Latest Classic Car Auction Commentary: 02/09/2016

Auctions Commentary from CCFS Market Analyst Richard Hudson-Evans

After 171 classics sell in one day in Norfolk, three more auctions take place simultaneously this Saturday at Beaulieu, Blenheim and Chantilly

UK supplied 1973 Porsche 911E with 2.4T motor was one of 171 of 230 classics sold by ACA in 71% sold under the hammer for £53,550 during what amounted to a £1.5m+ so far Bank Holiday weekend drive-through at King’s Lynn, where a log stalled 1964 Jaguar E Type S1 4.2 OTS restoration project headlined when taken on for £115,500. Other valuations set by buyers in public auction ranged from the £19,800 handed over for a 1947 Rover 12 Tourer for four last refreshed in 2012, via the £13,125 result of a 2015 completed Morris Mini 850 Deluxe from 1960 to the premium £137,530 paid for a 2016 vintage BMW M4 GTS, one of thirty assigned to the UK market with all options bar carbon wheels.

There will be three more significant barometer readings for the current climate for the collector vehicle sector this weekend with simultaneous sales taking place in Bonhams marquees on both sides of the English Channel border at Chateau Chantilly, near Paris, and during the Saturday of International Beaulieu Autojumble weekend at the National Motor Museum in Hampshire’s New Forest, where another 143 cars and 43 classic bikes and projects confront reality.  Whilst the same day at the same time, several counties north within the light and airy tented Silverstone Auctions corale in the grounds of Palatial Blenheim at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, a further 68 auction cars undergo buyer testing during the three-day Salon Prive Concours, where the well-dressed parade their automotive finery in front of detail-obsessed judges.

The way of the supercar obsessed new world was underlined by star billing at Silverstone’s Salon Prive auction being awarded to a 2016 Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, one of 500 of the fastest Lambo open-top model yet with all of 59k of delivery mileage and an estimated £480,000-520,000 on the screen. Will this, the latest iteration of previous Superveloce licence-losers be a “sure fire classic of the future” as the auctioneers predicted in their preview copy? Only your time (and other investors’ money) will tell, of course.    

According to the HAGI-F current market monitoring stats, Ferrari Prancing Horses continue to out-run Lamborghini Bulls and other contenders for a share of any big bucks that are avoiding unprofitable interest rates and are not being gambled on the usual hot property or undervalued equity alternatives. Incredibly now 34 years young, a claimed by Silverstone to be “incredibly original” Ferrari 512BBi that has been driven a mere 9000 miles from new in 1982 was predicted to cost a brave new jockey £200,000-230,000. With just 1977 miles from new of exposure to the real world of the stone chip lottery, a 1998 550 Maranello was pre-sale estimated at £180,000-220,000, more than three times the going rate of a terraced house in the forgotten back-streets of our three-tier economy. Whilst a far less exposed £75,000-85,000 of a successful bidder’s money meanwhile was predicted for a 3983 miler since 1989 348TS.

A right-hand drive and still futuristic looking 43 year old Citroen DS Super 5 meanwhile - displayed on a plinth with a mirror to show off its normally unseen undergarments - was super-stunning and had more than a trophy cabinet’s worth of concours awards won in eight European countries to prove it. With only one previous owner on file, the CEO of the supplying Citroen dealership, the 1973 style icon in Blanc Meije with still original Red Targa upholstered armchairs was pitched at Francophiles with £75,000-85,000 to invest.

Having checked out the metal being hammered away (or not) at two out of the three auction venues, and after logging the ‘live action’ at the Beaulieu one for the umpteenth time, I shall, of course, report back on what some of you are buying and for how much,  plus what you’re not, in my next transmission. There are only another four sales next week, RM Sotheby’s Battersea Park Wednesday, DVCA Athelhampton House Thursday, when Coys debut Fontwell House sale also takes place, with the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Sale on the Saturday. With so much auto-commuting to do around the auctions circuit, circa 40,000pa, I am now on my seventh consecutive Honda CRV!

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