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Monterey 2017: The Tour d’Elegance and news from the salerooms

Monterey 2017: The Tour d’Elegance and news from the salerooms 18th August 2017

When the 5-minute boards are shown on Portola Road at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center, signalling the imminent start of the Tour d’Elegance, you know that events proper at Monterey Week are now in full swing.

We watched some of this year’s cars on the Tour, before heading for the salerooms.

Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex

Celebrating its 70th year, Ferrari was a major feature of today’s tour and will be a highlight of the main event on Sunday. Highlights included the – surprisingly well-mannered – 1967 412P, the two 250 Testa Rossas (one pontoon, one Fantuzzi 1959 car) and the 1955 375 MM Special Coupé by Pininfarina originally ordered for Ingrid Bergman.



The event was restored to its original route all the way to Big Sur, and once the mists had cleared contestants enjoyed wonderful sunny weather. With no stand-out pre-War cars driven today, this might well be the year a post-War car scoops top slot.
    
Watch this space come Sunday.

Bonhams at Quail Lodge

There was much pre-sale buzz about the Brits’ catalogue for Monterey this year and visitors were not disappointed when they saw the headlining lots in the metal. Like other Bonhams sales in the US, the big-hitters were displayed inside a marquee that also housed the registration desk, while the small fry sat outside in the sun. ‘Cars on grass’ never flatters the subject, and the No Reserve rally collection suffered a little from this.


However, as the first of the big guns to fire later today, Bonhams should do well. The E-type has attracted interest and dark horses such as the Ferrari 312 T5 Grand Prix car could spring a surprise.

Gooding at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center

Over at Gooding, the reception area is dominated by the 275 GTB/C. This will need to do well on Saturday to really pull in the figures for Gooding, and the talk among the experts was of its estimate and the decision to hold a Friday/Saturday, rather than Saturday/Sunday, event. Time will tell, although one major player we spoke to is forgoing his trip to Laguna Seca to be at the Gooding sale.


Elsewhere in the tent sat the ‘matching pair’ of 300 SLs. The green ‘Gullwing’ was a knock-out and was on many people’s fantasy lists of ‘the car I most want to take home’. We also liked the black Ferrari 275 GTS with ivory leather seats – an original specification.

RM Sotheby’s at the Portola Plaza Hotel & Spa

Final stop of the day was RM. It was almost surreal to walk through the remodelled atrium and find no cars on display. Instead, a special ‘Ferrari Hall’ had been created to showcase the Canadian company’s selection of Maranello’s finest. The big tent that held last year’s sale was turned over to the headlining Aston Martins and other top-tier entries, while the remaining cars were once again displayed outside.


The Harrah ‘Hot Rod’ Daytona looked sensational in the California sunlight. Whether this allure travels to the colder climes of Northern Europe is another matter. At No Reserve it will sell, and in all likelihood to a buyer in the US. Parked next to it was a fine Iso Grifo. This, and Gooding’s Lancia Flaminia Supersports, show it is possible to buy real Italian quality for modest money.

Set your alarm for 10:00am Pacific Time when the first car crosses the block at Bonhams; over the next two days, there’s everything to play for.

Pebble Tour photos by Tim Scott of Fluid Images. All others by K500