The Big Story
Mini values on the rise
The Triumph Herald, Ford Anglia and BMC Mini may have all been introduced 60 years ago, but while all three enjoy great enthusiast support, it’s the Mini that will see most exposure in events and the media as the earliest examples head ever nearer their old age pensions.
Anniversaries inevitably mean media exposure – of which there’ll be plenty where the Mini is concerned, including at Goodwood, Silverstone and Beaulieu – but is there likely to be any effect on values?
Some say that any anniversary inevitably leads to prices rising, while others might suggest that because there’s a healthy Mini supply, prices won’t be changing any time soon.
Charterhouse’s Richard Bromell said: ‘ With collectors being reluctant to sell their pride and joy, this results in low supply. Combine this with high demand, then prices have been rising steadily over the past few years. Admittedly not in the stratospheric way many Aston Martins have, but rising steadily.
‘Although I do not have a crystal ball to see the future in, I suspect that classic Mini values will rise this year. Spurred on from all the celebrations in the media, online and at car shows, a new group of enthusiasts will emerge wanting to own a Mini, along with other collectors who maybe once owned a Mini, and want to relive those happy days of motoring.’
H&H auctions manager, Damian Jones, agrees: ‘The 60th anniversary should pull up prices for the right cars – not across all models, but the more desirable ones, including all BMC Coopers and Clubman 1275GTs. Vans and pick-ups have always made good money.’
It’s easy to think that the earliest cars and BMC-era Coopers command the most attention, but other models are in with a good shout when it comes to potential value hikes.
As with any icon’s anniversary, the Mini’s 60th is likely to provide an upward trend in classic prices as people naturally speculate on prices rising. Interestingly, with prices in the ascendency for the later Rover
Minis due to the ever-rising cost of MkIs, values of earlier cars have seen something of a softening. Historics’ auction negotiator, Mat Priddy, said: ‘Personally, I think that the canny buyer has been stalking out early standard MkIs, such as the lovely 1961 Austin that we sold last November for £8512.
‘The Cooper and Cooper S may be the racy headline grabbers, but let’s not forget that the Mini was designed for the masses and the anniversary can only be good for keeping Issigonis’ masterpiece on the “must-have” list.’