Bull Market List stars: Audi TT Quattro Sport sells for "unexpected" price, but Rolls-Royce Camargue falls short

Two stars of the Hagerty Bull Market List went under the hammer at the recent Anglia Car Auctions (ACA) sale – with differing results. One smashed the Hagerty Price Guide range by a comfortable margin, while the other fell short by some distance.

The Rolls-Royce Camargue, which fetched just £19,440, could be a bargain. Just 531 cars were built between 1975 and 1986, and it was, at the time, the world’s most expensive car. A price tag of £29,250 in 1975 is the equivalent of £200,000 in 2023.

It’s worth remembering that in 1975, the average UK house price was £9179, so this Pininfarina-penned land yacht was the preserve of the seriously well-heeled. Although it shared a floorpan and 6.75-litre engine with the Silver Shadow, the Camargue shared surprisingly little with its platform donor. It also incorporated several firsts for Rolls-Royce, including curved side glass, an inclined grille and the first car it designed to metric dimensions.

The Camargue feels as opulent and ostentatious today as it did in the 1970s. We drove a 1977 example in 2021 and said: “The Connolly leather is rich, the Wilton carpets are so deep you just want to remove your shoes and socks and curl your toes into them, and you can see your reflection in the acres of polished walnut.”

We labelled the driving experience “wonderfully wafty”, before calling it a “glorious behemoth”. So why did the 1981 Camargue at the ACA sale sell for ‘just’ £19,440, falling short of its pre-auction estimate and the Hagerty Price Guide range of £22,800 to £63,900 – that range spanning Fair, Good, Excellent and Concours?

John Mayhead, head of Hagerty UK Valuations, said: “The phrases ‘off the road for some time’, ‘information… is sparse’ and ‘will obviously require some recommissioning’ are not exactly reassuring, especially when it comes to purchasing an early eighties Rolls-Royce. Unfortunately, this one has potential big bills written all over it, so some might reason it did well to reach just under low estimate and sell.”

However, if you’ve the nerve (and wallet) for it, then returning a Camargue to its former glory would, we’d imagine, be an immensely satisfying project and the end result would be a highly individual car that would be the talk of town wherever it went.

There was better news for the owner of the 2005 Audi TT Quattro Sport, which fetched £19,224 in East Anglia, sailing through its pre-auction estimate of between £10,000 and £12,000 and comfortably exceeding Hagerty’s value of £14,800 for a ‘Concours’ car.

The Quattro Sport has the makings of a modern classic. Just 800 were set aside for the UK market, while the TT’s concept car styling seems to get better with every passing year. It’s also nicer to drive and lighter than the regular TT, with its 237bhp 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine making it “usefully rapid”.

That’s what we said last year when we drove a pristine example for the 2023 Hagerty Bull Market List. We concluded our thoughts by saying: “A huge price rise is unlikely, but it should continue to creep up, with low mileage, clean examples with great service history performing best.”

Is the sale price of the 35,643-mile example at the ACA sale a sign that prices are rising faster than expected? Mayhead calls it a “really interesting sale”, going on to say: “It’s a very rare model and looks to be in great condition with under 36,000 miles from new and a very recent cambelt/water pump service.

“If you’re looking for a TT to buy that will not only be a good long-term bet but also be potentially a great driver’s car, this would seem to fit that bill. The sale price though was unexpected, exceeding the Hagerty Price Guide top value and the ACA pre-sale estimate by some way.”

It goes to show that although nobody in the car hobby has such a thing as a crystal ball, Hagerty’s Bull Market List is doing what we’d hoped it would do, shining a light on car we know enthusiasts will find appealing, no matter what condition they’re in.