Oh sure, there are some interesting new cars in Tokyo – but just take a look at the old ones for sale…
It’s easy to become a little blasé about auction catalogues nowadays, seemingly every sale featuring a one-off this, iconic that or peerless race history whatever. It shouldn’t be, but sometimes it’s hard to remain enthused by certain multi-million dollar exotica because, well, if it wasn’t at the last super auction then it’ll be at the next.
Not this time, with BH Auctions’ sale at the Tokyo show this Friday. For those with a fondness for Japanese specials, there can’t have ever been a better sale than this. It’s like all the best collections from Tokyo have been emptied into this one sale, ready and waiting for the next round of enthusiasts to acquire.
There are five Hakosuka GT-Rs just for starters, all from 1971 or 1972 and with estimates between 14m and 18m Yen. Or, er, £100,000 – £170,000. Still, the best never did come cheap.
That’s perhaps not even the best as far as Nissan goes in the sale; there’s a fully restored Group A R32 Skyline from 1993, the only one maintained by a works team that season, estimated at 45 – 65m Yen (between £325k and £470k). See as well the HKS Zero-R (a 600hp R32 road car), a pair of Fairlady Z 432s from the 70s, a Kenmeri GT-R expected to make more than £500,000, an R34 GT-R V-Spec II Nur and an incredible Group B homologation 240 RS – wow.
There’s so much more, too. A Honda S800 M Coupe, Mazda Cosmo, Toyota Sports 800 – in fact, two of them – a Mitsubishi Galant GTO MR and a Daihatsu Midget means plenty of Japanese manufacturers are represented. Don’t expect small to necessarily mean cheap, though, as even the little Midget trike is expect to make more than £20k…
Don’t like Japanese cars? No problem. Fans of Americana are catered for by a Formula Drift Dodge Viper (yes, really), a Shelby Mustang GT500 and a Willys Jeep (albeit made in Japan). Those with a penchant for German metal should take a look at the pair of Carrera GTs, the 911 R and Spa 24-winning E36 BMW 3 Series. There are even a couple of MGBs for more traditional British sports car tastes.
Finally – yes, there really are a few more incredible automobiles – it’s worth discussing the Ferraris at the BH sale. Not only is there a duo of devilish Koenig tuned cars – this 800hp Testarossa is expected to make more than £150k, while this 308 is less than six figures – but also a 348 prototype in a Mondial body, an F40 and a 308 project car. The latter is one of the cheapest cars going under the hammer, with an estimate of 3.5m – 5.5m Yen, or £25k to £40k.
So really, whatever your taste, there’s a car in the BH sale for you. Maybe not at a price for your budget, but we can all dream. See the catalogue here, and wave goodbye to your afternoon now…
Source: Read Full Article