December 2021 - UK auction highlights
4 January, 2022
Brits led the way at Bonhams’ final London sale of the year on 4 December with a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 finished in its original Dubonnet Rosso livery putting in the star performance, selling for £586,200 (estimate £500,000 – 600,000). Recently treated to a £400,000 body-off restoration after 32 years in storage, the four-year project was carried out by marque specialist Rikki Cann and included an engine rebuild and upgrade to 4.2 litres.
The 1955 Austin-Healey 100S with period competition history fetched £575,000 (estimate £550,000 – 650,000) and a 1928 Bentley 6½ Litre Tourer rounded off the top-three at £460,000, comfortably exceeding its £300,000 – 400,000 estimate. Other notable sales included a one-of-18 1933 Bugatti Type 46S at £460,000 (estimate £350,000 – 500,000) and a single-owner, left-hand drive, Swiss-spec, 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with only 50km on the clock – in need of recommissioning after being on display since new – that blitzed its £100,000 – 150,000 guide, selling for £216,200.
The sale generated in excess of £5.3 million with an 80% sell-through rate.
[ Bonhams Bond Street Sale – auction results here ]
All but one of the nine Aston Martins on offer a week later at Bonhams’ MPH sale found new homes, with a 1970 DB6 Vantage topping the results at £213,750 (estimate £140,000 – 180,000). The sale also featured a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird that had been in the consignor’s family since 1984; barn stored for more than 30 years it required recommissioning and was hammered away for a bang-on lower estimate £90,000.
[ Bonhams MPH December Auction – sale results here ]
Stand-out result at Brightwells’ timed online auction came from a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 280 TE, expected to achieve £3,000 – 5,000, it changed hands for a barely believable £20,720. Owned by the same family from new, it had been purchased in the Netherlands as a right-hand drive car and was in tidy, not concours, condition with 98,898 miles and a recent MOT.
[ Brightwells December Sale – auction results here ]
A 1953 Aston Martin DB2 Vantage sold to a British collector for a well-deserved £161,667 at H&H’s Buxton sale (estimate £150,000 – 180,000); while other success included a Rolls-Royce 20/25 Swept Tail Sports Saloon, exhibited at the 1931 Salon de l'Automobile in Paris, making £75,375 (estimate £80,000 – 100,000), and a three-owner 1986 Ford Capri 2.8i Special with 73,000 miles going to an expat in Australia for £22,500 (estimate £18,000 – 22,000).
[ H&H December Sale – auction results here ]
Classic Car Auctions ended its year with another strong performance from an Audi Quattro, the three-owner 1992 20 valve showing 97,524 miles bringing £71,595 (estimate £70,000 – 80,000). The subject of a three-year restoration in 2015 at marque specialist AM Cars costing some £60,000, it is believed to be one of the last 50 produced and came with a wealth of documents including 20 pages of invoices.
[ Classic Car Auctions Winter Sale – auction results here ]
Classic car auction results and prices for: Aston Martin | Austin-Healey | Bentley | Bugatti | Mercedes-Benz | Plymouth | Rolls-Royce | Ford | Audi
From leading auction houses: Bonhams | Brightwells | H&H Classics | Classic Car Auctions
Read through the rest of our classic car auction reports for more auction results. Check out our online resource for upcoming classic car auction events and classic car auction results around the world.