Gooding’s latest online UK auction grosses £5.26m

The Californians’ second catalogue of cars based in the UK offered in an online-only sale saw nearly nine out of ten entries finding new owners. Once again, the cars were based in a storage facility just north of London, and the serious bidding took place just as the lots were closing.

So close, in fact, that K500 learns that the Ferrari Dino 206 GT (pictured, below) went for £456,500 all-in to an East Coast US broker just after the whistle blew. The green Ferrari was an older restoration, but its unusual colour and early history in the ownership of Italian racing driver Pietro Ferraro of Trieste, who finished 4th in the 1962 Targa Florio at the wheel of a Ferrari 250 GTO, gave it appeal.

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: £5,259,650
* Percentage sold by number: 86%
* Top-selling car: 1969 Ford GT40 £2,508,000 gross, £2,280,000 net (est. £1.8m to £2.2m)
* Well sold? A fabulous thing, but not strictly eligible for Goodwood as presented and had been on the market for a while, the GT40
* Well bought? Never an easy sell, which explains the eventual £759,000 (with 10% premium) paid for the Porsche 962, but nonetheless a fantastic racing car – or simply a piece of art – for the money

The blue GT40 came with the blessing of model expert Ronnie Spain. Although carrying a date of registration of 1969 and later, John Wyer-developed wide bodywork, its chassis was one of the final ones built in 1966. So buyers could, in theory, run it as an early, Goodwood-type GT40, or as-is in the more modern class at the Le Mans Classic, mixing it with the 917s. Pricewise, the out-of-period build-up and familiarity in the market, plus the Gelscoe replicas available for ca. £350k, all had an effect. A plethora of spares including unpainted glassfibre body sections showing the original Kevlar reinforcing strips (pictured, bottom) was a plus.

The other headlining car was the green 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S. Estimated at an all-encompassing £800k to £1m, it sold for £670k net, £737k gross – say $1m. Why so cheap? Gooding will offer an immaculate P400 straight out of Italian restoration for $1.4m to $1.8m at Pebble Beach this August. Here’s why: first, non-matching engine. Second, non-original and incorrect interior; instead of Gobi (sand) vinyl with beige cloth inserts, it had been retrimmed to an admittedly high standard in navy leather. Third, the car had been on sale in the UK for a while with a variety of dealers. Finally, it was an older restoration completed in England in the early 2000s. It could well have done better in a conventional ‘live’ sale as, for all the nit-picking, it was an attractive car. In a market that craves originality and recent work completed by the men and their families who built the cars new, it failed the test.

The two non-sellers were the old-school and just too expensive 1949 Bentley Mark VI Special Saloon, and the magnificent 1938 Lancia Astura Four-Door Cabriolet, an imposing machine but one with a less-fancied, long-wheelbase chassis. The 1955 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupé bore bespoke (one of two cars) bodywork by Graber. Its eventual price of a premium-inclusive £280,500 showed why original coachwork by Park Ward is the best. RM sold one such in Liechtenstein a day after bidding closed on this catalogue for the equivalent of $1.3m.

Gooding Geared Online Europe, 11 June-18 June 2021 – results

Gross: £5,259,650
Number of cars not sold: 2
Number of cars withdrawn: 0
Total number of cars: 14
Number sold: 12
Percentage cars sold by number: 86%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 82%
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 67%
Number of cars sold below avge of estimates: 9
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 75%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 17%
Average price of cars sold: £438,304
Average year of cars offered: 1949
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 0%

Photos by K500