When Liz messaged me that Webb’s has their next Collectors’ Cars auction on March 21, I excitedly clicked into their latest electronic catalogue.  

Following the tremendous success of its Auckland event in December, Webb’s is next  Collectors’ Cars auction will be held at Southward Car Museum, just out of Wellington at Paraparaumu. 

It’s a smaller auction this time with 24 cars compared with December’s 56-plus vehicles in at ASB Showgrounds, but again there are some beauties.

Sadly for me, who always wants to spot an allusive Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda perhaps coming out of a Kiwi’s garage, one is not to be seen on the auction list. Perhaps next time!

There are many other special cars including a 1970 Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II; the record-breaking 1983 Porsche 930 owned by ‘Racing’ Ray Williams, 1996 Holden HSV VS GTS-R, 2001 Ferrari 360 Modena, and a 1969 Holden Monaro GTS.

My personal picks this time for what interest me include:

1998 Rolls-Royce Seraph  

A previous Modern Classic article profiled that only 1570 were ever produced in a brief production run the lasted only four years. This example came from the UK as an import, one year after being sold. It was owned by that party until 2007 and then the current second New Zealand owner has had since 2009. 

What is special about the Seraph is that it has BMW’s 5.4 litre aluminium V12, which marked the first time a V12 had been seen in a Roller since 1939.   

As an import, the speedometer is showing just over 98,000 miles (158,000km). This car would be an astute investment for a collector passionate about the brand. It should sell in the $50,000 to $60,000 range according to Webb’s.

1986 Rover Vanden Plas  

This is a New Zealand new example that was manufactured in the last year of production of this 10 year model run. It has had four owners and has 178,000 kilometres on the clock. Purists may not like the afternoon engine modifications or the air conditioning not working, but everything else looks tip-top.

Few examples like this would exist in New Zealand and it’s expected to go in the $20,000 to $25,000 range.

1963 Volkswagen Deluxe Kombi Micro Bus. 

Sporting baby blue paintwork, it has 15 windows (the only example in New Zealand having this feature, it is said in the Webb’s catelogy). It was built in Germany and then sold to an owner in Arizona, USA (meaning it’s left-hand drive) and eventually made its way to the UK, before arriving in New Zealand in 2014. It has done 42,785 miles (69000km).

As the deluxe model, it has a coat of arms push-button steering wheel, coat hooks, middle folding bench seat, and special Deluxe bumper and side vents.  

This one would look really cool at Parihoa, where drives to nearby Muriwai Beach for surfing would really take on new meaning in this bus. It’s expected to sell for upwards of $100,000 to $120,000.

See you at the auction (online or in person)!