H&H managed 32 sales on 59 lots offered (after three late lots replaced three withdrawn) at its season-opener at the Octagon Theatre. Top price was a strong £242,000 for an upgraded Aston Martin DB6. The 1969 coupe had been bored to 4.2 litres, with a modern four-speed autobox replacing the original three-speed Borg Warner among many detail improvements and, though it showed a few bubbles and imperfections in the paint, it raised twice what was expected, approaching the lower end of the DB5 market.

Also raising eyebrows was the £34,100 paid for a Lagonda special, a heroic-looking device that’s reckoned to be the only surviving 2.6-litre prototype chassis, now sporting open roadster bodywork that could have been styled for Dick Dastardly.

Other interesting lots included a 1934 Vauxhall Big Six BXL Limousine, one of only four left running in the world, that had been rescued by a group of enthusiasts and driven to the sale; it fetched £7975, which meant they just about got their money back but had preserved an important car.

Another ‘limo’, a 1933 Austin Seven ‘stretch’ (it was originally an ambulance) sold for £4400 with no tax or MoT, though thankfully it has 850cc Reliant power rather than the original 747cc 13bhp Austin ‘four’.

A 1941 Ford Woody station wagon from Pakistan, rough in detail but straight in body and obviously in fairly recent use failed to raise its £15,000 estimate. A Lamm Mini convertible was £10,175, slightly lower than hoped, a tidy 1989 Porsche 911 turbo cabriolet sold for a strong but market-correct £31,080, and a nicely understated but well kept, used and enjoyed 1954 Bentley R-Type fetched £24,200.

A slightly tired 1959 Cadillac Sedan de Ville was £8800, a 1946 Reo Speedwagon truck £10,450, while a tidy 2002 Jaguar XK8 in good order and with relatively low mileage showed where the market for these coupes is now, at £6160. A Lotus Elan SE turbo that had previously been offered at sale looked good value this time at £3300, and cheapest car of the sale was a Morris Minor restoration project at £600.