Not many cars double in value in 20 years, but a nearly untouched Holden VL Commodore Group A ‘Walkinshaw’ sedan in Azure Blue with only 16,637km on the clock nearly did just that when it sold for $87,000 at Shannons Sydney Autumn Auction on 5 May. Its new price in 1988 was about $45,000. Tom Walkinshaw’s new Holden Special Vehicles operation only built 750 of this model Commodore in 1988, the year after Peter Brock and his HDT team left Holden. Their aero-styling was considered radical.

Following manufacture in mid-1988, this car was hidden away in a garage before its first and only owner bought it last year and also stored it unregistered until preparing it for auction. However, Shannons indicated that, condition aside, its price mainly demonstrated a strong current interest in ‘80s Group A HDT and Walkinshaw Commodores, as fairly affordable Bathurst contenders.

The Walkinshaw Commodore wasn’t the night’s top seller, though, and was one of several rare and distinctive high performance cars that sold well at this auction. A fully-restored LHD 1966 Shelby GT350 Fastback, sold on its ambitious estimate for $200,000. The white Shelby with typical blue GT stripes was one of the 1,368 cars built that year. As an early ‘66 example, it had some special features excluded later to keep costs down, including lowered front control arms, traction over ride bars, axle limiting cable and bonnet latch deleted. Its ownership history includes a long-term US owner from 1971 to 2001 when it underwent a complete rotisserie restoration, with authentication from the Shelby American Automobile Club. A top-condition single-owner 1989 Wide Body Porsche 911 Speedster enjoyed solid bidding and finally sold for a satisfying $96,000. It is one of only about 10 in Australia, from the total 2,103 produced, and had driven just 12,000km since new.

A wide variety of less powerful but very collectable lots also brought good results. A factory RHD white 1969 Jaguar Series 2 Roadster with only 46,000 miles behind it went for $75,000, a 1968 silver Mercedes-Benz 280SL Coupe/Convertible brought $60,000, a well-maintained red, right hand drive 1966 Mustang Convertible made $43,000 and a handsome fully-restored, red 1954 MG TF 1250 roadster attracted a lively group of bidders and earned $35,500. Buyers also found good value at the sale, such as a one-owner, low mileage 1979 Ford Escort RS2000 bringing $15,000. An original 1974 Jensen Interceptor Mark III coupe and a good-looking 1956 Holden FJ Special Sedan with slight modifications both sold for $11,000, and a very practical purchase was the well presented 1983 BMW 635 CSi Coupe, selling unreserved for $5,250.