Brits auction off crazy car collection for a good cause

by Keith Morgan on Friday, November 4th, 2016

 

 

Britain’s recent most bizarre car auction attracted a dilapidated Batmobile, a giant bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese and a Nissan dressed as a dog!

The unusual sale was made up of a wacky assortment of vehicles that successfully completed the Bangers4BEN 2016 rally – an annual drive across the Continent in aid of BEN, Britain’s automotive industry charity.

This year’s epic trek saw 38 teams and 41 cars drive the 1,340 kilometres between the UK to Maranello – the home of Ferrari – and back, in just four days.

Included in the charity auction – was a Zombie-fighting Ford Fiesta, a Ford Ka covered in fur, a Bolognese-covered Beetle and a 1999 Daihatsu HiJet dressed up as Scooby Do’s Mystery Machine.

Previous auctions have seen the Bangers4Ben cars go on to have second lives on TV, as promotional vehicles or even feature in other banger rallies.

This year among the ragbag assortment of the weird, wonderful and woeful were a handful of rare and collectible gems. They included a very early example of the BMW-built MINI, registered in August 2001, which is already something of a classic, with or without its current Jurassic Park themed wrap.

Another future classic was the early Mercedes-Benz SLK. Once someone’s pride and joy, the drop-top Merc is wrapped in white with the Italian flag.

Organizers hope the sale will push the total amount raised by this year’s rally past the $80,000 mark, when all is added up.

Andy Entwistle, Managing Director of Blackball Media, the company that organizes the rally, said: “Bangers4BEN has grown to become a real highlight of the UK automotive calendar. But all the silliness is for a serious cause, with all the proceeds from the event going to help fund BEN’s fabulous work to support thousands of individuals and families connected with the UK automotive industry.”

keith [dot] morgan [at] drivewaybc [dot] ca