The 2010 Shannons Melbourne Classic Auction is all set to take place later this month on the 31st May 2010. A fairly extensive range of classic cars are up for grabs and no doubt bargain hunters, astute collectors and investors will be watching the bidding closely.

So, if you’re in the market for something classic, collectable or just something to park in the garage and admire then how about a Holden FX Sedan or possibly something British like an MGB GT Coupe or even something a little older like a Nash La Fayette Sedan.

If you’re pockets are a bit deeper, then there’s the Ferrari Testarossa and an epic Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase 3 Sedan with an expected price indication of AU$260-320,000 ready for a new owner.

To find out more and to see a full catalogue click here to visit the Shannons website.

If you are over in Brisbane next weekend be sure to catch the inaugural Shannons Lakeside Circuit Classic Speedfest.

The halcyon days of the Lakeside circuit, when Dick Johnson ruled and the circuit was the scene of some of the greatest touring car battles ever staged, will be re-lived on September 19-20.

The highlights of the full historic programme at Lakeside Park will be the return of spectacular Group C and Group A racers, pitting some of the best-known touring cars of the 1970s and 1980s against each other on the picturesque, undulating circuit 30km north of Brisbane.

A highlight for Ford fans will be the sight and sound of Dick Johnson’s famous ‘Greens Tuff’ XE Falcon, which will return to the circuit a quarter of a century after its racing heyday.

Johnson’s famous No.17, 650HP Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 Group A touring car will also be doing demonstration laps at the meeting alongside the ex-Bob Morris A9X Group C Channel 7 Torana, while 1965 Bathurst winner Barry ‘Bo’ Seton will wheel out his Group C Capri.

Another interesting Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 at the meeting will be the car raced by F1 World Champion-to-be, Damon Hill, in a British Touring Car Championship round at Donnington, UK, in the late 1980s. Now owned by Sydney enthusiast George Nittis, the car is better known in Australia as the Eggenberger Texaco car that provisionally won the 1987 Bathurst 1000 race and was then disqualified, giving Peter Brock his ninth and last victory at Mt.Panorama.

Other confirmed entries in the Shannons Lakeside Classic are two of the most potent Nissans ever to compete in the Australian Touring Car Championship – the turbocharged six-cylinder HR31 Nissan Skyline campaigned in 1989 by Mark Skaife and the famous Winfield-sponsored Skyline R32 GT-R that Skaife and Jim Richards co-drove to victory at Bathurst in 1991 and 1992.

Other circuit events at the Lakeside Classic Speedfest, which is scheduled to become an annual event, include races for Group N Historic Touring and Sports Cars, Trans Am Tribute Cars and Open Wheelers.

The meeting will also include a big Shannons Show & Shine, the appearance of the Shannons Super Rig and numerous trade stalls, while enthusiasts will be able to travel to the meeting as part of a Sunday Cruise.

Dick Johnson’s Jim Beam merchandise truck will also be present, offering fans the opportunity to get DJR tee shirts, caps and other V8 Supercar memorabilia.

The Shannons Goggomobil Dart will also make history when Shannons Queensland Business Development Manager Phil Ross swaps from his 420 hp 1966 Trans-Am tribute Mustang to the 1959, 10hp Dart to establish a novel Lakeside Lap Record. The main question is not the Goggo’s speed, but whether it will make the grade up the circuits two hills!

Now resurfaced, with a new tunnel under the track, Lakeside Park is just 30km north of Brisbane and is only 10 minutes’ walk from Dakabin Railway Station

Entry to the Shannons Lakeside Classic Speedfest costs $20 AUD on both Saturday and Sunday, with a weekend pass $30 AUD. Children 12 and under are free, with students 13-16 and pensioners $10 AUD each day.

The dust covers will be lifted in public for the first time off many of Australia’s most exotic cars in the interest of charity as part of the inaugural Speed+Style+Beauty exhibition being staged at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds from September 10-13.

