RM/Sotheby's had planned to auction 102 cars at the Ritz-Carlton on March 10, 2018. The predicted bad weather caused those responsible to reschedule and bring the auction forward to March 9, 2018. This obviously did little harm, because with a result of almost USD 28 million and 85 percent of vehicle lots sold, the auction still paid off.
Although some compromises had to be made compared to expectations, a good result was achieved with an average sales price per car of around USD 317,000.
Europeans dominated
19 Porsche, 10 Ferrari, 9 Mercedes-Benz, 6 Rolls-Royce and 5 Aston Martin accounted for almost half of all cars sold. There were also other European classics, leaving only a small proportion for American rarities such as Stutz, Duesenberg and Marmon.
However, the sales rate for the Americans was slightly higher at 88 percent than for the Europeans at 84 percent, but this was certainly partly due to the no-reserve shares, as the highest bids for the US cars reached an average of 82 percent of the median estimated price, compared to almost 87 percent for the Europeans.
Strong pre-war share
The proportion of pre-war cars was unusually high, accounting for almost a third of the vehicles. The oldest car was a 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Roi from the Belgian "The Silver Fairy", which was looking for a new owner for USD 1 to 1.25 million, but remained unsold despite a maximum bid of USD 950,000.
The 1930 Riley 9 Brooklands was of interest to sporty types; the new owner paid USD 240,800 (EUR 195,048 or CHF 228,760) for it, which was roughly below expectations.
24 of the 30 pre-war vehicles were sold, with bids averaging 83 percent of the median estimate.
A Rolls-Royce Phantom I Étoile Town Car by Hibbard & Darrin from 1928 was the most convincing, as the highest bid was over 40 percent above the median estimate, which meant a sale price of USD 335,000 (EUR 271,350, cHF 318,250).
A quarter of youngtimers and neoclassics
At the other end of the age spectrum were 25 cars built after 1988. These included an entire Porsche 964 collection, as well as a Lamborghini Diablo and an Aston Martin DB AR1 Zagato from 2003.
As with the pre-war vehicles, the sales rate here was 80 percent, but the highest bids were on average slightly higher in percentage terms than for the pre-war cars.
The high-flyer in this group was a Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 from 1994, which fetched USD 324,000 (EUR 262,440, CHF 307,800), significantly more than expected.
The slightly different buggy
Everyone knows Bruce Meyers' original buggy. The Manxter 2+2 was already a design modification, but came from the same company. The unabridged Beetle chassis and the more flowing body shape gave the Manxter a more elegant appearance, and with an estimated price of USD 40,000 to 50,000, the popularity of these plastic Volkswagen variants was documented.
However, the new owner was prepared to pay USD 56,000 (EUR 45,360, CHF 53,200) for the VW Special.
Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen with above-average results
An analysis of the results per brand shows that the most strongly represented brands, Ferrari and Porsche, only achieved average results when comparing the highest bid with the median estimate. Interested parties were prepared to bid an average of 88 percent of the estimate for Ferrari and 85 percent for Porsche.
Rolls-Royce was much more convincing with 94 percent, but Volkswagen in particular with 122 percent (but a lower amount). The average score was 85 percent, with the five Aston Martin representatives below this (83 percent) and the two Lamborghinis above (116 percent).
The fact that Volkswagen performed so well was mainly due to a 1961 platform bus, which sold for USD 64,400 (EUR 52,164, CHF 61,180), while the 1964 Samba fetched USD 126,000 (EUR 102,060, CHF 119,700) and the 1956 Beetle Cabriolet an impressive USD 72,800 (EUR 58,968, CHF 69,160).
Super classics too, of course
The super classics were of course not missing at RM in Amelia Island.
From Ferrari, for example, there is a 275 GTB from 1966 (estimated value USD 2.2 to 2.5 million), for which USD 2.2 million (EUR 1.79 million, CHF 2.09 million) was ultimately paid, and a 365 GTB/4 Daytona from 1972, which was worth USD 621,000 (EUR 503,010, CHF 589,950) to the new owner in line with the valuation.
There were two 300 SLs for sale from Mercedes-Benz. Neither quite lived up to expectations. The 1956 Gullwing finally found its way into a new garage for USD 1.08 million (EUR 872,775, CHF 1.02 million), while the 1957 Roadster sold for USD 1.09 million (EUR 886,140, CHF 1.04 million).
A Shelby 289 Cobra from 1963 was also expected to be in the same price region, but it remained unsold despite the highest bid of USD 940,000, as did a 1937 SS 100 Jaguar 2.5 Litre, whose reserve price of USD 340,000 was not reached.
An Aston Martin DB4 Series IV from 1962 also missed the estimate, but the sporty coupé was nevertheless sold for USD 765,000 (EUR 619,650, CHF 726,750).
Four of the 911 variants on offer fell short of the reserve price, including two Porsche 911 Turbo S from 1993 and 1994, as well as a Porsche 911 Carrera Cup from 1991 and a 911 S from 1967. The 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 from 1993 was transferred to new hands for USD 1.27 million (EUR 1.03 million, CHF 1.21 million).
The RM people were certainly not one hundred percent happy about the postponement and the results, but overall a solid result was achieved, especially as there was actually a lack of real high-flyers on offer.
Vehicles offered and sold
The following table lists all vehicles offered with estimated prices (Est) and highest bids (HG) in USD as well as sales prices (VP) in USD, EUR and CHF. The conversion was carried out at the daily exchange rate of 1 USD = 0.81 EUR, or 1 USD = 0.95 CHF. The "% Est" column compares the highest bids with the mean estimated value. The highest bids were recalculated for the lots sold. All data without guarantee.
The list can be sorted as desired by clicking on the column headings.
| Lot | Car | Year | USD Est from | USD Est to | USD HP | USD SP | CHF SP | EUR SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Studebaker Champion Regal Conestoga | 1955 | 25'000 | 35'000 | 29'500 | 33'040 | 30'727 | 26'762 | +10.13%
|
V |
| 107 | Lincoln Premiere Convertible | 1956 | 50'000 | 70'000 | 77'000 | 86'240 | 80'203 | 69'854 | +43.73%
|
V |
| 108 | Austin-Healey 3000 Mk I BT7 | 1960 | 70'000 | 90'000 | 72'500 | 81'200 | 75'516 | 65'772 | +1.5%
|
V |
| 109 | Mercedes-Benz 560 SL | 1988 | 70'000 | 90'000 | 85'000 | 95'200 | 88'536 | 77'112 | +19%
|
V |
| 110 | Aston Martin Virage Volante 'Wide-Body' | 1993 | 100'000 | 125'000 | 97'500 | 109'200 | 101'556 | 88'452 | -2.93%
|
V |
| 111 | Riley 9 Brooklands | 1930 | 225'000 | 275'000 | 215'000 | 240'800 | 223'944 | 195'048 | -3.68%
|
V |
| 112 | Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 2016 | 200'000 | 250'000 | 195'000 | 218'400 | 203'112 | 176'904 | -2.93%
|
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
