On July 2, 2022, the Austrian auction house Dorotheum once again auctioned off classic vehicles at the Dorotheum Fahrzeug und Technik Zentrum Wien in Vösendorf.
The offer was extensive and comprised 86 vehicles, including six motorcycles, but also a tractor and a few commercial vehicles from all age groups.
On average, the vehicles were 56 years old, with the oldest dating back to 1907 and the youngest to 2005. Together, the vehicles were valued at a total of around EUR 6 million. More than a quarter of the vehicles went under the hammer without a reserve price.
Kreisky's Volkswagen as a high-flyer
The yellow VW Beetle 1303 Cabriolet from 1975 was particularly rare and in particularly good condition, but it had been driven by former Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky on his vacation home in Mallorca at the end of the 1970s. And that made a difference in Vienna.
Instead of the expected EUR 30,000 to 40,000, the buyer offered EUR 74,000, meaning that the Beetle Cabriolet found a new owner for EUR 85,100, who paid more than double the estimate.
This meant that the Volkswagen fared much better than its sporty brother, the Porsche 911 S 2.2 Litre from 1971, which was once driven by members of the Porsche family. Nobody wanted to pay the expected EUR 190,000 to 250,000 for the latter and so the very interesting silver-grey 911 (highest bid EUR 150,000) was sold.
In contrast, the BMW Z1 from 1989, which had Prince Ernst August von Hannover as its first owner, was sold. The Z1 had seen little use and was painted in the rare "Fungelb" color scheme. At EUR 76,000, however, the lower estimate was only just exceeded and the car ultimately sold for EUR 87,400.
Mercedes-Benz ahead of Porsche
40 different manufacturer brands were represented in Vösendorf, with Mercedes-Benz (11 vehicles), Porsche (7), BMW and Jaguar (6 each) and Volkswagen (5) at the top of the list.
Among the brands, however, there were also almost forgotten manufacturers such as LaSalle, Rovin and Barkas.
Carrera GT for over one million EUR
The last car to go under the hammer after around 2.5 hours was a Porsche Carrera GT from 2005 from Austrian first ownership with just 32,000 km on the clock.
With a top bid of EUR 900,000, it fell just short of the lower estimate, but the offer was still enough to secure the purchase at a price of EUR 1.035 million.
This meant that the Porsche fared better than other more recent super classics that failed to find a new owner. The Ferrari F355 Spider with six-speed manual transmission from 1997 was not worth more than a bid of EUR 100,000 to any bidder, while the Porsche 964 Turbo 3.3 from 1991 did not fetch more than EUR 120,000 (but was sold after the auction).
Rare small cars
You don't come across a Rovin D4 Type C every day. With 13 hp and a top speed of 85 km/h, the convertible was produced in around 1200 units between 1950 and 1953.
Dorotheum's Rovin bore the chassis number C 2600 and was built in 1953. It had obviously been used extensively (mileage 99,994 km), but the engine was still running and the car appeared to be complete. However, it showed a lot of patina. An exciting project, estimated at EUR 7000 to 10,000 and finally sold for EUR 8740.
The three Goggomobils, which represented almost the entire spectrum of small glass car production at the time, also belong to the small cars. The more common and less expensive Goggomobil T250 from 1958 and TS 250 Coupé from 1969 (presumably one of the last coupés) were sold for EUR 9430 and EUR 11,040 respectively, while the super rare and lavishly restored TL 600 Transporter from 1956 only reached EUR 42,000 instead of the hoped-for EUR 60,000 to 80,000 and was left standing.
In addition to the aforementioned little ones, there is also a little-used NSU Prinz II from 1958, which was in the catalog with an estimate of EUR 12,000 to 18,000, but did not exceed EUR 8800 and thus went back.
Pre-war rarities
With 12 cars, the proportion of pre-war vehicles was comparatively high.
The oldest car was a De Dion-Bouton Type AU 8CV from 1907, which found a new home for EUR 55,200.
Among the vehicles built up to 1940, however, there was also an elegant S.S. Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre from 1937 for sale, which, however, failed to meet the (high) expectations at the highest bid of EUR 255,000.
Three BMW early works fared better. The buyer paid EUR 57,500 for a BMW DA3 Type Wartburg from 1930, EUR 31,050 was invested in the 309 convertible coupé from 1935, but the big surprise was a BMW 327 coupé from 1940 restored in Switzerland, which fetched EUR 287,500 instead of the expected EUR 110,000 to 170,000, almost double the median estimate.
