The month that was May | Gavelled!

In the spirit of the Le Mans weekend, here's a trio of cars with a connection to La Sarthe - albeit loosely

By Cam Tait / Friday, 13 June 2025 / Loading comments

Jaguar Project 7, 2016, 1,186 miles - sold for £107,200

You’ll likely have a take on Jaguar’s hugely divisive rebrand as an all-electric, luxury car firm. What we can all agree on, though, is that the last couple of decades produced some properly brilliant fast Jags (we recently ranked them all if you’re in need of a refresher). Among them were a handful of limited-run specials built by SVO, including the bewinged Project 8 and this: the F-Type-based Project 7.

Proof if it was needed that headrest fairings improve convertibles no end, the Project 7 arrived in 2014 as a limited-run homage to the D-Type Le Mans racer. It essentially served as a speedster version of the F-Type SVR Convertible, complete with the same 5.0-litre supercharged V8 developing 575hp and aggressive style, although the folding roof mechanism was exchanged for a clip-on fabric roof. Fiddly as it was, the Project 7 was a good deal lighter and infinitely cooler because, y'know, headrest fairings. Just 250 were made, of which 80 came to the UK. So rare is the Project 7 that when this example came through Pistonheads auctions, an offer was made and accepted days before bidding commenced. So if you see a car that you desperately want, have a go at gazumping the rest by making an offer the seller can’t refuse.

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Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, 2014, 25,365 miles - sold for £47,500

It’s been ten years since Ford sent a right-hand-drive Mustang our way, five whole decades after the original took America by storm, and yet there’s still no sign that it plans to do the same for its monumentally powerful Shelby models. Of course, there are a handful of importers who’d be willing to bring one of Shelby’s new, 810hp GT350s over to this side of the pond, but you’ll be paying thousands in duties on top of the $110k (or £81k) asking price.

So you could do what the winning bidder of this GT500 did and go for an older model that’s already in the country. Admittedly, these 2014 models aren’t as sophisticated as the following generation that was sold here, mostly because of a live rear axle with 671hp to handle. It was, however, one of the last cars built under the watchful eye of Carroll Shelby, who took the time to sign the dash of this very car before it left the firm’s Nevada plant. After a quick stint in California, it made its way to the UK in 2015, where it was used sparingly (a 5.8-litre supercharged V8 on damp roads does require you to be on your A-game) and kept in bone-stock condition. With just 25k miles on the clock and a good amount of service history, this GT500 sold for £47,500 including the buyer’s premium - some £20k less than this Mustang Dark Horse.

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Porsche 911 SC Targa, 1982, 88,490 - sold for £38,056

Constraint really is the mother of creativity and, for that matter, the 911 Targa. Well, that and fear. In the '60s, America’s transport body was mulling the idea of banning convertibles owing to their lack of head protection, so Porsche decided to incorporate a roll-over hoop into the 911’s design, onto which a removable roof could be fastened. Add to that a dome-like rear window and the result was a very pretty 911 that could handle whatever the American deportment for transport could throw at it.

That was all the way back in 1966, but the car we have here is a newer, 911SC Targa with a giant whale tail plonked on the back. Apparently, the ‘SC’ stands for ‘Super Carrera’, which on this 1982 example meant 204hp from an aluminium, 3.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six, the aforementioned tea-tray spoiler and a set of Fuchs. Its previous owner bought the car back in 1993 and looks to have kept it in fantastic condition, with the only notable ‘mod’ being a full-body respray to Grand Prix White. The gavel fell at £38,056 with fees, which seems to be a decent discount on the going rate, especially as it’s packing a manual. For instance, this 1979 example is still up for grabs with lower mileage and, presumably, its original colour, but it’ll set you back another £12k…

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