Bonhams sale at Goodwood Revival

More interesting auction results from another Revival distraction

It sometimes seems that racing is just a peripheral distraction at the Goodwood Revival. Visitors can easily spend a day there without even glancing at the track - visiting the paddocks, marveling at the costumes and experiencing the unique novelty of a retro supermarket that charges modern prices. And then there's the potentially very expensive attraction of the Bonhams Auction.

Expensive air-cooled Porsche shocker

And so it proved this year. Prices didn't reach the record-breaking heights achieved at last year's Festival of Speed sale, when an ex-Fangio Mercedes W196 racer sold for £19.6 million, but the collection of both vintage and modern classics achieved some strong sale prices.

The most expensive car was a 1936 Lagonda racer with a competition history to rival some of the Revival's older star drivers. Road-registered 'EPE 97' raced in Le Mans, the RAC Tourist Trophy and scored third place on the original banking at Brooklands in the BRDC 500-mile race (averaging 113.02mph, without front brakes). It sold for £1,569.500 including premium.

Although the sale was predictably biased towards older cars, newer highlights included a 1991 Ferrari F40 that sold for £634,300, a 1989 Lister Jaguar XJ-S Le Mans wearing what might well be the most 1980s bodykit of all time which managed £57,500 and a fresh-from-Japan 1974 911 SC Carrera that managed £135,900 - and presumably made everyone present wish they'd filled a barn when you could have bought ten of them for that. A 1993 964 RSR racer managed a dizzying £449,500.

Outright bargains were thin on the ground, although £49,450 for a right-hook 2001 Ferrari 360 F1 Coupe looked reasonable considering its 12,600 miles and recent timing belt service.