The exhibition, which is being sponsored by Shannons Auctions is set to become an annual event, will tap into the estimated 450 rare and exotic cars currently held in Australian private collections, bringing rare Bugattis, Porsches and Ferraris out of their garages and into public gaze.

This first exhibition of its kind in Australia will depict cars of the 20th Century as modern artforms, focusing as much on style and beauty as functionality.

Some of the treasure trove of British and European sporting classics to be seen at Speed+Style+Beauty include a 1929 Blower Bentley, a 1935 Bugatti 57C Fastback, a 1938 SS100 Jaguar, a 1955 D-Type Jaguar, a 1957 Ferrari 750 Monza, two Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gull Wings and a 1960 300SL Roadster and a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT.

From the United States the spectacular cars include a ’49 Buick Sedanette fastback, a ’57 Corvette and a ’68 Shelby Mustang fastback, while an HT ‘Bathurst’ Monaro GTS 350 heads the Australian muscle cars on show.

A number of dealers will be showing their 2009 model equivalents of the displayed classics, including the latest Ferrari and Porsche models. The exhibition will also include historically significant race cars from 1920 onwards.

An elegant cocktail party at ‘The Avenues’. RNA Showgrounds from 7.00pm on Wednesday September 9 will formally open the four-day exhibition.

Shannons will conduct a charity auction as a highlight of the cocktail function, with celebrity auctioneer Bill Wellwood knocking down a range of donated items. Proceeds will benefit Speed+Style+Beauty two official charities:  SmartCare, an organisation that assists young people with a disability to live independently and Backstop House, which is a Queensland respite facility for permanently disabled wheelchair users.

The exhibition will be open to the public on Thursday and Friday September 10-11 from 12 noon-8.00pm and Saturday and Sunday September 12-13 from 10.00am-6.00pm.

Adult admission costs $15 AUS. Concession $12 with children $5.

To find out more about the Speed+Style+Beauty exhibition, click here to visit the website.

Shannons first auction at Meguiar’s MotorEx in Sydney last Sunday resulted in high public interest and strong sales, with nearly 70 per cent of all vehicle and memorabilia lots selling on the hammer for total sales of around $725,000.

Some of the best results at the Sydney Showground sale came from the wide selection of Australian and American Muscle Cars in the sale.

The top-selling vehicle lot was a rare left hand drive factory big-block 1970 Chevrolet Corvette 454-cid Convertible in restored condition with four-speed manual transmission that sold on estimate for $80,000 AUS.

A Poppy Red left hand drive 1965 Mustang Fastback restored to show standards made $60,000 AUS; a 1990 Holden VN Group A SS Sedan (number 182 of 302 built) that had travelled just 47,000km since new sold for $54,000 AUS and a Chateaux Mauve three-owner 1972 Torana XU-1 in top condition brought in $55,000 AUS.

Other good American Muscle Car sales were a left hand drive 1969 Mustang Grande Convertible that went for $40,000 AUS and a right hand drive 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible that sold for $32,000 AUS.

However the biggest applause from the crowd of nearly 600 at the auction went to the purchaser of a much more humble 1952 Glacier Green ‘FX’ Holden Coupe Utility laden with period accessories that brought the hammer down at $30,000 AUS.

Standout results amongst the other vehicle lots were the $45,000 AUS paid for a well maintained 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL ‘Pagoda Roof’ Coupe Roadster; $35,000 AUS for a 1994 Mercedes-Benz SL600 Convertible — one of only around 20 to come to Australia; $28,000 AUS for a former left hand drive 1969 Porsche 911 Targa fitted with a later 2.7 litre engine and $8,750 AUS for a very original 1977 Holden HZ Premier 5.0 litre sedan offered with no reserve price.

Tired of not getting the respect you deserve in your neighbourhood? Then take some with a Ferret armoured vehicle.

