After moving to a largely outdoor location for their previous auction, Historics reverted to their last pre-lockdown venue at Ascot Racecourse for their sale last weekend, which for a while looked uncertain to take place as England’s struggles with the coronavirus pandemic continue.
Nevertheless, despite that, and a change in the weather from recent warm sunshine to chilly Autumnal breeze, the auctioneers put together a sale featuring over 190 lots in total, including a dozen classic motorbikes and scooters. The area in front of Ascot’s impressive main stand made it possible to spread the sale across outdoor and indoor spaces and meant the attendees could also get away from the crowded areas when necessary. As is now de rigeur at pretty much any public event or location, hand sanitisation facilities were dotted all around the site.
As usual, it’s hard to pick out individual cars from such a sizeable and varied selection, but I’ll try, starting with the Austin Metropolitan we featured as our Prime Find last week. This British-American collaboration sold for £17,360 and looked to be worth it – definitely different and definitely quirky (yes, that word again!).
Changing gear slightly, it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Porsche, and there was a delectable selection of Zuffenhausen’s finest up for sale here – two original 930 Turbo’s, one from 1976 in Minerva Blue with blue leather interior, the other one year newer in a very 1970’s combination of Sahara Desert with Cork Brown interior. Both were relatively low mileage examples, with the former being perhaps more original – the Sahara car had been the subject of a restoration – but only the latter sold, for £97,500, well under estimate.
However, the Porsche that I really wanted was the 1969 911E 2.2-litre in bright Tangerine Orange – this beauty was completely original and came with a very full history file. There were some signs of wear on the seats, and the conundrum would be whether to repair or leave as is…to be honest, in this case, I’d repair, were I lucky enough to be the owner. With an estimate of £79 – 83,000, this lovely 911 also failed to find a new owner on a poor day for Porsche sales, stalling at £68,000.
There were no fewer than 25 Mercedes in the sale, including a pair of Pagoda 280SL’s (both US imports) and two examples of that car’s predecessor, the elegant 190SL, both in silver with red interiors. Three of the four sold, and I’d be delighted to have an example of either in my dream garage, but I still need to find enough loose change behind the sofa cushions to get that long-hood 911 first…
However, two more reasonably priced Mercedes and therefore more attainable for the average classic enthusiast were an imposing but slightly frayed around the edges 1972 300SEL and a very impressive 1978 280SEL W116, both in black; the latter looked immaculate, including the vast amount of chrome. It looked so good at the preview viewing I went to I had to look again on the day, and yep – still immaculate, and possibly deal of the day at £16,800 despite the potentially scary running costs. The 1972 car went for £15,120, not helped by having faulty air suspension. However, my garage wouldn’t be long enough for either of these even if it wasn’t currently full.
A Mercedes-Benz W107, while a handsome car, would not normally create much comment here; after all, they’re fairly common and still – mostly – reasonably priced. However, the red 1989 300SL with one lady owner and just over 10,000 miles on the clock generated unprecedented excitement for a W107. Apparently 24 phone and internet bidders and nine commission bids were in place for this sale, which eventually reached a stratospheric £70,184, and in my view, the car – while certainly considerably better than average – should have been perfect for that money, and it wasn’t. I think some folks got a little carried away..
Taking the A8 from Stuttgart to Munich, one of the bargains of the sale – a very handsome BMW E3 3.0Si, boasting an immaculate paint finish (although imperfect chrome) and smart tan velour interior, this two-owner car surprisingly remained unsold despite an estimate of just £10-13,000. A high-mileage but superb red 1986 RHD M635CSi however went for £ 37,356 – this car had been meticulously maintained, and it showed.
Moving cross the border to France, a pair of very different Renault’s caught my eye – the first, a genuine 1960 Dauphine Gordini, ready for historic rallying (it bore the marks and stickers of having been used for exactly that) that fetched £8,792 and a tidy Renault 16TL in red with black interior, one of my favourite French classics. This one had been subject to some work but was none the worse for that, and the new owner was going to have a lot of fun with it for exactly the same price.
Still in France, having sold a Facel Vega at their last Ascot auction, Historics offered another stunning example of this Gallic supercar, achieving £113,200 – considerably below estimate – for the previous owner. I love these Franco-American hybrids, but would probably be too nervous to own one, even if I could afford it. Exquisite cars, though.
The Triumph Stag – which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year – is a mainstay of classic shows in the UK. However, I don’t think I’ve seen one better than the bright orange (or topaz, if you prefer) 1975 example for sale at Ascot. With over £40,000 spent on this car in the last 18 months alone, it was a perfect example of the advantages of buying a classic that the previous owner has spent a fortune on – it sold for £29,998 and is probably better, and more reliable, than when it was new. The Stag’s Italian lines remain stylish and in this colour, for this money, I could have been very tempted.
Mention of Italian lines – I don’t just throw this together, you know – leads me neatly to a pair of somewhat less common classics; not one, but two Lancia Fulvia Zagato’s were in the sale. The 1968 car in Avorio Santa Anita – or pale yellow to you and me – was the better, and more expensive, of the two and looked very smart, having been tidied up quite a bit over the past few years. The later Series II car from 1973 in Lancia Salmone did however have the advantage – here at least – of being right-hand-drive, as well as being cheaper. Both these Zagato-bodies lovelies sold well, at £30,800 and £18,112.
