The sun shone and the bidders flocked to the H&H auction at Buxton, Derbyshire this week, at which 80 per cent of the lots sold and many of the cars made way over their estimate.
Among them was the star car, a time warp, ‘barn find’ 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe that had not turned a wheel for some 40 years, until dragged from its hiding place for entry in the auction. The car was hard fought over until the hammer finally fell at just under £82,000 – over double the lower estimate.
The stunning silver Bentley 4.25-litre Vanden Plas-style Tourer eventually sold for a shade under £95,000 – a figure equivalent to the car’s top estimate. A magnificent 1998 Aston Martin V8 Vantage finished in midnight blue – once the property of the former Burton Group Chairman, Sir Ralph Halpern – found a new home for £66,650 – again, far more than had been estimated.
Two superb Jaguar E-Types had been entered for the auction, both of which made excellent money – as predicted. The black 1965 4.2-litre Fixed Head Coupe realised £38,700, while the very rare 1961 Flat Floor 3.8-litre Roadster netted in excess of £50,500. The pretty 1933 Lagonda 3.5-litre Pillarless Saloon finished in grey over silver was bang on the money at £32,250.
The 1968 works-prepared Hillman Hunter Rally Car entered by JCB fetched nearly £27,500 – almost twice its lower estimate. This was especially good news for the NSPCC, to whom the proceeds are being donated.
The nicely presented blue 1982 Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupe – once the property of Kenny Baker, best known as the man inside the popular Star Wars character, R2 D2 – fetched a touch more than expected at just over £14,500.
Said H&H’s Simon Hope, "None of our competitors can generally match the 80 per cent sale rate that we regularly achieve, and managed again this week. Moreover, few ever achieve it with sales of such magnitude – in this case, one of almost 100 cars: among which was something for everyone."