The one-mile-a-year Porsche 924 that sold for £320k

1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTS Club Sport

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £320,000

Although it had passed through the hands of three owners, this remarkable example of the ultra-rare 924 Carrera GTS Club Sport had covered a mere 40 miles from new. Just 15 cars were produced with the enhanced Club Sport package, none of which were eligible for road use. The original Colorado-based owner kept it in a private Porsche collection for 23 years, since when it has been extensively maintained, but hardly ever driven — despite the obvious temptations of the Club Sport’s bored-out, 275bhp engine that endows the car with a top speed of 160mph. Some people have remarkable restraint.

 

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1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

Sold by Bonhams, £3.1m

This example of Porsche’s little 1950s giant-killer had been in the same ownership for half a century. It was raced in period at the Nürburgring by its original owner, the German driver Theo Helfrich.

 

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2007 Range Rover Sport 

Sold by The Market, £7500

Not for the shy, this black Range Rover styled by Kahn Design originally belonged to David Beckham. The interior featured a sound system with speakers designed specifically for Becks.

 

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1966 Ford Mustang Fastback 

Sold by The Market, £40,750

This buyer got the look for less — the ‘look’ being one of the 1001 Mustangs prepared by Carroll Shelby for the Hertz ‘rent-a-racer’ programme. A replica, it fetched a fraction of the price of the real thing.

 

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1962 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser

Sold by Collecting Cars, £95,500

Jonathan Ward’s Los Angeles-based ICON has helped to put early Toyota Land Cruisers back on the map with its ‘restomod’ offerings. ICON builds have become so popular that there’s now an extensive waiting list, and prices can easily exceed £150,000 — making this high-spec, unblemished example a canny buy.

 

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1991 JBA Falcon roadster

Sold by H&H, £4500

Once looked on with disdain by collectors of ‘genuine’ classics, a well-built kit car is now seen as a practical way of getting on the road in something old. This JBA Falcon had covered just 5000 miles.

 

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1974 Ford Escort RS2000

Sold by Hampson, £30,375

A survey revealed that well-heeled fiftysomethings have helped the Escort to oust the Porsche 911 as the world’s most searched-for classic car. This RS2000 variant came with its original Pinto engine.

 

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1980 Rolls-Royce Camargue Coupé

Sold by Bonhams, £29,000

The original owner of this Camargue likely forked out £65,000 for it in 1980 (today: £250,000). Just 530 examples of the Pininfarina-styled coupé were made. Surely this one was a bargain?

 

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Forthcoming car sale highlights

Bonhams, Stafford
April 23–24

With more than 200 lots ranging from British pioneer machines to late 20th century Japanese classics due to cross the block, the first of Bonhams’ traditional twice-yearly outings to Stafford promises something for everyone. Star bikes consigned so far include the Rob North Formula 750 Triumph Trident that won the 1973 Rouen 200 endurance race.

H&H, Buxton, Derbyshire
April 27

H&H returns to the Derbyshire spa town for another sale in the genteel surroundings of the Pavilion Gardens – where a 1975 Lincoln Continental ‘Lipstick Edition’ land yacht in white (the other Lipstick was red) is sure to stand out. Although with petrol at £7 per gallon, only the most decadent of punters are likely to bid on the 7.5-litre, V8 behemoth.

RM Sotheby’s, Monaco
May 14

Timed to coincide with this year’s Monaco Historic Grand Prix – which uses the Formula 1 track – and happening two weeks before the contemporary race, this sale should see some stellar prices paid for a host of rare and interesting cars (not least as a result of bidders getting carried along by the romance of the race-focused location).

Gooding & Company, Geared Online
March 28–April 8

With the world in an uncertain state, who knows where we’ll be able to travel to by the time this issue goes to press. But at least we have the now-familiar, Covid-induced online auctions to fall back on. There are no vehicles in this 200-lot effort from Gooding, just a fine selection of interesting automobilia.