Thursday 23rd February 2017

Silverstone Auctions Race Retro preview

Need a new track day toy or real race car? Get to Race Retro!

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Silverstone Auctions is in fact running a pair of auctions at Race Retro this weekend, with a road car sale taking place on Saturday and Sunday. But there are plenty of auctions of cool road cars; it's not very often you see a sale of just competition cars though, and that's what's happening at Stoneleigh Park tomorrow.

Now then...

There's a really broad mix of stuff too, from converted road cars to sports prototypes and from stage to circuit. Perhaps predictably it's the classic stuff that looks most appealing at the moment. This stunning Camaro Z/28 looks to offer decent value (the estimate is £65-000-£75,000) against certain other classic touring cars, with a successful race history and the potential to enter many historic tin top events. Looks great, too.

For a European alternative, this BMW CSL Batmobile (built from a 3.0 CS road car) goes to auction with a freshly rebuilt engine and livery plus an estimate of up to £125,000. For a mix of US brawn and European brains (relatively speaking), this Rover SD1 is a converted road car with power now coming from a TVR Tuscan Challenge V8; it's said to make around 360hp with the kerbweight just over a tonne. If you're feeling brave enough the estimate is £25,000 up.

Ovaltine gets a lot more interesting!

A very interesting Aston Martin is also being offered. The AMR1 was the last time Aston competed in the highest rung of sportscar racing, with chassis AMR1/05 in fact enjoying its most recent victory just last year. It goes to auction with the highest estimate of all, at £550,000.

At more sensible levels, a Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, a genuine Dakar car no less, is being offered at £15,000-£20,000. Something a bit different for a stage event! This Ford Escort is also expected to make less than £20,000, though it's certainly not one for the purists with a TVR V8 in it and Focus ST orange paint. Should be quick though... And for something that's probably faster than everything else in the sale around a circuit, this Radical SR3 is estimated at up to £25,000.

So yes, plenty to choose from. And it is March next week, so race calendars will be kicking off very soon if they haven't already - get moving!

[Some Gump]

Bafled by the advert for the Group C era AMR-1..

Blurb claims that it's from the last Aston factory entry to LM.

If that's correct, what was I watching trackside in 2011?