Tractor sells for £214k to businessman who grew up on farm

The tractor, made in 1982, would have originally cost about £20,000

A 40-year-old tractor has sold at auction for £214,400 in what auctioneers have said is a UK record for a modern classic machine.

The 1982 County 1474 "Short Nose" tractor would have originally cost about £20,000.

It was purchased by 60-year-old Tom O'Connor, who grew up on a farm in Ireland and later became a collector.

Mr O'Connor, who lives near Manchester, said he had always dreamed of collecting the tractors from his youth.

"Luckily I am now in a position in my life where I can do that," he said.

"This particular County had been perfectly restored and this was really what I was looking for.

"It's getting harder to find people who will do a good job of restoring these tractors, so I have been looking for a really clean example, which is what this was."

'Nostalgic'

Mr O'Connor, who owns a utilities business, said he had built a new shed for his burgeoning collection.

He added: "I started collecting quite late in life and now have about a dozen tractors, a few of which have been restored."

The tractor was sold at the Cheffins sale ground at Sutton near Ely in Cambridgeshire, where its pre-auction estimate had been £120,000 to £140,000.

Auctioneer Oliver Godfrey said the market for nostalgic farm vehicle collection was "alive and well".

"In fact it is thriving, as collectors still have cash in the bank which they want to invest in something tangible," he said.

"Collectors are becoming younger, so the focus is really on tractors and machinery from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s as they look to buy up a part of their youth."