ON THE CREST OF A WAVE

Forget the onset of autumn, the sun is still shining on the classic world, as this optimistic auction showed

There was plenty of positive talk at Brightwells’ Modern Classics sale, the cheerful outlook (which was in stark contrast to the autumnal cats and dogs raining outside) being propelled by a good, positive line-up of cars up for grabs. While the low-mileage, lovely-order Sierra RS Cosworth was always going to fire up plenty of interest among buyers, there was much to like in the affordable arena, whether a Renault Avantime or a Volvo 262C or even a 1997 Mercedes-Benz C180 that cost little more than a decent night out.