London, UK -- A unique series of one-off customs designed by leading UK customiser, Andy Saunders joined the line-up of close to a hundred vintage motor cars for RM Auctions' 'Automobiles of London' event held in association with Sotheby's, on October 28-29 at London's Battersea Park.

1998 Suzuki Wagon R The Alchimist

Regarded as the UK's top custom car builder, Saunders has been at the forefront of wild car creations for almost 30 years, having built over 40 individual customs and restored a number of classics. It is, however, his unique, off the wall designs and drivable 'car sculptures' that have earned him the most critical acclaim and attracted global media attention.

One journalist described Saunders as an 'automotive alchemist' for he 'turned base cars into gold'. This October the customiser shared his designs with other automotive enthusiasts to make room in his garages for new creations. Eleven of his cars went cross the block as part of RM Auctions' London event.

"The Andy Saunders Collection is best described as rolling works of modern art," says Max Girardo, European Division Managing Director of Canadian-based RM Auctions.

"Each piece effortlessly melds Saunders remarkable passion for cars with his artistic talents, wild imagination and creative vision. It is drivable art in the truest sense," he added.

Included in the auction line-up was everything from Saunders' infamous and ever popular 1983 Citroen 2CV6 "Picasso Citroen", -- a multi-coloured and totally asymmetric creation which was built as if designed by Picasso --, through to his 1989 Fiat 126 "Flat Out", a radical sports car standing just under 55 centimeters.

An ideal city car was this radically shortened 1961 Mini Ha Ha. This Austin Mini was cut into three pieces and shortened by 79 centimeters, making it only 147 centimeters-long. The third of a trio built, the Mini Haha represents the closest Andy has ever gotten to production with his designs usually limited to one-off creations.

1961 Austin Mini Ha Ha!

Joining these miniature creations on the block were: the incredible 1983 Bentley Mulsanne, otherwise known as the 'Mentley Insanne', which was previously chosen as the 'Car of the Month' by the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Owners' Club; the 1998 Suzuki Wagon R "The Alchemist", a baby, fuel-saving Hummer, affectionately nicknamed the 'Credit Crunch Hummer'; and the remarkable 1958 Ford X-2000 Recreation, the concept car that Ford never built and for which Andy brought to life the designs of Alex Tremulis.

1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo Mentley Insanne

Additional Saunders' designs offered included: a period perfect, sixties-retro VW Beach Dune Buggy; his 1977 Austin Allegro 'All-Ego' which was built for TV; finally the one-of-a-kind 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Replica.

All these found new owners and many at rether affordable prices:

MODEL	PRICE SOLD	APPROX CAD $
1977 Austin Allegro ''All-Ego''	£5500	$11,000
1983 Bentley Mulsanne ''Mentley Insanne''	£18700	$37,000
1983 Citroën 2CV6 ''Picasso''	£8800	$17,500
1989 Fiat 126 ''Flat Out''	£6600	$13,000
1958 Ford X-2000 Recreation	£41250	$81,600
1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Replica	£17600	$35,000
1961 Mini HaHa	£17600	$35,000
1998 Suzuki Wagon R ''The Alchemist''	£5500	$11,000
1971 Volkswagen Beach Buggy	£16500	$32,600

Other stars of the auction
The Andy Saunders Collection was joining a host of luxury classic, sports and racing cars at RM's London event.

Headlining the exceptional auto line-up were an assortment of cars with remarkable celebrity provenance. One of the highlights of this auction was the ex-Park Lane Showroom 1997 McLaren F1 which found a new owner for the astronomical price of £2,530,000 (approx. $5,005,129).

Another star of this auction was a stunning 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder, as driven by Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in the hit movie Charlie's Angels. Its bidding stopped at £2,625,000 (approx. $5,193,068) leaving the car unsold.

An attraction that found a new owner was this stylish 1955 Ford Thunderbird, which once belonged to Hollywood star, John Travolta. It sold for £18,700 (approx. $37,000).

Finally, there was this stunning 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante. Formerly owned by John W. Straus of New York, the grandson of Isidor Straus, who transformed R.H. Macy's into a retail colossus, this car was recently discovered after 45 years in storage. It made a collector happy and got sold for £660,000 (approx. $1,305,000).