TOP CARS MAKE TOP PRICES WITH SIX AUCTION WORLD RECORDS AT ICONIC AUCTIONEERS £7.5 MILLION SALE AT SILVERSTONE FESTIVAL 23rd - 25th AUGUST

Iconic Auctioneers 14th year as Silverstone Festival’s official auction partner produced some stunning results and world records for the Collector and Competition Cars on sale.

This glittering last of the line 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 SE Coupé, was a top seller. A rare factory Special Edition and one of only 42 examples produced worldwide, it takes desirable to the next level. Benefiting from all the upgrades, a 205mph capability, it features a legendary 550bhp normally-aspirated V12 and has covered just over 500 miles from new.

Charles Smalley, Car Specialist who consigned the car said “An opportunity like this is incredibly rare and Iconic Auctioneers were extremely proud to offer this car to market. There was a lot of interest in this Diablo along with many of our other performance cars, with bids coming in from the UK and overseas.”

This one of a kind 2021 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Bespoke 'Tera V12' Coupé, which had been shown at the London Concours, Salon Privé, Dubai and Monaco – also got heads turning and the bids coming in. As did this 2004 Lamborghini Murciélago Manual in eye catching Giallo Orion yellow. These cars attracted international interest with bids coming in online, on the telephones and in the saleroom and the Jaguar set its own new live auction world record.

The demand for cars from the 1980s and 90s was very much in evidence at the sale, with cars like this 1985 Porsche 911 (930) 3.3 Turbo selling above its top estimate. One of the fastest production cars available at the time, the Porsche 930 Turbo was revered for its performance and reliability during the 1970s and by the 1980s it became one of the defining cars of the decade. This car was guided at £90,000 to £105,000 and sold for £119,250.

Moving away from the more modern performance cars this 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 took the audience in the room by surprise! Guided at £35,000 - £40,000, it sold for £63,000. First registered on 7th of October 1966, it was purchased by the vendor's late husband around 2010 and registered to them since. Within its history file was a signed vehicle valuation letter from the Lotus Cortina Register dated 6th August 2008 confirming that the car was formerly restored by Lotus Cortina specialist, Bryan Moorcroft of Nailsea Services of Bristol, with 'no expense spared' in its refurbishment.

Whilst not the average lot you would expect to find in the car auction this Merlin engine attracted a lot of interest. The immortal Merlin will be forever associated with the aircraft it so successfully powered - most famously the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mustang, Lancaster and Mosquito of WWII.

This 'ground-runner' Merlin engine sits on its bespoke Brian James trailer specially adapted with a control panel to fire up and run. It was also designed so that it could be removed from the trailer as a stand-alone display with its integral frame. It has a Hamilton propeller fitted and came with a ‘suitcase’ of manuals from Rolls-Royce Derby, information from Flight Engineering, starting and running instructions, and even a Haynes manual!

A Collection of no fewer than five very special Fords ‘focussed’ the buyer’s attention at the Sale. This 1976 Ford Escort RS 2000 which was a bespoke and unique build for Henry Ford II when he toured Europe and the UK in the 1970s, came with a unique automatic gear box and leather interior and in a one-off colour to the Ford Escort range. Having been under the radar for about 20 years and done just 44,000 miles this special car sold for £59,062.

The rest of the Collection consisted of four ‘as new’ Ford Focus’, many of which still had their original delivery plastic sheeting and all displaying delivery mileage. All of the cars were fully recommissioned and ready to drive away should the buyer wish. Each car set, or equalled live Auction World Records.

The 2003 Ford Focus RS Mk1 was guided at £60,000 - £70,000 and sold for £87,750, beating Iconic Auctioneers own previous auction record for the Focus RS Mk1. Only sold in Imperial Blue, the exterior shared many styling cues with its rally sibling and even used custom 18'' O.Z. Racing alloy wheels. The odometer reading when the car was consigned indicated just 12 miles.

The second-generation Focus RS is the Focus that Ford originally claimed they would never build - a limited run 300bhp 'super-hatch! This car also received a lot of interest, guided at £40,000 - £50,000 it sold for £67,000 on the day, again beating Iconic Auctioneers previous auction record.

But without doubt it was the MK2 Focus RS500 that romped away at the Sale. Guided at £50,000 to £60,000 it flew to £99,000 matching Iconic Auctioneers own record for a similar vehicle sold in 2022. The Ford Focus RS500 made its global debut at the Leipzig Motor Show on 9th April 2010 and marked the final swansong for production of the remarkable second-generation Focus RS. Its strictly limited production run of 500 individually numbered vehicles all featured a muscular 345bhp, 2.5-litre, five-cylinder engine, which generated 15% more power than the standard Focus RS and delivered truly exhilarating performance.

Lastly, from the 'Focus on Ford' Collection was a final edition Focus RS Mk 3 with All Wheel Drive, delivery mileage (12 miles when consigned) and single ownership, it is estimated at £40,000 - £50,000 and set another new live auction World Record selling for £54,000.

Iconic Auctioneers also cemented its reputation for selling the best competition cars at its Silverstone Festival Sale. This 1986 MG Metro 6R4 'Group B' Ex-Works 'C99 KOG' – presented an unrepeatable opportunity to acquire an historically important, original, ex-Works 'Group B' rally car. With ownership directly from the ‘Works’ team, plus the distinction of the second-best World Rally Championship result of any 6R4 and the very latest specification as developed in period, this was undoubtedly a best example available on the market.

Two other iconic competition cars that pulled in strong results were the 1973 BMW 'CSL Batmobile' and the Ex-John Cleland 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier BTCC. This example of BMW's legendary CSL was simply exceptional following a meticulous, 'every nut and bolt' restoration. Whilst the impressive history of #22, the Ex-John Cleland Cavalier spoke for itself, with Cleland’s six race wins in the 1995 Championship just part of its pedigree.

Iconic Auctioneers are current UK live auction market leaders and following this highly successful Silverstone Festival Sale they are now inviting entries for their Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show on the 9th November. Anyone interested in selling their best of breed vehicle should contact the team on + 44 (0) 1926 691 141 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 11th October when entries close. More information can also be found on their website www.iconicauctioneers.com.
For more information please contact

Rob Hubbard, Managing Director
+44 (0) 1926 691 141 
+ 44 (0) 7775 511 825 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.