Cream Of Classics Drive $2.2m Motorclassica Result

MELBOURNE – October 26, 2010: High quality classics drove Shannons inaugural Collectors’ Auction at Motorclassica on Sunday (24 October) to an outstanding $2.2 million result, delivering an excellent clearance rate of 83 per cent in the process.

The large crowd present for the auction in the historic Melbourne Exhibition Building saw a restored and converted right hand drive 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 bring the top price of the auction at $195,000.

This was followed closely by the $193,000 paid for a beautiful Australian-delivered 1934 3.5-litre ‘Derby’ Bentley Convertible, $180,000 for the Victorian Heritage number plate ‘97’ and $170,000 for a very well presented, UK-delivered 1973 Ferrari Dino 246GT Coupe.

However many of the most impressive results were achieved by more humble classics.

A stunning, rotisserie-restored 1956 Holden FJ Special Sedan sold for $38,000, a 1970 MGB MkII roadster than had received a ground-up restoration sold for an outstanding $26,000 and a very original 1955 Australian-built Ford Customline brought $25,000.

Other classics to sell well included a multiple award-winning, red 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL ($96,000), a rare Salamanca Red 1973 Holden Torana XU-1 with excellent provenance ($81,000) and a comprehensively-restored 1968 Austin-Healey BJ8 3000 MkIII convertible ($68,000).

Vehicles offered with no reserve also fared well, led by the $41,000 achieved by a magnificent right hand drive 1963 Chrysler Imperial Crown Convertible, while a well-presented 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Saloon brought $24,000, and a rare 1964 Studebaker Avanti II Coupe made $20,000.

The seven motorcycles in the auction also delivered a solid result, with a 1948 BSA A7 500cc garnering the top money of $16,000. The three vintage models from the former Marysville Museum sold well at no reserve, with a 1931 Sunbeam 350cc Twin Port’ selling for $12,500, a 1925 BSA 350cc SV making $11,300 and a 1925 Douglas 350cc ‘Belt Drive’ bringing $11,000.

Victorian black and white Heritage number plates led by ‘97’ continued to sell well, with other notable results being ‘458’, which traded heavily on its Ferrari 458 Italia relevance to sell for $75,000 – comfortably out-performing less significant numbers, such as ‘337’’ ($54,000), ‘434’ ($50,000) and ‘886’ ($59,500).