With the northern hemisphere awakening from its winter slumber and classic cars there being prepped for spring and summer runs, here in the Great Southern Land we’re bidding goodbye to the warmer months and rolling our beauties back into warm, dry garages.
Not everyone is shutting down for winter, though, with some punters on the hunt for the next addition to their collection, leading to big money being paid for two mint and undeniably exotic supercars during May.
Leading the way at online site Collecting Cars was a McLaren 765LT Spyder; one of 765 produced and successfully bid to $795,000. It shaded a virtually new (52km) 2024 Porsche GT3 RS Weissach Pack which had sold the previous day to a bid of $707,000.
Less expensive than the McLaren but still desirable was the Ferrari 328GTS which sold via Collecting Cars for $177,000 and a R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R at $50,000.
‘Bargain of the Week’, however, might be the New Zealand-delivered 2004 Bentley Continental GT that had been in Australia for several years and knocked down to a surprisingly low $47,500.
A few days later came a car from an entirely different era and genre to the Bentley. Again, at Collecting Cars it was a Messerschmitt Kabinroller 200, which with three wheels and a 197cc rear-mounted engine sparked spirited bidding and eventually sold at a negotiated $50,000.
Pickles Auctions isn’t the player that once it was in the Classic market but it joined the fray with a handful of older models, none of which at the time of writing seem to have sold.
Offerings from Pickles’ list included a stately 1950s Bentley Mark 6 which was bid to around $20,000 and a scarce Datsun 2000 Sports. These during recent years have routinely reached $50,000 but this tidy car didn’t inspire bidders and was a no-sale at $33,000.
Trading Garage began their month slowly, with a cluster of moderately-priced collector number plates. Give them a week, though, and battles will surely rage for some high-profile vehicular lots and desirable collector number plates. These include a VL ‘Walkinshaw’ Commodore Group A, Ford Mustang Boss 302, and several Victorian plates which have already been bid to more than $100,000 each.
Donington Auctions’ next major sale of Collector Cars is scheduled for August, but to maintain enthusiast interest they’re hosting a massive Timed Auction of Aston Martin spare parts, literature and diecast models during May.
Bidding for this exceptional collection began on May 12 and will remain open until the first lots begin closing off from 10.00am on May 25th. More than 600 lots are available, including rarities like a set of triple SU carburettors for your DB5 or a mint and boxed example of Corgi Toys’ diecast ‘Goldfinger’ Aston Martin from 1966.
Also in Melbourne, Burns & Co has announced an end to its traditional Sunday afternoon sales of Classic and Collectable Vehicles, replacing them with evening events to be held each month on consecutive Monday and Tuesday nights.
One evening will be devoted to US, European, British and Japanese brands, then on the following night attention will turn to a catalogue of Australian models.
Burns’ first evening sales will be held on May 19-20 with bids invited online, by phone or from the floor at Burns’ Melbourne site. At this stage, a combined total of around 70 lots will be available.
Please note: All figures quoted are Hammer Prices in Australian Dollars and do not include any applicable Buyer Premium.
