RM’s €10.2m Sáragga Collection sale

Despite a countryside location some 100km from Lisbon, RM held a successful No Reserve sale of 124 cars from the varied and comprehensive collection of Portuguese enthusiast Ricardo Sáragga. Nearly 25% beat upper estimate, with the Vintage Bentley coming out top at €680,000 with premium.

It’s simple to say that No Reserve sales are easy – they’re not. The auctioneer’s art comes into play, teasing “Another one, Sir?” from exasperated bidders and resisting the temptation to hammer lots sold! too early. What such auctions do is to give a valuable snapshot of the market on the day, when everything has to go.

And on 21 September 2019 it was all pretty buoyant. Predictably, the 1931 8-Litre Bentley (top) headed the figures, though some way off its estimate thanks to the familiar story of a rebody from Thrupp and Maberly limousine to more sporting Vanden Plas-style two-door four-seater. The car, though, has retained its original long wheelbase and has known history from new. Cricklewood Bentleys are evergreen cars, particularly in the company’s centennial.
 

At a glance:
 
* Gross: €10,247,700
* Percentage sold by number: 100%
* Top-selling car: 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Tourer €680,000 gross, €600,000 net (est. €700k to €800k)
* Well sold? Either of the recent limited-edition Astons, which are nothing special in the UK (nearly every car from Gaydon has ended up as one, almost from new) but British dealers wouldn’t mind €138k for a 2017 V8 Vantage AMR or  €103.5k for a 2008 DB9 LM
* Well bought? Maybe the 1956 Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible. Estimated at €220k to €280k, the less-fancied alternative to the seductive B24 Spider America was hammered for €201k, that’s €231,125 with premium
* One to take away? It has to be the mad 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600 by Chapron (pictured, below). Commissioned new by eccentric oil millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian, the rebodied 600 features a glass roof and rear seating that can be folded down to form a double bed (for stargazing, apparently). Bought for €342,500, the distinctive car is worthy of Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este and every other top concours. And saves on hotel bills

The 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 was much fancied pre-sale and sold spot on current values (€602,375 with premium) for a matching-numbers, known-history car in an attractive colour, yet with a fair bit of competition use under its belt. The three-owner, 47,200km-from-new 964 RS also went well, for €241,250 all-in.

There were no real bargains and RM’s estimates proved accurate – the Canadians achieved 89% of the total of pre-sale mid-estimate values.  RM reported buyers from 38 countries attending the event, with more than half new to the company. Nearly a quarter of cars sold online, with many other bids made over the telephone.

RM Sotheby’s The Sáragga Collection, Portugal, 21 September 2019

Total gross cars: €10,247,700
Number of cars not sold: 0
Number of cars withdrawn: 3
Total number of cars: 124
Number sold: 124
Percentage cars sold by number: 100%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 89%
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 39%
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 59%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 23%
Average value of cars sold: €82,643
Average year of cars offered: 1961
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 100%

Photos by RM Sotheby’s