WEBB’S COLLECTORS’ CARS, MOTORCYCLES AND AUTOMOBILIA AUCTION
Originally scheduled for June 27 and postponed, this auction finally took place on July 4 in Parnell, Auckland. Proving that demand for classic and collectible cars remains strong despite everincreasing concerns about fossil-fuelled cars and the rising popularity of electric vehicles, the majority of the lots sold on the hammer.
Standouts in the auction included a lovely looking 1947 Nash 600, an original RHD car first registered on January 1, 1948 and delivered new and built in New Zealand
– a good buy at just over $20,000. VW enthusiasts were well catered to via three lots – a 1971 Beetle in Daytona Yellow, a rare colour; a 1975 Kombi; and a Type 181 (The Thing). The Beetle and The Thing found new owners but the Kombi failed to reach its estimated price of $75–85,000.
The only motorcycle in the auction – a 1938 Triumph 5H Deluxe from the collection of GP World Champion Hugh Anderson – also failed to reach its reserve and was unsold. A fully restored Land Rover SIIA pickup went for $28,750, while a good-looking Triumph 2500TC fetched $14,950.
With an estimated price of between $135– 150,000, a 1982 VH Commodore SS looked to be a prime collectible. Only 30 of these cars were put together in New Zealand by GM-H (29 in white with red and blue flashes, and one in black), and without the power-sapping pollution gear on their Aussie counterparts, the 5-litre V8 in the Kiwi examples punched out 220kW. Despite its rarity and being signed underbonnet by Phil and Lewis Brock as well as Peter Brock’s regular co-driver, David ‘Skippy’ Parsons, the SS failed to sell. Another Aussie performance car – a Torana GTR XU-1 – fared better, eventually selling for $132,250.
A super rare – only 750 examples ever built – 1949 Talbot Lago T26 Record Factory Berline was expected to realise in excess of $200,000, but it failed to sell.
If I’d won Lotto the previous weekend, I might have been into the 1998 Aston Martin Vantage V600. The 5.3-litre V8, packing twin Eaton supercharger, punched out 600bhp (hence the V600 moniker), giving these luxuriously equipped GTs a top speed of 322km/h. However, with an eventual sale price a few grand shy of half-a-million bucks, I missed out on this one!
A Jaguar XJ12 Lynx Convertible looked interesting, and it had been reputably owned and used by Steven Spielberg while filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, although this detail remained unconfirmed. Either way, this elegant and unique (in New Zealand) car failed to sell.
On the racing car front, the Chevrolet 302ci-powered Surtees TS5 F5000 car offered for sale was first raced by film star James Garner. Imported into New Zealand by Mortimer Motorsport, it was subsequently raced in NZ, the UK and Australia by Warwick Mortimer. Fully rebuilt following a crash at Hampton Downs in 2015, the car had only been raced once since the rebuild. With an estimated price of around $250,000, the TS5 failed to find a new owner.
However, a Mustang V8-powered GT40 replica – built in Rotorua from a UK GT Racing kit – sold for $143,750.
As well as the cars, the auction included a few items of automobilia, including posters and prints, some of them from the collection of NZ Classic Driver columnist, Mark Holman. These included a brace of George Ham Monaco posters (1934 and 1936), these selling for over $2000 each, while a Nicholas Watts print titled Fangio the Maestro sold for $1265.