At the traditional start of the year old car bonanza in Arizona last weekend some excellent results were returned for top quality collector’s cars. It was notable that condition and pedigree were rightly rewarded with the best sales figures across the board.

The Porsche marque was well represented and amongst some strong performers, personal favourites included a stunning Arena Red 993 Turbo S and a beautiful, prize-winning 356 Speedster.

Proving that the market for the very best, stand-out pre-war cars remains strong, the 8 litre Bentley with coachwork by Murphy is an exceptional example and rightly achieved a great price. There is no denying that the pre-war market has slowed but to paraphrase Mark Twain ” the report of my death has been exaggerated”.