10 under £10k: affordable classics you can buy this week

Brightwells’ Leominster auction offers a selection of accessible motors

Placed a bet on England bringing it home? It can’t hurt to start planning how you’ll spend the winnings – and there are worse ways to kick off than with a tidy classic car.

Sure, certain models will see your budget disappear quicker than Panama in the group stages, but it’s absolutely possible to bag a bargain car that won’t let you down.

Take Brightwells’ Leominster auction tomorrow (11 July): besides a range of exotic, storied machines – with price tags to match – there’s a cluster of lovely runners that won’t break the bank.

We’ve sifted through the lots to bring you a selection of the best classics you can buy for less than £10k.

1. 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 1.3 Super

Estimate: £6k – 8k

First up is this lovely Alfasud. A sporty four-door of the ’70s, the plucky Alfa was a sparky, dynamic machine with cracking handling and a lovely engine note. Alas, rust has claimed many a ’Sud in the intervening years, making this example – in terrific condition – a real rarity.

1. 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 1.3 Super (cont.)

A 1.3-litre number, it’s had just two former owners and has lived in a private collection since 2002. Remarkably, it’s got just 15,000 miles on the clock (which probably explains why it’s in such good condition) and reportedly drives as well as the day it left the Alfa factory.

2. 1990 Alfa Romeo Spider S4

Estimate: £8k – 10k

Another Alfa, this one’s a fine example of the Italian marque’s soft-top Spider, in Series 4 guise. Remarkably unchanged since the first generation of the mid-’60s, by the ’90s the Spider enjoyed electronic fuel-injection that only made the twin-cam motor perkier. The MX-5 might have handled better but, in 2-litre guise, the Series 4 Alfa was no slouch – hitting 60mph in 9.4 secs.

2. 1990 Alfa Romeo Spider S4 (cont.)

Originally penned by Pininfarina, the Spider also looked amazing – much like this red, 2-litre example going to auction with Brightwells. Converted to right-hand drive by Sea King with Alfa approval (the marque only built left-hookers), it has a respectable 92,000 miles on the clock and benefited from extensive work by an Alfa specialist in 2015, after a decade off the road, which probably justifies the price tag.

3. 1980 Triumph Dolomite Sprint

Estimate: £6k – 8k

Unveiled in 1973, the Dolomite Sprint was an upgraded version of the already sporty Dolomite. Equipped with a 16-valve, 2-litre engine, it had a whopping 125bhp at its disposal – which meant the speedy Sprint could hit 60 in 8.4 secs and carry on all the way to 118mph.

Paired with a lovely interior, it was arguably the ultimate sports saloon of its time.

3. 1980 Triumph Dolomite Sprint (cont.)

Few remain on the road today, making this 1980 example – from the last year of Sprint production – quite a rare beast. Over the years it’s benefited from a range of sympathetic work, including new shocks in ’94, an engine rebuild in ’96, a brake overhaul in ’06 and a new clutch in 2010. Well-kept and in fabulous condition, Sprints don’t come much better.

4. 1969 Gilbern Genie V6

Estimate: £5.5k – 7.5k

Born and bred in Wales, Gilbern had its heyday in the ’60s – and the Genie was one of its highlights. Styled like a boxy but beautiful Italian wagon, the Genie could be bought with a 2.5- or 3-litre Ford V6 motor, with 199bhp on tap in its most powerful guise. Fewer than 200 were ever built, including this 1969 example.

4. 1969 Gilbern Genie V6 (cont.)

Comprehensively restored in the early-’90, this British number might not be the most recognisable of classics but it has all the right ingredients for appreciation: glassfibre bodywork, a capable V6 engine and simple, reliable engineering. Get it for £6000 and you’ll have bagged a bargain.

5. 1970 Ford Escort MkI

Estimate: £6k – 8k

Ford’s replacement for the Anglia arrived in 1968 as a true child of the ’60s. Its engineering might not have been game-changing, but clean lines and family-friendly usability saw it sweep to sales success across the Continent. Early models differed beneath the bodywork depending on country, with variations between the brakes, suspension and steering.

