2013 RM Auctions Art of the Automobile

The RM Auctions and Sotheby’s Art of the Automobile sale and exhibition was staged November 18-21, 2013 in New York City. The first major collector car auction to be held in Manhattan in over a decade saw 31 automobiles and two motorcycles vehicles cross the auction block.

With the auction cars presented within a gallery setting on the 10th floor of Sotheby’s New York City headquarters, this groundbreaking sale focused on the automobile not simply as a machine, but as an art form in its own right. The presentation was stunning, with a wonderful selection of cars, each one more breathtaking than the next, displayed in the rooms normally reserved for Sotheby’s more traditional fine art auctions.

Many of the vehicles were set against unique backdrops — a huge period racing image behind the Plymouth Road Runner Superbird and Figoni and Falaschi drawings behind the Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet — that made each presentation stand out. The lighting was spot-on and the scene was certainly unique, creating a buzz in the room that can be attributed to the wonderfully executed collaboration between RM Auctions and Sotheby’s that brought collector cars to the forefront of New York City. Well done, we say.

At the end of the day, it was an auction and the cars did sell quite nicely, with $62.8 million of sales in roughly two hours. The headline Ferrari 250 LM sold for $14,300,000, the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet by Figoni and Falaschi brought $7,150,000, the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competition Berlinetta Speciale by Bertone made $7,040,000, while the one-off 1955 Ferrari 250 Europa GT, 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Sports Coupe and 1936 Delahaye Type 135 Competition Court Teardrop Coupe all traded for $2,420,000. More than half of the automobile lots sold for more than $1,000,000 and 11 set new auction records.

On Tuesday, November 19th, more than 700 collectors and enthusiasts enjoyed a symposium led by top voices of authority in automotive design and appreciation. The symposium presented a wealth of insight aimed at celebrating various key aspects of design, aesthetics and the finer aspects of automobile collecting. Six panelists contributed, including Leslie Keno, Senior International Specialist, Sotheby’s; Sam Mann, car collector and four-time Best of Show winner at Pebble Beach; Miles Collier, car collector, artist, and noted authority on collector cars; Peter Mullin, founder of the Mullin Automotive Museum and Chairman of the Petersen Museum; Moray Callum, Executive Director of Americas Design at Ford Motor Company; and Michael Furman, noted automotive photographer.

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We split up pictures from the Art of the Automobile auction and exhibition into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.

RM Auctions and Sotheby’s Art of the Automobile Auction 2013 – Featured Photo Gallery

1933 Auburn Twelve Custom Speedster sold for $1,210,000

1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet by Figoni and Falaschi sold for $7,150,000

1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competition Berlinetta Speciale by Bertone sold for $7,040,000

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Race Car Room – 1997 Ferrari F310 B, 1964 Chevrolet CERV II and 1912 Stutz Model A Bear Cat

Grand Tourers – 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II Cabriolet, 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2-Litre Roadster and 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

1933 Duesenberg Model SJ Beverly sold for $1,760,000

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RM Auctions and Sotheby’s Art of the Automobile Auction 2013 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two