Classic Car Auctions (CCA) is renowned for catalogues packed with a variety of intriguing and iconic everyman classics, and its December sale was no exception

Words: Jeff Ruggles

Fast Fords were unquestionably the theme of the day at CCA’s final sale of 2023 – a pleasingly original 2004 Focus RS Mk1 sold for a strong £21,375, before a Mk1 Fiesta XR2, presenting extremely well following recent restoration, fetched £15,975. Fans of older fast Blue Ovals fought for the 1974 Escort Mexico Mk1 – unusual in Modena Green and with just one owner in its 49 years, it had covered 134,000 miles and needed some light cosmetic work after being in storage. The £40,500 sale price was indicative of the esteem held for such rare opportunities.

By contrast, a 1988 Escort XR3i boasted a mere 2859 miles and looked immaculate. Selling for £22,500, it’s amongst the highest auction results we’ve seen for an XR3i. Finally, a 1973 Capri RS3100 also garnered much attention thanks to its rare Olympic Blue colour and provenance as the subject car for the Corgi RS3100 model. A sale price of £54,563 shows the halo Capri is still a sought-after model.

Moving away from Fords, British luxury cars were also in demand; a 34,000-mile 1971 Bentley T1 may have needed recommissioning following storage, but sold for an impressive £17,438. Meanwhile, a matching-numbers dry-stored 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster combined a rare manual gearbox and honest condition to fetch £46,125, whereas a 1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage in the rare colour of Sutherland Red sold for £18,900. Brought in from the Channel Islands and accordingly sporting just 17,711 miles, a 1996 Jaguar X300 XJ6 Executive was another low-mileage standout. With extensive paperwork to corroborate its low mileage, the X300 sold for an impressive £11,531.

Modern classic performance cars had a good sale, too – a 1998 Honda Integra Type R was pleasingly unmodified and fetched £15,750. It was joined by another Japanese model in the form of a 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type R, which showed just 64,000 miles and made an impressive £20,250.

For those after something more Germanic, a 2003 BMW E46 M3 Convertible sporting the desirable six-speed manual gearbox was snapped up for a mere £9563. Another German roadster was the 2002 Mercedes SL55 AMG; something of a rarity, it sold for £11,813. For the full list of results, see classiccarauctions.co.uk

  • With just 2859 miles covered from new, Ford Escort XR3is don’t come much lower mileage than this 1988 car. Resplendent in Mercury Grey, it benefitted from a recent mechanical recommission and sold for £22,500.
  • Fully restored and resplendent in BMW Calypso Red, this 1967 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8 was originally an Ohio car before being converted to right-hand drive. It boasted numerous tasteful upgrades and sold for £43,875.
  • Perhaps the rarest car in the sale was this 1970 Fiat-Osca 1600S Cabriolet. Originally sold in Hong Kong, it had been in storage since 1993 and supposedly boasted just 31,000 kilometres on its odometer. Sold with no reserve, it fetched £20,250.
  • Perhaps the most sought-after Capri is the RS3100 model, extremely rare in the Olympic Blue hue of this 1973 example. With award-winning history and provenance as a Corgi model, its £54,563 sale price was no surprise.
  • With one owner from new, this 1974 Ford Escort Mexico was a proper rarity. Following an engine rebuild and sparing use since 1989, the Modena Green Mk1 was surely a unique opportunity at auction and deservedly sold for £40,500.
  • Despite presenting as an extremely tidy and original Opalescent British Racing Green car, this 1963 Jaguar Mk2 was far from standard, sporting a four-speed overdrive gearbox and 4.2 XK engine. It sold for £22,500.
  • A Morris Ital is a rarity in any condition, but this 1981 1.3HL stood out not just for its Vermillion paintwork, but for having covered a mere 4548 miles from new. Offered with no reserve, it sold for £5288.