A Citroën Saxo VTS that sold for almost £19,000 was among the many highlights as Anglia Car Auctions put another eclectic selection of classics under the hammer on August 20–21 

Anglia Car Auctions’ latest sale proved to be as varied as we’ve come to expect from this long-established set-up. Around 230 lots were recorded as sold at the time of writing, representing a successful sales rate of over 80 per cent.

There was something to suit all budgets and just about every taste, with affordable modern classics doing particularly well. One of the highlights, however, was the astonishing £18,900 sale price (including premium) for a one-owner 1999 Citroën Saxo VTS that had covered just 12,000 miles from new and was offered with no reserve. It’s further proof that the modern-classic hot hatch is one of today’s most sought-after genres – although we reckon a very impressive 1.4-litre MG ZR looked particularly good value at just over £3450.

A wide assortment of Fords in the sale brought some impressive results, including the £28,080 achieved by a no-reserve 1979 Escort RS2000 Custom – a smart example that had previously undergone bodywork restoration. From the same year was a rare Cortina Mk4 2.3 Ghia that did well at just over £11,000, while a 1981 Cortina 1.6 Carousel that’s believed to have covered just 34,000 miles sold well above its lower estimate at £8532. And there were enough commercial fans bidding to see a 1987 Cortina-based P100 L pick-up – a one-owner survivor with 60,000 miles under its wheels – selling for just shy of £10,700.

There were plenty of modern-classic Jaguar bargains in the sale, including a 2003 S-Type 2.5 V6 SE Auto that was a snip at £860. At the other extreme of S-Type values, however, was a 2006 4.2-litre V8 R that smashed its £5000-£6000 estimate to sell for £9612. Traditional MG sports cars were also among the most popular lots, with no fewer than 11 MGBs entered – including a solid-looking 1970 ’B GT project car that looked a sensible buy for any hands-on enthusiast at £2700.

Other no-reserve restoration projects also managed to find new homes, including a 1968 Vanden Plas 1300 that sold for £960, a 1973 Rover P5B Coupe that went for £2376, and a 1936 Morris Eight Series 1 that changed hands for £1010. Headline project car of the weekend, however, was a 1966 Austin Mini Cooper S Mk1 that easily beat its £9000-£11,000 estimate to achieve £14,688.

For details of these and the other lots in the sale, visit angliacarauctions.co.uk

  • Among the strong-performing Fords in the auction was this 1979 Cortina Mk4 2.3 Ghia, a tidy and original looking example rare enough to change hands for an impressive £11,016 including premium.
  • Offered with no reserve but guaranteed to do well thanks to soaring demand for modern-classic hot hatches was this 12,000-mile, one-owner Citroën Saxo VTS, which exceeded expectations by soaring to £18,900.
  • One of the rarest classics in the sale was this 1978 Leyland Sherpa pick-up, powered by the 1.8-litre B-Series diesel engine. It showed plenty of battle scars after a lifetime of hard work, but surely offered great value at £1760.
  • Among the modern classics was this 2001 Subaru Impreza UK 300 – number 147 of the 300 cars built to mark that year’s WRC win by Richard Burns and Robert Reid. It beat its £6000-£8000 estimate, selling for just over £9800.
  • Another unusual lot was this 1999 Suzuki Vitara 1.6 4U Hardtop, a 54,000 mile survivor that was described as ‘faultless’ and boasted an impressive service history. At a sale price of £3564, the no-reserve lot surely offered great value.
  • Imported from Japan six years ago and mostly unused since, this first-generation 1976 Toyota Celica 2000GT Liftback had 85,000 kilometres (53,000 miles) on its odometer and it presented very well. It impressed enough bidders to sell for £23,328.
  • Selling almost exactly mid-estimate at £5076 was this delightful looking, W123-series Mercedes-Benz 230 Auto, a Cayenne Orange rarity that also turns heads thanks to its WOW 111T registration number.
  • This home-market 1966 Mini Cooper S Mk1 was the biggest achiever among various restoration projects in the sale, eventually changing hands for £14,688 against a pre-sale estimate of £9000-£11,000.
  • A particularly interesting project for a fan of pre-war motoring was this 1936 Morris Eight Series 1, whose owner since 1999 had started work on it but hadn’t progressed far. The complete car looked great value at £1010.