Every year, one is inclined to say, and yet we are always eagerly awaiting the new "Classic Car Auction Yearbook". And now it's here, hot off the press and picked up directly after the press conference in Padua. It is the 23rd edition and the number corresponds directly with the starting number of the Ferrari 250 GTO on the cover. And traditionally, the cover shows the car that sold for the highest price that year.
September to August
For historical reasons, the auction year for the authors Orsi and Gazzi probably begins on September 1 and ends on August 31. For this period, they once again tracked 5628 cars from 308 brands at auctions and listed them neatly, including chassis numbers, estimated values and sales prices in the 418-page book. In total, this tabular section makes up around 290 pages or over 2/3 of the book.
This weighty section alone, which is completely in black and white, is an entertaining read, as you are constantly reminded of special cars and are constantly surprised at how expensive (or how cheap) individual examples were sold (or not sold).
Almost 100 pages of comments and statistics
The rest of the book is divided into analyses, comments, statistics and mostly attractively presented advertisements. Yes, despite its hardback format, this book is more reminiscent of a magazine, even though Credit Suisse is the sponsor.
Europe not cheaper than the USA? Hesitant Europeans?
At the front of the book are the market commentaries of the four largest auction houses Arcturial, Bonhams, Gooding & Co and RM/Sotheby's. Interestingly, the respective representatives contradict each other, with Artcurial describing the market in Europe as hardly less attractive than that in the USA, while RM/Sotheby's describes European consignors as rather hesitant and cautious.
Soft or not?
The commentators and the authors, who for their part present their views on the market in detail based on the data, also disagree on the assessment of the market in general. For Orsi and Gazzi, we are still in a "buyers' market", i.e. an environment in which buyers, not sellers, define prices.
This doesn't make things any easier for the auction houses, as they need attractive vehicles to show that the market is in good health. Unorthodox methods are also used to persuade owners to sell their cars. For example, both the Ferrari 250 GTO and the Aston Martin DP215 were guaranteed minimum prices so that the seller did not have to take the risk that the car would not sell and would therefore be "burned". The auction house hedged the risk with financial transactions.
Significantly more "no reserve"
The proportion of "no reserve" bids, i.e. vehicles that will definitely be sold regardless of the bid, has increased significantly. Three years ago, this proportion was 10%, one year later 9%, last year 21% and this year 29%. Often, willing sellers of non-exceptional cars only get a place in a high-quality auction if they agree to offer the car without a reserve price.
More and more new cars
Another trend is the steady increase in the proportion of new cars in the total supply, even though the average age, for example, did not increase from 2017 to 2017. So-called "contemporary" vehicles accounted for 15.88 percent in the current year. Interestingly, the proportion that could be sold is lowest in this category, while the sales rate for pre-war vehicles, for example, which only account for a good five percent, is significantly higher.
Interesting analyses
In general, the analyses presented by Orsi and Gazzi are very exciting and their comments make for thrilling reading. Their explanations of the value development of barn finds, their evaluations of the price developments of individual models and even individual vehicle examples are exciting and show that although prices may have fallen below the peak around 2013/2015 on a broad level, they are still at a high level. Very special examples are even still able to achieve record prices today, such as the ex-Surtees BMW 507.
Exciting
The new edition of the Classic Car Auction Yearbook is once again a work for car enthusiasts who are also increasingly interested in the market and price trends.
In this context, it is certainly not surprising that the reporting focuses primarily on the more valuable vehicles, but the data section also includes nine Lotus Elan, 39 Mercedes-Benz 190 SLs and seven MG TCs, for example. As a reference work and commentary on the market, it is valuable both as an instant read and as a source of information.
Bibliographical details
- Title: The Classic Car Auction Yearbook 2017 - 2018
- Authors/Editors: Adolfo Orsi and Raffaele Gazzi
- Language: English
- Publisher: Historica Selecta SRL
- Edition: 1st edition October 2018
- Format: Hardcover, 24.3 x 31.5 cm
- Scope: 418 pages, around 1000 color and black and white illustrations, many graphics
- Price: EUR 70.00
- ISBN: 978-88-96232-10-1
- Buy/order: Online at BM Classics or at other booksellers recommended by Historica Selecta