A friend of rustic roadsters came into his own with the MG J2 Midget from 1932, paying EUR 29,900 for the sporty pre-war MG.
More and less sought-after bread-and-butter cars
There were numerous cars on offer at Dorotheum that once dominated road traffic but are rarely seen today.
A Volkswagen 1200 L from 1981, which sold for EUR 17,825 instead of EUR 8,000 to 12,000, put itself in the limelight.
A Morris Minor 1000 from 1962 sold for EUR 6210, while the Volvo P 122 S from 1970 found a new garage for EUR 23,000.
Apparently a Simca 1100 LS from 1972, an extremely rare station wagon that was once delivered to a Viennese cabinetmaker, was a little too exotic for many bidders. The unrestored car with less than 40,000 km on the clock was sold for EUR 7820.
Super classics with varying success
Dorotheum has a considerable number of super classics on offer. Various Mercedes SL models dominated, including two 190 SLs and two Pagodas.
The two 190 SLs found new hands just above expectations, while one of the two Pagodas stayed put and the other was sold below its estimate.
An early Mercedes-Benz 600 from 1964 could be purchased for EUR 80,500, a Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Litre as a 2+2 coupé from 1967 sold for EUR 52,900 (after a second run), and an XK140 SE DHC from 1957 for EUR 103,500.
Younger cars fared better. As much as EUR 155,250 was paid for a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500 E with an AMG 6.0-liter engine, while the 1985 BMW M635 CSI was valued at EUR 92,000.
The new owner paid EUR 92,000 for a rare Sunbeam Tiger Mk II from 1967, while a Bentley Mark VI from 1949 fetched EUR 48,300.
At first it looked as if a 1970 Dino 246 GT, an early L-series car with a Ferrari certificate, would not get a new owner, but shortly after the end of the auction, the sale was announced for EUR 350,000. The open-top Fiat brother Dino Spider from 1967 also found new hands for EUR 94,300.
A little-used 1994 Chrysler Viper RT/10 could not be sold, but nobody wanted to bid enough for the interesting 1974 Iso Lele either (although it could still be sold after the end of the auction).
The Dorotheum team could certainly be satisfied with a sales rate of 86% (88.5% after subsequent sales), especially as the average highest bid of 89% was only slightly off the average estimate. A total of around EUR 4.6 million (EUR 4.8 million after post-auction sales) was realized, with no major disappointments, although one buyer of the 1928 Rolls-Royce 20 HP Drophead Coupé certainly came in at a very reasonable EUR 42,550.
Offered and Sold Vehicles
The following table lists all offered and sold vehicles with estimated prices, highest bids, and sale prices. The price conversion was made at the exchange rate valid on the auction day. All information is provided without guarantee.
| Lot | Car | Year | EUR Est from | EUR Est to | EUR HP | EUR SP | CHF SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Steyr 30 Typ 45 Taxameter | 1930 | 5000 | 10'000 | 14'000 | 16'100 | 16'100 | +114.67%
|
V |
| 02 | Steyr Typ 80 (Jg. Ca.) | 1952 | 4000 | 6000 | 6000 | 6900 | 6900 | +38%
|
V |
| 03 | Hanomag Typ 20B leichter geländegängiger Einheits-PKW | 1940 | 25'000 | 35'000 | 40'000 | 46'000 | 46'000 | +53.33%
|
V |
| 04 | Mini Cooper | 1991 | 14'000 | 20'000 | 16'000 | 18'400 | 18'400 | +8.24%
|
V |
| 05 | Citroën 2CV6 Special | 1987 | 14'000 | 20'000 | 18'000 | 20'700 | 20'700 | +21.76%
|
V |
| 06 | Volkswagen 1200 L | 1981 | 8000 | 12'000 | 15'500 | 17'825 | 17'825 | +78.25%
|
V |
| 07 | HMW SL 50 (Jg. Ca.) | 1956 | 2000 | 3000 | 2000 | 2300 | 2300 | -8%
|
V |
All information is provided without guarantee.
Legend: Column S = Status (V = Sold, N = Not sold, Z = Withdrawn, U = Under reserve)
Est = Estimate, HP = Hammer Price, SP = Sale Price
