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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

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

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.
The Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above meanwhile will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 
 
 

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

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.
The Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above meanwhile will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 
 
 

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.
Most recently reviewed, the first of the three annual sales at Amelia Island Florida and the latest Brightwells Timed out sale, during which a one owner low mileage Honda NSX comfortably broke the £100k barrier.
The Upcoming Auctions option on the menu bar above meanwhile will show you the regularly updated ‘live’ traditional auctions calendar 
 
 

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)

A 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 Greisen, Bonhams 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 Mans. 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 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

A 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 Man, offered 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
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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

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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.

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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 Schofield, Head 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

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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

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.

 

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.
A 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

A 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

A 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

A 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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