There was a good turnout for the 11th September Classic Car Auction at Brightwells with several hundred people coming to inspect the interesting assortment of cars and motorcycles over the two-day viewing period. This translated into some lively bidding and by the time the dust had settled, 70 of the 90 lots on offer had successfully changed hands for a total of just over £605,300 giving a healthy clearance rate of 77%.
Top seller of the day was a gorgeous 1937 Alvis Speed 25 SB which had been rebodied from a Charlesworth saloon to a Vanden Plas-style Tourer in the 1990s. The subject of a recent major mechanical overhaul which cost over £100k, it looked excellent value at £58,740 and would no doubt have made substantially more at the height of the market five or so years ago.
In fact all 12 of the pre-war cars on offer were successfully sold, next best being another Alvis, a beautifully restored 1936 Crested Eagle TF Charlesworth Saloon which fetched £23,520. A part-restored 1930 Sunbeam 16.9 Special with an open two-seater body and in need of minor finishing looked an interesting buy at £20,160 while a 1931 Standard Big Nine, 1928 Humber 14/40, 1934 Sunbeam 20hp, 1928 Morris Oxford Bullnose and exceedingly rare 1935 Panhard et Levassor X39 were all in the £7k - £9k range.
A couple of post-war Alvises also fared well, a 1963 TD21 Automatic which had been nicely converted from a saloon to a drop-top looked good value at £24,500, this being about half the cost of a genuine factory DHC. Much admired during the viewing was a beautifully presented 1965 TE21 Saloon with desirable 5-speed manual gearbox, power steering and wonderfully original red leather interior which deserved every penny of the £20,160 required to secure it.
Almost as impressive was a super 1973 Jensen Interceptor MkIII which had been restored by Cropredy Bridge in 2006 and shot £10k beyond reserve to finish on a thoroughly justified £35,950, no doubt helped along by its striking Reef Blue paintwork.
Both the Jaguar E-Types on offer were also snapped up, a smart 1964 Series One 3.8 Coupe fetching £58,520 while a pleasingly original 1970 Series Two 2+2 made £34,160. Again, both would have made perhaps 25% more a few years back but they were good barometers of the current market which favours ‘get out there and drive it’ enthusiasts over ‘stick it in storage’ investors. No bad thing…
Any Gilbern is normally doing well to fetch much over £10k but the 1972 Invader MkII on offer still looked a good buy at £14,225 due to the impressive condition and uprated Essex 3.0 V6 Stage 3 fast road engine. A rare and quirky 1972 Cannon Trials Car with Sterling Moss competition history was also an interesting buy at a whisker over £11,000.
A beautifully restored 1953 Citroen Traction Avant 11BL is on its way back to its homeland after being snapped up by a French bidder for £9,100 and a very original 1965 Austin Mini Moke attracted a German buyer at £13,450. Also heading back to Germany was a rare 1965 Mercedes-Benz L319 Tipper Truck recommissioning project which fetched £5,050 while a scruffy but intriguing 1939 Daimler DE27 Limousine with rather tenuous links to Winston Churchill is off to a new home in India following a successful bid of £4,150.
Altogether an encouraging sale with plenty of cars sold for good prices and some real bargains too – all adding up to a lively market full of opportunities for buyers and sellers alike.
The next Brightwells Classic Car Auction will be on 23rd October with a closing date for entries of 11th October. It will have a special section devoted to rare and unusual Land Rovers so, if you are thinking of selling, please don’t hesitate get in touch by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing classiccars@brightwells.com for a free, no obligation valuation.