Nick Whale Blog

Silverstone Auctions head to Race-Retro

2011-12-29T18:07:00.001Z

Silverstone Auctions are proud to announce their next sale for classic cars, modern and historic racing cars, motorcycles and Automobilia is at the Race-Retro show at Stoneleigh on Saturday February 25th 2012. Quality entries are now invited. Please see our website - www.silverstoneauctions.com - for full details.

£1.45m of stunning cars sold in Silverstone auction

2011-11-09T13:49:00.000Z

An exquisite mix of classic cars, modern sports cars and championship winning competition cars were sold for a premium inclusive total of £1,444,440 at Silverstone on Friday with a sale rate of 65%.

The Walter Hayes Sale, organised by Silverstone Auctions, was the second classic car sale organised by the company and was held in Silverstone circuit's new £27m 'Wing' building.

65 cars were entered into the auction and represented some of the finest and rarest models available, ensuring high levels of interest from around the world and some fiercely contested bidding.

"Silverstone is rightly recognised as one of the most famous motorsport venues in the world so it was only fitting that we were able to offer such an exceptional collection of automobiles for sale," comments Nick Whale, managing director, Silverstone Auctions. "And with such an appealing and exquisite collection of cars, it comes as little surprise that bidding was very competitive on a number of lots."

One of the highlights of the auction and the most expensive lot sold was a rare 1969 AC 428 Coupe manual (lot 136). Believed to be one of only six manual examples manufactured, the car fetched £124,000, significantly more than its guide book estimate of between £85,000 - £100,000.

Another star lot which fell under the hammer was a 1974 Monica (lot 123). This car was being sold directly from the estate of the late Chris Lawrence, the project's chief engineer, and fetched an impressive £55,000.
A number of rare Jaguar's were also among the most valuable and sought after cars in the auction. A right hand drive 1958 Jaguar XK 150 S 3.4 Roadster (lot 128), one of only nine home market examples manufactured that year, was sold for £96,000. Lot 137, a stunning 1952 Jaguar XK120 Fixhead Coupe fetched £81,400. And a 1961 Jaguar Mk IX (lot 144) sold for £35,700, more than £10,000 higher than its guide book estimate.

"The Walter Hayes Sale was a fantastic conclusion to our first year of auctions," adds Nick Whale. "We still have a number of deals pending but the figures already prove to vendors that we can genuinely help them achieve the very best sale of their car. But equally, we were delighted with the sheer quality and diversity of the collection that we managed to bring together in Northamptonshire. With two classic car sales now under our belt, we look forward to pressing on in 2012, broadening our horizons and continuing to deliver some of the finest cars in the market."

Silverstone Auctions' next sale, the Race Retro Classic Car Sale, will be held on Saturday 25^th February 2012 at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. For further information about the sale or to submit an entry, visit www.silverstoneauctions.com or call 01926 691141.

Magnificent Entry for the Walter Hayes Sale on Friday 4th November

2011-10-30T15:45:00.003Z

Silverstone Auctions are delighted to confirm a quality £2.5m entry of over 65 classic and competition cars for their Sale, this Friday November 4th at the Silverstone Wing.

For our online catalogue which includes full descriptions and price guides please try ~ www.silverstoneauctions.com

Viewing is available at the Wing, Silverstone Circuit from midday till 6pm on Thursday 3rd November and all day from 9am on the sale day Friday 4th November until the sale starts for Automobilia at 2 pm and cars at 4pm.

Entry catalogues are available on the door for £25 which admits 2 people to the Sale and there is free entry to the circuit and free parking right outside the door.

We sincerely hope to see you there!

Nick Whale

Silverstone Auctions: Walter Hayes Sale - 4th November 2011

2011-09-15T09:23:00.000+01:00

Silverstone Auctions are delighted to announce our next sale:

THE WALTER HAYES SALE
Friday 4th November 2011, at 'The Wing' Silverstone Circuit.

