The month that was January | Gavelled!
Audi's final V10, a '66 V8 Mustang and a V6 Evora kicked off auctions in 2026
Audi R8 V10 Performance Quattro, 2020, 15.4k miles - sold for £88,976*
The original Audi R8 is rightly talked up as a modern classic. Its design is as jaw-dropping now as it was in 2007, the V8 is one of Audi’s finest and, of course, you could pair it up with a six-speed gated manual. But what about the second-generation R8? Audi made terrific strides with the Type 4S, its V10 dialled up to 620hp in full-fat trim, taking the R8 well into supercar territory. Then, in 2018, the company managed to extract another 10hp despite the introduction of mandated particulate filters. With no replacement R8 on the horizon, let alone one with a V10, these later cars may soon be held in the same regard as the original.
The one we have here is a 2020 V10 Performance Quattro, meaning it gets 620hp split across both axles and the facelift’s sharper looks. It might just be all the supercar you could ever need, hitting 62mph from a standstill in 3.1 seconds, all while being genuinely usable no matter the conditions. This particular car has covered just 15,420 miles and benefits from a full Audi service history, so it was always going to be a hit with bidders. The final result clocked in at £88,976 including the buyer’s fee, which is a strong return on a supercar that’s now six years old. As for the buyer, they’ve bagged themselves an awful lot of car for the money, and one that’s likely to remain in high demand should they ever choose to put it up for auction themselves.
Lotus Evora, 2010, 37k miles - sold for £24,227*
Excitement was in the air when Lotus launched the Evora. For over a decade, the company’s product lineup consisted solely of four-cylinder sports cars based on the Elise chassis, so the arrival of a mid-engined V6 with a hint of GT about it signalled that Lotus was in a strong enough position to expand. Despite being significantly larger and heavier than the Elise, the Evora handled like a proper Lotus, while the Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 in the middle put out a decent 280hp - and a sublime soundtrack, too.
Lotus would end up making the Evora for 11 years, with umpteen special editions, more performance and wilder styling. That doesn’t make the original any less special, and a smart one like this 2010 car in red over black leather will always be high in demand. Of course, having covered just 38,887 miles and being recently treated to an in-depth service only strengthened the appeal of this example, as did the replacement of the clutch master cylinder and various other bits. With 50 bids placed over a seven-day period, the hammer fell at £24,227 including the buyer’s premium, leaving the seller with some cash in hand to fill the vacant space on their driveway and the new owner a car that’ll be ready to rock once the rain clears up.
Ford Mustang, 1966, 9.3k miles - sold for £29,480*
It’s funny how a car that never officially sold here can attract as big a following as the original Mustang has. The US couldn’t get enough of it when sales opened in 1965, with looks that were both muscly and stylish, a big V8 with 275hp if you ticked the right options, and a price tag that was within reach for the average hard-working American. We’d have to wait until 2015 to get the Mustang in Britain, but the '60s charm of the original means it’s the car Americana lovers in the UK still clamber to get their hands on.
This 1966 example is one of the early cars, and while it looks mostly original on the outside, it’s anything but underneath. Up front is a 4.9-litre (or 302 cubic inch in American) V8 that’s been retrofitted from a later ‘Stang, bringing power up to 290hp, while the brakes have been upgraded with Wilwood callipers to cater for the added grunt. It’s also immaculate inside and out, with no signs of corrosion in sight. Valuing a car like this is always tricky because there’s not much to compare it to, so going down the auction route seemed like a smart move. Especially when the car ended up fetching £29,480 including the buyer’s premium - or double that of the other 1966 Mustang currently in the classifieds…
Top 10 PistonHeads auction results in January*
- Porsche 911 (992.1) GT3 - £135,000
- Audi R8 V10 Performance Quattro - £88,976
- MG X-Power SV - £36,180
- Subaru Impreza P1 - £31,088
- 1966 Ford Mustang - £29,480
- Lexus RCF - £28,944
- Mercedes-Benz E 63 S Estate - £27,640
- Lotus Evora - £24,227
- Porsche 911 (996.1) Carrera 2 - £16,348
- Porsche Panamera 4 - £16,000
*Prices shown are inclusive of the buyer’s fee which is 6% of the selling price + VAT, with a minimum of £695 + VAT
At various points I was watching the market very closely when I got picked up mine a couple of eyars ago. It's nice to see that they remain holding their value well, despite the relative-speaking glut of Emira's flooding into the market. The Evora remains its own distinct proposition.
This article is going to get me looking at Evora's now... are they a specialist-only job to maintain or can a regular indy look after them?
The engine is bullet proof so doesn't demand very much. Most of the parts are generic - Lotus wanted over £300 for an HID ballast pack - I discovered they are a Valeo unit off many VAG cars and obtained new ones for £60 heach direct from Germany.
I always used to worry about a clutch but never had to face one - it's a big job.
Great cars, I actually prefer them to the Emira
The engine is bullet proof so doesn't demand very much. Most of the parts are generic - Lotus wanted over £300 for an HID ballast pack - I discovered they are a Valeo unit off many VAG cars and obtained new ones for £60 heach direct from Germany.
I always used to worry about a clutch but never had to face one - it's a big job.
Great cars, I actually prefer them to the Emira
I guess it depends how much you're comfortable doing on your own. I'd almost say that if you are happy with that work, and are ok not having a garage stamp in the book, then you are maybe in a better place than going to some random garage given you trust yourself to look after it properly.While mine is looked after by Bell & Colvill, a main dealer, with associated wince-inducing bills, I have indeed also sourced valeo HID ballast packs myself to avoid the Lotus tax!
It's less of a descriptor of the displacement and more of a Name of the engine family.
The term 'Small' doesn't necessarily mean small displacement as you can Stroke/ Bore members of the Small Block family of engines to displacement equal to the Big Block family of engines. The Small Block could/would still retain it's 'lightweight' and physically small(er) footprint compared to the Big Block
I have a "Small Block" Cleveland V8 which began stock as a 351 Cubic inch (5.8l) engine. It's now stroked and bored to 393 Cubic Inches so a 6.4l V8 with a raised redline to 7000 RPM but it is still a Small Block engine.
https://www.pistonheads.com//buy/listing/19762750
https://www.pistonheads.com//buy/listing/19762750
"Rugby's not the winner" as they say.
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