April 2016 - UK auction highlights
23 May, 2016
H&H achieved two new world auction records at their 20 April Imperial War Museum sale and posted an auction total in excess of £5 million, with a sale rate of 74% from the 238 cars and motorbikes on offer. Top lot was a 1961 Jaguar E-Type, selling for £840,000 (estimate £700,000 – 900,000). Built for John Coombes, ‘9 VPD’ is one of the first competition E-Types produced and although lacking in any significant period race history the car has been campaigned more recently in historic events, including Goodwood and Spa.
World auction records were achieved for the ex-Prince Philip 1954 Lagonda 3-Litre Drophead Coupe at £339,000 (estimate £350,000 – 450,000); and Bodie’s 1978 Ford Capri 3.0 S from the TV series The Professionals made an estimate-busting £53,760 (estimate £35,000 – 45,000). Elsewhere, strong results included a 1973 Aston Martin V8 restoration project, fetching £51,520 (estimate £30,000 – 40,000); a 1967 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 2+2 making £50,400 (estimate £35,000 – 40,000); a 1953 Jaguar XK 120 Drophead Coupe at £90,720 (estimate £50,000 – 60,000); and a 1963 Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur sold for £174,720 (estimate £120,000 – 140,000).
A one-owner 1963 Triumph TR4 made over double its high estimate at Barons’ 6 April sale, changing hands for £26,950. Totally original except for a pair of bucket seats fitted in the 70s, the car has been off the road since 1991, having covered 60,850 miles from new.
Anglia Car Auctions’ 9 April sale generated over £2 million, with an 80% sale rate. Among the lots exceeding expectations; a recently restored Broadspeed modified 1971 Ford Capri 3000E went for £50,400 – double its low estimate; an 8,705-mile 1990 Ford Escort XR3i achieved £21,000 (estimate £12,000 – 15,000); a 1963 Daimler SP250 recorded a sale at £22,680 (estimate £14,000 – 18,000); a restoration project 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Fixedhead Coupe took a whopping £71,950 (estimate £30,000 – 40,000); and a 1991 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi, recently restored at a cost close to £20,000, sold for £25,200 (estimate £18,000 – 22,000).
A 1994 BMW 850 CSi made over double its low estimate, selling for £17,500, at Tennants’ 9 April sale. This 5.6-litre range-topping CSi is believed to be one of just 160 examples produced with a manual gearbox. Elsewhere a 16,932-mile 2003 Aston Martin DB7 GTA S blitzed its estimate, fetching £45,000 (estimate £20,000 – 30,000); and a 1964 Sunbeam Alpine did likewise, taking £11,200 (estimate £5,500 – 7,500).
Star lot at Charterhouse’s 13 April sale was a 1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II BT7, finding a new home at £38,000 (estimate £40,000 – 45,000). The car received a bare-metal restoration at some point prior to the vendor’s purchase in 2005 and came complete with hood, tonneau and Heritage Certificate.
Coys returned to Ascot on 16 April with over 50 lots going under the hammer. Heading the results was a 1932 Bentley 4 Litre Saloon with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberly, only twelve examples of which are thought to still exist. Not long out of a 12-year restoration, ‘VA 4085’ brought a mid-estimate £142,400.
A 1976 Rover P6 3500 VIP topped the entries at SWVA’s April auction. The 77 VIP models were produced exclusively for managers at each of Rover’s main dealerships and were not offered for sale to the public. Unique features included air conditioning and the later SD1 interior. With only seven examples known to have survived, and having been the subject of a £40,000 restoration, the car was well sold at £24,840 – three times its low estimate.
Notable highlights among the Mustangs on offer at Barons’ single-marque Ford sale included a 1965 competition car, originally raced by John Young in the '90s, which went for £68,200 (estimate £55,000 – 70,000); a rare right-hand drive 49,000-mile 1971 convertible, built to special order for the MD of Ford UK sold for £30,800 (estimate £30,000 – 34,000); and 1965 Coupe, with a Boss 302 V8 achieved £25,850 (estimate £20,000 – 23,000).