Another successful set of Brightwells sales showed that there’s still plenty of appetite for all kinds of interesting old cars
The July/August Classic Car and Online Garage catalogues illustrated perfectly the variety we’ve come to expect from Brightwells sales, with lots ranging from a near-century old Swift to modern classic rarities like the Passat W8 and the Rover 200 BRM.
Of the lots in the traditional classic sale, the Jaguars illustrated a softening in recent years for values of the 1950s cars, with a lovely 1954 XK120 selling for £61,600 and a 1960 XK150 with the 3.8-litre XK engine and useful upgrades costing its new owner £64,960. Meanwhile, the Holy Grail of Mk2 ownership, a former show-winning 3.8-litre manual overdrive example, was taken home for £22,400, while a five-speed manual XJ-S in 3.6 form sold for £4088. Less exotic but no less impressive, a 17,000-mile 1974 Triumph Dolomite 1850 was snapped up for £5040, while a 1967 Morris Minor looked like a very usable prospect for its £2582 sale price.
Lancias don’t figure in big numbers on the UK classic auction scene, but this sale had two: a restored 1978 Montecarlo needing some details finishing but looking great and selling for £7504, while a very original 1960 Appia cost its new keeper £5488.
When we previewed the sale, we described the well-regarded Teal Bugatti replica as a rarity, but unbelievably a second was consigned just after we went to press, the Nissan Silvia turbo-engined example selling for £18,800 and the Marina 1.8-powered car for £21,460. Star of the show for our own Joe Miller, however, was a W108 Mercedes S-Class 280SE 3.5 in full Euro-spec including yellow lamps, which totalled £15,400 with fees.
The Online Garage sale of project cars and more modern classics saw a 48,000-mile R129 Mercedes SL320 sell for £4536 and a 76,000-mile Porsche Boxster S in 3.2-litre manual form find a new keeper for £3136. Rover curiosities included the 200 BRM (under post-sale negotiation as we went to press) and an unusual Rover 75 V8, which was snapped up for a very reasonable £5320.
Highlight for us, however, was a manual 1990 Toyota Supra Turbo which sold for £6832, contrasting nicely with the £9520 that a 1996 Renault Clio Williams cost its new keeper.
We’ve picked out some highlights here, but you can find the full results here.
