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| 1972 Chevron B21: £110,000 - 130,000 |
Silverstone Auctions has assembled a nigh-on 80-car catalogue for its first Silverstone Classic sale. The entry reflects the occasion, and includes much significant competition machinery, as well as a broad mix of modern and classic cars.
Add the words ‘James Hunt’ and ‘Hesketh’ together and any enthusiast of a certain age will remember that extraordinary time in the mid 1970s, when the team of ex-public schoolboys took on the professional racing establishment and won. Appearing as frequently on the front pages of national newspapers as the back, the local-to-Silverstone team was owned by Lord Hesketh and had the hard-living James Hunt as its star driver.
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| 1975 Hesketh Formula One, winner 1975 Dutch Grand Prix: £400,000 - 475,000 |
So, to have the team’s 1975 Dutch Grand Prix-winning car (£400,000 - 475,000) listed in the catalogue is something of a coup for the Silverstone Auctions team, and it’s probably at the best possible event, with many of the world’s top historic racers at the circuit for the Silverstone Classic.
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| 1958 AC Ace Bristol: £180,000 - 220,000 | 1962 Morris Mini Cooper Mk I: £15,000 - 20,000 |
Other significant competition cars include the interesting 1955 Frazer Nash/DKW Prototype (an ex-Dundrod TT entry, for £50,000 - 60,000), a fantastic ‘time-warp’ 1964 Mini De Luxe converted in period to a hot racing car, with many original tuning parts still on it (‘No Reserve’ – and brilliant), and a very 1970s, 1972 Chevron B21 (£110,000 - 130,000, with original racing history and wacky multicolour paint scheme).
Historic rally enthusiasts will like the seemingly ‘ready to rally’ 1962 Morris Mini Cooper Mk I (£15,000 - 20,000) and the red, white and blue 1975 Triumph TR7 (£25,000 - 30,000), while I challenge anyone to deny they have never fancied a racing Shelby GT 350. The FIA-papered, 1965 GT 350 H Mustang Fastback (£60,000 - 75,000) looks just the sort of car for newcomers to historic racing, or for those moving up from a smaller-capacity MGB or TR.
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| 1973 De Tomaso Pantera: £28,000 - 35,000 | 1968 Porsche 911L: £20,000 - 23,000 |
Now, stepping back from the Armco, let’s have a look at what else is in the catalogue. 2011 has become the unofficial ‘year of the E-type’ so it’s appropriate that a fair few should be offered at Silverstone. Buyers can choose from entries such as a quite stunning, Old English White/cream hide 1961 Series 1 3.8 ‘Flat Floor’ Roadster, for £120,000 - 150,000, and the ex-‘Lofty’ England (Jaguar’s famously tall team manager of the time) 1962 Series 1 3.8 Fixedhead Coupé, competitively estimated at £55,000 - 65,000.
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| 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Saloon: £140,000 - 160,000 |
There are also several XKs and a couple of good-value classic saloons. On the Aston front, the sale includes five cars, ranging from the undervalued-in-the-market 1995 Virage Volante for £25,000 - 29,000, to the cracking 1962 DB4 Series IV Saloon, a nice ‘open headlamp’ car (my favourite) estimated at £140,000 - 160,000. There’s also an ‘unmolested’ - as catalogued - 1960 DB4 Series II Saloon for £85,000 - 100,000.
It’s not all classics. The auction includes many more modern performance cars; ‘classics in the making’, no doubt. Take the 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (Gen 2) for £90,000 - 105,000, or the 2001 BMW Z8 (£76,000 - 80,000) and the 2003 Ferrari 575M Maranello F1 (£58,000 - 66,000) ordered new by Eric Clapton, that we featured recently on Classic Driver.
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| 1971 Lotus Elan S4 Fixedhead Coupé: £20,000 - 25,000 | 2001 BMW Z8: £76,000 - 80,000 |
Silverstone Auctions Managing Director, Nick Whale, knows his Porsches, and in addition to the year-old 911 GT3 there are five other cars, including two 1970s classic 911s in the form of the 1968 911L (£20,000 - 23,000, RHD but coming direct from the USA) and the rare (one of only two in black, imported to the UK in 1973) 1973 911S Targa for £40,000 - 45,000. A great car and, as the catalogue points out, both rarer and more affordable than a 911S coupé.
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| 1961 Jaguar E-type 3.8 Series 1 'Flat Floor' Roadster: £120,000 - 150,000 |
The sale also includes two motorcycles and commences with 78 lots of automobilia, including a ‘Ferrari Plastic Show-Room Sign’ estimated at £800 - 1100 but which will, I have no doubt, fetch more than that: these much sought-after signs generally do.
The Silverstone Auctions 23 July sale is at the Silverstone Circuit, Northants.
Viewing: 22 July 09:00 - 17:00
23 July 09:00 - 17:00
Auction: 23 July 2011 17:00 onwards
Catalogues can be purchased online or by contacting Silverstone Auctions' catalogue subscription department (+44 (0)1327 856 100). Entry is by catalogue only, each catalogue allowing two people entry on the view and sale days. Further copies of the catalogue can be purchased at the auction.
To see the complete lotlisting of the Silverstone Auctions 23 July sale, please click HERE, or you can see all the cars in the Classic Driver car database.
For further information on the Silverstone Classic event, to be held from 22 - 24 July, visit www.silverstoneclassic.com.
Text - Steve Wakefield
Photos - Silverstone Auctions
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