Holding your biggest sales – and yes, that’s in the plural – in November, just ahead of UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget, must have caused some dry-mouth moments for the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 team.
After all, UK social media has been rife with claims and counter-claims about not only tax rises for a greater number of people, but also changes to taxation of classic cars themselves. We’ll find out for sure on November 26 – but it hasn’t stopped onlookers frothing about a raid on middle-income to high-income earners.
Against all that, a 73 percent sell-through rate on Iconic Auctioneers’ NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 Iconic sale doesn’t appear to be bad going, considering. The cars that sold did so largely within their pre-sale estimates.
The Iconic auction was one of four separate sales, the others being Classic for projects and cars that didn’t fit into the Iconic sale, Motorcyles and Automobilia. For this we’ll be focusing on the Iconic sale, although we’ll circle back to the Classic selection at the end. In the aftermath it was the cars of Harry Metcalfe, founder of Evo and friend to Magneto, that provided the biggest news post-sale, with a record price for his Jaguar XJ-Coupé and above-estimate results for his Lamborghini Espada and Land Rover. More on that later.
Iconic Auctioneers has a knack for big European Ford sales, and it also has strong links to the UK Porsche community. Its leading lot at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale was something rare and very special – a one-of-14 Porsche 993 Turbo Cabriolet, which we brought you details of here. It failed to sell against a £700k-£800k estimate, leaving the biggest-hitting results to the Blue Oval. A 2000 Ford Focus RS World Rally Car with Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae history sold for £393,750 (est £380k-£420k), making it the highest bid achieved at the auction.
However, it was the above 1990 Ford RS200 S that was the biggest surprise. Offered from single ownership, it was one of 20 built to 350bhp ‘S’ spec for a Canadian entrepreneur, but never acquired, and one of only two finished in red. Aside from the power upgrade, these 20 cars were built with a variety of usability upgrades; this one has half-leather Recaro seats, electric windows and more besides. It didn’t sell at the Race Retro sale earlier this year with an estimate of £300k-£350k, so it carried a pre-sale estimate of £280k-£340k at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC 2025 sale. However, it smashed through that to land on £382,500.
There were other eye-opening Ford sales, too – a 1977 Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 sold for £261k (no estimate given) – but the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale was by no means a Blue Oval bonanza overall. Two low-mileage Ford Escort RS Cosworths failed to sell, a 1997 Lux model on 408 miles estimated at £130k-£150k, and a 12,458-mile 1995 example estimated at £100-£120k. A 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth went for a well guided £78,750 against a £75k-£95k estimate, and a 210 Ford Focus RS500 sold for £84,375 against a £75k-£85k estimate.
Maybe the Blue Oval market in the UK, which has frothed away in its own little bubble, is starting to correct itself. A good example was the 1971 Ford Escort Mk1 RS1600, which had all the things – aluminium panels, press car provenance and a patinated look – that only a few years would have had fans of fast Fords champing at the bit. However, against an estimate of £65k-£75k it made £64,166.
It was a largely disappointing sale for Porsches at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale. Aside from the aforementioned 993 Turbo Cabriolet, the highest-selling published Porsche was the above 1973 911 2.4S. A UK-supplied RHD car in special-order Gemini Blue, it made £180k against a £200k-£225k estimate, while a one-of-six 1993 964 3.6 Speedster in RHD sold for an undisclosed sum.
However, a 1972 911 ST recreation carried a pre-sale estimate of £100k-£120k, and it sold for £114,750, while a 1990 Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 4 Manual on 22,656 miles sold for £108k against a £100k-£120k estimate.
There’s been a lot of talk of Ferrari returning to a manual gearbox, at the behest of Lewis Hamilton. The late-era manual models, of which only a handful were made, carry a large premium – the record for one of 30 factory-fitted 599 GTB manuals is $880k at Mecum Monterey in 2022, but in the years since they’ve traded for $786k-$830k in the US, and between €623k and €640k in Europe. A 612 Scaglietti manual was never going to hit those lofty heights, with an estimate of £100k-£120k, yet the above 2005 car burst those figures to land on £129,375.
Elsewhere at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale, a red manual 1998 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta in manual form sold for £118,125 against a £100k-£120k estimate and a 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider sold for £57,375 against a £55k-£65k estimate.
And so to Harry Metcalfe’s selection at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale. The big news was his extensively modified 1978 Jaguar XJ-C V12, a star of his Harry’s Garage YouTube channel. Estimated at between £60k and £80k, it blasted through that to land on £157,500 – a new record for the model. Although it is surely a one-off – not every XJ-C will drive or sound like Harry’s former mount – Jaguar specialist Tom Lenthall has said that several people have commissioned their owns takes on the recipe.
