK in 2012, since when it had been fussily and expensively transformed into a podium car, the now most collectible E30 most deservedly realised £68,900 with premium. £79,600 meanwhile was also forthcoming for a No Reserve 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Giulia Spider that had been freshly restored to a high standard.
A 1961 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster with numbers still matching just achieved a lower estimate £95,400. Whilst a further 51 cars, 28% of those sold, achieved more than their top estimates. Among them, a right-hand drive Porsche 911 Type 930 Turbo from 1983 came to auction following 18 years storage to make a more than top estimate £66,780 and a UK market 1987 911 3.2 Carrera G50 with factory air-con and sunroof also realised a better than expected £38,690.
The latest ‘Fast Ford’ Sierra RS Cosworth 3-door to be driven past the rostrum in King’s Lynn was an unrestored 1986 55,240 miler that had been vendor owned since 2002 and sold for £39,220. Whilst long after the catalogues had sold out, which they had done to a record-breaking crowd by elevenses, a 1981 Capri Mk3 3.0 Ghia with X-Pack engine and steroidal wings pulled £25,440.
The required £37,100 was available for a previously restored 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 that had been converted from left to right-hand drive following repatriation and £18,020 bought a live axle Triumph TR4 that was last restored fifteen years ago. While a new owner paid £10,176 for one of only four surviving Triumph six powered 1972 TVR 2500Ms from fourteen years storage.
A 1948 Bristol 400 that failed to sell at Brightwells Bicester in October 2018, when guided at £45,000-50,000, and at H&H Duxford last October with £40,000-45,000 estimate, had been even more realistically catalogued this time at £30,000-40,000 and finally sold for £32,860.
Much more exciting to petrolheads under forty would be a well presented 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI with upgraded suspenders and 15,872 warranted mileage, one of whom had to pay a more than top estimate £30,740 to become the fourth owner. An Audi WR-Quattro 10v Turbo, driven 76,726 miles by seven owners since new in 1986, cost the next one £28,620, top estimate money. Indeed 64 or 35% of cars sold went for forecast sums.
A small herd of Land Rovers found new keepers here led by a £45,580 2015 Defender Landmark that had never been near a cow pat in 80 miles. The fifth owner landed a 1971 S3 that had been treated to a two year rebuild to a high cosmetic standard for £32,860 and an only 38,521 miles and three owners from new in 1973 88 S3 with renewed chassis and bulkhead may also have been well bought for £26,500.
In storage since Car SOS restoration on TV, a 1988 Renault 5 GT Turbo fetched a mid-estimate £14,416 and an equally sharp 1989 Toyota MR2 with 65,810 warranted mileage deserved its £7632. Much viewed, too, was a No Reserve 1997 Hilux 2.4 Turbo D 4WD Pick-Up with 22 service stamps during 56,423 warranted miles that was well picked up for £9540.
Volkswagen Audi of Milton Keynes out-bid the competition to buy back a 54 year old Auto Union badged DKW F11, paying £5936 with premium to do so. But then the front-wheel drive, 3-cylinder, 2-door had only been driven 713 miles from new in 1966 and had been dry-preserved for 36 years! Your Correspondent is young enough to remember Quick Vic Elford navigated by David Stone smoking their earlier Deek 2-stroke down the lanes during 1962 British road rallies.
A couple of other automotive curios that caught the editorial eye among the 220 strong entry for ACA’s really well attended season opener - a 1955 Simca 1000 Bertone Coupe, one of only three to be at large in the Brexit Isles, which got hammered for £5406, and a Norfolk registered 1968 Fiat 850 S2 Coupe, vendor owned since 1982 and stored for the last 30 years, taken on for £5194.
After some post-sales had been concluded,190 or 86% of the cars consigned had changed hands, whilst 30 or 14% of the entry were unsold. After such a marked pre-election depression had sapped buying power from many of the end of 2019 season sales in the UK, and without any internet bidding facility to slow things down in King’s Lynn, plenty of real people could be seen waving at the auctioneers.
The weather being un-seasonally clement on the day and there being few rival distractions taking place, particularly in the East Anglian counties, both certainly helped to boost the live turnout. Many more though had made very long journeys to sniff the exhausts and buy plenty of cars. With a bong-free Big Ben ticking silently towards next weekend’s next step to independence from the EU, this was a quite extraordinary close to £2m day out where once the Angles ruled. RH-E



 

Bidders from 25 countries bought 90% of cars for $30.4m (£23.41m) at RM Sotheby’s 2020 season opener in Phoenix during Arizona auction week

A 2018 Pagani Huayra Roadster, the 42nd of 100 built that had only been driven 100 miles, was the $2,370,000 (£1,824,900) best seller at the Arizona Biltmore16-17 January 2020, when four modern supercars made the RM Sotheby’s top ten and there were buyers for 128 of the 143 classics consigned for the two-evening sale.
For a 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4, one of 178 fixed-roof coupes, fetched $1,105,000 (£850,850) and a No Reserve 2017 Ford GT $923,500 (£711,095). The new going rate here for a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT was $786,000 (£605,220).   
One of 99, Classiche-certified 1967 Ferrari 330GTS by Pininfarina achieved $1,710,000 (£1,316,700), the second highest price, and a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone from 40 years of single ownership brought $1,391,000 (£1,071,070) to occupy third place in the results.
Three Mercedes-Benz made the top ten, led by a 1955 300SL Gullwing with matching numbers sold for $1,270,000 (£977,900) from a CCCA Full Classic 1937 540K Coupe from five decades of Nebraskan ownership for $995,000 ($766,150), the same money forthcoming for a two-owner 1957 300SL Roadster. The top priced Classic American was the Groendyke Cadillac V16 Sport Phaeton from 1930 sold for $1,105,000 (£850,850).
Among some of the more mainstream valuations for market watchers, a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta had depreciated to $467,000 (£359,590) and a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GTS cost $340,500 (£262,185). A 1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione raised $107,520 (£82,790), a 1973 Citroen SM $64,400 (£49,588) and a 1982 Delorean DMC-12 $44,800 (£34,490).
Four Jaguar E Types changed hands, a 1966 S1 4.2 Roadster for $271,600 (£209,132), a 1961 S1 3.8 Roadster for $156,800 (£120,736), a 1970 S2 4.2 Roadster for $84,000 ($64,680) and a 1970 S2 4.2 Fixed Head for $72,800 (£56,065). $103,600 (£79,772) bought a 1953 XK120 Roadster 
A 1961 Sunbeam Harrington Alpine NART Coupe made a racey $196,000 (£150,920), while two Sunbeam Tigers were captured, a 1966 Mk1A for $86,800 (£68,836) and a 1966 Mk2 for $70,000 (£53,900). Big Healey prices paid were $74,480 (£57,350) for a 1967 3000 Mk3 BJ8 and $56,000 (£43,120) for a 1962 Mk2 BT7.  A 1956 100-4 BN2 sold for $62,160 (£47,863).
A Feltham era Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk2 of 1955 vintage from the old country could be bought for $112,000 (£86,240), a 1937 MG SA Saloon for $67,200 (51,744) and a 2005 Morgan Aero 8 for $84,000 (£64,680). The average price paid for a non-essential automobile in the state capital amounted to a far from unhealthy $237,080 (£182,551) and, after the last post-sale deal had been done, only 15 cars were unsold.
Among them however were six well presented Ferraris, headed by a 1958 250GT Cabrio S1 for which $5,500,000 ($4,235,000) was not enough. A 1965 275GTB/6C was also passed with an insufficient $1,700,000 (£1,309,000) on the multi-currency scoreboard and time was called for a 1954 250 Europa GT Coupe at a below reserve $1,350,000 (£1,039,500). A bid of $450,000 (£346,500) could not buy a 2015 458 Speciale A nor was $360,000 (£277,200) sufficient to own a 1962 250GTE 2+2 S2 and a 2018 GTC4 Lusso 70th Anniversary ran out of road at $300,000 (£231,000).
Another high profile casualty in petroleum self-sufficient Trumpland, where stocks continue to fly, was a 2019 McLaren Senna for which the sale was abandoned with $1,000,000 (£770,000) on global trading screens. Historic reserves for many top cars are no longer achievable, it seems, in what has become for many players a cautious game of wait and see. RH-E



 

Californian 1971 Datsun 240Z in receipt of £60k Historic Marathon prep for 2012 London to Cape Town doubled CCA estimate to sell for £37,185

Jaguar E Types headed the Classic Car Auctions prices Saturday 7 December at the Warwickshire Event Centre beside the Fosse Way at Leamington Spa, where £82,140 was paid for a UK-supplied in 1962, right-hand drive S1 3.8 Roadster that had been rebuilt around a Martin Robey monocoque with panels and upgraded by XK Engineering in 1992, and £74,370 was forthcoming for another home market, though twice restored 1974 S1 3.8 FHC.
A 1964 Morris Mini Cooper 970S still with matching numbers, one of only 965 produced by BMC to satisfy FIA homologation requirements, Fred Walters restored and still with matching numbers, made a more than top estimate £41,070. A mid-estimate £35,520 bought a once Rootes registered 1966 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1 with correct Ford 4261cc motor and original seat leather that had been back to bare metal repainted in 2014. A 1972 Rover 3.5 P5B Coupe with 53,748 warranted mileage sparkled by the Christmas tree and raised a festive £32,190, £7190 more than top estimate.
In the £25,000-30,000 band, £26,640 bought a UK supplied 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Sport Targa with 915 5-speed transmission, £35,530 an apparently well restored South African Ford 1972 Capri Mk1 3000 GT XL, also in right-hand drive, and £25,530 a 1974 BMW 3.0CS E9 with later M30 B35 injected engine from a 635CSi mated to a 3-speed manual box and Recaros from an M635i.
A budget of £20,000-25,000 would have purchased a 28,000 mile 1988 Jaguar XJS 5.3 V12 with TWR visual upgrades for £23,310 or an effectively one company/then private owner from new in 1992 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4-Door with 53,500 mileage for £20,535.
With £15,000-20,000 to spend, a 1973 Triumph Stag Mk2 3.0 manual with hardtop could have been yours for £19,425, a 1991 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI driven 46,800 miles by two lady owners for £17,538 or a 1991 Jaguar XJS Le Mans 5.3 V12 with quad-headlights and 44,900 warranted mileage for £16,650.
Whereas for £10,000-15,000, a 1968 MGC Roadster with walnut dash cost a new owner £14,763, a 1968 BMW 2000 CSA E9 Pillarless Coupe with documented £15k resto £14,430, a late production 2nd generation 45,000 mile Honda S2000 of 2008 vintage £12,210 or an SOC calendar featured 1982 Ford Escort RS1600i with 115bhp CVH £11,988.
After CCA had closed their book on their final auction of the year, 67% of the 130 classics on display at the WEC had been knocked down to new owners, who spent a sale total of £1,231,315 including 11% buyer’s premium and an average of £14,153 per car bought.
Silverstone’s ‘Everyman Classics’ division will next set up their rostrum at ‘The Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show’ in the NEC at Birmingham, where sale cars can be viewed 10am-5.30 pm Friday 27 March and will be auctioned in separate sales Saturday and Sunday.
For reality checks on the market-significant prices paid during the final batch of 2019 auctions, check out more Reviews on C.A.R. by clicking onto More News and scrolling through the many sales in stock. May your 2020 surfing be both prosperous and fun. RH-E


 

One registered owner 1962 TVR Grantura Mk1/Mk2A Climax FWE 1220cc project with only 20,600 mileage made £18,000 at H&H in Buxton

The 27 November top seller at the Northern auction firm’s original Pavilion Gardens venue in the Peak District Spa town though was a 2000 restored 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible with uprated V8 fueled by a Weber quartet with the rarer 4-speed manual box which sold for a mid-estimate £50,625.
A mid-estimate £42,750 also bought a Seatle supplied in 1973 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 Auto Roadster left hooker with 33,425 mileage. A within forecast £39,375 was paid for a home market 1968 E Type S2 4.2 2+2 Fixed Head with refurb bills for £26k since 2000 and a home market 1962 Mk2 3.4, a manual with overdrive saloon that had been sympathetically upgraded with £44k of bills on file, had been correctly guided when bought for £26,719.
On the basis that most have been over-worked into the ground and scrapped, a ‘Pig Snout’ Ford Transit Van in the sale that had been bought new by its current owner in November 1970 has to be a statistically rare example of a model that became infamous in the bad old smash and grab days.
For in 1972, the Met Police actually endorsed the Southampton-manufactured Transit, reporting that it had been employed for 95% of bank raids. According to a Scotland Yard spokesperson - “With the performance of a car, and space for 1.7 tonnes of loot, 'Britain's Most Wanted Van' is proving to be the perfect getaway vehicle.”
Coming to the collector vehicle market for the first time in 49 years, and auctioned with No Reserve, the J-reg White Van Man’s most trusty transport sold for a workmanlike £16,875.
By the time the last of the 124 consigned vehicles had been cleared from the Octagon Theatre and hard standing outside, 71 or 57% of the entry had sold for £804,213 with premium and an average of 11,327 had been spent per classic bought.
The H&H 2020 auction season commences again 18 March at the Imperial War Museum beside the M11 at Duxford in Cambridgeshire with the next sale on home turf at the Pavilion Gardens Buxton in Derbyshire booked for 29 April. On your behalf, C.A.R. aims to make those journeys and will continue to provide independent comment on whatever the reality may be at the time. RH-E


 

1988 BMW M5 E28, 1 of 2 in Malachite Green of 187 in RHD with 94,987 mileage, raised over-estimate £51,520 at Brightwells 2019 finale

Also performing strongly at the best attended end of season sale was another of the same RHD batch of hand-built M5 E28s, a 3 owner 104,500 miler which also sold for a more than forecast £38,080. Whilst the required £43,680 was forthcoming for a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL W113 auto in LHD with hard and soft top.
The front of rostrum parked 1933 MG J2, down to last nut and bolt rebuilt with Phoenix crank, deservedly made a mid-estimate £29,120 and an apparently well preserved 1935 Lagonda Rapier Coupe by Abbott with pre-selector gears  found a forecast £28,560.
The sale’s highest price of £54,093, the lower estimate, secured a locally sourced paddock package consisting of the race-ready, but now road-friendly 2011 Morgan Motor Company Works Plus Four Supersports 60th Anniversary Prototype plus ex-Le Mans Gulfstream Motor Home.
By contrast, a 1934 Morgan 3-Wheeler 3-speeder project, formerly known as ‘Safari’ and late-1960s raced by Brian Clutterbuck, former Morgan Club Chairman, with water-cooled JAP ohv was taken on for £16,240. Whilst a preferred 1934 vintage water-cooled Matchless MX4 V-twin with carb and magneto and claimed to have run recently, was keenly contested until purchased for £7168 with premium.
Mini Traveller prices paid here were £16,240 for a recently minted 1967 Mk1 Woodie with 1275S engine and brakes, and a more than double lower estimate £12,100 was required to become the fourth owner of a Mini Clubman Estate with Bush radio and picnic basket in the back that had been driven only 31,000 miles from new in 1971.
Renaults sold included a UK-supplied, 53,000 mile and mostly original 1968 R4 estimated at £4740-6000 for £7280. A below estimate £4704 bought a 1967 Caravelle Convertible runner with hardtop needing more than attention. While a surface-rusty rear-engined 1960 4CV project, a UK market original that has become almost extinct in RHD, was auctioned Without Reserve and swept up for £4032.
A clutch of 1960s to 1970s Vauxhalls were valued with £5600 available for a 21,000 mile 1963 VX/90, an older restoration, and a back to bare shell restored 1980 Vauxhall Royale badged version in 2.8 auto guise of GM Opel’s Monza A1 Coupe made the same money. A No Reserve 1978 VX4/90 2.3 FE requiring some recommissioning fetched £3360 and a rare in 1972 No Reserve Ventora 3.3 Saloon manual £3160.  
A really packed house had seen 134 of the 212 much viewed consigned cars sell during a 63% sold mid-week sale for £1,244,360, an average of £9271 spent per classic bought. The Herefordshire firm’s first sale in 2020 will again be held at their Leominster HQ Wednesday 4 March. RH-E



 

Older restored 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL with hardtop and dented wing was driven past Bonhams MPH rostrum to sell for £57,375 at Bicester

The 26 November sale’s top seller on the expanding Bicester Heritage campus was a freshly repainted 1961 AC Greyhound Bristol 2.2 Coupe, the subject of a 570 hours Spencer Lane-Jones restoration 20 years ago, which fetched £60,187, just over lower estimate, while £60,000 was accepted afterwards for a recently restored and repainted 1968 Porsche 911 SWB lefty that had spent much its life on the EU mainland.
£43,000 bought a 1952 Bentley MkVI Special with standard-length chassis, £42,750 a stunning 1966 VW Type 2 Double-Cab Pick-Up, upon which £120k had been lavished, £32,062 a 1969 Jaguar E Type S2 2+2 Coupe with left to right-hand drive conversion and engine bay for improvement, and £31,500 a running Swiss-supplied 1971 Maserati Indy 4.2 manual.
Those with budgets of £20,000-30,000 could have owned a 43,000m 2004 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe with paddle-shift sold for £26,437, a £30k restored 1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo for £25,312 or an ex-left-hand drive 1970 E Type 4.2 S2 2+2 Coupe with 5-speed manual box for the same money, a 1972 E Type S3 V12 Coupe manual also left to right converted for £23,062 or a UK-supplied 1981 Porsche 911 SC Targa with 17 old MOTs for £20,812.
In the £15,000-20,000 bracket were a 65,623 2004 Bentley Continental GT sold for £18,562, an EU mainland toured 1972 Citroen DS 20 Pallas 5-speed manual for £18,562 or a 3 owner and still neat 1986 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection Special for £17,437. A further 6 classics sold for £10,000-15,000, 15 more £5000-10,000 and 11 below £5000.  
By the time the WW2 Hangar 113 doors had closed on a Tuesday afternoon in Oxfordshire, 48 or 52% of the 98 cars auctioned had changed hands for a premium-inclusive £727,437, an average of £15,155 spent per classic. Bonhams MPH sales at Bicester Heritage in 2020 however will be held on Saturdays, which are deemed to be more accessible for most, the first of four ‘Drive Through’ sales scheduled for 21 March with viewing pm Friday 20.
Further analysis of the other final sales of the mainly UK classic auction sale season can be checked out in preceding Stop Press Reviews by clicking onto News and scolling down your laptop or i-phone screens. C.A.R.wishes all our surfers a Happy New Year and a successful season whether buying, selling or driving whatever, wherever. RH-E


 

Further off-season analysis of the final sales in 2019 may inspire more to bid and buy or potential vendors to consign and sell during 2020

A one owner since 1972 BMW 3.0CSi that had been restored prior to spending the last decade asleep in a heated garage inspired some of the most competitive quick-fire bidding of the old year in the seats, via telephones and on-line. The £13,000-19,000 pre-sale estimate was quickly overtaken and the second owner had to pay £47,300 with premium.
Appropriately within the Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands venue for the Historics final sale of the old season however, an incredibly long and apparently cosmetically excellent 1971 M-B 600 Pullman was the Saturday 23 November sale top seller with a £240,000 performance. By sale end, there were new owners for 70% of the 31 Mercs auctioned, including a 1982 500SL Roadster with factory hardtop which demolished its estimated value of £23,000-27,000 to cost a winning bidder £40,700.
A once 1925 Bentley 3-Litre Rippon Saloon with division that had been re-bodied as an Open Tourer for four in 1952 made a within estimate £214,500 with premium. Three restored E Type Roadsters with 4.2 engines bucked what had been a depressed sector led by a still LHD 1966 S1 sold for £152,240, a UK market 1965 S1 for £124,520 and an L to RHD converted 1967 S1½ for £93,500. 43 different marques were represented at this sale.
After some early post-sales had been done, 103 cars had sold, 72% of the 143 offered, for £3,276,260 including 10% premium, just under £1m of which was bid on-line, while an average of £31,808 was spent per classic bought. Historics new season opener will again place in the Atrium of Royal Ascot Racecourse Saturday 7 March 2020, when all stakeholders will hope that the going will be good to firm. RH-E


