RM Auctions continued their highly successful sales run in Monterey, California with twelve cars breaking the million dollar mark at the legendary “Sports & Classics of Monterey” auction event, held on August 15th and 16th at the Portola Hotel & Spa in downtown Monterey.
There was a standing room only crowd for the two day sale, as over 170 collector cars crossed the block before a decidedly international audience. As the gavel fell for the final time, total sales surpassed $44 million.
“RM’s Monterey auction continues to bring together private sellers, longtime clients and end users, with cars changing hands and entering new collections where they will be enjoyed and appreciated for years to come,” said Ian Kelleher, Managing Director of RM Auctions.
“The strength of our European sales had a positive affect on the weekend’s auction with many of our international clients in attendance. The sales were in line with our expectations with several new records, and with seven of the twelve million dollar sales being vintage Ferraris, results indicate the continuing strength of the market for the world’s most famous sports and racing marque,” he added.
RM Auctions offered 172 automobiles for sale, with 147 landing new owners, reflecting an 85% sales rate. The total sales volume was $44,093,450, inclusive of a 10% buyer’s premium.
RM Auctions’ sale had twelve cars that sold for more than $1,000,000, including two cars that surpassed the $2,000,000 mark.
The top seller of the sale was a show quality 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta which brought a final bid of $4,510,000.
Another highlight was the 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe for an impressive $1,650,000.
Also attracting significant interest on the block were the prestigious luxury cars – a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Town Car, which brought $2,310,000, and a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton for $1,760,000.
Additional highlights included: an ultra rare 1948 Tucker Sedan which achieved a new world record price of $1,017,500; a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta for $1,925,000; and a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder which was won with a bid of $1,485,000.
Sports Car Digest Photos:
1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe ($742,500)
1956 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta – not sold at a high bid of $3,900,000
1966 Ford GT40 MK1 ($1,465,000)
1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV ($891,000)
RM Auctions’ next event will be the ‘Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey’ auction, to be held in Hershey, Pennsylvania on October 10th. This will be closely followed by the ‘Classic Cars of Toronto’ event, October 24th to 26th in Mississauga, Ontario, and the ‘Automobiles of London’ event, October 29th in London, UK.
For full sales results, visit www.rmauctions.com.
[Source: RM Auctions]
As both a Ferrari Owner and an Early Ford V-8 guy I was surprised at some of the prices paid for really suspect cars. One example (beat estimates which were way high for the condition) was the ’46 Ford Woody Wagon, 110K for a totally incorrect car. Exterior paint wrong, wheels partly painted, wrong gauges and steering wheel and dash, used and undetailed engine (from a Mercury),and so much more.
The point is, there appears to still be a lot of customers out there out there who will buy mediocre to rough cars, if a quicky paint spray is applied. And not just the more exotic cars.
I think that supports the bubble proponents, but which has yet to burst. Examples like this are a better indicator than the increased prices of great and rare cars.
Cheers
Warren
Thanks for your comments.
We were in attendance when that Ford Wagon crossed the block. Our chief historian noted some of the items you mentioned, so he too was very surprised that it breezed past its lofty estimate.
With that said, there were many, many foreign buyers in the crowd, all armed with a strong currency versus the dollar. Perhaps $110k isn’t what it used to be…
Overall, we would say that a deeper look at the the auctions show a softening market for those cars that are not the best of the best, especially among the low-to-mid priced cars. We saw many cars sell for much less than their estimates, with many reserves dropping to facilitate a sale.
Perhaps the bubble is leaking air, if not bursting.
Thanks again,
Sports Car Digest