Under the hammer
Key highlights at classic and racing auctions from around the world
STAR LOT @ MOSSGREEN
1977 Holden Torana A9X
{ Mossgreen, Sydney, May 28 }
Built for Indy racers Johnny Rutherford and Janet Guthrie to share at Bathurst in 1977, then raced with success by Bob Morris’s team. John Fitzpatrick drove it in the ’78 Bathurst event while four wins in 1979 brought Morris the Australian Touring Car title ahead of Peter Brock and the works Holdens. 5-litre 400hp V8; still in ’79 livery. A piece of Australian racing history. Estimate: A$850,000-1m
Barons @ Sandown Park, UK April 22
1970 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Series 1
Rare example of the original MkI, including early Recaro seats. Sold for £11,550
1976 Rolls Royce Corniche
Luxury V8-engined convertible. Sold for £35,750
Auctions America @ Auburn, USA, May 11
2012 HPD ARX-03
ALMS LMP2 championship winner in 2012. Sold for $110,000
2008 Toyota NASCAR Cup
Originally campaigned by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Red Bull Racing Team. Sold for $35,200
Bonhams @ Newport Pagnell, UK, May 13
1996 Aston Martin V8 Sportsman Shooting Brake
One of only three examples built by Aston Martin based on the Virage. Sold for £337,500
1963 Fiat 750 Vignale
Attractive coachwork on nimble Fiat underpinnings. Estimate: £10-12,000
Historics at Brooklands @ Ascot Racecourse, UK May 20
1972 Citroën SM
First registered in the UK and still being used for long-haul European road trips. Sold for: £20,160
1959 MGA Roadster
Mint condition following a full recommission. In Iris Blue with black leather interior. Repatriated to the UK from Arizona in 2011. Sold for: £31,360
1972 BMW 3.0 CSL Lightweight Coupé
Rare original homologation special in need of full restoration, but all parts with the car. Sold for: £53,760
1947 Rover P2 sports tourer
Based on a Rover 12 chassis. Stored in a garage for 50 years and used only lightly since being restored to working order 10 years ago. Sold for £12,880
RM Sotheby’s @ Villa Erba, Italy May 27
1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
Fourth-series chassis with Carrozzeria Sport spider bodywork; competition history. Estimate: €2.2-2.6m
2016 McLaren P1 GTR
Super-spec version of Woking hybrid hypercar, converted for road use; just short of 1000bhp. Estimate: €3.2-3.6m
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport
DREAM GARAGE
Morgan Aero 8
Original one-off convertible coachwork by Franay. Estimate: €1.2-1.5m
There can’t be another car maker that tries to confuse the history books as much as Morgan. Brand-new cars that look 60 years old; the return of an obsolete light car concept for cash-strapped drivers but now snapped up by style-conscious enthusiasts; a state-of-the-art bonded aluminium supercar dressed in clothes cut from Thirties cloth. But the tiny Malvern manufacturer isn’t chasing the retro bandwagon – Morgan has been making the 4/4 continuously since the Fifties, the Three Wheeler is a reintroduction of an old favourite, while the Aero 8 couldn’t be taken for anything other than a Malvern maverick even if you tore the winged medallion off its nose.
Waiting lists may have waned since the heady days when the firm would warn you your new-born would be off to big school before your car arrived at the door, but a new product range with some radical offerings is bringing a whole new clutch of buyers and wafting a breath of cool over our oldest manufacturer.
Today’s customers come from wildly different tribes: the guy who wants the new all-electric EV3 – a three-wheeler with a gaping grille and a bonnet full of batteries – isn’t going to the same parties as the lady who has always wanted a traditional old-school Morgan with sweeping wings and creaking sidescreens.
Not that the car on offer at London Morgan is old by any yardstick except mayflies – it’s a 2016 Aero 8, which combines modern creature comforts and design twists with instantly recognisable old world charm.
In fact it is part of Morgan’s genius that it has managed to evolve its vehicles so subtly over the years that, despite the arrival of modernity on a technical level, they have never lost their sepia-tinged look.
Powered by a BMW-sourced 4.8-litre V8 (giving it a top speed of 170mph) this Aero 8 comes with a list of extras that wouldn’t look out of place on a mass-produced modern hatchback and belie its Edwardian looks: satellite navigation, paddle-shift gearbox, power steering, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, electric windows, cruise control, airbags, alarm and remote central locking. It has done just 2,500 miles.
There is a price to be paid for all this, however. Morgan has recently been moving its vehicles upmarket and this Aero 8 has a price tag nudging six figures. And there is nothing old-fashioned at all about that.