Porsches set pace at Silverstone’s May Sale

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1993 Leichtbau breaks barrier at auction | Silverstone Auctions photos
1993 Leichtbau breaks barrier at auction | Silverstone Auctions photos

Silverstone Auctions seems quite happy that a 1993 Porsche 911 S Turbo Leichtbau broke the half-million-pound plateau at its May Sale late last week at England’s Silverstone racing circuit. The car was a special-edition Porsche that sold for £556,875 ($717,598).

Overall, the auction, which featured 75 cars crossing the block, generated £3.6 million (nearly $4.64 million) with a 72 percent sell-through rate.

“There was real tension in the room when competition for the 1993 Porsche was whittled down to two bidders who drew gasps from the crowd with their last -minute brinkmanship eventually pushing the price beyond the half million pounds mark, over £81,000 (nearly $105,000) more than its lower estimate,” Silverstone reported in its post-sale news release.

In general, the auction house said, Porsches sold well. Also exceeding pre-sale estimates were a 1989 911 Speedster that went for £164,250 (nearly $212,000), a 1961 356B cabriolet that sold for £123,750 (nearly $160,000), and a 1991 944 Turbo cabriolet that was purchased for a seemingly bargain £39,375 ($50,740), a figure that nearly doubled its low estimated value.

1955 XK140 sells for £125,500

Also doing well were Jaguars. Seven of the eight E-types offered sold, led by a 1965 Series I roadster that brought £112,500, well more than its pre-sale estimate.

A 1955 XK140 SE with left-hand drive sold for what Silverstone termed “a staggering” £121,500 ($156,555), a third-again above its pre-sale estimate.

“It was fantastic to see such drama and excitement in the sale room today and the great results for our vendors reflected that,” Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, said in the news release.

Another object of intense bidding was a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL homologation special that sold for £83,813 (nearly $114,000), alm0st double its pre-sale expectations.

Among other highlights were the sale of actor John Cleland’s 1971 Aston Martin DB6 Mark II Vantage for £348,750 ($449,362) and of an original tool roll from a Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4 for £12,000 ($15,461).

BMW nearly doubles pre-sale estimate

“Surely, this must be a world record for a toolkit,” Whale said.

Silverstone’s next auction is scheduled for July 27-29 with a race car sale on the 27th and the Silverstone Classic sale on the 28-29.