Elsewhere, Harry’s 1971 Lamborghini Espada S2 sold for £132,750 against a £90k-£110k estimate, and his 1954 Land Rover Series 1 86in SWB sold for £17,437 against an estimate of £10k-£12k. Celebrity allure wasn’t quite enough for the ex-Hugh Grant 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish, which sold for just shy of its £40k-£45k estimate at £39,375, while Paul Weller’s former 1972 Mercedes-Benz W114 250 failed to sell against a £40k-£50k estimate. HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s former 2007 Range Rover Vogue 3.6 TDV8 sold for £66,375.
One of the star performers at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale was the above 1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Avon Limited Edition, as featured on TV’s Bangers and Cash in episode 4 of the second series. Reshelled with a genuine Talbot Sunbeam Lotus bodyshell and fully restored in 2019, this one-of-56 Avon edition was estimated at between £25k and £30k, yet sold for £37,688.
This 1985 MG Metro 6R4, chassis 091, garnered the second-highest sales figure on the day but ultimately fell a little short of expectations. Supplied new to Mika Arpiainen and Jarno Mustonen to compete in the 1986 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, it was running in ninth place before crashing out. In 1987, Mika sold the Metro 6R4 to Pasi Mustonen, who competed successfully in Rally Sprints, winning the Finnish Rally Sprint Championship. Mustonen sold the car in 1997 to Likka Aminoff, who commissioned DA Motorsport in the UK to rebuild its 410bhp ‘International’ engine and gearbox.
After limited competition use, a failed differential led to the car being stored until 2012. Timo Heliston then acquired it, commissioning a full restoration by Mäkelä Auto Tuning. Lightly used until 2018, it was later restored to its 1986 1000 Lakes Rally livery. It was purchased in 2021, upon which it received servicing by Goodman Engineering. Estimated at between £240k and £280k, it sold for £219,375.
Another star performer at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale was this 1985 Audi Quattro SWB replica. One of around 27 examples built by Audi specialist Dialynx of Swindon under Keith Murray’s supervision, this car began as a standard Audi Coupé before being converted to accurate short-wheelbase Sport Quattro specification. The shell was shortened to factory dimensions and fitted with Audi 80 doors and screen. Genuine Sport Quattro parts were used, including seats, nine-inch Q Sport wheels and a rare right-hand-drive dashboard originally made for Audi’s own programme.
Powered by a 2.2-litre 20-valve turbo engine producing 360bhp, it has recently undergone a three-year, £40,000 restoration by Dialynx and Cotswold Classic Car Restorations, returning it to its original Tornado Red finish. Against an estimate of £100k-£120k, it romped to £157,500 – some might view that as high for a replica, but we must also consider a genuine one is well north of £500k these days.
Switching to the Classic sale, held the day before the Iconic sale, again there were few surprises, although two of the highest-value lots – a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Pagoda and a 1988 Audi Quattro UR MB Turbo – failed to sell. The other, a 1974 Olympic Blue Ford Escort RS2000, sold for £43,875 against a £45k-£55k estimate.
However, it was another Ford Escort, the above 1995 RS Cosworth Lux, that prompted one of the biggest surprises. Offered from a deceased estate, this car came with limited history and was believed to have last changed ownership in 2001. MoT records show no tests between 2009 and 2022, with the odometer currently reading just over 37,000 miles. Available documentation indicated it has covered fewer than 1000 miles in the past two decades. It was described as being in very good overall condition and had a new MoT, but it was a Small Turbo car carrying aftermarket headlamps at a time when the Big Turbo – the early, true homologation special cars built between 1992 and 1994 – are usually the most in demand. The estimate of £25k-£30k was very alluring, however, and no reserve garnered plenty of interest – in the end it sold for £56,250.
The other big surprise at the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sale came courtesy of the above 1998 Land Rover Freelander. This example was the official UK Team vehicle for the Tierra del Fuego Camel Trophy expedition of 1998 and remained largely original, retaining much of its authentic Camel Trophy equipment. Purchased by its vendor in 2001, it had been in the same ownership for 24 years. It had covered 30,304 miles and had the correct decals, roof rack, spotlamps and expedition accessories, displaying a genuine, well earned patina.
The general Land Rover and Range Rover fervour has dipped slightly over the past few years, with much of the attention switching to the L322-era Range Rover. Nevertheless, the Camel Trophy cult is a strong one, so against an estimate of £8k-£10k, the Freelander sold for a whopping £52,875. While this Land Rover certainly has a following, we’re not expecting every normal example to take a similar price hike…
Further details
For more information on the Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 sales, head here.
