Two famous motors from the classic TV series Minder, are set to go under the hammer.

H&H Classics will offer Arthur Daley’s Daimler in a forthcoming sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford alongside Terry McCann’s Ford Capri – the very same one that featured in the opening titles.

The Daimler (often mistaken for a Jaguar) has recently been re-finished in its original livery as part of a recent bodywork restoration and benefited from £5,000 worth of mechanical fettling at the hands of a marque specialist. Its odometer displays just 43,990 miles. In the mid-1980s actor George Cole, who played Daley, wanted to buy the car himself, and came close to doing so before it was given away in a TV Times competition. It is estimated to sell for £35,000 to £45,000.

Alongside the Daimler will be its automotive partner, a two-litre white Ford Capri driven by Terry McCann played by Dennis Waterman. The famous Ford was not only driven by Terry in the opening sequence but also at various times during the series. The Capri is believed to have come close to being crushed, but escaped and now rejuvenated, shows 88,700 miles on the clock. 

Its estimate of £65,000 to £85,000 could set a new world record for a two-litre model, highlighting the power of celebrity and provenance.

The original Minder show ran for ten series between 29 October 1979 and 10 March 1994, and starred Dennis Waterman as Terry McCann, an honest and likeable bodyguard (or minder) and George Cole as Arthur Daley, a dodgy used-car salesman and trader of pretty much anything on which a pound was to be made. 

The H&H Classics sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford will take place on Wednesday 20 April.