Auction picks include Stig Blomqvist’s Sierra, an Escort Mexico estate and a £750 Rolls-Royce barn find

1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 

Sold by Bonhams, £165,833
Not only was this billed as “the most original surviving Group A Sierra RS Cosworth”, it was driven as a factory entry in the 1988 WRC by none other than Stig Blomqvist. The legendary Swede pedalled this car around the Rallye de Portugal and Italian Rally 1000 Miglia. It was subsequently raced by Dutch star Erwin Doctor in 1989, after when it appears to have entered a time-warp, retaining all its special factory parts, including original window stickers and even a tax disc from 1990. UK road registered, it also featured a Luisi steering wheel engraved with Blomqvist’s name.

Jim Clark fine art print 

Sold by Hampson auctions, £575
This life-like image was a fine art print taken from a superb pencil portrait of Jim Clark by motoring artist Emma Capener. All proceeds from the sale of the print went to the Jim Clark Trust.

1981/1973 Porsche 911 RSR ‘R7’ ReCreation

Sold by Bonhams, £92,000
Based on a 1981 911 SC, this was a brilliant recreation of the RSR ‘R7’ that competed at Le Mans in 1973, finishing fourth overall. Although FIA homologated, the replica remains street legal.

1971 Ford Escort Mexico Estate 

Sold by Historics auctioneers, £32,032
Fans of the 1970s rally scene know about the Mexico saloon but what about the estate? Ford’s Advanced Vehicles Operations made just three, inspiring this continuation built in 2015.

1954 Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 

Sold by DVCA, £26,400
This was exported new to Australia where owner Bernie Huynen aka Mr Healey competed with it in races and rallies before taking it to New Zealand, from where it was repatriated to the UK in 1993.

2005 Land Rover Discovery 3 v8 

Sold by Historics auctioneers, £22,880
A rare V8 Discovery, this served as an official press car on the 2006 G4 Challenge adventure competition staged in Thailand, Laos, Brazil and Bolivia. It had covered just 12,400 miles.

1975 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II 

Sold by Hampson auction, £750
Possibly the cheapest Rolls to cross an auction block, this had been in a barn for 32 years. Not only was some fettling required before its next wedding, it had dropped off the DVLA register.

2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss 

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £2.9m
There were only 75 SLR McLarens built to commemorate the 1955 Mille Miglia victory by Stirling Moss and Motor Sport’s Denis Jenkinson. The carbon-bodied roadster with a 5.4-litre V8 had just 28 miles on the clock.

Forthcoming sale highlights

• Bonhams, Knokke-Heist, Le Zoute, Belgium, October 6
  Belgium’s answer to The Truman Show, Knokke-Heist is a freakishly genteel town on the North Sea coast which is said to be home to multiple Euro royals and to have one of the greatest concentrations of billionaires on the entire continent. This Bonhams sale complements the Zoute Grand Prix, a classic car rally for the rich that ends with a barbecue beside the beach and revelling long into the night.
• RM Sotheby’s, Hershey, Pennsylvania, October 9-10
  The ultimate hunting ground for lovers of classic American iron, this sale traditionally features cars dating from the so-called ‘brass era’ of the early 20th century to the most celebrated muscle cars of the 1970s. Among the latter will be an ostentatious Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, complete with towering ‘trunk’ spoiler and ‘beep-beep’ Road Runner horn. It could sell for as much as £175,000.
• Barrett-Jackson, Scottsdale, Arizona, October 10-13
  If you don’t like crowds, don’t head to Barrett-Jackson’s ‘fall’ extravaganza sale. It’s typically attended by tens of thousands of car enthusiasts who go to see thousands of collectors’ cars cross the block for tens of millions of dollars. Among this year’s madder offerings will be a slammed Chevrolet custom pick-up from 1965 – with six wheels and a 900bhp, supercharged engine.
• RM Sotheby’s, London, November 2
  RM Sotheby’s is still consigning cars for its annual London sale – but it’s unlikely that many will be as special as the 1936 Delahaye 135 S works competition car raced for the factory by legendary Frenchman Albert Divo. It finished eighth at Le Mans in 1939 and was involved in the 1949 edition – and is now being offered for sale by the family of the late Johnnie Walker whisky heir Rob Walker.