Auctions Commentary from CCFS Market Analyst Richard Hudson-Evans
Although less cars were auctioned, a higher proportion sell for record money in the Californian sales
Although over $50m (£38m) less was invested in collector cars during the six annual sales that took place in California last weekend than in 2015, a bullish $283m (£215m) was nonetheless spent on classic automobiles at the three major auctions where full results have been published. Two much more carefree years ago, $464m (over £350m) poured into these, the highest profile auctions on the global calendar.
In Presidential election year, the Ecurie Ecosse 1956 Le Mans winning Jaguar D Type XKD 501 purred across the RM Sotheby’s stage at the Portola Hotel in Monterey into the record books, topping this year’s prices at $21,780,000 with premium and smashing the previous record for a British car sold at auction by $7m. An Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato was sold by the same auction firm in December 2015 in New York for $14.3m (£10.68m).
Bidding for a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider from the Mann Collection, the first Alfa 2.9 to be offered for public sale this century, commenced at $14m and quickly jumped in $500,000 increments before selling for $19,800,000 (£15.05m), a new auction benchmark for any pre-WW2 car. The previous record holder was a Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster sold in August 2012 for $11.77m (£8.95m).
The very first Shelby Cobra - constructed by Carroll Shelby in 1962, since when chassis CSX 2000 had been in his care - faced a battery of camera flashes and generated loud applause when driven across the block by Shelby’s grandson, Aaron Shelby. Bidding for the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust entered icon climbed to a suitably awesome $13, 750,000 with premium, a new benchmark price for an all-American classic. During the same auction weekend four years ago, the previous title holder, a 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf Mirage, was sold by RM Sotheby’s for $11m (£8.36m).
Although sale venue construction work enforced a smaller offering this year, and there were 50 fewer entries in two glossy catalogues, 82% of them did sell for $118m (£90m) and 21 lots achieved those magic million-dollar-plus results. Among them, five Ferraris with top ten valuations led by a 1956 250GT Berlinetta Competizione Tour de France sold for $5.72m (£4.35m) and a 1955 750 Monza Spider for $5.23m (£3.97m).
Gooding meanwhile actually sold $700,000 more of their clients’ cars this year than last, shifting 115 or 83% of the 138 cars for $130m (£99m) during a two-day company record breaker, during which 26 cars sold for more $1m apiece and four of them fetched over $10m. The average of $1,128,606 spent per car was fairly awesome too.
New auction records were established in their official Pebble Beach sales for various Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Porsche, Packard and Maserati models, among them the $18,150,000 (£13.79m) results topping 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB California Spider Competizione. In second place, a 1960 250-GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione realised $13,500,000 (£1,026,000) and a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza was third, having clocked $11,990,000 (£9.11m). Gooding also claim that the $10,400,000 paid for a 1932 Bugatti was the highest price ever achieved for a Bugatti sold at auction. While the 1979 Porsche 935, sold for $4,840,000, was driven by Paul Newman at the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Bonhams achieved an 88% sell-through rate for the 115 cars crossing the block at Quail Lodge, Carmel, their 19TH such gig in Monterey Car Week, when $34.8m (£26.4m) was spent and several new world auction prices were paid, led by the 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix Racer with Lord Howe provenance sold for $4m (£3.04m). The first 2014 Ferrari LeFerrari head-turner to be offered in public sale pranced to a £3,685,000 (£2.8m) performance and a London to Brighton Run run 1904 Mercedes-Simplex 28-32hp Rear-Entrance Tonneau for five was applauded for establishing a $2,805,000 (£2.13m) world record for the model. Another much more unlikely record buster was a 1955 Lamborghini DL25 Tractor which pulled a far from agricultural $110,000 (£83,600).
Qualifying for the $1m+ Bonhams Club were a 1985 Ferrari 288GTO purchased for $2,112,000 (£1.61), a 2015 McLaren P1 for $2,090,000 (£1.59m), a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America for $1,402,500 (£1.07m) and a 1989 F40 for $1,155,000 (£877,800). And an ocean away from their comfort zone, French Group B cars found interested parties and buyers with $198,000 (£150,480 and lower estimate money) for a 4wd 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, one of the 200 made to make up the homologation numbers, and a way over guide price $132,000 (£100,320) for a 2wd 1983 Renault 5 Turbo 2 (£100,320).
In the epicentre of by far the largest marketplace, three out of six of the sale rates were high and there was no shortage of record breaking prices paid, while the old car world continues to rotate at much the same speed as before.