Auction View by Richard Hudson-Evans
Forty-three vendors accepted less than their estimates, but the headlines from Brightwells were elsewhere: nearly three quarters of classics listed in the catalogue were sold, bringing in nearly £1.3m with premium. They included £101k for a 1966 E-type S1 4.2 Coupé and the £33k generously poured into that decayed 1936 Lagonda LG45 [see story, left].
The turnout on an autumn weekday was a huge vote of confidence in the classics sector. The ample car park soon filled up and the neighbouring B&Q site had to be requisitioned to accommodate the overflow.
‘Nearly threequarters of classics listed in the catalogue were sold’
Of the 95 car-related lots that were sold under three gavels (or immediately afterwards after provisional bids had subsequently been accepted), 10 were auctioned without reserve and were therefore going to sell for whatever was bid, while just over half achieved or bettered their auctioneer estimated prices.
Among them, the much-viewed, 81-year-old Lagonda basket case was hammered away for £15,000 more than had been forecast; and a supercharged 1937 Triumph Dolomite 14/60 Special with VSCC papers fetched £9000 more than the guide price. The UK’s first registered in 1965 Sunbeam Tiger MkI was bid to £9000 more than the guide and sold for £53,900 with premium.
On the other side of the coin, £6000 below estimate was accepted by the vendor of a 1966 Mini Cooper 1275S, which he had owned for 40 years and which sold for £35,200 gross. The seller of a freshly restored 1985 Ford Escort MkIII RS Turbo S1 that had been estimated at £25,00030,000 had to make a hard-nosed decision too – it was valued at £17,050 with premium by its new owner.