Yesterday’s Shannons Sydney Summer Classic Auction was always going to be memorable with its emphasis on “quirky classics”, but few anticipated the final outcomes of two vehicles in particular.

The first was an original two-cylinder 1990 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston sedan with 23,500km on the clock.  The guiding range was $12,000 to $16,000.

It sold for $40,000 – a new Australian record.

Another air-cooled classic up for auction was a rare three-headlight 1963 Czechoslovakian Tatra 603 Series saloon. The 2.5-litre all-aluminium V8 had a guiding range of $16,000 to $22,000.

The large crowd at the Shannons St Leonards showroom gave a round of applause when it eventually sold to a German enthusiast for $38,000.

Another strongly pursued item was a painstakingly restored 1973 Holden LJ Torana XU-1 tangerine sedan which sold for $95,000.

But it was pipped for the top result of the day, which went to the New South Wales “241” number plate at $101,000.

Shannons national auction manager, Christophe Boribon, said the interest in the Sydney sale and the unexpected results showed that the Australian classic auction market is in good health.

“As this auction showed, there is a strong demand for high quality classics. We got our mix of vehicles right and buyers responded enthusiastically, particularly to interesting vehicles offered with no reserve,” Mr Boribon said.