Yeah baby! 1960s style vehicles go for auction

A vintage car collection that would make a superspy salivate is primed to fetch big bucks under the auctioneer’s hammer.

Wellington philanthropist businessman Roy Savage’s rare and original collection of 30 classic marques is being sold at Kapiti’s Southward Car Museum by Auckland auction house Mossgreen-Webb’s.

With an emphasis on the post-war British period, stalwarts of England’s car industry feature prominently, including Jaguars, Rovers, MGs, Triumphs and Morris Minors.

‘‘The collection has been assembled with passion and love over a 40-year period. Each car has a personal connection to Roy Savage and illustrates a different time,’’ Mossgreen-Webb’s classic car specialist Robert Richards said.

The sale was one of the most interesting car collections auctioned in New Zealand, he said. Highlights include a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Auto, a 1955 Jaguar XK 140 FHC, and a 1965 Austin Healey BJ8 3000 MK III.

Savage built his fortune from his industrial equipment company NZ Safety, but his fascination with machines and motoring started as a young boy spending holidays visiting his cousins’ family farm.

* The auction will be held December 4, Southward Car Museum, Paraparaumu.