Coys of Kensington were founded in 1919 and are one of the UK’s leading auctioneers in the sales of classic cars, race cars and auto memorabilia. Every year they host an auction at the Autosport International show and they always bring a fine array of cars to sell.
The entrance fee to the auction area is £5. I’m sure this would have turned a few noses up at the show but for a classic car geek such as myself the entry was a bargain! Not only did I get to see a lot of unusual cars in person but included in the price was a big catalogue containing a detailed history of all the lots for sale!
Those of you that have been following this blog for a while will know that I am a HUGE classic Mercedes fan. The car with the round headlights is a 1958 “Ponton” W180 220S and the second car is a 1964 W112 220SE. Both of these machines started life as road cars and were converted by Richard Miles of Tiptree Garage into racing cars for use at the Goodwood revival meets.
I’d love to see the W112 race some day. It’s such a massive car and I would imagine that on track it feels more like driving a boat than a car! A beautiful road car but it sure took some guts to race one of them!
This is a car I must admit I would have walked straight past a couple of years ago to go and look at the Ferrari. The MGPA. My Dad is heavily into MGs and somewhere over the past couple of years has managed to convert me. Whilst the later MGBs and Midgets are nice cars I think these little pre-war cars are amazing little things! The PA featured an 847cc four cylinder engine and was capable of speeds of 75mph. I know this is tiny in todays standards but can you imagine how much fun even 40mph would be on those tiny little tyres with the little motor screaming away.
It’s a fun little car that puts a smile on my face every time I look at it and would like to imagine puts a smile on the owners face every time s/he drives it. It’s estimated price was between £23,000 and £27,000 which is what? The price of a new Focus or Mondeo? I know which I would rather own!
Ah the Ferrari 412i. The Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, Ferrari 400/i and Ferrari 412i were considered to be a bit of a dud by many Ferrari enthusiasts but they are actually one of my favourite cars made by the marque and one of the very few that, if I had the money, I would actually own. It is a car that you could use everyday if you so wished. In comparison to other grand tourers of the era such as the Mk3 Supra, it has a very spacious interior with rear seats you can comfortably sit in. The boot is surprisingly large too!
The reason I would have one though is the relative subtlety. Imagine if you will you are walking up your local village highstreet; a bright red 458 or FF roars past driven by a 30 something executive in designer sunglasses with his arm resting out the window. You look at him and think “what a tw*t”. A few seconds later one of these burbles up the road; it’s a subtle dark blue with a boxy profile and chrome highlights that could have come from the late 1970s or 1980s and it’s only as it closes right in that you see the prancing horse logo adorning the bonnet between the folded down headlights.
This is the Ferrari for the gentleman who wishes for the finer things in life, not the playboy who wants to draw a lot of attention to himself. It shows in the build quality of the 412 as well, the panel shuts are tight and the interior feels solid and well built. I would imagine that it feels superb to drive!
The Metro 6R4. The most insane of the Group B rally cars. Williams Grand Prix Engineering took MG’s 1.3 front wheel drive grocery getter, stuck a 3 litre 410bhp V6 in the boot, made it all wheel drive and added this ridiculous aero package. An absolute weapon!
This particular car was Rothmans’ show car and was therefore never rallied. It is totally immaculate and has only covered 3100 miles in it’s life time! A true investors buy!
The Mercedes 190SL. I think the beauty of this machine speaks for itself. A car that looks at home on Hollywood Boulevard or out side the Monte-Carlo casino in Monaco. This example is finished in my personal favourite colour scheme silver with the red leather interior and has been through a concourse level restoration in the past 2 years. An outstanding machine and worth £100,000 all day long!
The most modern car at the auction was this 2000 BMW Z8. Despite its somewhat hairdresser like apperance the Z8 is far from a slouch, being propelled along the road by mighty 400hp V8 from a BMW M5 and weighing over 200kg less than it’s saloon car brother.
Another car often not considered a ‘proper Ferrari’ by enthusiasts is the Dino. Although I honestly have no idea why! The car was named after Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredino who sadly passed away in 1956 aged 24. The body is designed by Pininfarina who is responsible for many of Ferrari’s greatest designs.
This particular car is a 246GT which is powered by a 2.4L V6 and, as you can see, has a solid roof rather than a detachable targa top.
That’s all I have time to cover today I’m afraid. Please follow my Facebook page ‘Motorsport for Mental Health’ or subscribe to this blog to be notified by email whenever I publish a new post 🙂 Thanks for reading!
