The specialists from Iconic Auctioneers (formerly Silverstone Auctions) auctioned cars over three days at the Silverstone Classic Festival from August 22 to 24, 2025 on the Silverstone circuit. On Friday, mainly racing cars (and motorcycles) were on offer, followed by collector's cars (and automobilia) on Saturday, and finally the "Classic Sale" with over 170 cars on the program on Sunday.
A total of 338 vehicles (excluding motorcycles) went under the hammer, six of which had already been withdrawn before the auction.
The total value of the cars on offer had been estimated in advance at £15.4 million, meaning that each vehicle was expected to fetch around £45,639.
75%, i.e. 253 vehicles, were successfully sold. On average, £36,147 was achieved per vehicle (including a 12.5% surcharge). 85 cars did not find a new owner, including the two most expensive cars.
Barn-find Porsche 356 Speedster as the most expensive car
The Porsche 356 Pre-A 1500 Speedster from 1955 with chassis number 80295 had belonged to a family for 70 years until it was finally found again. Since then, it has undergone a very special restoration that was intended to leave as much as possible unchanged, so that according to Iconic, the car is now a highly suitable "Preservation Class" candidate at Concurs. In fact, only a few parts show how much work has gone into the car.
Expected to sell for between £350,000 and £400,000, the Speedster was ultimately sold for £393,750 (EUR 452,815 or CHF 425,250.
No sale of the two flagship models
However, the two most expensive cars on offer were not sold by the two auctioneers from Iconic.
No official estimate had been communicated for the 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400, but it was certainly expected to fetch considerably more than the £820,000 finally offered.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring from 1973 fared similarly, falling at £ 430,000.
Range Rover as the biggest surprise
At £50,000 to £70,000, an almost 20-year-old Range Rover 4.2 Supercharged Vogue SE from 2006 was actually already valued very highly. The bidders saw it differently, however, and the bid was only accepted at £ 156,000.
The sale price of £ 175,500 (EUR 201,825, CHF 189,940) can only be understood if you realize that Queen Elizabeth II drove this car.
However, there were also a number of other cars that sold well above the estimate, including a Cobra Daytona replica, a Ford Capri Mk1 from 1972 (lot 654), a BMW 325i from 1990, a Nissan Figaro and a BMW Alpine B3 S 3.4 from 2004.
At £112,500 (EUR 129,375, CHF 121,500), potential buyers also paid significantly more than expected for the 1984 Opel Manta 400.
For the 1998 Subaru (Impreza) 228 STi (lot 519), a buyer invested £ 140,625 (EUR 161,719, CHF 151,875) and thus still offered around 40 % more than estimated.
A 1960 MGA 1600 Roadster showed that there is still a lot of interest in good cars, £28,125 (EUR 32,344, CHF 30,375) was the selling price.
Some cars below expectations
On average, bidders went as high as 86% of the median estimate, a good figure overall. As less than ten percent of the cars were auctioned without a reserve price, many of the cars for which the bids were significantly below expectations could not be sold.
However, some of the less sought-after cars still found new owners, such as the 2002 Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6, which changed hands for just £ 1687.
A Jaguar XK8 Convertible from 2000 also changed hands for a reasonable £ 3150, as did the Triumph Stag from 1973 for £ 5400.
The Bentley Le Mans Eight from Racing Green Engineering, built in 1949, was also sold for less than expected. Instead of the expected £ 170,000 to £ 200,000, £ 110,250 was enough for the acquisition.
A 1972 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato 1300 also changed hands cheaply at £ 10,687, which can also be said of a 1962 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk2 for £ 7875.
British-influenced range
With 45 (mostly British) Fords, 34 Jaguars, 14 Land Rovers, 12 MGs and 11 Bentleys, the British brands certainly stood out, even if there were also 22 Porsches, 14 BMWs and 10 Mercedes-Benzes for sale.
It was interesting to note that the cars were comparatively young on average. The average age of the Ford was 42 years, the Jaguar 43 years, the Porsche 40 years and the BMW only 32 years.
While 73% of the Fords were sold, only 68% of the Jaguars found new owners. On the other hand, all Mercedes-Benz were sold.
On average, the Iconic specialists gave the best estimates for BMW and Land Rover as well as Mini, Nissan, Renault and Chevrolet cars, while the downward deviations were considerable, especially for Bentley, VW and Alfa Romeo.
85 cars not sold
A quarter of the cars did not find a new owner.
In addition to the two aforementioned flagships, the interesting TVR T440R from 2003, which no bidder wanted to sell for more than £135,000, was also affected.
Five Jaguar E-Types also failed to attract much interest, as did an Aston Martin DB Mk III from 1958 and the two Lotus Esprit S2s from 1978, which failed at around three quarters of the middle estimate.
Surprisingly, some of the popular "hot hatches" remained, such as a VW Golf GTI from 1979 (highest bid £ 19,500) and a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6 from 1986 (£ 9000).
Overall, however, Iconic Auctioneers must have been satisfied after three days of auctioning, as the cars alone generated £ 9.1 million.
Offered and Sold Vehicles
The following table lists all offered and sold vehicles with estimated prices, highest bids, and sale prices. The price conversion was made at the exchange rate valid on the auction day. All information is provided without guarantee.
| Lot | Car | Year | £ Est from | £ Est to | £ HP | £ SP | CHF SP | EUR SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Alfa Romeo Alfasud Race Car | 1979 | 6000 | 10'000 | 5500 | 6187 | 6681 | 7115 | -22.66%
|
V |
| 102 | Morris Mini Cooper | 1969 | 18'000 | 22'000 | 23'500 | 26'437 | 28'551 | 30'402 | +32.19%
|
V |
| 103 | Jaguar Mk 2 3.8 Competition Car | 1963 | 30'000 | 35'000 | 23'000 | N | ||||
| 104 | Ford Lotus Cortina (FIA) | 1963 | 35'000 | 45'000 | 28'000 | N | ||||
| 105 | Ford Mustang FIA | 1965 | 65'000 | 75'000 | 50'000 | N | ||||
| 106 | Morris Mini-Cooper Mk1 1071 S | 1964 | 28'000 | 32'000 | 24'000 | 26'437 | 28'551 | 30'402 | -11.88%
|
V |
| 107 | TVR Grantura Mk III 1800 S | 1966 | 35'000 | 40'000 | 27'000 | N |
All information is provided without guarantee.
Legend: Column S = Status (V = Sold, N = Not sold, Z = Withdrawn, U = Under reserve)
Est = Estimate, HP = Hammer Price, SP = Sale Price
