Ten classic cars available at auction

By some margin, the rare ‘GT’ version, designed for competition with significant engine upgrades, is the most coveted. Only 75 cars were built in this specification and they are now multi-million pound vehicles. If you take the best example and give it some celebrity provenance, then you have the ‘holy grail’. RM Sotheby’s is offering the car that featured with Peter Sellers in the film The Wrong Arm of the Law in London, and it is estimated to bring upwards of £3m.

The definitive classic sports car: launched in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the classic 911 denotes a continuous process of refinement, with more then one million built during its 55-year existence. Today, the 911 is commonly viewed as one of the most well-rounded and usable performance cars. A rare 911 L will go on sale later this year at RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale in Atlanta...

Produced for one year, only 449 911 L models rolled off the production line in Stuttgart. The ‘L’ model is powered by a 1991cc air-cooled, 130 bhp engine. Typically, any low-volume 911 will hold its value, if not more, with the early cars increasingly favoured by enthusiasts who regard the 911 as the purest driving experience.

Porsche has proved to be the marque of the moment over the last few years. Although produced in far larger quantities than Ferraris, the iconic 911 has become highly desired, and it is the post-1980 cars which have seen the biggest percentage growth in value over the past five years. Look for any model produced in small quantities as the most desirable, but any Turbo from any era is highly collectable...

The 964 derivative of the 911 arrived in the late-1980s and included the introduction of an almost completely redesigned chassis to accommodate the all-wheel drive system developed for the famed 959. If you love Porsche, then you can’t not admire the 964.  

The Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most iconic, eligible and rewarding pre-war race cars. As cars from this era become rarer and rarer over time – and in turn, harder to find in the best condition – values of historic vehicles such as this can only rise...

As well as buying into a piece of automotive history, cars such as this Type 35 – sold at RM Sotheby’s Paris auction in February for €387,500 – are eligible for entry in prestigious events such as the Mille Miglia, Goodwood Revival, and Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, plus Vintage Sports-Car Club (VSCC) and Bugatti rallies, making them widely usable.

This is the superlative supercar – indeed, arguably the world’s first hypercar. The ground-breaking Bugatti Veyron set the performance benchmark for other marques to aspire to. Various iterations of the Veyron followed its inception in 2006, with the final swansong – the Grand Sport Vitesse – placed at the top of the Veyron model pyramid...

Fitted with the ultimate 1,200bhp quad-turbo W-16 engine and open-top bodywork, only 92 examples were built at the end of the car’s production run. A Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse sold for €1,720,625 at RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction in May. While the Vitesse may command a high purchase price, bespoke and unique examples continue to be the most desirable supercars to collectors.

Limited-run hypercars tend to perform well at auction. A perfect example is the 2017 Bugatti Chiron that sold for more than €3m at RM Sotheby’s annual sale in Paris (during Rétromobile). This Chiron in particular was one of the first 20 models to be delivered by the French manufacturer, and was sold with fewer than 1,000km on the odometer...

While these hypercar lots command a high initial purchase price, buyers benefit from the modern technology that makes the Chiron famous – together with the predecessor model, Veyron. Electronically limited to a staggering 260mph, the Chiron is powered up to 1,500bhp.

At the lower end of the classic car price market, the Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione is still affordable and is becoming increasingly hard to find in presentable condition. The Evoluzione II ‘Dealers Collection’ that sold in RM Sotheby’s Paris auction for €161,000 is at the upper end of the scale for the price you should expect to pay to get into one, yet the examples adorned with rare Martini liveries are in demand and can command a high fee...

Moreover, the classic Lancia cars give a great driving experience and were praised by contemporary road testers for their excellent handling. It’s with that insight that Lancia shaped the Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione into a world-class rally car that performed at the highest level. Buy now, while you still can.

Contemporary values for the F40 remain around the $1m-mark, and have climbed strongly in recent years. It is with this ascension – as the F40 is realised as one of the last true ‘analogue’ supercars, before the age of driver-assistive technologies – that values of the Italian supercar should only continue to rise...

The F40 that sold in Paris in February was immaculate for its €933,125 fee. Most F40s should be preserved just as well, making the model a sound choice to hold onto for the future – look out for original tool kits, documentation, Ferrari servicing and Ferrari Classiche certification. Early, ‘non-catalytic converter’ cars are most prized, marginally.

A cult classic, the original Testarossa is a stable gauge of Ferrari’s prominence throughout the 1980s. The Testarossa was the Italian marque’s range-topping model in this period, and the Pininfarina-designed car stood out with its attractive, sleek looks. Aside from its iconic shape – complete with pop-up headlights and prominent side-mounted slats to rush air into the mid-mounted engine bay, home to a 12-cylinder, 4.9-liter power unit – the Testarossa is renowned for its dynamic handling...

Unloved for a period in the 1990s and early 2000s, this is now a solid appreciating classic that will only rise in value as car collectors look back at Ferrari’s 1980s era with increasing fondness. A 1992 model is consigned to RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in August. Watch this space…

To some degree, Maserati has become the forgotten supercar marque in the 21st century. Look back to the immediate pre- and post-war period and through the 1970s, and you’ll find a company that was at the pinnacle of exotic racing and sports car design. 

Broadly speaking, the post-war cars have been less coveted than Ferraris (with exceptions), but they are simply gorgeous creations and present great value for money when compared to many Ferraris. The 5000GT and Ghibli models are notable highlights, and RM has a fantastic collection of cars coming to the London sale in September.