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November 5, 2018updated 09 Nov 2018 12:59pm

James Knight

By Spear's

Bonhams director of motoring James Knight oversees sales at some of the world’s most distinctive motoring events, including Goodwood, where he speaks to Spear’s fresh from a record-breaking sale for a British motor in Europe: £10 million for a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.

‘Although the majority of cars that sold met expectations, about 5 per cent exceeded our top estimates,’ Knight says of the sale. ‘It’s a nice barometer that demonstrates that the very best examples still have good depths of competitive bidding.’

Although it’s primarily a buyer’s market, business can still be done. ‘There are people out there that pretty much want any car that we offer,’ he says.

Sales at Bonhams are a broad church catering to the full spectrum of collectors’ tastes and pockets, from dawn of motoring era Veteran cars to modern Formula 1 single-seaters. Sales can go for anything from £5,000 to record-breaking prices in the tens of millions.

Knight owns a Fifties Austin-Healey 100 roadster and similar age Jowett Javelin saloon that cost him about £5,000. ‘And that’s the beauty of this market – there is, within reason, a price point that can attract all budgets. I get as much of a kick out of driving the Javelin as I do the Healey,’ says Knight, beaming.

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