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My apologies for a lengthy absence since the last market report
but
it's
been
a
busy
time
in
the
auction
world
since
the
season
really
kicked
off
at
the
end
of
January.
7th February
saw
RM
offering
a
wide
variety
of
cars,
including
the
usual
vast
array
of
Americana
and
a
selection
of
European
classics,
down
in
Boca
Raton,
Florida.
Highlights
included
an
Aston
Martin
Vanquish
and
a
Bentley
Azure,
neither
of
which
sold,
and
a
Ferrari
275
GTS
which
seemed
fairly
priced
at
$159,000.
The
sale
rate
was
reasonable
but
there
was
nothing
to
write
home
about.
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Heineken
Collection
at
Christie's
|
A few
days
later
saw
two
major
sales
taking
place
during
the
Retromobile
show
in
Paris.
Christie's
had
consigned
some
interesting
but
expensive
cars
to
their
sale,
held
in
a
corner
of
the
exhibition
hall,
plus
cars
from
the
estate
of
the
late
Freddie
Heineken,
which
were
all
keenly
priced.
The English
dealer
vendor
of
Christie's
Aston
Martin
DB4GT
more
than
doubled
his
money
in
two
years,
reaching
EUR668,250
(actually
below
the
estimate!)
whilst
top
seller
was
the
late
Bill
Serri's
re-bodied
Bugatti
Type
55,
which
raised
a
hefty
EUR1,680,250
and
will
be
joining
Pierre
Bardinon's
Ferrari
collection
in
France.
A
heavily
rebuilt
Bugatti
Type
T35B
(show
me
one
that
isn't)
drew
EUR943,250,
showing
that
these
cars
are
regaining
the
recognition
they
deserve.
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The open
headlamp
Ferrari
Tour
de
France
which
came
to
the
sale
from
Britain
also
did
very
well,
its
patina
attracting
much
favourable
comment.
The
hammer
went
down
at
EUR1,108,250.
Freddie
Heineken's
cars
deservedly
raised
top
money,
especially
the
ideally
specified
Bentley
R-Type
Continental
at
EUR272,250
(no,
they
are
not
all
worth
that
now)
but
even
more
surprising
was
his
Bentley
S3
Convertible
at
EUR151,250.
I
hope
the
buyer
does
not
lose
interest
in
a
hurry…
Two
highlights
failed
to
sell,
the
Ligier
JS3
which
has
a
tiny
market,
and
the
Jaguar
XJ220
which
is
about
as
fashionable
today
as
the
music
of
the
same
period.
The
following
day
the
newly
named
Articurial
(incorporating
the
old
Poulain
Le
Fur)
enjoyed
a
sell-out
auction
nearby
when
they
offered
the
Mercedes-Benz
collection
of
the
late
Rolf
Meyer,
who
died
racing
his
300SL
Gullwing.
These
cars
were
rumoured
to
have
been
sold
on
behalf
of
the
German
tax
authorities
following
a
collapse
in
value
of
the
estate's
assets
due
to
the
stock
market
crash
whilst
the
estate
was
frozen
after
Meyer's
death
-
a
sad
story
if
true.
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|
1929
Mercedes-benz
SSK
ex-Carlos
Zatuszek
|
Nonetheless
the
heirs
must
have
been
pleased
to
see
the
interest
shown
in
Meyer's
collection,
including
EUR3
million
paid
for
the
much
talked
about
Mercedes-Benz
SSK
(Is
it
real?
Are
there
two
chassis?),
not
to
mention
EUR350,000
paid
for
Marshall
Tito's
Mercedes-Benz
600
Landaulet,
plus
countless
other
staggering
prices.
It
just
goes
to
show
how
buyers
get
into
the
mood
of
an
auction,
and
if
things
start
off
well
they
will
be
encouraged
to
keep
on
spending,
even
if
they
know
they
are
paying
too
much.
The
opposite
is
also
true.
 Read
more
>
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