14 amazing classics for sale now

You’ll have to be quick!

Gooding & Company’s latest – and this time UK-based – online-only auction is under way, Geared Online open for bidding from 11-18 June 2021, and there are some mouth-watering classics.

So join us as we count down all 14 lots in this exclusive sale, from the one with the lowest pre-sale estimate, right up to the classic car expected to achieve the most when the virtual hammer falls.

There’s certainly a lot of variety!

14. 1910 Briton Two-cylinder 10/12hp (est: £14-18,000)

With a starting bid of £7000, this is by far the most affordable of the lots in Gooding’s June 2021 Geared Online sale.

Don’t recognise the brand Briton? The, unsurprisingly British, marque operated for two decades between 1909 and 1929 in Wolverhampton, and campaigned its 10hp model on reliability trials in 1912 and 1913.

1910 Briton Two-cylinder 10/12hp (cont.)

History lesson done, the car in question looks fantastic for its 111 years, the open, two-seat design giving occupants a sofa-esque, leather-upholstered padded bench seat.

It was previously on display at the Midland Motor Museum and comes to auction from a collection of veteran-era cars, accompanied by a file charting the marque’s history and surviving examples.

13. 1974 Fiat 500 (est: £20-30,000)

From a classic that needs plenty of introduction to one we’re sure needs none – and it appears to be a particularly well cared for example, too.

Given that it has had more than £50,000 spent on its restoration, some work carried out by marque specialists but most undertaken by Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist Frank Dale & Stepsons in Surrey, you’d definitely expect it to be in fabulous condition.

1974 Fiat 500 (cont.)

This work was because the 500 was a present for the owner’s wife and he wanted the car to be perfect, no matter what the cost.

And the distinctive pink paintjob? It matches his wife’s Aga. Indeed, once the work was completed, it took four men to carry the car into the kitchen for the grand unveiling.

12. 1912 Paterson 30hp Touring Car (est: £25-35,000)

It’s time for another history lesson with this lot, manufactured by the WA Paterson Company of Flint, Michigan, a firm established in 1869 and which turned its hand to car production in 1909.

This example is powered by a 4.0-litre, four-cylinder engine giving 30hp and has spent most of the past three decades in a private collection of veteran cars, prior to which it was restored extensively.

1912 Paterson 30hp Touring Car (cont.)

After all those years in a collection, perhaps it will need some recommissioning, but history tells us this car has previously given good service: in 1994 it completed the John O’Groats to Land’s End Veteran Car Club run in trouble-free style.

And with room for five in the leather-upholstered interior, there’s space for friends and family, too.

11. 1906 CGV 20hp TC1 Landaulet (est: £55-65,000)

This impressive-looking machine is the oldest in Gooding & Company’s 11-18 June Geared Online sale and was made by CGV Company, a Paris-based firm established in 1901 by a trio of then-prominent Panhard et Levassor racing drivers: Fernand Charron, Léonce Girardot and Émile Voigt.

And the company earned a reputation for quality, Portugal’s king and members of the British aristocracy among CGV’s impressive customer base.

Only seven CGVs are thought to survive and this is the only one with this landaulet body.

1906 CGV 20hp TC1 Landaulet (cont.)

This example was found in the US, then brought to the UK where it became the subject of a comprehensive restoration, before joining the collection from which it is now being sold in around 2010.

The rear compartment has since been retrimmed and it has benefited from some mechanical fettling, too.

10. 1949 Bentley Mk VI Special Saloon (est: £80-100,000)

Now this is a seriously elegant way to travel. One of 301 Bentley MkVIs wearing HJ Mulliner coachwork, chassis number B363EW received body number B363EW before being sold via Jack Barclay in London.

The car had several owners in the UK, then eventually, in the 1990s, it became part of a collection in Switzerland.

1949 Bentley Mk VI Special Saloon (cont.)

It was at this point that Walter Köng of Basel, Switzerland, was commissioned to restore the car. More recently, the aforementioned marque specialist Frank Dale & Stepsons has overhauled the engine, transmission and brake system, as detailed in the accompanying paperwork.

With its green and black paintwork and red-trimmed cabin, this is a striking classic. Bidding starts at £40,000.

9. 1960 Maserati 3500GT (est: £120-160,000)

Be still our beating hearts. This Touring-bodied classic is a stunner.

Maserati Classiche-certified, this example’s first owner was in Italy, but it has since been kept in the US before making a return journey across the Atlantic in 2008 to Germany.

1960 Maserati 3500GT (cont.)

It was then restored professionally, this work including a respray and a trim in the correct Connolly leather, before its current owner acquired it in 2011.

Then under the care of well-known marque specialist Bill McGrath, it was a concours award-winner in 2012 – and could surely be again.

8. 1928 Lancia Lambda (est: £140-160,000)

This eighth-series, short-wheelbase, torpedo-styled Lambda comes to auction in unmodified, original condition, having been carefully preserved.

Indeed, it was delivered new to Portugal and remained with that family for an amazing 92 years, in which time it clocked up just 55,000km (a little more than 34,100 miles).

1928 Lancia Lambda (cont.)

It was originally finished in this brilliant blue, its coachwork refinished in the ’80s. All the chromework is thought to be original. The deep-red leather upholstery is original, too.

The car has recently been taken out of dry storage and been recommissioned so is in what the auction house describes as ‘running condition’, and it will be sold with its registration documents, handbook, jack, and original and period tools.

7. 1957 Lotus Eleven (est: £125-175,000)

There’s a chance this is the final Series 1 Eleven to be built. Either way, it is a former Geneva show car, appearing under the spotlights in 1958.

