Market indicators
Polarising Brit classics do well but the ceiling on one modern-classic Ferrari was lowered
1990 Lister-jaguar XJS Le Mans £88,480 Historics, Brooklands, May 19
Wherever you stand on the cosmetic changes to Lister’s reworked XJS, it undoubtedly makes a dramatic statement. It backs this up with an engine enlarged to 7.0 litres and tweaked to produce 600bhp. Only 20 were built and this must surely be the best – in one family from new and with just 3354 miles. It was hard to value but Historics settled at £70k-80k. On the day buyers wanted it more than that. A strong result.
1972 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE5 £9020 Brightwells, Leominster, May 16
This is the second time this year we’ve flagged up a notably high price for a Scimitar – cars that were almost ignored in the recent price boom. A four-owner 64,000-mile car, it had the big plus of being one of the first-series cars and looked very good on Triumph TR wires. Brightwells estimated it at a slightly bizarre £2500-£3500, which was always going to be beaten, but this price confirms the sporty estate’s growing fan base.
1998 Ferrari 550 Maranello £121,500 Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone, May 18
If you thought it’s all one-way traffic with prices again, this result proves otherwise. As a oneowner Uk-supplied manual right-hooker that’s done fewer than 3500 miles, it had to represent the very top end of the 550 market. You can see the result against the £140k-180k estimate that wouldn’t have looked at all daft a year ago. But this is just one of the highest flyers from the boom decade now settling to saner levels.
1973 Ford Escort Mexico £50,625 Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone, May 19 Fast Fords continue their seemingly unstoppable march into serious collector territory. This one did have a lot going for it though, like being unused since its detailed £30k restoration was completed late last year, and with history to confirm it’s a genuine Mexico. The price paid certainly rewards the seller’s investment, but not long ago it would have bought an RS1600 or Twin Cam.
1960 Chevrolet Corvette £291,593 RM Sotheby’s, Monaco, May 12 This is what we call an outlier, and must be an auction record for a 1960 Corvette. It’s not even the rare ‘Fuelie’ but a dual-carb 270bhp car. It’s a lovely example – matching numbers and a Corvette club award winner nine years ago – but RM’S €90k-120k (£79k-£105k) estimate looked good enough to get the job done. Maybe the Monte Carlo hospitality was very good and inspired bidders’ arms.