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International market report: Classic marketplace

1 January, 2017

 

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“Jump in — the water’s warm!”

I do hope that in my column last month I did not present a picture of glass half full in the classic marketplace. It appears that good cars will continue to do well, and this was perfectly demonstrated at Amelia Island last month when Bonhams, Gooding and Company, and RM Sotheby’s grossed around US$126M between the three of them — 25 per cent up on 2015! There are good buys to be had, and there is money to be made if you are seller — just do not expect to get big money for an average car any longer. The market has been hot, but collectors are now only paying top dollar for special cars and not just everyday classics. Cautious optimism therefore is the order of the day.

Classic investment

TV comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s 18 Porsches — 16 of which sold — did well as expected, with Gooding and Company also selling a 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB California Spider for US$17.2M. RM Sotheby’s, meanwhile, headed the list with 87 per cent of its cars sold. As auctioneer Eli Rodriguez said, “Anyone can jump in, the water’s warm”. Bonhams sold the Bugatti T57S with Vanden Plas body we discussed last issue for US$9.375M. This was a little short of its estimate, but still a lot of money for a not particularly pretty car, even if it is a rare Bugatti.

You do not have to go all the way to the States to get a good car, though. If the Maserati Vignale Spyder that was sold at Amelia Island by Bonhams is to your taste, then Theodore Bruce Auctions in Australia has another coming up at the Motorclassica auction on October 22 in Melbourne, while, on March 14, in Sydney, Shannon’s sold a 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster for A$411K, a bargain perhaps when compared with the US$1.54M paid for Seinfeld’s 1958 356A Carrera Speedster GS/GT.

Royal connection

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For the present, though, all auction eyes turn to the UK, where, on April 19 and 20, at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, H&H has a very British sale taking place. It includes a trio of Bentley Continentals and a nice selection of Aston Martins and Jaguars, including a 1961 E-Type 3.8 Competition Roadster with an estimate of £700K to £900K. The cream of the crop, though, at this sale, and the car that is causing the biggest stir, is the 1954 Lagonda 3.0-litre drophead coupé with an estimate of £350K to £450K. At this price, it needs to be a special car, and that it certainly is. It was built to special order for HRH, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as his daily-driver. Just 20 MkI Lagondas were made, and this one — in bespoke Edinburgh Green livery with original grey leather upholstery — was fitted with a power hood, floor-change gearbox, a radio telephone (with its own frequency!), and an extra vanity mirror on the passenger side for Philip’s wife, Her Majesty, the Queen. Prince Philip owned it for seven years — before switching to an Alvis TD21 DHC, which is still at the palace, apparently — and this remarkable Lagonda has been in its current (third) owner’s care since 1977. This one ticks all the boxes, and I would not be surprised if it fetched over half a million pounds at the end of the day.

So, even though, year on year, the market has been slightly down — according to the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) index — there are some wonderful motor cars to be bought and sold. There is plenty of reason for optimism in the marketplace in 2016. It is definitely still a glass half full. 

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.