Shannons Auctions have just what you need for your own personal war against everything coming up at its Sydney Autumn Classic Auction this weekend – a Ferret Scout Car Mark 2 complete with Rolls-Royce engine, armoured observation and gun turret and go just-about-anywhere capability.

Based on the Daimler Dingo used by the German Army in World War II, the Ferret was developed by the British Army in the late 1940s and first came into production in the 1950s.

The Ferret first saw service in the British Army in 1952, and a little later, in Australia, where the Army used them as scout cars until the 1960s, after which they were disposed of by public auction in the early 1970s. Intended for light reconnaissance work, the Ferret was very mobile and well suited to that role.

Power came from a Rolls-Royce B60 engine that drove the four wheel drive Ferret to a top speed of 93km/h very respectable for a vehicle weighing around 4.3 tonnes in combat guise and good enough to keep up with day-to-day traffic.

And at just 3.8 metres long, 1.9 metres wide and 1.9 metres tall, it is compact enough to squueze into most city car parks, while with a ground clearance of 33cm you can dominate curbs or traffic lane dividers.

Probably the only really difficult feature potential Ferret drivers is its ‘inverted’ steering wheel that runs at a 45-degree angle away from the driver, which will take some adjusting to by your average suburban warrior. The other trick the budding Ferret driver must master is the fluid drive preselector gearbox which involves firstly placing the selector into the desired driving gear and then engaging the clutch.

There are five gears to select from, although ‘first’ is only intended for very low range work, like crawling over slow moving traffic at peak times. But there’s a trick feature that allows the gearbox to run in reverse, giving you five ratios to back out of trouble. But if it all gets too much, the gearbox allows the Ferret to be driven off from a standing position in any gear.

The early and most desirable Ferret Scout Car being auctioned by Shannons is the more desirable Mark 2 model with the heavy armoured plating on its turret and is believed to have served in South Australia.

It will be sold unregistered with Shannons suggesting a selling range of $12,000-$18,000 AUS.

Up to 800 classic and historic American vehicles, from Superbirds and Shelbys to Cadillacs and Corvettes, will converge on Flemington Racecourse for the annual Shannons American Motor Show on Sunday April 6.

Although open to all vehicles manufactured in North (and South) America, this year’s featured vehicle is the Model T Ford – ‘the car that put the world on wheels’ – which celebrates its 100th anniversary worldwide in 2008.

Henry Ford built his first Model T for sale on October 1, 1908, when it became the first low-priced, mass-produced automobile with standard, interchangeable parts. Equipped with a 15kW, four-cylinder engine, it had a top speed of about 72km/h, weighed 543kg and gulped fuel at the rate of 22 litres/100km.

The moving assembly line for the Model T revolutionised manufacturing and more than 15 million Model Ts had been sold by the time production of the model formally finished on May 26, 1927.

There will be car club displays and trophies will be awarded for numerous categories including Car of the Show – you’ll need to pre-enter to be eligible, though.

More information is available from http://www.aomc.asn.au/

Australian and American muscle car prices might have been soaring over the past 18 months, but at Shannons Sydney Summer Classic Auction on Sunday (February 18) they will be back on budget.

A wide range of sought-after 1960s and ’70s cars are going under the hammer, with estimated selling prices ranging from $30,000 to $135,000.

Enthusiasts and collectors looking to get in on the ground floor of the current muscle car mania have been eying a four-speed manual Pepper Red XA GT sedan ($30,000-$40,000) that has been mildly customised and a well-cared for Falcon XY GS 302 V8 sedan that is expected to sell for $24,000-$30,000.

But there has been even greater interest in the very tidy and original 1968 Falcon XR GT 4-speed manual ($60,000-$70,000) and for Holden fans, an equally-desirable restored Bright Blue Metallic 1968 HK Monaro GTS 307 Coupe ($65,000-$75,000).

A similar Gold Falcon XR GT sold after last Sunday’s Shannons Brisbane Motor Show Auction for $81,000, while a similar Monaro GTS 307 with two-speed automatic transmission went for $70,000 at Shannons Melbourne Spring auction last year.

