A stunning 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Turismo with coachwork by James Young proved to be the star attraction at Historics of Brooklands' 28 November auction after selling for £168,000 – though only by virtue of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' failing to find a buyer.
The 6C was delivered new to a trawler owner in Inverness and remained with the family for a number of years, spending a considerable time off the road. By 1984 it had been discovered by its current owner, Rob Walker's mechanic and an expert in Alfa Romeo's and its Zagato variants. By 1992 a full restoration was underway.
During the rebuilt, the 59,750-mile engine was subject to a number of improvements, including raising its compression ratio from 5.2 to 7.2-1, regrinding of the crank, new shell bearings and full-flow filtered oil system. The resulting work not only improved reliability but also performance, making it more than a match for its twincam cousin.
A brace of Ferrari Testarossas proved that interest in modern classic supercars is showing no sign of waning.
A black 1987 model sold for £84,000, while a later 1990 example with twice the earlier car's mileage fetched £65,500.
Hammering the point home was a 1986 328GTS, which had recently been imported to the UK from the States and sold for £54,320.
It was followed by a 308GTS Quattrovalvole from a year earlier, which made £71,680.
It wasn't just Italian classics that performed well: a pristine and fully restored 1968 Triumph TR5 flew past its £28,000 pre-sale upper estimate to make an impressive £35,840.
A 1975 Triumph TR6 challenged its older sibling with a final sale price of £29,680 – a deserving price for a car with just under 20,000 miles on the clock and surely one of the best unrestored examples.
Also drawing a great deal of interest was the Wood & Pickett Mini Collection, which was offered by the company's current owner. Top of the pile was a 1986 Cooper 'S' – the prototype for the Japanese market – which fetched £19,040.
It was followed by a 1990 Cooper 'S' at £11,200. The car was bought new by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, and included a raft of documentation.
