'Bathurst' Monaro sets record at Shannons Melbourne Auction
• Huge crowd attends Shannons first auction in new Melb. HQ
• ‘Bathurst’ inspired Holdens in high demand
• Quality was big seller on the night
Nearly 50 years after they steamrolled the Bathurst 500, Monaros were winners again at Shannons first auction in its new Heatherton, Melbourne headquarters on February 27.
A bumper floor crowd of around 600 at Shannons Late Summer Auction saw a highly-collectible HK ‘Bathurst’ Monaro GTS 327 finished in trademark Warwick Yellow top the 50-vehicle sale, setting an Australian auction record for this iconic Australian Muscle Car after a prolonged duel amongst floor, phone and online bidders saw the Monaro easily outstrip its guiding range of $200-230,000.
However equally impressive was the $92,000 paid for a restored Silver Mink 1968 Monaro GTS 186S coupe, while a striking Tangerine 1973 HQ Monaro GTS 308 four-speed manual sedan made an excellent $60,500.
Other standouts in the three-and-a-half-hour auction included HDT/HSV Muscle Cars, Rolls-Royces and black and white numeric number plates, which helped deliver an excellent $2.25 million result and saw a healthy 84 per cent sale rate of all vehicle lots.
Strong results achieved by local ‘Bathurst-influenced’ Holdens included $81,000 paid for a 1988 HSV VL Walkinshaw, $70,000 for a 1988 HDT VL SS Group A sedan and $61,500 for a 1984 VK SS HDT Commodore.
The high-quality Rolls-Royces on offer were all popular, with the highlight being $80,000 paid, after strong bidding, for a stunning, locally-delivered Velvet Green over Tudor Grey 1964 Silver Cloud III Saloon.
A 1926 Rolls-Royce 20hp Doctor’s Coupe with attractive Martin & King coachwork offered for sale for the first time in four decades, sold on high estimate for $66,000.
Two ‘no reserve’ Rolls-Royce V8 Saloons from the estate of a late Rolls-Royce Club member and benefactor also sold well, with the striking Honey Gold with Cream leather 1975 Silver Shadow realising $22,000 and a Claret with Cream leather 1981 Silver Spirit fetching $27,500.
Other notable vehicle sales included:
• a 1925 Morris ½ Ton Light Tray truck beautifully fully-restored as a period winery truck sold above estimate for $52,000;
• a 1972 Ford Escort Twin Cam 1600 coupe presented in superb, faithfully restored condition made an unprecedented $70,000;
• a right-hand drive 1934 Ford 3-Window ‘Hot Rod’ coupe sold for $67,500;
• a 1978 Porsche 911 SC Coupe coming from long-term ownership sold strongly for $81,000, reflecting the increasing collectability of early Porsches;
• a 1969 Ford XW Falcon ‘XY GT Replica’ sedan sold for $55,000;
• a 1968 Triumph TR5 PI roadster went for $52,000.
Meanwhile a racing 1971 Holden HQ promotional racing car ‘Charity Lot’ sold with no reserve for $16,000, with proceeds going to the Royal Children’s’ Hospital Foundation.
All 10 Victorian black and white numerical Heritage number plates performed well, with highlights being ‘671’ that sold for $72,000 ‘548’ that sold for $70,500 and ‘897’ that went for $70,000
Four-digit plates continued their growth, fast closing the gap between three and four digit plates, with ‘1.177’ bringing $45,000, ‘1.993’ selling for $39,000 and ‘2.221’ going for $30,000.
Amongst the five-digit plates, the top seller was ’55.333’ that brought $24,000.
View all February 27 Shannons Melbourne Late Summer Classic Auction Results
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