Around the same time it was road tested by Swiss magazine Auto Review, before heading to the US.

1957 Lotus Eleven (cont.)

Back in the UK it was raced until early 1973 when Lotus historian David Morgan bought it – and he held onto it until very recently.

Morgan restored it in the ’80s, exhibited it at the 1988 Brands Hatch Lotus Festival and enjoyed it on many European tours. Let’s hope its winning bidder with Gooding takes it on more epic adventures.

6. 1955 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupé (est: £300-400,000)

You might have noticed that the pre-sale estimate for this is rather higher than for the previous car – indeed, this Bentley’s starting bid of £150,000 exceeds the Lotus Eleven’s lower estimate.

We’re getting towards the serious end of this auction, then, and this is a very special car, being one of just two Bentley S1s to be bodied by Swiss coachbuilder Graber, and the only left-hand drive example.

1955 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupé (cont.)

The chassis was delivered in August 1955 and the car completed by Graber in May ’56, the car’s first owner also being in Switzerland.

Later, in 1985, Egon Schäfer bought it in Switzerland and imported it to Germany and in the following almost 30 years took good care of it, until it came to the UK in 2014 with its current owner. A two-year restoration followed, completed in 2019, which surely accounts for its seemingly flawless appearance today.

5. 1938 Lancia Astura Cabriolet (est: £375-450,000)

As if being a Pinin Farina-bodied four-door cabriolet wasn’t enough, if famous former owners add appeal you will want to know that this car used to be part of the collection belonging to Bernie Ecclestone. But let’s go back a bit further…

It is believed that this long-wheelbase example spent the Second World War in Milan where it was used by officials for important occasions before being advertised for sale. No buyer was found, so the family kept it for decades until it was discovered by marque specialist Giancarlo Cappa in the 1970s.

1938 Lancia Astura Cabriolet (cont.)

Preserved but in need of restorative work, Cappa readied the Lancia for display at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, before enjoying it on tours and trips. It was even used during the drivers’ parade for the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at Monza one year – which is where it caught Ecclestone’s eye.

He sold it in 2007 and in 2019 a 17-month restoration totalling more than £75,000 was undertaken. The auction house describes it now as ‘tremendous’, and we understand it drives as well as it looks.

4. 1968 Dino 206GT (est: £450-550,000)

Still finished in the Verde Scuro with Nero cloth trim with which it left the factory more than half a century ago, this Dino’s first four owners were in Italy but its fifth, who’s consigned it to this Geared Online sale, is in The Netherlands.

During this keeper’s custodianship, around €40,000 was spent on what is described as a comprehensive service and selective restoration, the focus being on maintaining its originality.

1968 Dino 206GT (cont.)

Following this it was shown at Techno-Classica in Essen, Germany, in April 2018.

It has since been granted Ferrari Classiche certification and this paperwork along with restoration receipts, an original manual, Automobile Club d’Italia paperwork and more will be sold with the car.

3. 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (est: £800,000-1m)

You’ll recognise this from the opening slide, the eye-catching Verde Miura paint surely unforgettable.

This Miura P400 S was supplied new in Turin and stayed in its homeland with seven owners, before it was bought by a Swiss collector in the early 21st century who then sold it into a British collection in 2004, where it remained for 14 years until acquired by its consignor.

1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (cont.)

But this is no static display car. It is described as ‘well sorted’ and its current keeper has enjoyed long stints behind the wheel.

Last restored in the early 2000s and more recently kept in fine fettle by GTC Engineering in Stowe, bidding for this Gandini-at-Bertone-penned classic starts at £400,000…

2. 1990 Porsche 926C (est: £800,000-1.2m)

Raced just twice, this Porsche 926C is described by Gooding & Company as a ‘benchmark-quality survivor’.

Those competitive outings were both during the 1990 World Sports Prototype Championship with Spaniard Jesús Pareja and Swiss national Walter Brun sharing driving duties, first on 23 September at Montreal and then 10 October in Mexico. Unfortunately, this car retired on both occasions.

1990 Porsche 926C (cont.)

It still has its Repsol livery, as run by Brun’s team, and a correct twin-turbo engine from the pool of racing engines built and supplied by Porsche for the model.

This was one of three 962s built for the squad by Porsche and one of the final examples to leave the factory.

Could a return to the track be on the cards with this car’s winning bidder?

1. 1969 Ford GT40 (est: £1.8-2.2m)

Ford produced only seven roadgoing versions of its Mk3 GT40, leaving 13 unused chassis, one of which, P/1085, was the last numbered in Ford Advance Vehicles’ production sequence, and this is the basis of this car.

Brit Malcolm Guthrie bought it for an American client Gil Jackson, equipped it as a rolling chassis and shipped it to the US, where Jackson had it for 37 years and accumulated an array of parts, but never completed the car.

A friend bought it from him in 2006 and work began before it was sold again and returned to the UK, along with many parts. The work was finally finished on 21 March 2009, 40 years and a day after Guthrie bought the chassis.

1969 Ford GT40 (cont.)

It is powered by an original 1968 5.0-litre, competition-spec Ford V8 and its track debut was in April 2009 at Donington Park, during a Masters Historic test day, after which it completed the Tour Auto.

This car has been with its current custodian since March 2011 and it heads to auction with spares including a set of original GT40 magnesium wheels. This is a special opportunity.

Gooding & Company’s Geared Online sale runs from 11-18 June, lots closing at 5pm BST. Find out more here.