Friday night at Gooding: “It’s a $22m Duesie...”

Few were expecting the dramatic Duesenberg SSJ to cause such a sensation, doubling its “In excess of $10m” estimate. The sale of the car boosted Gooding’s provisional gross on the night to over $65m.

The well-fancied blue Ferrari 500 Mondial sold under low estimate for just over $5m gross, while second-place spot went to the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT TdF: $6,600,000.

At a glance from provisional figures:

* Gross: $65,447,800
* Top-selling car: 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, $22,000,000 gross, $20,000,000 net (est. “In excess of $10m”)
* Percentage of cars sold by number: 78%

The main casualty on the night was the 275 GTB/C, stalling in the low $10ms. Auctioneer Charlie Ross showed some of his skills when he extracted a final $25k from the successful bidder on the ‘preservation’ red 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ (above). Playing to a thinning audience, he proved once again that he’s the quality player in the US.

On the massive price for the SSJ, Simon comments: “Epic price for the Duesie, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime car and nobody appreciates that better than the buyer, one of America’s blue-chip collecting names.”

Photos by K500