 

Lotus Cortina Mk1 cost buyer £36,750 in final 2019 sale for classics in Scotland, where £61,950 E Type 4.2 S2 OTS led £592k 50% sold results

A well-presented 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 successfully auctioned in Scotland for £36,750 including Morris Leslie’s 5% premium was repatriated to England. The top priced lot of the Saturday 23 November sale at Errol airfield though was a 1969 Jaguar E Type 4.2 S2 Roadster sold for £61,950.
‘Big Healeys’ cost buyers £44,100 for a 1963 3000 Mk2 and £29,400 for a 1958 100/6. £33,075 was paid for a 1964 Austin Mini Cooper 1275S and £22,575 apiece was forthcoming for a 1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and a 1989 BMW 325i SE with Alpina upgrades. A half-timbered 1953 Morris Oxford Traveller MO was an unusual acquisition for £15,225 and a smaller capacity 1979 Triumph Dolomite 1300 SE in Light Denim Blue was another rarity to change hands for £6090.
The Perthshire vehicle auctioneers’ final 2019 sale for collector cars saw 81 sell for £592,400, 50% of the 162 offered with an average spend of £7314 per classic. The Scottish firm’s first sale for classics in 2020 is set for Saturday 22 February. RH-E
 

No Reserve RHD 1973 Ferrari Dino was well bought for £195,500 at RAF Museum, where bidders took on all 3 pre-wars after 60 years in storage

Delivered new to the UK, in receipt of pro-restoration 2008, colour-change repainted more recently and with believed to be 38,695 total mileage, the talking point 1973 Ferrari Dino 246GT auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ by Bonhams 21 November at Hendon was unsurprisingly keenly bid to gavel fall at £170,000, costing the delighted new owners £195,500.
The three pre-war ‘Time Warp’ headliners, two Bentleys and a Rolls, had all sourced from and laid up by one Parker Snyder of Ohio since 1960. “For restoration” or, at the very least, “requiring full re-commissioning”, the 1926 Bentley 3-Litre Red Label Speed Model with Open Tourer coachwork for four by Vanden Plas made an estimated £287,500, a 1934 3½-Litre 4-Seater Tourer, again by Vanden Plas, a just below forecast £159,850, and a 1926 Rolls-Royce 20hp, originally a Trials Car that had been re-bodied in period with Park Ward Open Tourer coachwork for four by Park Ward, £34,500, some £20,000 below guide.
With £138,000 to spend, a 1934 R-R 20/25hp Gurney Nutting Owen 3-Position Sedanca Coupe with restoration bills for £120k paid might have been yours. A budget of £95,000-100,000 meanwhile would have secured a 1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre M Series Overdrive All-Weather Cabrio by Windovers from same family ownership since 1955 for the £100,050 paid or an always RHD and freshly renovated 1967 Jaguar E Type 4.2 S1½-Litre Roadster for £96,600.
Those with £70,000-60,000 in their fighting fund now own a rarer in RHD 2012 restored 1966 230SL Merc Roadster with auto-shift for £69,000 and a 2003/5 raced 1930 Lagonda 2-Litre Low Chassis Tourer for £59,225. In the £40,000-50,000 bracket were an ex-LHD and recently repainted 1969 E Type S2 4.2 Roadster bought for £47,443, an Edwardian event eligible 1910 Renault AX 8hp 2-Seater for £46,000, a 2004/11 restored 1967 E Type S1 4.2 Fixed Head for £44,167 and a 1966 E Type S1 4.2 2+2 Coupe for £43,700.
After the Museum’s hangar doors had been shut at the end of a fairly quiet Thursday afternoon's shopping in North London, no new pilots had been recruited for nearly half of the 74 classics displayed amongst the redundant warbirds. Even so, the 40 or 54% of cars that did sell did so for a not inconsiderable £1,911,292 including 15% buyer’s premium, amounting to a healthy £35,394 being spent per car.
Global Bonhams first 2020 sale for classics will take place in the US Thursday 16 January at Scottsdale during Arizona auction week, followed by Thursday 6 February within the very Grand Palais during Retromobile week in Paris and Sunday 29 March at the Goodwood Members Week. The Bonhams MPH 2020 season meanwhile fires up Saturday 21 March at Bicester Heritage. RH-E



 

In the annual pit stop between auction seasons and before 2020 kick-off, we review how much bought which classics in the final sales of 2019

Lotus Esprit 2.2 S3 driven 23,000 warranted miles by 3 registered owners from new in 1982 had been dry-stored 1992-1918 and fully recommissioned before being acquired for £23,956 including 6% premium 7 November at ACA King’s Lynn.
A 1948 Triumph 1800 Roadster from a 5 year restoration for £13,356 cost much the same as a £13,250 1971 Stag manual with overdrive and mohair hood. £10,176 bought a 2 owner 1960 Ford Zodiac Mk3 that had been restored in 2016 or a garaged since 1989 Sunbeam Alpine Series V runner without brakes from 1966. Those with a budget of £6500-7500 had a choice of Volvo Amazon Station Wagons, a locally sourced 2 owner 1967 Estate for £7420 or a 1966 vintage one for £6572.
The stars of this very well attended show in Norfolk though were Ford Sierra Cosworth 3-Doors - an only 7349 miles from new in 1987 ‘No Reserve’ sleeper that had gathered dust since 1991 realising a stellar £84,800, while a 1986 version, also dry-stored though only dormant for the last 4 years, played a strong supporting role with a £34,450 performance.
By curtain down, 136 cars had changed owners for £925,804, 71% of the 191 offered, and an average of £6807 had been spent per car.
ACA’s first ‘Drive Through’ of the New Year, the first sale for classics in the UK in 2020, will take place from midday Saturday 25 January, when gates open 10am with admission by £5 catalogue, with the useful option of also being able to view cars and their documents on-site 2-6pm Friday 24.
Among the first 100+ cars consigned already, a 1967 Amphicar CV 770 may float your boat at £45,000-55,000 and £35,000-40,000 is suggested for a 1986 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS. £24,000-28,000 is sought for a multiple show winning 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI with 15,872 mileage and an only 713m since 1966 Auto Union DKW F11 has been guided at £4,000-6000, while the best bid bid will buy a No Reserve 1988 BMW E30 M3 Evo 2 LHD.
This website will, of course, be there. For unlike most of the increasingly terminal-bound print and on-line media, C.A.R. will again be making the journeys in 2020, driving the miles and dodging the jams to best assess auction cars in the metal, review the sales in person and put the prices paid in meaningful context with commentary based on the market reality of actually being in the field rather than being fed by the contents of an in-box. For a theatre critic, I would suggest, can only really review a play by attending the first night. RH-E



 

Unrestored DB4GT lightweight makes nearly £2.4m in Bonhams Bond Street salerooms to become top priced classic during UK’s end of year sales

One of only nine Aston Martin factory-made lightweights from 75 DB4GTs hand-built 1960/61 sold in the room for £2,367,000 including Bonhams premium to an Aston Martin specialist bidding on behalf of a client. Originally owned by circuit racer and hill-climb specialist Phil Scragg, and regarded as the ‘Missing Lightweight’, 0169R had been owned since 1965 by the late Malcolm Cramp, from whose estate the sixth from last DB4GT had been consigned. Cosmetically and mechanically refreshed, this would be a £2.6m+ Aston.
The UK market leader’s end of season sale was well attended by most of the main players on the London and SE top car circuit, paying £605,000 for an only 1600m from new in 2016 Ferrari F12tdf, one of 799 and rarer in right-hand drive, belonging to Jay Kay. Although the pop musician’s 2004 Porsche Carrera GT and a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight both failed to sell for the £650,000 and £750,000 minimums sought.
For although a 2001 Ferrari 250 GTZ Barchetta by Zagato, the only right-hand drive car and the last of three built, did make the estimated £500,000 under the hammer, £575,000 with premium, and a right-hand drive 2017 F12 Berlinetta 70th Anniversary, number 62 of 70, sold for a mid-estimate £339,250, 23 very well presented motor cars in the most up-market salerooms in Brexit Britain were unsold.
On a Saturday afternoon in the West End however, buyers still spent £5,122,050 on a dozen cars - £235,750 of it on the Prince of Wales driven, ‘L199 GGS’ registered 1994 Aston Martin Virage Volante with 6.3 conversion, but standard (non-wide) body, £120,750 for a right-hand drive 25,000m 2001 Ferrari 550 Maranello Coupe and £112,700 for a 2974m 2009 Aston Martin DBS Coupe manual.
At the end of last month, Bonhams MPH sold another 48 cars for £727,430 at Bicester Heritage, where a 1961 190SL Merc, an older restoration with hardtop, was driven through the cavernous WW2 hangar into new ownership for £57,275 and a forecast £25,312 bought a 1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo in receipt of a £30,000 restoration. A Tommy Makinen Edition 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 with freshly renewed turbocharger cost a buyer £13,083 and a ‘No Reserve’ 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller that had been Ware Minor Centre rebuilt and Classic Motivation maintained found £7857.
The previous week, 40 more classics sold in a sparsely attended RAF Museum at Hendon, among them the catalogue cover featured 1926 Bentley 3-Litre Red Label in barn-found condition that had been laid up since 1960 and raised £287,500. An equally dusty 1934 Bentley 3½ Vanden Plas bodied Tourer project from the same US source was taken on for £159,850 and £34,500 was invested in the future of a once Rolls-Royce factory trialed 1926 20hp tourer by Park Ward in the style of Barker that had also been asleep since the early 1960s. A ‘No Reserve’ UK delivered in 1973 in right-hand drive and 2008 restored Ferrari Dino 246GT magnetised the most interest and bids until well won for £195,500.  
While at the beginning of the month, in the same New Bond Street salerooms, there were buyers for 12 of the 15 London to Brighton Veterans, including the 1901 Panhard-Levassor 7hp twin-cylinder four-seater known as ‘Le Papillon Bleu which flew to a £442,750 result, more than double the lower estimate. A former Regent Street Concours winnng 1900 MMC 6hp twin-pot tonneau for four sold for £224,250 and both Mercedes 3½hp single-cylinder powered 1899 Stars from Wolverhampton shone brightly. For one 120 year old surprisingly made £138,000 and a more than forecast £94,300 was forthcoming for the other Brighton Runner in what continues to be one healthy niche at least in an increasingly bear market.
Even so, after holding four sales in five weeks, Bonhams did re-home 112 or 52% of the 216 cars catalogued for a total of £8,965,002 with premium, which number-crunches to a far from depressing average investment by buyers of £80,045 per unnecessary asset. RH-E

 

Schumacher 2002 Championship Ferrari F1 sells for $6.6m (£5.08m) during $31.3m (£24.1m) Saturday night on Abu Dhabi GP grid

Following F1 qualifying for the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit Saturday 30 November, the RM Sotheby’s team auctioned 40 blue chip cars ranging from GP winners to low mileage supercars in a two hours session, after which 23 cars had sold for $31.3m (£24.1m) during a 58% sold evening.
This was RM Sotheby’s inaugural collector vehicle auction held in partnership with the ‘Formula 1’ owners and the auction house’s first ever sale in the fossil fuel producing Middle East market, where Extinction Rebellion activists would be speedily extinguished. Bidders from 28 countries contested lots at this petrolhead feast, one third from the Middle East and 40% overall first-timers.
Prices were topped by a 2017 Pagani Zonda Aether, a one-off hypercar with old world 6-speed manual transmission, which, following a lengthy bidding battle, achieved a final $6,812,000 (£5,245,240) to surpass the current £5,885,000 (4,531,450) world record for a Zonda at auction established only last month by Silverstone Auctions in Saudi Arabia.
The Ferrari F2002 F1 driven by Michael Schumacher to three Grand Prix wins during the 2002 season, by the end of which he had secured his fifth Driver’s World Championship title, realised $6,643,750 (£5,115,688) including premium. This was therefore the second most valuable F1 car ever sold at auction, second only to the Schumacher Ferrari F2001 also sold by RM Sotheby’s for $7,500,000 (£5,775,000), but that was way back in supercharged 2017. A portion of proceeds from the F2002’s sale will benefit the Schumacher family’s Keep Fighting Foundation.
Two more Ferraris also performed well on the eve of the final round of the Formula 1 World Championship, a 2015 FXX K, the first to be auctioned, which set a benchmark $4,281,250 (£3,296,563) for the track-only model. While another Scuderia Ferrari F1, the sole surviving 1982 126 C2, driven by Patrick Tambay to win the 1982 German GP, also put on pole by Mario Andretti who went to finish third in the Italian GP, was applauded by the starting grid crowd when sold for $2,142,750 (£1,649,918).
David Coulthard drove a Markus Jebsen donated 2011 Aston Martin One-77 across the block to raise a final $1,440,625 (£1,109,281) for Auction4Wildlife to benefit African Parks. A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing with NSL engine and rare optional sports suspension flapped away to a new nest after $1,581,250 (£1,217,563) was paid and $1,086,250 (£1,086,251) bought the 1996 Zagato Raptor one-off built in conjunction with Lamborghini as a modern coach-built concept.
During what has been by far the highest grossing November and end of season sale on all overheating Continents, other top ten valuations established beside the tax-friendly Marina included a 2014 Koenigsegg Agera R sold for $1,356,250 ($1,044,313), a 1995 Porsche 911 by Singer for $825,000 (£635,250) and a 1993 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 for $782,500 (£602,525). Although the reserves for 17 cars were clearly too much for those in the seats, on the phones or on-line, where by far the largest auction audiences vote with their mice. RH-E

 

1955 Le Mans raced Triumph sets £258,750 world record TR2 price in Silverstone Sunday Sale at Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at NEC

Even though a second 1965 Aston Martin DB5 sold for £618,750 with premium, the absolute superstar of the Silverstone Auctions Sunday sale was the ex-works 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours 19th placed Triumph TR2 ‘PKV 374’, which had been purchased by the late King Hussein of Jordan at Le Mans in full race trim, but which sold 64 years later on a Sunday afternoon in Birmingham for £258,750 with premium. Relatives of the deceased owner were in the seats at the NEC to witness the world record breaking auction price for a TR2 that had been in their family for the past 47 years.
There were no buyers however for either a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Mk1 Vantage Manual at £270,000-310,000 or a £185,000-200,000 1967 DB6 Auto, although a below estimate £65,000 was bid and accepted for a 1968 DBS Manual which fetched £73,125 with premium.
The highest priced Ferrari, a 1973 Dino 246GT, raised a more than estimate £236,250 for another deceased estate, an only 3445 mile 1998 550 Maranello £101,250 and a 17,000 mile 1989 328GTS Targa-top £81,000. A 1965 Maserati Mistral 3.7 on Lucas fuel injection achieved a forecast £123,750 and a 1989 Porsche 911 Type 930 Turbo Cabriolet with 62,400 warranted mileage £59,625. A once Porsche owned 1995 928GTS Auto lefty found £29,250 and encouraged German bids.
£148,000 with premium bought a 2013 Noble M600 Carbon Sport, for which £150,000 or more had been sought, and a convincingly executed 1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback ‘Eleanor Evocation fetched £76,500. Highest priced UK Fast Ford in Sunday trading in Brum was a Kerry Sealey restored and mint 1972 Escort Mk1 Twin Cam rally car claimed to have been built by the Ford Competitions at Boreham that sold for £49,500.
A fully restored right-hand drive 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster with factory hardtop, a House speciality model for Silverstone, realised a close to top estimate £117,000 and a 1971 280SE 3.5 Coupe, first owned by Lulu who was married to Bee Gee Maurice Gibb at the time, also made a forecast £68,625. A Sherwood Restorations and well detailed 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1 with hardtop really deserved the more than forecast £65,250, while a fully refurbished and cosmetically sharp 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 in right-hand drive went for £30,375, top estimate money.
Although 22 cars did not sell during the Saturday Sale, 39 or 64% of the 61 cars parked on the Silverstone Auctions stand carpet did, under the hammer, and for £2,620,473 including premium, an average of £67,192 paid per auction car bought. While 2 cars were auctioned Without Reserve and were going to sell anyway, below estimate bids were accepted for only 5 cars as 21 sold for within their guide price bands and 11 made more than top estimate sums.
On the Sunday, another 39 of the 53 cars offered on Day Two sold under the hammer during a 74% sold afternoon, by the end of which another premium-inclusive £2,845,917 had been spent, an average of £72,972 per car. Again, while 14 cars were unsold, 2 No Reserve lots duly sold and below estimate bids were accepted for another 11 with 17 selling for within estimate band prices and 9 for more than forecast sums.
Over the two days therefore, and before any post-sales had been added to the totals, 78 or 68% of the 114 consigned cars sold ‘live’ for £5,466,390 including premium, an average of £70,082 per classic bought. Considering the politician induced uncertainty of the times, at least 78 votes of confidence were cast by decisive buyers of auction cars at the NEC.
While members of 300 clubs and over 71,000 enthusiasts were sufficiently magnetised by the pull of a traditional exhibition to abandon their Playstations and buy tickets to attend the three days Lancaster Insurance backed Classic Motor Show with Discovery, most paying extra to park their politically unfashionable motor cars. RH-E

 

Postage stamp DB5 sells for more than £607k and XJ220 achieves nearly £363k in Silverstone Saturday Sale at NEC Classic Motor Show in Brum

The restored 1965 Aston Martin DB5 with original hide, featured on the Royal Mail 2013 postage stamp before being briefly owned by Chris Evans, headlined with a £607,500 premium-inclusive price during Silverstone Auctions Saturday 9 November session at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show sale at the NEC in Birmingham. There were buyers too for both 1984 V8 Astons in the sale with £202,500 for a Series 1 V8 Volante with factory-fitted Vantage engine (the sister car was cast in 007 movie The Living Daylights) and £155,250 for a 10,443 mile Series 4 V8 ‘Oscar India’ Fixed Head.
A two owner 2000 mile 1993 Jaguar XJ220 also performed strongly with a within estimate band £362,813 result, while a stunning 1960 XK150 3.8 Drophead that had been JD Classics restored, upgraded and left to right-hand drive converted also cleared the lower estimate at £151,875 with premium.
Fast Fords sold were led by a show condition 1972 Escort RS1600 Custom Mk1 valued by a new owner at £58,500. A 1980 Escort RS2000 Custom that had only done 1500 of its 34,000 mileage in the last 27 years of storage fetched £37,125, forecast money, the same as a Series 2 1989 Escort RS Turbo with original panels and showroom engine bay sold for £27,900.
Stand out BMW performances were the £52,875 result for the 2012 1M Coupe driven only 550 miles by rock musician Jay Kay and the applauded £51,188 paid for an only 6794 mile since 1991 325i E30 Sport 2-Door with M Tech upgrades. An 11,282 mile 2003 Z3M E36/8 Coupe, also in right-hand drive, fetched a higher than forecast £50 625.
While other talking point prices during the £2.62m Saturday afternoon sale included the £39,375 invested in the future of a dusty right-hand drive 1976 Alfa Romeo Montreal project with 45.495 warranted mileage that had been asleep for the last 15 years.
The 2017 WRX STI 4-Door in WRC Blue, one of the 150 Final Edition cars with only 110 mileage that celebrate Subaru’s rally dominating past, was also very keenly contested until Jonathan Humbert’s gavel determined the applauded winner who paid a more than list £34,594 with premium.  While an apparently unrestored and acceptably matured Series 1 Land Rover, manufactured at the nearby Solihull factory in 1950, had served five farmers and a gamekeeper vendor before raising £27,000, £10,000 more than top estimate and one of 39 classics to change hands in Brum on Saturday.
The next day however, during the Silverstone Auctions £2.85m Sunday sale when another 39 cars were hammered away, a Triumph TR2 sold for a new world record setting £258,750.
Fuller analysis of both the weekend's sales at the NEC Show, where 68% of cars auctioned sold under the hammer (and this was before any additional post-sale deals had been done), will appear shortly in 'Stop Press' on this channel. RH-E
 

