Wednesday 15th October 2015 was a great day for the classic car world.

Northampton businessman and car enthusiast Richard Colton left a Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a 275 GTB/4 to the RNLI in his will. Colton was widely reported to have been “nervous” of the sea. The RNLI intend to use the £8.53 million raised to fund one or more new lifeboats – one of which will bear the name of Richard Colton and his late wife Caroline.

The auction

The Imperial War Museum was packed for the auction, many drawn to see the sale of these two important cars. Both were well used – Colton was an enthusiastic driver and member of the Ferrari Owners Club – with significant mileage and modified to improve driveability so could not be considered to be entirely “original” and certainly not in the sort of condition we have come to expect cars to be presented at auction – ie restored or freshly trimmed and painted. What was really significant was that both cars were UK, RHD and in long term ownership with Mr.Colton – and cars like that don’t come up for sale very often. The 250 was one of only 10 UK RHD cars and the 275 one of 27.

The 250 eventually sold for £6,600,000 on the hammer – a strong result given prices paid at auction for Ferrari 250s which underlines the appeal of RHD cars in the UK market. The 275 hammered for £1,930,000. All that remains to be seen is who bought the 250 SWB and how much of H&H’s potential 12% commission (£1,023,600 – if they took one) will also go to the RNLI. Sources and rumour hint that the 250 was purchased by DK Engineering, most likely on behalf of a customer.

If you fancy owning a really nice red Ferrari 250 SWB, I’d give @DK_Engineering a call..

— Harry Metcalfe (@harrym_evo) October 14, 2015

  All-in-all a wonderful outcome for the RNLI and a testament to the generosity of the Colton family.

Other lots

It would have been easy to forget the rest of H&H’s two day car and motorcycle auction, but there were some interesting lots.

A Jaguar XJ-C 12 that appeared in the New Avengers sold for a whopping £62,000 + premium and even though it could be argued that it was a “historic” car we felt this was very strong money. The tiny estimate of £10-12,000 made the result sound even more impressive.

An ex-works development Aston Martin V8 sold well for £65,000 + premium.

The peculiar “Sothebys Special” Aston Martin DBS by Ogle design (one of 3 prototypes) sold short of its £100,000 lower estimate at £78,000. A big project ahead for an obscure and not particularly attractive Aston.

Subaru Impreza WRC chassis number 001 by Prodrive sold provisionally for £150,000 + premium. Good value for a car restored by Prodrive themselves and bearing the names of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist – although they appear to have developed rather than campaigned the car.

Ferrari F40 “Connolly”. Are F40 prices stagnating? This UK car, originally ordered and used by the Connolly family of leather fame was bid to £700,000 and a deal may be concluded post-auction. The tenuos premise that it is the only F40 with leather – ” Reputedly the only F40 to undergo a Ferrari-sanctioned re-trim in hide” – didn’t seem to help.  Previous ownership by George Best didn’t help a V12 E-type significantly either.

H&H really stepped up to the marque for this auction and achieved a great result for the Colton family, the RNLI and the UK classic car hobby. Well done to them.

For more information on arranging finance for classic car auctions please get in touch with us on 01869 351512.