The Silverstone Classic auction: the highlights

Road-car sale makes £5.7m in total

It may have been the on-track action that got most attention at the Silverstone Classic last weekend, but there was also a pretty special sale going on.

Silverstone Auctions put hundreds of lots under the hammer across three separate sales – one for charity memorabilia, one for race cars and a third for classic cars in general.

It's the latter that we're concerned with here, because it featured a host of desirable motors – all of them interesting and some of them very exotic indeed.     

Here's our pick of the highlights.

1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS

Sold for £343,125

Up there with the most beautiful and significant Ferrari models of all time, the Dino’s curves made it a poster boy for the Prancing Horse – and its ultimate evolution came with the addition of a larger 2.4-litre engine in 1969.

This matching-numbers example is one of those later models, one of just 235 built in right-hand drive guise and sold in restored condition.

1972 De Tomaso Pantera Pre-L

Sold for: £82,125

Blending Italian style with 5.7-litre US grunt, the wedge-like Pantera was a proper poster boy for spunky sports cars – and this 1972 example (without the Federal bumpers that wrapped later models) spent most of its life in New Zealand being well looked after.

1968 Jaguar E-type Series 1.5

Sold for: £20,250

Built in 1968, this barn-find E-type is thought to be one of the few Series 1.5 models produced in right-hand-drive, FHC guise. Consigned to a garage in the late-’70s, it only emerged from storage – untouched – in March of this year.

1972 Lancia Fulvia Sport 1600 Zagato

Sold for: £30,150

This handsome slice of Zagato-designed Italian style offered bidders one of the most desirable variants of the famed Fulvia. Fully restored with rebuilt mechanicals, they don’t come much better today.

1975 Range Rover

Sold for: £101,250

Not your average Range Rover, this Lincoln Green number was delivered to the household of the British royal family in 1975 – complete with the preferred factory folding roof.

Fast-forward to 2013 and it was found on a farm in a dilapidated state, before receiving a money-no-object restoration from Twenty-Ten Engineering.

1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

Sold for: £860,625

Gullwing doors or not, the 300SL remains one of the most luxurious, balanced and desirable performance cruisers of all time – which probably explains why this immaculate, matching-numbers example of the German Roadster fetched more than £800k at the Silverstone sale.

1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

Sold for: £85,6500

Ford built just 500 examples of the Sierra RS500 Cosworth, upgraded by Aston Martin at Tickford to deliver 224bhp and become one of the greatest saloons of the ’80s.

This 1987 example – number 38 – is one of the most original to have been sold in recent years.

1954 Aston Martin DB2/4

Sold for: £106,875

A classic blend of style, performance and practicality, this DB2/4 was restored over the course of two decades, leaving it as a glorious example of early post-war Aston Martin design – even if it needs a few finishing touches.

1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL

Sold for: £114,750

Subtler than the 300SL, the smaller 190SL was nonetheless a capable German cruiser, equipped with a 1.9-litre motor good for 104bhp and that all-important Mercedes build quality and comfort.

The example sold at Silverstone was one of only 562 right-hand drive models delivered new to the UK and was restored at the turn of the millennium.

1989 Porsche 911 Turbo G50

Sold for: £155,250

Another 911, this 1989 example is one of 130 UK 930 Turbo coupés built in the 1989 model year and it spent the last 23 years stabled with the same owner.

More importantly, it shipped with the desirable, one-year-only G50 5-speed gearbox.

1977 Ford Escort RS2000

Sold for: £29,500

A favourite of ’70s boy racers everywhere, finding an RS2000 that hasn’t been ragged to within an inch of its life is no mean feat – which only made this one-owner, matching-numbers example all the more desirable at the weekend.

1982 Ferrari 208 GTSi

Sold for: £69,750

This unrestored symbol of ’80s fuel-injected Ferrari style spent some 20 years stabled with a British Airways Concorde pilot and engineer, and went to auction with less than 12,000 miles on the clock.

1986 Ferrari 328 GTB

Sold for: £57,000

Another Ferrari, this low-mileage, left-hand drive 328 GTB sold with a mere 12,400 miles on the clock and its capable 275bhp 3.2-litre V8 still very much on the button.

1992 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II

Sold for: £159,750

Unveiled at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the 232bhp Evo II was built to the tune of just 502 examples – including the one sold at Silverstone, complete with outrageous factory body kit and a mileage of just 34,000.

1947 Lancia Aprilia Pininfarina Convertible

Sold for: £151,875

Battista Farina wrapped just 10 of Lancia’s Type 439 chassis with his stunning Cabriolet coachwork – including this 71-year-old example. Silverstone’s sale was the first time it had ever been offered on the market.

1966 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

Sold for: £41,063

Mid-century American automobiles don’t get much more iconic than the Stingray – and this drop-top variant, finished in Silver Pearl, went to auction in outstanding condition, complete with rebuilt motor and fresh chrome.

1991 Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione

Sold for: £41,063

Built so that Lancia could go rallying, the Delta Integrale was one of the hottest hatches of the ’90s – and this 1991 example of the Evoluzione should make its new owner very happy, what with its award-winning condition, 210bhp power and those quintessential boxy lines.

