11 July 2023
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300 model cars going to auction at Special Auction Services
A single owner collection of 300 model cars is going under the hammer at Special Auction Services in Newbury on Tuesday 18th July and is expected to fetch £20,000.
The collection was amassed over 20 years by motorsport and motoring fan Alan Barrett who began by buying models of BMW cars he had owned. His first purchase (above) was a 1989 Minichamps 1:18 BMW M3 'Jagermeister' DTM 1992 (W.Gardner) which carries an estimate of £80-120.
His son Geoff says, “We used to joke that if you cut him, he would bleed BMW! And when my brother-in-law first turned up in a Mercedes, he raised an eyebrow or two!”
Alan’s collection was initially on show in the lounge of his home outside Glasgow and as it grew, display shelves were built in the spare room and boxes migrated to the inside of wardrobes.
Family holidays and significant anniversaries were always punctuated with a motoring-related activity such a trip to a Grand Prix or the Nürburgring and Alan was always on the lookout for models to purchase at events or online.
Highlights of the 180 lots include Alan’s favourites; BMW M3s from the 1980s-1990s expected to fetch £3,000 as well as a selection of CMCs including a 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage Chassis Version and a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W196S) Mille Miglia Sieger both estimated at £150-250 each and a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Passo Corto (SWB) which is being offered at £80-120.
Geoff says, “Dad loved cars and all things mechanical. We have our memories of him and have kept or given away a few of the cars to people that meant something to him. We do not want the collection that he loved so much to gather dust and are hoping that model car enthusiasts will be able to enjoy them just as he did.”
Toy expert at Special Auction Services David Kemp says, “One of the fantastic things about Alan’s collection is that it came about from his love of the actual cars themselves and that he was also interested in the mechanics of making these scale models. Alan’s collection is one of the most significant 1/18 scale model collections we’ve ever been asked to sell and the lots on offer are sure to appeal to collectors worldwide.”
According to his family, Alan had completed his collection and felt he was lucky to have been able to purchase all the models that he was particularly interested in. Ever the collector, he also had a love of tractors (he regularly helped on his brother’s farm as a hobby) as well as Lego kits which were displayed in the lounge when completed before being moved to the garage to be replaced by the next one. A Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS is expected to fetch £100-150 while a Lego Technic Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 and Lego Technic Ford Raptor and Ferrari 488 GTE AF Corse # 51 are expected to go for £80-120 each.