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Leaving aside minor sales, the last and most important
May fixture was Bonhams Les Grandes Marques down
in Monaco, where top slot went to the delivery
mileage CLK
Mercedes-Benz road car at EUR733,000, closely
followed by a Porsche
911 GT1 road car at EUR580,000, showing that
even these notoriously fashion sensitive supercars
will attract buyers if the price is right. Other
market indicators were the EUR362,000 paid for
the beautifully restored Ferrari 275GTB/4 (no,
they are not all worth that now) or the EUR120,000
which secured probably the finest Maserati
3500 GT Spider seen in recent years (yes,
an equivalent car should now fetch an equivalent
amount). Although the sale rate of around 60%
was not remarkable, almost all the expensive lots
sold, making this Bonhams' highest value Monaco
sale since May 2000, also the peak of the stock
market and perhaps a telling indicator.
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June's major sales began with Christie's at the
Rockefeller Center in New York, where the scruffy
ex-Frank
Sinatra Miura disappointed at $150,500 (less
than his Jaguar XJS made at Pebble Beach four
years ago) whilst a quirky Abarth 1500 Coupé
achieved a whopping $293,500, again confirming
the interest in genuine barn discoveries. It is
surprising that despite this sale's fantastic
location not more New York dollars found their
way into the cars on offer, but I hope Christie's
persevere with this sale as it is a brilliant
concept with great potential.
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Rockefeller Center,
New York
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On 16th June Christie's and Artcurial (Poulain)
went head to head in London and Paris respectively.
Highlight of Christie's sale was a roadgoing McLaren
F1 presented in a vivid blue which perhaps
limited its appeal. An all-inclusive price of
£593,750 at last shows what one of these
cars in mint condition is really worth today.
Another highlight was the pretty Bugatti
Type 37 which seemed spot-on at £192,800,
but otherwise the Bugatti
Type 57 Drophead Coupé, Cooper
Climax Type 45, MG
Magnette N-Type, Alfa
Romeo179/C Formula 1 car, Rolls-Royce
Silver Ghost and Rolls-Royce
Silver Cloud 1 Drophead all failed to sell.
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Later that afternoon Artcurial offered the famous
Ferrari
330GTC Speciale owned until her death last
year by Princess Lilian de Réthy. Extensively
publicised and offered directly from the Princess's
estate, every market pundit had an opinion on
this car's value. Some said EUR200,000, others
as much as EUR300,000. Applause broke out when
the hammer fell at EUR520,000, but this was nothing
compared to the surprise and awe when it emerged
that Artcurial had accepted the car with an even
higher reserve price and it was actually unsold!
This really killed the sale and one has to question
the judgement of the firm's 'experts' in accepting
such an overpriced car, particularly when estate
disposals are usually keenly priced. Too much
Piat d'Or?
Other than the 'Jaguar Legend' on 21st June, for
which Coys has still not created the results,
that was it for June on the international scene.
In the next report we will look at Bohams Goodwood
Festival of Speed sale, H&H's auction on 23rd
July in Buxton and Bonhams Summer Vintage sale
at Lords, before the major extravaganza in Pebble
Beach in mid-August which sees Bonhams, RM and
Christie's battling it out.
Overall the market seems to be waking up but vendors
would do well not to get ahead of themselves.
There is money out there for the right car in
the right condition, with the right history and
at the right price … but not at any price. Buyers
too should accept that if they like the car, and
can afford it, they should step up.
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