Today's Object of the Week is a rare car that fetched a huge price at auction - but you can't drive it.
A rare toy car measuring about three inches fetched a premium price at a North East auction.
The Volkswagen Beetle Rally Car turned out to the be the star lot at the 'Matchbox Magic' sale held by Vectis - a leading specialist toy auctioneer, based in Thornaby - this week.
The model was in a pre-production colour trial, with a yellow body, clear windows, ivory interior, a bare metal base - which had not been zinc plated - and chrome hubs with black plastic tyres.
And it differed from production versions in a number of ways. The body casting front and rear wings extended below the front bumper, the front 'Monte Carlo Rally' plate was a thinner profile, and the base - without copyright date - stated 'Made in England by Lesney' rather than 'Made in England Lesney Prod & Co. Ltd'.
Two buyers really wanted the rare model which pushed the price up to more than you might pay for the real thing - an eye-watering £6,960.
Specialist Julian Royse, auctioneer for the Vectis sale, said that the reason the Beetle sold for such a high amount was down several factors.
"Firstly, VW Beetles are highly sought after in any variation - they are a popular subject to collect," he said.
"The item was desirable as it was a pre-production model in a rare colour variation, and with a different casting. There are expected to be only a handful known to survive."
He added: "A big factor is also the provenance - the model came from an ex-Lesney employee so came direct from the factory - having been stored a number of years - and then to us.
"And the biggest factor is that there were two buyers, who really wanted the model.
"There was a large commission bid left before the sale started and an internet buyer kept bidding against it. The commission bid won."
Read about previous Objects of the Week here:
- Why this North East terrace of brick built colliery houses is called Fairy Street
- Vessel built in North East in 1886 analysed by experts - here's what they found
- How to plan a tunnel: Rare survivors from Darlington and Aycliffe postal system
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The Beetle was just one of a number of lots in the sale, which achieved some incredible prices - 11 lots selling for four figures. The total price realised for the sale was £131,650 (inclusive of buyers premium).
Among the other Matchbox lots were:
- Superfast 14b Mini Ha-Ha Dragster, which realised £2,040;
- King Size K11 DAF Articulated Car Transporter (£2,520);
- AEC Horse Box (£1,320);
- Superfast 32b Maserati Bora (£1,320);
- Superfast 34b Ford Mustang Vantastic ( £1,320);
- Superfast 45a Ford Group 6 - with orange body (£1,800);
- Superfast 45a Ford Group 6 - with red body (£1,800);
- Super Kings K94 Saval Kronenberg B.V. MAC 12 Airport Crash Tender (£1,680);
- Superfast 70d Ferrari 308 GTB (£1,680);
- Superfast 6b Mercedes 350SL (£1,440).
For more information on Vectis Auction, visit www.vectis.co.uk/
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