Coys reckons that the ‘True Greats’ catalogue of heavy-weights offered at its last auction of the year (December 7, Royal Horticultural Halls), was the best of 2011.

Indeed the collection of 64 models shining under the stage lights at the London venue was quite remarkable. It had all the desirable elements of what one has come to expect from a successful auction, whether the actual cars sell over the estimate or not.

In the last month of Jaguar E-type’s 50th year, two versions, a 1963 3.8 Series I fixed-head and a 1970 4.2 Series II Roadster were offered, with the latter going for £50k – within the estimate.

Another year of enthusiastic DB-ing by all auction houses could not end without yet another trio on a plate: an Aston DB MkIII, a DB2 and a DB5. Never mind the first two, as the DB2 restored to concours standards ‘only’ got £128,360 (premium included) and the MkIII, an easy restoration project (chassis and bodywork had already been properly molested) received its best offer at £67k, which was not accepted.

However, the third, a 1964 Aston DB5 which drove Coys’ promotional push of True Greats, was registered new under Beatle George Harrison’s name in January 1965 and has been part of a collection, with an easy life and no restoration overhauls, on-and-off since the ‘80s. It was the object of fierce bidding and eventually sold for a whisker under £350k. Given the provenance, it will be hard to use it as a yardstick for 2012’s appetite for DB5s, though one can safely assume that the DB family is in for another bumper year.

No successful auction is complete without the ubiquitous sexy Ferrari and rare, aloof Mercedes sportscars. Dealers and private punters might have skipped a beat when they saw the 250 GTO reference in the catalogue; alas, the model in question was a perfectly desirable Ferrari built from a Scaglietti Series I GTO body (which, historically, were used to replace damaged original GTOs during races). It failed to find a buyer, though it was bid to £350k.

On a plinth and with its gullwing doors flexed skywards, the black 1955 Mercedes 300SL greeted visitors to the auction gracefully yet menacingly. Perhaps its half-a-million-pound tag intimidated a little, because it did not find a buyer. Infinitely more flamboyant in Red District red, the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540k Cabriolet A brought a taste of the high life with it: once part of the Ecclestone Collection in Monaco, it was fought over discreetly in the room (one of the bidders hid behind a column during the auction) and reached £740k (£864,200 with premium), well above the £600k estimate.

It seems that someone has treated themselves to an early Christmas present. At that price, it is still infinitely cheaper than the ‘30s Mercedes Roadsters and Specials which command an insolent /10m tag.

Coys ends the year with a £4.5m sale, and an overall 7% UK auction house market share.