As England loses Rugby Final in Japan, 7,279 mile Ford Sierra RS Cosworth that had gathered dust for 28 years raises £80k at ACA in Norfolk

Anglia Car Auctions top selling ‘No Reserve’ 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth had only been driven 7,249 miles by one registered owner before being taken off the road in 1991, since when it gathered dust in storage before being seriously contested until hammer fall at a stonking £80,000, the winning bidder paying £84,800 with premium.
Other Fast Fords to change hands on a Saturday afternoon in Norfolk were another Sierra RS Cosworth, a 1986 three-door that had been dry-stored for 14 years, which sold for a more that top estimate £34,450, and a 1988 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4-door, the subject of an insurance claim for theft in 1989, which still made a within forecast £11,766.
Non-RS Fords transacted 2 November included a two owner since 1960 Ford Zodiac Mk2 Saloon sold for £10,176, a previously restored 1968 Ford Cortina 1600E Mk2 £10,070, a 1969 Ford Cortina 1.6 Mk2 Crayford Convertible with some mechanical work done £7,208, a 1971 Ford Cortina 2.0 GXL Mk3 Saloon £9,540 and a 1979 Ford Cortina 2.0 Ghia MkIV Saloon with 22,854 warranted mileage £6,784.
Top cat was a £48,230 1973 Jaguar E Type 5.3 V12 S3 that had been left to right-hand drive converted in 1988 with body restored in 2019. Mercedes-Benz prices were headed by a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Auto Roadster at £35,510, while a 1983 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole from 10 years storage was acquired for £19,716 and a 105,785 mile 1998 Aston Martin DB7 16 Auto Volante Convertible for £16,960.
Among the Triumph valuations were a 1990s rebuilt 1971 Triumph TR6 150bhp Sports at £16,324, a previously refurbished 1974 Triumph TR6 PI Sports £14,840, a 1948 Triumph 1800 Roadster from five years restoration £13,356 and a 2014 revived 1971 Triumph Stag 3.0 Roadster manual with overdrive £13,250.
BMC prices included a 41,000 mile 1968 Austin Mini Cooper 998 Mk2 Saloon sold for £15,900 and one of 1,000 Rover era Mini 30 Saloons in Black driven 28,000 miles since 1990 for £6,466. An Isle of Man registered 1972 Austin 1300 with 37,957 mileage cost the next owner £3,498.
Rootes Group cars to sell were a garage stored since 1989 Sunbeam Alpine Series V Convertible from 1966 with brakes needing attention taken on for £10,176 and an apparently neat 1975 Humber Sceptre Mk3 Estate with Holbay 1725mm engine on twin-choke Webers may have been well bought for £2,120.
Locally manufactured Lotuses to change hands were a 1982 Esprit 2.2 S3 with 23,000 warranted mileage for £23,956, a 72,480 mile 1991 Elan SE Turbo for £7,028 and a 1981 Lotus Eclat 2.2 4-Seater Coupe subject to an insurance claim in 1989 for £4,770. A 3 owners since 2000 Subaru Impreza P1, number 607 of 1,000 produced with 17 service stamps, made £10,176 and a previously restored 1966 Volvo 121 Amazon Estate £6,672. While a Ziebart-treated Ford Popular 100E Saloon when new in 1963 had only done been driven 45,869 miles in 57 years Ford Popular 100E Saloon before selling here for £4,134.
Restoration projects taken on here included a started, but unfinished 1966 Porsche 912 left-hand drive short-wheelbase rolling shell with widened wings and Californian title for £10,600 and a similarly US repatriated 1956 MGA 1600 Roadster on wires with some new panels for £6,784. A 1960 Sunbeam Rapier Series 3 Convertible donor with nice four number two letter reg and current V5C and nothing else was trailered away for £1,050.
Preceded by 32 lots of automobilia, all of which sold out and included a large R-R ‘Flying Lady’ showroom mascot bought for £1,840 and a Coca Cola Soda Fountain Service enamel sign for £2,128, 71% of the 191 cars offered sold mainly ‘live’ or from only the occasional provisional bid converted into sales during the afternoon.
Consigning fewer higher priced cars, which have becoming much harder to disperse, and auctioning 31 cars Without Reserve certainly boosted the sale rate. For despite having suffered a depressing defeat by South Africa in the Rugby final on big screen tellies just before the auction, predominantly English players were still sufficiently confident in classics futures to invest £925,804 including premium in 136 classics, an average of £8,734 per car, at what was another well attended ACA Drive Through in King’s Lynn. RH-E
 

Blue Butterfly soars to new heights in Bonhams West End saleroom, where £1.2m is invested in Veterans for tragedy-hit Brighton Run

Bonhams annual London to Brighton Run Veteran Sale catalogue cover 1901 Panhard et Levassor duly starred in the UK market leaders New Bond Street salerooms Friday 1 November. The 7hp Twin-Cylinder French Veteran with ‘Lightweight’ 4-Seater Rear-Entrance Tonneau coachwork by J Rothschild et Fils in original Cambridge Blue as it was when named ‘Le Papillon Bleu’ by the second ex-factory owner at the turn of the last century.
Panhard-Levassor ledger recorded and VCC dated, the 118 year old was claimed to be on the starting handle, having been freshly serviced by NP Veteran Engineering. The Blue Butterfly certainly flew well here, inspiring a three-way bidding tussle between two telephone contestants and a collector in the saleroom, only resolved in favour of a winning bid of £385,000 from the latter, who paid a premium-inclusive £442,750 for a Veteran of both the 1927 and 1928 ‘Daily Sketch’ Old Crocks Run and more than 60 London to Brightons.
One of the earliest motor manufacturers, Panhard is generally regarded as having been the first ‘modern motor car’, featuring a front engine, gearbox ‘transmission’, piano-style pedals for the clutch and brake, and a steering wheel rather than tiller. The car auctioned, which fetched more than double its lower estimate, is one of only five known surviving 1901 7hp examples.
Another pioneer that performed well in front of a perfectly targeted audience of actual and potential London to Brighton Run consumers was a late 1990s restored MMC 6hp ‘Charette’ Twin-Cylinder Rear-Entrance Tonneau, another most important early motor car that had been at the centre of the old car movement for three quarters of a century, which achieved a low estimate £224,250 with premium.
Pre-WW1, Wolverhampton-made Star was one Britain’s top six motor manufacturers, an 1899 Benz 3½hp Single-Cylinder powered Vis-à-Vis, one of the oldest cars to cross the block which had been a Brighton Run regular, surpassed its lower estimate to sell for £138,000. A second 1899 3½hp Single-Cylinder Vis-à-Vis also bettered its £70,000 estimate, selling for £94,300. Whilst an early, rare and only recently restored 1899 Peugeot 2¼hp Tricycle with original Peugeot 2-speed gearbox was pedalled well by a new rider to a £69,000 conclusion.    
By the time the last London to Brighton Runner had headed for their hotels,12 or 80% of the 15 Veterans for sale had sold for £1,204,230 with premium, 6 selling for more than forecast sums, 5 for within their pre-sale estimates.
Much more seriously sadly, and for the second year running too, the oldest motoring event on the calendar was however marred by another fatal road accident involving a London to Brighton participant, although the Veteran automobile and the lorry involved in the crash were not on the official route at the time.
Although just as competitive road rallying on public roads in the middle of the night has virtually been tamed into extinction in the health and safety obsessed UK, the future of the Veteran Run - as currently constituted - may also now be in doubt.
For the latest London to Brighton Run accident has gifted the anti-private transport Mayor Kahn and the Green Politicians in Brighton with more ammunition to move against the old oil droppers, who start in Hyde Park and smoke through Central London down the congested Brighton Road to the Madeira Drive finish.
Even diehard owner-drivers must surely accept that Veterans and their primitive brakes may no longer be an acceptable mix with other road users, and the Run’s very survival may well depend on participant segregation either in escorted convoys or on properly marshalled closed roads.
In the court of changing public opinion in what is likely to be an increasingly electrified future, where most vehicles will emit zero emissions and be potentially autonomous, the no brainer choice for organisers and Veteran motor car enthusiasts is stark - rapid reform or submission to a Red Flag, the abolition of which ironically the first running of automobiles from the capital on a traffic-free highway to the South Coast originally celebrated. The end of the Open Road may be around the corner after next. RH-E  

 

High value classics did not sell under the hammer in Paris, where buyers with £1.57m bought only just over half the cars in the catalogue

Even though both Parisian Artcurial’s star cars could take part in premium historic events, neither a 1953 Fiat Tipo 106 2-Litre V8 Sport Berlinetta, the third oldest surviving Series 1 Fiat 8V, nor a Mille Migia Retro regular 1924 Bugatti Type 23 2-Seater Sports attracted buying bidders with the 1,100,000 or 550,000 euros or more sought beside the Champs Elysees. Nor could the 340,000 euros (£292,400) estimated for a 1961 Ferrari 250GTE S1 or the 170,000 euros (£146,200) for a 1973 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Pininfarina be achieved either.
A 1980 Porsche 911 SC, visually ‘retro-backdated’ by Julia 911, therefore became the 27 October sale’s top seller at 127,200 euros (£109,392) with premium. In second place, a 1976 Ferrari 308GTB Vetroresina with the 250kg lighter polyester bodywork sold for 119,480 euros (£102,753). An 1192cc powered 1957 VW Microbus De Luxe Samba in Brown over Red Sealing Wax with 23 windows and retractable roof raised 104,400 euros (£89,784).
 A 1989 Porsche 911 3.2 Speedster with the turbo-look sold for 103,880 euros (£89,337) and a US supplied 1966 Jaguar E Type 4.2 S1 Roadster for 100,920 euros (£86,791). 85,000 euros (£73,100) apiece bought a supercharged version of a 1999 Shelby S1 and an apparently meticulously restored 1981 Renault 5 Turbo. Whilst 82,360 euros (£70,830) was paid for one of the 1176 1968-70 manufactured L10B versions of the Mazda Cosmo Sport S2.
By sale end, and boosted by 19 cars being auctioned Sans Reserve, 36 of the 70 cars had sold for 1,820,040 euros (£1,565,234), an impressive enough average of 50,557 euros (£43,479) spent per car on a Sunday afternoon in the French capital. Although 34 cars did not sell and the sale rate was only 51%. RH-E  

 

Nearly 90% of classics driven past SWVA rostrum sell during UK October sale rate topping West Country sale including MGB GT V8 sold for £34k

SWVA’s top performing classics just outside Poole in Dorset on a Friday 25 October morning were an MGB GT V8 and an Austin A105. The 1973 B GT V8 with outer sills previously replaced and 49,666 warranted mileage had been pre-sale estimated at £18,900-19,990, but eventually made £34,020 with premium. Whilst the £8,500-9,000 guided 1959 A105 Westminster Vanden Plas with police-specified close-ratio gearbox with floor-change raised a premium-inclusive £29,700. These were really huge prices, particularly in such uncertain times.
An only three owner since new in 1960 Triumph TR3A in receipt of photo-recorded restoration in 2015 made £24,030 and a 1956 TR3 whose 90 year old vendor had owned it since 1967 £17,334, both exceeding their pre-sale estimates. Triumphs sold out here with a way over forecast £17,010 paid for a 1996 rebuilt 1976 Stag auto with £12,000 engine rebuild and declared brakes fault. A 1976 Dolomite Sprint, fully restored with track day mods, sold for a double estimate £10,152 and a previously repainted 1972 Spitfire Mk4 made a double forecast £4,860. While a stalled and incomplete early TR2 restoration project with a mixture of TR3, 3A and 4 bits was pushed in and out of the auction hall before being taken on for £1,575.
There were buyers, too, for all the oldest cars, including a 1932 Austin 12/4, a former Sportsman’s Coupe that became an ambulance in WW2 before being restored in the early 1990s as a shooting brake/people carrier with politically incorrect ‘smokers hatch’ in the roof, which raised £6,426. A less than forecast £17,820 was accepted for a 1935 Riley 12/4 Lynx with 1936 narrow-track chassis, special series engine and mostly original leather.
An always garaged Ford Sierra XR4x4 3.0 with 29,622 warranted mileage, that cost its deceased first owner £16,140 when new in 1989 and had been bequeathed to his gardener in 2018, was acquired here for £13,716.
A 1960 Lex Piccadilly Jaguar MkIX 3.8 that had been last bodily revived in 1982 cost the next keeper £12,960 in 1990 and a half-timbered 1972 Morris Minor Traveller with Danish-oil treated Canadian Ash woodwork, Charles Ware ‘5 package’ and alternator conversion realised £8,370.    
As has become the norm in the UK auction market, the latest 89% sale rate at this West Country 'Drive Through' was again the highest for the month of October with only 8 lots rejected by buyers and 68 classics sold for £532,676 with premium, an average of £7,833 spent per car bought. Consigning 13 cars ‘Without Reserve’ certainly helped the SWVA stats, which saw 63% of cars sold make more than their top estimates and 10% within estimate, and only 7% of cars going for less than their lower estimates. RH-E  

 

Henri Toivonen/Neil Wilson 1985 Lombard RAC Rally winning Group B Lancia Delta S4 Rally sells for £764,375 in RM Sotheby’s sale at Olympia

Employed following the RAC win by both Toivonen and Martini Lancia teammate Markku Alen as a T-car on the 1986 Monte Carlo and Swedish Rallies, chassis 202 was subsequently severely frontal-damaged on a retro-event necessitating part-replacement of the chassis frame. Although Abarth Classiche Certification in the car’s history file stated that the repairs had not affected the torsional rigidity of the car. Two other WRC event winning Group B Delta S4s are apparently still all original and have reportedly transacted for more than £1m.
The top priced headliner at this well attended Thursday evening 24 October London sale was a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400S 4245 that had been driven and enjoyed for four decades by second owner Hans Peter Weber of Freiburg, until his passing in 2015, since when the Bertone-bodied ‘original’ had been barn-stored by his brother. Almost certainly one of the last remaining examples to have been preserved in such original and completely unrestored condition, and one of 20 cars auctioned in this sale ‘Without Reserve’, 24% of the total offered, chassis 4245 was bid to £1,000,000, costing the third owner £1,248,125 including premium.
Other top ten placed cars were a Ferrari Classiche certified 1973 Dino 246GT, one of only 13 such RHD cars with desirable ‘Chairs and Flairs’ supplied to the UK with only 7,758 mileage, which made a within estimate band £432,500, and a freshly restored 1962 250GTE 2+2 S1 in LHD with GTO Engineering rebuilt engine sold for a more than forecast £404,375. £398,750 was paid for a No Reserve manual Maserati Ghibli Spyder, one of 125 Ghia open-tops that had started life in the US as an auto.
A Ferrari California T 70th Anniversary in as new in 2018 condition made the desired £296,250 and a 2014 SLS AMG GT Final Edition £275,000, the lower estimate. A 1973 Iso Grifo GL S2 packing a Ford 351 Cleveland V8 sold for £230,000, an only 950k from new in 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series for £224,500 and a 1992 300CE 6.0 AMG ‘Hammer’, one of only 12 wide-bodied 200CEs, for £207,000.
Five big number cars failed to sell though. For a Road Atlanta raced 2006 Maserati MC12 GTI ran out of track at £1,600,000 and the sale of a 2003 Ferrari Enzo with 14,682 on the odometer was abandoned with £1,350,000 on the big screen. A Gerard Berger/Jean Alesi raced 1994 Ferrari 412 T1 was retired at £1,200,000, the 1989 Jaguar XJR-11 chassis 590 was pitted with an insufficient £900,000 on the board and a twice Le Mans run 1990 Porsche 962C stalled at £825,000.
The rejection rate was also high for Aston Martin road cars with only three out of nine offered selling, £207,000 being accepted for a 1999 Vantage Le Mans V600, the 16th of 40 built and one of 22 in LHD, and £197,500 for a 1970 DB6 Mk2, their lower estimates had been £250,000. £120,750 bought a 1958 DB2/4 Mk3 Fixed Head.
Vendors reserves for six other Astons meanwhile were too much for those in the current market for one with £520,000 not enough for a 1968 DB6 Mk1 Volante, £380,000 insufficient for a 2017 Vanquish Zagato Villa D’Este, £280,000 insufficient for a 1958 DB2/4 Mk2 Drophead and bidding abandoned at £270,000 for a 1961 DB4 S2. Also unsold were a 1988 V8 Vantage X-Pack with £195,000 on the bids screen and a 1958 DB2/4 Mk3 taken to £120,000.
There were buyers for both Jaguar E Types however. For £189,750 with premium was forthcoming for the last regular-production 1974 S3 V12 Roadster to leave the Brown’s Lane line, excluding the final E Type Commemorative run of 50 Black Roadsters. It was mint following recent restoration. Some minor blemishes in close-up did not prevent a restored 1964 S1 3.8 Roadster from realising £89,900.
The most Royal performance for a Jaguar though, albeit a Daimler-badged one, was the £80,500 handed over for the still highly original 1984 Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon that had been employed by Her Majesty The Queen' as a personal car for local and low-profile engagements for 12,000 miles until demoted to providing Royal Security policed transport for other Royals before being returned to the factory with 29,000 mileage. After spells with Jaguar VIP Leasing and Heritage, it was acquired by the vendor in 2010. Pre-sale guided at £50,000-70,000, though auctioned Without Reserve, on a Thursday evening in Hammersmith the ex-HMQ V12 LWB realised £10,500 more than top estimate with premium.   
By sale end, and before any post-sale deals may have been concluded, 57 or 68% of the 84 largely high value classics displayed at Olympia sold for £9,281,525 with premium, an average of £162,834 spent per car bought. Whilst 27 cars were unsold under the gavel, 32% of the total offered, 21 or 37% of cars sold did so for within estimate prices and 6 or 11% made more than top estimate money, whereas below estimate bids were accepted for 8 or 14% of cars sold. RH-E  

 

Carrera Driver’s Watch gifted by Jack Heuer to legendary racer Mike Hailwood sells for triple Bonhams estimate £56,312 at Stafford Bike Sale

Known as the ‘Montre de Pilote’ or Driver’s Watch, of which only 150 pieces were ever produced, the circa 1971 Carrera 1158 model in 18ct gold had personal engraving to the case-back engraved “To Mike Hailwood for a successful 1973 Jack Heuer”. The wrist watch had been given to ‘Mike The Bike’ by the Heuer Chairman in 1973 after the nine-times Motorcycle Champ had swapped two wheels for four and was competing in F1, driving for fellow multiple Motorcycle GP World Champion turned racing driver John Surtees.
Heuer Carrera wristwatches were presented to F1 drivers in the 1970s, including Regazzoni and Nicki Lauda, by the watchmaker, which was also Ferrari’s official timekeeper. A select group of other leading GP stars who wore them as ‘ambassadors’ for the brand included Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson. The Carrera was Heuer’s favourite model: “These watches have a deep emotional meaning for me, as we have lost drivers to racing accidents.”
The personal inscription from Heuer is a likely reference to Hailwood’s bravery in helping to rescue an unconscious Clay Regazzoni from his burning car at that year’s South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, after the two had collided on the second lap of the race. Hailwood was also awarded the George Medal in recognition of his heroic act, filmed footage of which was screened during the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show sale before Bonhams Malcolm Barber brought the gavel down and the new owner of the great man’s watch had paid £56,312 including premium. Considerably more than most classic bikes and many cars sell for.
After 76 motorcycle victories, 14 Isle of Man TT wins and 50 F1 GPs, and just two weeks before his 41st birthday, Mike Hailwood MBE GM died following a collision between his Rover SDI and a u-turning lorry on the Alcester Road in Warwickshire Saturday 21 Match 1981. He had been collecting fish and chips with daughter Michelle, aged 9, who died instantly, and son David, who survived with minor injuries. Hailwood died in hospital two days later. Those who witnessed his extraordinary talent in action at Mallory Park, Le Mans and in the Isle of Man will never forget one of the greatest, most versatile and bravest Champion Brits. RH-E