2005 Ford GT

Sold for: £196,875

Just 13 years old and already a classic, the Ford GT aped the iconic GT40 as it delivered 550bhp of V8 power and a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds.

This 2005 example sold for just shy of £200k and had been stabled with a single private owner from new.

2003 Aston Martin DB7 GTA

Sold for: £42,750

Perhaps a little young to be a true ‘classic’, this DB7 GTA – one of just 112 built by Aston Martin – is surely a classic of the future, what with its subtle styling and a 435bhp V12 under the hood. Finished in Mendip Blue, it’s a stunner.

1990 BMW E30 M3 Sport Evolution

Sold for: £135,000

Wide wheel arches? Check. 2.5-litre engine good for 235bhp? Check. Jet black finish? Check. This immaculate later example of BMW’s touring car legend – one of just 600 ever built – rightly fetched a hefty price tag at Silverstone, looking every bit the high-performance saloon.

1957 Chevrolet Corvette C1

Sold for: £50,625

Only 1040 Corvette C1s were shipped with fuel-injection in 1957, making this stunning slice of true ’50s Americana all the more desirable – and the 238bhp V8 engine doesn't hurt, either.

1964 VW Type 2 (T1)

Sold for: £67,500

An instant design classic, the VW Type 2 became a true symbol of the ’60s – and it’s rarely more appealing than in split-screen, first-generation guise, as with this 1964 example sold at Silverstone.

1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda

Sold for: £52,313

The successor to the 190SL, the 230SL – or ‘Pagoda’ – was a stunning and capable two-sweater for the ’60s.

This ’66 example lacks a documented history, but that didn’t stop it selling for more than £50k at the weekend – perhaps thanks to its lovely, original mohair soft-top.

1996 Caterham Super 7 Sprint

Sold for: £11,813

Less than £12K for some tail-happy Seven fun? This low-mileage weekender should make its new owner very happy with its rebuilt 1.7-litre Ford Kent engine and upgraded rear axle.

1965 Porsche 912

Sold for: £41,625

Built to make the 911 more accessible, the nimble 912 put a four-pot motor to good use on its way to outselling the 911.

This mid-’60s example was delivered new to the USA and only imported to the UK in 2009, at which point it was substantially refurbished.

1986 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup

Sold for £33,750

Porsche launched its own racing series in 1986, the Turbo Cup. Entrants just had to buy a competition-spec 944 and hit the track.

Only 150 of these 944s were built, including the one sold at Silverstone. It entered the first round of the series at the Nürburgring in ’86 and was restored thoroughly in 2015.

1974 Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera Targa MFi

Sold for: £104,063

Adding mechanical fuel injection to the motor from the iconic RS – and offering near-identical performance – the 2.7 MFi carried a not-so-subtle aluminium Ducktail spoiler in 1974 as a nod to its predecessor, just as this unrestored, well-maintained example does.

1991 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

Sold for: £78,750

With a reported top speed of 176mph – courtesy of a 377bhp 3.6-litre motor – the Lotus Carlton was a true super saloon.

This one belongs to a crop of just 284 right-hand drive examples of the legendary performance machine, and it sold from the private collection of a Vauxhall dealership group chairman who, mercifully, appears not to have hooned it.

1973 Porsche 911 2.4S Targa

Sold for: £129,375

The rare 2.4S Targa is arguably the ultimate combination of early Porsche styling with later Porsche performance, pairing those unspoilt good looks with a 2.4-litre motor and many of the improvements found on the subsequent 2.7.

The 1973 example sold at Silverstone was one of just 50 delivered to the UK.

1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider

Sold for: £38,813

A stunning Pininfarina-designed convertible, this Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider came to England from California in 1989.

Used sparingly in the last 20 years, it sold as a prime candidate for refurbishment – with pristine examples worth upwards of £50k.

1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV

Sold for: £46,125

Another Alfa, this 2000 GTV was restored in 2011 to create the perfect blend of period Alfa styling and performance, together with modern enhancements where appropriate – making it a thoroughly drivable, enduringly iconic example of the Italian coupé.

1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello

Sold for: £64,125

Stabled with the same owner for the last 17 years and with just 23,000 miles on the clock, this 1997 example of Ferrari’s glorious late-’90s GT should offer its new owner plenty of thrills from its 5.5-litre V12 motor.

2001 Renault Clio Sport V6 Sport

Sold for: £31,500

Thirty grand isn’t bad for a 17-year-old Clio – but then again, this isn’t your average Clio: hand-built by TWR in Sweden for race driver and team owner Tom Walkinshaw (to celebrate his 25 years in motorsport), it offered the same 227bhp performance as the V6 Phase 1 Clio, together with a prototype interior and one-of-eight Bleu Iliade exterior finish.

1962 Jaguar E-type Series l 3.8 FHC

Sold for: £112,500

Little needs to be said about this stunning sports car – arguably the quintessential British tourer – other than that it’s a fully restored, highly original, matching-numbers example of the fabled E-type in its early 3.8-litre guise.