Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster makes £970,271 at Spa Classic

A 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster sold for €1,127,000 (£970,271) at Bonhams Spa Classic Sale on Sunday – smashing its pre-sale estimate of €600,000-€800,000 (£517,000-£689,000).

Barn finds are proving ever-popular at auction, but Bonhams was able to offer something a bit different – a castle find. This collection of 12 cars were all offered at no reserve.

A 1969 Maserati Ghibli SS 4.9-Litre Coupé sold to a telephone bidder for €174,800 (£150,532), 1980 Aston Martin V8 Volante Convertible achieved €172,500 (£148,551) and the 1933 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom II Roadster realised €111,550 (£96,073). The collection achieved a total of €2,026,300 (£1.75m).

Another sale highlight was a 1958 Porsche 356A Super Speedster, which eventually achieved €322,000 (£277,324) after auctioneer Rupert Banner presided over a lengthy three-way bidding war with aplomb. Indeed, Porsches were popular throughout the sale: the 1989 Porsche 911 3.2-Litre ‘Narrow-body’ Speedster realised €280,000 (£241,196) and the 1993 911 Turbo 3.6-Litre Type 964 Coupé sold for €195,500 (£168,407).

1958 Porsche 356A Super Speedster sold for €322,000.

Ferraris were as popular as ever, with three entering in to the Top 10 lots and all those offered selling on the day. The 2006 Ferrari 575 Superamerica F1 had just one owner from new and had covered a mere 21,000km, which was reflected by its final price of €293,250 (£252,610).

An example of ‘the finest GT in the world,’ a 2003 Ferrari 456 Modificata GT Coupé with, aptly, only 456km on the odometer, achieved €120,750 (£103,997) and, perhaps inspired by the roar of the track outside the saleroom, a beautiful race-ready 1996 Ferrari F355 Challenge Coupé sold for €158,500 (£136,509).

Other highlights included a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet €287,500 (£247,561), 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport Series I Coupé €88,550 (£76,249), 1973 Jaguar E-type Series III V12 Roadster €82,800 (£71,298), 1971 Lamborghini Espada Series II Coupé €82,200 (£70,760), and a 1971 Ford Capri RS 2600 Competition Coupé €80,500 (£69,297).