5. 1970 Ford Escort MkI (cont.)

This 1970 example is a left-hand drive MkI saloon, built in Germany and used in Italy before being imported into the UK in 2007. Used sparingly and carefully for most of its life, it’s entirely unrestored, benefitting from an outstanding, original interior. What’s more, it’s reportedly free of rust, putting it up there with some of the best examples around.

6. 1984 Ford Sierra XR4i

Estimate: £8k – 10k

From Escort to Sierra, Ford’s ’80s family saloon gained a sporty upgrade in 1983 in the form of the XR4i. Fitted with an unusually long three-door body and that ubiquitous double-spoiler boot, this fast Ford was powered by a 2.8-litre V6 good for 160bhp and a 0-60 time of 7.8 seconds – with a top speed of 130mph.

6. 1984 Ford Sierra XR4i (cont.)

Built for just two years and a popular choice for hooning around supermarket car parks, relatively few XR4is exist in good condition today – and this is one of them. With 59,600 miles on the clock, it was consigned to storage in the early-’90s and only emerged, some 28 years later, this year. It’s since been recommissioned to the tune of £1200.

7. 1989 Peugeot 205 GTi

Estimate: £4.5k – 5.5k

One of the hottest hatches of the ’80s, Peugeot’s plucky 205 GTi was a true pocket rocket. In 1.6-litre guise, it harboured a revvy engine good for 105bhp in a 750kg shell. The result? A 0-60 time of 8.7 secs, a top speed of 116mph and fizzy performance that made every corner exciting.

7. 1989 Peugeot 205 GTi (cont.)

This 1.6 has spent the last six years in storage, and goes to auction as an unmolested car with just one modification (the air filter). It might need a good service to have it running at its best, but it’s otherwise a pure example of one of the most iconic hot hatches.

8. 1974 MG Midget MkIII

Estimate: £8k – 10k

There’s an argument that, if you want the full MG Midget experience, you should buy one as a project and enjoy restoring the miniscule British two-seater – especially with the promise of lightweight, accessible performance once you’re finished. Alternatively, you could drop £8000 on a concours-quality example from 1974, skip the hard work and enjoy one of the best Midgets around.

8. 1974 MG Midget MkIII (cont.)

A MkIII example with 1.3-litre motor, it was restored to concours standard – including a respray to its correct Citron Yellow colour scheme – in the ’90s after an unchallenging early life. Selling with a thick file of documents, it has a mere 30,000 miles on the clock and remains in truly stunning, all-original condition.

9. 1981 MGB GT MkIII

Estimate: £7k – 9k

If you’d prefer an MG a little bigger than the Midget, the oft-spotted MGB is no bad bet. In GT guise, the sporty British tourer was a stylish, capable coupé. This particular example is one of the last 3600 built and was first registered as a MkIII in 1981. Stabled with five owners across its three decades, in 2006 it came into the ownership of a retired engineer.

9. 1981 MGB GT MkIII (cont.)

At this point the GT gained money-no-object upgrades across the board. Restored and repainted in dark green, its engine was rebuilt and converted for unleaded fuel, the suspension and brakes were overhauled and upgraded, and the interior was fully retrimmed. In essence, it’s an MGB GT for the modern age, and the £9k upper estimate surely doesn’t do justice to the amounts that have been spent on it.

10. 1981 Porsche 924 Turbo

Estimate: £7k – 9k

Porsche’s 924 hit the market in 1976 as a replacement for the 914 – and it defied marque tradition with its mid-engine set-up and distinct styling. Regardless, it sold to the tune of more than 150,000 units between 1977 and ’88, its handling making up for any performance that Porsche fans felt was lacking.

10. 1981 Porsche 924 Turbo (cont.)

This 1981 number is a relatively rare right-hand drive example of the later, second-series turbocharged variant, deriving an impressive 177bhp from its 2-litre engine. Extensively restored in 2015 to the tune of £4000, it’s largely original and packs all of the performance that made the 924 so popular in its heyday.