Sale review 2014 september 24

Over 80% of vehicles sell at yet another record-breaking Brightwells sale By any standards 2014 has been an exceptionally good year for Brightwells, a fact confirmed by the outstanding results of the 24th September sale which continued the 80% clearance rate that the Leominster-based firm has maintained in all four sales so far this year. With over 160 cars and 30 motorcycles on offer, the sale was so well attended that the catalogue actually sold out, the first time that this has happened since Brightwells began hosting these classic vehicle sales over nine years ago. By the end of a long and sometimes dramatic afternoon, over £1.8m had changed hands and some exceptional prices had been achieved.

There was never any real doubt that the two jewels of the catalogue were going to sell well, but the extent to which they bust their pre-sale estimates still came as something of a surprise to many observers, drawing a spontaneous round of applause from the room both times that the hammer came down.

First up was the 1938 Riley Sprite, one of only about 55 made and with a fine pedigree that included an extensive pre- and post-war competition history. First owned by Lady Mary Grosvenor, a talented amateur racing driver from one of the wealthiest families in Britain, it had come to the sale from long-term private ownership and ticked all the right boxes in terms of condition and provenance.

Hotly contested by bidders of various nationalities either in the room, on the phone or on the internet, it was finally hammered away to a passionate English collector for £170,500, about a third more than predicted.

Twenty lots later came the 1937 Frazer Nash TT Replica, an iconic chain-drive machine that rarely comes on the open market, ‘Chain Gang’ devotees usually preferring to trade the 80-odd made discreetly amongst themselves. Sensibly estimated at around the £160,000 mark and with the desirable Meadows engine, it had attracted international pre-sale interest thanks to its cast-iron provenance and was again fiercely contested before falling to another English collector for a record £253,000, setting a new public benchmark for this quirky and coveted machine.

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Just as intriguing were the prices achieved by a quintet of Jaguar E-Types in the sale. First up came a 1963 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Coupe which had been totally rebuilt 10 years ago and heavily but tastefully modified with lightweight aluminium bodywork and a tuned fuel-injected engine. In superb condition throughout and just oozing road presence, it made a mighty £121,000 yet still looked a bargain compared to another E-Type which came just six lots later.

This was a very early 1961 ‘Flat-floor’ Roadster, chassis number 107, which was completely derelict after some 40 years in storage and had long since lost its original engine. Despite these handicaps and the great expense that would be required to restore it, the car still made £60,500 – further proof of just how deeply desirable these early E-Types have become of late. To put this in perspective, a 1967 Series One 4.2 Roadster in original right-hand drive with dark blue paint and in perfectly useable condition following an Eighties restoration made ‘only’ £59,400 just 17 lots later. ‘Go figure’ as they say in America…

A beautifully restored 1970 Series Two 4.2 Coupe in popular Opalescent Light Blue also did well, comfortably exceeding its estimate to finish on £50,600 and demonstrating that the best S2 models are now closing the gap on the traditionally more coveted S1 examples. A low mileage 1972 S3 V12 Coupe from long-term ownership made a reasonable £26,400, again illustrating the clear pecking order which still separates the early six-cylinder E-Types from their later V12 brethren, the not-to-all-tastes Primrose Yellow paintwork perhaps hampering the result somewhat. The £50,600 raised by a superb 1956 XK140 SE with a 5-speed Getrag conversion was also a good result for the model as the more antiquated XK is often a more difficult seller than the universally adored E-Type.

Also revealing of market preferences were the results of the three Mercedes SL Pagodas, a 1968 280SL Automatic restored to a reasonable standard in Hong Kong making £41,800 while a slightly tired 1967 280SL Manual fetched £33,550 (despite having no documents and being an uncatalogued late entry) while a really straight and original LHD 1966 230SL failed to reach the £26,500 bottom estimate despite being arguably a better car than the two RHD models.

It seems that the market is awash with left hookers at the moment and they just don’t have the appeal of the much rarer RHD cars even if they are in noticeably better condition (although it has to be said that the 280 usually attracts a 25% premium over the 230 even though many drivers would struggle to detect much difference once behind the wheel).

Another Mercedes to pull good money was a rare RHD 1971 280SE 3.5 V8 Coupe, first owned by Michael Winters (of Mike and Bernie Winters fame) and in well-patinated original condition which fetched a mid-estimate £36,300 and will doubtless prove a shrewd buy with some cosmetic titivation here and there. Falling into the same category was the 1960 190B Ponton Saloon which had been in one family ownership from new and only required a good repaint to turn it into a very fine example indeed. At just £6,820 it also had plenty of upside potential.

