Today I went to the new Shannons Auction rooms to see some of the upcoming auction lots for the 2021 Shannons Summer Auction. There have been a number of changes to how Shannons run their auctions since the COVID19 outbreak, and I think they are for the better.
Instead of separate Sydney and Melbourne auctions, they now run a combined online auction. The cars are still available for viewing in both their Sydney and Melbourne auction rooms. The Sydney location is much better than before – bigger, brighter and easier to see the cars. I’m told this location will also be available for car club events too.
There are also some very interesting lots in Melbourne but I have not seen them, so I will only be covering the Sydney based cars here.
Lot 157: 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SE Coupe
Regular readers of this site will know I am a huge fan of the two door W111 Mercedes-Benz rage. This lot was an honest looking coupe, which seemed in very nice original condition. I think white is not the best colour for these cars, but if you’re going to have one in white, the dark red interior is the best. It is quite similar to the car I used to own, except this one is in much nicer shape. The guiding price of $75-100k seems reasonable based on recent prices. Certainly these cars have shot up a lot in the last 2-3 years as it wasn’t all that long ago that this was a $40k car.
The 280 benefits from a more powerful engine than the earlier cars, but looses out on some of the nicer interior touches such as the wooden instrument cluster binnacle. This car does have the Behr air conditioning system vs the aftermarket unit that many have.
Lot 170: 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300d ‘Adenauer’
Another classic Mercedes-Benz – this time the fabled Adenauer. In this case the 300d, which was improved from the previous 300 models. These cars really do have beautiful lines and the pillarless construction makes the interior really airy.
This car looked in nice original shape, similar to the 280SE Coupe. Black with a red interior is the best colour combination for these cars in my view. My only real criticism is the modern radio in the dash. Its great that the original radio has been preserved, but the modern one should have been hidden.
The guiding range is $70-90k
Lot 172 – 1966 Mercedes Benz 300SE Coupe (with M100 transplant)
Lot 172 is not an original Mercedes-Benz model. Rather, it is a tribute to a model that might have been. The M100 engine was original created for the 600, however Mercedes-Benz did create the W109 300SEL 6.3 ‘hotrod’. They never expected this car to be a big seller, so I imagine it wasn’t seen as viable to also create a saloon version. Interestingly, the test mule for the car was a rejected 250SE Coupe body shell so there is precedent.
In doing the conversion, they obviously used an early 6.3 engine as the transmission has the park position at the bottom. The condition of the car is really nice. The colour stands out and the quality of the work in doing this car is evident. Having said that, I have heard its not all that great to drive by somebody who has. That was some years ago, so its possible any faults have been corrected.
I find it interesting they didn’t use the normal bumpers for a 1966 300SE. Rather they have used later bumpers with rubber inserts. Personally, I would have used the earlier ones had I been building the car. Overall I really like the car. I’m not normally one for modified cars, but this car looks like it has been done right.
The guiding price is $200-$240,000 which is about double what it sold for some years back. Having said that, you couldn’t build one for less in this condition. Not sure I would want to spend that sort of money for a non-original car. You could have an original 300SE and an original 300SEL 6.3 for that money.
As well as these Mercedes-Benz models, there were also a number of classic Alfa-Romeos that caught my eye. I really don’t know much about these cars, but they are very impressive and I would love to own an Alfa one day. There was also a white 3.8 MK2 Jaguar that can be seen in the picture next to the 300SE. Its the right spec, manual with overdrive but I find it hard to get excited about a white one.
The lot I really wanted to see was 166, but this car was in Melbourne. It is the 4 1/4 Derby Bentley with coachwork by Barker. That car has a guiding price of $90-$110k. These cars do not come up often and this one looked quite nice.
The lot estimates on the W111 cars got me talking with the auction staff about insurance values for my cars. Based on these, I will bring it back in for the Auction staff can take a look and suggest a proper insurance value. I also asked them about what the prices were doing with some of the other cars I own. Classic Mercedes are up, hence the values of the W111 coupes. Even some cars in relatively poor shape have seen strong bidding. This has extended to the 107, but not to later models.
I specifically asked about the W126, especially the SEC as I have seen the high asking prices of these cars. According to the Shannons auction staff these prices do not reflect reality. Things are also fairly stable with the E-Type (So many to choose from) and the Citroen DS.
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