Five auction houses vied for buyers in a three day period during the Monterey
historic week, with some of necessity running concurrently. The bidding started on
Friday at lunchtime at The Kruse Auction at Concorso Italiano at Marina City Airport,
whilst the Bonhams & Butterfields Auction started around the same time at The
Quail in Carmel Valley. Come Friday evening and it was the first night of the RM
Auction at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, together with the first night of Russo
& Steele’s auction in the adjacent Marriott Hotel. Saturday evening saw the start of
the Gooding & Company Auction at the Equestrian Centre at Pebble Beach, the
second nights of the RM Russo & Steele auctions in downtown Monterey. Gooding
& Company wrapped up the weekend with the second night of their auction on the
Sunday evening, the only non concurrent auction of the weekend. It can be seen
that it was a busy weekend just for the auctions, never mind the various concours,
the racing at Laguna Seca, and finding time for something to eat and drink.
Despite the worldwide economic downturn, some might say recession, the auction
results achieved showed a general buoyancy in the classic car market, with some
new records being set along the way.
Kruse Auction
Part of their inventory was a batch of twenty five Hertz Shelby Mustang GT-H
convertibles. More information when available.
Bonhams & Butterfields Auction
The sale started with a wide variety of automobile ranging from mascots through
models to artwork. The car section started at lunchtime and went through the
afternoon offering forty four varied lots ranging from a 1962 Citroen 2CV Sahara
4x4, through a quintet of Voisins to the most modern example offered a 1990-91
Porsche Type 962 sports racing car. Cars that broke the $1 million mark were a
1913 Isotta Fraschini 100-120 hp Tipo KM 4 Four-Seat Torpedo Tourer which
achieved $1.492 million, a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spyder sold for
$1.107 million, a 1939 Talbot-Lago T150 C SS 1936 Lagonda LG45R Rapide
Sports-Racing Two-Seater made $4.847 million, with the top money going to a
1960 Jaguar E2A Le Mans Sports Racing Two Seater Prototype, which achieved a
record breaking $4.957 million.
RM Auction
An RM Auction is always a high profile and glitzy gathering, and the one at the
Portola Hotel & Spa was no exception. Cars to be auctioned are brought in through
the main drop-off area in front of the hotel, and large crowds gather to see them on
their way, and to listen and look at the auction proceedings via loudspeakers and
large screens. Their star sale was a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta which
sold for $4.51 million. Another Ferrari highlight was a 1961 Ferrari 400
Superamerica Coupé, which was hammered at $1.65 million. Prestigious luxury
cars also made some strong money, a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Town
Car, achieved $2.31 million, and a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton
went for $1.76 million. Other notable sales included an very rare 1948 Tucker
Sedan which achieved a new world record price for the model of $1.017 million,
whilst a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta sold for a massive $1.925 million, and a
1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder went for $1.485 million.
Russo & Steele Auction
Billed as “Monterey Sports and Muscle at The Marriott”, they had a wide range of
cars on offer fitting the title. They included the 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster
used by Elvis Presley in the film “Spinout”, a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 “Daytona”
Spider, a selection of Mustangs including a 1968 Shelby GT500KR, a 1970
Maserati Ghibli Spider and a 1966 Bizzarrini Strada 5300. A total of one hundred
and fifty cars crossed the block with just over 50% selling and a total of $9.1 million
in sales, including a matching numbers 1973 Porsche Carrera RS, one of only
seventy one examples originally painted Viper Green, which achieved a world
record $302,500 for the model.
Gooding & Company Auction
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The total figure for sales achieved over the two days was $64.2 million. Within this
sum twenty cars sold for more than $1 million, five of which went over the $2
million mark. Ferraris performed strongly a 1959 250 GT LWB “California” Spider
sold for $3.63 million, a 1950 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans achieved $2.2 million, a
1967 275 GTB/4 went for $1.43 million, a 1965 275 GTB Alloy Long Nose made
$1.375 million, and a 1969 365 GTS sold for $1.265 million.
The star sale was a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe, which sold for $7.92
million, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for an automobile at a North
American auction. Another Bugatti auctioned was chassis 001 of the 2009 Veyron
16.4 Grand Sport, which was donated for charity and sold for $3.19 million.
All figures quoted above include buyer’s premium.
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