Gooding leads the way in 2018 with $49.5m two-day Scottsdale sale

20th January 2018

Overall honours among the Big Three international houses in Arizona this year went to Gooding & Co, with a strong performance today topped by Battista Pininfarina’s personal Ferrari 275 GTB achieving a weighty $7.35m hammer, $8.085m gross.

Two determined bidders fought over the car to around $7m, yet were a little way off its reserve. As the gavel was about be dropped on a no sale, thanks to some horse-trading by David Gooding and the skill of Charlie Ross who teased a $50k bid out of one wavering buyer, the car was sold. It will join a world-class East Coast collection of Ferrari sports cars, all purchased in recent years. Everyone in Scottsdale admired the Ferrari's delicate metallic colour, so enjoy it while you can…

At a glance (two-day provisional figures):

* Gross: $49,479,650
* Percentage sold by number: 86%
* Top-selling car: 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB, $8,085,000 gross, $7,350,000 net (est. $8m to $10m)
* Well sold on Saturday? Either the 1960 Volkswagen Type 2 23-Window Deluxe Microbus (est. $100k to $130k) sold for $200k net, $220k gross or the $143k all-in ‘Split Window’ 1963 Corvette (est. $80k to $100k)
* Well bought on Saturday? Any of the ‘white’ Alfa Romeos – we liked the 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce for £104.5k incl. premium, and also the $84k gross Renault 5 Turbo 2 that went way under its $100k to $125k estimate

Timeless Bugatti Type 55 Roadster sits patiently for the hammer to fall

The other big-seller was the Bugatti Type 55 Roadster that achieved $3.7m ($4.07m gross) against an estimate of $4m to $5m. Not quite ticking the almost infinite number of matching numbers boxes so prized by collectors, that was a fair price, we believe.

Gooding maintained this week’s trend of No Reserve cars selling way below estimate. For buyers wishing to take a punt, we liked the white Alfas and the rorty 2011 Ferrari 458 Challenge. Estimated at $150k to $200k, the noisy racer sold for $112.5k hammer, $123.75k with premium.

Another day, another 'Rosso Dino' 206 GT. Gooding's sold for $368.5k gross. Est. $400k to $500k

Auctioneer Charlie Ross was on good form and the sale was conducted in a positive atmosphere with many staying the course. “A nice round number – but I’m not talking about you, sir,” just one of his quips. It’s worth stating again that the auctioneer really does matter: he’s the general mustering the troops, the driver at the controls of the express train. Charlie Ross rarely disappoints.

Ending a sometimes mixed week on an encouraging note will reassure the market: good cars sell well, exceptional, ‘can’t buy one tomorrow’ examples sell very well. The rest, nothing special and at the mercy of No Reserve, go for what bidders will pay on the day. In many cases this week, that wasn’t much.

Who'd have thought this humble '23 window' VW bus would sell for $220k all-in?

Gooding at Scottsdale, 19-20 January 2018 – Provisional Results (2017)

Gross: $49,479,650 ($33,424,650)
Number of cars not sold: 18 (20)
Number of cars withdrawn: 2 (0)
Total number of cars: 129 (126)
Number sold: 111 (106)
Percentage cars sold by number: 86% (84%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 52% (57%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 77% (76%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 85% (88%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 7% (6%)
Average price of cars sold: $445,763 ($315,327)
Average year of cars offered: 1969 (1967)
Number of cars offered at No Reserve: 78 (70)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 60% (56%)

With special thanks to Harley E Cluxton IV of Hammer Price

Photos by K500