Star lot at Barons’ 21 April sale was a ‘barn find’ 1954 Bentley R Continental Fastback which had been estimated at £200,000 – 400,000. Spirited bidding on the day saw the estimate smashed and the car changed hands for a remarkable £739,212; making it the highest price Barons have achieved to date.
Silverstone was the venue for Classic Car Auctions’ 21 April sale which featured 'modern classics' including a three owner 78,500-mile 1994 Renault Clio Williams which fetched £6,360 (estimate £4,500 – 6,000); a 232,000-km Mercedes-Benz 500E at £11,448 (estimate £10,000 – 12,000); and an 8 valve 1990 Lancia Delta Integrale selling for £11,660 (estimate £7,000 – 10,000).
With Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwings and roadsters making in excess of £750,000 its smaller sibling - the 190 SL - offers a great deal of style for a lot less outlay. Charterhouse achieved £61,000 for this 1963 right hand drive example which was described as having been off the road since 2005, although regularly exercised on private roads since (estimate £60,000 – 70,000).
Anglia Car Auctions’ 4 April sale included a left-hand drive Alfa Romeo Montreal with 33,058km which sold for £39,900, easily beating its pre-sale high estimate of £29,000. The demand for cars from the '80s continues with a 1987 Ford Capri 2.8i making £11,130 (estimate £9,900 – 10,900); a rare surviving Renault 5 Gordini Turbo went for £6,510 (estimate £5,750 – 6,750); and an 88,000-mile 1985 Porsche 911 Turbo made £55,125, some £9,000 over its high estimate.
Unsurprisingly the star at H and H’s Imperial War Museum sale was a 1969 Aston Martin DB6 at £280,000, exceeding its high estimate by £40,000. Other notable sales included a 1992 left-hand drive Porsche 911 Turbo with 86,700km which made £67,800 (estimate £58,000 – 68,000); a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL at £61,600 (estimate £48,000 – 58,000) and a 1980 Ferrari 308 GTS, for a change not in ‘retail red’, selling for an above-estimate £44,800.
SWVA’s right hand drive 1952 Tatraplan T600 achieved £24,168, just below its low-estimate. Other highlights included a 107,000-mile 1990 Porsche Carrera 2 which sold for £30,475, more than double its estimate; a 1955 Land Rover Series 1 almost doubling its estimate, fetching £13,886; and the top lot of the day, a 1964 Jaguar E-Type Series I, found a new home at £64,660.