Silverstone Auctions put a wide range of vehicles under the hammer during its maiden visit to Heythrop Park on May 11. There were two sales on the day at the Oxfordshire venue; the Heythrop Classic Car Sale followed by a special auction of British marques. Although a large proportion of the cars in both sales remained unsold, plenty of the big hitters and interesting lots found new homes.
The Heythrop majored on a selection of rare European Classics, including a pair of BMW E9 CSi’s, and a stunning 21,000-mile Porsche 944 Turbo, which sold for £29,250. An imposing 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 V8 Coupe just broke the £60,000 barrier, while a far eastern classic in the shape of a 1967 Honda S800 sold for an impressive £17,325.
The British Marques sale was the busier of the two, with a number of star lots. Fittingly given the nearby event, Jaguar was the dominant act. The selection of big cats was headlined by a pair of low-mileage Jaguar XJ220 supercars that sold for £337,500 and £303,750. A 1956 Allard Palm Beach Mk2 prototype sold for £78,750, with a 1935 Bentley 7.4-Litre V12 Special race car nudging into six figures at £106,875.
The first of the two E9 BMWs offered in the Heythrop sale was this 1975 3.0 CSi Coupe; number 43 of 207 right-hand-drive cars built during the final two years of production. The car was recently restored at a cost of £22,000, with a bare metal respray in Turkish Blue and a retrimmed interior. It beat its lower estimate to sell for £41,625.
Low-mileage Jaguars were a major part of the British Marques sale, and included this superb 1962 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 with manual transmission and overdrive. Presented in smart Opalescent Bronze with cream leather it showed just 8725 miles and came with a substantial history folder. Described as probably the best unrestored Mk2 on the market, it sold for £69,750.
Firmly ticking the box for oddballs was this 1989 Railton F29 Claremont. The brainchild of Aston Martin Lagonda designer William Towns, it’s one of only two made, based on the running gear of the V12 XJS but with a special aluminium body. This example had covered just 13,700 miles from new and sold for £67,500.
One of the star lots was this 2000 Mini Cooper Sport from the collection of Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay, originally commissioned with the brief to create a ‘brothel on wheels’. Complete with velvet curtains, disco lights, a mini Chesterfield sofa in the back and a motorised drinks bar in the boot, it was offered with no reserve and sold for £22,500.
Another British Marques entry was this time-warp 1975 Jensen Interceptor Mk3, described as the most original example the auctioneer had ever seen. The 9000-mile example was unrestored, but had recently been lightly recommissioned by a marque specialist. The £60,000 to £70,000 estimate proved to be right on the money, as it sold for £65,250.
