Americans bid top dollar for European supercars
RM called it the most expensive sports car collection ever offered at a single auction and indeed the 25 lots of the " Pinnacle Portfolio " contained an almost unbelievable selection of rare and sought-after post-war sports cars of almost exclusively European provenance, from the Ferrari 250 LM to the Jaguar XJ 220.
The only Japanese car to make it into this "portfolio" was a Toyota 2000 GT, while the USA was represented by a Saleen.
The special feature was the comparatively young vintages, such as the McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo or Königsegg CCXR, the vehicles were on average only 30 years old.
RM/Sothebys had estimated the 25 sports cars at around 84 million; the estimated prices for three of the vehicles were only given off the record (or assumed by external experts). In the run-up to the event, it was hard to imagine that the high expectations - an average of over three million USD per car was expected - could be fulfilled. But once again (with a few exceptions) we were proved wrong.
RM raised over USD 75 million (EUR 68 million, CHF 74 million) for the collection; two cars, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gullwing and the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, could not be knocked down.
The Ferrari 250 LM from 1964 fetched the highest price at USD 17.6 million (Euro (15.8 million, CHF 17.3 million).
It was followed by the McLaren F1 in LM specification from 1998 with a surprising USD 13.75 million (Euro 12.4 million, CHF 13.5 million).
The Ferrari Enzo from 2005 also proved to be very valuable, finding a new owner for no less than USD 6.05 million (EUR 5.5 million, CHF 5.9 million), although it still had to admit defeat to the Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider from 1959 at USD 8.5 million (EUR 7.65 million, CHF 8.33 million), at least in terms of market value.
While the Toyota 2000 GT came in well below (high) expectations at a still more than impressive USD 825,000, the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo from 2005 was the only American sports car to achieve a sales price 60% above the estimate, which amounted to USD 682,000.
So for the collector of the Pinnacle portfolio, the investment was worthwhile, but we will know in three to five years whether this was also the case for buyers on Thursday evening.
Results of the Pinnacle Portfolio auction
The following table shows all vehicles offered and auctioned with estimated prices in USD as well as the sales prices (including surcharges/commissions) in USD, Euro and CHF. The conversion was carried out using daily exchange rates (1 USD = 0.90 Euro, 1 USD = 0.98 CHF). Vehicles marked "n. sold" could not be knocked down, All information without guarantee.
| Lot | Vehicle | Year | $ Est from | $ Est to | $ VP | € VP | CHF VP VP | % Est |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Jaguar XJ220 | 1993 | 275000 | 375000 | 462000 | 415800 | 452760 | 1.42 |
| 102 | Porsche 959 'Comfort' | 1988 | 1000000 | 1300000 | 1210000 | 1089000 | 1185800 | 1.05 |
| 103 | Ferrari Enzo | 2005 | 4000000 | 6000000 | 6050000 | 5445000 | 5929000 | 1.21 |
| 104 | Toyota 2000 GT | 1967 | 1000000 | 1300000 | 825000 | 742500 | 808500 | 0.72 |
| 105 | Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone | 1971 | 2200000 | 2600000 | 2475000 | 2227500 | 2425500 | 1.03 |
| 106 | Ferrari F50 | 1995 | 1600000 | 2000000 | 1980000 | 1782000 | 1940400 | 1.1 |
| 107 | McLaren F1 'LM-Specification' | 1998 | a. Request | 13750000 | 12375000 | 13475000 | ||
| 108 | Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster by Reutter | 1956 | 270000 | 320000 | 330000 | 297000 | 323400 | 1.12 |
| 109 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing | 1955 | 5500000 | 6500000 | n.sold | |||
| 110 | Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8 | 1996 | 350000 | 450000 | 550000 | 495000 | 539000 | 1.38 |
| 111 | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 "001" | 2006 | 1800000 | 2400000 | 1815000 | 1633500 | 1778700 | 0.86 |
| 112 | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport "300" | 2012 | 2500000 | 3000000 | 2310000 | 2079000 | 2263800 | 0.84 |
| 113 | Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti | 1964 | a. Request | 17600000 | 15840000 | 17248000 | ||
| 114 | Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren | 2005 | 300000 | 400000 | 495000 | 445500 | 485100 | 1.41 |
| 115 | Lamborghini Reventón | 2008 | 1400000 | 1800000 | 1375000 | 1237500 | 1347500 | 0.86 |
| 116 | Ferrari F40 LM | 1994 | 2000000 | 2500000 | 3300000 | 2970000 | 3234000 | 1.47 |
| 117 | Maserati MC12 | 2005 | 1500000 | 1900000 | 2090000 | 1881000 | 2048200 | 1.23 |
| 118 | Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti | 1959 | 9000000 | 11000000 | 8500000 | 7650000 | 8330000 | 0.85 |
| 119 | Saleen S7 Twin Turbo | 2005 | 350000 | 500000 | 682000 | 613800 | 668360 | 1.6 |
| 120 | Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti | 1972 | 3000000 | 3500000 | 2750000 | 2475000 | 2695000 | 0.85 |
| 121 | Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti | 1967 | 3500000 | 4000000 | 3300000 | 2970000 | 3234000 | 0.88 |
| 122 | Koenigsegg CCXR | 2008 | 900000 | 1300000 | 825000 | 742500 | 808500 | 0.75 |
| 123 | Ferrari Dino 246 GTS | 1974 | 350000 | 400000 | 368500 | 331650 | 361130 | 0.98 |
| 124 | Ferrari 288 GTO | 1985 | 2400000 | 2800000 | 2420000 | 2178000 | 2371600 | 0.93 |
| 125 | Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti | 1960 | a. request | n.sold |
The results and analysis of the remaining two RM auction days will follow in the next few hours. As usual, they will be listed on our auction page .