 

Rare £15,080 DOMINION and £7,424 ROP glass petrol pump globes head Petroliana sell out in Richard Edmonds auction tent at Chippenham

Rare lantern-shaped DOMINION glass petrol pump globe, stamped underneath ‘Webbs Crystal Glass Co Ltd property of Dominion Motor Spirit Co Ltd Returnable on Demand’, more than doubled the top estimate to sell for £15,080 with premium 18 October. A pill-shaped ROP ZIP globe of circa 1936/7 in good original condition raised a correctly forecast £7,424 and an extremely rare clam-shaped oil globe labelled SHELL MOTOR OIL to both sides £6,844.
Whilst £6,380 was forthcoming for the Richard Edmonds catalogue cover featured REDLINE globe, again by Webbs Crystal Glass, and an early pill-shaped BP COMMERCIAL petrol pump globe with small neck found £2,436. Even with a chip to the neck beneath the rubber ring, the white version of a SUPER SHELL glass petrol pump by Hailware made £2,320, whilst the same money was paid for a December 1957 dated REGENT TT glass globe. Chips to the neck did not prevent a 1956 CLEVELAND BENZOLE MIXTURE globe from realising £1,624 and an indistinctly May 1969 dated CLEVELAND MOTOR DIESEL branded globe from fetching £1,392, just some of the 50 globes to sell out to fossil fuel nostalgic collectors during the 787 lot Petroliana section.
The highest priced motor car was an even rarer 1953 vintage, Kaiser-Frazer Michigan-made, Kaiser-badged Manhattan Sedan with auto-shift that had been restored inside and out in 2010 and which made a results-topping £19,800 on a Saturday morning in Wiltshire. A 1959 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1 that had benefited from a Wheeler & Davies Frogeye body-shell transplant and rear telescopic shock absorbers conversion in 2007 sold for £16,600.
A previously restored 1966 Ford Cortina GT Mk1, unusually with four-doors, had mellowed nicely and went for £16,225, and a deceased estate dispersal 1956 Bentley S1 with some bubbling was keenly contested in the tent until hammered away for £9,460. After 22 or 54% of the 41 cars offered had changed hands for £134,855 including 10% premium, 59% of classics sold had done so for within or over their pre-sale estimates. RH-E


 

Near original 1974 Ferrari Dino 246GT makes well over top estimate £393,750 during 70% sold £2.3m H&H afternoon beside M11 in Cambridgeshire

H&H’s star performer in the Imperial War Museum hangar at Duxford 16 October was an unrestored Ferrari ‘Dino’ 246GT that had been driven less than 10,000 miles in 45 years and fetched £28,750 more than the £275,000 top estimate. Named after Enzo Ferrari’s late and beloved son Alfredo, and one of only 488 right-hand drive UK market supplied cars, the Dino Fixed Head was first sold by Dick Lovett Specialist Cars for £5,563 in March 1974 and, with 1,716 miles on the clock, sold again for a premium £7,000 in January 1976.
By March 1990, by when the mileage had risen to only 7,500 miles, the car changed hands again for £100,000 before returning again to the second and vendor family ownership in February 1992, therefore being owned by the same family for 41 of its 45 years.
Having only ever received some remedial paintwork, the claimed to be largely original Dino, now with 10,000 total mileage and estimated by H&H to sell for £225,000-275,000, was bid to £270,000 at Duxford and sold for £303,730 with premium, a 98% appreciating £298,187 more than it did in 1974.
There was no buyer with the required £120,000 or more for a 1989 Ferrari 328GTS with 4,555k on the odometer however or a Bentley Boy with at least £240,000 for a once William Arnold bodied and Le Mans Classic driven 1927 3/4½-Litre with VDP-style replica coachwork. An Edwardian 1912 Delaunay Belleville Type 1A6 Phaeton could not pull the £90,000 sought either and a tarmac-spec 1979 Vauxhall Chevette HSR with Gerry Johnstone engine failed to rally interest at the £60,000 suggested.
The once left-hand drive, but now right-hand drive and very sharp 1964 Jaguar E Type S1 4.1 Roadster sold for £118,333 had been bodily-restored by Stallion and mechanically rebuilt by XK Engineering with bright-work refreshed by Derby Plating with interior renewed by GB Classic trim. Whereas another still left-hand drive 1967 S1 4.2 Roadster that had been resident in Florida and Spain, where it had been restored, fetched £73,125.
The 1965 E Type S1 4.2 Coupe that once belonged to Brian Clemens, creator of The Professionals and The Persuaders, and which had a drive-on part in his The Avengers, performed well here.  An older restoration, but benefiting from much recent mechanical work, the Fixed Head with ITV provenance made £83,333, close to top estimate money. A UK market 1951 XK120 Roadster on steel wheels with rear spats, that had been last restored 19 years ago and had worn well, deserved to fetch £75,375. While a 1964 South African assembled Mk2 3.8 on wires with modern upgrades including alternator inside dynamo and more modern Jaguar seats raised £43,875.  
An apparently time warp Audi Ur Quattro 20v driven 32,000 miles by one owner since new in 1991 made a more than top estimate £84,375. Ownership of a 2000 restored 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 was contested by two telephone bidders until one had bid the required £55,000 and paid £61,875 with premium. A just over top estimate £51,750 was paid for a 52,000 mile 1972 Jensen Interceptor III that appeared on Top Gear in 1994. A 1981 De Lorean DMC 12 Gullwing manual lefty flew away for a more than forecast £30,938 as did a pristine 1972 Ford Capri 3000 GXL with 38,000 warranted mileage sold for £30,375.  
An unrestored 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SL with 18,000 warranted mileage, only 2000 of which was clocked in the last 13 years, sold for a within guide £29,250. While a one owner Triumph TR4 on steels with hubcaps that had been in storage 1990-2010 before 2012 restoration cost the second owner £18,000 and a one family owned since new in 1959 Ford Zephyr Mk2 Convertible was bought for £14,625.
An AFN Reading supplied in 1998 Porsche 911 Type 996 Carrera with 3.4 engine and mechanical throttle, ruched leather and appropriate AFN registration had been advertised for sale in 2002 at £38,995. Some 17 years later and with 70,000 total mileage, one of the first water-cooled 911s with 6-speed manual box and an lsd offered great performance-per-pound value for £12,600. Whilst a 1960 Mini Mk1 with 1310cc motor and many S bits that had led the inaugural 1990 Monte Carlo Challenge until the last checkpoint looked like a fun package for £11,250.  
Although 29 cars were unsold, 30% of those offered, there were buyers for 70% of the 96 vehicles auctioned who were prepared to part with £2,255,934 including premium, an average of £33,671 per car bought at Duxford. Whilst further analysis shows that 76% of cars sold did so for within or over their pre-sale guide price bands, 30 cars selling within estimate and 21 fetching more than top estimate, and only 9 or 13% of cars selling for below their lower estimates.
For despite the worst endeavours of the majority of our unemployable politicians, the classic sector of the electrifiying motor industry continues to survive under fire thanks to today's enthusiasts rather than yesterday's speculators. RH-E

 

2.88m euros (£2.52m) 1965 Ferrari 275GTB Alloy heads 10.6m euros (£9.24m) record Belgian sale for Bonhams at Zoute, where 71% of cars sell

This was a largely encouraging Friday 11 October night out for the collector Ferrari market with five Italian Stallions dominating the Bonhams Motor Cars Europe top ten, led by a 1965 275GTB Alloy ‘long nose’ being applauded when hammered down by auctioneer James Knight to a buyer in the champagne fuelled seats for 2,875,000 euros (£2,516,142 with premium).
Fully justifying its own catalogue and preceded by a video, the matching numbers and Ferrari Classiche certified 275GTB was one 60 alloy-bodied Berlinettas produced with penetrative nose, long bonnet, purposeful side-vents, high waistline and short be-spoilered tail. Already a podium finisher at Le Mans Classic in the hands of previous owner Gregory Noblet, chassis 08061 would be eligible for and competitive in all the Blue Riband Historic Races on both sides of the Atlantic.
The same buyer also paid 86,250 euros (£75,484) for a twin-engined 1964 Citroen 2CV Sahara AZ 4x4, one of only 5 believed to have been assembled in Belgium, and 46,000 euros (£40,258) for a 1955 Cadillac S62 Eldorado with Fleetwood Convertible bodywork that had been in Belgian Royal Family ownership of King Leopold III and his second wife Princess Lilian 1955-1962.
Bidding opened at 900,000 euros for a Ferrari Enzo with 26,707k under-wheel that was keenly contested on internet and telephone until sold to a European bidder for 1,506,500 euros (£1,318,458). But one of the only 400 homage models to Ferrari’s founding father had been first registered in tax-friendly Andorra since 2004, and both hammer price and buyer’s premium were therefore subject to customs duties and local taxes if the supercar with F1-derived technology were to remain within the EU.
A Classiche checked F40 also realised forecast money, a desirable ‘non-cat’ and ‘non-adjustable’ model with wind-up windows and air-con,  was fought over by two internet bidders from 770,000 euros until won by one of them with a bid of for 800,000 euros, costing the new owner 920,000 euros (£805,165) for starters.  An F12 in fully loaded special order spec that had been driven only 6000k from new in 2016 was valued by the second owner at £687,190 (£601,405) and a 13,000k 1980 512BB with Classiche ‘Red Book’ fetched the required 253,000 euros (£221,420).
Other top ten priced cars included a Mille Mille eligible 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, the 152nd built with all number still matching, sold for a forecast 1,035,000 euros (£905,811) and a below estimate 330,000 euros (£288,809) was accepted for a 1971 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet with floor-shift.
An internet player meanwhile outbid those in the saleroom and on the phone to buy a 24,149k since 1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale for an estimated 402,500 euros (£352,250). A period-raced and Mille Miglia Retro eligible 1964 OSCA 1600 GT with distinctive ‘Double-Bubble’ top bodywork by Zagato sold for 379,500 euros (£332,130 euros), more than forecast.  A within estimate 281,750 euros (£246,581) was available for a Bristol-engined 1958 AC Ace Roadster, a left-hand drive US market model with overdrive and disc-brakes.
The final maths for the sale were 20 cars sold, 71% of the 41 offered, for 10,541,490 euros (£9,291,154) including buyer’s premium, an average of £363,500 euros (£316,295).
Pre-post sales, 12 of the cars in the catalogue therefore unsold included a 1930 Mille Miglia raced OM Type 665 Superba Supercharged Zagato Roadster which ran out of interest at an insufficient 1,050,000 euros (£913,000). The sale of a 1960 Ferrari 250GT S2 Pininfarina Cabrio was abandoned at 1,000,000 euros (£870,000) on the screen, an Invicta 4½-Litre S Type Low Chassis  with known history since 1931 at 780,000 euros (£678,600) and a Pennsylvania supplied in 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster at 730,000 euros (£635,100).  
After all four child’s car warm-up lots had sold for a very adult 67,830 euros (£59,379) however, 26,450 euros (£23,148) of it spent on an already green electric ‘Nick Lauda Ferrari 312T’, and a Belgian 1927 Gillet-Herstal 346cc Tour du Monde had been pushed away for 6900 euros (£6093), Bonhams 7th sale at Knokke-Heist beside the North Sea had grossed 10,616,220 euros (£9,236,111). With a surplus of Brexit-inspired depression on the other side of La Manche, this was a welcome Belgian aperitif for EU mainlanders during an early Friday evening session before dinner only 8km from the Zeebrugge ferry. RH-E

 

Jay Kay checks out £27,195 Capri 2000 V4 GT, one of 74 mainstream classics bought for £1.1m during 67% sold CCC sale near Leamington Spa

On a Saturday 5 October afternoon beside the Fosse Way in Warwickshire, Classic car Auctions’ top priced lot was a right-hand drive 2011 BMW M1. One of the must-have  Beema Coupes had been driven only 90 miles and had emerged from underground storage to fetch £59,385 with premium, beating an 18,700 mile 1994 Ferrari 348 Spider with manual-change sold for £53,280 to pole. The same money was forthcoming for the day’s top performing Fast Ford, a show quality 1974 Capri RS3100, one of just 50 of the AVO-developed Essex V6 powered Capris left in the UK.
An equally well presented 1994 BMW 850 CSi manual with 60,000 mileage found £44,667 and another of the 140 M1s, though driven 49,300 by three former keepers, went for £30,525. A freshly soda-blasted to bare shell restored 1975 2002 Tii Lux was sold afterwards for £22,000. £27,195 meanwhile was paid for a down to last nut and bolt restored Ford Capri Mk1 2000 V4 GT XL, that cost £1,310 in 1970, and £19,980 bought a front-wheel drive 1983 Escort RS1600i with 29,000 warranted mileage.
A close to top estimate £37,185 was bid for a 1968 Triumph TR250 that had been converted from left to right-hand drive during a chassis-up rebuild. There were takers, too, for both 1953 MG TDs. A previously left-hand drive Texan 1250, the subject of a body-off 5 year rebuild and totally mint, deservedly made a close to a top estimate £24,420, and another US-supplied and repatriated Midget with engine bored out to 1380cc and Ford Type 9 5-speed box realised £22,200, just over the guide price.
Selling for more than a forecast £26,085 was a locally supplied and serviced 26,000 mile 1992 VW Golf GTI Sportline Cabriolet and a 26,900 mile 1988 Audi UR Quattro on refurbished Ronals with ‘WR’ 200bhp 10-valve 5-cylinder motor and fully re-trimmed interior made the required £22,866.
A claimed to be genuine 1965 Lotus Seven S2, UK supplied with Ford Kent 1600cc before Australian residency, may have been good value for a Caterham-sized £16,872 as was a 1969 Morgan 4/4 with the same engine sold for £11,100, £3,900 less than the lower estimate. The once ‘Noel Edmonds House Party’ employed spoof 1992 Ford Sierra XR4 x4 Cop Car was well nicked for £5,500.
After half a dozen post-sales, 75 of the 112 ‘Everyman Classics’, all of which were displayed out of the weather within the Warwickshire Event Centre, had sold. The 67% sale rate was around the same as the national average had been at the 9 other collector vehicle auctions held in September. While buyers at this Midlands sale spent a premium-inclusive total of £1,120,905, an average of £14,945 per car bought.
Further analysis of the stats showed there were 7 ‘No Reserve’ cars, which were going to sell for whatever was bid, whereas 37 sold within their guide price bands and 8 made more than their top estimates. While below estimate prices were accepted by the vendors of 24 cars, on the day, the best bids for 37 unsold cars, just over one third of those in the catalogue, were not enough for their entrants who had to take them home again.
CCA’s next and final sale of the 2019 season will take place from 11am Saturday 7 December, again at the WEC, where cars for sale may be viewed 12-6pm Friday 6. C.A.R. will, of course, be there and will report back to you just after the book has closed. RH-E

 

Bonhams MPH chief Rob Hubbard sells 1950 MG TD for £18,000, one of 110 accessible classics driven past Bicester Heritage in debut sale

The newly launched Bonhams MPH held their debut ‘Drive Through’ in the Bicester Heritage hangar 26 September, when 63% of the 110 classics offered changed hands, the 69 vehicles selling for £1,314,181 gross, an average per car sold of £19,046 including premium.
Modern Classics prices were led by a 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth with factory-paint, twin headlight conversion and 38,207 mileage from 10 years storage sold for £49,500, top estimate money. A 2016 Audi RS6 TFSI 4-Litre V8 Quattro Avant driven 21,585 miles by one owner made £38,250, just below the lower estimate.  A rare in right-hand drive, two owner, 25,500 mile since 2006 Renault Clio V6 255 Sport meanwhile sold for a forecast £37,125, whereas a well below estimate £42,750 was accepted for a left-hand drive Ferrari 550 V12 Maranello Coupe, delivered new in 1998 to France and colour-changed at some time.
An already classic Morgan Plus 4 Roadster on wires of only 2017 vintage fetched £33,750, while £31,500 paid for an always right-hand drive 1968 Triumph TR5 with Surrey-Top on Minilites was more than expected and a Mulliner of Brum bodied 1954 TR2 ‘Long Door’ that would be Mille Miglia Retro eligible raised the required £21,375. A 1953 Land Rover S1 that had been restored in 2015 fetched £22,500, £7500 more than the guide price, and £14,062, £2062 over estimate, was forthcoming for a 1975 Leyland Australia supplied S3 2.6 ‘Six’ 109 Pick-Up.
Among older cars to be driven past bidders into new ownership in Oxfordshire were a Ginger Dann restored, right-hand drive 1936 Ford Model 68 V8 Cabrio with brakes converted to hydraulic actuation, which sold for £47,250, £7250 more than forecast, and a Kling US restored, left-hand drive 1939 Ford V8 Roadster with Offenhauser heads and 5-speed box, sold for £39,375, close to the top estimate. A 1930s-looking, though 1980-made Shay ‘Ford Model A’ Tribute with Pinto running gear, towing an older restored 1940 Swift 2-Berth Teardrop caravan went for £9000 and £3937 respectively.
After some successful post-selling, there were buyers for all but one very specialist Land Rovers from a small private army of military vehicles consigned from the Elite Collection. The coup-ready convoy was led by a 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 V8 Special Operations Vehicle SAS Truck with a brace of convincingly replicated GPMG machine guns and a 50 calibre machine gun copy, all of which mustered £49,500, albeit well below the £65,000 sought. Whilst a 1985 Defender 110 V8 SOV SAS Truck in desert disguise with camouflage nets, that reportedly had seen service in the first Gulf War and more covert action in Africa and Oman, found £48,375, again considerably less than the £80,000 or more suggested.
Bonhams provincial brand for more accessible classics at more affordable prices for most has therefore been launched and the void left by the regular bike and car sales previously held at Kidlington has been filled. In this, the MPH team’s first sale just off the M40 at Bicester, 12 classics were auctioned at ‘No Reserve’, 6 made over top estimate money and 19 sold for within their estimate bands. While the vendors of 32 cars were prepared to accept less than the guide prices, 41 reserves were however too much for those prepared to bid for non-essential vehicles in Brexit-battered Britain. The next selling and buying opportunity under the MPH gavel in Hangar 113 will be 26 November. RH-E

 

Supercars confiscated from son of African President in money laundering enquiry deal raise £19.19m for good causes in Bonhams Geneva auction

