Showroom Auction picks: Camel Trophy Land Rover Disco and a Ducati 916 Senna

1997 Land Rover Discovery 300 Tdi

Sold by Artcurial, £76,720

The superb condition of this Discovery belied that it was one of the 20 examples built for, and used in, the 1997 Camel Trophy which took place in deepest Mongolia. Campaigned by a Spanish team and then stored for a decade, it had retained all of the accessories originally added for the adventure, including bumper-mounted winch, snorkel, roof rack and canoe. Even the multitude of stickers had clung on for 25 years. Subsequently sold to a Dutch buyer and then moved on to a French enthusiast in 2009, it had been in the vendor’s ownership since 2020 – but still had a mere 33,500km on the clock.

2007 Bugatti Veyron

Sold by Artcurial, £1.2m

Announced in 2000 but not delivered for another five years, the Veyron was the first true, road-going hypercar. A modern classic, it now looks delightfully retro – but will still wipe the floor with most things…

1998 Ducati 916 Senna

Sold by Bonhams, £11,120

Massimo Tamburini’s Ducati 916 design is considered one of the most perfectly nuanced. This was one of 902 produced between 1994 and 1998 to commemorate the late Ayrton Senna.

1959 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite

Sold by CCa, £10,150

In the vendor’s ownership for 38 years, this Frogeye’s duties included shopping and school runs. In between, it was developed into a hillclimb weapon, notching up wins in the AH Challenge.

2023 Charles Leclerc helmet

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £262,580

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc wore this Bell HP77 helmet in the 2023 Monaco GP, finishing sixth. He consigned it for sale to raise funds for victims of this year’s flooding in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.

2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £74,000

Anyone who describes a Porsche Boxster as a ‘hairdresser’s car’ has probably never driven one of the spectacular Spyder versions that were 80kg lighter and more powerful. This is also a manual.

1986 CitroËn 2CV6 club

Sold by Bonhams, £16,175

This 2CV showed the wisdom in letting someone else endure the pain of restoration – having bought it for £2200 10 years ago, the vendor spent a further £24,000 having it rebuilt… oops!

1993 Austin mini Moke

Sold by CCA, £20,813

Not for the shy, this decidedly distinctive Moke was one of the last built during the Portuguese era of production under the ownership of Italian motorcycle manufacturer Cagiva. It was delivered new to Macau before being imported into the UK in 2016 and fully restored.

Forthcoming sale highlights

• Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone, August 25-26
  This two-day sale will feature race and competition cars on Friday followed by automobilia and classic road cars on Saturday. Held at the heart of the Silverstone Festival – which attracts more than 100,000 visitors – it is among the biggest sales of the year for Silverstone Auctions and includes real rarities. This time, for example, there’s an ‘interim cowl’ Morgan 4/4 competition car and a 1987 factory Ford RS200 Tickford.
• WB & Sons, Newcastle, September 9
  Family owned WB & Sons has been trading for more than 15 years, but the business was only formalised five years ago as both a classic car specialist and restorer, and also as an auction house. The name is still off the radar of many collectors, but probably won’t remain so for very long due to an ongoing series of successful sales. This September event is definitely worth keeping tabs on – visit wbandsons.com.
• RM Sotheby’s St Moritz, Switzerland, September 15
  Glittering St Moritz had lost its lustre as a prime location for classic car events across recent years – but now it’s very much back on the map, thanks in part to the glamorous The Ice St Moritz concours, the efforts of a very active classic car community and a burgeoning selection of local hillclimb events. RM Sotheby’s sale will feature more than 100 cars, most of which will be offered with no reserve.
• Bonhams, Newport, Rhode Island, US, September 29
  Bonhams heads to the Tennis Hall of Fame at the annual Audrain Concours for this sale, which will see a carefully curated yet eclectic selection of lots cross the block. The week-long celebration of motoring and sportsmanship began with the opening of the Audrain Automobile Museum nine years ago and has quickly developed into one of the most prestigious concours events on the calendar.