Following on from impressive results at its Race Retro event, Silverstone Auctions one again wowed crowds this weekend at the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show in Birmingham, with sales of £1.5 million.
For the company it was a case of another week, another sale and another world record price achieved. This time the record-breaker was a highly rare and historically important 1950 Land Rover Series I Station Wagon with coachwork by Tickford.
The seven-seat vehicle was originally designed to transport shooting parties across moorland, but proved commercially unsuccessful and just 650 examples were ever built. However, the idea of a relatively luxurious off-road vehicle stuck with the company, and many of the concepts behind the failed Station wagon evolved 20 years later into the Range Rover.
Believed to be one of the last surviving road going examples of its kind, and an important step in the evolution of Land Rover, the Station Wagon sold for a new record of £38,250.
Rare Land Rovers proved popular throughout the rest of the auction, with notable sales including a 1948 Series One Chassis #149, one of the earliest Land Rovers ever built, selling for £47,250, and a 2016 Land Rover 110 Heritage Edition, one of just 400 ever made, fetching £42,188.
But it’s clear bidders weren’t just interested in practicality – they were looking for iconic European styling as well. Further top lots included a 1999 Lamborghini Diablo SV, the last Lamborghini produced before VW took ownership of the company, which sold for £174,375; a 2011 Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 (997) which realized £280,000; and a 1976 Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer which topped the sale with a final price of £295,000.
As befitting its surroundings of the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show, the auction also included some juicy projects for enthusiasts to get their teeth into. Leading lots included an original UK right-hand drive, matching numbers 1978 Aston Martin V8 Series III which sold for £47,250, and a matching numbers 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series II Roadster which fetched £41,625.
"Once again we’ve achieved a strong set of results at this fantastic show and I’m pleased that so many of our vendors are leaving having secured record prices and feeling satisfied that their pride and joys are going to good homes," said Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, following the auction.
"I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the sale and I look forward to returning to our spiritual home of Silverstone circuit for The May Sale."
