A RARE 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo SE ‘Flat Nose' Cabriolet broke UK auction records when it sold for £245,250 at the Salon Prive sale organised by Silverstone Auctions at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

One of only 10 made, the UK specification Minerva blue ‘Flat Nose' is one of the scarcest examples in existence, and considered by many to be the ‘holy grail' of 930-type 911s.

With an original pre-auction lower estimate of £190,000, bidding for the rare 911 was frenetic and after a dramatic standoff between room and phone bidders the final price drew applause when the hammer finally fell.

Another UK auction record fell at the sale when a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI ‘Tommi Makinen' edition, in the original colours of Makinen's World Championship winning car sold for £46,888 - £12,000 over its estimate.

A 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ‘Split Window' Coupe also attracted a great deal of attention and sold for £102,938, almost £23,000 clear of its lower estimate and another UK auction record.

American car fans were also impressed by multi-award winning 1969 Shelby GT500 which sold for £102,375.

In total, some £2.75 million changed hands at the sale which included £96,188 for a 1974 Lamborghini Urraco P250 while a 1972 Rolls-Royce Corniche was sold to Australia for £37,125 and a 1974 Porsche 911 S 2.7 found a new home in California for an upper estimate beating £87,750.

Other Porsches sold were a 1962 Porsche 356B 1600S Coupe which fetched £118,125 and a 1960 356B ‘Super 90' Cabriolet which went for £191,250 - more than £30,000 ahead of its lower estimate.

"Porsches performed particularly well at the Salon Prive Sale and we're delighted with the result of the 911 ‘Flat Nose'," said Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions.