Stunning cars from multi-million-pound Andrews Collection go on sale

One of America's greatest car collections is about to be sold to the highest bidder, with 75 cars from the highly coveted Andrews Collection going up for auction with no price reserve. Run by RM Auctions, the sale's catalogue includes everything from incredibly rare 1930s US cars and highly sought-after Ferraris to one-off racing prototypes.

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Estimates say most of the cars will likely fetch well over £500,000 each, with several notable classics pushing high into the millions. The vast and eclectic array of desirable heritage cars currently belongs to entrepreneur Paul Andrews and his son Chris. Their collection extends to over 100 cars, but they are selling off a big chunk to dedicate more time to the remainder.

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“We want to get down to a smaller number of cars – perhaps 15 to 20 – that we very much enjoy driving and that we can use on events with the family," Chris Andrews told RM Auctions in Fort Worth, Texas.

Below are our top five highlights of the RM Auctions Andrews Collection auction list, and the attached gallery contains several other notable cars from the sale:

1963 Shelby Cobra 289 Competition

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Taking pride of place in the Andrews Collection auction will be this authentic 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 Competition. This very car was the first racing Cobra sold to the public, and it's one of only three factory Competition examples in existence. With a 4.7-litre V8 engine, these racers dominated the US domestic racing series in the early 1960s, losing only one race in three years.

1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Town Car

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One of the most valuable cars in the collection is this 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Town Car, first owned by candy-making heiress and horse-racing legend Ethel V. Mars. The pre-war equivalent of today's £1million-plus hypercars, the Duesenberg featured a supercharged straight-eight engine and was one of the fastest cars of the time, averaging over 135mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. This model was bought in 2007 for around $4.4 million.

1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Convertible

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This 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Convertible is one of only six ever made, and is cemented as one of the most valuable Ferraris you can buy today. Featuring a small-block 4.0-litre V12, the 400 Superamerica had around 340bhp and was displayed at the New York Motor Show the year it was built. An example previously sold in 2010 for upwards of $3million.

Cadillac V-16 Convertible Sedan

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This is one of the first examples of Cadillac's amazing V-16 Convertible Sedans. The name isn't exaggerating: this enormous 1930 car had a 16-cylinder engine and was the costliest Cadillac ever built at the time. It's predicted to sell for well over £1million.

Buick Blackhawk prototype

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The collection isn't entirely full of ancient classics, as the one-off Buick Blackhawk prototype shows. This jaw-dropping car was a prototype built by General Motors in the early 2000s, and underneath features various bits of Buick cars from the 1930s up to the 1980s. Its value is difficult to estimate as it is truly unique, but it fetched $522,000 at GM's auction in 2009.

Find out about the most expensive cars ever sold at auction here