INCLUDES FULL LOTLIST. Headed by an original ‘Comp’ 250 GT SWB Ferrari, and composed of 84 quality entries in total, RM’s 2013 Arizona catalogue runs to some 275 pages.
Classic Driver has already covered the wonderful road-racing Ferrari (the only ‘Estimate on Request’ car in the sale) and the equally desirable, USD 2,400,000 - 3,000,000 1965 Ford GT40. And don’t forget that this September the Goodwood Revival will see an all-GT40 grid, so it could be the SWB for the TT and the GT40 for the Whitsun Trophy…
Not that other cars will fail to attract the historic racing-minded ‘Classic Driver’. The 1967 Shelby 427 'Semi-Competition' Cobra (USD 1,400,000 - 1,700,000) and the 1962 Shelby 'Factory Competition-Specification' Cobra, at USD 750,000 - 950,000, are top-notch entries, as is the 1959 Lister-Chevrolet (USD 500,000 - 600,000).
Back to the highway. Ferrari Enzos are increasingly sought after and, with the latest Ferrari hypercar likely to make its entrance at the Geneva Show, RM expects its 2003 Argento Nürburgring (top) example to do well at the company’s familiar Biltmore Hotel & Spa venue. Estimate: USD 1,250,000 - 1,500,000.
Other fabulous Ferraris include two 275 GTBs, a four-cam already featured on Classic Driver, and the beautiful silver example you see above, a 1966 long-nose-torque-tube car, for USD 1,200,000 - 1,600,000. Of the older cars from Maranello, we like the beautifully restored 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa (USD 800,000 - 1,000,000).
And don’t forget the only Dino catalogued, the Giallo Fly ‘chairs and flares’ GTS estimated at a strong USD 375,000 - 450,000.
No premier RM sale would be complete without a brace of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs (both red, there is a 1956 ‘Gullwing’ and a 1963 Roadster), a Lamborghini Miura (a 1969 Verde Miura P400S, below, meticulously uprated to ‘SV’ specification) or a Duesenberg Model J, in this case a Tourster repatriated from Italy after WW2 and estimated at USD 1,200,000 - 1,600,000.
Other pre-War cars include Cadillac V12s and V16s, Auburns, Packards, Rolls-Royces and a striking Alfa Romeo, the 1939 6C 2300B Corto Spider, for USD 500,000 - 700,000.
From a British sports car perspective, two Austin-Healeys and eight Jaguars are joined by three Astons that include a RHD 1964 DB5 in Caribbean Pearl Blue metallic paint, a California car since the 1960s. It’s estimated at USD 375,000 – 450,000.
And pick of the catalogue? It has to be the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione. A lifelong fan of the SWB anyway, I also think in today’s investment-conscious times it’s as blue-chip as the azure Arizona sky.
The sale will be held on Friday 18 January at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, 2400 East Missouri Aveneue, Phoenix AZ 85016 USA. The sale will commence at 11:00 PST. Viewing from 17-18 January.
Please CLICK HERE to see the full lotlist.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: RM Auctions - Strictly Copyright