More than $325 million worth of collector cars were hammered sold over the Monterey Car Week Auction Season, with 70 of them bringing in $1 million or more as the market played mostly flat in comparison to last year. Top lot of the weekend, more or less as expected, was RM Sotheby’s sale of a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, chassis no. 1 (DBR1/1) for $22,550,000, which set a world record not only for an Aston Martin, but for any British automobile sold at auction.
The most correct example of what is arguably the most important Aston Martin ever produced, DBR1/1 (above, photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) carries a racing history that includes overall victory at the 1959 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers as well as a driver history that includes some of the greatest names in motorsport, from Carroll Shelby to Jack Brabham, Roy Salvadori and Sir Stirling Moss. The first of just five examples built by the factory between 1956 and 1958, DBR1/1 is the only example ever offered for public sale.
Leading Bonhams’ sale at The Quail: a Motorsports Gathering, was a 1995 McLaren F1 that finally went for $15,620,000, the highest price ever paid for a car built after 1970. At Gooding & Co.’s Pebble Beach auction the bidding was close, but ultimately a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C that sold for $14,520,000 barely edged an ex-Jo Siffert 1970 Porsche 917K that brought in $14,080,000. Other transactions of note, in the $8 million range, were RM’s sale of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta by Scaglietti for $8,305,000, and Bonhams’ sale of an ex-Briggs Cunningham 1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Competition Coupe that fetched $8,000,000 to establish a new world record for the model.
While the results of Russo and Steel’s auction were not yet available at our close, we have listed total sales figures and the cars that the other major houses sold for more than $1 million below.
RM Sotheby’s
Total Sales: $133m; 88 percent sell-through rate; 34 million sellers
1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1 – $22,550,000*
1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta by Scaglietti – $8,305,000
1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Prototype – $6,765,000*
1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spider by Scaglietti – $5,720,000
1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupe – $5,335,000
1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export “Uovo” by Fontana – $4,500,000
1954 Ferrari 500/735 Mondial Spider by Pininfarina – $3,850,000
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy – $3,575,000
1970 Porsche 908/03 – $3,575,000
1930 Bentley 6.5-Litre Speed Six Sportsman’s Saloon – $3,410,000
2015 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $3,410,000
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – $3,250,000
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4 by Scaglietti – $3,025,000
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Sport Cabriolet A – $2,585,000
1969 Ferrari 365 GTS by Pininfarina – $2,722,500
2014 Pagani Huayra Tempesta – $2,420,000
1952 Ferrari 342 America Cabriolet by Vignale – $2,255,000
1935 Aston Martin Ulster Competition Sports – $2,172,500
1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider – $2,172,500
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder – $1,842,500
1936 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Offener Tourenwagen – $1,540,000
1991 Ferrari F40 – $1,540,000
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing – $1,485,000
1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Murphy – $1,430,000
1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster – $1,375,000
2006 Lamborghini Concept S – $1,320,000
1925 Bugatti Type 35C Grand Prix – $1,155,000
1953 Cunningham C-3 Coupe by Vignale – $1,155,000
1964 Shelby 289 “Lindauer” Cobra – $1,100,000
1936 Auburn Eight Supercharged Speedster – $1,017,500
1951 Porsche 356 1500 Coupe – $1,017,500
1964 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe by Michelotti – $1,017,500
1976 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 by Bertone – $1,034,000
1938 Avions Voisin C28 Cabriolet by Saliot – $1,000,000
For further information please visit www.rmsothebys.com
Gooding & Co.
Total Sales: $91.6m; 81 percent sell-through rate; 22 million sellers
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C – $14,520,000*
1970 Porsche 917K – $14,080,000*
1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet – $4,840,000
1956 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta – $4,400,000*
2015 Ferrari LaFerrari – $3,520,000
1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series I – $3,162,500
1958 BMW 507 Series II – $2,750,000*
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB – $2,585,000
1966 Ferrari 275 GTS – $1,700,000
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing – $1,677,500
1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe – $1,595,000
1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS – $1,540,000
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Cabriolet – $1,512,500
1953 Fiat 8V Berlinetta Elaborata – $1,485,000
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe – $1,430,000
1962 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet – $1,375,000
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster – $1,347,500
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing – $1,265,000
1963 Porsche 356 B Carrera 2 Cabriolet – $1,250,000
1988 Porsche 959 Komfort – $1,056,000
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster – $1,034,000
1937 Maserati 6CM – $1,000,000
For further information please visit www.goodingco.com
Bonhams
Total Sales: $56.4m; 80 percent sell-through rate; 11 million sellers
1995 McLaren F1 – $15,620,000*+
1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Competition Coupe – $8,000,000*
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy Long Nose by Pininfarina – $3,080,000
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – $2,519,000
2003 Ferrari Enzo – $2,040,500
1966 Ferrari 275 GTS – $1,550,000
1990 Ferrari F40 – $1,457,500
1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America – $1,265,000
1964 Lotus 34-Ford Indycar – $1,150,000
1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta – $1,133,000
1964 Shelby Cobra 289 – $1,089,000
For further information please visit www.bonhams.com/Quail
Mecum Auctions
Total Sales: N/A; sell-through percentage N/A; 3 million sellers
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari – $3,450,000
2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport – $2,350,000
2017 Ferrari F12tdf – 1,250,000
For further information please visit www.Mecum.com
* new world record for the marque or model
+ new world record for a post-1970 car sold at auction
