Expectations were high, and the vehicles on offer at the auction of the Oldtimer Galerie Toffen on the occasion of the DolderClassics on June 10, 2012 were exquisite. At the end, there was not exactly an awkward silence, but there was no exuberant joy either.
Premiere at the DolderClassics
Reinhard Schmidlin is a busy businessman. The idea of holding an auction as part of the DolderClassics caught his attention and he and his team made every effort not only to present an interesting range of vehicles, but also to explain and advertise them using all possible means.
Selected offer
The 100-page auction catalog included 50 cars and two motorcycles/scooters. The offerings ranged from entry-level classics such as the Austin-Healey Sprite or the MG Midget to full-blown exotics such as the Lamborghini Jarama or the De Tomaso Pantera. The oldest Lot looked back on almost a hundred years of life, while the youngest was just eleven years old.
The superstars were Peter Monteverdi's widely discussed sports car, the 1960 MBM Sport, and the 1966 Abarth 1300 OT racing car. The offer was described in detail in an announcement article on Zwischengas.
Great interest in advance
There was great interest in the vehicles and the auction. The auction catalog was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times and sent by post. The preview days were widely used. Reinhard Schmidlin had done a lot of advertising and announced the first event on the Zürichberg through various channels. It wasn't just the inner circle that knew about it, but the general public too.
Where are the financially strong bidders?
As a result, the auction room was bursting at the seams, and many auction participants even had to move to a second room where bids could also be placed.
However, when it came to showing their colors and raising their hands to bid, the auction visitors remained silent and reserved.
One prominent visitor even said that some of those present had probably gone into the auction with completely wrong ideas.
The result was that several lots, for example the Lamborghini Jarama, the Lamborghini Diablo, the Lancia Flaminia Super Sport Zagato or the V12 Berlinetta from Carozzeria Italia, did not even receive a real bid.
Bids for other vehicles came to a standstill well below the estimated price, with "not sold" being the decree for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTC or the MG M-Type Midget, for example.
Two thirds knocked down, many reservations
At the end of the auction, around two thirds of the vehicles on offer were either definitely sold or sold with reservations. Only in a few cases did the bids exceed the not unreasonable estimated prices, such as the magnificent Rolls Royce Corniche Cabriolet from 2000, which was knocked down for CHF 165,000 (Euro 137,500, before surcharges/taxes) after a lively bidding war, making it the highest unconditional hammer price.
Plenty of room for renegotiation
Around a third of all objects were knocked down with reserve on auction day, which means that the price was not far off the minimum selling price, but was still too low from the seller's point of view.
Experience shows that some of these vehicles can still be sold in subsequent negotiations, either because the bidder improves his offer or the seller lowers his expectations. In the case of the Abarth 1300 OT, which reached CHF 285,000 (Euro 237,500) as the highest bid at the auction, this was successful and the car subsequently changed hands for CHF 325,000 (plus buyer's premium).
Inexplicable reluctance to bid
Why weren't the results better? Were the financially strong people not sufficiently informed? Did the location and setup not meet expectations? Is the Swiss classic car market generally not fluid? Were the vehicles too expensive for those paying in euros? Are Swiss collectors not keen to buy at the moment? There are still many unanswered questions and plenty for the specialists and experts to discuss.
Results (provisional)
The following table shows the provisional results as of June 12, 2012 (following renegotiations after the auction). The table has been adjusted according to the results and renegotiations in order to represent the latest status. The "Bid" column shows the highest bid in each case, regardless of whether this led to a sale or not. The conversion was carried out using the fixed exchange rate 1 Euro = 1.20 CHF.
| Lot | Vehicle | Year | Vehicle type | Estimated price CHF | Estimated price Euro | Bid CHF | Bid Euro | Status/Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | MG Midget Mk II | 1966 | Convertible | 15000-18000 | 12500-15000 | 12000 | 10000 | sold |
| 03 | Alpine-Renault A310 V6 Group 4 | 1983 | Coupé | 32000-36000 | 26500-30000 | 17000 | 14167 | not sold |
| 04 | BMW 2800 CS | 1969 | Coupé | 22000-26000 | 18500-21500 | 20000 | 16667 | sold |
| 05 | Fiat 1600 S O.S.C.A. Cabriolet | 1964 | Convertible | 45000-50000 | 37500-41500 | 37000 | 30833 | not sold |
| 06 | Lotus Elan S2 | 1966 | convertible | 38000-42000 | 31500-35000 | 27500 | 22917 | not sold |
| 07 | Ford Mustang 302 Convertible | 1968 | Convertible | 34000-38000 | 28500-31500 | canceled, not consigned | ||
