Every August on the Monterey Peninsula, major auto auction companies compete fiercely for the attention of car enthusiasts. Five huge vintage-car sales are held over three action-packed evenings. With all the top collectors in town for the Monterey historics and the Pebble Beach concours, there's big money just waiting to be spent and many rare cars are worth more than seven figures. The bidding is often frenzied, and new records are almost always set.
But this year, fuel prices are soaring, the stock market is tanking, real estate values are seriously depressed, investment houses, banks and mortgage giants are caving, and American consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Will the Monterey auctions reflect the hapless economy, or will deep-pocket motor madness again prevail?
We've carefully looked over the lots and picked the 10 top cars for your bidding pleasure. But first, here are a few thoughts on buying and selling old cars at auction.
Why Buy at an August Auction?
There are fabulous historic cars for sale worldwide, every day of the year. So why do so many potential buyers flock to live auctions, where they can't effectively test and inspect a car, where they must trust a car's provenance to what's written in a catalog, and where they might have to make a multimillion-dollar buy-or-pass decision in split seconds?
The appeal of the auctions is multifaceted. Each year, the leading firms attract highly desirable cars that are hard or even impossible to find anywhere else. These cars become available because consignors know these four tenets of auction sales: The best cars will be widely promoted before the sale; all the leading collectors will be on hand (or represented on the phone); the cars are being sold in prime time; and if at least two bidders engaged in a spirited duel, a new record may be set.
Last April in Maranello, Italy, RM Auctions sold a Ferrari 250GT short-wheelbase California Spyder, formerly the property of actor James Coburn, for over $10 million, nearly twice what similar Spyders have sold for in recent years. Other Ferraris in the sale went for record prices as well, so it appears another run-up in Italian rolling sculpture is under way.
Till Death Do Us Part
As collectors pass on, their heirs often decide that the optimal way to dispose of a collection is via an auction house. This year at the Gooding two-day sale in Pebble Beach, 12 cars from the late Dr. Peter Williamson's extraordinary Bugatti collection will be up for bids. Williamson had the biggest Bugatti hoard in America; his cars were correctly restored and maintained by Scott Sargent, one of the country's premier Bugatti experts. "The Doc" liked to drive his precious Bugs, so they were always ready to go. And proceeds from that sale will benefit the medical school at Dartmouth College.
The centerpiece of Williamson's treasure trove, the ex-Lord Rothschild Type 57SC Atlantic coupe (one of only three in the world, and a former Pebble Beach Best of Show winner), will be sold privately along with another Type 57SC Atalante, but Bugatti devotees can still bid on two of Williamson's Atalante coupes, one a standard supercharged 57C, the other a low-chassis SC-Type. They're both highly sought after, slightly larger, more luxurious versions of the Atlantic. Bugatti only built 40 of those elegant sports GTs, and here is a pair in the same sale!
Consumer Confidence?
Ah, but that sorry economy, you might wonder. Won't that have an effect this August?
It's safe to say that the big collectors, the ones who can write six-figure checks for Bugattis and Duesenbergs (and there are a couple of great Duesies coming up next month) simply aren't feeling the economy's savage pinch to the same degree that the general public does. Desirable models with correct provenance, custom coachwork, exciting competition history, possibly a famous owner, perhaps a one-of-a-kind, a rare prototype, a half-century-old dream car penned by a legendary designer, maybe a rare classic that's unrestored, one that's been out of sight for decades, a 100-year-old brass beauty that's eligible for....
You get my drift. These are the cars that all the high rollers want. Monterey this year has examples of all those types and much, much more.
10 of the Best
RM Auctions has had a banner year thanks to big sales at Amelia Island, in Italy and at Meadow Brook. At Monterey, RM has something for everyone. How about a stunning, Virgil Exner-designed Ghia-built showcar of the 1950s, the Chrysler Diablo? RM sold the Chrysler Thunderbolt last year and has also been getting great response on Duesenbergs, like $4.5 million for the ex-Ethel V. Mars Bohman & Schwartz-bodied Duesenberg SJ town car last year.
