Undeterred by the one of the wettest starts to Spring on record, buyers braved the elements to descend on Brightwells in some force for the second sale of the year. By the time the dust had settled, some 81 lots from the 126 on offer across two days had been successfully sold for a total of just over £667,000 giving a clearance rate of 65%.
Top price went to a cosmetically scruffy but mechanically sound LHD 1988 Porsche 911 3.3 Turbo which fetched £68,430, leaving plenty of scope for the remedial works required, this being an iconic Porsche model that would potentially be worth double that amount when fully restored.
Jaguar E-Types, once a staple of any classic car auction and traditionally hotly contested have been struggling a bit lately but the driver quality 1971 Series 2 Coupe on offer was successfully hammered away for £44,800. The same could be said of the Austin-Healey 3000, another Sixties classic that has dropped back a bit from the highs of a few years ago. Nevertheless, the sound and usable 1963 MkII BJ7 on offer found a willing buyer at £36,960, no doubt helped along by its classic Ice Blue over white colour scheme.
Even in a fairly static market there are always pockets of growth and it was no surprise that a 1975 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 had no trouble finding a buyer at £28,680, this being a model that has become increasingly desirable of late, especially in America where they routinely fetch double that amount these days. An exceptionally smart 2002 Land Cruiser Amazon 4.2 Diesel with under 70k miles also did well at £17,670 in the Online Garage sale.
Fast Fords are also holding up well in the current market and a lovely 1971 Capri 2000 GT XLR was keenly snapped up for £19,580 – this being double the amount that the exact same car fetched when previously sold by Brightwells in 2013. A nicely original 1983 Ford Escort RS 1600i made £14,880 and will no doubt also look well-bought in years to come.
Early Minis also continue to have a strong following and a delightful 1962 Morris Mini-Minor Deluxe with just two owners from new and some tasty Cooper S upgrades fully justified the £17,360 required to secure it. The Italian equivalent, a lovely 1968 Fiat 500F in relatively rare RHD form also sold well at a mid-estimate £10,100.
Eight of the 11 MGs on offer found new homes, top honours going to a tidy 1974 MGB GT V8 which fetched £16,800 while an equally smart 1954 MG TF with a 5-speed gearbox upgrade made £13,330. Tellingly, the only pre-war MG, a rare 1939 VA Tourer, failed to find a buyer at a not-unreasonable £22,000.
In fact pre-war cars found the going tough in general, with only three of the 10 on offer being sold, a pretty 1934 Wolseley Hornet Eustace Watkins Special leading the way at £20,720 while an equally smart 1934 Morris Eight Pre-Series Saloon raised £6,500. More encouragingly, a rare 1947 Rover 12 P2 Sports Tourer in need of light restoration doubled its estimate to finish on £11,430, this being potentially worth at least twice that amount when restored to a good standard.
Talking of investment potential, a pair of rather sorry-looking LHD 1974 Jensen Interceptor MkIII Convertible restoration projects both looked like good gambles at £13,440 and £10,340, these being two of fewer than 500 made and potentially worth at least £60k apiece when restored.
The next Brightwells Classic Car Auction will be on 8th May with a closing date for entries of 26th April so if you have so if you are thinking of selling, please don’t hesitate get in touch by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing [email protected] for a free, no obligation auction estimate.