‘Bathurst’ Holden buyers with a keen eye for value have recently ‘discovered’ the Torana A9X models which dominated the Mt. Panorama endurance race in the late 1970s and there is already considerable interest in the unrestored and unmolested Flamenco Red A9X 4-Door Sedan going under the hammer at the auction.

Fitted with the rare 2.60:1 differential, the Torana has covered an indicated 118,000km since new and is complete and correct in all important details, making it highly desirable for serious collectors at its anticipated selling price of $110,000-$135,000.

American muscle car enthusiasts have a choice of three impressive Chevrolet Stingrays and a Mustang Convertible, with prices ranging from an estimated $34,000 to $120,000.

They begin with a very original and well-presented 1969 right hand drive Stingray ‘Targa;’ Coupe ($32,000-$36,000) and include a striking red1971 Stingray Convertible ($34,000-$40,000) and a very desirable and well-presented Silver Blue left hand drive 1963 Corvette L76 Convertible, fitted with the most desirable combination of the 327-cid V8 engine and four-speed manual gearbox ($90,000-$120,000).

A very original and well-presented 1969 Mustang Grande Convertible with the 302-cid V8 and three-speed automatic transmission is also in the auction, with an estimated selling price of $45,000-$55,000.

Source: Shannons

With an over-capacity crowd of more than 1,000 squeezed into the Plaza Terrace Room of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and more than $1 million spent by bidders on a range of quality classic cars, number plates and memorabilia, the inaugural Shannons Brisbane International Motor Show Auction was judged a major success by both Shannons and the Show’s organisers.

Cashed-up phone and floor bidders purchased more than 60 per cent of the 49 lots on offer, but the big money was spent on classic cars with world market appeal.

The top-selling lot at $180,000 was a 1968 left hand drive Candy Apple Red Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback that had been restored to concours standard in the mid-1990s and rarely driven since.

Running it close and selling comfortable above its reserve, was an original factory right hand drive concours-winning1959 Mercedes-Benz 220S Cabriolet that had been the subject of a no-expense-spared restoration by Brisbane Mercedes-Benz specialists Sleeping Beauties in the early 1990s.

Other classic Germans to sell well were a fully-restored silver with red leather 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Convertible that made $100,000 and a cosmetically unrestored and very original Signal Red 1963 Porsche 356C Coupe, that sold for $49,000.

Sporting cars to sell at the auction included stunningly-restored Congo Green with Cream interior 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible that went for $60,000 and a 1984 Ferrari Mondial QV Coupe in factory-original condition that had covered just 118,000km since new that sold for $37,500.

Amongst the muscle cars on offer, a brand new 2007 Ford Falcon BF GT Cobra sedan with six-speed manual gearbox sold for an excellent $92,000- well above Ford’s recommended retail price of $65,110 when the limited edition of 400 Cobras was released in October last year.

Another outstanding result for an Australian car was the $29,000 paid for a totally restored and completely correct 1954 two-tone green Holden FJ Special Sedan, while an unrestored 1951 Holden 48-215 (FX) sedan went for $7,750.

Of the vintage cars on offer, the outstanding sale was the $155,000 paid for a Concours d’Elegance-winning 1928 Stutz Model BB with a Wymann-type Sports Tourer body.

A number of special-interest number plates were also on offer, with the top money being the $25,000 paid for the Heritage plate ‘Q154′. ‘Q549′ went for $18,000 and the Queensland plate ’0000000′ sold with no reserve for $13,000.

Amongst the personalised plates, ‘PETE 05′ personally signed by the late Peter Brock, sold with no reserve for $4,500.

But, the Falcon XY GT HO Phase 3 (pictured) that was expected to sell and break records was passed in at AU$730,000 after the owners rejected the bid. Let’s hope that’s a decision they won’t regret in years to come!