Historic hot rods and custom cars are still hot. The right examples of these cars are eligible for the Pebble Beach concours, adding to their value. RM's offering a freshly rebuilt '51 Mercury custom, created by Rick Dore, one of the acknowledged masters of the art. And Gooding has a brace of period hot rods, including a historic dry lakes racing roadster, a 1927 T-bucket built by Jim "Jazzy" Nelson, the drag-racing great. Also look for the 1954 Bentley Continental R with a gorgeous fastback body by H.J. Mulliner, a genuine 120-mph touring car in its day; not to mention a 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400SV.
Out at the Pebble Beach polo fields, Gooding & Company will present a stunning Ferrari 250GT long-wheelbase California Spyder, resplendent in two-tone black and red. Only 50 of these road/race roadsters were ever built and they have traded in the $4 million range.
Better Buy Bugs
The late Dr. Peter Williamson's Bugatti Type 57SC Atalantes (both supercharged, one a standard chassis, the other a low-chassis sport version) will attract spirited bidding. Blown Bugs with swoopy Jean Bugatti-designed Atalante coachwork are ultra-rare beasts; both these cars are very correct and ready to rock. If you're looking for something that's a little different, Gooding has an '06 REO Model A Touring car with a matching, operable miniature full-scale model "Baby REO" that served as the celebrated midget Tom Thumb's transport at the Ringling Brothers circus.
Bonhams & Butterfields' sale at Quail Lodge always has interesting petroliana, mascots and auto art. Its big star this year is likely to be the ex-Pierre Boncompagni "Pagnibon" Ecurie Nice Pourtout-bodied 1939 Talbot T150C-SS. Unrestored, highly original, with the patina of nearly half a century, this car could be freshened a bit for the Pebble Beach Preservation Class or it could be completely restored for a shot at Best of Show. It could fetch over $4.5 million.
Last year, Christies topped $2 million for the Steve McQueen Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso. This year, it's Bonham's turn, with the ex-Steve McQueen/Peter Revson 1969 Porsche 908 that finished 2nd in 1970 at Sebring, which could fetch $2 million. It also has 1960 E2A, the one-of-a-kind factory-built Jaguar sports-racer campaigned by the Cunningham team that served as the prototype for the production Jaguar E-Type. Driven by Dan Gurney, Walt Hansgen, Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, it's touted to fetch over $7 million.
It Happens Downtown
Russo and Steele keep things hopping in downtown Monterey on Friday and Saturday nights, and this year the extensive inventory includes a pristine Ferrari Daytona Spyder, bellowing muscle cars, Cobras, Corvettes, hot rods and an exceptional 1971 Lamborghini Miura SVJ Jota. You'll also see a 1973 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona Spyder, one of the 122 factory-built cars and not just one of the common hack jobs, which makes it worth as much as $1.5 million. The Kruse Auction held in conjunction with Concorso Italiano (located at the airport in nearby Marina, California, this year) has a fine selection of sports and muscle cars, including a 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, the forerunner of Nissan's new 2009 Skyline GT-R. As if five major auctions weren't enough, Don Williams will again hold his Blackhawk Exhibition (there's no bidding; you can make an offer for any of 85 cars on display) at the Peter Hay Golf Course at Pebble Beach.
Record Breakers?
It's certain that great cars are going to break sales records at Monterey. Bonhams' Mark Osborne agrees: "We've been waiting for a downturn, but our results at the Retromobile and Monaco auctions this year haven't reflected that. And now, we have cars for sale that have been out of the public eye for decades. They're being offered generationally, meaning that they're on sale for the first time in over 30 years and they're unlikely to be offered again soon."
RM's Terry Lobzun says, "Many collectors feel the Monterey sales will be a benchmark for the vintage car market this year. We have seen that interest hasn't waned, and because of the currency advantage, we expect to see more buyers from Europe at Monterey, especially for the higher-end cars."
"The money's out there for the really special stuff," insists Bonhams' Osborne. "The little world we all inhabit at Pebble Beach each August is largely unaffected by economic fluctuations and the price of oil. I'm expecting spectacular results."
So are we. Just be careful not to scratch your ear or rub an eye when the bidding gets hot, or you could go home with a new toy.
edmunds
