H&H Classic Auctions has enjoyed considerable success with Lagondas in recent times, and the lovely dark green 1936 LG45 Tourer entered for last week’s (June 20) Buxton sale continued the trend when it was knocked down for £88,000 – way over its knowingly conservative estimate.

Perhaps British Racing Green cars are in vogue at the moment, for the similarly coloured 1956 Jaguar XK140 Drophead Coupe also considerably exceeded expectation by making £41,800, despite having undergone a conversion from left to righthand drive at some stage in its life.

There was a whole range of desirable sports cars in this sale and the relatively rare and extremely pretty c. 1970 Abarth-Simca created particular interest - eventually selling for £17,600. Examples of the original Lotus Elite always cause a stir when they come to market too and the gorgeous Special Equipment version on offer rightly sold well at £26,300. Another head turner was the red 1954 Triumph TR2 that is believed to have covered no more than around 50,000 Miles from new. It made £15,960.

The striking 1929 Delage DR70 Four Seat Tourer that started life in Australia will now be returning to the antipodes, having realised £29,700 at the auction. Another international purchase was the 1925 Fiat 501 Tourer, which sold to an Italian buyer for £10,780. The elegant 1935 3.5 Litre Bentley Sports Saloon with Windovers coachwork is, however, among those staying at home - £38,500.

Early Ford Escorts continue to gain in popularity and the very usable 1972 RS 1600 racer should give its new owner hours of fun for £24,200, while the very Smart road going 1975 RS2000 fetched £9,900. Frogeye Sprites have made increasingly good money at recent H&H sales and the red 1960 example on offer in Buxton well exceeded its estimate at £9,360.

Among the many highlights from the previous day’s well-attended automobilia sale was an extremely eye-catching ‘Delahaye’ child’s car - £1,913. A surprisingly faithful miniature recreation of a 1950s/1960s Alfa Spyder made £563. The fine selection of Le Mans programmes (1949-1967) was knocked down for £619, while a group of 1960s racing photos and negatives fetched £540.

The next H&H car and automobilia sale will be at Kempton Park on July 25. Further information on all H&H sales is available at  www.classic-auctions.com