Historics auctioneers returns £2.83 million and 65% sale rate at inaugural Bicester Heritage Sale
With the cost of living taking centre stage in recent weeks, plus economic meltdown in Britain caused by a so-called ‘mini budget’ lacking scrutiny, the resilience of the classic car market has been left in question.
This was certainly the case by the time of Historics Auctioneers inaugural sale at Bicester Heritage, the UK’s first business campus dedicated to historic motoring excellence and an established national centre for the industry. And yet, after the gavel fell on the last of 153 varied lots in the vast auction hall, the event returned an impressive £2.83 million gross result with a sixty-five percent rate of sale.
This new venue for Historics, which holds regular sales at various locations, including Ascot racecourse, attracted a sea of fresh faces to the bustling auction hall, which across three viewing days and the auction day itself, was visited by more than two thousand interested parties, doubtless drawn by the eclectic entry list, represented by no less than forty-three different marques. In addition, the sale attracted some four hundred registered online international bidders. In fact, forty percent of sold lots were bought remotely.
LONG TIME COMING
Nine decades of car making passed across the auction rostrum on the big day, a 1933 Pierce Arrow Brougham Coupe shifting for £30,240 and setting the timbre for prewar motoring against a stunning 2005 example of one of the most iconic of modern classics, namely the dramatic Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR coupe, attracting a winning bid of £277,340. What about the air-cooled Porsches up for grabs? Entries in this high value category sold well. A 1982 911 SC Targa restomod proved demand for exceptionally presented bespoke classic Porsches remains strong. Following two equally fine examples sold by Historics in recent sales — and highlighted in the pages of Classic Porsche — the beautiful blue semi-open-top generated a bidding war settling at a cool £100,800.
Not long before, a matching-numbers 1969 911 E race car (above), complete with an FIA technical passport, settled at a very reasonable £73,000. Built into a motorsport machine by highly regarded 911 specialist, Steve Monk, the car has covered only 82,764 miles from new. Its last competitive run (at the Spa Summer Classic) took place in July of this year, while the supplied files show more than £53,000 worth of receipts, representing only some of the expenditure over the years. Parts and labour have only ever been from trusted specialists, including Tuthill, Tognolla, Bob Watson, Tech 9 and, of course, Steve Monk.
A number of classic Porsches were offered at the sale, but failed to find new homes, such as a restored 1968 911 E Targa (pictured bottom left) and a solid black 1988 Carrera 3.2 Sport coupe (below). Originally supplied by AFN, the specification sheet for this handsome 911 shows the car was built with a “high-fidelity package”, sunroof and electric sports seats. Even with a lower estimate of £46,000, however, it failed to sell. Full results from the Bicester Heritage sale can be viewed at historics.co.uk.