A pristine, one registered owner Holden VL Commodore Group A ‘Walkinshaw’ sedan with just 16,637 kilometres on its odometer sold for $87,000 at Shannons Sydney Autumn Auction last night – nearly double its original new price of 20 years ago.
The vehicle sold was number 594 out of the 750 radical aero-styled Azure Blue Commodores built by Tom Walkinshaw’s then-new Holden Special Vehicles operation in 1988 – the year following the much-publicised split from Holden by Peter Brock and his HDT operation.
It was completed on August 11, 1988 and spent many years hidden in a dark garage before being acquired by its vendor last year, who then stored it unregistered until the lead-up to last night’s auction.
Shannons National Auction Manager Christophe Boribon said while the Commodore was an outstanding example, its price reflected the strong interest in the Group A HDT and Walkinshaw Commodores of the 1980s, due to their Bathurst credibility and current affordability.
The Walkinshaw Commodore was one of a number of sporting cars to bring strong prices at last night’s Shannons auction.
The top seller of the night was a fully-restored left hand drive 1966 Shelby GT350 Fastback, which sold on estimate for $200,000.
Finished in white with trademark Shelby blue ‘GT’ stripes, the Shelby was one of just 1368 examples built that year and being an early 1966 car had a number of special features later phased out to keep costs down, including lowered front control arms, traction over ride bars, axle limiting cable and bonnet latch deleted.
The vehicle had one long-term owner in the United States from 1971 until 2001, after which it underwent a full rotisserie restoration and has been authenticated by the Shelby American Automobile Club.
A rare 1989 Wide Body Porsche 911 Speedster – one of an estimated 10 in Australia out of a total production of 2,103 built – sold for an excellent $96,000 after solid bidding from seven telephone and numerous floor bidders. The car had covered just 12,000km since new in the hands of one Sydney owner and was in showroom condition.
A factory right hand drive white 1969 Jaguar Series 2 Roadster believed to have covered a genuine 46,000 miles since new sold for $75,000; a 1968 silver Mercedes-Benz 280SL Coupe/Convertible brought $60,000; a very clean red, right hand drive 1966 Mustang Convertible made $43,000 and a superb red and fully-restored 1954 MG TF 1250 roadster sold for an excellent $35,500 result after spirited bidding.
Amongst the cheaper classics, a one-owner 1979 Ford Escort RS2000 with just 65,630km on its odometer sold for $15,000, a very original 1974 Jensen Interceptor Mark III coupe and a mildly modified and very presentable 1956 Holden FJ Special Sedan both sold for $11,000 and a well presented 1983 BMW 635 CSi Coupe with 114,000 miles on its odometer sold with no reserve for $5,250.
www.shannons.com.au
