Brightwells had assembled a really interesting assortment of classics for the August sale which translated into the highest number of bidders for the year so far – even attracting interest from buyers in America which is pretty unusual at UK auctions these days. By the time the dust had settled, 116 of the 169 Lots on offer had been sold for a total of just over £1.03m giving a clearance rate of 69%, very respectable in the current climate.
The Jaguar E-Type is often seen as a good barometer of the state of the classic car market, and with good reason. Values more or less doubled between 2012 and 2016 and there has been a gradual correction going on since, with values currently around 35% below what they were at the height of the market.
Given the escalating cost of restoration in recent years, condition is now more important than ever and there is a widening gulf between merely average cars and excellent ones, the latter being keenly sought-after.
This was perfectly illustrated by the impressive result achieved by a 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5 Coupe. Despite being converted from LHD to RHD and colour-changed from Willow Green to Opalescent Gold, the fine condition of the car, allied to a few subtle and well-judged upgrades, resulted in a price of £62,160 which is £5k higher than the Hagerty Insurance valuation for a concours example.
The other two E-Types on offer were also sold, a freshly restored 1969 Series 2 Coupe in need of some minor fettling making £44,000, while a LHD 1973 Series 3 V12 Auto Roadster with a credible 49k miles on the clock fetched £33,600, both these results falling into the Hagerty good/excellent price bracket.
A really super 1968 Daimler 250 V8 also did well, doubling its estimate to finish on £18,870 which put it firmly into the Hagerty excellent/concours category. Previously sold by a dealer for £25k in 2018, it was another good illustration of current market trends.
To reinforce the importance of condition, a 1971 Aston Martin DBS Vantage in desirable manual spec is still potentially a £120k car these days by virtue of its rarity (only 70 were made in RHD). Although the one on offer benefitted from a recent £88k mechanical overhaul by RS Williams, it still needed attention to the paint and aluminium bodywork, an inevitably costly job which explains the entirely rational £53,760 sale price.
Setting a new house record for Brightwells was a lovely 1973 Rover P5B Coupe, recently treated to a £55k restoration, which made £24,080 again nudging the top concours value on Hagerty. Also performing strongly was another V8 from the same era, a 1978 Jeep CJ-7 in super-rare Golden Eagle 5-Litre spec which raised an impressive £22,400 and is now off to a new home in France.
Cars from the Fifties seldom fetch big ticket prices, falling into a bit of a ‘no man’s land’ between the pre- and post-war eras with pedestrian performance and old-fashioned looks compared to the sleeker offerings of the Sixties. Nevertheless, a really super 1956 Ford Zephyr Zodiac Mk1 had sufficient ‘rockabilly’ charm to push it to a whisker under £9,000 while an equally smart 1952 Wolseley 6/80 Saloon also did well at £6,500. Looking like a really canny buy by comparison was a genuine ex-Police 1953 Morris Six, still with its original police radio and Bakelite telephone, which was snapped up for a modest £4,000 and no doubt had significant earning potential as a period TV drama cop car.
Once highly-prized by the older generation, Alvis cars seem to have experienced a real dip lately, no doubt due to the high cost of ownership compared to lesser marques of the era. A wonderful 1952 Alvis TA21 Tickford DHC which had been restored and uprated to TC/100 spec at a cost of over £70k failed to find a buyer at £25k, as did a slightly scruffy 1966 TF21 at a not-unreasonable £20k.
Pre-war cars seem to have settled into a fairly predictable pattern with the majority of mainstream, smaller-engined models like the Austin 7 or 12 Saloon, the Morris 8 or Oxford Bullnose routinely falling into the £5k - £10k bracket these days. The more complex and larger-engined models have been hit rather harder for obvious reasons relating to the cost of maintenance.
All 14 of the pre-war cars on offer were sold, mainly for under £10k, top seller being an extremely rare (one of only three made) 1938 Lea-Francis 12.9hp Sports with elegant aluminium coachwork by Corsica. A few years ago this would probably have been an £80k car in fine condition, but as it was a well-used and unrestored car with a post-war engine fitted, the £30,240 result was probably about right.
A 1922 Rolls-Royce 20hp in superb and fully restored condition looked cheap at just £22,290 but it had been recently rebodied in a somewhat anachronistic tourer style which no doubt held the value back. Previously sold by Brightwells in 2014, the price realized the second time round was 30% lower than before, again representative of current market trends.
Sticking with the Rolls-Royce theme, a 1977 Corniche Convertible in respectable condition and showing just under 100k miles looked like a shrewd buy at just £23,120. A smart 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I with only 57k miles on the clock also looked good value at £9,408 and would no doubt have made a bit more if it weren’t for the somewhat unflattering Sand-over-Astrakhan colour scheme (beige-over-brown in everyman speak). An equally good 1987 Bentley Turbo R in rather more appealing Brooklands Green and with 70k miles on the speedo fetched a whisker under £11,000.
Pre-war in spirit but with post-war performance and ease of maintenance, the Morgan 4/4 is always a good seller at Brightwells and the two modern ones on offer didn’t disappoint, a 1996 4/4 with the Ford 1.8 Zetec engine and only 4k miles fetching £21,670, while an identical 4/4 with 43k miles fetched £12,260. A 1939 Series 1 ‘flat rad’ could only muster £9,000 which is about half what they used to fetch a few years back, although anyone who has tried to squeeze into one might not be surprised by the limited appeal – surely one of the most cramped cockpits of any car ever made!
Among the more modern classics, a smart 1987 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection had no trouble finding a buyer at £15,680, while an equally smart 1990 Porsche 944S2 with a modest 81k miles comfortably exceeded its estimate to finish on £12,430.
And while we would hesitate to call it a bargain (given its wallet-wilting potential should anything ever go wrong), you do have to marvel at just how affordable the Bentley Continental GT of the late-Noughties has become of late. Under £12k for a 62k miler that would have cost its first owner over ten times that amount does seem criminally tempting and surely has to be a snip at that price – or does it? Answers on a postcard please…
The next Brightwells Classic Vehicle auction will be on 17th September with a closing date for entries of 2nd September so if you are thinking of selling, please get in touch for a free valuation by calling 01568 611122 or by emailing classiccars@brightwells.com.