An authentic Reliant three-wheeled van used within the iconic British comedy sequence Solely Fools and Horses is about to go beneath the hammer for the third time in as a few years – and even Del Boy may discover it tough to show down a chance to get it at a steal of a value.
The immediately recognisable Regal Supervan III dates again to 1972. It was purchased by the BBC when the traditional comedy started in 1981 and is one in all a fleet of six used throughout filming of the favored hit present throughout its 22-year spell on our televisions.
When it goes beneath the hammer at a Traditional Automobile Auctions sale in Warwickshire on 28 September, it is going to be its third look this automobile has made on the block since 2021.
Having offered three years in the past for £36,000, the information value for the upcoming public sale is lower than half that quantity.
A ‘comfortable’ deal on a collectable piece of TV memorabilia: This 1972 Reliant Regal Supervan III – one in all six used for filming Solely Fools and Horses – goes beneath the hammer for the third time in as a few years. However the information value is half what it offered for in 2021, That is Cash can reveal
The Reliant Regal Supervan III is believed to have been used within the first two sequence of the hit present. It was purchased by the BBC when the traditional comedy started in 1981
It’s not identified which particular episodes the three-wheeled van featured however is believed to have been used throughout the first two sequence, which included the well-known ‘chandelier’ episode A Contact of Glass, which initially aired in 1982.
It was beforehand owned by the late BBC director John Mansfield, who was the keeper of greater than one of many six authentic Regal Supervan IIIs from the sequence.
He additionally efficiently offered one other of the vans through Silverstone Auctions (now Iconic Auctioneers) in 2017, which is considered the priciest of all of them when it modified palms for £41,625 some seven years in the past.
Its prime pace – when used throughout filming – was a mere 55mph and it was usually described as a ‘crappy previous three-wheeled van’ by the forged.Â
However regardless of commonly being the butt of jokes, the van proved to be extremely dependable. It’s stated to have coped commendably with the rigours of lengthy filming days.
Crew members had been even capable of drive it lengthy distances when taking pictures away on location.
It’s not identified which particular episodes it featured in however is believed to have been used within the first two sequence, which included the well-known ‘chandelier’ episode A Contact of Glass, which first aired in 1982
Included within the sale is fluffy cube, a ‘Tax in Put up’ signal within the windscreen, and a roof rack holding a market dealer’s suitcase
Regardless of commonly being the butt of jokes, the van proved to be extremely dependable, surviving the rigours of lengthy filming days. Pictured (left to proper), Buster Merryfield (as Uncle Albert), David Jason (Del Boy) and Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney) within the present
When the present ended after the Christmas particular in 2003, the van was offered off to a collector.
Between 2015 and 2021, it was retained by an fanatic earlier than being supplied to the very best bidder, promoting at a Silverstone Auctions sale for a ‘comfortable’ £36,000.
And it wasn’t lengthy earlier than it was again within the public sale room once more, with the Reliant Regal Supervan III listed with CCA final summer time.
Whereas it confirmed as promoting for an undisclosed price, That is Cash has learnt that value was within the area of £20,000 – nearly half what the seller had paid for it two years prior.
The public sale home believes it would promote for a value between £15,000 and £18,000, which is a fraction of the £36,000 paid at public sale in 2021 (seen right here on the Iconic Auctioneers web site, which is previously Silverstone Auctions and a sister firm of CCA)
The three-wheeled van is offered with an inflatable doll within the boot, paying homage to some of the well-liked episodes, ‘Hazard UXD’, which initially aired in 1989 – and issues Del Boy making an attempt to flog a batch of defective blow-up intercourse dolls
The van contains Del Boy’s favoured tiger-print inside amongst lots of the options that had been put in by the BBC within the early Eighties
When the present ended after the Christmas particular in 2003, the van was offered off and has been owned by numerous totally different lovers (Above, the van is accompanied by a BBC key tag and, proper, among the automobile’s management switches)
CCA says this instance has been used for numerous charity occasions over the previous few years.
However on the finish of the month, it would but once more go beneath the hammer.
And public sale consultants estimate it may promote for even lower than it did a 12 months earlier.
The information value is £15,000 to £18,000. Ought to it promote within the area of the decrease estimate, it might have declined in worth by 58 per cent in simply three years.Â
The van’s bodywork has been painted to seem scuffed and it has the phrases ‘New York, Paris, Peckham’ and ‘Trotters Unbiased Merchants’ emblazoned on the aspect.Â
It is coated loads of miles in its 52-year historical past. The public sale home says registration ‘JPL 725K’ has 97,000 miles on its odometer – the identical it was displaying when it offered in 2023.
Nevertheless, it has lately had new tyres fitted, the brakes overhauled and a refreshed gas system.Â
The van’s bodywork has been painted to seem scuffed and it has the phrases ‘New York, Paris, Peckham’ and ‘Trotters Unbiased Merchants’ emblazoned on the aspect
The celebrities of the present pose for the 1981 Christmas particular, together with, proper, Lennard Pearce, who performed Grandad
It comes because it was when used for filming, with the roof rack, market-trader suitcase, fluffy cube and even an inflatable intercourse doll within the again as seen in Sequence 6, Episode 2, Hazard UXD.
It nonetheless retains the ‘Tax in Put up’ signal within the windscreen and Del Boy’s favoured tiger-print inside.Â
The Trotters van ranks alongside the likes of Inspector Morse’s Jaguar Mk2 and Jim Bergerac’s Triumph Roadster as some of the readily recognised autos on British tv.
Aa spokesperson for CCA advised us: ‘Solely Fools and Horses stays within the hearts of so many people with the stage musical drawing report audiences to today and resulting from go on tour nationwide very quickly.
‘Memorabilia from the unique present is definitely excellent news [for sellers and collectors alike] and this van is not any exception and is unquestionably a fantastic alternative to personal a slice of British Comedy Historical past.’
VIDEO
BEST OF MOTORING
Some hyperlinks on this article could also be affiliate hyperlinks. In the event you click on on them we could earn a small fee. That helps us fund This Is Cash, and preserve it free to make use of. We don’t write articles to advertise merchandise. We don’t permit any business relationship to have an effect on our editorial independence.
