Friends of MotorMartin, Classic Car Auctions (CCA), have successfully closed the curtains on a record-breaking year by hammering away a fantastic 80 per cent of the cars on offer at its December Sale this weekend, for a premium inclusive total of £1.8 million.
The strong results, Classic Car Auctions say, bring to a conclusion the best year yet for the auction house. Indeed, in 2017 CCA successfully found homes for more than £6.1 million worth of ‘everyman’ classics.
Classic Car Auctions have confirmed to MotorMartin that whilst demand was strong across all vehicle marques at the December Sale, it was two ‘80s Porsches that were the top sellers on the day. The most expensive, a 1989 911 Carrera Supersport (SSE) sold for a fantastic £71,500, more than £11,000 over its lower estimate. Meanwhile a 1985 911 3.2 SSE Targa followed closely, selling for £68,750. The cars were two of nine Porsches successfully hammered away in the sale.
Demand for Fast Fords has been one of the big stories of 2017, a theme which continued through the sale with 10 cars from the blue oval successfully finding new homes. A concours condition 1987 Sierra RS Cosworth sold for nearly £6,000 over its lower estimate, fetching £37,950. However, a number of other potentially canny investments were also snapped up including a 1988 XR3i cabriolet which sold for £12,650, a 1986 Escort RS Turbo Series I which fetched £10,120 and a 1983 Escort RS1600i which sold for £9,900.
But it was another ‘80s icon which attracted the longest bidding war of the day. A lovely concours-winning 1987 Volkswagen Golf GTi convertible, formerly owned by Sir David Jason OBE, eventually sold for £17,820, almost £7,000 over its lower estimate.
Another ‘80s car which enjoyed a great deal of pre-sale interest, a 1984 Opel Manta 400, sold for just over its upper estimate, at £50,600.
More German metal from both BMW and Mercedes-Benz also proved extremely popular with buyers. A 2007 E61 M5 Touring was the most expensive of 14 BMWs which sold, selling for £22,800. Meanwhile a superbly presented 2005 SLK55 AMG was the highest selling Mercedes-Benz, fetching £15,400.
Home grown classics from the ‘60s also attracted strong bidding. A 1969 E-Type Series II 2+2 was the highest priced Jaguar, fetching £38,500, while a real slice of ‘The Italian Job’, a 1965 Mini Cooper S, which has appeared twice on Chris Evans’ Famous Five trips for Children In Need, sold for £38,500.
“What a fantastic way to end the year!” Confirmed Gary Dunne, Classic Car Auctions’ sales manager to the news desk at MotorMartin. “Demand for ‘everyman’ classics remains incredibly strong and we’re delighted to have achieved some great prices for our vendors. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in one of our sales in 2017 and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.”
Dates for CCA’s 2018 sales will be announced soon but anyone looking to consign a vehicle should contact the team on 01926 640888.
A list of the full results from CCA’s December sale can be found by visiting https://www.classiccarauctions.co.uk/cca-december-2017-classic-car-sale/view_lots/pn/all.
Where will you go?