An immaculate, £100k-over-lower-estimate 1964 Aston Martin DB5 boosted Historics' takings for its tenth sale on 1 September to an impressive £1.34m, proving that the most recent addition to the UK provincial auction scene is here to stay.
The sale house got 47 of the 99 lots away at its Brooklands circuit home with the Aston (estimate £230-260,000) out-and-out the top lot at £336,000.
Also smashing its pre-sale prediction was a 1990 AC MkIV that changed hands for £81,200 after being entered with a £48-54,000 guide while a low mileage 1973 BMW 2002 Tii (above) – which had been expected to make an already impressive £9500-12,500 – changed hands for £17,360. Historics wasn't as lucky with its other BMW offering, a smart 1959 BMW Isetta (below) which realised £8064 – some way off its £9000-13,000 guide price.
There was better luck with a 1965 Bentley S3 (£14-19,000) which went under the hammer for £15,960 after a provisional bid was accepted while an utterly immaculate 1968 MGC Roadster (main pic) – which had been entered with a reasonable £16-22,000 guide – looked great value at £15,250 after its owner accepted a provisional bid.
Other 1960s icons to sell on the day included (above) a 1965 Ford Lotus Cortina MK1 (£40-50,000) that just pipped its lower estimate when it crossed the block at £42,000 and a heavily patinated (and in need of cosmetic attention) 1960 Porsche 356B Cabriolet shown below (£32-38,000) that sold for £39,200 to a commission bidder.
One rarity failing to shift was a 1984 AC 3000ME. One of just 103 made, bidding on the mid-'80s coupé (estimate £12-15,000) stalled at £10.5k while an 1996 Aston Martin Virage boasting a mere 31,400-miles-from-new sold for a mid estimate £35,840. Historics wasn't as lucky with the lot to follow, a V8 Vantage-engined 1998 DB7, which we covered here. The 425bhp special order one-off failed to shift despite a £70-80,000 estimate.
There was strong interest in project fare with a partially-completed (but dismantled) 1956 Austin-Healey 100, above, changing hands for a mighty £23,800 after a bidding war between the buyer in the room and an underbidder on the phone smashed Historics' £10-14,000 prediction. The car's desirable BN2 (four-speed) specification helped but the result made the £35,280 the sale house took for a restored (complete with 100M modifications) 1956 example just seven lots before look like great value, particularly as the earlier lot was also a BN2.
There was also strong interest in a 1976 TVR 2500M (above) that once flew the flag for the Blackpool carmaker at the 1976 London Motor Show. Off the road for the past 20 years, and in need of total restoration, it was entered without reserve and sold for a strong £3360.
