The marketplace
A brace of hot Fords set new records at Silverstone Auctions’ 29 September sale at Dallas Burston Polo Club, Warwickshire. First was a one-owner 1990 Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4x4 showing just 13,310 miles and offered with a comprehensive history file including every tax disc and MOT test certificate. It’s believed to be one of the first six supplied to the UK and made £52,750, more than £20k above its upper estimate. For fans of ’70s performance cars, a 1972 Escort RS1600 also established a new benchmark. In period-correct Le Mans Green, this superbly restored saloon raised £70,875.
Another car with its roots in competition was a 1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2. The unrestored 16,898mile car changed hands for a strong £86,625, while a 1982 Audi quattro, understood to be a right-handdrive prototype that had spent 20 years in storage, sold for £49,500. Also believed to be a factory development car was a 1966 MGC GT. Built some eight months before production officially began, the MG had lost its original engine and auto ’box, but retained a number of unique features including a horizontally slatted grille. In the correct Riviera Silver Blue but beginning to show its age, it made £20,475.
Silverstone’s annual Porsche sale at the same location the previous day had some similarly enticing lots. A 1998 911 (993) turbo S was one of only 26 UK right-hookers and eye-catching in rare Pastel Yellow, helping it to achieve an impressive £185,625. A 1978 928 that was remarkably unmolested – down to its period-correct single door mirror – looked like a lot of car for £14k. Elsewhere, a beautifully restored 1958 308 ‘Super’ N tractor was the antidote to modern Porsches with its air-cooled 2466cc three-cylinder diesel. It sold for just under £20k, helping the auction house hit £3.2m over the two sales.