ENTRIES NOW INVITED FOR CLASSIC CARS, RACING CARS & MODERN SUPER CARS

For all entries please contact us for details:
Tel: +44 (0) 1926 691 141 or Email: info@silverstoneauctions.com

For full details please visit our website: www.silverstoneauctions.com

Outstanding success at first Classic Car sale

2011-08-06T17:03:00.002+01:00

I am absolutely delighted to confirm that we had an excellent first car sale for Silverstone Auctions on July 23rd at the Silverstone Classic race meeting, in the new Wing.
Total sales on the day were over £15,000 of Automobilia and £1.2m worth of vehicles sold. An excellent start, but better was quickly to follow with an additonal £320,000 worth of sales during the following week to provisional bidders.
Sale highlights therefore were:

Over £15k of Automobilia sold
Over £1.5m worth of vehicles sold in total
Over 62% of total entries sold in total
Aston Martin DB4 "barn find" sold for £110,000
Aston Martin DB4 "Concours" sold for £187,000
A world record price for a Jaguar XJ6 4.2C of £21,780
Over £66,000 for ex Eric Clapton Ferrari 575M
7 competition cars sold , including a Group C Le Mans car

Buyers and vendors were delighted by the presentation of the cars in the stunning new Wing facility at Silverstone and also with prompt payment for the vendors, within 7 working days of the sale and from a secure client account.

Silverstone Auctions will hold its next sale on Friday November 4th, once again in the prestigious Hall 1 of the new Wing building, and entries are now invited. Please see www.silverstoneauctions.com for our very competitive terms.

Nick Whale

Silverstone Classic Sale

2011-07-22T17:54:00.002+01:00

Siverstone Auctions holds its first car sale, following the successful inaugural motorcycle sale, this weekend - Saturday 23rd July - at the Wing during the Silverstone Classic at 5pm.

With a fantastic entry of 75 stunning cars, including classics, competition and modern super cars - hopes are high for a good result for our valued vendors and buyers, not to mention ourselves. Please see www.silverstoneauctions.com for the full entry list.

We hope to see you there!

Results and a highlights update will be made next week.

Nick Whale

2011-06-16T11:00:00.003+01:00

The first sale for Silverstone Auctions took place on Saturday 11 th June in the fabulous new 'Wing' building during the 2011 MotoGP.
We were delighted to offer an amazing catalogue of over 80 motorcycles at our inaugural sale, which looked fantastic in their new surroundings. Toby Moody made an excellent auctioneering debut and created a good atmosphere.

Sadly, the over efficient organisers from Dorna made life a bit difficult for some of our prospective buyers to gain easy access to the sale, with many people simply unable to access our event venue because of restrictions in to the MotoGP paddock. Silverstone Auctions sincerely apologises to all those clients for this error.
Arrangements are now made with the organiser of the Silverstone Classic to provide VIP parking and a direct transfer to the Wing, including overall access to the event, as part of the catalogue purchase price.

Meanwhile over 25 bikes were finally sold, despite these entry difficulties, with several potential sales still ongoing.

It was an emotional moment for the lucky lady purchaser of Valentino Rossi's road going Ducati 1198 which he had used to lap the circuit at the opening of the Wing, some 2 weeks earlier. She paid just over £18,000 for the special bike and vows to never sell it! Silverstone Auctions were proud to auction the bike on behalf of the charity ' Riders for Health'.

We now are building a fantastic entry for the Silverstone Classic sale on Saturday 23 rd July. Please join us, whether you are buying or selling, for what promises to be a great event. Entries finally close for the sale on Friday July 1st. Don't miss it!

MotoGP sale for Silverstone Auctions

2011-05-21T21:21:00.002+01:00

Things are really busy at Silverstone Auctions as we head for our first sale at the amazing new Silverstone Wing.
The Wing was officially opened by HRH the Duke of Kent on Tuesday 17th May and was confirmed as a world class facility for Formula 1 at Silverstone by the 600 VIP BRDC guests and the worlds press.

We are very proud to call it our new home for Silverstone Auctions.

