Auction sales are very much a feature of the Vintage and Classic car market and as part of our service to readers we are reporting on a selection of these to give you a flavour of them. This sale was held at the Royal Horticultural Halls and is one of the regular London venues for Coys.  

Above:  Rolls-Royce-Ghost-Dempsey	Above: Rolls-Royce-Ghost-Dempsey

Above: Batmobile	Above: Batmobile

Another attraction was the circa 1966 Batmobile being sold on behalf the "Cars of the Stars" Museum. This was an early Batmobile built for the "black and white" TV series and featured in over 100 episodes. It was built by George Barris the "Custom King" in the astonishing time of 3 weeks from the Lincoln Futura concept car of 1955. Interestingly the twin canopies and interior remained virtually unchanged. The distinctive red wing lines were added to increase the car’s visual appearance. This huge car was sold for £119,100.

Above: 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Above: Engine of the Gullwing 300 SL

The 1955 Mecedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing coupe was sold for £225,263 against an estimate of £195,000 to £235,000. These cars were originally priced at £5,600 which was a fortune when one considers that a Jaguar XK 140 was only £1,400. It has a 3.0 litre six cylinder engine with dry sump lubrication and Bosch mechanical lubrication. These cars had a top speed of 130 to 165mph depending on the gearing. The present vendor bought the car at a Coys in 1982 and sold it in 1986. He so regretted selling it hat he bought it back from the German collector.

(2 photos : Citroen-DS19-Decapotable and Citroen-DS19-Decapotable-1)

Above: Citroen DS19	Above: The Citroen convertible

We are always surprised by the price fetched by the Citroen DS19 Decapotable models by Chapron. These cars were available from 1858 to 1963 and this was one of the last made. This one made £68,813.

(2 otos : Fiat-Moretti-850 and

 

Above: Fiat Moretti 850	Above: Fiat Moretti 850

An attractive little car was the 1971 Fiat 850 Moretti Sportiva which was purchased new in 1971 by a British serviceman stationed in Malta and registered in London in 1973. More recently it was the subject of a complete restoration when a new Autobianchi A112 Abarth engine was fitted giving 75bhp which in a car weighing a mere 660kg gives an excellent performance. It was campaigned at the Val Saviore and Silver Flag hillclimbs in June 2006. It fetched £20.114 against an estimate of £17,500 to £19,500.

 

 

 

(2 photos : Ferrari-Chris-Rea-1 and Ferrari-Chris-Rea-2)

Above: Chris Rea Ferrari 196 SP	Above: The Ferrari 196 SP 'Dino'

The Chris Rea Ferrari Dino 196 SP was created for the guitar legend on a Ferrari 328 chassis and running gear to replicate the Phil Hill Ferrari 196 SP from the 1960’s. It has been used regularly by Chris Rea. It was estimated at £38,000 to £45,000 but did not sell.

Above: 2002 MG SV X-Power	Above: The 2002 MG SV X-Power

(2 photos : MG-SV-X-Power and MG-SV-X-Power-1)

A late entry was the 2002 MG SV X-Power Coupe. These amazingly fast MG’s were made in very limited numbers. This example was the Birmingham Motor Show car from 2002. It was sold for £31,171 which must be a fraction of the build cost.

The 1977 Maserati Khamsin was launched in 1974 but faced stiff competition from the Lamborghini Espada and Aston Martin V8. It is powered by a 4.9 litre quad camshaft V8 of Maserati design which gave a quoted output of 320bhp at 5,500 rpm. It featured Citroen’s revolutionary hydraulic braking and steering giving it good manoeuverability and control. It was styled by Marcello Gandini with asymmetric vent across the bonnt and a vertical glass tail panel with inset light clusters. Production was limited to 352 examples. It sold for £10,586 which represents a lot of car for the money.

Above: 1955 Citroen Light 15	Above: The 'Traction Avant'

A 1955 Citroen Light 15 traction Avant 11BL was sold for £11,763 and the proceeds were all donated to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). It was previously owned by a French garage proprietor and purchased on whim in 1989 by the vendor who immediately drove it back to the UK. It was in excellent condition and regularly serviced.

Click on video to see a video of this sale

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVdCzk5n7Kw )