Events : Gaydon sale of cars

The first, and hopefully, the only sell-off of BMC>Rover cars from the Heritage Motor Centre took place on Sunday, 29 June 2003.



A packed conference room played host to a most surreal auction

The Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon in Warwickshire is generally regarded to be the best of its type in the country – housing not only some of the most exciting period competition and production cars, but also a breathtaking array of non-production cars, prototypes and ex-show cars. The current, superb location, which was opened in 1993, provides a fitting home for this significant collection – where the exhibits can all be viewed under one roof, freely accessible to all.

And what a range of exhibits there is: without doubt, it has always represented the crème-de-la-crème of BMC>Rover’s past glories, as well as their darkest horror stories.

Since 2000, and BMW’s disposal of the Rover Group, the Heritage Centre has belonged to the Blue Oval. Ford’s brief for the Heritage Centre is now to preserve aspects of the existing collection, whilst bringing in a more eclectic range of British cars. In other words, it is a Ford facility, so why not use it to exhibit Ford cars as well as those of BMC>Rover?

Inevitably, with an influx of new cars, some of the existing collection needed to be moved on to pastures new in order to make room. So, in an exercise to ‘clear the decks”, the Heritage Centre played host to an auction of some of their ‘less significant” exhibits.


Delivery mileage Rover 216 Vitesse made an impressive £3600

An interesting list of cars was drawn up and pre-event publicity for the event spread like wildfire. How could it not, when that list included exhibits which ranged from a 1906 Albion and 1910 Austin all the way to ‘as new”, last-of-line cars, such as a 1998 Rover Sterling, and 2001 Range Rover? Essentially, enthusiasts were asking the same question: what kind of people will buy the cars, and what fate awaits them away from the protective custody of the museum.

So on a bright and sunny Sunday in June, the crowds converged on Gaydon to see for themselves what would happen. Firstly, if anyone says that the British motoring public are apathetic about their home team, then the fact that nearly 1,000 people registered themselves as bidders shows this is definitely not the case. Secondly, the cars themselves were not exactly what you would consider a petrolhead’s Friday night fantasy, and yet the interest was huge.

In the auction compound, mundane machinery such as the last-off-the-line Maestro and Austin Ambassador, and a one-off Vanden Plas Allegro, rubbed shoulders with fully-liveried ex-racers and engineering prototypes. The most bizarre sight, though, was the line of sectioned cars. Devised as motor show exhibits, these cars had various panels chopped away, in order to reveal their inner secrets to show-goers. Under the blazing sun, and lined up together, paintwork gleaming, they looked like new car carcasses, which had been picked over by vultures.


Cutaways made an interesting spectacle

Two o’clock and the auction commenced. Gaydon’s biggest conference room was packed to the rafters with keen bidders, curious onlookers and marque fans. In fact, it was so full of people that a second room was opened, and the auction was entertainly conferenced between the two.

The surreal theme established in the auction’s run-up would soon continue once bidding began in earnest. The first sign that this was going to be anything but a run of-the-mill car auction came when a sectioned 1961 MG Midget reached a heady £4800. If this seems like a lot of money for what is essentially a large garage ornament, think about the competitive bidding that led to the 1995 Maestro TD (with a mere 7 miles on the clock) reaching £6500. Once commission to Bonhams was paid, someone had got themselves a ‘new” Maestro for a cool £7475.

As the auction went on, the bidding became increasingly stiff – to such a point that a sectioned Rover SD1 (with no side doors and B-post) went for £2700. The car that many people came to see, and one that is ridiculed by anyone with fuel in the veins – the Vanden Plas Allegro – fetched an impressive £4600.

So, as expected by many seasoned BL anoraks, the cars achieved some heady prices, and only four of the cars failed to reach Bonham’s estimate. More interestingly, most doubled the upper estimate – some reached even more stratospheric heights than this.

But what did all this mean? In reality, the reason that bidding was so competitive was that there was a huge audience, most of whom seemed to be in it for the history. Of course, the number of people there, the nice weather and the heat of auction bidding were all significant factors, but not decisive ones. Speaking to a couple of successful bidders, it seemed that the prime motive for their seemingly illogical purchases was because ‘it’s part of our history”. One misty-eyed Triumph enthusiast who bagged a one-off, Stag-engined 2000 saloon talked of the ‘sympathetic restoration” he would undertake on his new purchase. In real terms, the car constituted only a very minor part of Triumph’s history, but it was a piece of it all the same… and that is what mattered to him.

