Three large UK classic car auctions have taken place over the past two weeks, and the results of all reaffirmed what we already knew: excellent lots are selling well, as are those seen as bargains. Anything with a ‘story’ is struggling, especially if it is at the higher end of the catalogue price scale.
First was the Bonhams Goodwood Revival sale on September 7, 2024. The weather didn’t help the presentation of the cars, with the covered area outside the main tent flooded for most of Friday’s viewing period, but there were some interesting lots. Overall, around 55 percent of the 89 vehicle lots offered sold, including a few aftersales, but a few of the more valuable cars didn’t quite reach expectation – including a 1933 MG K3.
As ‘K3003’ it was one of the most famous cars of its period, including having been raced to victory by Nuvolari in the RAC TT, and campaigned by Johnny Lurani and George Eyston in the Mille Miglia to a class win. Unfortunately, before World War Two, the car was allegedly broken for parts and the chassis number placed on another K3. This slightly hazy provenance hit the bidding hard, and it sold for £525,000 including costs against a pre-sale estimate of £700,000 to £800,000.
At the other end of the age scale, a 1998 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo coupé – the final one off the production line – was offered with the same pre-sale expectation as the MG, but again only managed a sale of £540,000. Judging the additional premium of any ‘book-end’ car (the first or last) is always difficult, and as the price was over £300,000 more than the current condition 1 ‘concours’ UK Hagerty Price Guide value for the model, it was probably a fair outcome.
Historics held its September sale at Ascot Racecourse on September 14. Its sell-through rate was higher, at around 62 percent of the 146 cars that were offered, but again more valuable cars suffered. There was almost a total cut-off between those estimated at under £50,000 (which tended to sell) and those over (which didn’t).
There were a few notable exceptions – one being another ‘book-end’ car, this time the final Vauxhall Lotus Carlton built in 1992, which sold for £107,536. That’s 23 percent over Hagerty’s top value for the model.
Another was a very special 1990 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X Pack, one of fewer than 100 built, and this with the added benefit of ownership by Jay Kay. It sold for £366,080, pretty much exactly what the auctioneer expected.
Finally, on the same day, Bonhams completed its second sale of the month, this time at the Beaulieu Autojumble. Always focused on the more affordable end of the spectrum anyway, it achieved a fair 60 percent sell-through rate. There were no-reserve bargains to be had, too: a 1981 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur saloon with 21,000 miles on the clock sold for a paltry £4830 including costs against an estimate of £12,000 to £16,000, and a 1926 Armstrong Siddeley 14hp Tourer sold for £5520 compared with the expected £10,000 to £15,000.
The auction focus now moves overseas for a while to Zoute in Belgium and to America for the fall sales. That will give the British market a time to pause for a few months; not a bad thing in the current environment.
