Despite the tarmac on the roads to Leominster literally melting in the hottest June ever recorded, bidders descended on Brightwells in their droves to pore over the ranks of gleaming classics lined up in the sweltering display area. By the time the sun had finally set, 138 of the 210 lots on offer had been successfully sold for a total of £850,000 giving a clearance rate of 65%.
Top seller of the day was an extremely rare 1926 Lea-Francis M-Type, one of only around 240 made and perhaps six surviving. Modified from a standard two-seat open coupe into a racing special back in the 1960s, the striking coachwork, freshly rebuilt Meadows 4ED engine and £20k reserve attracted plenty of interest from the VSCC brigade, although they were ultimately trumped by a winning bid of £35,100 from a buyer in Malta.
In fact, pre-war cars had a good day all round and clearly still have a loyal following, especially among the international clientele at Brightwells. All but three of the 19 on offer were successfully sold, another notable result being the £24,800 achieved by a supercharged 1935 MG PA/PB Special with South African race history but in need of recommissioning following a period of inactivity since being imported to the UK.
In similar vein, a 1949 MG TC which had also been fitted with a supercharger but was missing a few trim components achieved a respectable £13,160 and is now on its way to a new home in France. Austin Sevens are always popular and the two Chummies on offer both found new homes, a delightfully original 1923 example fetching £16,800 while a nicely restored 1928 example made £10,140, reflecting the greater desirability of the earliest ‘pram hood’ models.
Early post-war cars were also well represented, notable results including a 1954 Sunbeam Alpine MkI which made a whisker under £25,500 while a smart 1955 Alvis TC21/100 raised £14,000 although it is true to say that both cars would have made at least 30% more just two or three years ago. The same is true of the MG TD of the early-Fifties, the two examples on offer making £9,000 and just under £8,000 which seems to be the going rate for ‘driver quality’ examples rather than the £10k -£12k such cars used to fetch. A quirky 1947 Alvis TA14 Special fitted with a lightweight boat-tail body and a modern Toyota engine looked like a lot of fun and was snapped up by a Swiss bidder for a modest £5,600.
No such issues with the Fast Ford market which is holding up comparatively well, a freshly rebuilt 1969 Ford Escort MkI two-door which had been uprated to Lotus Twin Cam replica spec finding a ready buyer at £20,700. A highly original 1971 Ford Capri MkI 2000 GT XLR Automatic with a credible 22k miles on the clock raised £19,320 while a 1985 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection with 107k miles made £13,740.
Air-cooled Porsche 911s are also holding up well and the 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet on offer looked a good buy at £22,400, although it would no doubt have made around 25% more had it not been treated to a fiberglass ‘slant-nose’ front end and non-standard aluminium dash trim. So-called ‘Restomods’ are very popular at the moment but unless the upgrades enhance the performance and drivability and are carried out by a well-regarded specialist, then originality is always more preferable.
Unlike the 911, the equally iconic air-cooled VW Camper seems to have taken a real dip lately and whereas a sharp T2 Bay Window would routinely have fetched £25k a couple of years ago, they struggle to fetch much over £15k in today’s market. Of the three on offer, only one was sold, an unusual 1966 T2 Split-Screen 15-window example in LHD with a somewhat scruffy interior which attracted a winning bid of £11,200 from a buyer in Germany. Again, one suspects that performance and drivability may be factors here as the market seems to favour later water-cooled Campers which more easily keep up with modern traffic than their somewhat asthmatic predecessors.
The Land Rover Series market has also evolved in similar fashion, the once highly prized but rudimentary Series I losing ground to the more civilised Series IIa in recent times. While a roadworthy S2a could easily be picked up for around £3k a few years back, you now need at least double that amount for a usable example, the very best now commanding up to £25k which is not far short of current Series 1 values. A decent 1971 S2a 88” made a respectable £6,720 while a similar 1970 S2a 88” made an impressive £15,620. The fact that the latter had been first owned by F1 champion Graham Hill explains the significantly different result, celebrity provenance invariably adding value in a way that is often hard to quantify.
Among the more modern classics on offer, notable results included a 2012 Bentley Continental GT with only 46k miles and a reassuring 14 service stamps which made £26,660. This illustrates the huge difference that mileage and service history make with complex cars like these which have now dropped as low as £8k for leggy, neglected examples – astonishing value for a car that cost well over £100k new. In similar vein, a smart 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante with 43k miles and 20 service stamps had no trouble finding a buyer at £19,040.
As we reach the mid-way point of the year, one thing has become abundantly clear: there is an ever-widening gulf between the best and the rest. As the cost of parts and labour has soared, buyers have become increasingly picky and while the market has generally softened across the board for cars that are merely good, there is still intense competition for the very best cars of all eras.
With the summer show season entering full swing, the market remains reassuringly lively across all sectors, with plenty of buyers out there keen to buy classics at a wide range of budgets. The next Brightwells auction will be on 5th August with a deadline for entries of 22nd July 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.