The quirky Daimler SP250 Dart is another model that has surged in popularity of late, low production numbers and love-it-or-hate-it styling ensuring that good examples are increasingly sought after by fans of the oddball styling. A low mileage three-owner 1964 example in attractive silver with wire wheels made a creditable £35,750 although it was perhaps a little surprising that a rather less

shiny 1961 example on steel wheels and in Old English White failed to find a buyer at a not unreasonable £25,000 bottom estimate. Sticking with the Daimler theme, a 1931 20-30 with imposing Maythorn Landaulet coachwork fetched £19,800 while a highly original 1966 2.5-Litre V8 Saloon in striking gold with a red leather interior looked a lot of car for just £9,900.

When it comes to Aston Martins, is there no end to their relentless march in value? Clearly not if the sixcylinder 1973 DBS Vantage Automatic was anything to go by. Bought at auction by the vendor in 2002 for just £8,500 (at which point it was described as being a three owner car in good condition throughout), it was put into storage very shortly afterwards due to illness. Over the next 12 years it had clearly deteriorated somewhat and was offered as a non-running restoration project with a sensible £20,000 - £25,000 estimate. The crowd clearly had other ideas and with multiple phone and internet bidders from as far afield as Australia, America and the Middle East, it soon shot past the estimate before finally falling to a determined English bidder right at the back of the room for an impressive £49,500. Now on its way to the Aston Martin Works for a full restoration, no doubt its value will duly rocket once more.

Looking like a bargain by comparison was a 1973 Jensen Interceptor MkIII J Series in really lovely condition throughout following a sympathetic refurbishment shortly before the sale. At least the equal of the Aston in all important respects (performance, build quality and looks) it looked a great buy even at a top estimate £29,700 and poses the question of just how long it will be before these charismatic GTs finally start to command the price that many feel they deserve. By the same token a 1971 Interceptor MkIII restoration project at only £6,160 may yet prove a canny purchase.

The Big Healey, in contrast, has already firmly cemented its reputation among hairy-chested enthusiasts as one of the finest British sportscars of its era and good examples are always highly prized. The 1965 AustinHealey 3000 MkIII BJ8 on offer ticked all the right boxes (being a highly original three-owner example with just 11,000 miles on a rebuilt engine) and richly deserved the £47,300 that it cost the new owner to secure. A worthy rival in period, a 1962 Triumph TR4 with desirable Surrey top and overdrive also did well at £28,000 as did a 1958 MGA Twin Cam Roadster with serious paint issues and a gearbox fault at £24,200 and a smart 1952 MG TD at £18,975. The £7,150 raised by a beautifully restored 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 was also an exceptionally good price for the model.

In the ‘gentleman’s club on wheels’ category, noteworthy results included a thoroughly restored 1965 Alvis TE21 Saloon in striking gold paint at £26,950, a 1978 Roll-Royce Corniche Coupe with unusual cloth interior at £21,450, an extremely rare 1978 Bristol 603E from long-term museum storage at £19,250 and a 1936 RollsRoyce 25/30 James Young Sports Saloon with a large history file from new and still looking good after a 1980s restoration at £33,000.

And talking of gentlemen it is only right to mention the 2005 Rover 75 2.5 Connoisseur SE LWB Saloon which was only granted access to the sale thanks to its illustrious first owner, Prince Edward, Earl of Essex. Given to the Royal Household as a gift by MG Rover and kept by the Prince for almost four years, the Rover was offered at no reserve and raised £3,960 which was more than treble the usual value of the model but was hardly a ringing endorsement for Royal provenance. One wonders what a similar car owned by Charles, Andrew, Harry or William might fetch and what the price might say about the affection with which each Prince is held in the eyes of the public? No match for an ex-Lady Di car, one suspects…

All but two of the 31 bike lots on offer were hammered away successfully, top price going to a 1923 Norton 16H from a deceased estate and with little history although clearly restored at some point in the not-toodistant past which raised £14,850 and is now on its way to a new home in Belgium. A 1914 Triumph Type A 4hp in good running order made £8,800, a wonderfully ratty 1927 AJS 350 H6 Big Port that had cost the vendor £5 in 1965 fetched £7,040 while a 1937 Ariel VH500 Red Hunter with various non-standard parts and an impressively original 1932 Sunbeam Lion made £5,500 apiece.

To view the results of the July sale in full, please visit www.brightwells.com and click on ‘Classic Vehicles’ or phone 01568 611122. Brightwells’ next sale is on 26th November 2014 and entries are now being accepted.