MINOR SMASHES PRICE RECORD
Special edition Morris hits £29.5k high after restoration show outing
AMorris Minor has broken a price record for the model after a private collector snapped it up for just under £30k. Charles Ware Morris Minor Centre confirmed this week that it has sold a 1960 Minor Million – one of a special run of 349 cars to commemorate the Minor being the first British car to rack up more than a million sales – to a Welsh buyer for £29,500. The price achieved by the Bristol-based specialist has beaten a four-year UK record for the model, set by another Million, which Historics sold for £25,760. Another Minor, a 1959 Traveller, sold for $52,250
(£35,425 at historic exchange rates) was sold by RM Sotheby’s at its Amelia Island in March 2015. The specialist said that it had a lot of interest from potential buyers after it appeared at the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, with Discovery on 22-24 March. Andy Hemings, sales manager, said: ‘The car had a lot of interest from classic fans and Minor enthusiasts, both from its appearance at the show and from people who’d read about it in in CCW’s 3 April issue. ‘The car is now off to a new home with a collector in Wales, and will be heading there in the next few weeks. It’s a great result for us and we’re proud to have been involved with this car, which we believe is a new record for a Morris Minor.’ Richard Barnett, CCW markets editor, said that the car’s final selling price reflected not only a strong following for Minors, but the market’s appetite for the rarer variants, with the Million being particularly sought after by collectors. He said: ‘I’m not surprised that it’s sold for a record price – I remember pieces on Morris Minors as long ago as the 1970s when Millions were talked about as something special, and they’ve definitely got a cult following now. This one not only had the rarity in its favour, but having seen it at the restoration show I can vouch that it was a stunner, and it had the Charles Ware connection, so it ticked all the boxes. ‘The Millions are at the very top price-wise for Minors but it’s worth remembering that the entire range performs strongly on the market, and that’s because they appeal to so many different classic fans – there aren’t many other British saloons from that period which have such a big following with younger classic fans. There are plenty of specialists, an owners’ club that’s really proactive, and you can take them just about anywhere.’