RM and Sotheby's 'boutique' Art of the Automobile sale in New York turned into a bidding frenzy last night (21 November) with more than $60million raised in just two hours on a catalogue of just 31 cars.
The sale smashed 11 world records and more than half the classics sold accrued more than $1million apiece.
They included enormous results of $1.65m each for a two-owner-from-new 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster and a BMW 507 that came complete with factory hardtop.
Top-seller, though, was the 1964 Ferrari 250LM (main image and below) which amassed $14.3m. With a rich racing history, including 1st in class at the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours, and having not been sold publicly for many years, the LM was expected to make big money, but the near top estimate price drew gasps and cheers in equal measure.
A pair of Ferrari specials also generated a huge amount of interest.
The first, a one-off 1955 250 Europa GT by Pinin Farina made $2.42million (a price that would re-occur throughout the sale it seems), while the later Bertone restyle of a 250GT SWB Competizione topped $7million against a $6.5-8.5m guide.
That may have looked a strong result, but it was topped by more than $100,000 by the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Cabriolet. Even though the Talbot's sale price fell below lower guide, the trade said it was still an excellent return for what is thought to be the most original surviving example of the short-wheelbase Figoni et Falaschi design.
The Chevrolet Cerv II – designed by Larry Shinoda and Tony Lapine and engineered by Zora Arkus-Duntov – fell a few hundred thousand dollars short of its lower estimate, but still sold for $1.1m.
The only Supersonic that Ghia built on an Aston chassis, the 1956 DB2/4 MkII, made a mid-estimate $2.3million, while the 1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Spyder nudged its top guide at $4,455,000.
There is no question that even among this selection of sleek and rakish beauty, the 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II sports coupé by Freestone & Webb stood out. The pre-sale estimate of $2-2.8m was again proven to be spot on as the delectable Royce settled almost in the middle at £2.42m.
The other most appealing pre-war classic was the 1936 Delahaye Type 135 Competition Court Teardrop Coupé, which made precisely the same money as the Royce, but in the Delahaye's case falling well short of its $3m lower guide.
Pre-sale speculation that the auction would see a Toyota 2000GT crest $1million was undone when one of just 54 cars delivered to the US fell just short at $968,000.
With so many one-offs, styling exercises and super-rarities in the sale, worthwhile analysis of the results is difficult, but the most telling evidence of the sale fever – and the state of the classic car market as a whole – came when $450,000-plus was paid for a pristine 1966 Jaguar E-type S1 4.2 Roadster.
Notable no-sales included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's 1941 Cadillac Custom Limo and 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Exclusive Study by Boano.