The two Zagato Lancia’s were not the only unusual pair of Italian classics available on Saturday – the Lamborghini Jalpa tends not to get the attention of the former tractor manufacturer’s more glamorous models, and therefore tends to be more affordable – relatively, at least. In the case of the 1986 blue car, it was very affordable, to buy…but as a barn find. This was one of those project cars where no-one knows how it might end, since it is currently a wreck. Nevertheless, for someone brave enough, a potentially very exciting buy – especially if it could be made to look like the superb silver 1985 Jalpa that found a new home for £58,864 – the question would be of course whether the gap of £38,144 would be enough to bring the blue car up to that standard; I’m not sure…
I have to mention the 1975 Maserati Merak, not only because it’s such a cool looking car but in this case, because of its astonishingly low mileage of just 2,136. I have no idea why someone would buy such a fabulous sports car and then not drive it, but the mileage is warranted. It’s lack of use means some recommissioning will be needed, but for £62,260 this was a one-off opportunity to buy an effectively new Merak.
Finally for this bit, a Franco-Italian hybrid, the futuristic (for its time) Citroën SM; this 1976 model was in outstanding condition, blue paint, brown seats, shares engine and gearbox and dash layout with the Merak (though bored out to 3.0-litres for the Maserati). I’ve long admired these Citroën’s, but the idea of owning one scares me half to death…it also scared any prospective buyers, failing to sell.
Perhaps the rarest car on sale was the Bean 18/50 HP Super Sports Open Tourer – to give it it’s full name – resplendent in green and black. Designed to take on the Le Mans-conquering Bentley 3-litre, this Bean (the company was based in my home county of Staffordshire, which was new information to me) is believed to be the only survivor of just four made. It had been shipped in chassis form to Australia in 1927 where coachbuilders Sandford and Morgan added the lightweight body. It carried a high estimate of between of £135-150,000 but didn’t make six-figures in the end.
American metal is generally good value for money in the UK and there were some interesting possibilities at Ascot for the US classic car enthusiast.
How about the huge 1960 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88; with a 6.1-litre V8 producing 240bhp, considered by some to be the first muscle car ( I wouldn’t know), but didn’t get past £12,000, or the menacing black 1969 Mustang Mach1 – most definitely a muscle car, with it’s 7-litre engine pushing out 335bhp and in excellent condition? As a contemporary alternative to the brutal Ford was offered in the shape of a 1970 Dodge Challenger RT, which hadbeen the subject of some upgrades and produces c.500bhp from its 44cu in powerplant. These two sold for £57,680 and £42,560 respectively to their new owners.
For those that prefer land-yachts, a huge 1960 Cadillac de Ville went for £9,632- a massive amount of metal for the money, and well under estimate.
After Mercedes-Benz, the most represented marque in the sale was Jaguar, with the usual E-Types – many of which struggled to sell – XK’s and Mk II’s in among the 21 Browns Lane cars on sale. My personal favourite was the red 1977 XJ V12 Coupé – these very elegant pillarless coupés can still be found for reasonable money and this sound example sold for £22,074, not bad, I thought. An example of its Daimler sibling in the same colour – though with what looked liked potentially serious rust issues in places – was also on offer, fetching £16,800.
Other highlights included a very original and genuine 1969 Lotus Europa Series 2 in Lotus Yellow (though it looked more like Lotus Orange to me) but it didn’t sell – it was one of two Europa’s, with the second example, in white, not as smart but only half the price and sold £16,520. There were a number of examples of cars that had more spent on them than they will ever be worth, such as a mint 1956 Vauxhall Cresta E in two-tone ivory and black that has been fastidiously rebuilt by the vendor at a cost of well north of £50,000 – his return was £53,760, but that included commission. Only seven remain in the UK, I doubt there is one better than this here – or indeed anywhere; if 1950’s rock’n’roll nostalgia is your thing, this – or perhaps the Metropolitan – would be the perfect car.
I must also mention the absolutely stunning 1967 Jensen Interceptor – this fabulous car had been the subject of a five-year, £85,000 restoration. It sold for £70,184 – not bad for effectively a new Interceptor, and I’d take it over any Aston. The interior in particular was sumptuous.
As usual at an Historics auction, there were a number of Youngtimers, the pick of which for me was the 1996 VW Corrado VR6 in a fetching shade of Blackberry – I think the Corrado is a guaranteed future classic and a sale price of £17,360 made this a decent investment as well as being a terrific car to enjoy.
The auctioneers had a difficult day at times, not helped by bidders waiting to the last second to make bids, resulting in several long, drawn out sales for a number of lots – by the end, they were an hour behind schedule.
So to the numbers – cars only; of 172 sold (there were also twelve motorcycles and two sets of number plates among the lots):-
Cars sold without reserve – 25, or 14.5%
Cars sold below bottom estimate – 16, or 9.3%
Cars sold within estimate – 37, or 21.5%
Cars sold above top estimate – 51, or 29.6%
Cars not sold – 43, or 25.1%
A sale rate of 75% is very similar to their last couple of sales, so I’m sure Historics are reasonably satisfied with that number, but I’m sure there is disappointment that several of the star cars such as the superb 1960 DB4, the race-ready Austin Healey 100M and the 1926 Bentley 3-litre failed to find new homes. These were all superb cars, but were either too ambitiously priced or the market in the £100K to £500K is increasingly uncertain; perhaps it’s a little of both?
Deal of the day for me – unquestionably the black W116 280SEL; did I mention it was immaculate? Most bonkers car of the day – definitely the Lotus 49 re-creation with tandem seating (though the rear seat was suitable only for a child), and sold for £26,036. This piece of apparently road-legal lunacy would cause a stir at any meeting.
If there’s a conclusion to be made from this sale, it’s that while prices might be flat compared to a couple of years ago, well-priced classics in good condition will continue to find buyers.
