Auctions: Why this late Spitfire is set to be a star buy at Historics
WELL BOUGHT
Our man on the latest savvy buys. This week, why a load-lugging Mini offered more than meets the eye
RICHARD BARNETT
Mini estates don’t appear at auction as often as you think
While the Minor Traveller, often associated with Anglican men of the cloth, is a common occurrence in classic sales, Mini estates in any form – and certainly in earlier exposed door hinge guise, like this one – are few and far between. We’ve seen a couple of later Clubman estates coming to auction, CCA offering an early bluff-front model some time ago, but the early cars, by the very nature of the being an estate, really don’t. As a result, the decent ones, like this auto, tend to get snapped up quickly, which makes this one, which sold towards the lower end of its estimate, a better deal than the numbers alone suggest.
Condition-wise, this deserved to go for more
With new metalwork the panel fit was very good, with doors and wings lining up nicely and there was no sign of the tinworm that often put paid to the MkII models. The Tartan Red paint remained deep and lustrous, and this was a theme that continued into the engine bay. As with the Minor, the condition of the wood can make or break these models, but in this case it has lasted well.
Inside it was in great nick, too
The interior – red seats with black carpet – was bright and fresh. Seat facings showed little signs of wear or sagginess, the trim panels were as good and the black carpet fade- and wear-free. The boot area was clean and tidy and the inside of the back doors devoid of load scrapes and knocks, too.
Not many bidders appreciated how much history it had
Coming with a file of restoration photographs, a selection of MoT test certificates and an owner’s manual, this petite hauler would make a highly usable runaround and wouldn’t take too much effort to keep in its current condition. Being easy to run and backed by good spares support added to its appeal. In all, this was a small, but mighty sensible buy, with plenty of character.