If 2022 is anything like its predecessor, we’re going to be in for one massive year of auction action and record setting.

With the market showing no signs of slowing down, we’ve gone through and picked our favourites from the upcoming Shannons Summer timed online auction, which officially gets underway at 10am AEDT on Tuesday, February 22.

GTR XU-1 Torana auction records went gangbusters last year, so this we’re super excited to see what this seemingly mint ’73 LJ XU-1 will fetch when the hammer falls.

A ground-up restoration was carried out by the current owner, complete with the 202 Holden six, M21 four-speed manual and just 33,000 odd miles showing on the ticker.

The current record for a GTR XU-1 at auction sits at a whopping AU$348,000, so Shannons’ price guide suggestion of AU$140,000-AU$170,000 seems like a bargain.

It’s hard to pass up a HQ GTS coupe, and this one has a few spicy upgrades to bring it up to scratch. The original 253 and Tramtic the GTS came with have been binned in favour of a 350 Chev and Turbo 400 ‘box, along with a brand new set of GTS wheels.

The houndstooth interior is as pristine as the resprayed orange paint, and Shannons estimates around AU$110,000-AU$130,000 will see it find a new home.

Ford lovers will honk at this immaculate ’74 XB Fairmont GS coupe, which has only had two owners and undergone a full restoration.

The car still has a 250 six-pot and three-speed auto as it did when it rolled off the line, which some may turn their noses at. But with a resto already carried out, all you’d need to do is plonk a Cleveland in there for some stonk, or simply enjoy it as a lazy cruiser with the current mill. The Shannons price guide suggests a sale of between AU$80,000-AU$90,000.

If the XB is too mellow for you, then this Q-code ’69 Mach 1 Mustang should get the juices flowing. The Q-code means this black beast copped the 428ci Cobra Jet mill, with a manual four-speed close ratio ‘box. The rear end now consists of a beefy nine-inch, with a brake upgrade, coilovers in the front and 17×8 Ultra rims to give the Muzzy the stop and go to match the oomph.

It’s by no means a matching numbers collector item, but instead a really solid and well-presented performance machine with serious heritage under the name that you can get out there and actually use. The Shannons guide suggests a sales figure of AU$100,000-AU$120,000.

Those in the hunt for a rare collectors item would do well to take notice of this CL Chrysler Valiant. This is allegedly a one-of-one 1978 four door CL-model to come factory fitted with Chrysler’s 318 small-block V8 and four speed manual. That’s because it was built for the Australian Police, which used it for evaluation purposes.

The car made it into civilian hands soon after, but even with 210,000 kilometres on the clock it still claims to be all original and unrestored. As a result, the Shannons guide suggests a value of between AU$40,000-AU$50,000.

Aussie metal from the 1990s has copped a serious price rise in recent years, which means cars like this 1997 HSV VS GTS Series 2 are now super desirable.

The GTS was essentially a Clubsport on steroids, with HSV’s stroked 5.7-litre 215kW version of Holden’s plastic fantastic, and the option of the Hydratrak LSD rear end that this GTS has.

The car has been with the same family since new, still in all-original condition with 76,000km on the clock. The Shannons price guide predicts a value between AU$46,000-AU$54,000.

We all know Japanese enthusiast metal is consistently seeing record prices, so we’ve found a few JDM heroes that’ll definitely be worth watching.

You can’t talk about Japanese cars without mentioning Skyline GT-Rs, so naturally we’ve got one to highlight. This one is an earlier 1995 R33, with a fairly standard looking version of the legendary twin turbo RB26. The genuine Super Advan wheels give us awesome ’90s vibes, and the 110,000km is reflected in the solid condition of the interior.

With both R32 and R34 prices well into six figures at local auctions, Shannons’ price guide suggests a value between AU$70,000-AU$80,000 for the R33.

Another seriously desirable coupe from the golden age of Japanese dream machines is the Mazda FD RX-7. This one is a very late production 2002 Spirit R Type A, the Spirit R denoting a limited-edition run of just over 1500 cars exclusively sold in Japan. The Type A version of the Spirit Rs were the manual versions, further signified with the ultra rare and highly sought after factory fitted Recaro seats.

This is likely to be one of the few RX-7s outside a museum to be in all-original condition. An FD RX-7 SP sold at Shannons’ 2021 Winter online auction for AU$166,000, so an evaluation of AU$150,000-AU$170,000 is frighteningly realistic.

The first generation Subaru Impreza WRX helped launch the idea of properly fast Japanese cars here in Australia in the ’90s and early 2000s, with the two-door versions always viewed a cut above the normal sedans.

This example is a later 1998 STi coupe, featuring cool rally-inspired gadgets like the water-sprayer for the top mounted intercooler and centre lock diff controller, which allows for greater control over the legendary Subaru AWD system.

With prices of the hallmark 22B WRX already through the roof, it’s no surprise that lower-spec WRX coupes have followed suit. The Shannons price guide places the Rexy in the ballpark of AU$60,000-AU$70,000.

All these and a whole heap more Australian, European, Japanese and American cars are live now on the Shannons website here, with the auction wrapping up for 6pm AEDT on Tuesday, March 1.