Our first sale will be at the British MotoGP round on Saturday June 11th, exclusively for motorcycles. The sale will start at 5.30pm with prior viewing available all day on the Friday the 10th and Saturday 11th up to 2pm.
We are delighted to announce entries of over 75 bikes in our inaugural sale. Please see www.silverstoneauctions.com for further details.

Meanwhile, our Mallorcan marine business held it's official opening in our new sales office located in Puerto Portals earlier in May, with over 100 valued guests and customers in attendance. David Fawcitt takes over responsibility for the charter and sales team with responsibility for day to day running of the business from Monday 23rd May. Our new RIB is now ready for day charter, as is our Sessa Oyster 42 ready for both sea school training or weekly charter.

With so much going on elsewhere, Nick Whale Sportscars has continued to successfully sell exceptional modern day sportscars throughout the Spring and has started to buy Classics again, notably Eric Clapton's stunning Giallo Fly Ferrari 575M F1 with just 10,000 miles recorded from new, travelled by him and it's second celebrity owner - Chris Evans.

I continue to thank our valued customers for their support and hope to see some of you at the MotoGP sale in June.

Nick W

April Update

2011-04-06T15:51:00.003+01:00

Well, the first month of Silverstone Auctions has come and gone very quickly!
Our new website www.silverstoneauctions.com has launched very well and our Press, Media and PR campaign has kicked in to generate
some real quality entries in to our first 2 sales at Silverstone.
The team is highly motivated and looking forward to the completion of the fantastic new Wing at Silverstone due next month, in time for the
official opening on May 17th 2011 by the Duke of Kent.
We are currently in temporary office premises in Fenny Compton alongside our transport partner - On Time Automotive, but have acquired
excellent new freehold permanent premises in nearby Gaydon which are currently being renovated and turned in to our full time office location.
Our first sale is to be held at the British round of MotoGP on June 11th/12th and is exclusively for motorcycles of all types and motorcycling memorabilia. We are encouraging early entries at a special rate of £120- plus buyers commission of just 2.5%.

Meanwhile our Sportscar business continues to thrive with sales of 6 modern cars in March, 2 competition cars ( my beloved Porsche 911 rally car and my equally beloved Ford Mustang FIA saloon) and 2 Classics - including our fabulous V12 E-Type Roadster.
We have bought a very nice Maserati Merak SS, which is just being serviced and recommissioned as well as some fabulous modern Sportscars for the Summer - including a V8 Vantage Convertible Aston, our first Lotus Evora and an amazingly cheap Aston DB9!
Keep an eye on the website as they are all due soon.

Finally, Nick Whale Marine is getting a complete office refurb in Puerto Portals due for completion by the end of April for an official opening on Saturday May 7th. In line with our new branding we are also launching a very special all new website week commencing Monday 11 th April with an entirely new look and feel that will reflect the values of our key manufacturer partners - Grand Banks, Numarine and Humber Ribs. Our charter side is very busy with a fantastic selection of new boats, please call Sophie or Di for more details and availability this Spring and Summer.

Best wishes to all our clients for an enjoyable Spring!

