Classic Cars

Surely the cheapest, not to mention the quickest, route to owning a pristine classic is to invest time in hunting down an example of your favoured model that some other brave soul has already burned their money, time and angst on? It’s certainly sound, logical advice, but we’re talking classic cars here – keeping a cool head is rather easier said than done. Restoration brings the huge satisfaction of having taken something neglected, abused and forlorn and turning back the clock, pursuing a level of fitness and cosmetic sharpness the car last enjoyed in the first year, or maybe two, of life. And it’s a chance to end up with a car where you know exactly what lies beneath the shiny paint and sparkling chrome. It’s also a philosophical journey,…

Having put the feelers out to find Hakan Simsek’s dream car it was Audi UK’s press office which delivered the goods, quite literally. Safely unloaded from the trailer and parked among the masses of amorphous modern blobs that adorn every car park across the land, the boxy Audi Quattro 20V looks like a holy relic from a bygone age. Which in essence it is. It’s also surprisingly small, so Hakan doesn’t immediately spot it. The sight of it takes him by surprise and a massive smile breaks out across his face. The first word out of his mouth is simply, ‘Wow’. Taking a breath, Hakan adds, ‘I can’t believe it. Just look at it. It’s simply stunning, isn’t it? I’m speechless. Can I have a look inside?’ ‘We can do…

I didn’t think £36,000 was expensive for a 1987 E-plate, triple black Porsche 911 Sport Cabriolet 3.2 sold in January on the Collecting Cars website. Not so long ago this would have been a forty-five grand touch. And everything was right. Lovely all black colour combo, factory Sport package including Bilstein dampers, sport seats and front and rear spoilers, no less than 27 service stamps in two service books, new canvas hood and quite a bit of recent mechanical work. The Porsche market has softened recently – especially for 356s – but the Eighties 3.2s have always had a strong following because of their usability and reliability. And this one looked a very genuine car with a to-die-for spec. All that was missing was the beefier G50 gearbox fitted to…

The sell-off of some of the remarkable exhibits from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum continues apace, with the two most significant lots crossing the block in Europe in February. The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen driven by Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio sold for €51m (£43m) including fees at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart on 1 February. A week later, the 1964 Ferrari 250LM that won Le Mans in 1965 sold at the RM Sotheby’s Rétromobile sale in Paris for €35m (£29m). While bidding fell slightly short of the ‘€50m-plus’ estimate for the W196 Streamliner, fees took it over the mark. The Ferrari comfortably exceeded its ‘in excess of €25m’ estimate after bidding stalled around €22m, then took off again as the determined winning bidder trumped every counterbid on the…

‘It has been described as the “world’s oldest Ferrari”, but this opens a can of worms’ Tracking the earliest Ferrari chassis is a tricky business, thanks to the natural attrition of motorsport plus Ferrari’s habit of rebodying and repowering chassis or restamping chassis numbers. So, a bit of clarity is very welcome. This car, to be offered by Broad Arrow at the Villa d’Este sale in May, is chassis 004C. It retains engine number 004C and its original transmission, race gearbox number 2. The rather rudimentary Spider bodywork is by a Modena carrozzeria called Ansaloni and is also said to be largely original. To back all this up, there is not only Ferrari’s own Classiche certification but also a Massini report. The car has never been offered for sale publicly…

Manor Park Classics, the Cheshire-based auction house, has bought out Barons Classic Car Auctioneers. The newly named Barons Manor Park Classics held its first sale on 8 February at Baron’s site in Hampshire. Barons’ Tony Cavell and Molly Agius remain in charge of the business. Both firms have well-established sales at their own premises; Manor Park near Runcorn and Barons at Marchwood, near the New Forest. This, in combination with a foothold in southern England, made the takeover tempting for MPC’s chairman, Stephen Ashworth. ‘I am delighted to confirm our takeover of Barons and welcome Tony and his team to the Manor Park family,’ he said. ‘As auctioneers of classic cars and bikes, based at their own facility, they operate exactly the same model we do, so the fit is…