There was another very large turn-out for the October auction with many hundreds of people descending on Brightwells to see the interesting assortment of classics on offer. There were a few particularly obscure pre-war marques in the catalogue which attracted a great deal of interest from buyers all over Europe and even a few from America, which is pretty unusual these days.
It all translated into some spirited bidding and by the time the dust had settled, 119 of the 161 lots on offer had successfully changed hands for a total of just over £950k giving a respectable 74% sale rate.
Top honours of the day went to a nicely presented 1954 Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 with a few choice upgrades including a four-speed overdrive gearbox and a fast road unleaded head which was hammered away for £35,850. This was equal to the highest price paid for a non-M Spec 100/4 at auction in the UK this year so a good result.
Also doing well was a nicely restored 1975 Jensen Interceptor MkIII which made a respectable £33,770, this being the second highest price achieved at a mainstream UK auction this year. By comparison, an equally good pair of Interceptors sold by Brightwells in 2021 made £43k and £50k apiece which illustrates how the market has shifted over the last few years.
The Land Rover market has also evolved in recent years, with the Defenders of the early Noughties picking up in value while the older Series One models have taken a bit of a dip. A 2013 Defender 110 County TDi with only 38k miles comfortably trounced its £15k reserve to finish on £26,430 while a last-of-the-line 2015 Defender 110 XS TD with 79k miles and one owner from new made £33,700. By contrast, a beautifully restored 1955 Land Rover S1 86” which would have made similar money a few years back was hammered away for £22,070.
A wonderfully original 1987 Range Rover Classic 3.5 EFi with 86k miles on the clock also comfortably beat its £10k reserve to finish on £13,160 which is an excellent result for a four-door. This is a model that seems to have been going up in value lately so we think it should be considered a shrewd buy at that level, especially as it was such a well-preserved example.
Much admired during the viewing was a 2010 Dax 427 Tojeiro Cobra which had only covered 1,400 miles from build in the hands of one owner. Looking and sounding fantastic, it seemed a lot of fun for £29,904. Equally fun but with an engine less than quarter of the capacity was a 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S rally car which fetched a respectable £22,400.
Among the more unusual entries was a 1953 Citroen Light 15 which had been expertly converted into a Cabriolet many years ago. In really super condition and with UK-friendly RHD it looked a great buy at £21,280. The same could be said of a nicely restored 1952 Allard P1 which had been in single-ownership for 57 years. A really quirky machine with bulbous aluminium coachwork and a Ford 3.6 V8 under the enormously long bonnet, it found a willing buyer at a whisker under £12k.
Rarer still was a fabulous 1915 Grant Model TT, one of perhaps only two or three surviving worldwide. Still in super condition following a total ground-up restoration some 40 years ago, it attracted interest from a couple of museums in America but finally went to a Maltese bidder for £12,320. Trumping the Grant for obscurity was a 1922 Sidea-Jouffret 4CS Tourer in delightful ‘shabby chic’ condition. Almost certainly the only surviving example, this French oddity looked a great buy at £8,400 and will arouse a huge amount of interest at VSCC Light Car events.
Other pre-war cars of note included a striking 1922 Vauxhall 23/60 OD which had been rebodied from a Grosvenor Limousine to a Tourer, using a body copied from a 1922 Crossley 19.6. Looking most sporting in unpainted aluminium with a lusty 4.0 four-cylinder engine, it looked great value at £25,760, this being under half what the last genuine 23/60 Tourer sold by Brightwells made back in 2017.
The same could be said of a 1925 Sunbeam 14/40 Tourer which had been in single ownership for the last 67 years. On offer from a deceased estate, it fetched a modest £14,000 which was over £10k less than the last similar car sold by Brightwells made in 2020. A rare 1931 Riley Nine Gamecock also from 40+ years ownership looked equally good value at £15,800 – again about half what the last one sold by Brightwells had made in 2011.
Pre-war in spirit, if not in age, was a superb 1954 Alvis TC21/100 Grey Lady saloon which deserved every penny of the £18,480 required to secure it. This would have been a good price for the model at any time in the past dozen years, but given that the seller had lavished over £75k on the car in upgrades and improvements, it looked something of a bargain for the lucky buyer.
Among the more modern classics on offer, a nicely presented 1988 Porsche 928 S4 with 111k miles on the clock and just one owner for the past 30 years did well at £16,800. A 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (997.2) with 72k miles also did well at £31,920, being helped along by rare and sought-after Carrara White paintwork.
A final word should also go to perhaps the best-sounding car in the auction, a gorgeous 2011 Maserati GranCabrio with a majestic exhaust note from its 4.7 V8 Ferrari-derived engine. Costing almost £100k new, it still looked ‘box fresh’ with 28k miles on the clock so we would consider the £23,520 sale price money well spent!
The next Brightwells Classic Vehicle auction will be on 10th December with a closing date for entries of 25th November so if you are thinking of selling, please get in touch for a free valuation by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing [email protected]