Auctions Commentary from CCFS Market Analyst Richard Hudson-Evans
Having gathered dust in a Cornish barn for more than half a century, ‘The Broughs of Bodmin Moor’ shook off their cobwebs and came to market at Bonhams 28 year old Stafford International Motorcycle Show Sale on Sunday, when a world record £331,900 was paid by a German bidder in the hushed saleroom for a 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4. This deservedly applauded milestone result for one of only seven survivors of the ten Brough fours built was also the highest price ever paid for any British motorcycle at auction.
Latest classic car auction commentary: 26/04/2016
The eight long-lost status Broughs for total restoration from the estate of the late Frank Vague all exceeded their pre-sale estimate to sell out for a collective £752,625 with premium during an 89% sold and enthusiast-packed weekend, during which 375 collector bikes and related spares and memorabilia lots were hammered away for an unprecedented £3,432,651 including premium.
Pre-Japanese conquest Brits dominated the leader board with a 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Rapide Series A Project in second place realising £270,300 and the ex-Henry Laird Demonstrator, a 1938 Brough Superior 982cc SS100 making £219,900, the third highest price.
A together, but decayed 1938 Brough Superior 982cc SS100 project from the Vague cache was taken on for £175,100 and a 1926 Superior SS100 in incomplete bits from the same notalgia-rich Cornish gold mine found a quite remarkable £96,700.
Other highlighters were a £163,900 1929 Coventry Eagle 980cc Flying-8 OHV, a rare Vintage-era superbike that had been restored in 2007 and put through its paces in the March 2016 pages of The Classic MotorCycle mag. A previously restored c1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Rapide Series-A returned £87,740 to a deceased estate and a recently revived 1951 Vincent 998cc Black Shadow Series-C cost the next exorcist £74,300.
The same princely sum landed a 1955 998cc Black Prince in apparently excellent condition with all those oily mechanical bits hidden away behind fairings. While the ex-Francis Williams/Ernie Woods c1959 Norton-JAP 998cc Sprinter ‘Thor’ - clocked through the mists of time at a mind-numbing 186mph on the Caragrohane Straight in Northern Ireland - achieved £61,980 standing still.
From two wheels (and more than occasionally one!) to four wheeled (and often on three in period) Fords, a selection of which will be hammer-tested by Barons at the first dedicated UK sale for Blue Oval classics being held Saturday during International Ford Show weekend at Sandown Park. Among entries are an F150 Pick-Up first owned by Football Royal David Beckham, a factory-ordered in 1971 Mustang 302 Convertible in right-hand drive for the Fomoco UK MD and a similarly right-hand drive 1963 Galaxie 500 Convertible. New keepers are also being sought for two Consul Farnham Estates and two Crayford Convertibles.
According to the interactive guide of Berlin-based Classic Trader, De Tomaso Mangusta values have grown by over 500% since 2010, just ahead of the Rolls-Royce Phantom II at 499%, the Aston Martin DB2/4’s 469%, the BMW M1 with prices up 449% and the Mercedes-Benz 190SL at 412%. All ahead, say the German number crunchers, of three Ferrari appreciators, the 512BB at 392%, the 500 Superfast 354% and the 212 Inter Europa by Vignale 330%, exactly the same hike being logged for the AM DB4 Vantage Volante ahead of the Talbot-Lago T26 GS with 327% growth since 2010. More pop sought-afters, such as the now internationally cool Lancia Integrale Evo 1 and the Med-side desirable and more affordable Fiat 850 Spider have doubled or even tripled in value since the Noughties became the Teenies, say the Classic Trader analysts.
At the top end of the top car market, the ‘average value’ (calculated by the Berliners as an average across the relatively few that have sold) of Ferrari California Spider LWBs has risen from 2,058,500 euros (£1,605,630) in 2010 to 6,638,170 euros (£5,177,773) in 2015. A 250 SWB Ferrari would have cost you (or more likely somebody else!) 2,115,600 euros (£1,650,168) in 2010, 9,143,681 euros (£7,132,071) in 2015. A Ferrari 250 S1 Pininfarina Cabrio 1,396,409 euros (£1,088,935) in 2010 and 5,229,624 euros (£4,079,107) in 2015, a Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS 186,440 euros (£145,423) in 2010 and 733,187 euros (£571,886) in 2015.
Complete list with oldtimer growth values can be found at https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/passion-investing-classic-cars
"Where next?" – all who face the uncertainty of uncertain times may well ask. And as recent classic car auction sale rates oscillate between 56% at Duxford last Wednesday to 89% at Stafford on Sunday, and the Remain or Brexit polls swing to and from by the news bulletin, the learned answer has to be - "Haven’t a Clue." If you have left it too late to invest in Brough Superior stock, the next best advice therefore has to be, avoid exposure to speed camera flash and keep taking the tablets.