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Record-breaking online bid for Porsche 962

29 May, 2015

The most valuable lot ever sold to an online bidder was the top lot at Bonhams’ recent Spa Classic Sale. The ex-Jürgen Oppermann/Otto Altenbach/Loris Kessel Obermaier Racing 1990–’93 Porsche Type 962 C Endurance Racing Competition Coupe (how’s that for a name) was eventually sold for €1,495,000 (NZ$2.28M).

Sold directly from the factory, the Porsche 962 had been carefully maintained by the same private owner for the past 25 years — unsurprisingly, the car provoked much interest with those possessing an eye for historic competition cars.

The fact that this Porsche was sold to an online bidder underscores the continuing growth of the internet as a trusted method of purchasing valuable collector’s cars. 

Elsewhere, Porsches continued to prove popular, with a 1988 Porsche 959 coupé achieving the second-highest result, selling for just over one million New Zealand dollars to a telephone bidder from the UK, while a 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Type 964 coupé sold to a bidder at the sale for €224,250 (NZ$342,370).

As you’d expect, classic Ferraris continue to record strong prices, with a 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ Berlinetta going for €667,000 (NZ$1.1M), and the 1976 Ferrari 308 GT Berlinetta Vetroresina achieving an excellent price of €253,000 (NZ$386,264).

Further highlights of the sale include a pair of S1 3.8 Jaguar E-Type roadsters, both from 1962, which were sold for €172,500 (NZ$263,362) and €170,200 (NZ$269,850) respectively, with a slightly later 1965 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 roadster finding a new owner at €138,00 (NZ$210,690).

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

23 February, 2025

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

21 February, 2025

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.