2003 has already seen a flurry of auction activity with all the major players holding sales. Coys went first, bravely raising the curtain in the glamorous surroundings of Birmingham's NEC during the Autosport Show, although there was little on offer to tempt the connoisseur and top lot was a Lola T70 at £91'000. Let's hope the new owner is more fortunate than the car's previous French custodian, who suffered the misfortune of watching his pride and joy burn out after leaving a péage on the autoroute.

1968 Lola T70 MK III

A few days later many members of the European trade flew over to Arizona where Kruse and Barrett-Jackson held their annual extravaganzas in the sunshine on the outskirts of the desert resort, Scottsdale. In the circus-like atmosphere nearly 2000 cars were offered over a 10-day period, whilst more up-market Canadian outfit RM held their now traditional European-style auction at the art-deco Biltmore resort over the same weekend. The three sales were impressively well attended, showing that the classic car market still draws the crowds even in these uncertain times. It was interesting to note that whilst US muscle cars fetched prices which European vendors could only dream of (how about US$270,000 for a 1967 Chevy which looked as if an 18-year old might drive it to college …
and that was not enough for the vendor!), the traditional blue-chip classics did not fare as well.

1967 Ford GT 40 Mark III Coupe

For example, Barrett-Jackson sold a nice Ford GT40 for just US$322,000 and an AC Cobra 289 was knocked down for a mere US$120,000, both trade prices. Jaguar XKSS, which market insiders claimed had been bought by Barrett-Jackson themselves prior to auction, was also not sold at a seemingly genuine bid of US$950,000 (auction principal Craig Jackson was seen to almost jump on the bidder as the hammer went down.)

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB SEFAC Hot Rod Photo Simon Clay

RM failed to sell the much advertised Ferrari SWB (although a deal was concluded post block to a dealer) and their exquisite 1904 Mercedes touring car was knocked down at the bottom estimate, US$700,000.

1904 Mercedes 40/45 HP Sport Touring Photo Simon Clay

One cannot fail to be impressed by these US auctions though, especially Barrett-Jackson where some 800 cars were offered over the weekend. With an admission charge, a catalogue charge, sponsorship from a variety of companies plying their wares to the public, booths rented by sellers of everything from Cowboy boots to flatulent dolls, the entry fee of some US$1,000 per car and another fee of US$300 just to register a bid, it would be safe to say this is a very profitable formula. With a "vendor's assistant" towering over the owner during the sale encouraging him to accept the bid (also known as the "grinder" for obvious reasons), a tuxedo-wearing (with sneakers) "buyers assistant" rushing to tell you what a bargain you are bidding upon the moment you raise your hand, it might not be glamorous but it sells cars.

Christie's - Bentley motor cars from the A.H. Heineken Collection

Back in Europe, all eyes were focused on Paris where over the weekend of February 8th and 9th both Christies and Poulain Le Fur had major sales planned. Confounding the perception of recent years that America dominates the market, Christies started out with an exceptional sale which saw virtually all of the star lots achieve record prices, mostly to European buyers. Take for example the incredible US$1,814,670 bid by a well-known European collector (better known for Ferraris) for the ex-Bill Serri Bugatti Type 55, no longer fitted with its original body, or the US$1,018,710 bid (by the same enthusiast?) for a rather heavily reconstructed Bugatti Type 35B, parts of which won the 1928 Targa Florio. Equally astounding, the left-hand drive Aston Martin DB4 GT with minor racing history stunned onlookers when knocked down at US$721,710 (which was actually below the catalogue estimate, thought by some to be a misprint). This car had been acquired less than three years ago by its vendor, a British dealer, for just £150,000.

1959 Ferrari 250 GT TDF Photo Simon Clay

An open headlamp Ferrari Tour de France with good but not exceptional racing history surprised Ferrari experts at US$1,196,910, a new record for an open headlamp car, and the scruffy but superbly specified ex-Heineken Bentley R Type fastback (4.9, manual, and most importantly, left-hand drive) deservedly raised US$294,030, almost double the top estimate.
This was a hugely successful sale, even more so if one considers that the cars were interesting but not sensational.

1929 Mercedes-benz SSK ex-Carlos Zatuszek

Although we have yet to receive Poulain Le Fur's results for their 10th February sale, witnesses report an unprecedented 100% success rate with almost all the lots selling for top money. The only exception to this was the Mercedes-Benz SSK, which the catalogue omitted to mention has a new chassis (the original having been recently sold by the vendor).

All in all, these two auction houses should be congratulated for attracting the right crowd and generating the atmosphere necessary to achieve truly spectacular results, the likes of which have not been seen in years. Make no mistake, there is still plenty of money out there for the right cars. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.