The cache of supercars owned by one Teodoro Obiang, the son of the Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, had been confiscated by the Geneva Prosecutor’s office after a deal had been struck ending a money-laundering and misappropriation of public assets inquiry.
The 25 supercars, hypercars and luxury saloons (plus one Geneva-made 1930 Motocsacoche 493cc CM3 motorcycle) - the ‘No Reserve’ centrepiece of the 29 September Bonhams auction in the deconsecrated 12th century abbey at the Bonmont Golf and Country Club in the village of Cheserex - had been consigned by the State of Geneva, who, the Swiss press report, will donate the proceeds to fund social programmes in the former Spanish colony. All but one of the Obiang cars, which were not Swiss registered, would be subject to import tax if they were to remain in Switzerland.
The jewel in the low mileage and mint Obiang portfolio was an ultra-rare 2014 vintage Lamborghini Veneno. The opening bid of 3m Swiss Francs drew a collective gasp from the standing room only audience who witnessed a seven minute nail-biting contest adjudicated in English by Bonhams Group Motoring Chairman James Knight, during which six initial contestants were bid-down to two. The eventual winner, a private collector, secured the coveted Roadster (one of only nine and considered to be ‘the ultimate’ Lambo) for 8,280,000 Swiss Francs (£6,789,600) to set a new world auction record for a Lamborghini.
Other stand-out performers from the very well stocked Obiang toy cupboard were a 2014 Koenigsegg One:1, one of just six cars produced by the Swedish manufacturer, which had covered just 597k and which realised 4,600,000 Swiss Francs (£3,772,000), and a c2015 Ferrari - La Ferrari, a 1000k example of the Ferrari F1 and GT inspired model, which achieved 2,185,000 Swiss Francs (£1,791,700).  
Obiang’s confiscated 2011 Aston Martin One-77, the 35th example of Aston Martin’s carbon fibre and aluminium flagship hypercar from a limited run of 77 realised 1,552,500 Swiss Francs (£1,273,050. While his 3000k since c2010 Bugatti Veyron inspired a bidder to part with 1,311,000 Swiss Francs (£1,075,020).
Noteworthy prices paid for the other 46 cars in this sale were the 1,955,000 Swiss Francs (£1,603,100) for a 2010 Lamborghini Reventon Roadster, one of just 15 produced, and a 1,150,000 Swiss Francs (£943,000) 1993 Porsche 911 Type 964 Turbo S ‘Leichtbau’ Coupe. 996,425 Swiss Francs (£817,069) was paid for a 2011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta with factory hardtop and 508,875 Swiss Francs (£417,278) for a delivered new to Basle in 1963 Ferrari 250GTE S3 2+2 Coupe.
And finally, exceptional pop provenance was responsible for a No Reserve 1956 Lagonda 3-Litre Tickford 4-Door Saloon selling for 69,000 Swiss France (£56,580). Owned by Claude Nobs, founder and organiser of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the trusty Lagonda had been employed to shuttle a galaxy of superstars between Geneva Airport and their concerts, the Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Nina Simone, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury among them.
This was the first Bonhams collector vehicle sale to be held in Switzerland for ten years and the fourth sale for their motoring team in as many weeks. After a total of 72 cars had crossed the block, 61 of them, an impressive 85%, had changed hands for 35,587,325 Swiss Francs (£29,181,606 with premium). The average of 583,399 Swiss Francs (£478,337) spent per auction car was also quite extraordinary. 46 'No Reservists certainly helped the Sunday afternoon session to go extremely well and only 11 cars were unsold 'live'. RH-E
 

Over £2.3m spent on 96 classics during 67% sold Historics sale at Brooklands, despite simultaneous Ferrari and Porsche sales in Midlands

Aston Martins sold out at Brooklands Saturday 21 September where a French registered, though right-hand drive DB4 S3, appropriately retailed by Brooklands of Bond Street in 1961, since when it had been in receipt of sympathetically executed restoration with some patina surviving, fetched an only just below estimate £275,000.
A well below forecast £104,060 was accepted for a 1973 V8 S2 Fuel Injection auto from ‘nut and bolt restoration’, while a more than top estimate £68,750 was paid for a 1999 V8 Coupe auto demonstrator with service history by three owners and the required £70,400 was found for another three owner since 2010 DBS Volante.
An early Jaguar E Type S1 Roadster ‘Flat Floor’ in left-hand drive had been first supplied to Puerto Rico in 1961 and sourced in Germany before being auctioned here Without Reserve. With non-original 1963 3.8 engine, the correctly described as ‘running and rolling restoration’ was taken on for £71,500. Other Jaguar valuations were a restored left-hand drive 1952 XK120 Roadster sold for £78,100, an older restored and former 1962 Coupe and now Roadster E Type S1 3.8 for £66,000, an early 1964 E S1 4.2 2-Seater Coupe for £66,000, an always right-hand drive 1966 E S1 4.2 2+2 Fixed Head from 17 years vendor ownership for £33,880, and a former auto, now manual 1959 Mk1 Saloon with Mk2 engine for £33,000.
Mercedes-Benz prices were led by a cosmetically and mechanically sorted £49,500 1966 230SL Pagoda-Top lefty, a restored £38,885 1967 300SE Coupe and the ex-Sir David Frost £25,520 1967 250SE Coupe. A Mark Taylor of Chichester restored 1975 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I meanwhile also presented well, hence the £20,900 result, and £31,900 bought a rally equipped 1965 Morris Mini Cooper 1275S in works colours that looked instantly ready for more historic events for £8100 below the lower estimate.
Other Minis to change keepers here included a 41,103 mile 1978 Austin Clubman 1275GT for £13,200 and three ‘Italian Job’ replicated Minis to pseudo S-spec for £9350, £8580 and £7766 respectively, which all fitted inside a specially converted Bedford YNL ‘Gold Bar Transporting’ Single-Decker Bus secured for a bargain £4620.
The going rate in the Brooklands Museum car park for a 1951 Bentley Special, one of 31 built by Geoffrey Shrive on a Mk VI R Type chassis with 4¼-litre engine, was £39,600, £5400 less than had been forecast. A recently chassis-up revived 1960 S2 Saloon straight from the set of the yet to be released Walt Disney ‘Artemis Fowl’ movie however did achieve the required £36,300 and £24,750 bought a 1953 R Type Standard Steel Saloon with power-steering.
The newest motor on the block was a 2011 Land Rover Defender 90 2.4TD XS with Twisted Performance P10+ upgrade to 182bhp via an auto-box landed for £36,850. Whilst both AC Cobra Reproductions, a 1996 427 Semi-Competition by Contemporary packing a correct Shelby-licensed Ford V8 for the late Liam Howlett (of The Prodigy ) and a 2014-dated Dax 427 with Chevvy 383ci, sold for £50,600 and £33,330 apiece. A dry-stored 1949 2-Litre Saloon abandoned project rescued for £3740 meanwhile may hopefully be resuscitated as a genuine AC-engined AC Sports-Saloon with its original registration intact.
After only a few preliminary post-sales had been tied up, 96 of the classics from the 144 offered had sold for £2,317,996 with premium, successful bidders spending an average of £24,146 per car bought. The Saturday attendance was good and the 67% sale rate was certainly boosted by 33 of the 96 cars sold being auctioned ‘Without Reserve’.
Further analysis shows that buyers paid within estimate sums for 28 cars and more than forecast money for 18 more, while the vendors of 17 cars were prepared to accept reality and below estimate returns. Whereas 48 cars, one third of those consigned and for sale, did not do so, potential buyers deciding that, in the metal and on the day, their actual cosmetic conditions and likely mechanical states did not warrant the reserved prices sought by vendors. There will usually be another day. RH-E
 

Carrrera GT sells for £607,500 to head £1.26m session at Warwickshire Polo Club where 14 well presented Porsches were rehomed

The clear top seller at The Silverstone Auctions 21 September all-Porsche sale was a 612bhp 5.7 V10 powered Porsche Carrera GT that was delivered to Germany in 2005 before Italian and UK residencies. With full carbon pack and £8k matching luggage, the supercar, which will almost certainly never do 205mph sadly being tucked up in storage like most of the others, was hammered down by auctioneer Jonathan Humbert for £540,000. The £607,500 with premium paid must have seemed considerably cheaper for a buyer paying in euros in Spain.
Yet another Jay Kay owned classic was dispersed during the afternoon session. The Jamiroquai front man’s 2015 911 Type 991 Turbo S cost the winning bidder a within estimate band £106,875. £72,000 was forthcoming for a 2015 bodily restored 1971 911 D Series 2.2S that would benefit from further detailing and the same money bought a 25,500m since 2010 911 997 Turbo S Gen 2 with 7-Speed PDK transmission. A PCGB endorsed Martini livery 1980 911 930 Turbo meanwhile realised £61,875 and a father and son in the saleroom were truly delighted to acquire a right-hand drive 1989 928GT manual for £51,750.
A 1991 944 Turbo Cabrio with Promax Stage 2 performance upgrade made a more than forecast £27,000 and a below estimate £21,250 was accepted for a 1994 968 Clubsport with sunroof and Variant 3 coil-over suspension. The lowest priced Porsche in the results was a 1994 968 Sport, one of only 306 in UK-spec, declared sold for £9000.
After the auction book had been closed, 14 or 47% of the 30 Porsches offered at the Polo Club had changed hands for £1,261,576 with premium, an average of £90,113 spent per car, though 16 Porsches were unsold and will have to be valuation-tested again. Analysis of the sale stats tells market watchers that while 1 Porsche sold for more than forecast and 8 did so for within estimate bands, only 2 sold for less than their lower estimates. In addition, the final prices for only 3 of the 5 No Reserve Porsches have been published.
With the Supreme Court Judges unanimously thwarting a minority administration, and Remain MPs doing their constitutional best to kill off Brexit before a General Election could redraw their political party lines, national uncertainty can only continue and all market sectors, including this one, cannot fly like Thomas Cook and hundreds of thousands of their clients used to do. RH-E
 

Although the going was too hard for Daytonas at Dallas Burston Polo Club, players still spent £1.75m on 15 Ferraris at Silverstone Auctions

Neither the 1973-75 Sir Elton John owned Ferrari 365GTB/4 or the Daytona delivered new in 1972 to Ecurie Ecosse driver Tommy Dickson cleared their vendors’ £425,000 and £475,000 fences during a Saturday 21 September canter in Warwickshire. Although a rarer in manual 19,000k since 2008 599GTB did sell afterwards for £360,000, and Jamiroquai frontman, Jay Kay’s 1972 365GTC/4 Coupe sold for £219,375 under the gavel, albeit less than it had cost to restore in carefree 2014.
More modern front-engined Ferraris were well received by Ferrari Owners Club members, whose freshly polished cars were lined up outside, a 2012 599GTB celebrating 60 years in F1 ‘Alonso Final Edition’ driven 8000 miles pulling £208,125 and an only 630 miles from new in 2009 F430 Spider F1 secured for £103,500.
After a very long telephone contest, a more than top estimate £153,000 was required to capture a 1995 512M 30,000k lefty and a 1996 355 Berlinetta with 30,000k cost a new rider £94,500, forecast money. A 2013 vintage FF 4WD 4-Seater was acquired for £112,500, an only 2500k from new 1990 348TB for £90,000 and a 2007 F430 60th Anniversary Edition Spider with Daytona seats for £86,000 afterwards.
Including post-sales, 15 or 44% of the 34 Prancing Horses in the Polo Club ring changed stables, their new owners paying £1,747,250 including Silverstone Auctions premium, a far from downtrodden average of £116,483 spent per Ferrari. Analysis of prices paid shows 2 cars sold for more than forecast and 10 did so for within estimate bands, while only 3 sold for less than their lower estimates. 19 Ferraris did not sell on this occasion however and may only sell for less next time around.
After the briefest pit stop for lunch, during which Ferrari Club members were replaced with those from the Porsche Club GB, 30 Porsches went under the gavel in the afternoon sale, analysis of which will follow this transmission after the last loose end has been tied. RH-E
 

All 124 ‘No Reserve cars’ from single owner Saragga Collection sell out during RM Sotheby’s first sale in Portugal for 10.19m euros (£8.97m)

Held on the owner’s estate near the beach resort region of Comporta 21 September, the 8 hour dispersal sale attracted hundreds of potential owners. Bidders from over 30 countries, 52 per cent of them new clients to the house, competed for cars and, significantly for the auction market I would suggest, 22% of them bid on-line.
The top priced 1931 Bentley 8-Litre had been in receipt of well documented restoration and encouraged spirited bidding until sold for 680,000 euros (£598,400). A matching numbers 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring with well documented restoration meanwhile, a benchmark classic in the depreciated investor category, made a nostalgic 602,375 euros (£530,090).
Local market interest boosted the performance of a former concours winning Delahaye 135M Cabriolet by Chapron that had been delivered new in 1938 to the manufacturer’s Lisbon showroom. One of only 30 surviving 1955 W D Denzel 1300s with Portugese provenance brought 314,375 euros (£276,650) and a one of a kind 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600 Sedan, coachbuilt by Parisian Chapron and resident in Portugal since 1972, was successfully re-homed for 342,500 euros (£301,400).
Other Portugese Porsche valuations here included a modern classic 1992 911 Carrera RS in hot Rubystone Red, which made 241,250 euros (£212,300), an even more modern 911 GT3 RS from 2010 174,800 euros (£153,824) and an old school 1960 356B Roadster 151,800 euros (£133,584).
An additional lot to achieve a strong price was a 1956 Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible sold for 231,125 euros (£203,390), while a 1972 Alpine-Renault A110 1300 more than doubled its high estimate to realise 195,500 euros (£172,040) and a 1925 Amilcar CGS 100,050 euros (£88,044), again twice the high estimate. A 2001 BMW Z8 made the top ten with the buyer’s 165,600 euros (£145,728) valuation.
After their 124 sold from 124 offered and 100% sold stats, RM Sotheby’s final sale of the year in the EU, within which the UK will almost certainly still be locked, will be the London Sale, not in Battersea Park in September, but at Olympia London 24 October. RH-E
 

Pre-sold DB4GT and £1.5m Bugatti T57 top £11.7m Bonhams results at Goodwood Revival in UK’s highest grossing sale of year so far

After 28 years in German ownership, the Bonhams 14 September Goodwood Revival catalogue cover featured Aston Martin 1961 DB4GT factory demonstrator, first sold to Donald Campbell and estimated at £2.2-2.8m, was sold pre-sale after an undisclosed offer had been made which the vendor could not refuse. It was left therefore to the 1935 Bugatti Type 57 with Atalante Coupe coachwork from the late Barry Burnett Collection to make £1,499,000, top estimate money, and head an over £11.7m sale including automobilia (which included the ‘010’ registration, the tenth to be issued in Birmingham in 1904, sold for £97,750) and a £43,700 1962 Runabout by Pedrazzini of Lake Zurich.
The 1969 DB6 Mk2 Volante Convertible, one of only 36 made and one of eleven cars being dispersed from the estate of the late Peter Phillips, former owner of the Jones Bootmaker chain, sold for £743,000, close to top estimate. While a 1915 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with replicated Alpine Eagle body went for a below estimate £264,500, his 1968 DBS Vantage replicating the ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ 007 by AM Works Service at a cost of over £190k in 2008 realised a more than forecast £135,700.
There were buyers, too, for the once Lagonda V12 factory 1938 press car, which was used by Earl Howe pre-WW2 and formed the basis of the ‘Le Mans Team Car’  recreated in the 1980s by the late Bentley specialist Stanley Mann. Acquired by Barry Burnett in 1989, the racey looking Lagonda Replica sold in the Bonhams tent for £207,015, while £180,400 was accepted for the West Country collector’s rare in right-hand drive 1963 Facel Vega Facel II. All the Burnett and Phillips Collections cars sold out.
The 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Short-Chassis, a former Saloon re-bodied as a Spider to concours standard in the 1980s and further enhanced during Bill Jacobs ownership in the US, was superbly turned out and sold for a within guide £408,250. Whereas a below estimate £207,000 was accepted for a 1924 Bugatti T23 Brescia with complete known history from new in Australia.
A right-hand drive 1960 DB4 S2 had been driven from Sweden to Goodwood in 2018 and sold here in 2019 for a within forecast £264,500 and one of the oldest surviving production Astons, a 1923 1½-Litre sidevalve-engined two-seater, that had been crashed into an obelisk in 1934 and re-bodied as a GP road car for two in the late 1970s, made £154,100, more than the top estimate.
Goodwood Porsche prices were £138,000 for a 1992 911 964 Carrera RS with Ninemeister upgraded 3.8-look bodywork, £124,00 for a 1959 356B 1600 Cabriolet by Reutter in recent receipt of no expense spared restoration and £57,500 for a No Reserve 2019 repainted 1988 911 930 Turbo.
Jaguar valuations here included a 1961 XK150S 3.8 DHC for £161,000, the Jack Sears 1954 raced XK120 Coupe sold afterwards for £133,333, the Franchorchamps Yellow 1952 XK120 FHC built for Peter Agg by XK Developments with many upgrades sold under the hammer for £97,750, another XK120 FHC in LHD for £60,950 and a Guy Broad built and upgraded 1959 Mk1 3.4 in BRG on wires evoking Mike Hawthorn’s Mk1 for £46,000.
Contrary to popular misconception, all the Ferrari Prancing Horses bucked recent form by changing riders at the Revival this year. For whilst a Classiche Certificated 1970 365GTB/4 ran out of puff with £400,000 on the trading screen, the RHD Daytona did sell afterwards for £437,500. A pro-restored 1975 365GT4 BB with 43,570 mileage meanwhile had already made £247,250, a 1990 TR Coupe driven only 16,500 miles by one owner £101,200, a 2004 575M Maranello with HGTC package £74,166  and a 32,500 mile 2003 F360 Spider £62,100. All but one, the Testa Rossa being a lefty, were RHD cars in an increasingly RHD UK market.
While the ex-Guy Griffiths 1950 Healey Silverstone without Riley 2.4 engine, into which a Jaguar 3.8 motor had been crammed, peaked at an unacceptable £125,000, the required £63,250 was available for a 1956 100BN2, uprated to ‘Le Mans spec’ and converted from left to right. A still left-hand drive 1964 3000 Mk3, repatriated from the US in 2015 and restored by 2017, was acquired for £35,650, but the £25,000 or more sought for a wire-wheels shod 1959 Bugeye with Blower, Sebring bonnet and hardtop was not forthcoming ‘live’.
A Danish 1967 Austin Mini Cooper S to ultimate Group 2 spec with Arden 8-port head and Lucas PI at the front had finished first in the pre-1971 under 1300cc category in the 2016 Copenhagen GP before raising £40,250 in West Sussex. 850 Mk1s meanwhile continue to defy most trends by performing strongly with £28,750 handed over for a very early and a former Beaulieu project 1959 Mini that had been totally rebuilt by Melvin Floyd at Just Historics and £18,400 for a refurbished 1959 Morris Mini that had served the same family for 54 years.
The ex-Ford Finland 1976 Escort RS2000 Mk2 Group 1, rebuilt in 2010 and winner of the Finnish Historic Championship in 2011 and 2012, rallied to a £48,300 result. A 2013 Goodwood Revival raced 1957 Rochdale GT with Climax engine was most unusual for £25,300 and an Italian restored 1960 Lamborghini DL20 2241R tractor harvested £23,575. While no Aston Martin collection can be truly complete without a No Reserve c1949 David Brown VAK 1 Cropmaster tractor picked up for £6,325.
As already reported on this website, the Sir Jack Brabham raced 1961 Cooper-Climax T55 Slimline F1/Tasman single-seater raised £244,375 for the Race Against Dementia charity founded by fellow triple World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart, who introduced the lot generously donated by Peter Livanos.
By the end of the Saturday afternoon sale, 64 or 61% of the 105 collector vehicles on offer had sold for £11.27m with premium, a not inconsiderable average of £175,404 spent per car. At the same sale last year however, 15 more cars sold and the 69% sale rate was 8% higher, while the average spent per car was £44,929 or 26% more one year ago (much the same as the percentage fall in prices at the recent California sales compared to the total for the same six auctions in 2018).
Nonetheless, whilst most prices continue to correct and confidence to buy has become noticeably subdued in the auction tents and salerooms of a divided nation, and although the price paid was undisclosed, the DB4GT 0161R has almost certainly been the second highest value collector vehicle consigned for auction and sold in the UK in 2019 (only just behind the £2.7m Mansell Williams at the Festival of Speed). While even down at a mere £11.7m (compared to a more heady £17.46m in 2018!), this year’s Revival sale has still been by far the highest grossing sale for classics in yet to Brexit Britain this year. RH-E
 