Obviously, the person who paid £520 for a cutaway Marina is not going to use it for spares – £25 will buy you so much more at the local scrappie.

Personally, I found the event an exciting way to spend a Sunday, but only for the rush of the auction. More than this, however, I came away with a deep sense of sadness for a collection that had been diminished for the sake of progress.

Looking at the people who were successful in their bidding, one cannot help but conclude that at least those parts of the Heritage collection that were sold off will be in safe hands. It is safe to say that the man who paid so much for his 1995 Maestro will not be using it as his day-to-day runner – a Ford Focus will do that job so much better.

What has happened is that a significant part of British Leyland’s heritage now lies in the garages of enthusiasts around the country. Perhaps it is fitting that this is so… at least these cars will be loved now. But one can’t help but feel that the Heritage Motor Centre has taken one small step nearer to being just another car museum. Ford may not have room for such things these days, but 60 buyers on a sunny June afternoon proved that they did.


Inevitably, the Vanden Plas 1500 aroused much interest; it went for £4600…


End prices

The sale consisted of 65 lots, which raised a total of £416,740 at hammer prices, as shown in the “Sold for” column below. The “Total cost” column includes the buyer’s premium, although it should be noted that two of the lots were also subject to VAT at 17.5%. All lots were sold with no reserve.

NB: Four of the 67 lots listed in the sale catalogue were withdrawn, while a further two lots which appeared on the initial list of lots were withdrawn before the catalogue was issued. Two new lots were introduced as late entries.

