The annual Autosport show at the Birmingham NEC is often regarded as the official pre-season gathering of the world motorsport industry. The expo features displays and stands from leading companies, and official season launches from many major teams competing in Formula 1, World Rally Championship and the World Endurance Championship. It is also home to the annual Coys Autosport auction, and in this post we take a quick look at some of the highlights set to go under the hammer on January 13.
1993 Ferrari F40 LM Michelotto – £800,000-1,000,000
As soon as you say ‘F40’, you have our attention. Ferrari never officially raced the F40, but second-cousin company Michelotto engineered a kit to transform the F40 to LM specification, which is what this 1993 example has worn since 1995. The car was delivered new to Holland, and has spent most of its life since then in the hands of competent (and well-heeled) amateur Ferrari racers throughout Europe. It benefits from recent restoration work, including a recent engine and gearbox rebuilt at a reputed cost of £80,000.
Prices for road-going F40’s have skyrocketed in the past few years, and the estimate for this example sits at around £200k less than what original road cars are going for, potentially due to its lack of any serious period race history. It will be interesting to see what it brings.
1975 Ferrari 365 GT4/BB – £280-320,000
This well-sorted 365 GT4/BB is part of a large Ferrari contingent at the Autosport auction. Many will confuse this with the more common 512BB, however this is an early 365 GT4/BB – one of just 387 built, of which only 58 were right-hand drive. This car was ordered new by Colonel Ronnie Hoare of Maranello Concessionaires fame, and benefits from a recent bare-metal respray.
1995 Aston Martin Virage Voltane Supercharged V8 widebody – £220-280,000
This Virage Voltante ticks all of the Aston collector’s boxes, being one of just three cars built to this widebody/supercharged specification. The striking Rolls Royce Royal Blue paintwork, offset by Magnolia hide with blue piping, gives this example that classic British bulldog feel. With only 10,000 miles showing on the odometer and a full dealer history with 20 services in the book, this is one highly desirable car.
1962 Lamborghini 2R – £12-15,000
A driving Lamborghini for £12k? Sold! Wait…. there must be a catch.
Oh. It’s a tractor. You know the story – Ferrucio Lamborghini famously made his fortune in the tractor game, spent his money on Ferraris, and became increasingly disenchanted as they kept breaking down. ‘I can make a better supercar than you can!’ And, well, he arguably did.
Good money is being paid for Porsche Junior tractors by collectors who already have everything else, and there’s no reason why this 2R shouldn’t have a place in an extensive collection, either. We guess it’s just a matter of perspective – £12k is a lot for a 56 year old tractor, but it’s also not very much for something that rolled out of Sant ‘Agata Bolognese in 1962. Let’s see how it goes.
2006 BMW Alpina B7 – £28-35,000
This 2006 Alpina B7 is seriously cool in an underground kind of way – those who know, know. This example shows just 23,000 miles, and is fitted with every possible Alpina option from the day. Alpina’s are often misunderstood – usually fiendishly expensive when new, they don’t really look like much on paper. But the litany of subtle changes all add up to create a rather special driving experience.
Due to its low mileage, good condition and full Alpina package, this would be one to salt away. Values of complete Alpina cars from the 80s have skyrocketed – you might need to wait a decade or two for it to happen to this one, but it undoubtedly will.
1966 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster – £85-95,000
This E-Type strikes us as the perfect driver. It comes straight from a Canadian collection and benefits from a recent restoration, so it’s mechanically perfect and nicely run-in. But it’s not so perfect that you’d be afraid to use it, and it comes with the rare factory hard-top. Buy it, throw your bags in the back, and drive it to the south of France in the summer. Ideal.
A turbocharged Porsche duo – is air-cooled really worth £80k?
Now, we know that air-cooled Porsches are a thing of beauty, and we know that as the 993 series is the ultimate evolution of the original 1964 concept, it is the one to have. But… and this is a big but. As cars to buy and enjoy, is a 993 Turbo really £80k better than a 996 GT2? It’s not as if the water-cooled challenger isn’t without its attributes either – it’s a proper Porsche Motorsport car from the GT division, whereas the 993 is a regular run of the mill production car.
We’ll be fascinated to see what happens here. The 1996 993 Turbo has an estimate of £140-160,000, whereas the 996 GT2 has an unusually low estimate of just £60-80k. It is left-hand drive, and from the single image supplied it appears to not be optioned with the desirable Clubsport package. It still seems good value though – is there something wrong with it that’s not listed in the description? Or are we looking at the bargain of the sale?
1984 BMW 635 ‘Marlboro’ Group A Touring Car – £200-250,000
Cigarettes are bad for public health and all, but you can’t deny that they produced some of the most iconic liveries to ever grace the circuits of the world. This ’84 BMW 635 race car, built to FIA Heritage Group A Touring Car specification and wearing a period Marlboro livery, is one of the most aggressive looking touring cars that we’ve ever seen. With a proper race car stance and those period BBS centrelock wheels, it looks proper. It sounds proper, and with a 286bhp twin-cam M88 from the iconic M1, it more than certainly goes proper, too.
And the best part? It’s a fresh build replica of the Schnizter team car driven by Gerhard Berger in the 1985 European Touring Car Championship, completed in 2015 from a clean donor road car. You’d be welcomed at historic meetings all over Europe, and you can drive it hard without the guilt of erasing period history. The best of both worlds.