Sir Jackie Stewart movingly introduced Cooper-Climax raced by fellow triple World Champ Brabham which raised £244k for Race Against Dementia

Bonhams’ annual Goodwood Revival auction was preceded by the auctioning of the ex-works Cooper T55 ‘Slimline’ raced to victory in the 1961 Aintree 200 by Sir Jack Brabham, who also drove it in 1.5-litre Grand Prix before 2.7 and 2.5-litre Climax engines were fitted for the 1962 Tasman series.
One of only two T55s built for Brabham and teammate Bruce McLaren, Cooper F1/10/61 was restored by the late Urban Fassler of Hinwil, Swiss marque specialist, to the highest standards, but for static-display only as the owner never intended to race it. Before doing so, the next owner-driver would therefore have to have car, 2.5 engine and transmission fully recommissioned, and fuel tank and safety equipment updated for compliance with current FIA regulations.
Sir Jackie paid tribute to fellow World Champion Sir Jack and thanked previous owner Peter Livanos for his great generosity in donating the car so that all auction proceeds could benefit the ‘Race Against Dementia’, a charity he founded to raise money to fund breakthrough and innovative dementia research. He spoke movingly of how his wife Helen, his timekeeper in the pits throughout his illustrative career in Grand Prix, has been diagnosed with dementia.
The charity’s aim, Sir Jackie said, was to instill a “Formula One attitude” in attention to detail and urgency, to accelerate the pace of solutions development for dementia, which 50 million people around the world have. He warned that one in three people today will get dementia in their lifetime and a new person develops dementia every three seconds.  This was a crisis that cannot continue, he said.
Among F1 personalities who viewed the Cooper during viewing were Bernie Ecclestone and Christian Horner. Auctioned by Bonhams Group Motoring Chairman James Knight ‘Without Reserve’, the T55 Slimline quickly overtook the £100,000-£150,000 guide until the gavel finally fell after £212,500 had been bid in the seats. All the £244,375 premium-inclusive proceeds went to ‘Race Against Dementia’. On behalf of Sir Jackie and the charity, great thanks to all concerned. RH-E
 

After nearly 60 years with one UK family, Le Mans raced Bugatti is unveiled by Bonhams at Goodwood as their 2020 Retromobile headliner

The Louis Chiron/Count Bouriat-Quintart driven, works-entered Bugatti T55 2.3 Twin Cam Eight with 1932 Le Mans history, that was immediately re-bodied in Paris with striking 2-seater coachwork penned by Guiseppe Figoni and went on to win the 1933 Paris-Nice Rally and star in the Bois de Boulogne concours, has been consigned by Bonhams to headline at their 9 February Paris sale during 2010 Retromobile week.
The highest price paid for a T55 in public auction has been the $10,400,000 including Gooding premium paid at Pebble Beach for chassis 55213, the Jean Bugatti roadster driven by Achille Varzi and Count Castelbarco in the 1932 Mille Miglia. But this was in California in August 2016. More recently, again in the US under the Gooding gavel, though at Scottsdale Arizona in January 2018, there was a buyer with $4,070,000 with premium for the Jean Bugatti roadster-bodied chassis 55201, a French Cup winner at Pebble.
Essentially a Grand Prix Bugatti in sports car clothing, chassis 55221 is being auctioned for the first time, following 56 years in the ownership of one British family. With the Paris auction nearly five months away however, by when the last genuine T55 will have been auctioned more than two years ago, but with the state of the economies and the exchange rates between the major currencies impossible to predict by then, unsurprisingly no pre-sale estimate has been published.
Although as the Paris sale headliner was revealed in the Bonhams tent, and both Bugatti and historian Doug Nye were applauded for his researches during viewing at the Goodwood Revival, to predict that 4-5m euros (£3.5-4.5m), or even more, may be achievable for a Bugatti T55 with period Le Mans, Rally and Concours provenance and Figoni body beautiful can only be one pundit’s best guesstimate.
For can anyone on either side of the Channel really forecast with any accuracy what may or not have happened by November, let alone by February 2020? By then perhaps, over-inflated and increasingly incredible balloons in finance agreements may have finally burst and guarenteed buy-backs in PCPs could have become as historic as a 1932 Bugatti T55. RH-E
 

74% of cars in the Bonhams catalogue sell for just over £3m including automobilia at the annual Beaulieu International Autojumble

The top selling 1929 Bugatti Type 44 3-Litre Eight with Harrington four-seater tourer coachwork justified its Beaulieu sale catalogue cover status 7 September by selling for a top estimate £293,250 with premium before heading for Hungary. A stately Edwardian 1908 Napier 45hp Type 23 Six with Formal Open Drive Limo body by Burlington Carriage with benefit of Downton Abbey, Mr Selfridge and Peaky Blinders exposure was knocked down to an American collector via a telephone for £235,750, less than forecast. While £91,667 was accepted afterwards for a 1926 Frazer Nash 1½-Litre Super Sports from 42 years vendor ownership after £130,000 or more had not been forthcoming.
Bidding for a 1927 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom I with replicated Gurney Nutting Saloon coachwork and Abdication Edward provenance was also abandoned at £130,000 and a 1979 Bentley T2 gifted to Maggie Thatcher in 1980 fell short of reserve at £9,000. The No Reserve 1952 Rover 75 that served actor Robert Hardy’s Siegfried Farnon well in All Creatures Great and Small on black and white TV did raise £6,670 however, despite requiring restoration.
A 1948 Bentley MkVI 4¼-Litre Park Ward Drophead Coupe, one of only 23 with this coachwork, made the required £78,200 and a left to right-hand drive converted 1952 Jaguar XK120 FHC with full complement of 4.2 and Getrag 5-speed upgrades by Fender-Broad £75,900. A 1986 Aston Martin Lagonda S3 in receipt of no expense spared 2008-2014 restoration, that had included conversion of the potentially troublesome instrumentation to even more modern LCD, had come to market after its late owner had died in a helicopter accident. This still futuristic looking William Towns styled wedge in light blue could still turn younger heads and was well bought for £36,800.
Also much viewed was the 1936 Austin Seven Formula 750 racer ‘Sacre Bleu’, which raced in the annual Birkett Six Hours in the 1960s, crashed at Oulton, was recovered from an orchard in 1993 and had been rebuilt by 1996. The £8,000-12,000 guide was quickly overtaken and the winning bidder had to pay £20,125. An unsold Ford V4 powered, grp-bodied 1971 Saab Sonett III in a weird shade of green meanwhile was swept up on the Sunday for £8,800.
Although a very neat 1964 Morris Mini Cooper 970S with upgraded 999cc block, Mk2 transmission and Taurus mods failed to raise the £32,000 sought, a Crayford 1964 Morris Mini Sprint, a concours winner at Beaulieu in 2016, did sell for £21,275. Both 850 Mk1 Mini projects meanwhile were trailered away, a 1959 Morris with holey floors taken on for £5,750 and, after a 21 year slumber in a barn in the New Forest, a 1964 Austin Super De-Luxe non-runner was acquired for £3,680 and remains in Hampshire.
There were fans for all three right-hand drive VW Beetles, one paying £10,350 for a 1200 that was made in Germany in 1977, since when it had only been driven 3,600 miles. A 1966 1300 with 27,000 mileage from the same vendor cost the next keeper £8,625 and an unrestored 1959 VW Beetle 1200 with three boxes of parts made £5,750.
Really very Beaulieu, and appealing to the very International Autojumblers with shed loads of euros who had made annual pilgrimage to browse several fields full of stuff, were a previously flood damaged 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi lefty with new ‘crate’ engine carried off for £51,750, and £16,675 rescued a once Swiss and a now very dusty 1963 Maserati Sebring Coupe in ‘barn found condition ’. A stalled Lotus XI project with well replicated chassis by Bill Needham, Coventry Climax engine, Sprite Mk2 box and some original bits, though no documents, was probably the most viewed lot in the tent, which explains the £16,100 result.
One of the most surprising performances was that of the 1582 numbered Vanden Plas Open 4-Seater Tourer coachwork that once graced Bentley Speed Six chassis LB 2350, but had been restored with replacement body covering fabric and woodwork repair. For what was only a body, albeit with running boards, rear wings and hood, flew past the £4,000-6,000 suggested to sell for £34,500!
As the Bonhams team vacated their Beaulieu tent and headed straight to Goodwood circuit to occupy another marquee for their next sale at the Revival meeting only five days later, 93 of the 125 cars auctioned in the grounds of the National Motor Museum had sold for £2,934,669 with premium (£3,243,846 in 2018). The sale rate at Beaulieu this year therefore was 74% (last year 81%), the average spent per classic £31,556 (actually up on £31,191 one year ago).
Although Brightwells and Bonhams bidders were not prepared to meet or better the reserves of 87 unsold cars within four days in Herefordshire and the New Forest, there were still plenty of buyers in play who were prepared to invest £4.78m in 217 classics. Our particular satellite would certainly seem to have sufficient oxygen to continue orbiting the badly managed planet. RH-E
 

 

DB4 from abandoned restoration doubled its pre-sale estimate to sell for £210k at Brightwells during £1.85m afternoon when 69% of cars sold

A stalled Aston Martin DB4 project was taken on for £210,560 with premium, more than double the £100,000 lower estimate, to become Brightwells top seller during their latest £1.85m sale for ancient and modern classics at Leominster 4 September. Considering the recent softening in many prices, this was a remarkable valuation for a left to right-hand drive converted 1960 S2, albeit with restored shell, all numbers still matching and full history known from new. Not that much more could land a complete and running DB4s, even if in need of some TLC.
A mid-estimate £84,560 bought a 1974 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 Roadster with upgraded 5-speed manual box that had only done 1000 miles since being treated to a £118,000 restoration, whereas a close to lower estimate £49,280 was accepted for a JD Classics 2017 rebuilt 1966 Austin Mini Cooper 1275S. There were buyers for both Jensen Interceptors with a £10,000 below forecast £70,000 for one of 320 1971 FF 4x4s from three-year restoration and £33,600 for a mellowed 1968 Mk1 manual, one of only eight survivors.
From the same ownership since 1989, the Sunbeam Tiger captured for £57,120 was the first ever right-hand drive production Mk1, upon which almost £40,000 had been spent on a back to bare metal restoration. A 1996 Ferrari 355 Spider treated to a £33,000 make-over cost the next owner £50,400 and a former 1969 Citroen DS20 Saloon, one of three converted to Decapotable by the Oxford French Company, changed hands for £39,200. While ‘Modern Classics’ were headed by a 2012 Maserati Gran Turismo S 4.7 V8 4-Seater sold for £32,480.
An always right-hand drive 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 Phase 2 ‘Driver’ that could be used as is or sympathetically improved over time might not have been unreasonable for £28,000 and a well presented 1934 Singer Le Mans offered more instant gratification for £24,640. The sole surviving Pass & Joyce bodied 1930 Austin 16/6 Magnet Coupe had taken 24 years to restore, and been driven only 800 miles since, before making a £4000 more than expected £20,160 here.
The going rate for half-timbered Minor Estates in the Welsh Marches was £7,280 for a locally sourced Traveller from same family ownership from new in 1969 and £6,048 for ‘Dorris the Morris’, a sprightly 54 year old. An early left-hand drive Saab 96 2-stroke from 1960 with only minor cosmetic decay, but great potential, raised £6,945, more than the guide. A ‘No Reserve’ 1987 Renault Alpine GTA V6 Turbo resto-project was towed away for £2576.
After a further 14 provisionally logged bids had been converted into post-sales, a total of 124 cars had sold, 69% of the 179 in the catalogue. For whilst the majority of MPs and unelected Lords continue to trash consumer confidence within the Westminster bubble, those inhabiting  the real world had parted with £1,845,984 including premium in Herefordshire, where an average of £14,883 was spent per classic in one afternoon. RH-E
 



 

Bank Holiday weekenders pay £1.43m for 181 classics at 76% sold ACA Drive Through, where 52 No Reservists included £12,505 1974 Fulvia

With not even a hint of a cloud in sight, another bumper entry came to market in King’s Lynn 24 August, when ice cream and gallons of mineral water were more popular than fish and chips, and an average of £7,922 was spent per classic motor car on what really was a super Saturday.
A healthy 76% sale rate under the hammer was certainly boosted by 22% of cars sold being auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ and below estimate hammer prices being accepted for another 20%. Determined bidding resulted in 23 cars making top estimate money or more, while 50 cars achieved within guide price band prices.
The 57 cars that were unsold after 8 post-sale deals had been done, although 24% of the 238 displayed at the auction centre, were considerably less in percentage terms than the 42% that failed to sell at the six much higher profile Californian auctions recently.
The day’s top selling 1965 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 Fixed Head had been repatriated from the US and converted to right-hand drive earlier this century. Beneath age-crackled paint, the very original looking real estate appeared to be solid and many depreciated pounds had been expended on the engine and transmission. Much viewed when awarded a front of grid parking spot outside the auctioneers office and with numbers still matching, the Coventry Cat had been forecast to cost the next keeper £39,000-45,000, but deservedly fetched £47,700.  A 1972 S3 V12 2+2 FHC meanwhile had migrated from South Africa in 2018 to make a within estimate £38,160 in Norfolk in 2019.
Several transporters worth of cosmetically sharp and interestingly upgraded BMWs had come to market here, including a 1971 E9 3.0 CS left hooker with later 5-speed gearbox that had been resident in Germany and Canada before being landed here for £25,440. 20% of the £20,500 hammer price of a super-neat 1990 BMW E30 325i Sport with 110,825 warranted mileage was donated to the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund.
Two head-turners were also particularly comment-worthy, I thought. A first Vauxhall owned and totally mint 1972 VX 4/90 demonstrator with upgraded body-kit and unfortunate button-velour upholstery, which had been driven only 18,916 miles by one owner and which sold for £12,296 - whilst an extraordinarily well turned out 1991 Saab 900 Turbo 16v Carlsson in receipt of recent respray after 148,490 mileage really did justify the fourth owner’s £14,204 valuation.
A dry stored in 1987 and little used since 1968 Triumph TR5 PI with galvanised chassis and renewed floors and sills was sold without reserve for £28,090 and a two registered owner, mainly unrestored example from the same year with £8k rebuilt engine went for a forecast £27,560. A once Texan 1966 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1, rebuilt with steering wheel on the right side, also made the required £31,800 as did a locally produced in 1991 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE with 53,700 mileage sold for £22,790.
Among the more unusual items, a 1936 British Salmson with Open Tourer accommodation for four realised a forecast £23,850 and a 2004 vintage Hummer H2 SUT, rarer in Pick-Up configuration and with flared wheel-arches, picked up a cool £16,324. And finally, the absolutely inevitable Sinclair C5, without which no collection or auction can be truly inclusive it seems, electrified the latest owner into parting with £700.
Pre-Brexit and/or the next General Election, the going for unnecessary classic vehicles was actually surprisingly good. Although much more sophisticated crystal balls than mine have become far too cloudy to reveal what might happen next. RH-E
 



 

Unsold Porsche hogs headlines in Monterey, where records were broken, but 80 less cars sold and prices fell by 26%

The bidding mix-up when the 1939 Porsche Type 64 drove on stage during the Saturday evening performance at the Monterey Convention Center certainly  made most of the Monterey auction week on-line and print headlines in the US and elsewhere.
For the RM Sotheby’s auctioneer surprisingly opened the bidding at $30m for a car that had been reported as being possibly worth $20m pre-sale, and then announced rapidly ascending bids from the rostrum, confirmed by figures displayed on monitors in the saleroom, before a new and much lower bid of $17m appeared on-screen. Indeed, the auctioneer remained at the $17m mark for several embarrassing moments, with no bidder apparent, until proceedings were terminated with a no-sale.
Although unfortunate for all concerned at the time, a misunderstanding between rostrum and back office during the auctioning of one car by the global market leaders is hardly auction industry-significant and is probably worthy of little more than the briefest raised eyebrow or two.
The 2019 Monterey Top Ten was a far more relevant reflection on which high value collector vehicles are currently rated by their buyers as being the coolest at this year’s California sales.

  1. 1994 McLaren F1 Road Coupe with factory fitted Le Mans specification engine and downforce upgrades sold for $19,805,000 (£16,240,100) at RM Sotheby’s
  2. 1958 Ferrari 250 California Closed-Headlight LWB-Spider sold for $9,905,000 (£8,122,100) at Gooding & Co
  3. 1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Coupe sold for $8,145,000 (£6,678,900) at RM Sotheby’s
  4. 1965 Ford GT40 Prototype Roadster sold for $7,650,000 (£6,273,000) at RM Sotheby’s
  5. 1958 Ferrari 250GT S1 Closed-Headlight Cabriolet sold for $6,800,000 ($5,576,000) at Gooding & Co
  6. 1965 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond-Promo Fixed Head with Q Mods sold for $6,385,000 sold (£5,235,700) at RM Sotheby’s
  7. 1975 Ferrari 312T F1 Nick Lauda Single-Seater sold for $6,000,000 (£4,920,000) at Gooding & Co
  8. 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Works Race-Spider sold for $5,120,000 (£4,198,400) at RM Sotheby’s
  9. 1958 Ferrari 250GT Tour de France Coupe sold for $5,100,000 (£4,182,000) at Gooding & Co
  10.  1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta sold for $3,635,000 (£2,980,700) at Bonhams.
But after immediate post-sales deals had been done, 769 of the 1315 cars consigned for the six Californian sales grossed $248.31m (£202.61m including buyer’s premium), the overall sale rate being 58% with an average of $322,290 (£264,278) paid per car.
The stats reveal that $122.6m (£100.53m) less was spent at this year’s sales than in 2018, when the six sales grossed $370.9m ($304.14m), 34% more than this year. For in 2018, 849 cars sold (80 more than in 2019) from 1378 offered (63 more than this year) and the overall sale rate was 62%, 4% more than in 2019. Significantly, and even taking into account four major world auction record prices set at the Monterey sale this year, an average of $114,559 (£93,938) more was spent per auction car bought in 2018, whereas the prices of cars sold this year were, on average, 26% less. 546 unsold cars was also a record for California in August. RH-E
 

 

£16.24m 1994 McLaren F1 and £2.89m 2006 Ferrari FXX break records in annual Monterey sales where 34% less was spent this year

