DOORS OPEN AT HISTORICS
In-person bidding helped Historics to a 90% sell-through rate in a £5.3m sale at Ascot, delayed by a day to 18 April by the funeral of Prince Philip.
A Mercedes-benz 280SL was among the best performers, clearing its top estimate by £65k to sell for £184,800. A right-hand-drive 1963 Mercedesbenz 170 SV added £20k to its expectations, selling for £45,280 (£21-25k), and a 1987 BMW M5 did similarly at £54,560 (£28-33k).
A Jaguar XJ220 led the lots, coming up £20k short of its £325,000 lower estimate at £305,640. The XJS once again proved popular, with a lowmileage 1995 Celebration hitting £44,800 from £25-30k predictions.
The auctioneer claimed ‘unprecedented telephone bidders’ and announced that 63% went to those in the room or on the phone. Of the 170 vehicles that went under the hammer, 153 sold (nine were withdrawn).
Managing director Mark Perkins said: “[We] were thrilled at the tremendous turn-out at both preview days and the sale itself. The high number of entries selling to those in-hall shows there is a great appetite for a traditional sale. Ours are supported by a thoroughly professional online bidding platform from our partner Bidpath, so together I believe we have the best strategy to suit everyone.
And online registrations from
30 countries across all five continents demonstrate that our sales are now truly global.”