From Chevrolets, Buick, Cadillac and Pontiac cars to trucks and military vehicles, America’s best automotive offering of the Forties was represented by a 57-strong collection, mostly used during filming in the UK but of interesting provenance, such as the 1933 Dodge Tow Truck, looking very much like a life-size ‘Mater’ from the film ‘Cars’ and complete with real bullet holes on the driver’s side – from the Nevada Desert and left there, untouched, for 51 years.

A lady buyer secured the sale for £10,200, some ten times its original estimate, loudly expressing her pleasure at beating equally determined male bidders. The auction got even more vocal when a French bidder in the audience mistook the Plymouth restoration project he had purchased earlier for a later lot, a 1964 Daimler V8 2.5, worth several times more. The misunderstanding and ensuing kerfuffle provoked much mirth among the public.     

Classic straight-six Buick and Chevrolet V8 engines or flat-head Ford V8, sporting antiquities such as three-speed manual transmissions and two-colour liveries, came from exotic locations such as Arizona, Minnesota, California and New Jersey to make up the American bulk of Historics’ sale, with a 1937 DeSoto Sedan and a 1948 Chrysler Windsor selling at over twice the estimate, respectively £5800 and £9700.
 
Bidding was not remotely as jaunty in the second part of the sale: despite a packed audience in the hall (new faces rather than the usual suspects), phone and Internet bidding (79 registrations on i-Bidder), many cars were relegated to cameo or ‘extra’ roles, with the great majority of classic sportscars and saloons only provisionally sold and deals closed over the weekend.

A 1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta with an interesting history, previously owned by the Sultan of Brunei and only one of 80 RHD cars ever built, went unsold after the highest offer stopped at £95k.

Going against DB2/DB4 trends, a 1998 Aston Martin DB7 coupé was sold at £15,750, probably ‘the lowest price ever achieved on a car of this calibre,’ according to the auctioneer, and a 1967 DB6 failed to reach the lower estimate, being offered ‘just’ £68k. By contrast, there was no stopping a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, whose frenzied bidding climbed to £205,000 (before 12% premium) very quickly. In a hot France vs England ‘phone battle, a 1967 Shelby GT500 ‘Eleanor’ belonging to Tottenham Hotspur footballer, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, went to the Frenchman for £145,000 (before premium).

Neither of the vintage Rolls-Royces, a 1923 20h and a 1926 Phantom I, reached the minimum required to exchange hands.  Despite a less than effervescent sales result from the ‘ordinary’ auction, the overall sale percentage achieved was 71%, an average figure for quite a lively event.