What will £25,000 buy you at Bonhams' #76MM auction?

For one fortieth of a million – £25,000 – there’s a big range of tempting metal available in the sale. Classy saloon, sports car, ready-to-race competition car, classic 4x4 or a convertible with royal connections – even an ex Porsche car transporter – all come with presale estimates around the £25k mark. Here’s our top £25k selection.

1972 DATSUN 240 Z
£25-30,000

Originally delivered new to Australia, this right-drive five-speed version of everyone’s favourite ‘70s Japanese sports coupe is said to be original (apart from a respray and aftermarket wheels) and unrestored. Great design, 2.4-litre overhead-cam straight six, and tough as anything.

Bonhams says: “Exceptionally solid example that drives beautifully.”

1996 ASTON MARTIN DB7 VOLANTE
£25-35,000

This drop-top, drop-dead good-looking Aston was originally built for Prince Andrew who, it is believed, drove it for a year (there’s a letter to prove its royal first owner). Since then the British Racing Green, manual gearbox convertible has covered 72,000 miles and recently had its magnolia-leather interior refurbished.

Bonhams says: “Beautiful soft-top Aston Martin, Royal Family connections, outstanding value for money.”

1993 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL R
£22-28,000

The first Bentley (for a very long time…) that wasn’t also a Rolls-Royce, the Continental R marked the debut of a latterday sporting Bentley two-door. Given how successful the Conti formula has proven, it was bit of a pioneer then – as well as undeniably elegant and luxurious. Powerful too with the 385bhp turbo V8 aboard.

Bonhams says: “A delightfully honest motor car with an impressive history file.”

1980 LAND ROVER SERIES III 4X4 STATION WAGON
£18-22,000

Looking splendid but said to be ready to go up to its axles in mud,  this classic Landie with the 2.3-litre petrol motor was originally ex-military and sits on the stronger military-spec chassis. It was reborn in the shape you see here after a two-year rebuild that including replacing a great deal of it with new bits – including all 800 body rivets!

Bonhams says: “Extensively restored with no expense spared.”

1965 ALFA ROMEO 1600 GTA ENGINE
£18-22,000

The classic Alfa four-pot, twin-plug race engine…an absolute gem. And this one’s ready to go with nothing about it that hasn’t either been refurbished or replaced, and all by the people who know best: Auto Delta in Italy. You want a car to go with it? That’s in the sale too. But the ’65 Giulia Sprint GTA has a guide of… £170-220,000.

Bonhams says: “The engine will be offered with the results of a recent dynamometer test.”

1964 CHEVROLET CORVAIR 500
£16-18,000

We almost got to see this 2.7-litre lightweight Corvair in action at the Members’ Meeting in 2014 – it was invited but alas the owner couldn’t make it. Built as a racer from a ’64 shell in the US in 2001, it was imported to the UK in 2012 and is today registered with the HRDC for Touring Greats and the Allstars. It is also UK street legal. Now that would be a novelty…

Bonhams says: “Rare in the UK, well-presented and period correct.”

1954 AUSTIN A30 HRDC 'ACADEMY'
£20-25,000

Here’s another potential Goodwood race car, raring to go in the crowd-pleasing St Mary’s Trophy at Revival. It was built to Academy spec by  Chris Snowdon Racing and Moto-Build Racing in 2017, but so far has only tested at Goodwood, never turned a wheel in anger here (or anywhere else). Like all Academy cars it is road registered.

Bonhams says: “An opportunity to own a freshly-built A30 at a fraction of the build costs.”

2000 BMW Z3 COUPÉ
£22-30,000

BMW’s Z3 sports car came good when it got the 2.8-litre six and it went quirky when it got the distinctive coupe body – two reasons to go for it then. This one’s an ex-Japan automatic that had two (non-smoking) owners and is complete with service records, manuals and tools. Air-con, CD, TV, navigation, sunroof, and leather are part of its elaborate Japanese spec.

Bonhams says: “The red leather interior is the perfect complement to the original Titansilber metallic paint.”

1982 MERCEDES-BENZ 608 D TRANSPORTER
£25-35,000

Need a race car transporter? What about an ex-Porsche one? The firm commissioned coachbuilder Ruthmann to build it for them in ’82, using it to transport cars around the factory. The conversion from Merc T2 commercial involved an ingenious collapsible rear suspension so the flatbed could be lowered and cars winched aboard.  

Bonhams says: “Offered for restoration and sold strictly as viewed.”

1975 BRISTOL 411 SERIES 4
£22-26,000

Quite a few owners, lots of miles (possibly around the clock) but if one sports saloon can take it it’s the classy Bristol powered by the Chrysler V8. Enlarged to 6.6-litres and 420bhp for the Series 4, the hand-built, alloy-bodied car was hailed at the time as the fastest true four-seat touring car in the world.

Bonhams says: “Well maintained and extensively refurbished.”

1965 LANCIA FULVIA SPORT ZAGATO COUPÉ
£5-8000

Bargain of the Bonhams MM sale? Could be. To typically advanced Fulvia spec (overhead cam V4, front-drive, independent suspension, all-round discs) you can add the striking Zagato body. It looks good in the pictures but, as Bonhams says, the car needs work. So while the guide price looks low, hang on to the rest of the £25k budget to finish the restoration and get the car recommissioned (it was last driven in 2016).

Bonhams says: “Ex-works HF rally cars aside, the Zagato is the most desirable of all the Fulvias.”