Classic Cars

As you read this I’m hurtling towards my 13th anniversary of E-type ownership and the prospect of reassessing its value for insurance purposes. I try to keep on top of that because if the worst were to happen, I’d want to have enough money to replace it. But the question I ask myself, more and more as the years roll by, is would I attempt to find another 3.8 coupé? I’ve no intention of parting with this one, but a replacement, even if I could find a 1962 example in the same Opalescent Dark Blue with red leather, and in the same condition, it wouldn’t mean as much. Because I’ve had it so long now, it’s more than just a machine. That car and I have history, a long list…

Any bucket-list classic chosen by Terry Unwin is going to have to work hard for its money. After owning 200 cars through his motoring life, including no fewer than 18 Bentleys, six Ferraris and 15 air-cooled Porsche 911s, choosing a classic that he hasn’t driven will be tough enough, let alone one that he believes may be the answer to his current car-owning dilemma. We’ll come back to what’s perplexing Terry a bit later, but for now his object of desire – the one car that’s proven elusive over the years, and the one that Classic Cars has tracked down for him to drive – is parked before us: a BMW Z8. ‘In my dream list of cars, the Z8 is probably the only one I could actually envisage owning,…

This isn’t really a hot tip, more a lesson in following your instincts. Following on from our mention in Market Analysis last month, in December at RM Sotheby’s Miami Beach auction, an ex-Paul Allen – aMicrosoft co-founder – 1990 Ferrari F40 with 2500 miles sold for $3.25m (£2.6m). Miami was always going to see strong prices for collector-grade, high-end stuff under the palm trees. And the Paul Allen connection would have helped secure that epic bid, although the car had passed through no fewer than six owners since. But this isn’t a record for an F40. In August, Gooding & Co at Pebble Beach dispatched a 1990 F40 with 1800 miles for $3.6m (£3.2m). A mighty return on a car that originally cost £185,000. F40s have been climbing fast with…

Bonhams’ final sale of 2022, held at its Bond Street HQ, was a small affair that focused on the premium end of the market. With just 29 cars on offer and a kick-off time of 4pm, it was never going to interfere with bidders’ dinner arrangements. Thanks to a strong following wind of no-reserve lots the company had no trouble in shifting more than three-quarters of the lots, with those not selling being older cars, as we’ve come to expect. Some sold strongly though, including the two Lambos on the catalogue cover. The Countach is in Indicators, but the ’69 Miura did even better. Billed as a good resto project, it was converted early in its life from left- to right-hand drive but was otherwise largely original. The £1,067,800 it…

1964 Ferrari 250GTLusso For sale at Artcurial, Paris, 4 February, bonhams.com/cars Why buy it? For some – your writer included – the Lusso is the most beautiful of all Sixties Ferraris, which is a strong field. This is about the best colour scheme we’ve seen one in, with a tan interior the perfect accompaniment to that blue. Immaculately presented and offered from a Dutch collection, the lower end of its estimate perfectly matches our top guide price. Estimate €1.5-€1.8m (£1.3-£1.56m) 2000 Maserati 3200GT For sale at South West Vehicle Auctions, Dorset, 27 January, swva.uk Why buy it? First off, this is an auto, so won’t suffer from the dreaded crankshaft thrust washer issue that can be terminal for the engines of manual 3200GTs. It also has 15 main dealer stamps…

Classic Car Auctions delivered a full catalogue of everyman classics on its 10 December sale including some remarkable ‘garage find’ cars. A 1987 Ford Capri 280 Brooklands with just 2960 miles from new but in need of full recommissioning sold for £39,938, just shy of the Hagerty Price Guide ‘concours’ value of £40,700 and a part-restored 1967 Jaguar E-type 2+2 achieved £21,375, under Hagerty’s ‘good’ value of £27,800 but more than expected. Another car that drew the eye was a 1980 MGB roadster in eye-catching Snapdragon Yellow. It had also spent many years in storage, but this time it seemed the hard work was already completed – the car has recently undergone a bare-metal repaint and a precautionary engine rebuild. The car was showing just 196 miles from new and…