Cars

In pride of place

Max Girardo is no stranger to the Monterey Peninsula. He’s visited ‘Car Week’ over 20 times and in his role as auctioneer with RM Sotheby’s he bought the gavel down on hundreds of precious cars on the Californian coastline. 

It might be called a concours of elegance, but the circa-200 motorcars that graced the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach golf links last Sunday exemplify so much more than aesthetic excellence. They’re cultural symbols which, respectively, sent ripples that transcended the automotive world and embody the creativity, tenacity, and ingenuity of their creators, each of whom was driven by one thing: disruption. 

Nibbling at the heels of the Bugatti Atlantic in the desirability stakes, the sensational Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B with bodywork by Touring was, without doubt, the most advanced and lusted-after sports car of its day. So much so that renowned marque authority Simon Moore famously dubbed the 8C 2900s the ‘Immortals’. 

When Charlie Ross dropped the gavel on the one-of-two Duesy SSJ – a car more than worthy of its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – the reaction from the crowd was unbelievable. Its estimate was ‘in excess of 10m dollars’, which it promptly smashed, eventually hammering at 20m dollars – 22m with premium. An outstandingly significant car, let’s hope we see the SSJ on the lawns of Pebble Beach in the coming years. 

The man charged with driving the 250 GTO – which has been owned for the last 18 years by ex-Microsoft software architect Greg Whitten – onto the stage in front of the jam-packed saleroom was none other than five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell. That was before RM Sotheby’s auctioneer Maarten ten Holder opened the bidding at 30m dollars. A tense 10-minute spell of bidding ensued, the hammer ultimately dropping at 44m dollars (48.405m incl. buyer’s premium) to a rapturous applause.

Despite its platinum award-winning restoration, the Bond Street auction house’s wonderfully original 1962 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Short Wheelbase’ fell short of its reserve, garnering a high bid of 8.7m US dollars. We wonder how RM’s alloy-bodied Competizione will do this evening. 

Following the momentous (telephone) sale of the DP215, the Canadian auction house saw fit to announce that it will officially partner with Aston Martin and hold a single-marque sale during Monterey Car Week in 2019, 50 years after the British manufacturer’s maiden victory at Le Mans.