£800k Toyota 2000GT leads Bonhams' Revival sale

6. 1956 Bentley S1 Continental

Sold for £316,250 inc. premium

Opening up the top five sellers is this delightful 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Fastback Sports Saloon. One of just 97 right hand drive examples wearing this 7400 J J Mulliner body type, this car has been in the same ownership since 2005. Prior to then, it was extensively restored with new paint and an interior redone to original specification. Since 2005 it’s had more than £85,000 spent on maintenance to keep it in good nick for extensive touring use. It even comes with an MOT, a new battery, new tyres and a service, so whoever bought it can do more of the same. We hope they do.

5. 1929 Bugatti Type 35B

Sold for £345,000 inc. premium

A car everyone will recognise is the Bugatti Type 35B. It’s what the casual fan thinks of when they think ‘pre-war car’ and this example has had just three owners in its near-century of existence, with the last only buying it in 2019. The car has had a life of competition and use since new, with the seller describing it as ‘a joy to drive and always makes me and others smile whenever I drive it’. We hope the new owner gets good use out of this car, up to and beyond its hundredth birthday.

4. 2007 McLaren-Mercedes SLR Roadster

Sold for £408,250 inc. premium

Quite on the other end of the spectrum is a 200mph soft-top by McLaren-Mercedes, the SLR Roadster. With a carbon tub and a 5.4-litre supercharged V8, it’s an old-school grand tourer forged with bleeding edge technology and materials. It’s still a formidable performance machine compared to today’s supercars, 16 years on from its debut. There’s no matching that Spitfire-esque sound from those side exhausts either. Worth £408,000? With just 110 miles on the odometer, absolutely…

3. 1930 Bentley 6.5L

Sold for £577,240 inc. premium

This example of Bentley’s big pre-war bruiser is one of 544 chassis completed, having once been owned by co-founder of the Le Mans-winning JW Automotive racing team, John Willment. Today the car is presented as a replica of a works Le Mans Speed Six. Everything mechanical is freshly overhauled and good to go, with the car recently having undergone £32,000-worth of work including ‘a thorough sorting of its performance setup, handling characteristics and braking, to ensure a truly outstanding driving experience’. Compared to a £1.5million Speed Six recreation, £580k seems like a bit of a bargain…

2. 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS

Sold for £703,800

Everyone knows the 2.7 RS is the cream of the crop when it comes to 911s, very few of which are what you'd call a dud. So yes, this early ultra-lightweight 1973 car from the first batch of 500 built is thoroughly deserving of such a sturdy price. It’s also eminently usable should the new owner be a UK resident, given it’s a rare UK-supplied right-hand-drive example too. It’s been with its present owner for more than 20 years, who has looked after it thoroughly and kept the receipts. A great buy. We’d park it in the garage alongside a new 911 S/T…

1. 1967 Toyota 2000GT

Sold for £799,000 inc. premium

Yes, the car that leads the publicly available sales list is indeed a Toyota. Not just any Toyota of course. A rare and beautiful 1967 example of the legendary 2000GT, Toyota’s answer to the Jaguar E-Type in the 1960s. You might recognise it as a Bond car (that car was a soft-top made especially for the film). We happen to think the Coupe is prettier with that swooping coupe window line. Before arriving in the UK in 2012, the car had actually spent three decades in Portugal of all places, where it ended up after being delivered new to… Mozambique. The car’s first owner was the owner of Toyota Mozambique. Because of course he was. In recent years the car has been seen (as a Best in Show winner) at notable concours events and featured in notable magazines, so it’s a well-known and well-loved car. We hope to see it around with whoever the lucky buyer is.

Photography by Joe Harding.