Cars

In total, the 16th single-marque sale held by Bonhams at the Aston Works HQ grossed a record £10,280,275, a figure buoyed by the £1.5m sales of the ex-Sir Peter Ustinov 1962 DB4 Series IV Vantage Convertible, and the 1966 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible uprated to ‘Vantage’ specification. The charming provenance of the former helped to coax bids well beyond the £1m upper estimate and on to £1,513,500, while the latter brought £1,524,700 – the new body and chassis it received post-accident in the 1980s proving no obstacle.

The premature birth of the ugly duckling

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2015, Salon Privé opens for the first time at Blenheim Palace on 3-5 September. The preview event saw a total of 10 cars displayed within the Great Court and on the South Lawn – the main event location.

Organised by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, Donington Park’s early-May Bank Holiday weekend three-day historic racing event attracts large entries of historic Grand Prix, Formula 2, Formula Junior, Touring Cars and Sportscar categories – fitting attractions for a track that, in its past, has played host to the likes of Nuvolari and Senna. Exploring the paddock, the diverse range and quality of cars is quite incredible – as these stunning images from photographer Tim Brown illustrate.

It’s well known that the classic car market works outside the parameters of common logic. Hence it continues to throw us curveballs, with some cars seeing values multiply in the space of a few years, while others remain virtually stagnant. You can now pay well over €100,000 for base-model Porsche 911s that were produced in the tens of thousands, but certain contemporaries – some of which were produced in mere hundreds – are still available for a fraction of that price.

The two-day weekend event will have a split programme, with the Saturday focusing on classics and Sunday on modern machinery. As official media partners, Classic Driver will not only keep you updated on the latest news ahead of the event, but will also select the winner of the ‘Best Classic in Show’ trophy.

Hosted at the UK’s best-preserved ex-WW2 RAF bomber station, the Sunday Scramble is designed as an access-all-areas open day for historic car, motorcycle and aircraft enthusiasts. Visitors attending in historic vehicles are encouraged to arrive early for a hot breakfast, and to park in and among the roadways of the Technical Site. Now in its fifth successive year, we are happy to report the event was a resounding success, complete with period-correct atmosphere throughout.

The two cars – a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – come from the estate of the late Richard Colton, a respected Northamptonshire-based businessman. At his request, the prancing pair will fund a new RNLI lifeboat to be named Richard and Caroline Colton, taking the name of the prominent Ferrari V12 collector and his late wife. “We are deeply grateful and humbled by Mr Colton’s generous gift and his decision to benefit the RNLI in this way,” said RNLI legacy manager Guy Rose.