| 08 | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray 396 | 1965 | Coupé | 100000-120000 | 83500-100000 | 85000 | 70833 | u. V. sold |
| 09 | Iso Rivolta IR 300 | 1970 | Coupé | 55000-60000 | 46000-50000 | 45000 | 37500 | sold (after the auction) |
| 10 | Lamborghini Diablo VT | 1995 | Coupé | 105000-115000 | 87500-96000 | not sold | ||
| 11 | Studebaker Avanti Supercharged | 1963 | Coupé | 48000-52000 | 40000-43500 | 47500 | 39583 | sold |
| 12 | Jaguar E-Type 3.8-Litre Series 1 Roadster | 1963 | Convertible | 90000-110000 | 75000-91500 | 80000 | 66667 | u. V. sold |
| 13 | Mercedes 220 S Ponton Cabriolet | 1957 | convertible | 95000-105000 | 79000-87500 | not sold | ||
| 14 | Intermeccanica Italia Spyder | 1972 | convertible | 95000-115000 | 79000-96000 | 75000 | 62500 | u. V. sold |
| 15 | Honda S 800 Coupé | 1969 | Coupé | 20000-25000 | 16500-21000 | 19000 | 15833 | sold |
| 16 | Ginetta G15 | 1973 | Coupé | 34000-36000 | 28500-30000 | 20000 | 16667 | not sold |
| 17 | Pontiac Safari Wagon | 1960 | station wagon | 55000-60000 | 46000-50000 | 50000 | 41667 | sold |
| 18 | Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow | 1974 | Limousine | 34000-38000 | 28500-31500 | 34000 | 28333 | sold |
| 19 | Singer Nine Le Mans | 1935 | Roadster | 45000-50000 | 37500-41500 | 40000 | 33333 | not sold |
| 20 | Maserati Bora 4.9 | 1973 | Coupé | 85000-95000 | 71000-79000 | 70000 | 58333 | u. V. sold |
| 21 | Ford A Pick Up | 1930 | Pick Up | 60000-65000 | 50000-54000 | 50000 | 41667 | sold (after the auction) |
| 22 | Buick Eight Series 40 Convertible Tüscher | 1937 | convertible | 85000-95000 | 71000-79000 | 79000 | 65833 | sold |
| 23 | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale | 1960 | Coupé | 70000-75000 | 58500-62500 | 63000 | 52500 | sold |
| 24 | Porsche 911 2.7 | 1975 | Coupé | 34000-38000 | 28500-31500 | 27000 | 22500 | not sold |
| 25 | Aston Martin DB 2 | 1953 | Coupé | 170000-200000 | 141500-166500 | 150000 | 125000 | not sold |
| 26 | De Soto Six Sedan | 1930 | Sedan | 25000-30000 | 21000-25000 | 30000 | 25000 | sold |
| 28 | LaSalle 345A Town Sedan | 1931 | Sedan | 75000-80000 | 62500-66500 | not sold | ||
| 29 | Dodge Challenger 340 Convertible | 1971 | Convertible | 65000-75000 | 54000-62500 | 60000 | 50000 | sold |
| 30 | Carrozzeria Italia V12 Barchetta | 1964/90 | Roadster | on request | on request | not sold | ||
| 31 | Aston Martin V8 Volante Vantage Specification | 1981 | Convertible | 135000-145000 | 112500-121000 | 95000 | 79167 | u. V. sold |
| 32 | Porsche 356 B Roadster | 1961 | convertible | 170000-200000 | 141500-166500 | 145000 | 120833 | not sold |
| 33 | Cadillac Eldorado Custom by Coolidge Motorcars | 1979 | Coupé | 28000-38000 | 23500-31500 | 18000 | 15000 | sold |
| 34 | Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible | 2001 | Convertible | 140000-160000 | 116500-133500 | 165000 | 137500 | sold |
| 35 | Cadillac Eldorado Convertible | 1966 | Convertible | 38000-42000 | 31500-35000 | 34000 | 28333 | sold (after the auction) |
| 36 | Pontiac Tempest Le Mans GTO Convertible | 1965 | convertible | 65000-75000 | 54000-62500 | 62500 | 52083 | sold |
| 37 | Lancia Flaminia 3 C 2800 Super Sport Zagato | 1966 | Coupé | 200000-220000 | 166500-183500 | not sold | ||
| 38 | Abarth 1300 OT | 1966 | Coupé | on request | on request | 325000 | 270834 | sold after renegotiation |
| 39 | Lincoln Model K LeBaron Coupé 2P | 1936 | Coupé | 95000-115000 | 79000-96000 | 80000 | 66667 | sold after renegotiation |
| 40 | De Tomaso Pantera GT5S | 1989 | Coupé | 140000-160000 | 116500-133500 | 115000 | 95833 | u. V. sold |
| 41 | Jaguar Mk V 3.5-Litre Drophead Coupé | 1951 | Convertible | 85000-95000 | 71000-79000 | 85000 | 70833 | sold |
| 42 | Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III BJ8 Injection | 1965 | Convertible | 75000-85000 | 62500-71000 | 57500 | 47917 | u. V. sold |
| 43 | Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit Convertible Conversion | 1984 | Convertible | 80000-90000 | 66500-75000 | not sold | ||
| 44 | Lamborghini 400 GT Jarama | 1972 | Coupé 2+2 | 68000-72000 | 56500-60000 | not sold | ||
| 45 | Chevrolet Corvette | 1954 | Convertible | 95000-115000 | 79000-96000 | 80000 | 66667 | u. V. sold |
| 46 | Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTC | 1966 | convertible | 75000-80000 | 62500-71000 | not sold | ||
| 47 | VW-Porsche 914/4 2.0 | 1973 | Targa | 22000-26000 | 18500-21500 | 20000 | 16667 | sold |
| 48 | MG M Type Midget | 1932 | Roadster | 35000-40000 | 29000-33500 | 28000 | 23333 | not sold |
| 49 | Marendaz Special 13/70 | 1933 | Tourer | 45000-55000 | 37500-46000 | 42500 | 35417 | sold |
| 50 | Maserati 3500 GTI | 1965 | Coupé | 95000-115000 | 79000-96000 | 85000 | 70833 | u. V. sold |
| 51 | Lamborghini Countach LP 5000 S Quattrovalvole | 1986 | Coupé | 200000-220000 | 166500-183500 | 150000 | 125000 | not sold |
| 52 | Austin-Healey Sprite Mk I "Frogeye" | 1958 | Roadster | 25000-30000 | 21000-25000 | 26000 | 21667 | sold |
| 53 | Monteverdi MBM SP-100 O.S.C.A. | 1960 | roadster | on request | on request | not sold |
