£1.77m worth of classic cars sold at auction

Anglia Car Auctions’ first 2015 classic car sale was the UK’s biggest-ever, with 251 cars being offered. Big numbers of potential buyers defied the winter weather, queuing outside more than an hour before doors opened. The sale was worth waiting for though as 84 per cent of the lots were sold, resulting in £1.77million worth of sales.

A 1991 Ferrari Testarossa made top price of day, making £63,000 under the hammer, while a 1982 308GTSi was bought for £53,550, halfway between its £48,000-58,000 estimate.

At the other end of the performance scale a collection of microcars made far from micro prices. Two rare Scootacars were hammered away at £22,050 and £28,350 while a 1955 Bond MkC Tourer that needed a small amount of finishing off was bought for £4620.

ACA favourites from BMW and Mercedes-Benz enjoyed plenty of enthusiastic bidding, with a no-reserve 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350SL good enough to make £4,935. A 1969 280SL was good enough to make £58,800, showing that interest in the Benz boulevardier hasn’t slackened off after last year’s dramatic interest rise.

With ice underfoot, all the Land Rovers offered sold, with a no-reserve 1975 88” making £1700 and a 1998 V8 50^th Anniversary limited edition away at £15,750, the buyer possibly getting in before values rise when Defender production ceases at the end of the year.

Buyers after something sporty had plenty to choose from, including a 1971 Lotus Europa S2 sold at £21,840, and a 1965 Dutch-registered Elan S2 that needed work but still drew £15,540.

Playing a blinder price-wise was the stunning 1979 Ford Capri 3.0S that was bought for £20,370 and, from the same collection, a 1974 Triumph Stag bought for £16,275. Both were offered without reserve.

One 1980s lover stumped up £1,300 for a now rare Rover 800 in base-level 820e saloon form and a beige 1981 Volvo 244DL in rarely-seen superb order made £2,467.

ACA’s Proprietor Lyn George said: “Given the time of year and the weather forecast, the bumper crowd took us by surprise. The atmosphere was amazing all day with some fantastic results for the vendors and buyers.”

Anglia Car Auctions’ next classic car sale takes place on Saturday, 4 April.