Words: John Mayhead | Photography: Silverstone Auctions, Historics & Brightwells
Hagerty has had a huge number of auctions and sales to track and analyse over the past ten days, and there have been some real highlights. Modern classics, pre-war racers and even original press test cars have all crossed the block – with some fascinating results.
One continuing trend is the rise of 1980s and ’90s cars with race or rally pedigree. On May 22, Silverstone Auctions set a new record for a public auction sale of a Lancia Delta HF Integrale, after selling an Evo II Edizione Finale for £218,250 ($308,047); well over the Hagerty Price Guide’s top value of £85,400 ($120,537) for a standard Evo II.
Other Silverstone Auctions results also impressed, with an ultra-rare UK-spec 1999 Subaru Type 22B Impreza STi selling for £171,000. The 22B went for more than £30,000 ($42,343) above its top pre-sale estimate – but Hagerty had anticipated such a result, having recently witnessed a JDM-spec 22B sell on Bring A Trailer in the US for over $300,000. Yet that wasn’t even the most expensive Impreza sold in the sale; a 2004 S10 WRC driven by Petter Solberg and fully restored by Prodrive Legends made £369,000 ($520,822).
At the other end of the motoring scale, Historics sold a left-hand-drive 1992 Yugoslavian Renault 4 L for £9056 ($12,782), well over the top Hagerty Price Guide value of £8300 ($11,714). We can only hope the buyer has entered Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional concours, as it would surely gain a place there.
The highlight of the Richard Edmonds auction over the weekend of May 22-23 was a wonderful 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Zagato Spider that had been in single ownership since 1961. It sold well at £588,000 ($829,928), despite having a replacement (although correct) engine and gearbox; the car was bought with a Ford V8 that a previous owner had fitted.
Another Alfa Romeo, this time a 1965 1900 Sport Coupé by ATL, also sold for a healthy sum over at Silverstone on the same day, achieving £202,500 ($285,817); well above its top £175,000 ($247,002) estimate. Wonderfully proportioned, the car’s alluring elegance drew my eye on the viewing day.
Finally, over at Brightwells, another fascinating car from the post-war era is worthy of note. The original pre-production Bristol 400 from 1947 was offered, complete with photographs from when it was road tested by Motor and Autocar. There’s a limited market for post-war saloons, but the £76,160 ($107,495) paid shows the attraction for what must be one of the most historically interesting Bristol models still on the road.
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