Jaguar Land Rover to auction off 100 affordable classics from its own collection

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) seems to have a few too many classic cars in its collection. In order to make space and to recoup some of its costs, it's selling off around 100 vehicles, in a no reserve auction in March.

Bicester Heritage will host the auction, to be conducted by Brightwells. It will see dozens of classics that JLR acquired when it purchased the famed James Hull classic car collection.

See also: Sir Elton John's Aston Martin heading to auction

See also: Two of Rowan Atkinson's cars going under the hammer

Hull was a noted collector of classic cars, picking up more than 500 models that ranged from the unremarkable to the extraordinary. His was one of the largest collections of British cars in the world – although his collection contained vehicles from elsewhere too – and the largest privately held car collection in the UK.

Ill health caused Hull to move his collection on and JLR snapped it up in 2014, with the full set believed to be worth around £100m at the time. With 130 classic Jaguars, including an XKSS and a C-type, it was a significant haul for JLR. It's looked after the vehicles since then, but is looking to move a good chunk of the non-JLR cars on to new homes.

This Affordable Classics auction contains a list of some unusual cars, in a variety of states of repair. Many are in working order but some, such as the 1938 Peugeot 402 and the 1950 Riley 2.5, could do with some restoration.

It's a weird and wonderful collection that ranges from more modern classics like the MG Maestro Turbo to collector's items like a 1972 FIAT 500. The auction also includes some of the least likely classics, like the FSO 125p Estate, Lada Riva and a Vanden Plas Allegro.

All of the vehicles at the auction are listed with no reserve, so it could be an opportunity to pick up a ready-to-go classic.

By Andrew Evans