Anglia Car Auctions ushered in spring with an eclectic sale that found homes for many interesting classics

ACA’s latest sale proved to be a big success with some impressive figures achieved. British classics were in high demand, including a 1968 Sunbeam Alpine that spent some of its early years in, which beat a £4000-£6000 estimate to sell for £6858. Equally fetching in white was a 1969 MGB roadster showing just 45,000 miles, which sold for £9504 after being offered without reserve,  while smaller Octagon-badged thrills could be had from a 1967 Midget Mk2 that beat its £5500-£6500 estimate to fetch £6804, and a 1968 example of its Austin-Healey Sprite twin that sold above estimate for £4320.

Elsewhere, a smart Daimler V8 250 from the same year sold for £7776, while a 1949 Austin A40 Devon thatl looked fresh following restoration a decade ago sold for an estimate-beating £5400, and a very smart 1971 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertible offered without reserve sold for £5616. A trio of blue Brits included a 1959 Morris Minor Traveller that sold for £5940 – bang on upper estimate – a 1995 Land Rover Discovery2 TDi with just 37,000 miles to its name that flew past a £5000-£7000 guide to fetch £8856, and a rare 2000 MGF ‘Steptronic’ auto that sold without reserve for £3456.

Icons from the 1980s performed well too, including a rare 1982 BMW E21 320 Baur Convertible that fetched £5616, with a 1990 example of its E30 320i successor nearly doubling its lower estimate on to sell for £8856, and an equally white 1990 325i Auto drop-top making £7344. Similar sums bought two rare Alfa Romeos, with a 1984 Alfasud 1.5Ti selling for £8208, and a 1983 Sprint changing hands for £8316. In addition, £3240 changed hands for the ex-Top Gear Citroën BX GTi 4×4, and £5724 was paid for a Peugeot 309 GTI requiring some recommissioning – – double the lower estimate.

Staying with the 1980s, a cluster of successful Fords included a 1988 Mk2 Fiesta XR2 that sold for £8532, while 1984 examples of both a Sierra XR4i and Mk3 Capri 2.0S beat their estimates to sell for £11,340 and £12,744 respectively. There was also a pleasingly unmodified 1989 Sierra Sapphire Cosworth, which changed hands for £26,568.

While other highlights included a gold Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow that sold for £7668 and a charming 1965 Peugeot 403 Pickup at an estimate-topping £7128, the star had to be the immaculate, 18,000-mile 1988 Toyota HiAce van, which exceeded all expectations when it sold without reserve for an astonishing £17,820.

For the full list of results, see angliacarauctions.co.uk

  • Not a ‘traditional’ classic but well worth mentioning, this humble 2001 Renault Clio 1.4 16v was in spotless condition on account of having covered just 3618 miles in its 14 years – 35 of those from being driven to the sale. Guided at £3000-£4000, it sold for an impressive £4752
  • Sports cars don’t come much louder than this 1990 Corvette C4 ZR1, with the manual gearbox and desirable performance package. Showing just 63,000 miles, the American icon smashed its £13,000-£15,000 estimate when it fetched £18,792
  • With just one owner from new and 37,000 miles to its name, this 1995 Land Rover Discovery2 TDi manual was surely unique, and deservedly smashed a £5000-£7000 estimate to sell for £8856
  • The unexpected star of the sale was this 1988 Toyota HiAce van, which was absolutely immaculate on account of covering just 18,000 miles in the hands of its sole owner from new. Its lack of reserve attracted a flurry of bids, leading to an astonishing £17,820 sale
  • This 1974 Rover P6 3500S boasted a rare FLM Panelcraft estate conversion, sold exclusively by HR Owen when new. The lack of working brakes didn’t put bidders off – the car topped its £4000-£6000 guide to sell for £7452
  • Dry-stored for 13 years before retrieval and some mechanical recommissioning last year, this 1992 Peugeot 309 GTI was said to require some tidying before being pushed into use, but still flew past its £2750-£3750 guide to sell for £5724
  • This 1987 Volvo 340 GL stood out on account of having covered just 137 miles from new. Part of a private collection since 2014, the 1.7-litre variant beat its £5000-£7000 estimate to sell for £8208
  • Showing a mere 50,404 miles, this 1985 Ford Capri Laser 2.0 looked to be in very good shape and came with oodles of paperwork and history. It was estimated at £8000-£10,000, but went on to sell for £11,232