Gooding’s £22m+ 2022 Hampton Court auction

The Californians returned to Hampton Court Palace today after a two-year hiatus. With talismanic auctioneer Charlie Ross once again at the helm, at least £22m was traded and over three-quarters of the catalogue sold.

The sale was held in conjunction with the popular Concours of Elegance. Nearly three hours of auction passed quickly with Ross on fine form – “Why not a nice round figure like ‘seven million’, madam? You’ll remember it in the morning” – and bids coming in over the telephones and from several high-rolling collectors in town for the big-ticket concours. Cars that generated no meaningful bids, such as the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.8 RSR, were quickly passed.

At a glance:
 
* Gross, motor cars £22,811,938
* Percentage sold by number: 79%
* Top-selling car: 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione £7,762,500 gross, £6,900,000 net (est. £6m to £7m)
* Well sold? A monumental effort by Ross dragged the 1939 Jaguar SS100 3.5-litre from the low £200ks to over its top estimate, finally selling the car for £495,000 gross
* Well bought? The much-fancied Dino GTS underperformed, but the bargain of the day was the No Reserve 1967 Maserati Mistral coupé (centre, below) bought for £36,000 all-in, import duties, non-matching engine and recommissioning costs notwithstanding

The star of the event was the yellow Comp’ SWB. It is one of a handful of cars renumbered in period by Ferrari, and today carries a non-matching, but correct, Comp/60 motor. Despite a fully documented history and sparkling restoration by Lanzante working with Ferrari Classiche, it sold at a discount compared with more straightforward examples. Starting it at £2m, Ross gradually worked bidders up to £6.9m – £7m clearly a step to far. That’s £7.76m with buyer’s premium, or around $US9.5m at today's strong dollar/sterling rate.

The ‘barn find’ 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder (est. £1.25m to £1.75) came up early in the catalogue. Interest in the tent and over the phones led to it selling for £2,025,000 gross, £300k over top estimate.  

A word on buyer’s premium. Gooding levied a flat 12.5% across the board today, also including the two Ferrari engines that would normally be subject to ca. 25% fees. Other firms might take note, particularly in today’s super-low-cost online auction environment.

The Dino GTS failed to really fire, bought under low estimate for £405,000, while the 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ had two determined bidders in the room on it, finally selling for £1,181,250. With 300 SL values treading water in Monterey, it was no surprise that the 1956 Gullwing went on the low side, for £1,125,000 (say $US1.37m). The Alfa GTA (below, right) achieved a well-bought £202,500. Following Gooding’s sale of a black/white Ferrari 275 GTS at Pebble Beach for $1.77m, its white/black ‘twin’ recorded £1,350,000 in London, ca. $US1.64m.

All prices gross.

Non-sellers on the day included the expensive and oft-seen Aston Martin DB5 Convertible, 1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica (tricky comp’ market best suited to a specialist) and 1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato. The latter had a non-matching engine, uprated sporty interior and generated the usual “Did it have covered headlamps from new?” debate. Lancia records from that period are virtually non-existent.

A significant section of the catalogue was taken up by the ‘Timeless Collection’ of Cricklewood Bentleys. Three out of four of the imposing, well-restored cars sold, topped by the £1,096,875 gross 1932 Eight Litre Sports Saloon (est. £900k to £1.2m, pictured above, left).

All in all, it was a fun, ‘curated’ if you must, catalogue presented in an entertaining way at a superb venue and the results speak for themselves. The relatively high (60%) percentage of entries failing to meet low estimate is a reflection on some punchy guides. After a buzzing Monterey Week, the question on everyone’s lips was, “Will this happen in Europe?” The naysayers were proved wrong earlier this afternoon – over to RM in St Moritz on 9 September and Bonhams the week after at the Goodwood Revival to prove if this is a worldwide trend or just a rare, non-North American market blip.  

Gooding at Hampton Court, 3 September 2022 – results

Total gross cars: £22,811,938
Number of cars not sold: 8
Number of cars withdrawn: 1
Total number of cars: 39
Number sold: 31
Percentage cars sold by number: 79%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 60%
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 61%
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 74%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 10%
Average value of cars sold: £753,869
Average year of cars offered: 1953
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 36%

Photos by K500