All eyes are on the growing list of modern classics set to go under the hammer at the Classic Car Auctions September Sale as market demand increases for eighties and nineties performance cars.

Fast Fords, BMWs, and performance Audis are joined by Peugeot and VW hot hatches in an impressive line-up for the sale at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre on 23rd September.

With recent price records being set for eighties and nineties performance cars, examples such as the 1984 Peugeot 205 GTI and the 1988 VW Golf GTi Votex up for auction at the September Sale will be watched closely.

The Peugeot hot hatch on offer is the 1.6 litre predecessor to the 1.9 GTI sold recently at auction for almost £38,000. With an estimate of £14,000 to £18,000 and just 30,000 miles on the clock the Peugeot is sure generate excitement in the sale room.

The GTI’s little brother, the 205 Rallye also makes an appearance in the lot list. The 1300cc version was developed by Peugeot specifically for rallying and this 1989 road-going version is a lightweight flyer powered by a 102 bhp engine and packs so much excitement into the driving experience that Top Gear’s Chris Harris has declared that it’s more fun than a Porsche 911R! The Peugeot 205 Rallye is gaining rapidly in popularity among collectors and is estimated at £10,000 – £12,000.

The Peugeot’s main hot-hatch rival in the eighties was the VW Golf GTi and this model is sure to rise in popularity in tandem with the 205. Classic Car Auctions has listed a superb example complete with a rare factory-fitted Votex body kit. A multi show-winning car with an extensive history and just 44,000 miles on the odometer, the iconic Golf is estimated at £7,000 – £9,000.

Another car that catches the eye is a 1991 Diamond Black BMW 316i Lux which, despite being 26 years old, has only covered 2,245 miles and accordingly is in great condition. This little used modern classic is also a lucky member of the E30 family of BMWs which have become extremely popular with enthusiasts in recent years. Family-owned and barely used, the BMW is estimated at £12,000 to £15,000.

Estate cars, up until the nineties, were hardly the stuff of boyhood dreams until BMW and Audi decided to combine practicality with supercar performance and produced rocketships such as the Audi RS6 Avant and the BMW M5 Touring. Two of these powerful estate cars will go under the hammer at the September Sale with the 450 bhp Audi estimated at £8,000 – £10,000, and the even more powerful and rare 507 bhp BMW estimated at £18,000 – £22,000. Only 222 UK right-hand drive BMW M5 Touring’s were produced, so this E61, five-litre V10 is expected to draw a lot of attention from bidders.

“”There is a rising market in certain types of modern classics and there are a number of reasons for this,” says Gary Dunne, Sales Manager of Classic Car Auctions. “A connection with motor sport helps, which is the case with the Peugeot 205 GTIs, and a lot of people who were growing up when these cars first came out are now in a position to afford the car of their dreams. There’s also a rarity factor as a lot of these cars have not survived since the eighties.”

Fast Fords certainly fall into this category and a 1992 Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4×4, an unmolested, low mileage, road-going version of Ford’s last effort to homologate a Sierra to compete in the World Rally Championship, is for sale with an estimate of £25,000 – £30,000. The Sierra is joined by an iconic Ford Capri 280 Brooklands from 1987 with an estimate of between £23,000 and £26,000.

The “Fast & Furious” film franchise that did so much to influence the market for Japanese performance cars in recent times is still much in evidence and a desirable right-hand drive 1997 Honda NSX manual makes an almost obligatory appearance on the lot list with an estimate of £40,000 to £45,000. Alongside it is a rally-inspired 1991 Toyota Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz special, one of only 5,000 manufactured and with a sale estimate of £10,000 to £12,000.