A 116-YEAR-OLD tractor which was saved from scrap by a Wye Valley vintage collector more than 50 years ago has sold at auction for a record breaking £328,600.

Hailed as the most important tractor to ever come to auction, the 1903 Ivel Agricultural Motor brought gasps from a big crowd as the bidding smashed the new vintage tractor record set just minutes earlier by more than 130 per cent.

The previous best price of £94,500 had itself only just been beaten by a bid of £139,920 for a 1982 County 1884 tractor at the auction in Cambridgeshire.

But for vintage collector Derek Hackett from Ross-on-Wye who bought the Ivel in the 1950s, it could have been consigned to the scrap heap.

He kept the No 131 model until the early 1970s when he sold it to friend and fellow vintage collector John Moffitt – “to pay for my wedding” – who later fully restored the 24hp tractor to full working condition.

Auctioneers from Cheffins expected the Ivel to fetch at least £200,000 when it was offered for sale near Ely, as it is the best surviving example of the world’s first commercially viable tractor, with only eight still in existence.

But even they were blown away when it fetched a staggering 64 per cent above its estimate, watched by vintage fans from across the UK and Europe.

Historian Stuart Gibbard, who has written the history of the Ivel, said its importance to early tractor history “cannot be overstated”.

Cheffins chairman and auctioneer Bill King took a first bid of £100,000 before interest escalated and the gavel came down in favour of a telephone bidder.

“It was a huge privilege to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity to buy such an iconic tractor and we are delighted to achieve such a deserving figure,” he said.

“The price exceeded our pre-sale estimate and there was a tremendous buzz and anticipation during the sale.”

The Ivel will be remaining in the UK but the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.

Its history was recorded by previous owner John Moffitt, who died in 2008 and was a cattle breeder, agricultural entrepreneur and vintage tractor collector.

The research found that No 131 was initially a demonstration model and was used and exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show in London in 1903.

It was purchased by a farmer near Carlisle in 1905, who reported that it allowed him to “sack three men and dispose of six horses”.

In 1970, Derek Hackett sold his tractor collection to his friend, and the Ivel subsequently appeared in the National Tractor & Farm Museum, and the Beamish Museum in Nothumberland and has been exhibited at various events over the years.

In 2003, Mr Moffitt embarked on a 100-mile charity drive on the Ivel to celebrate its centenary, which raised £120,142 for charity.

The tractor takes its name from the River Ivel in Bedforshire, which was near the home of its inventor.

A Cheffins spokesman said: “The Ivel Agricultural Motor, the brainchild of visionary inventor Dan Albone, was the first commercially viable British tractor and the first such machine to go into volume production.

“After experimenting with motorcycles, powered tricycles and even a car, Albone began developing a farm tractor which became the Ivel Agricultural Motor – tractor not being a commonly used term at the time.

“The Ivel was a simple three-wheel design with a single speed (forward or reverse) transmission).

“The engine was a two-cylinder horizontal unit of 24HP.

“After the first model was completed in 1902, Ivel Agricultural Motors Ltd was formed the same year.

“The Ivel Agricultural Motor was awarded numerous prizes at agricultural shows and widely feted by the local and national press.”