 Year  Details  Estimate  Sold for  Total cost
1906 Albion A2 12hp Wagonette £30,000 – 35,000 £32,000 £36,700
1910 Austin 18/24 Endcliffe Tourer, registration no. FF 1 £30,000 – 50,000 £82,000 £91,700
1922 Standard 13.9hp SLO Two-Seat Tourer £5,000 – 7,000 £6,500 £7,475
1923 Morris Oxford ‘Bullnose’ Four-Seat Tourer £8,000 – 12,000 £13,000 £14,950
1925 Austin 10hp Lichfield Saloon Late entry £3,200 £3,680
1927 Austin Seven Top Hat Saloon £6,000 – 8,000 £11,200 £12,880
1928 Austin Seven chassis with engine £800 – 1,200 £1,900 £2,185
192? ???? restoration job Late entry £3,200 £3,680
1932 Rover 10/25 ‘Nizam’ Two-Seater £4,000 – 6,000 £7,200 £8,280
1937 Ariel Motorcycle and Sidecar £2,300 – 2,500 £2,200 £2,530
1937 Austin (12/6) Ascot £6,000 – 8,000 £9,500 £10,925
1937 Rover Ten Saloon £200 – 400 £1,600 £1,840
1938 Morris Eight chassis £1,000 – 1,500  Lot withdrawn
1948 Wolseley 18/85 £300 – 600 £1,200 £1,380
1948 Austin 16hp saloon £1,200 – 1,500 £2,100 £2,415
1951 Riley RMA 1.5-litre sports saloon £200 – 500 £450 £517.50
1952 MG YB £2,500 – 4,000 £4,200 £4,830
1952 Triumph Mayflower £200 – 400 £650 £747.50
1953 Austin A55 Cambridge saloon £700 – 1,000 £850 £977.50
1954 Land Rover, Royal Review vehicle Queen Mother’s £6,000 – 10,000 £11,000 £12,650
1957 Standard Pennant £2,000 – 3,000 £3,200 £3,680
1957 Morris Oxford Series III £300 – 600  Lot withdrawn
1957 Daimler DK400 Limousine £2,000 – 3,000  Lot withdrawn
1958 Austin A55 Cambridge £700 – 1,000 £850 £977.50
1960 Rover P4 100 £3,000 – 5,000 £6,200 £7,130
1960 Morris Minor 1000 saloon £1,000 – 1,500  Lot withdrawn
1961 Austin Mini ‘Bathgate’, with BMC Scotland Badge, used to advertise opening of Bathgate Factory £1,000 – 2,000 £4,000 £4,600
1961 Wolseley 15/60 £300 – 400  Lot withdrawn
1961 Wolseley 1500 £1,000 – 1,500 £2,200 £2,530
1964 MG Midget, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £1,000 – 2,000 £4,800 £5,520
1968 Austin 1800, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £100 – 300 £520 £598
1970 Range Rover rolling chassis £500 – 1,000 £2,600 £2,990
1971 Austin 1800 Hearse £1,000 – 2,000 £1,300 £1,495
1971 Rover P6B ‘S’, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £200 – 300 £1,700 £1,955
1973 Austin 1300 MkIII, one of the last 1100/1300s produced £300 – 600 £950 £1,092.50
1973 Triumph 2000 Engineering Prototype, with V8 fitted £300 – 500 £3,000 £3,450
1974 Wolseley Six £1,000 – 2,000 £1,500 £1,725
1975 Morris Marina 1.3 SDL, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £100 – 300 £550 £632.50
1976 MG BGT V8, last V8 off production line £5,000 – 8,000 £9,000 £10,350
1977 Rover P6B 3500, one of the last P6s produced £2,000 – 3,000 £4,000 £4,600
1978 Land Rover Series III Firetender by Carmichael £600 – 1,000 £1,100 £1,265
1980 Rover SD1 ‘Bastos’, mock-up of Touring Car racer £200 – 300 £3,200 £3,680
1980 Rover SD1 2.6-litre, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £100 – 300 £2,700 £3,105
1980 Triumph TR8 £4,000 – 6,000 £9,600 £11,040
1980 Austin Allegro Vanden Plas 1500, 2,650 miles £1,500 – 2,000 £4,600 £5,290
1982 Range Rover Wood & Pickett, commissioned by Harrods with intention to provide a bespoke vehicle and liveried in their corporate colours. £3,000 – 5,000 £5,500 £6,325
1983 Austin Ambassador VDP, last Ambassador off production line, 11,708 miles £2,000 – 3,000 £1,900 £2,185
1983 MG Metro 6R4 1300 Mock-up of Racer £400 – 600 £2,100 £2,415
1984 MG Metro ‘Computervision’ Racer £2,000 – 4,000 £7,200 £8,280
1984 Mini ’25’, 25th Mini Anniversary model, 1,445 miles £3,000 – 5,000 £5,800 £6,670
1986 Land Rover 100, Swiss Army prototype, petrol, auto £3,000 – 5,000 £8,000 £9,200
1987 Land Rover 90 rolling chassis £3,000 – 5,000 £2,600 £2,990
1989 Mini ’30’, 30th Mini Anniversary model, 28 miles £3,000 – 5,000 £8,000 £9,200
1989 Rover 216 EFi Vitesse, last vehicle off the production line 45 miles £2,000 – 4,000 £3,600 £4,140
1989 Rover 827Si Sterling ‘Transworld’, RAOC/Rover round the world expedition, taking a record 45 days £1,000 – 3,000 £2,000 £2,300
1990 MG Metro, last vehicle off the production line, 384 miles £3,000 – 5,000 £4,000 £4,600
1990 Rover Metro ‘Project Pride’, record car breaking 21 time-distance trials £200 – 500 £2,100 £2,415
1993 Land Rover Discovery, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £1,000 – 2,000 £5,200 £5,980
1993 Rover 214GSi, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £100 – 300 £520 £598
1993 Rover 220 ‘Tomcat’, record car £2,000 – 3,000 £4,200 £4,830
1994 Mini ’35’, 35th Mini Anniversary model, 6,400 miles £3,000 – 5,000 £6,600 £7,590
1995 Mini 1.3i ‘Car of the Century’, vehicle from Autocar Magazine dinner announcing ‘Car of the Century’ £1,500 – 2,000  Lot withdrawn
1995 Maestro, last vehicle off the line, 7 miles £2,000 – 3,000 £6,500 £7,475
1995 Rover 414i, first HHR 400 production vehicle off line, delivery miles £4,000 – 6,000 £4,600 £5,290
1998 Land Rover Discovery V8i ES, last of phase one Land Rover Discoveries, 44 miles £15,000 – 20,000 £16,000 £18,400
1998 Rover 416 Si Tourer, last R8 model off line, 5 miles £7,000 – 10,000 £6,900 £7,935
1998 Rover 825 Sterling, last R17 model off line, 70 miles £10,000 – 15,000 £8,000 £9,200
1999 Land Rover Freelander, sectioned ‘cutaway’ vehicle £600 – 1,000 £2,900 £3,335
1999 Mini ’40’, 40th Mini Anniversary model, 53 miles £6,000 – 9,000 £11,500 £13,225
2001 Range Rover P38A 4.6 NAS, last 38A model off line, 120 miles £30,000 – 40,000 £29,500 £33,925

 Enquiries
Vehicles: James Knight:
Tel 020 7393 3822, fax 020 7393 3915, email: cars@bonhams.com
Stewart Skilbeck:
Tel/fax 01757 638894
Keith Adams

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