RM at the Arizona Biltmore 2019: Day two

Helped by two one-make collections offered at No Reserve, lively proceedings at the second part of RM’s 155-car marathon resulted in a c.$16m one-day gross. The headlining special-bodied Ferrari 250 GT by Pinin Farina failed to sell on the night.

Working on strictly provisional figures, we believe the Canadians will total around $34m over two days – down slightly from 2018’s $36m. Combined sell-through was 81%, again slightly off last year’s, though the number of cars beating top estimate increased.

A blizzard of bids on many lots kept auctioneer Maarten ten Holder busy, with some entries – the Porsche 911 Sport Classic, some of the Rolls and the Cadillac V16 by Fleetwood – particularly hard fought over.

Friday sale, at a glance from provisional figures:

* Gross: $16,148,890
* Percentage sold by number: 83%
* Top-selling car: 1948 Tucker 48, $1,600,000 gross, $1,450,000 net (est. $1.5m to $1.7m)
* Well sold? Mega money ($654k gross) for the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic against an estimate of $400k to $500k
* Well bought? The 1987 Porsche Turbo. $67,200 was cheap
* One to take away? A hard call, maybe the Conda Green Porsche 911E for $89.6k?

While David Gooding’s Friday morning sale had a distinctly international feel to it, RM’s was more traditional. It would be hard to imagine ‘Pop likes it’ 1930s Americana and special-bodied Rolls easily finding new owners across the Atlantic.

Unique, dramatic and exotic it might be, but the cover car 1957 Ferrari 250 GT commissioned by Princess Lilian of Belgium (above, waiting its turn over the block) was never going to sell at that estimate and attracted few meaningful bids. Other non-sellers on the night included the 275 GTB/4 and the BMW 507, a stylish second-series car with a hardtop. Those in the know rated it, but its non-original colour and replacement engine held against it on the night – a familiar theme this week. And it wasn’t a good day for 427 Cobras, as neither Gooding nor RM sold one.

Looking at the positives, RM proved there’s life left in the market for pre-War American cars, selling the Cadillac V16 ($940k) and Marmon Sixteen ($665k) for big bucks. And never underestimate the ‘RM Way’ to move big collections on; it’s a slick operation.

RM Sotheby’s at the Arizona Biltmore, 18 January 2019 – strictly provisional

Gross: $16,148,890
Number of cars not sold: 13
Number of cars withdrawn: 3
Total number of cars: 77
Number sold: 64
Percentage cars sold by number: 83%
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 55%
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 72%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 19%

Photos by K500