Five bargain youngtimers to buy at #77MM

1988 Ford Capri MkIII 2.8i – £5-8,000

This is a 65,000-mile car with a fresh MoT, a sunroof, finished in a lovely pale blue and to be sold at no reserve – it could be the bargain you always promised yourself! As a MkIII, the final iteration of Ford’s Mustang equivalent for Europe, it gets the quad-headlight and blacked-out brightwork look, while under the bonnet is the fuel-injected 2.8 V6. Bonhams says the car has history from 1991 and is in original condition.

1988 Jaguar XJ-S 3.6 – £18-26,000

There is no shortage of XJ-Ss of course but, mindful of the auction rule – always buy the best – this one could be THE one if you have your heart set on Jaguar’s sumptuous ‘80s coupe. The reason? This car is the Jaguar Drivers' Club Champion of Champions concours winner of 2018. In its original Glacier White/Isis Blue colour combination, the car has been cherished for the past 20 years by the vendor (the fourth owner), during which time it has had around £40k spent on it. At least with the AJ6 engine – what was in 1983 the first all-new Jaguar six since 1948 – fuel bills won’t be as bad as the V12 XJ-S!

1988 BMW Alpina C2 2.7 – £25-45,000

Alpina aficionados will like this: it’s the last of just 74 fully loaded, automatic E30 3 Series BMWs made for the Japanese market by the Bavarian tuning company, famous for some of the best Bimmers ever. It started life as a 325i before being Alpina-ed with the six-pot engine taken to 2.7-litres and wound up to 207bhp. And it will handle, as all Alpinas do, as well as cosset with its automatic transmission, sunroof and air-conditioning. The left-hooker has covered 68,500 miles and recently been renovated to original spec. Bonhams calls it a sports saloon rarity and “certain future collectible”.  

1989 Audi Quattro – £30-50,000

Meet the one and only V8 Quattro (with capital Q). Well, why not? Not even the 350bhp of Audi’s 4.2-litre V8 from the RS4 should trouble the original all-wheel-drive pacesetter’s traction, after all. That’s exactly the engine, along with the RS4’s six-speed gearbox, that Alec Cooper of rally and race preparation specialists Coopersport managed to shoehorn in in place of the turbo 20-valve five-pot – for no better reason than he could. Alec added plenty of good stuff (Proflex adjustable suspension, AP Racing callipers, OZ wheels, Kumho track-day tyres and a roll cage) and the result is apparently a very special road and track-day car. Apart from a unique sound (the V8 revs to 8,000rpm), the V8 Quattro is said to be very quick but extremely forgiving.

1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello – £60-70,000

If you hanker for a front-engined V12 Ferrari but find Daytonas a bit pricey, what about its (belated) successor, the 550 Maranello? Sidetracked by mid-engined supercars, Ferrari waited until 1997 to reprise its GT after the Daytona’s demise, but when it did the world liked what it saw. Pininfarina-designed aluminium coachwork, a 48-valve 5.5-litre V12 engine developing 485bhp at 7,000rpm, and friendly ride and handling characteristics made the Maranello a class act. And, these days, something of a bargain maybe… This black car with tan leather is a left-hooker that was delivered new to Dubai but has spent most of its time in the UK where its service history confirms it has covered 49,000 miles. 

Bonhams’ 77^th Members’ Meeting auction starts at 1pm on Sunday 7^th April.

Photography courtesy of Bonhams.