It was a surprisingly eclectic menu that RM/Sotheby's served up in their traditional autumn auction at the Battersea Evolution center in London on September 5, 2018.
A total of 94 vehicles worth £33 million (EUR 37 million, CHF 41.7 million) came under the hammer, two of which were withdrawn before the auction began.
The high expectations were not fulfilled. Instead of the targeted £ 344,000 per lot, just £ 187,000 was achieved. The sales rate was a disappointing 53 percent, with an average bid of 72 percent of the median estimate. This was certainly not what RM-Sotheby's managers had in mind.
Weird vehicles with miserable results
Several collections were offered in London, probably the weirdest of them under the title "Weird and Wonderful Collection". Apparently, however, the bidding public had very different ideas about the value and attractiveness of the lots 109 to 125 on offer. On average, only half of the estimate was offered.
The tuk-tuk from the Bond film "Octopussy" only reached 19 percent of the estimate and was sold for a modest £ 7800.
The Zagato Zele 1000 from 1974 performed best, finding a new garage for £ 11,500, well above the estimate. For the consignor, the "no limit" strategy, i.e. waiving a minimum bid, had clearly not paid off. Perhaps he had foreseen the debacle, but the 1962 Maserati 3500 GTI Frua was withdrawn in time.
Even worse off than the tuk-tuk was the 1979 Lada Niva 4x4 Paris-Dakar, which sold for a modest £4,600 instead of £50,000 to £75,000.
Better results for Porsche
Of the 14 Porsches on offer, eight were sold, with an average bid of 85 percent of the median estimate.
A 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8 fetched £933,125, making it one of the most expensive cars at the auction. Once again, London proved to be a good environment for Porsche sports cars, even though the 2015 Porsche 918 (highest bid £900,000) and the 924 Carrera GTS Clubsport (£180,000) failed to sell.
Ferrari well below expectations
Of 13 Ferrari sports cars on offer (including a Dino 246 GT), only five were sold, although the average bid was almost 88 percent of the median estimate. Both 365 GTB/4 Daytona from 1970 and 1971 (highest bids £ 525,000, £ 425,000) remained standing, as did the 275 GTB from 1966 with aluminum bodywork (£ 1.8 million) and some of the newer cars.
A 1970 Dino 246 GT for £172,500 (EUR 191,475, CHF 215,625) also seems downright cheap, as does a 365 GTC/4 from 1972 (£184,000, EUR 240,240, CHF 230,000) or a 512 BB from 1979 (£250,000, EUR 277,500, CHF 312,500).
At least the Ferrari Enzo from 2003 saved the evening with a sales price of £ 19'73'750 as the most expensive car sold.
Wrong bidding public for Maserati?
The seven Maserati cars on offer fared even worse than Ferrari. Just three cars were sold, with the highest bids averaging 83 percent of the median estimate.
Only the Bora 4.7 from 1972 (£ 161,000), the Ghiblil SS 4.9 Coupé from 1970 (£ 218,500) and the Quattroporte Frua from 1974 (£ 178,250) found their way into new garages.
43 unsold cars
RM could not be satisfied with just over half of the cars sold, as 43 classics remained unsold, even though an average of 78 percent of the median estimate was offered.
Among the unsold cars were six Aston Martins, the extremely rare De Tomaso Guara Spyder from 1998 (highest bid £ 140,000), two Jaguar E-Types (£ 140,000 each), six Lamborghinis, including the white Miura P400 S from 1971 (£ 1.1 million) and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL from 1955 (£ 875,000).
In some cases, the highest bids were only just below the lower estimate, but apparently the consignors preferred to take the cars home again rather than sell them below expectations.
So there was no shortage of bargains on September 5, 2018 in London. But why so many cars could not be sold is something that those responsible at RM will probably be pondering for a while yet.
Vehicles offered and sold
The following table lists all vehicles on offer with estimated prices, highest bids and sales prices. The conversion was carried out at the daily exchange rate (£1 = EUR 1.11, £1 = CHF 1.25). The "NoR" column indicates vehicles offered without a minimum price with "yes". All information without guarantee.
The list can be sorted as desired by clicking on the column headings.
| Lot | Car | Year | £ Est from | £ Est to | £ HP | £ SP | CHF SP | EUR SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 109 | Suzuki DR650 Paris-Dakar | 1993 | 40'000 | 60'000 | 9000 | 10'800 | 13'500 | 11'988 | -78.4%
|
V |
| 110 | Zagato Zele 1000 | 1974 | 5000 | 10'000 | 10'000 | 11'500 | 14'375 | 12'765 | +53.33%
|
V |
| 111 | Tuk-Tuk "Octopussy" | 1982 | 30'000 | 40'000 | 6800 | 7800 | 9750 | 8658 | -77.71%
|
V |
| 113 | Cadillac Series 67 Seven-Passenger Sedan by Fleetwood | 1942 | 25'000 | 35'000 | 19'000 | 21'850 | 27'312 | 24'253 | -27.17%
|
V |
| 114 | Lada Niva 4×4 Paris-Dakar | 1979 | 50'000 | 75'000 | 4000 | 4600 | 5750 | 5106 | -92.64%
|
V |
| 115 | ACOMA Mini Comtesse | 1975 | 5000 | 10'000 | 2000 | 2300 | 2875 | 2553 | -69.33%
|
V |
| 116 | Peel Trident | 2011 | 10'000 | 15'000 | 9500 | 10'925 | 13'656 | 12'126 | -12.6%
|
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
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