Saturday Night Fever: RM and Gooding take two-day Monterey gross to $266m

In a dramatic turnaround, two strong Saturday evening sales mean that, working on provisional figures, the combined gross for the three international houses in Monterey this year is $265,998,150 (2016: $282,357,750).

The percentage sold by number is a shade off, but still healthy at 81% (2016: 84%), and the good news for vendors is that fewer cars traded below their lower estimate, with more beating the upper.

You can download a provisional list of all cars sold by Bonhams, Gooding & Co and RM Sotheby's sorted by make and model HERE.

Gooding sold the Ferrari 275 GTB/C well for $14,520,000, and over at a packed Portola Hotel & Spa the allure of No Reserve Ferraris recalled some of the atmosphere of RM’s 2016 sale in Milan. The string of 250 GT SWB no-sales was halted when, after a flurry of bids, the hammer fell at $7,550,000. That’s $8,310,500 with buyer’s premium.

At a glance:

Gooding & Co at Pebble Beach, 18-19 August 2017 – Results (2016)

Moved from a customary slot on Sunday night, Gooding’s second-day auction was not quite as busy as RM’s. The allure of Laguna Seca race track meant that many were unable to attend and it must be a hard call to make for 2018: whether to return to a closing slot on the weekend or not.

The fixture clash on Friday helped neither RM nor Gooding – both events were less well-attended than usual.

The Ferrari 275 GTB/C came up early in the running order and was sold to a North American buyer in the room. Regular auctioneer Charlie Ross then worked his way through the catalogue in a businesslike manner, clocking up a possible world record along the way – the $2.75m gross BMW 507 Series II – and selling 83% of the lots on offer.

Everyone admired the red Ferrari 275 GTB with period racing history. It deserved to sell well, and did, near top estimate for $2,585,000 with premium. The white, US-spec Dino 246 GTS was another hit. It went for a low-estimate $418k gross.

Gross: $90,593,700 ($129,780,450)
Total number of cars: 135 (140)
Percentage cars sold by number: 81% (81%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 69% (65%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 60% (73%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 79% (84%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 15% (9%)
 

RM Sotheby’s at the Portola Plaza Hotel & Spa, 18-19 August 2017 – Provisional Results (2016)

An all-in figure of $8.3m for an honest steel 250 GT SWB in a pleasing colour might raise an eyebrow. But these cars have repeatedly come to auction and not sold. This one did – at a price that could well have been lower.

Left to its own devices, RM’s Saturday night sale was the busiest of the week. The No Reserve Ferraris set the ball rolling and now regular auctioneer Maarten ten Holder kept it in play until the very end, when a Meyers Manx Beach Buggy almost doubled its estimate, selling for a with-premium price of $64,350.

Gross: $131,537,450 ($117,925,000)
Total number of cars: 115 (102)
Percentage cars sold by number: 87% (82%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 91% (70%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 52% (70%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 76% (82%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 17% (12%)
Average price of cars sold: $1,315,375 ($1,403,869)
Average year of cars offered: 1966 (1962)
Number of cars offered at No Reserve: 48 (33)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 42% (32%)

Monterey Week Sales 2017 – Provisional Results, Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s, Gooding combined

Gross: $265,998,150 ($282,357,750)
Number of cars not sold: 69 (58)
Total number of cars: 359 (358)
Percentage cars sold by number: 81% (84%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 79% (64%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 59% (69%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 78% (82%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 15% (9%)
Average price of cars sold: $917,235 ($941,193)
Average year of cars offered: 1964 (1963)
Number of cars offered at No Reserve: 147 (141)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 41% (39%)

Monterey Week Sales 2017, Top 10 Cars Sold by Value

1. RM 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 $22,550,000
2. Bonhams 1995 McLaren F1 $15,620,000
3. Gooding 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C $14,520,000
4. Gooding 1970 Porsche 917K $14,080,000
5. RM 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB (steel) $8,310,500
6. RM 1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Prototype $6,765,000
7. RM 1955 Ferrari 121 LM $5,720,000
8. RM 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupe by Pinin Farina $5,335,000
9. Gooding 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet $4,840,000
10. RM 1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export 'Uovo’ by Fontana $4,510,000

Gooding photo courtesy and copyright Gooding & Co, all others by K500