With six collector car auctions taking place over the course of this year’s Monterey Historics weekend (August 12–15), there was a virtual orgy of collector car buying on the Monterey Peninsula, resulting in over $50 million worth of automobiles changing hands over the course of just four days.
Christie’s
The first auction of the weekend was the Christie’s “Exceptional Motor Cars at the Monterey Jet Center” on Thursday, August 12. The Christie’s event moved this year from its traditional position as the last auction (held on Sunday at Pebble Beach) to the first auction now being held at the Monterey airport. All told, this year’s one-day auction sold $6,990,794 worth of cars with 82% of the lots actually selling. Top racecars at the Christie’s event were the ex-1000 km of Paris–winning 1956 Ferrari 500 Testa Rossa for $1,327,500; the ex–Jo Siffert 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Calif. Spyder for $1,052,500; the first customer-delivered Ferrari, a 1947 166 Spyder Corsa for $777,500; and a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy Berlinetta for $579,500.
Bonhams & Butterfields
On Friday, August 13, Bonhams & Butterfields held their “Quail Lodge” sale at Carmel Valley’s Quail Lodge Resort & Golf Club. Bonhams’ one-day sale fetched a total of $5,600,000 this year with 72% of their lots selling. Top racecars changing hands at this year’s event were the 1953 Ferrari Tipo 500/625 monoposto for $632,000; the 1933 Maserati 4CM-2000 four-cylinder monposto for $346,000; and the 1983 1.5-liter Alfa Romeo 183T Grand Prix car for $78,200. Also selling at this event was a beautiful 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Cabriolet by Gangloff, which fetched $1,930,000.
RM Auctions
Friday evening launched the two-day juggernaut that is the “Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction” at downtown Monterey’s Portola Plaza Hotel (formerly known as the DoubleTree). This year’s RM sale fetched a massive $17 million and included the largest number of historic racecars of the weekend. Notable racecar sales included the ex–Jim Hall 1961 Chaparral 1 for $1,100,000; a 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder for $995,000; a 1953 Ferrari 166/250 MM Comp. Spyder for $847,000; a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Comp for $627,000; a 1956 Porsche 550A/1500 RS Spyder for $726,000; a 1956 Kurtis-Offenhauser KK 500 C for $143,000; the ex-Qvale 1962 MGB Sebring racecar featured in the July issue of VRJ for $104,500; a 1965 Cheetah for $82,500; the 1963 Chevrolet Z06 Gulf Oil Corvette racecar for $467,500; a 1969 Lola T70-Ferrari by Sbarro for $126,500; a 1911 Inter-State “Bulldog” Racer for $170,000; a 1969 Lola T-163 Can-Am for $90,200; a 1969 Chevron B16 for $94,600; and a 1961 Scarab rear-engine Grand Prix car for $154,000.
Russo & Steele
Friday evening also saw the one-day sale of Russo & Steele’s Collector Car sale at Monterey’s Marriott Hotel. Star car for this sale was the 1969 ex–Parnelli Jones Boss 302 Trans-Am car, which sold for $473,000. Other racecars selling at Russo & Steele included the 1967 prototype Alfa Romeo SSZ for $48,400; a 1983 March Indy car for $31,350 and a 1967 Shelby Can-Am car for $126,500.
Gooding & Company
Sunday evening brought the final auction of the weekend and the first auction ever for David Gooding’s new Gooding & Company, at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. The Gooding Pebble Beach sale sold a total of $12,280,190, which was helped in no small part by the sale of the 1935 Duesenberg SJ “Mormon Meteor” record car for a whopping $4,455,000. This car, which was used by famed Bonneville pioneer Ab Jenkins, fetched the highest price of any car bought during the Monterey weekend—racecars or not. Other notable racecar sales at the Pebble auction were a 1955 OSCA MT4 Spyder by Morelli for $429,000; a 1953 Kurtis 500S roadster for $148,500; a 1935 Riley Sprite for $137,500; and a 1910 Knox Model R “Raceabout” for $88,000.
As is often the case with the auctions held during the Monterey weekend, the star cars—for which some of the highest prices were paid—were the racecars. This year’s sales seem to further strengthen the notion that the current market is strong for significant racecars with good history and clean provenance. The only real question left unanswered is, “Can six auctions continue to survive and coexist on the same weekend, at the same event?”
Submitted by Casey Annis
