E-Type doubles its estimate as the Classic Car season gets into swing
With Spring in the air and the Classic Car season gearing up for another Summer full of shows and events, there was a healthy trade at Brightwells on 12th May as the usual eclectic mix of machinery came under the auctioneer’s virtual hammer for the third online sale of the year. By the time the dust had settled, 72% of the 133 lots on offer were successfully sold for a total of £754,000.
Top price of the day went to a UK-spec 1969 Jaguar E-Type S2 Roadster with rare factory hard top which had been slowly restored over a 20-year period but justified all the hard work by doubling its estimate to finish on an impressive £70,900. Not quite so smart but still eminently usable was a 1970 Jaguar E-Type S2 FHC originally supplied to the American market but converted to RHD in the 1990s which made £36,950.
For those who can’t quite stretch to an E-Type, the Jaguar Mk2 has always been a popular alternative and the 1964 Mk2 3.8 Manual Overdrive on offer had no trouble finding a buyer at £22,400. A nicely restored and upgraded 1960 Jaguar XK150 3.8 DHC narrowly failed to get away despite a high bid of over £72,000 including buyer’s premium, the car perhaps paying the penalty of having a Mk2 engine fitted in place of the original.
The Triumph TR range is always popular and three of the four on offer found new homes, top price going to a very original 1967 Triumph TR4A with Surrey top but somewhat indifferent paint which made £22,950. A pair of TR6 models were also sold, a dark blue 1971 example on wire wheels fetching £16,350 while a largely original white 1970 example on steel wheels made £15,120.
A worthy rival to the TR6 is the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the 1976 example on offer, which benefitted from an extensive mechanical overhaul and upgrade fetched £14,000 despite being in obligatory LHD. In similar vein a 1960 MGA 1600 Roadster in good shape mechanically but with extensively microblistered paintwork found a new home at £17,360.
Pre-war cars continue to find their admirers in a market increasingly dominated by more modern classics and 7 of the 11 on offer were sold, top price going to a 1934 Singer Nine Le Mans which had only covered around 2,000 miles on its rebuilt engine and fetched £20,600. A nicely restored 1929 Buick Series 25 Tourer with a lusty 3.9 straight-six made £18,480 while a similarly smart 1934 Ford Model A Roadster raised £16,900. An imposing 1930 Austin 20/6 Ranelagh Landaulette fetched £13,330 while a charmingly original 1921 Humber 11.4hp Doctor’s Coupe made £11,250 and is now on its way to a museum in France.
While the market for early Series One Land Rovers seems to have softened in recent years, the more modern variants have come on strongly and a rare 1977 Land Rover S3 101” Forward Control with a V8 petrol engine doubled its estimate to finish on £17,560. Also gaining in popularity is the tough-as-old-boots Toyota Land Cruiser and a 1982 FJ45 with a 4.0 straight-six petrol engine made £18,900. Rarely seen in the UK but arguably better off-road than any British or Japanese rival, an Austrian-built 1995 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 4x4 with only 7,500kms on the clock made a creditable £15,120.
Among the more modern classics on offer, a 2008 Bentley Arnage T with 21k miles and Mulliner trim looked good value at £43,680 considering it cost £170k new. An impressively tidy 1995 Bentley Turbo R showing just over 100k miles also looked like a lot of car for £8,630 while a 2000 Maserati 3200 GTA with only 42k miles on the clock looked like a lot of fun for £9,750.
The next Brightwells Classic Vehicles auction will be a special two-day sale to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on 22nd/23rd June with one day devoted exclusively to high quality British-made marques. The closing date for entries is 10th June so if you are thinking of selling, please get in touch by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing [email protected].