In 70 years of business, vehicle auctioneer BCA has sold some interesting vehicles.
Even BCA founder David Wickins probably didn’t expect that the business he started by selling 14 cars from a marquee in 1946 would become a global operation that touches more than 3.5 million vehicles each year, a quarter of which are sold online.
To mark the firm’s recent big birthday, BCA has released images of some of the most interesting, unusual and notorious vehicles ever sold by the firm.
Don’t panic!
We’ve covered Corporal Jones’ famous Dad’s Army butcher’s van before. The 1935 Ford BB van was restored by Ford’s heritage department before appearing in the recent Dad’s Army film.
However, back in 1991, this celebrated pre-war model was sold by BCA for £10,400, complete with portholes for the platoon to stick their rifles through. BCA says this sale price was probably double what it might have been without the Dad’s Army connection.
Jonesy’s Van from the Dad’s Army TV series sold by BCA for £10,400 in 1991
A sombre note
The funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in January 1965 was a major event in UK history. The vehicle chosen to carry the wartime leader’s coffin was a 1964 Austin Princess Hearse, which then went into service with royal funeral directors JH Kenyon Ltd.
The hearse was subsequently resold several times, including by BCA in the 1990s. It currently resides in the US with a collector who paid £3 million for it.
The Austin Princess Hearse used at Churchill’s funeral in 1965 was sold by BCA in the 1990s.
Put a stamp on it
In 2010 Royal Mail donated a 1970 Morris 1000 Post Van to Barnardo’s. BCA was chosen to sell the van, which made a respectable £8,000 for the children’s charity.
News of the sale attracted a huge crowd of buyers – including Morris collectors and Royal mail enthusiasts. The van had seen service in Poole and Bournemouth in the 1970s and had been fully restored by four dedicated Royal Mail employees at the Isle of Wight workshop.
This 1970 Morris 1000 Post Van was sold by BCA on behalf of Royal Mail in 2010. All proceeds went to Royal Mail’s chosen children’s charity, Barnardo’s.
I’m in pieces!
In 1989 BCA sold the loose parts of a disassembled Bentley 3 Litre Open Tourer, that was literally presented for sale in bits.
Sold at the height of the classic car boom on 11 September 1989 this collection of parts realized £80,400.
This Bentley 3-litre open tourer was consigned for sale in pieces. Sold in 1989 for £80,400.
It’s a steal…!
BCA’s Great Train Robbery Special Auction held at Measham in February 1969 must have been a remarkable event, given the heist’s high profile.
One of the stars of the sale was Bruce Reynold’s 1963 Lotus Cortina, registration BMK 723 A. This was the Great Train Robber’s getaway car and had been seized by police to be sold as a proceeds of crime vehicle.
Great Train Robber Bruce Reynold’s 1963 Lotus Cortina was sold by BCA at the Great Train Robbery sale in February 1969.
Other items in the sale included a range of possessions found at the gang’s hideaway. The sale caught the public imagination and even prompted cartoons by Giles in the Daily Express and Jak in Evening Standard.
The most expensive… ever
One car that certainly wasn’t a steal was the 2006 Bugattie Veyron EB 16.4 sold by BCA for £625,000 in 2010.
It represented a UK record value for a modern production car at auction and the highest value ever achieved by BCA on one vehicle. The sale attracted hundreds of people to the Blackbushe auction centre and included internet bidders from both the UK and Mainland Europe.
This Bugatti Veyron sold for £625,000 in 2010 — BCA’s most expensive vehicle ever.
All pictures courtesy of BCA.