CCA’s latest sale took place as part of the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show at Birmingham’s NEC, with 234 lots going under the hammer.
Traditional British classics joined ’80s and ’90s cars in selling strongly, but even these had to play second fiddle to a host of one-off opportunities. Arguably the prime example was the remarkable garage-find Mini 1275GT, which sold for almost four times its estimate – more details on that car can be found here. However, the highest figure was achieved by a 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2. One of only 52 in right-hand drive, it had covered just 40,000 miles and sold well above its £80,000-£100,000 prediction for £121,900.
Another highlight was a one-owner Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II with just 15,500 miles recorded, which beat its £27,000-£30,000 estimate to make £39,950. By contrast, a 1969 2.0-litre Porsche 911S was in need of restoration but was another to surpass expectations, soaring past its £15,000-£20,000 guide to reach £38,250.
Those after a bit of celebrity provenance could turn to the 1950 Land Rover Series I acquired by musician Chris Rea a couple of years ago, which was guided at £10,000-£12,000 but went on to sell for £17,250. It was joined by a couple of cars recently restored for the Wheeler Dealers TV series, with a Bedford CA Dormobile and a Fiat 600D both dating from 1963 each selling mid-estimate at £16,312 and £11,025 respectively.
Other notable lots included a 1925 Jowett Short Two Tourer, which performed exceptionally well against its £5000-£8000 estimate to sell for £14,062. Elsewhere, a 1969 Ford Capri GT XLR also impressed at £25,875, and a very smart 1988 Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet underlined the fondness for ’80s classics by selling for a remarkable £16,312.
Away from the headliners CCA managed to field some impressive bargains. A 1991 Ford Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus showing just over 17,000 miles looked a great starter classic at £2025, while an oddball JDM Isuzu VehiCROSS from 1999 was snapped up for a faction of its guide at £2700. There was a wide selection of sub-£2000 Jaguars too, exemplified by a 1996 XJ6 3.2 for just £675.
All told, the auction saw 80 per cent of the cars find buyers in a sale that totalled £2.6m. CCA will return to action at the Warwickshire Event Centre on June 17. See classiccarauctions.co.uk for details.
