Auctioneer Max Girardo and Alain de Cadenet sell another car 'the RM way'
Grossing a cool $67 million, at a sell-through rate of 95 per cent, RM Auctions once again mounted the top step of the (hypothetical) Pebble Beach sales-week podium.
Unbelievably, the two top-selling cars went for an identical sum: $4,620,000. You would have thought once Lot 351, the 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta, had sold for that amount, the successful bidder on the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupé would have chipped in another 50 bucks for form’s sake, to get the top slot, surely?
On a serious note, both of these cars presented superbly and deservedly sold well, the Ferrari under-estimate, the Talbot-Lago on the upper end of its guide price. What about the yellow, ‘Pontoon Fender’ 1958 Ferrari TR 250, I hear you say? A non-seller, I’m afraid, despite being bid to well over $10m. To save you the trouble of looking it up, RM sold the similar, black 1957 TR for 9,020,000 euros at its 2009 Maranello sale – that’s around $11.5m at today’s exchange rate so maybe the vendor was wise to hold out for another day.
1938 Talbot Lago T150-C Lago Teardrop Coupé by Figoni & Falaschi - Sold for $4,620,000
Several other cars broke the all-important million-dollar mark. Among these, the pale-blue, ‘Diana Dors’ 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster went for $3,300,000, the 1955 Jaguar D-type for $2,090,000, and the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder for $2,612,500.
Ferraris, as ever, sold well with a quite extraordinary $1,622,500 achieved by the 1958 250GT Series I Cabriolet, exceeding, even, the 1954 500 Mondial Berlinetta‘s $1,567,500. More up-to-date, the 2003 Enzo sold for $830,500 and its closely related, track-only cousin, the 2007 FXX Evoluzione, $1,925,000.
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS (Factory Remanufactured Special) - Sold for $440,000
Away from Maranello, and moving back a few years, RM broke the world record price for a Tucker at auction by selling the 1948 Tucker 48 Sedan for $1,127,500. Other older cars of note included the 1939 BMW 328 Roadster ($539,000), the 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan ($693,000) and the 1917 Pierce-Arrow Model 66 A-4 Seven-Passenger Touring, a $319,000 ‘Brass Car’. The 1931 Bugatti Type 51 did not sell; a rarity over the three days at the Portola Plaza Hotel & Spa.
The opening night was an all-Ford (Lincoln and Mercury, too) affair, with a selection of concept cars from the great Dearborn company selling without reserve, generating $1 million for charity, split between the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and The Children’s Center based in Michigan.
1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III - Sold for $1,760,000
Just before that day of the sale, the Editorial eye was attracted by the 1963½ Ford Galaxie Holman & Moody NASCAR Race Car which eventually went for $126,500 – this would have been perfect for Sunday’s NASCAR-only grid at Laguna Seca.
Also on the home-grown front, various Shelbys found new owners, including the 1965 GT350 Fastback for $247,500, the 1967 427 Cobra ($715,000) and a terrific 1964 USRRC Cobra Roadster achieving $1,595,000.
1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster - Sold for $3,300,000
Elsewhere in the results, the 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series 5 Vantage GT (a genuine twin-plug-head-engined car) sold well for $330,000, while $159,500 wasn’t bad going for the 1959 Jaguar XK150 S 3.4 Roadster. Another British car favoured in the Classic Driver office was the 1953 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupé, representing good value to its new owner at a modest $77,500.
Finally, the small collection of ‘tinies’ which kicked off Saturday night’s sale was highlighted by the $88,000 paid for the 1963 Goggomobil ‘Krispy Kreme’ TL-400 Transporter Van. Yum yum.
And, before we go, it was another success for RM on Sunday, when a car restored by RM Auto Restoration won the company's fourth Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 10 years. The winning car was the 1933 Delage D8S De Villars Roadster owned by The Patterson Collection in Louisville, Kentucky.
1938 Delahaye 135MS Sports Cabriolet - Sold for $852,500
Rob Myers, Founder and Chairman of RM Auctions, commented after the sale: “We are thoroughly pleased with the results from the weekend’s sale. They build upon RM’s seven previous successful sales this year, including the record-breaking inaugural Monaco event, and are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the entire RM team.
“The high calibre of consignments combined with accurate estimates provided by our expert team of car specialists led to the very strong 95 per cent sell-through and record number of over 1000 bidder registrations from 29 countries around the world, including Monaco, Brazil, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.”
To see the full results of the RM Auctions ‘Sports & Classics of Monterey’ 12-14 August 2010 sale, please CLICK HERE.
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RM Auctions
One Classic Car Drive Blenheim Ontario N0P 1A0 Canada Telephone: +1 519 352 45 75 Fax: +1 519 351 13 37 Website: www.rmauctions.com Email: [email protected]. |
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver / RM Auctions
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