Mercedes 300 SL auctioned for almost USD 1.4 million - where are the classic car prices going?
Last week, the "RM Auctions" auction took placein Arizona . 180 vehicles were offered, 96% of which were sold for over USD 30 million, i.e. around USD 170,000 each. It is interesting to note that some vehicles were sold well above the "estimate" (i.e. the previous estimate), while others were sold well below it. Even bargains were (presumably) made.
The much-heralded Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta (our report presented the car in detail) found a new owner for USD 1.870 million. The price was therefore slightly below the estimate of 1.9 to 2.4 million.
A big surprise was the high price achieved for a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL - restored for around 300,000 three years ago. At USD 1.375 million, this is probably one of the most expensive gullwing cars ever.
The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider of a baseball star also achieved a high price, selling for USD 880,000, slightly above the lower estimate.
In comparison, the 1970 Dino 246 GT could almost be described as cheap, selling for USD 115,500, well below the estimate of USD 125,000 to 150,000. Was it because of the white color?
Other vehicles also fell well short of the estimated price, such as a Jaguar D-Type Recreation by Tempero (USD 95,000 instead of 150,000 to 175,000) or an Aston Martin DB 4, which did not find a new owner for USD 140,000 instead of the 175,000 to 225,000 asked.
The beautiful Costin Jaguar from 1959 also went to a new owner for a comparatively reasonable USD 209,000 (instead of the estimated 350,000 to 450,000).
A white Jaguar E-Type Series 1 convertible could be bought for as little as USD 79,750 (estimated price 100,000 to 120,000).
And the 1956 Arnolt Bristol also found a new home for 99,000 for comparatively little money (estimated price 110,000 to 200,000).
Nevertheless, the 1962 Devin-MGA Supercharged Roadster sold well for USD 55,000 (instead of 40,000 to 60,000).
It seems that Americans were mainly "into" comparatively easy-to-use sports cars and tended to value extreme vehicles somewhat cautiously. However, no clear trend can be discerned. Although the estimated prices could not be reached in many places, almost all vehicles were sold. This suggests that prices are no longer as "fixed" as they used to be.
