Revved up spending | R4.6m splashed on just four cars at Joburg auction

The four most expensive cars sold at the Coys classic car action in Johannesburg earlier this month fetched a combined R4.6-million.

The most expensive vehicle was a 1973‚ a Renault Alpine A110 1600S‚ which went under the hammer for £86‚000‚ or just under R1.6-million at current exchange rates.

The auction – hosted by London-based Coys of Kensington - was held on August 11 at the Steyn Estate in the north-west of Johannesburg. Organisers said on Friday the event was so successful that a follow-up auction is being planned for 2019.

Also sold on the day was a 1999 BMW Z3 M Coupe‚ engineered by Burkhard Goschel‚ with only 20‚000km on the clock. It sold for £47‚000‚ or about R860‚000. The same price was fetched for a 1983 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet.

A 1935 Fox and Nicholl Singer Le Mans Team car was bought for £71‚000‚ which is about R1.3-million. Because the buyer is from the United Kingdom‚ the vehicle will now be shipped overseas – which means it will return to the UK for the first time in 80 years‚ since it was flown out to South Africa in 1938.

Some of the other notable cars auctioned were: - A 1995 Maserati Zagato Spider III Bi-Turbo for £24‚000 (R440‚000); - A 1964 Volvo P1800S for £29‚000 (R530‚000); and - A 1991 Porsche 928 S4 for £34‚000 (R625‚000).

Coys of Kensington specialise in “fine historic automobiles”‚ among other things‚ according to their website. Coys MD Chris Routledge said: “The auction at South Africa was history making‚ especially because we had an international audience with registered bidders in the room and over the telephone.

Coys has a long association with Africa going back decades and have been genetically associated with all of the great events over the last two decades‚ all of which we have supported to the hilt. We are very keen on following this up with another auction in South Africa in 2019.”