Silverstone Auctions’ NEC sale grosses an incredible £8.1 million thanks to a catalogue chock full of low-mileage stunners, motorsport heroes and rarities. 

The NEC Classic Motor Show is one of the big occasions where everyone tends to pull out the stops – and Silverstone Auctions is no exception. Its sale on November 12-13 was once again chock full of low-mileage stunners, motorsport heroes and rarities, to the extent that it was one of the show’s major highlights.

A 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster and a genuine 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC car both impressed by selling for £270,000 apiece, but the biggest hitter of all was a 1988 Ford RS200 in rare road specification that had covered just 7800 miles from new and made £292,500.

Indeed, low-mileage Blue Ovals proved to be one of the sale’s main themes. A 2003 Ford Focus RS that had only covered 21 miles sold for £74,833, and was immediately followed by two Mk2 cars – a 2010 RS500 showing a mere 948 miles at £99,000, and a 357-mile 2009 car at £63,000. Moving back a generation, a 2370-mile Mk2 Escort 1600 Sport made £37,687, while another lesser-travelled hero was a 1987 Capri 2.8 Injection Special showing only 3617 miles, which sold for £58,500. However, this was still some way short of an 8795-mile Sierra RS Cosworth, which changed hands for £132,750. And there was still time for a commercial to impress, as a 1972 Mk1 Transit Custom boasting a mileage of just 7071 was sold for an astonishing £61,875.

Elsewhere, prestige brands featured heavily, with an unregistered 1989 Jaguar XJ-S 5.3 V12 Convertible selling for £131,625. And it was a similar story for performance moderns, with a 1992 Honda NSX making £112,500, a 1996 Volkswagen Corrado VR6 VSR selling for £24,750, and a concours 8-valve Golf GTi Mk2 making £27,000. In addition, a 1994 Renault Clio Williams impressed at £36,000, while a 2000 Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition in Passion Red made an astonishing £110,250. If you didn’t mind having one in black with a thick layer of dust, however, then £28,125 was enough to procure an example that had been off the road since 2014.

Older rarities included a right-hand drive Steyr-Puch 500D that sold for £24,750, an Isetta once owned by Stirling Moss, a 1965 TVR Trident at £76,500, and a whole host of Minis topped off by a re-shelled ex-Works Cooper S (DJB 93B), which sold for £124,875.

All told, sales totalled £8.1 million, with an excellent 78 per cent sale rate. For the full results list, see silverstoneauctions.com.

  • Standing out among a host of low-mileage Fords was this left-hand drive turbocharged Zakspeed Capri RS2800 from 1982, one of 155 special edition cars produced for the German market. This one was ordered new by a UK buyer and showed just 32,000 miles. It sold for £64,688.
  • The Vauxhall Chevette HS-X was specially built by Vauxhall dealer, Mamos of Greenford, in 1980, and was based on the rally-bred HS model but painted black instead of silver. Thought to be one of only three to still exist, this well-preserved example changed hands for £29,250.
  • Finished in Jet Black and never registered, this 1989 Jaguar XJ-S 5.3 V12 Convertible was surely as close as possible to a new example, having covered just 100 miles from new. Now with a long MoT free of advisories, it was sold for a whopping £131,625.
  • Believed to be one of just 33 produced in right-hand drive, with only two remaining, this 1960 Steyr-Puch 500D was bought new in the UK but had resided in a Japanese collection for several years. It was liable for five per cent duty on the hammer price, but that didn’t stop it making £24,750.
  • The third of three prototype Trident Coupes and the only right-hand drive example, this 1965 TVR still sported its Carrozzeria Fissore steel bodywork and hand-crafted Italian interior. It sold for £76,500.
  • This final-production 2003 Volkswagen Beetle ‘Ultima Edition’ had covered just 685km and was in as-new condition. One of 2999 cars produced and resplendent in its Harvest Moon paint shade, it sold for £23,625.
  • Given to motorcycling legend Barry Sheene MBE by Suzuki GB in recognition of his time as a Works rider and used by him for five years, this 1979 Suzuki LJ80R had plenty of provenance. It looked fantastic with its reinstated livery, and sold for an impressive £24,750.
  • Joining the contingent of low-mileage classics was this R107-genetration Mercedes-Benz 300SL, dating from 1988. In virtually flawless, original condition, it has covered only 5630 miles from new and was sold for £75,375.
  • This no-reserve 1965 Daimler 250 V8 was described by Silverstone Auctions as the best example it had seen. Resplendent in Opalescent Silver Grey with dark blue leather, it had covered just 28,658 warranted miles from new and sold for £32,625.
  • This 1972 Mk1 Ford Transit was very special, being a long-wheelbase, twin-wheel variant in plush Custom spec. What’s more, it had been beautifully detailed and had covered what appeared to be a genuine 7071 miles from new, pushing it to a whopping £61,875 sale price.