The crowd were on their feet when 1994 McLaren F1 road car number 018 with 21,500k on the clock, one of only two F1s with factory-fitted LM GTR engine and downforce upgrades, was driven across the RM Sotheby’s stage in the Monterey Conference Centre 16 August. For as with the Bond DB5 the night before, it took another four and a half minutes for a US-based private collector to outbid three other competitors and win the world’s most revered modern supercar for $19.8m.
Although this was well below the $23m pre-sale estimate, the £16.24m including premium paid was still a new world record for an F1, which also became the most valuable McLaren ever sold at auction. The previous record holder was a standard McLaren F1 sold for $15.6m (£12.81m) by Bonhams at their Quail Lodge sale, also during Monterey auction week, 18 August 2017.
The 1965 Ford GT40 Prototype Roadster that was influential in the development of Detroit’s first purpose-built prototype class race car, famously winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for four consecutive years, also entered stage left during the Friday evening performance. Estimated to sell for $7m-9m, chassis GT/108 duly achieved a $7.65m (£6,273,000) result.
The star of the final night’s performance however was a Ferrari Classiche-Certified 1962 250GT Short-Wheelbase with all numbers still matching. Chassis 3359 GT with Berlinetta coachwork by Scaglietti, one of only 40 steel-bodied SWB-FHCs built in the final production run during 1962, exhibiting therefore the desirable aesthetic distinctions of the late-production cars, achieved $8,145,000 (£6,678,900).
More modern Ferraris were also in high demand on a Saturday night in Monterey, with an exceptional cache of seven all-red, high performance, low mileage supercars from the Ming Collection bringing strong prices across the group. Red Leader One was a statistically rare 2006 vintage FXX in ‘time capsule’ condition, which raised eyebrows and a steroidal $3,525,000 (£2,890,500 with premium) to set a new world record for the model at auction.
In the fossil-fuel producing and consuming US, where Trump still occupies the driving seat, climate change driven Democrat politicians have yet to gain much negative traction in greening society and applying the brakes to consumption of traditional automobiles. And so, for the foreseeable time being at least, the message from the annual Californian sales is that, though $122.6m (£100.53m) less was spent during auction week this year than in 2018 and the average price paid per lot bought fell by a whopping $114,559 (£93,938), plenty of changes of ownership nonetheless took place in the largest playground for classic cars and bikes on the planet. RH-E


 

While 1980s Porsche 911s seduce bidders in Scotland, Black Maria Albion with serial killer provenance is nicked for £21,525

Both Type 930 Porsche 911s from Scottish ownership sold under the Morris Leslie hammer at Errol in Perthshire during a 4½ hour Saturday 17 August sale for 170 classics, which included the locally-bodied 1951 Albion FT521 that transported Scotland’s worst serial killer Peter Manuel on his final journey to the gallows at HM Prison Barlinnie 11 July 1958.
American-born Manuel, dubbed ‘The Beast of Birkenshaw’ by Fleet Street and who was convicted of murdering seven people across Lanarkshire 1956-1958, was the third-to-last person to be hanged in Scotland. Having provided the City of Glasgow Police with secure prisoner transport between Glasgow Sheriff Court and jail for eleven years until retirement in 1962, the ‘JGD 426’ registered Black Maria was auctioned ‘Without Reserve’ here until captured for £21,525.
The Porsche Reading supplied 1984 911 Turbo with recent stainless steel heat exchangers and fresh front discs meanwhile made a mid-estimate £60,375 including 5% premium, the lowest rate for buyers in the UK. Whilst a ‘wide body’ 1987 911 with 31 mainly Porsche OPC service stamps, the most recent from Porsche Perth in March warranting 108,834 total mileage, made the necessary £40,000, the lower estimate, costing the successful bidder £42,000 with premium.
Among 50 or so changes of ownership concluded under the gavel, a US-supplied in 1970 Jaguar E Type S2 4.2 Roadster, repatriated in 1989 when converted to right-hand drive before further work including triple SU carbs in 2008, had been guided at £50k+. But following nearly 10 years storage and only some re-commissioning, the once San Diego resident was bid to £43,000, which was accepted, costing the buyer £45,150 with premium.
By contrast, a cosmetically rough Austin Mini non-running mis-match with 1963 dated 850 front shell, DVLA recorded as a 1965 Cooper S, had been optimistically estimated at £5,000-7,000 as ‘a source of spares only’, but did indeed fetch £6,930.
Although most of those attending had travelled often driven long distances from within Scotland, bidders also contested lots remotely from as far afield as Italy, the United Arab Emirates and New York. By Monday morning, the sale total had risen to 62 cars plus a £2,544 Honda Goldwing 1100cc Trike, an £8,056 Royal Enfield 692cc Constellation and a £1,070 Jon Pertwee signed Dalek, though in the days and weeks following their classic fixtures the Scottish auctioneers reckon on selling many more unsold lots. As yet therefore, neither the final gross nor percentage sold stats can be calculated from what are still incomplete classic prices north of what free marketeers hope will forever remain an invisible border. RH-E



 

007 movie DB5 and DB5 Estate become world record breakers when driven across RM Sotheby’s stage in California

“Bond DB5 sells for record $6.4m” certainly headlined around the globally-warmed planet. Although the $5,385,000 (£5,235,700) premium-inclusive total paid by the winning bidder attending the first night of the annual RM Sotheby’s auction at Monterey 15 August, when six contestants slugged it out in the room and on the phone in a four and a half minute competition, was all the more extraordinary as Aston Martin DB5/2008/R was only ‘as seen in’ the Goldfinger movie and ‘never actually appeared on set’ in Thunderball.
For the most valuable DB5 ever sold at auction, though built specifically for Eon Productions and outfitted with a full complement of Q’s finest gadgetry, never saw any action with Sean Connery on the big screen, but was actually one of two promo cars employed by the production company to launch the next 007 movie.
Surplus to Eon requirements by 1969, when acquired as a pair of DB5s by the then Anthony (now Lord) Bamford, 2008/R was acquired by B H Atchley, owner of the Smokey Mountain Museum of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for $2,090,000 (£1,217,523) in the January 2006 RM Auction at Phoenix.
Subsequently fully restored in Switzerland by Roos Engineering, and with all Bond survival goodies functioning correctly, just as Q intended, the 007 promo-DB5 sold in California for 6.4% more than top estimate and £4,018,177 or 77% more than it did in Arizona 13 years ago, appreciating therefore by just under 6% per annum.
In 2019 to date, C.A.R. has tracked the auction performances of 9 other DB5s, 4 of which sold in Arizona, Norfolk, Sussex and Buckinghamshire, and 5 of which were unsold at Enstone, Brooklands, Stokenchurch, Goodwood and Silverstone. In January, a 1965 DB5 sold at Bonhams Scottsdale for $610,000 (£465,800) and a 1964 DB5 for £556,500 at ACA King’s Lynn. In April, a 1964 DB5 to Vantage-spec made £636,600 in the Bonhams tent at the Goodwood Members Meeting and in May another 1964 fetched a 2019 EU-leading £860,000 at the Bonhams AMOC Sale at Stokenchurch. The buying bidder of DB5/2008/R in the US therefore has paid £4.6m more for the Bond movie provenance and Q’s working goodies than the £684,367 average auction price for DB5s in the UK so far this year!
Another really high flier during RM Sotheby’s Thursday evening session on the Monterey peninsula was a three private owners from new in 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake, one of just 12 factory built cars, which had been forecast to make $1m-$1.4m, but which cost the buyer a record $1,765,000 (£1,447,300 with premium), making this the most valuable estate-bodied car of any marque sold at auction.
Stakeholders must surely be relieved that the most important week on the collector vehicle auction calendar had started with such spectacularly positive valuations. Stay tuned to this site for further and regular reality checks. RH-E

 
 

£62k Nissan Skyline GT-R headlines and Japanese Modern Classics nearly sell out in Midlands during largest CCA sale yet

All but one of a clutch of relatively modern Japanese classics sold out Saturday 3 August during the largest CCA sale yet at the Warwickshire Event Centre, where 181 cars came to market and there were buyers with nearly £1.9m for 107 of them. A 2000 vintage Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec with 40,000 mileage had been attractively guided at £30,000-40,000, but cost the winning bidder a suitably ‘Fast and Furious’ £62,715.
A second phase 2000 Honda NSX V6 manual with extensively serviced 33,055 mileage raised a more than estimated £53,280 and one of 1000 2003 Mazda RX7 Spirit R Type-A manual 2-seater with adjustable rear wing £41,625, again well over guide. A 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition in red fetched £27,750 and another in white £24,975, both way over their estimates. One of only 2,500 Paris-Dakar Pajero Evo 3.5 V-Tronics for homologation was rallied away for £9,102 and a two owner 1997 3000GT AWD AWS with 23,355 UK mileage looked well bought for £7,992.
Another UK supplied in 2001 Subaru Impreza P1 2-door made a more than estimate £22,755 and a 1999 Impreza WRX STI Type RA Version 5 4-door Japanese import £15,762, again more than forecast. A UK 2003 WRX STI 4-door that appeared to have been sympathetically refreshed cosmetically found £6,105 and a hill-climb spec, but not currently street-legal 1998 Subaru RX STI 2-door Japanese import was trailered away for £2,775.
Hot Hondas were cool, too, with £14,652 available for an ex-Japan 1997 Civic Type R, strong money, an estimated £8,880 paid for yet another Tokyo sourced 1990 CRX V-Tec S1 R and a more than forecast £12,432 for a 2000 Integra Type R DC2 Japanese import in trad white. A solitary Toyota Supra Twin Turbo from 1997, also in white, but with many front panels looking brand new for 64,472 mileage, did not achieve the £30,000 sought though.
Several low mileage cars did turn heads here, led by a 1972 Rover 3.5 Coupe with 20,403 warranted mileage and original interior. Well preserved by long term storage, but freshly recommissioned, and estimated at £25,000-30,000, the P5B was keenly contested until the tireless Jonathan Humbert’s gavel crashed down at £35,500. One of the finest examples seen on the auction circuit cost the new owner £39,405 including 11% premium.
An only 6,716 miles since 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 Gullwing with desirable 5-speed manual box flapped away for £24,250, the required money. A Peugeot 308 GTI 1.8 meanwhile, obviously carefully driven 15,200 miles from new in 1990 by one owner, deservedly made a more than forecast £12,432, whereas a ‘No Reserve’ Mexican-built in 2004 VW Beetle lefty with 435 miles indicated was acquired for a below estimate £11,100. The all black Wood and Picket upgraded 1977 Mini 1000 MkIV AP auto gifted by Bob Willis to his wife Cilla Black had been only recently restored and deserved its £20,535.
Although 74 cars had to be returned to their vendors unsold, many Jaguar E Types, XJS and XK8 among them, after some post-sales had been successfully concluded, the overall sale rate rose to 59% with 6 out of every 10 classics auctioned selling therefore for a far from depressing average of £17,569 with premium in a changing market. RH-E

 

Both Gullwing Mercedes-Benz flew away to new owners during 61% sold £6.05m sales over Silverstone Classic weekend

The star car in the Silverstone Auctions Saturday 27 July session, the 1954 300SL Gullwing that was owned by Team Lotus F1 Manager Peter Warr in 1989 had been pre-sale estimated at £850,000-1,000,000. But the bidding peaked at an applauded £740,000, enough for a delighted vendor in the saleroom, and the new owner gave what is still the most iconic Merc model a premium-inclusive £832,500 valuation. The same bidder, who was away on holiday, went on to also buy a 2010 vintage SLS AMG Gullwing homage that had been driven only 690 miles from new for £203,625, more than forecast, to complete his impressive pair of German birds.   
The once 1071-engined Mini Cooper S Mk1 driven by the late Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams to victory on the 1964 International Welsh Rally, the first of many international wins for the model, sold for a within estimate £65,250. Even with such significant provenance, this was strong money for a re-shelled Rally Mini that had been retrospectively upgraded to 1275+ spec with later safety equipment. Barrie’s previously restored 1972 Lancia Fulvia HF 1600 was still mint and warranted the £39,375 paid by the next owner.
With all 17 cars being offered at No Reserve, ‘The Property of a Gentleman’ section proved popular with bidders, who paid a more than forecast £52,313 for a 1972 Mercedes 280SE W108 3.5 Saloon and a top estimate £69,609 for a repatriated 1965 Ford Cortina Lotus Mk1 A-frame car from earlier residencies in California and New Zealand. £99,000 was paid for a 1991 Ferrari Testarossa, £70,875 for a 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo and £63,563 for a 1994 Lancia Delta HF Integrale ‘Bianco Perlato’. A Top Gear and Fifth Gear exposed 1973 Citroen DS Super 5, which had featured in at least 150 mag features and could still win concours tomorrow, was transacted here for £61,875.
A 16,500 miles since 2006 McLaren-Mercedes SLR realised a more than guide £187,875 and a less than forecast £160,000 was accepted for one of only 19 manual Jaguar E Type S3 V12 Commemorative Editions of the final 50 produced in 1974. A 87,000k 1985 Renault Turbo 2 Evo made the necessary £81,000 and the required £51,750 was also forthcoming for a 1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus S2 with only 7998 mileage.
The £200,000 or more sought for a very shabby 1985 MG Metro 6R4 Group B ‘original’, run for only 7 miles on stands, could not be achieved and the sale of the ex-Sir John Whitmore 1965 European Touring Car Championship winning Lotus Cortina Mk1 was abandoned with an insufficient £170,000 bid on trading screens. These and other no-sales confirmed that, statistically, competition cars continue to be the most sluggish category in the collector vehicle sector. Although after being acquired 27 years ago from the Bathhurst Museum, the 1988 Rouse Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth Group A track-only racer did change hands at Silverstone the next day in a £170,000 post-sale.
Also headlining during the Sunday 28 July session were a right-hand drive and only 78 miles from new in 2018 Ferrari California T 70th Anniversary sold for £270,000, while the 1970 Aston Martin Press Road Test DBS V8 manual consigned by actor Steve Coogan made £151,875. Among other noteworthy movers, an exclusive to the Japanese market 1999 Honda NSX Type S 3.2 manual was successfully shifted for £81,000, a 1995 Ford Escort Cosworth Motorsport ‘Big Turbo’ driven 2,500 miles by two owners for £68,063 and an unregistered  1978 VW Beetle Last Edition with 78 miles on the clock for £39,338.
Although vendors reserves for 47 cars were not met by bidders, signing up 20 cars ‘Without Reserve’ certainly helped the Silverstone Auctions stats. For including post-sales, 75 or 61% of the 122 cars in The Wing sold for a not inconsiderable £6,045,280 including premium, amounting to consumers spending an impressively bullish average of £80,604 per classic. RH-E

 

Vicarage 1959 Jag Mk2 3.4 manual o/d on wires fetched £33k to headline in 93% sold SWVA ‘Drive Through’ in Dorset

Vendor family owned since 1968, and bodily and mechanically rebuilt by the celebrated Wolverhampton transformers 2007/8 at an invoiced cost of £66,489.82p, the Jag had been driven from South Wales to auction 26 July, when, unsurprisingly, the £17,000-18,000 pre-sale estimated lot was the most viewed lot in the preview park.
Being on the damage alert register in February 1989 did not seem to impede a 1976 Aston Martin V8 auto from realising £38,340, but then gilt-edged bills from AML and Chris Shenton for more were on file. While a double estimate £33,480 was forthcoming for a Black Edition SL55 AMG with 550bhp complement of Brabus upgrades contributing to the potential for zero to 60 in 4.1 seconds and 206 mph top speed.
Converted from left to right-hand drive during a three year, photo-recorded restoration costing £21,232.65p, a 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 went for £32,440, £2400 more than forecast, despite being thickly repainted. A 2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage auto with 62,000 warranted mileage also found a more than top estimate £23,760, and the same money was accepted for a previously resprayed and re-trimmed 1979 Porsche 911 SC Targa. After more than 40 years of vendor ownership, a 1959 MGA 1600 Roadster restored by Mike Rolls 2013/14 changed hands for £22,950 and £18,360 was available for a previously revived 1954 Triumph TR3 that was ripe for some more TLC.
Among transacted cars that caught your reviewer’s eye was a well presented 1999 Maserati Ghibli 2.8 that had been diligently serviced during 45,297 warranted mileage before changing keepers here for £14,580, double the pre-sale estimate. A Mini World Mag featured 1991 Rover Mini Neon Edition with 8668 mileage since a £20k upgrade that had included a 1380cc A+ motor made £12,960, deservedly £4500 above estimate. Another Archer Garage restored 1960 Austin-Healey Frogeye authentically replicating a Sebring Sprite appeared to have been a cracking buy for the £12,312 paid.
Even before any post-auction deals had been done, and boosted by 26 or 32% of entries consigned 'Without Reserves', the West Country vehicle auctioneers ‘live’ sale rate was a market stimulating 93% with only 6 cars unsold under the hammer. For on a Friday morning just outside Poole, long before the 10.45am start, another large crowd had turned out to witness 75 of the 81 lots sell in less than two hours for £620,179, a pre-'Deal or No Deal Brexit' average of £8269 including 8% buyer’s premium spent per car. RH-E

 

TR4 cop car is captured for nearly £34k in Derbyshire, where 31% of 108 sellers were also auctioned ‘Without Reserve’

One of 33 No Reserve cars in this H&H sale, and much viewed, the Triumph TR4 that had joined the Southend-on-Sea Constabulary in 1962 as a ‘fast pursuit vehicle’ and been restored by Revington TR fetched £33,750 in the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, where 67% of the 157 lots auctioned 24 July fetched £1,302,344 including premium. On a sweltering Wednesday afternoon in the Peak District, the average spent per auction classic amounted to £12,059 plus ice cream.
The top sellers in the hall were a £84,375 1971 Jaguar E Type S3 V12 Roadster, left to right converted during back to bare metal resto following 28 years hibernation, and another 1973 E Type S3 V12 Roadster sold for £69,750. A 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Supersport 3.2 with 55,000 warranted mileage made £59,625 and a 1956 Jaguar XK140 Fixed Head to SE-spec with C Type enginet £39,375, all virtually achieving their guide prices with premium. For while 31% changed hands for within estimate band prices and 15% made more than their estimates, below estimate bids were accepted by the vendors of 23% of cars sold.
A Laguna Seca raced, though right-hand drive 1957 Morgan Plus 4 with aero-screens and high-rise roll-over bar had been estimated at £18,000-22,000, but cost the next owner-driver £22,781. Number 4 of 40 40th Anniversary Edition 1989 Lotus Esprit Turbos had been guided at £10,000-12,000, but sold for £15,975.  Whilst a 90 year old vendor owned from new Jaguar Mk2 2.4 auto that had been driven 78,129 miles since being in the window of Jaguar Piccadilly in 1965, and had been forecast to fetch £8,000-12,000, raised £14,288.
After many provisional bids had been converted into definite changes ownership, 108 classics were successfully rehomed and the sale rate was 69%, though 33 cars, 31% of the total, were unsold. RH-E


 

Restored TR3As fetch £32k and £27.5k in Dorset, where 1996 VW makes nearly £23k during 42% sold afternoon

For many market watchers, I suspect, the most educational valuation in the Charterhouse auction tent in the grounds of Sherborne Castle during 21 July Classic and Supercar Show Sunday was the £22,880 paid for a one family owned since 1996 Volkswagen Corrado VR6 manual. The model had previously zoomed below my radar without trace, although the sale car, originally supplied by the Leek VW dealer for £1000 over list, was reportedly the last British registered VR6.
There were buyers, too, for two out three 1961 Triumph TR3As with £32,190 for a concours winner that took 3000 man-hours to rebuild over 4 years and £27,500 for a £43,000 restored example. The £11,550 required was available for a Charles Ware revived 1965 Morris Minor 1000 Tourer on twin SU carbs with servo-assisted brakes and upgraded interior by Piper Trimmers. While a below guide £10,878 was accepted for a 1997 Lotus Elise S1 with 1.8 Rover K Series in the tail that had allegedly resided in a dehumidified garage and never been on track during 62,500 mileage.
A 1933 Austin 7 Box Saloon had worn well after an Austineers of Bradford-on-Avon restoration ten years and made a better than forecast £9,102 on a Sunday afternoon under canvas in Dorset. While the mortal remains of the Rolls-Royce Wraith 25/30 Park Ward Saloon originally ordered by aviation pioneer Sir Fred Handley-Page in 1939 were transported away for £8,325, again more than had been estimated.
After 11 lots had been hammered under the hammer and another 11 had sold immediately afterwards, 42% of the 53 cars displayed in an around the tent sold for £232,239 with premium, an average of £10,536 paid per classic. On the day, in the tent and on-line tough, the stark reality was that 31 of the vendor reserves were apparently too high for those in the market to buy. RH-E


