The sun shone on last Saturday’s (May 13) Hampson Auctions’ sale of classic and prestige cars and motorcycles at Mavericks, Holywell, North Wales, at which a record number of bidders onsite and online resulted in over 80 percent of the cars finding new homes. The standout lot was a 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello that had travelled just 9,568 miles from new and smashed its pre-sale estimate to make a cool £135,000.
Other low mileage vehicles also fared well
Low mileage cars and motorcycles were a theme of the sale, with a mint 2003 ex-Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team Vespa pit bike with a mere 27 miles to its name being knocked down for £6,412, an as-new 9,600-mile 1999 Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25 LX going for £4,950, and a tidy 1966 MKII Jaguar believed to have covered only 19,000 miles in 57 years selling for £18,000.
Rarities abounded
A 1954 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet thought to be the first ever righthand drive example despatched to the UK fetched £27,000, while one of only c.30 Renault 5 GT Turbo Raiders remaining on these shores changed hands for £11,812. Other rare survivors given a new lease of life included a 1937 Austin 10 Cambridge (£4,500), 1954 Standard Vanguard Phase II (£4,162), 1961 Singer Gazelle Convertible (£4,612), and 1989 Austin Metro GTa (£6,075).
Plenty of fast Fords – a Hampson’s staple
A unique offering was the sensational-looking MKI Cortina Super that was liveried in Lotus Cortina colours and featured a 4.6-litre Rover V8 engine in place of its original 1.2-litre Kent unit – it set its new owner back £26,438. A superb, unmolested Sierra RS Cosworth 3-door made £58,500; a fully restored ‘droop snoot’ Escort RS2000 Custom was a good buy at £34,312; and a pristine Escort RS Turbo S1 fetched £23,062.
This very successful sale also rehoused no less than 27 motorcycles. The next Hampson’s auction will form part of the popular Gold Cup race meeting at Oulton Park on July 30.
