Market Intelligence
H&H: the pleasure of being able to collect
The article describes the author's passion for classic cars and his experience at the H&H online auction, where he purchased four cars, including a 1934 Lagonda M45 T7 Tourer, a 1987 Lancia Delta HF Turbo Cabriolet, a 1967 MG B GT, and a 2007 Alfa Romeo Spider 3.2 V6 JTS Q4. The author shares his thoughts on each car and highlights their unique features, discussing their performance, design, and historical significance. The article also suggests that some classic cars are underrated and undervalued, making them attractive investments for collectors.
It’s rare that the beauty of a car strikes us like a lightning bolt, sometimes it’s a more oblique, discreet matter, which takes longer to manifest. That's exactly what happened to me at the Goodwood Revival in September 2015. I went there to follow the Bonhams auction they organized every year and both inside the marquee and around the circuit you can imagine the number of treats there were.
Near the bidding registration desk was a 1939 Lagonda LG6 Rapide DHC that was previewed for later sale. At first, I walked right past her several times, passing from one lot to another. At one point, after two days of “living” inside in the auction marquee, I noticed her and the spark was struck, I was literally rendered speechless by the purity of her lines, for five minutes I looked like a statue. This is how my passion for Lagondas came to be.
A friend who knows me well, just before H&H's online auction on 24 June, told me: “At this auction I know you wouldn't want anything except for the 1934 Lagonda M45 T7 Tourer” and I hinted at a smile as if to say, "You got me!". Where should we start from when talking about this model? That at the time it was one of the fastest road cars in the world, able to break the “legendary" 100mph barrier? Or that a race-spec M45 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans beating sacred monsters such as the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 and Bugatti Type 55? In fact, in addition to its performance, I have always been fascinated by its line with that grille that is both imposing and flowing at the same. This particular model had the original T7 bodywork and had belonged to AA. H. Mann, director of the tobacco company JPS. Surely at the auction there were other fans of Lagonda because the estimate of £100,000 - £120,000 was wiped out by the final selling price of £184,500.
