Muscle stars in Shannons Melbourne auction

The Heritage plate '21' achieved $530,000 after an engaging duel between several floor and phone bidders.

The highly-collectible Victorian double-digit plate was the best-selling lot of the night that saw 70 lots bring a result of over $2 million.

 

The best-selling vehicle was a restored, UK-delivered 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL 'Pagoda roof' convertible that sold for $125,000, followed by an ultra-desirable left hand drive Ford Escort RS1600 homologation special, restored to concours condition, that went for $118,000, with the third-best car being a beautifully-presented 1958 Chevrolet Corvette convertible that sold for $114,000.

 

However, the favourite amongst the large floor crowd at the Melbourne auction room was a 'barn find' 1970 Ford XY Falcon V8 sedan. The Track Red XY was pursued by a number of floor, telephone and internet bidders before finally selling for $52,000. On the other side of the classic Aussie muscle spectrum, a 1973 LJ Torana GT-R XU-1 coupe sold for $70,000.

Other Aussie cars to sell at the auction included a 1978 Holden HZ Kingswood 253 V8 ute that went for $16,000, a 1979 Holden VB Commodore SL/E 4.2 V8 sedan brought $18,000, a 1954 Holden FJ Special sedan made $19,000, a 1967 Holden HR Premier fetching $24,500, while a now increasingly collectable 1973 Leyland P76 V8 sedan topped them all at $26,000.

 

Other good results included $37,000 for a 1961 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Series 1 coupe, while $36,000 seemed like a bargain for a restored - and rare - 1960 Borgward Isabella coupe.