Five colourful stunners from the Bonhams Bond Street sale

‘Bahama Yellow’ 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Vantage, £160-200,000

Oh yes, we love a bright yellow DB6! It has to be said you don’t see them in this hue very often – there was only ever one Bahama Yellow Mk2 Vantage in fact. It does make a change from the more common DB6 shades of Silver Birch or Forest Green that’s for sure. This car even made it into the factory’s millennium calendar.

To go with the contemporary paint was a modern spec by DB6 standards, benefiting as the Mk2 did from developments brought it for the next-gen DBS that for a while was produced alongside it. This is a DB6 with standard power steering, wide wheels and flared guards and, for this Vantage version, the highest 325PS (242kW) state of engine tune.

This car was in the same ownership for 38 years until 2012, has covered 38,800 miles from new and is said to be in “time-warp” condition ­– that brilliant paintwork especially. So no ready excuse for a respray… It’s being sold without a reserve so you never know, get an auction room full of people who hate yellow cars and you might even get it for a song…

‘Grigio Alloy’ 2015 Ferrari FF, £70-100,000

Not eye-searing at all but this Ferrari still impresses for its subtle colours, and particularly its very cool combination of a tasteful silvery blue (officially, Grigio Alloy) set off effectively by flashes of yellow: on the brake calipers, Ferrari shields and in various places around the cabin. There’s certainly enough performance to bring some colour to your cheeks, the 6.3-litre normally-aspirated V12 with 651PS (485kW) delivering 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 208mph.

The other thing to say about this Ferrari is: since when have FFs been so relatively affordable? With its four seats, estate body and four-wheel-drive, the FF might not be everyone’s idea of a classic Ferrari, but as a practical proposition ­– and a car in similar vein to the much-vaunted Ferrari SUV coming soon – its attributes are surely more appreciated today than when it was new.

This one is a left hooker, and not currently registered. It was built in 2015 but not sold as a new car until 2017. It’s very well specced – the new price would have been well over the £226,000 UK list – and it has had only one owner. It is being sold with no reserve price but Bonhams says 20 per cent import VAT will apply if it is to remain in the UK.

Fire-engine-red 1956 Mercedes 300SC coupe, £380-440,000

Not all Mercs of the 1950s were painted silver or black. A surprising number of the 300 flagship range left the factory red, including this particularly fiery shade on one of the rarest and most sought-after Mercs of the period, the 300SC coupe. We don’t know what the colour is officially called but we do know the Sindelfingen coachwork is as red and shiny as a fire engine and beautifully set off by the tan leather interior.

Make no mistake, this is a rare car that for many runs the 300SL close as most desirable Mercedes of the 1950s. The 300 range, introduced in 1951, comprised saloon and cabriolet plus shortened-wheelbase two-door versions like this coupe of which only 200 were ever made in SC form.

Unlike the smaller Ponton models of the time which were monocoque construction, the top-of-the-range 300 used a separate chassis and coachbuilt body, but all versions did boast independent suspension all round and, in 300SC form, a fuel-injected and dry-sump version of the 3.0-litre, overhead-cam six. With 175PS (130kW), 0-62mph in 13 seconds and a top speed of 112mph, it was a lot faster than any fire engine.

‘Guardsman Blue’ 1968 AC 428 convertible, £225-250,000

You don’t see many 428s in blue or any other colour, which is rather a shame. Only around 80 were made between 1966 and ’73, 29 of them convertibles like this beauty in blue in the Bonhams Bond St sale.

AC had wanted to sell more, guessing that the market would have an appetite for a fast and luxurious GT based on a long-wheelbase Cobra chassis, clothed in a fine Italian suit and powered, of course, by a monstrous American engine: the 428 (cubic inch, hence the name) V8 from the Ford Galaxie packing 345PS (257kW). The “gentleman’s Cobra” did not disappoint on performance – a sub six-second 0-60mph time and top speed of more than 140mph – but buyers were less enamoured by a price that made an Aston DB6 look like a bargain.

The ambitious AC was bodied by Frua which also did the Maserati Mistral (hence the similarity of appearance). The Guardsman Blue paint of the car in the sale is matched to a dark blue mohair hood and black interior. After years in a collection, it is all said to be in top notch order.

‘Talbot Green’ 1933 Talbot AV105 replica, £100-140,000

There was only one colour this car could have been painted: pea green, the same hue as that of a series of Talbot road-racing machines of the 1930s known as the “invincible Talbots”. With wins in both racing and rallying, the cars are regarded by some today as the pre-eminent pre-war British racing sportscar. The ultimate development of the breed was the AV105 which starred in the factory’s Alpine Works Team, dominating events like the Coupe des Alpes. One of the original works “BGH” registered cars that won the Alpine Rally in 1934 was sold by Bonhams in 2014 for £1.3m.

The car in the sale comes with a guide price a tenth that amount. It’s just as green as the works racers but this one started life as a Talbot AV95 in 1933 and was then brought up to AV105 team car spec by a noted Talbot specialist.

Since the rebuild was completed in 2001 the 3.0-litre six-cylinder car has been used on road rallies like the Coppa Milano. After recommissioning, Bonhams says it would again be a force to be reckoned with in road rallies like the Flying Scotsman, Shamrock, and 1,000 Mile Trial. Not easy being green? Not when it’s a Talbot AV105…

Images courtesy of Bonhams.