Historics brought to market a truly varied 167 strong entry for its live Autumn sale at Bicester Heritage in Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd September. Mirroring the massive diversity in today’s classic car market, the sale concluded with a rousing sale result totalling over £2.75 million.
Variety was indeed very much on the agenda in the evocative sale venue – a magnificent hanger at this, a former WW2 RAF Bomber Training Station.
On the one hand there was the bright red ’loud and proud’ 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible from a private collector that cruised to £72,800, contrasting dramatically with the diminutive 1960 BMW Isetta 300 – 2.5 times shorter than the Cadillac - appetisingly offered for restoration and selling for a shade over £10,000.
And for those drawn to restoration, Historics also delivered by way of a 1965 Alfa Romeo 2600 Touring Spider that attracted an enormous web of bidding interest before finally settling on £67,200 - showing the allure of the resto - and a 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster in need of bodywork TLC passed to a new custodian for a shade under £57,000.
If prizes were awarded for sentimentality, the sure-fire winner would have been the 1948 Morris Minor MM Lowlight Splitscreen bought to market after being thoroughly pampered whilst in single family ownership since 1965. But beyond its sublime originality, the clue to the tremendous bidding interest it attracted was the fact that it is the seventh Morris Minor to be produced and believed to be the oldest model in private hands. It settled at no less than £25,120, which is almost exactly the same price as the one millionth Morris Minor - a 1961 example – that Historics sold in March 2015.
For elegance there was no disputing the 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Mk.1 that settled on £203,616.
nor the feisty 2006 Ferrari F430 Spider (£107,520)
whilst amongst 13 imposing Rolls Royce entries - ten of which passed to new owners - a glorious 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII Extended Wheelbase wafted to £93,000 joined by a 2012 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé cresting £100,000 with sublime ease.
There were worthy modern classic sales, including a 29,000 mile 1995 Ford Escort RS Cosworth selling for a fraction over £58,000, and staying with the performance brigade, a hugely collectible 1998 Honda Integra Type R settled at £20,000.
There were rare oddities too... so rare was the 1982 Matra Simca Bagheera that it generated a degree of head scratching. Fitted with a more contemporary engine that will only add to its allure, its three abreast seating layout was fine for Gordon Murray and the McLaren F1 and here was a much cheaper alternative. Just £6,800 was indeed value.
A couple of classic two-wheelers caused quite a stir amongst Moto Guzzi followers, particularly the beautifully-restored café racer style 1979 Moto Guzzi V1000 G5 which soared past its expected sale price to settle a shade over £10,000.
On the road/competition front, a 1971 Alpine A110 - with a great motorsport career behind it and very much ready for action – looked very much the part in its Alpine Renault works colours of yellow and black and proved popular on sale day, selling at £50,080.
Meanwhile, turning back the clock to pre-war days, a charming 1929 MG PA prepared, restored and re-created to Q-Type specification rewarded its owner with a return of some £39,000, the car promising enormous fun for its new owner, both on road and track.
As ever this Historics live, open-to-public auction was also a vote for classic community gathering as aside from a very healthy scale of international online bidders and very significant numbers following the auction digitally, the majority of sales again went to those in the auction hall and to telephone bidders.
For full sale results, see HERE
ENTRIES ARE INVITED: Historics is now inviting entries to its final sale of 2023, at Mercedes-Benz World, Brooklands on Saturday 25th November. Enter HERE