Exciting New Venture

2011-03-01T14:06:00.001Z

Let bidding commence! Silverstone Auctions opens at the ‘home of British motor racing’
An automotive auction house, located in Silverstone’s new ‘Wing’ building, opened for business this week. A joint venture between Silverstone Circuits and Midlands automotive entrepreneur Nick Whale, Silverstone Auctions will specialise in significant auctions of classic cars, modern supercars, all types of competition cars, modern and historic motorcycles and automotive memorabilia.
The company will hold three sales this year and four in subsequent years. This year’s first event is the Moto GP Sale, featuring motorcycle and bike memorabilia to be held on 11 June: the Saturday of Moto GP’s British round at Silverstone.
The Silverstone Classic Sale on 23 July, during one of Britain’s largest historic racing events, will offer the finest classic cars, modern super cars, all types of competition cars, motorcycles and ‘automobilia’.
The Walter Hayes Sale on 4 November will round off 2011, held at the traditional end of season race meeting with lots comprised of classic cars, current super cars, competition cars, motorcycles and automobilia.
The auction venue is housed in Silverstone Circuit’s prestigious new uber-modern building, The Wing, which is the result of a £30 million investment by the BRDC and the longest building in Britain at a length of 360 metres, and 90 metres high at its tallest point.
From 70 to 100 auction vehicles can be displayed, with clients also able to preview racing car lots in the environment of Silverstone’s new world-class pit garages. The modern facility can accommodate 400-plus seated attendees on a mezzanine auction floor, while its central location allows easy accessibility off the M1 and M40 as well as a heli-port. On-site auction parking for up to 3,000 cars is provided and easy, covered loading and unloading for vendors and buyers with a dedicated turning facility specifically for articulated lorries.
Silverstone Auctions’ Managing Director Nick Whale said, “The creation of a world-class auction company within the extraordinary venue constructed by Silverstone Circuit, provides a perfect environment and opportunity for both sellers and buyers, especially when combined with significant racing events on the venue’s calendar. Silverstone Auctions will provide the industry expertise, dynamic marketing and exceptional environment that will put every sale on the buyers’ and sellers’ calendar.”
The Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits, Richard Phillips said, “We have a huge asset with the ‘Wing’, which is the perfect venue for top class car and motorcycle sales. With Valentino Rossi due to make his UK Ducati debut at our Moto GP meeting in June, we can think of no better time or place for our first motorcycle sale, and a perfect launch event for Silverstone Auctions.”
Visit www.silverstoneauctions.com for further information.

February Update

2011-02-05T08:25:00.002Z

January was another busy and successful month for both our Sportscars and Marine businesses.
Classic cars are moving quickly as prooved by our Plus 8 Morgan, which didn't even get as far as appearing on our website, the quick sale of our special Lotus Cortina and the recognition of the rarity of our MGB GT L.E. by an Australian client, who intends to tour the British Isles with the car later this Summer.
The Britcar BMW M3 that gave the great, late David Leslie so much success on the track is now sold and heading straight to New Zealand, where I am sure it will continue it's winning ways.
Modern sports cars are flying away with our special GT3 Porsche now gone to the first man that came to see it and both our Jaguar XKR's lasting no more than a week on our website!
Our selection of modern sports cars is now the best we have had for some time. Each car in this eclectic mix has been hand picked, mostly sourced from ex-customers who we know and trust of old. All represent quality and extreme value in the Market today.

We are taking over Vitesse Yachts in Puerto Portals, Mallorca and will continue to offer the best selection of motor cruisers for private charter in the Balearics. Our experienced team there can provide guardianage for your current boat, full charter facilities, boat maintenance and servicing , an excellent used boat brokerage as well as new boat sales for Numarine Yachts.
We are proud to announce that we are shortly to become the main agent for the Grand Banks range for the whole of Spain. This highly reputable and well established American company makes outstanding family motor yachts with a very strong pedigree and from a long line of tradition. Phill Gregory is your contact at Nick Whale Marine for all things Grand Banks.

Finally, we are still very short of quality classic car stock and eager to buy, so please call me with your classic gems!
Thank you
Nick Whale

News

2011-01-25T11:53:00.002Z

As predicted once again, the first to see our Porsche 911 GT3 did infact buy it and it is now being used and enjoyed in Kent, in time for the track day season.
Our BMW M3 race car looks set to travel to a new home and an enthusiastic owner in New Zealand, whilst the first of 2 exceptional Jaguar XKR's was also sold to the first customer to see it, earlier in the month.

There is plenty of activity in the modern market for genuine cars that are priced to sell.
We have just purchsed an exceptional value for money Mercede-Benz S Class 500 and our classic car collection has also grown to include our fresh and interesting Lotus Cortina SE and a really original 1965 Mini Cooper which is heading for a restoration re-paint before being offered for sale.

