Silverstone Auctions claims a world auction record price for a 1955 Triumph TR2 Le Mans with an example selling for £258,750 ($332,662) at the company’s recent sale in conjunction with the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham, England.
The auction, the last of 2019 for Silverstone, did £5.8 million ($7.456 million) in sales overall and posted a 75 percent sell-through rate with a docket of 118 vehicles and more than 200 items of automobilia.
The ex-works Triumph Le Mans was purchased immediately after its Le Mans debut by Prince Hussein of Jordan and was being offered at auction after 47 years of ownership by the consigning family. Bidding was intense, Silverstone said.
An unexpected highlight of the two-day auction occurred on the opening day when a 1991 BMW 325i E30 Sport driven only 6,794 miles since new sold for a surprisingly strong £51,188 ($65,810) after a battle between two bidders in the auction room.
Among featured lots, a 2,000-mile 1993 Jaguar XJ220 formerly owned by John Madjeski, founder of Auto Trader, sold for £362,813 ($466,450) ($44,475); a 2017 Subaru WRX STi Final Edition, one of the only 150 destined for the UK market, brought £34,594; and a 2015 Volkswagen XL1, one of only 80 such electric cars produced and with only 80 miles on its odometer, went for £59,063 ($75,934).
Aston Martins performed well at the sale. A 1984 V8 Series 4 Oscar India went for £155,250 ($199,598); a 2010 V12 Vantage brought £52,650 ($67,890); a V8 Vantage Volante, one of only six with the Vantage engine in Series 1 Volante coachwork, sold for £202,500 ($260,344); a DB6 Mk1 Vantage went to a new owner for £287,500 ($369,624); a DB5 brought £618,750 ($795,446); and the 1965 Aston Martin DB5 that appeared on a Royal Mail postage stamp sold for £607,500 ($781,032).
Silverstone Auctions next event is scheduled for November 22 at the Riyadh Car Show in Saudi Arabia.
Your information about the Volkswagen XL1 is wrong. In fact it sold for £70,085 GBP. Please check the auction company’s Twitter feed or any reliable auction results website and you will see that I am correct.
Here is the direct quote from Silverstone Auctions news release about that vehicle: “With talk about electric cars all the rage at the moment, it was very apt that Lot 425, a rare Volkswagen XL1 from 2015 with 80 miles on the clock and one of 200 built worldwide was to generate lots of interest and sold for £59,063.”
My recollection is that it is a turbodiesel electric hybrid that is capable of well over 100 mpg
and uses lamborghini door hinges for it’s scissor doors.
jim p, Actually the official fuel consumption figure is 313 mpg (or 261 mpg if we’re talking US gallons). The door hinges were in fact designed by VW but the interior door release handles are the same part as on the Lamborghini Aventador!
Yes that’s right Larry but, remarkably, that figure given in the Silverstone Auctions news release was actually an error! I actually know the person who purchased the car and have it in writing in an email from him that he paid a total of GBP £72,450 which was on a winning bid of £63,000 plus buyer’s premium and VAT.