This will be Artcurial Motorcars’ first sale of the year, on February 10, and it’s already expecting some big-money highlights. For example, it may have no reserve, but a 1965 Dino Berlinetta Speciale by Pininfarina is still estimated to make up to €8m.
Here in the UK, Brightwells has recently been named as the official auction partner of classic car ‘business campus’ Bicester Heritage (right), the UK’s first park for the restoration, storage and enjoyment of classic cars, motorcycles and planes.
Brightwells’ joint MD Richard Binnersley said that partnering with Bicester Heritage “allows us to continue to deliver a professional and welcoming sale experience in an authentic period setting of post-Second World War Britain, with the benefits of a central location creating a setting where clients’ classic cars can star”. What will the effect on sale prices be? We’ll find out soon: the first sale at the 348- acre site takes place on April 5.
Historics at Brooklands’ sales will be worth keeping an eye on in 2017 because of a new finance package it has established. The auction house has become the first to offer FCA-approved credit on all sales over £10,000 without a reserve. The first sale runs on March 4 at Brooklands, before it heads to a new venue at Ascot racecourse on May 20.
William George & Co will continue holding monthly classic car auctions, says sales director Robin Gray, who confirms the market remains strong with no noticeable drop-off expected.
“The weak pound has brought more international buyers to our auctions,” he notes, with prices for any vehicles that are pre-ECU (engine control unit) starting to rise “as cars that were once seen as affordable/practical classics are becoming more and more expensive”.
Expect to see lots of overseas interest in 2017 sales, advises the team at Historics at Brooklands, as the weakness of the pound continues. Not that domestic interest is letting up, mind – but the most valuable cars will always be those that stand out with respect to condition, history, rarity and mileage.
Gray adds: “There’s little emotion in some collector categories, but the mix of purely rational and emotive decision-making in classic cars contributes to its sustained growth rate against other categories.”
