Supercars on sale

More than 150 cars will cross the block on Saturday 24 September as Historics Auctioneers makes its debut at Bicester Heritage, packing Hangar 113 while you fill the paddock and track with your supercars.

Scramblers attending the Poster Cars & Supercars Assembly will be given free access to the sale, and there are a whole host of cars fitting that bill in the catalogue.

Among the earliest lots consigned was a Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR, which certainly does. It remains one of the overlooked supercars of the 2000s. A product of the McLaren and Mercedes Formula 1 partnership, its supercharged V8 fires out more than 600bhp and the butterfly doors elevate it far beyond the usual fare of sports cars. The McMerc is a genuine, pukka supercar that – like the XJ220 – remains one of the smartest buys of its type.

It is valued at more than 10 times that of the SL55 AMG also in the catalogue, but they are related only vaguely in appearance and even more vaguely in performance.

Equally overlooked is the Espada, from supercar maker Lamborghini. It might for ever be in the shadow of the original, its Miura stablemate, but south of £100,000 gets you a V12 and Marcello Gandini lines.

Cheaper still you’ll find an Aston Martin DB9, with a potential price tag of less than £30,000. There can hardly have been a better time to slip into an Aston, again bringing you a V12 but here, remarkably, for premium hatchback money.

Take the roof off for £70k, with a DBS Volante keeping that famous suffix alive and giving unlimited access to the sumptuous sounds of that V12.

No auction is complete without a Ferrari or two, and here there are some lesser known recent examples. The 599 – quicker than the McMerc courtesy of the C variant of the F140 engine from the Enzo, no less – was only the second car after the F430 to carry the now-famous manettino on the steering wheel, bringing five modes a flick of a switch away. In F1 spec, there’s even the badge of the Scuderia on the flanks.

Or there’s the sub-5000 mile 430, a model that helped propel Modena into the modern age, or a hulking 328.

Yet each Ferrari pales on the spec sheet when compared to the F12 Berlinetta. It takes barely more than three seconds to hit 60mph from standing, thanks to the V12’s 730bhp and huge 509lb ft torque. Yours for £135,000-165,000…

Collect a mini guide on arrival at the Poster Cars & Supercars Assembly on Saturday 24 September to gain free access to the sale. The first lot begins at 9:30am.