Gooding comes out top in Scottsdale

Carrying on where they left off yesterday afternoon, the Californians sold some 50 cars today. Working on provisional figures, that’s a gross of $21.5m. So Gooding has already won the battle of the Big Three, even before any post-sale deals.

It’s all very positive, though as we saw elsewhere, prices are softer: no car beat upper estimate today. Overall, the sell-throughs have been excellent, with just some headliners failing to find homes. We do, however, expect to see the cover car yellow Ferrari 275 GTB that stalled at $4.75m this afternoon announced sold this weekend.

Saturday sale, at a glance from provisional figures:

* Gross: $21,554,110
* Percentage sold by number: 83%
* Top-selling car: 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, $7,595,000 gross, $6,900,000 net (est. $6m to $8m)        
* Well sold? The SWB (pictured, top). Priced right pre-event and handled with great skill by auctioneer Charlie Ross at the rostrum, despite not quite ticking all the boxes the SWB was probably the best-sold car of the week
* Well bought? No question the bargain of Scottsdale 2019, the beautifully prepared Bud Moore Boss 302 Trans-Am Mustang (below) that went for just $89,600
* One to take away? The 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Two-Light Ventoux was elegant and just on the sporting side of stately. It sold for a below-estimate $885k incl. premium

Bidding on the red SWB came thick and fast, with five on it at one point. Always red, mostly matching numbers and having led a rollercoaster life – particularly in recent times – in the hands of many owners, it lacked the wow factor of a more desirable Grigio Ferro car with every single component present and box-fresh from Maranello. The keen estimate of $6m to $8m, and the likelihood that it would sell come what may, worked their magic. Simon comments:

"There was a real buzz in the room when this came up: bidders were ready and although they all wanted a bargain, the final price was fair for an honest SWB with nothing remarkable about it but no major horrors either. One for the value buyer."

The other big Ferrari, the yellow 275 GTB Prototype, was in “just one more bid will buy this car” territory. And Simon's view?

"This divided opinion: most people loved its livery but many experts put it down as ‘just’ a steel, roadgoing 275 with lots of lights. Unsold under the hammer, it was quickly sold to, in our opinion, an opportunistic buyer. Well bought."

The Shelby Cobra 289 was a well-restored club racer and sold, at $912.5k all-in, some 10 per cent off the usual rate for a pure road car on wire wheels. The alloy block/discs 300 SL Roadster ran out of steam in the $1.5ms.

Hats off to Gooding for selling the attractive blue Ferrari 250 GT Lusso for $1,902,500 – try achieving that in a showroom today. Also on the Ferrari front, cars moving on included the two-tone 250 GT Pin’ Coupé (well under low estimate, $599,000 gross) and a red ‘chairs and flairs’ Dino 246 GTS right at the end of the sale that was hammered at $500k ($555k incl. premium) against an estimate of $450k to $550k.

Like yesterday, the sale of c.60 cars took just four hours – a far more manageable proposition than some of the “we’ve booked the venue, let’s fill it up” catalogues presented elsewhere.

After the red SWB was hammered away to great applause, company founder and president David Gooding commented:

“The market is alive and well. A lot of you have been asking about it. There you go.” For the right cars at the right prices, we’d agree.

Gooding & Co at Scottsdale, 19 January 2019 – strictly provisional

Gross: $21,554,110
Number of cars not sold: 10
Number of cars withdrawn: 1
Total number of cars: 59
Number sold: 49
Percentage cars sold by number: 83%                
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 84%
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 94%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: None

Photos by K500