Case histories
Year of manufacture 1965 Recorded mileage 82,735
Asking price £275,000 Vendor Classic Automobiles Worldwide, Hampshire; 020 8871 1357; classic-car-london.com
WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £6440 Max power c200bhp Max torque 332lb ft 0-60mph 13.3 secs Top speed 115mph Mpg 11
This Mulliner Park Ward two-door, originally supplied by Hooper to Glenmoor Investments, has been extensively (and, at £200,000, very expensively) restored over a long period. Work began in 2004, with further fettling by PF Autos in 2005-’06 before it was finally finished in 2013, picking up a concours award at Techno-classica Essen in 2014. Prior to all of that, it had spent time in Germany. Originally Shell Grey and specified with electric windows and aerial (which still work), it’s just had another £20,000-worth of fettling with specialist Frank Dale to make sure everything works properly.
Cosmetically it’s all almost as-new, with excellent finishes. The Ice Green paint is near perfect apart from one tiny bubble behind the driver’s door, while the chromework has a few light scratches to the radiator shell and bumpers, and both of the front wheeltrims show tiny dings. The chassis and body mounts appear very straight and solid, though there is a little underseal flaking off the under-wing shields. The exhaust system is in good shape and the tyres are welltreaded Maxxis, the spare still wearing its protective tape on the whitewall.
The leather is new, including the headlining; the front seats are already starting to breathe a bit, though the rears look unworn. The carpets are new, and there’s a discreet modern stereo with aux connection.
Under the bonnet, the engine – now fitted with an alternator – looks tidy. The coolant is very green, while the oil is clean and three-quarters of the way up the ‘max’ mark. The V8 starts easily and the Continental drives very well, with a smooth gearbox and brakes – and that imperious, slightly floaty ride quality that’s common to all S3s. The oil pressure is at the high end of the ‘normal’ range, the coolant temperature sits at ‘normal’ and the fans cut in promptly a little while after you stop.
At £275,000 it looks all the money (though there’s another, with regular S3 frontal styling, for sale in Essex at £495,000), but it has cost more than the asking price to get it into this condition.