 

1957 Austin-Healey 100/6 scores £52,250 result in West Country to top recent prices on provincial auction circuit

Four pages of illustrated small print in the DVCA 11 July auction catalogue for their latest Henstridge Airfield sale were not wasted on the locally sourced 1957 Austin-Healey 100/6, the restoration and upgrading of which had been most fully chronicled. Both vendor and buyer, who paid a within estimate band £52,250 with premium, lived only a few miles apart. First supplied to Bovril Limited of Old Bond Street for The Lord Luke in 1953, a Bentley R Type was acquired by the fourth owner for £32,000 here.
A 1971 Triumph Stag manual with overdrive and hardtop, that last changed hands 19 years ago and had been stored for the last 5 years, made £10,670, but did require full recommissioning. A telephone bidder beat off a challenger in the tent to win the keys of a £5,000-7,000 estimated 1937 Packard Super Eight Touring Limo that had appeared on set in ‘The Mummy Returns’ and ‘Churchill’s Last Stand’, but had to pay £7,840 to do so. Having been driven 58,000 miles by only two owners since new in 1940, an Armstrong-Siddeley 16hp with engine reportedly turning after long-term storage was taken on for £5,940, double the top estimate.
Although the £145,120 gross total for the afternoon and the £12,093 average paid per 12 auction cars sold in Somerset were impressive enough stats, on the day and in the tent, but not yet on-line, the reserves for 21 unsold classics were not met by those who were prepared to bid in what has become a much more selective playground. RH-E


 

Scuffed DB9 Volante without docs was front runner at Sandown, where 39 classics changed hands, but 45% did not

The going was statistically soft for Barons 16 July at Sandown Park during the ‘live’ auction, though after 12 provisionally logged bids had been converted into sales, new jockeys for 55% of the 71 runners paid £265,300 including premium for their 39 new steeds.
The most bid lot was a scraped and scratched, but running 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Volante with grubby hood and valid MOT that had been recovered from central London storage and which sold for £26,620, double the lower estimate. The oldest and largest classic displayed in the Surrey racecourse grandstand foyer, a 1930 Nash Ambassador Eight Sedan, restored in the US in the last century, made the required £26,400. There were also buyers with £21,450 for a 70,000m 2003 Bentley Continental GT and £19,800 for a post-sold 1962 S2 with previously refurbished bodywork and interior.
A more than top estimate £16,940 was handed over for a repainted 1970 Rover 3.5 P5B with Webasto sunroof and a Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate, which originally cost £48,646 in 1998, sold for £6,050, also £2000 more than had been forecast. The quirkiest curio in the catalogue, a 58 year vendor owned 1961 Morris Mini Van project with side windows, Australian market wind-up window doors and one-piece lift-up rear door in grp was taken on for £3,750.  There were no takers however for 32 cars, 45% of the total. RH-E


 

DB4 S3 Aston fails to find £370k+ and Ferrari 550 £250k at Brooklands, where Porsche Leeds rebuilt £92k 911 Turbo tops £2.24m 64% sold day

The Porsche GB restoration award winning 1981 911 Type 930 3.3 Turbo, almost certainly better than new when completed in 2014, since when it had only done 1000 mildly patinating miles, achieved a within forecast £91,840 with Historics premium. The highest priced Ferrari was a 1990 348TB, one of 130 supplied in RHD to the UK, which exceeded top estimate to sell for £57,120.
Top selling Mercedes-Benz meanwhile was a rare in RHD 1958 220S Cabriolet in manual with recent paint and trim sold for £73,580, also bettering its guide price band. A lightly refurbished 1968 280SL left-hooker Pagoda-top with hood also made a more than top estimate £56,000. The highest priced Aston Martin was a £28,000-34,000 1975 V8 S3, described as a ‘rolling restoration’, which was taken on for £40,320. A 1991 Virage with valid MOT provided far more instant gratification for £24,338.
Jaguar prices were headed by a one California owner from new in 1968 until registered in the UK in 2018 E Type S1 4.2 Fixed Head lefty at £44,800, the lower estimate with premium, and a much upgraded 1957 Mk1 Saloon with 4.2 motor, Mk2 manual box with overdrive, power-steering and Coopercraft brakes overtook its £28,000-33,000 estimate to raise £38,360.
A within guide £72,240 was accepted for a relatively modern MP4-12C supercar from 2012 with full McLaren dealer service history and a previously restored 1972 Bristol 411 with the larger Chrysler 6.3 V8 cost the next owner £39,760, forecast money. While the going rate for a 1992 Peugeot 205GTI 1.9 on a Saturday afternoon in Surrey was £17,360, though the 130bhp pocket rocket had been driven flat out by The Stig on ye olde Top Gear.
One of just two Cobra 212 Supercharged Roadsters, AC’s press car in 2002, when driven by Jeremy Clarkson, Damon Hill and Mark Blundell, was given a £84,560 valuation by the next owner at Brooklands. The rarest headliner displayed in a larger, lighter and airier auction tent in the Museum car park than in previous years though was a 1959 Bocar, the 'Bo Car' coming from creator Bob Carnes. The Colorado-constructed, space-framed XP-5, a visual cross between a Maserati and a Devin road racer with twin headrests, packed a 283ci Chevvy V8 and realised £79,240, close to its lower estimate with premium. A Chevrolet-manufactured 1962 Corvette C1 327ci with hardtop meanwhile made the necessary £59,360.
One of only three, rather awkward looking Healey Sportsmobiles to survive from the circa 23 built by Donald Healey pre-1950 fetched a forecast £17,920 and when did any of you last see a 1970 Vauxhall Cresta, a barn-found 3.3 Powerglide PC, the last of the Sales Manager issue series, which was trailered away for £2128. A 1961 Ford Anglia 105E, that had also been asleep for many years, may also be revived having been bought for £1698.
By the time punters had exited what was once the pre-war Silverstone for the right motor sports crowd with no crowding and had survived another sentence in the M25 car park, and after only some of the post-sale deals had been done, 111 of the 173 cars in the still glossy catalogue had changed hands for £2,241,966 including premium, an impressive average of £20,198 spent per classic.
Historics sale stats were certainly helped however by 45 lots being consigned ‘Without Reserve’, which has to trend for vendors prepared to commit their classics to one-way journeys. Although when I shut down the much travelled laptop for the British GP, 62 cars auctioned were still available. RH-E


 

Pre-war Vauxhall 30-98 sold for £185,000 in Herefordshire, where buyers spent £1.72m on 123 of 170 cars auctioned at 72% sold mid-week sale

One of the earlier OE models with low radiator and low-set headlamps, the 1923-made Vauxhall OE50’s open four-seater body had been changed to Mulliner coachwork for two in circa 1934 and a replacement OD crankcase fitted during continuously charted history. Including 10% buyer’s premium, the £185,000 valuation by the new owner just cleared the lower estimate forecast in Brightwells HQ.
It was surely noteworthy that all of the higher value cars sold at Leominster. For although a front of house parked 1961 Jaguar XK150S 3.4 FHC with only 19,578 mileage ran out of bids at £75,000 'live', £35,000 short of its lower estimate, £107,500 was enough to buy it in an aftersale. A Guy Broad maintained 1959 XK150SE 3.4 DHC meanwhile, upgraded with Getrag 5-speed box and XJ6 front disc brakes, made a more than top estimate £71,500 under the hammer.
A nicely patinated John Chatham maintained 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 on 6ins (too?) wide wires in front of the rostrum also sold for a just over top estimate £60,500. After 29 years residency in the US, the BJ8 Phase 2 had been repatriated and converted from left to right-hand drive during a nine year rebuild completed in 2004. From even earlier in the 1960s, one of the 52 known survivors of the 175 hand-made Bristol 406s cost a successful bidder £41,250, again just over guide, and £47,850 was accepted afterwards for a rare 1950 vintage Land Rover Series 1 Station Wagon by Tickford with dents and taped-up seats.
By far the oldest course on a menu for all budgets, and much viewed by diners, was a very exposed twin-armchair 17hp automobile made by the Maudslay Motor Company in 1909. With more user-friendly retro-fit dynostart and electric conversion to acetylene lamps, the VSCC Prescott and Curborough exercised artefact had been estimated at £35,000-45,000, but raised a thumping 3.3-litre ‘four’ £59,400. A 1928 Morgan Aero 3-Wheeler powered by water-cooled Anzani v-twin raised a forecast £23,000 for a deceased estate.
Even in the face of an Extinction Rebellion that threatens to stamp out all traces of a fossil-fuelled past, there were still buyers with a more than top estimate £52,800 for a 1938 Packard Super Eight Coupe-Roadster in right-hand drive once owned by Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart and a close to estimate £29,150 for a rather brightly turned out 1935 Railton Straight Eight Sports-Cabriolet.
A UK market 1968 Jaguar E Type Series 1.5 Coupe rust-munched project, albeit with numbers still matching, that had been disassembled some 35 years ago, was bravely taken on here for £11,660. Especially so, when you consider that £11,550 would have bought you a one family owned from new in 1964, so early ‘pull handle’ MGB Roadster with Oselli engine that had been last been restored in 1978 and was ready for the next far more instant makeover.
An interesting and well attended stand-alone sale, this, during which a more affordable average of £14,012 was spent per car and there were at least plenty of transactions at all price levels to stimulate a real world market. RH-E


 

Mansell ‘Red Five’ Williams-Renault makes £2.7m in close to £11m sale at Goodwood, where 53% of cars sell, 31 within or more than estimate

A world record auction price for a Williams F1 was set in the Bonhams sale tent during the Friday afternoon of Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend. The Adrian Newey designed, Renault TS3 3.5 V10 powered FW14B chassis 08 -  Nigel Mansell’s legendary ‘Red Five’, driven by the 1992 World Champion to victory in the first five races of the season, all starting from pole - excited a three-way international bidding battle eventually won by a major UK collector in the seats, who paid an applauded £2,703,000 with premium.
The New York Motor Show and Geneva Salon exhibited 2013 McLaren P1 XP, bid to £1.1m, sold during the sale and a 1958 Merc 300SL Roadster changed hands in a £600,000 post-sale. A 2001 Lister Storm GT1 Race Prototype on a plinth made a within guide £465,701 and a right-hand drive 1998 Jaguar XJ220 with 9346 mileage a much more reassuring £414,000 than the last two auctioned.
A 2011 Land Rover Defender SVX ‘Spectre’ Double-Cab, the only Landy to have been employed as an extra in two consecutive Bond movies, Skyfall and Spectre, made a block bustering £316,250 and a more than top estimate £255,875 was forthcoming for a 1933 MG J4 Midget with much period race history. Much viewed by grown men of a certain age meanwhile was the ex-BMC Team 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 BJ8 ‘BMO 93B’, which had been show-standard restored and which rallied to a within guide £230,000 result.
After 6 post-sales had been concluded, 44 or 53% of the 83 cars in the weighty catalogue had transacted for £10,218,533, an average of £232,239 spent per auction car. Including £536,087 worth of automobilia, the overall sale total for the day amounted to £10.75m including premium – and, while 7 or 16% of cars sold fetched more their pre-sale estimates, 24 or 55% of cars did sell for within the guide price bands forecast and only 13 or 30% went for less than had been estimated. The reserves of 39 cars, 47% of the total for sale, were too high however for those of a nervous disposition who were prepared to catch the auctioneer’s eye.
By far the most thought provoking performance of all for petrolheads at this year’s Festival of Speed, I would suggest, was the electrifying 39.9 seconds taken to storm the 1.86k Goodwood House drive in relative silence during the Sunday Shoot Out by the Romain Dumas piloted VW ID.R 500kw (680 PS) Coupe, who beat the previous F1 McLaren-Mercedes record holder with deafening combustion engine by 1.7 seconds! RH-E
 

Gordini sold for 690,000 euros (£618,619), only just below estimate, to head Bonhams 2.94m euros (£2.64m) 59% sold sale at Chantilly

The now Type 15S Barchetta chassis 018 actually started life as Type 11 chassis 04 GC, one of five 1946/7-built T11 single-seaters raced by Gordini GP Team drivers Fangio, Wimille, Behra and Prince Bira. The monoposto was then transformed by Gordini himself into the current two-seater sports racer for the 1953 Le Mans.
One of only two such four-cylinder 15S remaining was treated to full restoration in Italy in 2005 funded by Renault F1 supremo Jean Sage before competing in the Mille Miglia Retro and Le Mans Classic. In the grounds of the French Chateau during chic Concours weekend, the winning European bidder was applauded for securing ownership of an historic French automobile which will remain in France.
An Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk1 2.6 Fixed Head supplied new in 1953 to a Belgian Baron was driven past the rostrum to make 207,100 euros (£185,583), forecast money, and a 1932 Invicta 12/45, originally for two, now for four, with uprated 4 1/2-Litre Meadows motor, raised 276,000 euros (£247,447), just under guide. One of the first Henri Chapron crafted Citroen DS Decapotable DS19 from 1962 with the more desirable 'ashy tray' wings found a forecast 178,250 euros (£159,810). While a recently restored 1965 VW Type 2 T1 21-Window Samba Microbus pulled 103,500 euros (92,762) and the 1965 Turin Show Fiat 500 Elegance Beach Car by Carrozzeria Cavio made a sunny 85,100 euros (£76,296).
Although 22 cars sold however, and the average spent was £120,139 per classic, 15 did not in what statistically remains a cautious EU mainland market for classics at all prices. RH-E
 

Even with further post-sales in the pipeline, ACA had sold 79% of the 202 cars on offer at their latest ‘Drive Through’ in sunny King’s Lynn

The double top estimate £24,380 valuation for a 2013 restored and still cosmetically sharp 1975 Alfa Romeo 2.0 Spider was a standout performance. A former Californian resident 1966 VW ‘Barn Door’ Camper with Pop-Top also exceeded estimate at £22,684 as did a freshly registered, 2015 imported and restored 1973 Datsun 240Z lefty sold for £17,596.
Although a more than forecast £16,748 was needed to land a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 16v Cosworth with wing from more than three years storage, Saturday's prices were headed by a 1970 Porsche 911T for improvement that had been rallied in Northern Ireland, but unused since last MOTd in 2013, which fetched a forecast £45,500. £40,280, top estimate money, was bid for a once lhd 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 with Denis Welch upgraded engine and gearbox.
A 1968 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Mk1 Convertible out-performed its estimate to sell for £11,342, a 1980 R-R Silver Shadow II from long-term ownership changed hands for £8692 and a 53,000 miles since 1967 MG1100 for £8586, both better than expected. A confident £36,040 meanwhile was invested in the future of a nearly 50 years stored 1960 Jaguar XK150 3.4 Drophead for restoration that was last taxed in 1974
This was a most reassuring afternoon for stakeholders in more affordable classics, when 1200 catalogues sold out even before 159 vehicles were hammered away for £1,200,418 including premium and an average of £7550 had been spent per car. RH-E
 

Bonhams newly launched MPH satellite will consign classics on-line and physically auction them in 'Drive Through' sales at Bicester Heritage

For the international auction house, their on-site MPH subsidiary at the former WW2 airfield not only provides them with a dedicated and more accessible entry platform into the growing young-timer and more affordable classics sector, but also marks a return to holding regular sales in Oxfordshire, which Bonhams used to do at Kidlington.
Operating as a distinct entity within the Bonhams brand and headed by Rob Hubbard, who relocates from New Bond Street, MPH will stage four ‘Drive-Throughs’ per year at Bicester, the first Thursday 26 September, another 26 November. MPH is the 41st collector vehicle enterprise to set up shop at the expanding motoring hub which is located within 90 minutes of 50% of the population.
Consigning classics will be on-line via the new MPH portal, a first for Bonhams. Sellers have a choice of three packages from £125+VAT for on-line catalogue description and half page entry in the traditional printed edition, which will be retained. Vendors pay 5% commission, successful bidders in the hangar 12.5% premium with no extra charge if buying on-line. RH-E
 

65 year old Ferrari 500 Mondial makes £3.2m and 1957 Porsche 550A £2.9m during £17.5m evening beside Lake Como where only 57% of cars sell

The 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider, period-raced, restored, Classiche certified, sold for a results topping 3,713,500 euros (£3,159,875 including premium, albeit £473,925 below estimate). The 1957 Porsche 550A Wendler  Spyder, driven past the RM Sotheby’s grandstand with the driver sheltering from a shower under an umbrella, made 3,380,000 euros (£2,873,000, just under guide price).
Although a 1965 Aston Martin SWB-Volante with hardtop did make 1,805,000 euros (£1,534,250, £271,450 more than forecast) and a 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic sold for 320,000 euros (£272,000), these were the only lots to  exceed pre-sale estimates. For while nineteen achieved their guides, below estimate prices were accepted by vendors of both speedboats and eight cars, including a 2019 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake sold for 511,250 euros (£434,563), well below cost.
Twenty-three classics did not sell at Villa Erba however, 43% of the total, among them a 2015 P1 with 194 mileage which failed to realise a less than retail 1,100,000 (£890,000). RH-E
 

Aston Martin DB5 and DB4 Convertible exceed top estimates in Bonhams auction tent during AMOC weekend at the Wormsley Estate in Bucks

A 1964 DB5 Fixed Head upon which £204,500 had been lavished since 2016 was applauded when sold for £860,600, £180,600 more than top estimate. Previously restored and Works Service maintained, a 1963 DB4 Series V Convertible also cleared its guide price by £60,200 to sell for an equally bullish £810,200 during a £3m Sunday afternoon. Although 20 Astons failed to sell.

Beside the remains of the Brooklands circuit the day before, Aston Martins also topped the Historics prices in the multi-storey Mercedes World showrooms, where a within guide £608,300 was available for a 1968 DB6 Volante auto in receipt of an 8 year restoration and the required £390,500 was bid for a 1960 DB4 Series 2.

There are still buyers in play who were prepared to part with over £4.3m for 118 cars, 73% of those in the catalogue, including £209,000 for a 99% complete Ferrari Dino 246GT in bits. Great enthusiasm is alive and well.  RHE

AC Greyhound was leader of the pack at Brightwells, who re-homed all but one of their headliners during a £1.25m 72% sold afternoon.

One of only six fitted with AC’s own 2-litre 6-cylinder engine, the 1962 GT for four with all numbers still matching streaked to a £82,500 result, £32,500 more than the top estimate. The Motor mag road-tested, TR2 engined Swallow Doretti that left the Walsall Airport works in 1954 meanwhile also flew well, making a mid-estimate £60,500.

There were buyers for both locally produced Morgan Plus 8s in the sale with the required £31,350 for a Sprintex blown, sub-13,000 mile 1990 car and £30,800 for a 1997 3.9i on wires driven 39,000 miles by one driver.

Of the 123 cars sold before many more of the provisional bids had been converted into post-sales, 30% were auctioned ‘Without Reserve’, so they were going to sell anyway. Guide prices were achieved for 31% of cars sold, while vendors were prepared to accept below estimate money for 23% and, surprisingly and encouragingly, 16% exceeded their top estimates. RHE

Both Jaguar XK220 super cats in the Silverstone Auctions sale at Heythrop Park purred into new ownership.

A Malaysia sourced right-hand drive car that had only done 700 miles since 1995 was bought by a UK collector for a within guide £337,500 with premium, while a Jaguar Classic Works refreshed 1997 lefty with 20,800k displayed headed to France for £303,750, only just clearing the lower estimate.

During a £2.04m Saturday afternoon in Oxfordshire, the £69,750 invested in the future of a stalled 1964 E Type S1 3.8 OTS restoration project was an extraordinary vote of confidence in an uncertain future.   RHE