Shannons Sydney Autumn Classic 2019 Preview

The Shannons Sydney Autumn Classic Auction for 2019 happens Monday next week.   I work close to the display centre, so I went down to check out the collection during my lunch break.   As usual, they had a nice range of interesting cars on offer.   Also as usual, there were offerings to suit most budgets.

The lots that I will be keeping an eye on during the auction are:

Lot 34:  Jaguar S-Type 3.8

The S-Type is the somewhat overlooked compact jaguar.   In 3.8 spec, in some ways it is the ideal compact Jaguar for touring, rather than the MK2 which is better for classic racing.   This car was an older restoration and looked very nice.   It was close to the ideal spec for me, being an unmolested 3.8 liter model.   Too many of these cars have suffered from dubious restomods.   The no reserve $15-20,000 guiding price is also attractive for this car.   What lets it down for me is the colour (I can’t stand white cars) and the fact it is automatic.   In my mind, a sports saloon like the S-Type should be Manual+Overdrive.

Lot 66: Rolls Royce 20/25 Open Tourer

The guiding price of $70-$90k seems reasonable for a pre-war Rolls Royce tourer.   I suspect the price is kept low due to the fact that it is a re-body rather than an original tourer body.  From reading the description, the original body was a long sedan.   The auctioneer refers to the car as a great example of a ‘Goshawk’ but I don’t think that is actually true.   My understanding was that the Goshawk was a particular 20hp, and not a general term for the entire small horsepower range.

Lot 67: Bentley 4¼ Litre Open Tourer

This car was the standout for me of the entire auction catalogue.   Owning a Derby Bentley is a bucket list item for me and this one looked like an ideal candidate for a car that is used vs a trailer queen.   As it is not an original tourer body, the price is lower than an original.    I will be very interested in seeing the result, although this car is well outside my price range.   The Guiding price is $120-$150k.

Notable Mentions

There were also some other lots that caught my eye.  First and foremost was the 190SL in red.  Obviously a striking car, and a much better colour than the white which most of them seem to be.   Values of the 190SL are up a lot primarily because they look a lot like the 300SL.   I still contend that the E-Type is the much better car.     There was also a set of nice looking Alfa Romeos, but the price for these is also above what I think they are worth when you compare to other cars you can buy for similar money.