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Market
activity
continues
apace
with
several
large
private
transaction
recently,
including
a
Ferrari
250GTO
changing
hands
in
a
matter
of
days,
one
of
the
best
250SWB
'Hot
Rods'
equalling
the
record
price
established
at
the
beginning
of
the
year,
and
a
Ferrari
250LM
also
setting
a
new
price
level.
Moving
away
from
Ferrari,
Aston
Martins
continue
to
be
strong
with
DB4
GTs
much
in
demand
and
superb
road
cars
also
selling
well.
Other
sports
marques
such
as
Maserati
and
Lamborghini
are
enjoying
sustained
interest
from
buyers.
Conversely,
the
market
for
single
seaters
remains
relatively
soft
and
pre-war
cars,
except
for
the
most
important
sports
racing
models
and
truly
exceptional
coachbuilt
cars,
have
not
matched
the
buoyancy
of
the
post-war
market.
Since
my
last
report
several
interesting
sales
have
taken
place,
beginning
with
Coys
of
Kensington's
'Jaguar
Legends'
Sale
at
Chiswick
House
on
21st
June.
This
event
saw
the
re-appearance
of
the
Alfa
Romeo
GTA
offered
by
Coys
last
year
in
Monaco,
selling
here
for
a
relatively
reasonable
£20,466.
The
Alfa
Romeo
6C
1750,
now
billed
as
"the
Baron
Franchetti"
car,
re-appeared
for
one
of
its
regular
auction
outings,
again
declared
as
sold,
this
time
for
£230,850.
Regular
readers
will
perhaps
recall
this
old
friend
from
previous
articles
-
it's
the
one
which
generously
shares
its
chassis
number
with
two
others
…
In the
same
sale,
dealer
Brian
Classic's
pretty
BMW
328
achieved
£125,000
in
a
post
auction
deal,
the
correct
level
for
one
of
these
landmark
pre-war
sports
cars,
whilst
a
Bugatti
Type
51
Grand
Prix
car
described
as
"FIA
papered"
perhaps
raised
too
many
questions
to
attract
a
bid.
One of
the
bargains
of
the
sale
was
the
1979
Ferrari
Boxer,
great
value
at
just
£29,994.
The
Jaguar
section
did
not
include
any
particularly
special
cars
from
Coventry,
although
it's
worth
noting
that
the
XJ220
prototype
continued
this
model's
slide,
remaining
unsold
despite
a
£85,000
bottom
estimate.
Not
a
bad
sale,
held
as
usual
in
a
very
pleasant
setting
with
good
access,
plenty
of
character
and
thankfully
warm
weather
-
the
sort
of
sale
which
makes
attending
a
pleasure.
|
Bonhams'
RREC
sale
on
the
same
day
saw
a
small
selection
of
cars
from
Crewe,
a
highlight
being
the
1997
Bentley
Turbo
RT
to
'Pinnacle'
specification,
achieving
over
top
estimate
at
£62,000,
and
it's
nice
to
see
a
Silver
Cloud
gaining
proper
recognition
at
£32,200.
If
it's
style
and
comfort
you
are
after,
look
no
further
than
one
of
these
handsome
cars,
to
many
people
the
last
of
the
'real'
Rolls-Royces
and
Bentleys,
like
riding
in
a
Gentlemen's
club
on
wheels.
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Over
in
the
States,
Barrett-Jackson
took
up
station
at
the
famed
Petersen
Collection
in
downtown
Los
Angeles
with
the
customary
plethora
of
American
heavy
metal.
Top
priced
sellers
were
the
1923
Mercedes
28/95
PS
Targa
Florio,
sold
for
$756,000,
and
Ferrari
Superamerica,
strong
at
$432,000,
while
one
must
question
the
logic
of
the
vendor
who
supposedly
declined
$310,000
for
his
2001
Ferrari
Barchetta.
He
must
know
something
we
don't.
In
the
three
pointed
star
section,
$270,000
was
declared
insufficient
for
a
Gullwing
and
$225,000
for
a
drum
braked
300SL
Roadster,
which
again
raised
eyebrows,
whilst
the
sale
rate
for
American
classics
seems
to
have
been
strong.
Industry
pundits
will
be
watching
with
interest
to
see
if
Barrett-Jackson
perseveres
with
this
venue.
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The dispersion
of
part
of
the
British
Motor
Industry
Heritage
Trust
Collection
on
29th
June
was
entrusted
to
Bonhams
and
provoked
much
discussion
amongst
some
historians
who
argued
against
the
sale.
Although
most
of
the
entries
were
not
of
great
commercial
value,
their
historic
interest
was
beyond
dispute
and
the
auction
was
a
virtual
sell-out.
The
surprise
of
the
sale
was
a
1910
Austin
Endcliffe
Tourer,
knocked
down
for
a
resounding
£82,000
against
an
estimate
of
£30,000
-
50,000,
showing
what
provenance
can
do
for
a
car's
value.
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Lotus
Cortinas
|
Insolvency
specialist
Wills,
Hardy
&
Co.
were
appointed
to
sell
off
the
car
collection
from
the
bankruptcy
of
the
TWR
racing
team
and
despite
not
being
car
specialists
they
achieved
a
very
creditable
job.
£83,000
for
the
ex-Jim
Clark
Lotus
Cortina
was
an
astonishing
result
although
the
sister
car
bearing
registration
'KPU
383C'
was
more
affordable
at
£27,500.
A
1990
Jaguar
XJR15,
arguably
the
supercar
which
the
XJ220
should
have
been,
set
a
new
level
for
the
model
at
£87,000
-
a
shrewd
long-term
buy
in
my
opinion.
To me,
the
most
amazing
result
of
the
sale
was
the
£90,000
paid
for
a
Jaguar
XJS
racing
car
driven
by
TWR
principal
Tom
Walkinshaw.
Read
more
>
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