Classic Car Auctions generated £2.1 million ($2.97 million) by selling 130 vehicles at its recent Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show sale in Birmingham, England. The auction posted an 81 percent sell-through rate.
The docket for the two-day sale focused on what CCA called “everyman classics,” and the auction company termed the results as “stunning,” with “frenetic bidding for many cars.”
And the cars were affordable. The high-dollar sale of the event was the £59,400 ($83,997) paid for a 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal. Another Montreal, but this one a “project car,” sold for £28,600 ($40,443) to a buyer from New Zealand.
Though not the top sale, CCA said the car that stole the show was a 1948 Jaguar 3.5-liter Mark IV drophead coupe that doubled its pre-sale estimated value by selling for £40,700 ($57,553) to an on-line bidder in the Czech Republic.
The auction company also was pleased when a 1964 Morris Mini Cooper 970 S also sold for £40,700 ($57,553), almost £10,000 ($14,188) above its upper pre-sale estimate. Also selling for £10,000 ($14,188) more than expected was a 1973 Datsun 240Z that sold for £24,750 ($34,998).
The docket also included some cars with celebrity provenance. A 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL former owned by Barry Gibb sold for £17,600 ($24,887), a 1995 BMW E38 750iL previously owned by Francis Rossi fetched £7,150 ($10,110), and a 1985 Bentley Turbo R, once the property of Elton John, sold for £10,120 ($14,310).
“This is a fantastic start to the year for CCA and we’re absolutely delighted with the results, as well as the huge turn-out in the auction hall,” Gary Dunne, CCA sales manager, said in a news release.
“There was a lot of variety in the cars on offer and demand proved high across the board, and from across the globe.”
CCA’s next sale is scheduled for June 2 at the Warwickshire Event Centre.
