Subscribe

Latest News

Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

Another Ferrari restoration project certainly magnetised international players to participate in the Bonhams Harrogate sale, where a right-hand-drive 1965 330GT 2+2 with unlovely four-headlamps and minus huge scabs of now paint matt that had even gathered moss since the last MOT pass seven years ago was taken on by a winner in the room for £68,700, twice the guide price. As I drove south through the gathering fog banks, this phenomenal performance even made the news on Radio 2!

By contrast, a 1933 MG Midget J2 to J4-spec in the sale was ready to win prizes, being exceptionally well presented. Most deservedly, therefore, Abingdon’s finest also attracted some very determined bidding until finally hammered away to a Yorkshire collector for £44,850 with premium.

Read more
The NEC Classic Motor Show 2012

The NEC Classic Motor Show 2012

2012 has been a great year for classic car shows (indoor ones at least!). Highlights so far have included Essen, Stuttgart, Retromobile, Bremen and Antwerp. But nothing gets me quite as fired up as the NEC Classic Motor Show. Read more
Austin-Healeys defy the generation game

Austin-Healeys defy the generation game

Austin-Healey prices continue to grow, yet you’d imagine their appeal would be gradually superseded by lusted-after cars from more modern eras as subsequent generations of enthusiasts yearn for the cars of their formative years. Read more
Latest auction event news from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

Latest auction event news from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

During the recent glut of auctions, one of the most extra-ordinary results in the pop sector was the £16,000 bid at Charterhouse (£17,600 paid including buyer’s premium) for a 1966 Austin Mini Cooper with last tax disc on the screen expiring in 1976, by when the Mk1 998 had been driven 22,720 miles by the late owner. For a still largely original, though rather shabby specimen that had been unused for 36 years and required much re-commissioning, if not full restoration, this was a particularly bullish valuation, especially for an autumnal Sunday afternoon gig in flooded Somerset. Read more
Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

In selling for £1.96m, a 1959 Ferrari ‘Tour de France’ LWB headed a £14.26m Wednesday evening for RM clients in London’s Battersea Park where 84% of the 91 entries sold. Earlier the same day in the Peak District, H&H had sold another 60 classics to an entirely different set of consumers for £506k. And then only two days later in Bonhams’ New Bond Street salerooms, the annual pre-London to Brighton Run auction was a white gloves event with 100% of the Veterans sold for a fixture record total of £1.7m. Read more
NEC Classic Motor Show

NEC Classic Motor Show

As the classic movement meets to celebrate at the NEC Classic Motor Show next weekend, (16,17,18 November, NEC Birmingham www.necclassicmotorshow.com) the question isn’t ‘Can I afford to buy a classic?’ The question is ‘Can I afford NOT to buy one?’ Read more
Classic Vehicle & Restoration Show

Classic Vehicle & Restoration Show

This was an event that truly befitting of the title ‘restoration show’ because almost everywhere you looked in the main hall there was a car being stripped down, painted, repaired or reassembled. Read more
Was this Idi Amin's limo?

Was this Idi Amin's limo?

This 1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman limousine – one of just 59 built – has one careful owner, and another, said to be an ‘African dictator.’ Read more
302-mile Mini Van

302-mile Mini Van

An original Austin Mini van that’s covered just 302 miles is for sale for £42,000. The 1968 van has been unused for over 40 years and features its original wand gearstick and floor-button starter. Read more
Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

Latest market commentary from CCFS auction analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

A British bidder in the hall saw off a German challenger on the telephone to land a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL for £31,900 with premium in the latest Barons sale at Sandown Park. The apparently sound left hooker with hardtop had been in storage for 25 years until 2009. Also preserved in the dry having been off the road for 15 years until 2006, when treated to a down to last nut and bolt rebuild, was an ex-New Mexico and Highline version of a 1956 Ford Zephyr MkII 2-Door Convertible. Although the auctioneers and their vendor had been hoping for more, the £22,000 realised was, in my view, strong money for an open Zephyr on an end of season Tuesday afternoon. Read more
Film fans mad for Astons

Film fans mad for Astons

Its safe to say the British media has gone a bit James Bond crazy this week, and it’s a phenomenon not lost on the CCfS office. The debate has been raging for days, Connery or Dalton, Blofeld or Jaws, Pussy Galore or Anya Amasova?  Read more
Classic Cars To Hire

Classic Cars To Hire

Classic Cars to Hire is a U.K.based peer to peer car sharing service founded on the principle of building a network of enthusiasts for enthusiasts. This innovative concept is designed to get people out and about and enjoying different classic cars when they are otherwise not being used. Read more
Classic Car Rescue has been exposed

Classic Car Rescue has been exposed

If you pick up a copy of this week’s Classic Car Weekly, you’ll be able to read the full, in-depth exposé of Channel 5’s weekly car resto show Classic Car Rescue. Why is this significant? Because it shows how little these TV production companies know about  our classic car world. Read more