CLASSIC E-TYPE PIPS EX-CHRIS EVANS FERRARI TO BE FIRST PAST THE POST AT SANDOWN PARK
19/07/2012
Red was definitely the colour of the day at Barons’ sale at Sandown Park on July 17th, with the four top-selling cars all sporting vibrant scarlet bodywork. The registration number ‘TOP 10’ and a Riley Elf with a criminal past also featured on the ‘sold’ list.
A very fine deep red Jaguar E-type S3 V12 Roadster from 1975 - the final year of production – attracted spirited bidding and drove past top estimate and ahead of the pack to take the No. 1 slot. Having sold for just under £36,000, it is departing British shores to live in Austria.
Hot on its heels was the ‘rosso corsa’ 1989 Ferrari 328GTS formerly owned by Chris Evans. This has covered just 25,000 miles since new and, as one would expect of a car which had formed part of the collection of such a famous Ferrari enthusiast, it has an immaculate service record. The eye-catching prancing horse galloped off to its new home for £34,750.
Third place went to a magnificent 1995 Sebring Red Bentley Continental R, which sold for £28,000, while the fourth highest price of the day was the £20,730 paid by a Welsh buyer for the scarlet 1961 Chrysler 300G. This had been bought and restored in 1997 by Chrysler UK, who displayed it in their head office and used it for promotion and advertising.
Next highest price was the £20,720 paid by a determined telephone bidder for the memorable registration number ‘TOP 10’.
Other interesting lots included the (currently also red!) 1967 Jaguar E-type Series 1 1/2 4.2 FHC restoration project (£9,532) and the lovely little one-owner 1969 Riley Elf MKIII. In the early 1970s this was stolen from outside its owner’s home and used as the getaway car in an armed robbery. It was recovered completely unscathed, the only souvenir of its adventure being a bullet left on the back seat! It sold at Sandown Park for £2,812.
Evidence that good quality always sells was present in abundance at this sale, with three MGs and a Triumph Spitfire racking up strong prices for the model. The pretty MG Midget 1500 made a very respectable £4,700 and the low-mileage Spitfire was slightly ahead at £5,600. Both of the MG BGT V8s made good money at £8,100 for the bracken example and £9,600 for the low-mileage purple car. And, while not a true classic – though potentially a future one - the 2001 Alpina BMW B10 3.3 Touring created a huge amount of interest and was bid well past its reserve to finally sell for an all-inclusive £10,316.
