Over the weekend, Silverstone Auctions, the specialist automotive auction house, returned to the NEC Classic Motor Show as their ‘Official Auction Partner’ for the tenth time. As if in celebration for this momentous event, Silverstone Auctions also recorded an impressive £9.2 million in total sales for their collector cars, motorcycle, and automobilia sales. They also recorded an impressive 83% sell-through rate.
On Friday, the three-day auction started with a dedicated motorcycle sale. It was the first time that Silverstone Auctions hosted a dedicated motorcycle sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show. A hundred motorcycles were offered on sale. It was able to record a sale of more than half a million pounds with 81% of the lots sold.
There were a variety of bikes, scooters, café racers, and sidecars that were offered. There were also some rare and historically significant lots that grabbed the bidders’ attention. The notable lots during the motorcycle sale include an exquisite 1939 Brough Superior SS80 with Alpine Petrol Tube Side car that was sold for £61,875. There was also a 1946 Indian Model 346 which was sold for £24,750.
The auctions that were held on Saturday and Sunday piqued the interest of thousands of bidders from different channels. There were people who participated through the Silverstone Auctions website, while others used other bidding channels, with some people also choosing to be part of the sale in the auction room. There were 1,500 bidders that registered for the event with bids coming in from the United States, Cayman Islands, and even Australia.
The Saturday car sale started with a special charity lot in the form of the 1979 VW Type 2 Camper Van. For more than three years, it underwent some meticulous restoration. Practical Classics Magazine and Lancaster Insurance Services coordinated the project. The lot recorded a selling price of £15,750 and all the proceeds will go to the charity partner Prostate Cancer UK.
Both auction days had a really exciting atmosphere. Over the weekend, many of the lots were able to either achieve their estimates or even exceeded their top estimates. The Williams F1 ‘Red 5’ FW14 Display Car was offered early on in the weekend. The example is thought to be the only surviving genuine factory build display car. It was offered at ‘No Reserve’ and it was able to set an impressive £154,125.00. A white 1987 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth with only 5,545 miles on the odometer was also sold for an amazing £103,500.
Five vehicles of TV personality Mike Brewer were placed on the block over the weekend, and he was happy to see all five of them successfully sold. His 1972 Citroen SM 2.7 was purchased by a bidder in the room for £41,062. The sale ended with a round of applause and Brewer himself shook the hand of the winning bidder. The Mike Brewer Collection was able to get £230,000 in total sale.
There were a couple of notable sales for the weekend. One of them is the 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC which was able to get an impressive £540,000 price. There is also the 1937 SS100 Jaguar 2½ -Liter Roadster which is well regarded as one of the most coveted pre-war sports cars in existence and it was sold during the auction weekend for £281,250.
The automobilia sales which saw dozens of collectibles, watches, pictures, and number plates crossing the block was able to sell for well over their top estimates. They were able to achieve around £180,000 worth of sales.
Silverstone Auctions’ Managing Director Nick Whale commented about the auction weekend, stating, “I am delighted with how the weekend went. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the room; a real buzz, something we really missed last year. I am happy we could sell so many fantastic vehicles on behalf of our venders; no doubt the buyers are just as thrilled with their purchases. We are already looking forward to a busy, successful year in 2022.”
Silverstone Auctions will return in 2022, with their first event scheduled for February. The NEC Classic Motor Show auction results for all the cars, motorcycles, and automobilia are available to view at the Silverstone Auctions website. For the upcoming auction scheduled for 2022, the auction house are welcoming consignments for classic cars and collector motorcycles.
*All sold prices stated in the article already inclusive of the buyer’s premium of 12.5% for cars and bikes and 20% for automobilia along with the final hammer price.
