The pulling power of a garage-find Austin Mini

Another tiny-mileage barn find means another auction record. CCA’S 1971 Clubman 1275GT with just 11,836 miles drew gasps of surprise as it was knocked down for £38,250 in March. Not least because to make it perfect you’d have to dismantle most of the mechanicals and remove both subframes to get rid of 33 years’ worth of surface corrosion. Done professionally that could easily bump up the total cost of the car to £50,000, making this one of the most expensive 1275GTS ever.

This may have been a one-off fluke, like the recent mind-blowing £590k for that now legendary 5000-mile Sierra Cosworth at Silverstone Auctions. But Clubman 1275GTS are far rarer than Mini Coopers; and fine, minimal-mileage survivors like this one must be numbered in double, and perhaps even single, figures.

What this result does prove is that there’s still a strong appetite for timewarp performance classics – low-ownership, untouched, warrantedmileage cars are hot property. But it’s interesting to think that you could have bought a mint restored – or even an unrestored original - 1960s Cooper for more or less the same money and even had some change from £38,250, without all the work and hassle of stripping the car down. But never underestimate the selling power of classic Minis. Enthusiasts will still pay very high prices for ’59s, Countrymans, early Coopers, Wood and Picketts, Radfords, Mini Mokes and the twin-tank 1275S. There’s a huge owner community, easy spares supply and you can restore most of them at home. Sort of. Maybe this result means the Clubman is finally having its day in the sun. More on this Clubman: page 35.