Now in its sixth year, Coys’ Important Auction of fine Motor Cars took place at Blenheim Palace on 16 July, heralded by the Concours d’Elegance, another firm fixture, whose entries – in a separate enclosure - virtually doubled the number of classic and sports cars scattered both outside and inside the auction tent.

A parenthesis during the summer auction was, as it has become customary, ‘The Jaguar Legend’: 22 cars, mostly E-types, provided a timely reminder of the feline’s 50th birthday celebrations.

As always, Series I Roadsters (whether with a 4.2 or a 3.8 straight-six engine) fetch the stronger money, with two topless 1962 E-types going for £57k and £76k before premium, right in the middle of the respective estimates (£55k-65k and £70k-80k). An earlier 1961 Roadster model, possibly not in as good a shape as the others, failed to sell but was offered £67k (estimate, £85k-110k). A later 1965 Series I 4.2 version, sourced from the USA, sold for £49k. Even V12 E-types, notoriously weaker in terms of demand compared to the straight-six versions, sold well, with a 1972 example going for £22k and a 1973 version, with complete engine rebuilt and original bodywork,  for £47k.

The most interest from both room and i-bidders was reserved to two special E-types: a 1962 Series I with aluminium body panels and the correct 3.8 litre race engine as a faithful reproduction of the original Lightweight (only a dozen of which were produced), built to full FIA specifications, sold for a predictable £118k. A 1961 E-type Aluminium Roadster with aluminium monocoque and DK Engineering mechanical overhaul, did not sell – but was “close”, at £77k.
Interestingly, Mk120s Roadsters did not attract the usual high prices: a 1951 model restored 15 years ago failed to find a buyer at £50k; another Californian sample did not sell at £40k; and even the best one, restored, stripped and rebuilt in 2004, a 1951 model, was offered £57k, well short of the estimated £70k-80k.

The only SS100 (2½-litre original engine), in black and with matching numbers, went for £170k.       

As a spooky coincidence, a number of entries, whether Jaguars or not, were either of American descent or had spent a stint in the States: a nice 1964 Ford Mustang convertible sold for £20k, but there were USA/Canada-sourced cars such as a Porsche 356B T6 Coupé (£20K) against a European 1960 Roadster (good value at £88k compared to the £150k+ fetched by the Speedsters); a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL (£34k), a 1987 USA Bentley Continental Convertible (£45K) and even a 1958 Aston Martin DB Mk III in barn-find condition which sold at £75k before premium, whilst a rare and restored UK-based DB Mk III, in the same ownership for the last 40 years, was offered £107k but did not sell (estimate £95k-115k).

If Winston Churchill had been able to attend the auction taking place at his home, he probably would have liked the highest selling car, a 1931 Bentley 8 litre. Originally sold to HRH the Duke of Kent, whose brother, the Duke of Gloucester, managed to overturn a Phantom V coming back from Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965, this Bentley was clothed by Windovers and has illustrious history as well as ownership, having attended European rallies and two trips to South Africa with the Bentley Drivers’ Club. It sold for £540k (before premium, estimate £600k-700k).
Italian glamour was guaranteed with a 1967 Lancia Flaminia Touring convertible, sold for £45.5k, an immaculate 1982 Ferrari 512 BBi (£62k), and a Lamborghini Countach Anniversary (£55k).

The room rather emptied after the 1989 Ferrari F40 was bid up to £370k but did not sell.
The frivolous-looking and famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, with its Zeppelin airship engine, a display vehicle from the Beaulieu National Motor Museum, did not sell either, though reached £180k. 

Coys’ latest auction fared well despite the summer time and a lack of serious bidders, possibly all trying to escape the terrible weather: overall provisional percentage of sale hovers at around 72%, with more deals being negotiated in the all-important days after the auction.