The London boat show generated a lot of interest and enquiries on new, used and charter boats for our Vitesse team, now back at base in Puerto Portals,Mallorca. The boat market is definitely starting to finally pick up and business looks promising for this season. Our Numarine 68 Fly which was advertised in both Boat International and Motor Boat and Yachting has generated 4 orders worldwide for the factory, leaving just one boat available for delivery within the next 12 months, for delivery in Jan 2012. This is an extremely good value for money proposition for a family boat at an unrepeatable price. If you are seriously in the market please contact me as soon as poss.
We will making a significant announcement in the next few weeks about a very exciting business that we are going to be launching late in Feb 2011 in the classic car, bike and racing world.Keep an eye on this space!

2011

2011-01-03T14:46:00.004Z

A Happy and Peaceful New Year to all our customers, old and new, from Mark, Lionel, Graham and myself.
During the break we have now collected our very special Lotus Cortina which is receiving a mechanical inspection at Abbott Racing, prior to being offered for sale here in Warwickshire.
We have also just picked up our outstanding 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 which looks very seasonal and smart in Guards Red. It really does offer outstanding value in the 997 GT3 market, undercutting everybody on price, main dealers and specialists, but still being the nicest condition we have ever seen. Don't miss it!
We are very keen on purchasing more stock, both modern and classic, and invite you to pick up the phone and tell us what you've got! We are delighted to purchase outright or sell on your behalf to suit your needs, just let us know.
Meanwhile on the marine side, we are calling all boaters to come and visit us at the London Boat Show ( Jan 7 - 16), at Excel in the Docklands in the South Hall stand J19.
You will be made most welcome at our Numarine UK stand and may even be offered a free drink!
Best,
Nick W.

Christmas update

2010-12-20T12:20:00.002Z

As the end of the year approaches, we can look back on a successful and enjoyable 2010. Our thanks and seasonal greetings go out to our valued clients and we wish you all continued health, wealth and prosperity.
As previously suggested our very nice series 2 E-Type sold to the first man that came to see it. He bought a fantastic car. In general, the series 2 is undervalued in this market, with the traditionalists preferring the more collectable series 1. However, it is the series 2 that drives the best of all, particularly the 4.2 Roadster in my opinion.
We have bought a really nice and particularly rare Lotus Cortina Mk1 SE for the new year which again we believe represents value today with good potential for future growth. Values have steadily climbed throughout 2010 and even Mk 2's are now feeling the benefit.
Our Porsche 356 Carrera GS is also off to pastures new and represented outstanding value for an exceptional car capable of doing so many key events globally.
Our BMW 3.0CSL has taken much longer to restore than anticipated due to the complete unavailability of an electronic fuel relay, which has held up the mechanical rebuild. That said it is now mechanically finished with a totally rebuilt engine/transmission and is now due to have the restored body re-painted by the Sprayshop in Redditch, early in the new year. It will be worth the wait when finally complete in late Feb/early March!
Please think of us if you have a modern or historic sports car to sell, we are short of cars and all exceptional cars will be bought for cash or taken on consignment, whichever you prefer.
For the boaters amongst you we look forward to welcoming you to our stand at the London Boat Show 07 - 16 January at Excel, London South Hall stand J 19.

Merry Christmas to one and all

Nick, Mark, Lionel and Mike

2010-11-19T10:59:00.002Z

The Classic Car Show was a great success and an enjoyable occasion for us. It was great to see so many customers, both past and present, and also to sell both our Testarossa and Mini Cooper from our new stand at the show.
We have recently acquired a very special series 2 E-Type. This is a genuine Eagle car that was restored and prepared by Henry Pearman in 2002 and features sensible upgrades and makes a stunning drivers car. I think the first serious customer that sees it will buy it, it is very rare and sensibly priced.
Meanwhile, on the marine side, we have sold our first boat! It was a great pleasure to go through the whole process and find the right model and spec and the right berth for our valued new client.
I hope it is the first of many!
Please bring your classics for us to buy or sell on your behalf, we are short of stock again!
Nick W

