Classic Cars January 2023

January 2023 Issue 594 When Mercedes unveiled its new 230SL, with its simple, elegant surfacing shimmering under the 1963 Geneva Salon lights, adrenaline-seeking sports car fans might well have kept walking. It lacked the machismo of familiar high-performance two-seaters or imposing presence of luxury grand tourers. If they did pass by, they were missing a chance to see the future, one where comfort and swift, easy progress would combine to make rapid travel accessible to all levels of driver. At least those with £3595 to spend on a two-seater. That weighty sum would have put a Jaguar E-type and S-type 3.4 in your garage. That sports car/saloon comparison works on another level too, because the 230SL was based on a shortened W111 ‘Fintail’ platform, complete with its swing-axle rear and…

‘It’d make a rubbish getaway car, wouldn’t it?’ S imonBiggs lives up to his name. He pulls up in a woodland car park in his modern BMW, having enjoyed the roads around Malvern – home of Morgan – and clambers out to examine the Citroën DS19 he’s come from Birmingham to drive. At six feet six inches tall, he towers over the French Sixties classic. After pacing around the car, he politely admits something to me. ‘Much as I’ve been looking forward to driving the Citroën DS, I did wonder whether I was going to fit in it,’ he says. ‘When I went shopping for a classic, I went round shows asking owners of cars I liked whether I could sit in them, and ended up having to cross most…

The last few months were a good time to buy an XK120. In October Manor Park Classics knocked down a very lovely, restored 1951 roadster with matching numbers, original stud-less cylinder head, early aluminium bonnet, doors, and bootlid and just out of 25- year ownership for £62,100. With the most-trusted specialist names in the considerable history file and described by the auctioneers as ‘the best we have ever driven’, this was a sorted, turnkey XK needing nothing, bought for far less than the cost of recreating something to similar superlative condition. In the very same month, Dore & Rees knocked down another 1951 roadster, in wonderfully patinated condition with a long, detailed history and Seventies motor sport successes under its belt including the first Mille Miglia retrospective in 1977, for…

Russ Smith’s market analysis H&H’s disappointing result came despite virtually 20% of the cars being sold without reserve. Then there’s the high percentage of lots that were let go for below their estimates. Plenty of motivated sellers about. Maybe the recession is already starting to bite the classic car market. We’ll certainly watch the next few sales with an eye on that, but H&H’s two-day sale at Duxford on 19-20 October was no runaway success. It had 156 cars in the classic section of the sale and just 99 sold – arate of 63.5%. Also notable was the number of lots that were bid to well below their low estimate – but the sellers accepted what was offered. The pictured 1955 Triumph TR2 is a good example of that. A…

Russ Smith’s tempting buys 1999Aston MartinV8 Coupé For sale at H&H, Buxton, 30 November, handh.co.uk Why buy it? One of just 101 built, this may be the best surviving example of the V8 Coupé. Last of the traditional coachbuilt Astons, this car has had just one owner from new. He has clocked up a mere 29,236 miles but hasn’t skimped on the care. It has 15 stamps from Aston Martin Works Service in the book – no one else was allowed to touch it! Estimate looks right for what you’re getting. Estimate £75,000-£85,000 1960 Jensen 541R For sale at Historics, Surrey, 26 November, historics.co.uk Why buy it? Owned by a founder member of the Jensen Owners Club since 1968 and restored and always cared for by him, this is…

Russ Smith’s Market headliners I twould be hard to overstate the significance and rarity of this Mercedes, so the opportunity to be in the bidding when Historics offers it on 26 November shouldn’t be missed if you’re in the market for such a car. Repeat chances are going to be like seeing a total eclipse. That ticks up a further notch when you add in this particular car’s back story. You might notice that the steering wheel in on the right-hand side, because this is probably the first UK-market example of the thoroughly-named Mercedes-Benz 300b Four-Door Convertible Sedan D. Completed in November 1953, it was registered in 1954 to Mercedes-Benz UK, which retained the car until 1965. The reason why is not known, but it may well have been…