There was another good turn-out for the September Classic Car Auction with many hundreds of eager buyers descending on Brightwells to see the huge variety of vehicles assembled. By the time the dust had settled, 146 of the 205 lots on offer had successfully changed hands for a total of just over £1m to give a healthy 72% clearance rate.
Top price of the day went to a nicely presented 1987 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Targa which had been treated to a wide-body Slantnose Cabriolet conversion when it was just a couple of years old. Showing only 45k miles on the speedo and coming from 32-year ownership, it was in need of some recommissioning but fetched a healthy £57,120, showing just how sought-after these air-cooled 911s continue to be, seemingly immune to the fluctuations that are apparent elsewhere in the market.
A beautifully presented 1969 Rover P5B Coupe looked like it was going to be an absolute steal at the £12k - £14k guide price but, sure enough, the bidders valued it far more highly and it was fiercely contested to a £30,900 finish – further proof that low estimates are a far more effective way of getting the best price for a vehicle than are high estimates (sellers take note!).
Also worthy of mention was another 1973 Rover P5B in less desirable Saloon format but with a plausible 4,400 miles on the speedo thanks to being an ex-MOD car that had spent much of its life in storage. Despite being in need of some attention to the bodywork and a full repaint in Government-issue black, it had no trouble in finding a buyer at £8,960.
A 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII BJ8 which had been restored in the mid-1990s and still looked sharp some 30 years on looked great value at £29,120, especially when you consider that decent examples of this model were routinely fetching £40k+ just a few short years ago.
The same could be said of other Fifties and Sixties British sports cars like the Triumph TR range and the MG T-Series which are now trading at around two-thirds of their former values. A nicely presented 1955 TR2 fetched £9,280 while an equally pleasing 1953 MG TD raised £12,420. A really super 1958 MGA 1500 Coupe that had just emerged from a lengthy restoration also looked good value at £14,560 which seems to be the new normal for these once £20k machines.
A really sharp 1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL Sports Roof Fastback with just one owner from new until 2025 looked like a lot of car for £17,590, but with petrol already nudging the £2-per-litre mark it would be a costly thing to enjoy on anything other than high days and holidays only.
The same could be said of the British equivalent, an equally glamorous 1974 Jensen Interceptor MkIII with lovely copper brown paintwork which was snapped up for £26,880 which seems to be the going rate for a decent example of these once £35k machines.
A particularly interesting entry was an extremely rare 1977 Triumph TR8, a pre-production car which had been used by BL to evaluate the Lucas/Bosch electronic fuel-injection system prior to the launch of the model in 1979. Still in pleasingly original condition and retaining various traces of its test-mule past, it was surely worth every penny of the £16,800 required to secure it.
Also attracting much pre-sale interest was a most unusual 1985 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL Saloon with some choice extras including Lorinser alloys, steering wheel and bodykit and walnut rear picnic tables. Formerly owned by Michael ‘You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off’ Caine, it romped to £18,250, this being about double what one of these with similar 130k mileage would more typically make.
Classic commercials are always sought-after due to the relatively low survival rate compared to their Saloon counterparts, not to mention their earning potential as promotional vehicles. A lovingly restored 1969 Austin 6cwt Van in period Co-op TV Dept livery fetched £12,170 while an almost identical 1960 Morris Minor Van in traditional grey fetched a similar £12,320.
Twelve of the 16 pre-war cars on offer were successfully sold, top honours going to a 1934 Riley Nine Kestrel which had been restored to show-winning condition in 2010 and carefully used since. A most handsome-looking machine, it had no trouble passing the £12k reserve to finish on £15,680. Not quite as sharp or rakish was a 1933 Riley Nine Monaco Special Series Saloon which fetched a reasonable £7,280.
Austin Sevens always have a keen following and a low cost of ownership so it was no surprise that a 1934 Tourer in oily rag ‘rat rod’ condition found a buyer at £7,000 while a 1929 Trials Special made £8,400. A highly original 1914 Humber Tourer in ‘barn find’ condition made an impressive £11,480 showing that there is still plenty of interest in Veteran machines when put in front of the right crowd.
As has been widely reported, it is the more modern classics which are generally on the rise today, although there are many nuances within this market sector. Pre-war in looks and spirit but with modern performance and reliability was a 1984 Morgan 4/4 1600 which had covered only 53k miles in the hands of three owners. Looking good for its age, it comfortably beat its £10k reserve to finish on £14,950.
A 1990 Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider was also perfectly in tune with current trends, being a relatively rare but eminently usable model with low running costs, hence the healthy £17,470 result. Same goes for the £11,830 raised by a 1989 Toyota MR2 with only 26,800 miles on the clock.
A 1994 Porsche 968 in desirable Club Sport spec fetched a creditable £25,760 despite the relatively high 131k mileage. Three of the four Aston Martins on offer were also successfully sold, a 1992 Virage Volante Automatic with just under 40k miles on the clock fetching £30,830 while a 2005 DB9 with 67k miles and 20 service stamps raised £20,160 and a super-clean DB7 Vantage V12 Coupe with 69k miles and 22 service stamps made £12,880.
Considering how expensive these cars were when new, they look huge value in the current market but they also come with potentially huge running costs, hence the restraint exercised by bidders today. By way of comparison, a relatively humble 1994 Mini Cooper 1.3Si Grand Prix, one of only 35 made and with a miniscule 292 miles on the clock fetched a supercar-baiting £22,510.
An interesting sale all round, it provided a clear snapshot of a mature, value-conscious market where condition, provenance and usability command healthy premiums, while cars with cosmetic issues or high running costs tend to struggle in a world of escalating fuel and parts prices. Despite what you might think if you heed the doomsters on YouTube, the classic vehicle market remains as buoyant as it ever was and there are plenty of enthusiastic buyers out there for the right cars pitched at the right level.
The next Brightwells auction will be on 28th October with a deadline for entries of 14th October so, if you are thinking of selling, please do get in touch by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing [email protected] for a free, no obligation valuation from one of our team of experts. The sooner your car is consigned, the more exposure it gets and the higher up the Lot list it goes so don’t delay, contact us today.