Classic Car Show Nov 12,13,14

2010-10-28T09:59:00.003+01:00

The Classic Car show at the N.E.C. approaches and we do have some limited room on our stand for genuine period classics on a consignment basis.
Please contact Lionel, Mark or Nick to discuss an individual car. Our enquiry levels are high and our rates are very reasonable and the cars can be displayed free of charge providing their sales prices are discussed and agreed as realistic.
The racing season is now over, sadly. Next Spring we hope to once again contest the Masters Gent Drivers with our Shelby (or it could be you in it!) and V8 Touring Cars with one of several different cars we are currently building. Anyone serious about running a saloon next year should contact me for discussion about some of the exciting projects we have on the go.
Meanwhile our standard roadgoing BMW 3.0CSL makes slow but steady progress with the thorough restoration we are carrying out and will be finished pre-Christmas.
Please offer us your quality classic car - we are keen to buy- and hope to see you all at the Classic Car Show.

Portimao Masters Race in October

2010-10-03T12:02:00.002+01:00

Our American V8 Racing team, ably run by my mate Westley Harding, moves to the final 2 rounds of the 2010 Masters Series during October.
The first race weekend is the 16/17th October at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal, followed a week later by the championship final in Monteblanco, Spain on 23/24th October.
Both our consistent Shelby GT 350 Mustang and our new Touring Car Mustang will be present for the Gentleman Drivers and V8 Touring car rounds respectively.
We hope to see you there - please come and say hello - we do make good coffee!
Meanwhile we are desperate for more quality classic stock! We are exhibiting at the Classic Show at the NEC and need good quality classic cars, either to buy or sell on your behalf.
Please ring Nick or Lionel with any opportunities. They need not be expensive - as long as they are genuine.
Thank you

Formula 1 driver purchases Classic car

2010-08-31T16:59:00.007+01:00

August was a busy month for the Nick Whale Sportscar business thanks to our new and improved website. We sold 2 race cars, 2 classic cars and 7 modern sportscars. In addition we undertook 2 private sale commissions and successfully found cars for both customers.
One private client, Mike Donovan, who is an accomplished and very successful national racing driver, bought a beautiful low mileage Ferrari 575 M Maranello that we were able to find and research for him.
Additionally, we were very proud to sell a car to another private client - the distinguished Formula 1 driver Nick Heidfeld - who has recently signed for the Swiss Sauber Formula 1 team to replace Pedro de La Rosa for the last 5 races of this season, and to spearhead their 2011 line up. Nick has also recently had the welcome addition of son number 3 arrive and marked the occasion with a very special car to add to his private collection.
I thank them, and all our valued clients, for their business and wish them well for the rest of the racing season.
Our Shelby Mustang GT350H finished a very creditable 8 th overall in the Gentleman Drivers 2 hour enduro recently at the re-opening of Donington Park, prooving once again the car's exceptional reliability. Congrats to my son Harry on fastest lap and bringing the car home safe and sound, and also his 21st birthday which is on Sat 18th of September.

Next stop- Portimao in Portugal and Monteblanco in Spain both happening mid October 2010.

Silverstone Classic 24/25th July

2010-07-28T11:01:00.002+01:00

We attended the Silverstone Classic over the weekend of the 24/25th July.

We entered two races, "Gentleman Drivers One Hour Enduro" and the "Historic V8 Touring Cars". We had two cars racing the "Gentleman Drivers One Hour Enduro" - our Shelby Mustang GT350 and Phillip Walker's Jaguar E-Type in which we came 15th and 6th respectively. In the "Historic V8 Touring Cars" race we came 2nd and 3rd in our Ford Falcon.

We received great support from friends and family and also four or five of our valued customers. It was great to see you all. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Phillip Walker for the drive in his magnificent Jaguar E-type.

The cheering from the BRDC clubhouse could be heard in the cockpit as we crossed the line 15th in the Shelby, 6th in the E-type and 2nd in the touring cars.

I must make mention of my good friend Westley Harding making the podium in our shared Ford Falcon after a fantastic race. Great to see you on the pace Wes!

Our next historic event will be the Masters Meeting to celebrate the reopening of Donington Park on September 4th & 5th. Hope to see you there!