When Christies sold off classics 40 years ago - no sell-out?
In the 1970s, Christie's also held an automobile auction on the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show. The cars were presented in the Sous-Sol and went under the hammer on Thursday. The catalog cost CHF 20 (in 1977), and 44 cars with a total value of around one million Swiss francs were offered in March 1977.
Automobil-Revue editor and classic car enthusiast Roger Gloor was of course on site and reported on the auction on a full page . His title: "Geneva auction was not a sell-out!".
Well, today the highest bids achieved bring tears to your eyes. The Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Sports Tourer (Vanden Pias) from 1937 pictured here fetched just CHF 49,000. An Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Turismo Spider from 1930 probably couldn't be sold for CHF 16,000, while its even sportier brother, the 6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato from 1932, nowadays usually offered for between CHF 1.2 and 2.2 million, failed to find a new owner at CHF 72,000. An Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 from 1933 fared no better.
Interestingly, only three cars sold above the estimated prices, namely a BMW 503 from 1957, which found a new owner for CHF 17,000, an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S Pinin Farina from 1947 for CHF 20,000 and a Zedel Type C from 1923 for CHF 26,000. And just CHF 26,000 to 32,000 was paid for two Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadsters.
No car fetched more than CHF 100,000, and a number even went for less than CHF 10,000. Many of the vehicles on offer back then would still have made a considerable return today, but preferences have also changed since then.
So let's put on our nostalgic glasses and take a look at the results from back then ...
| Vehicle | Year | Estimate | Offer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Sports Tourer (Vanden Pias) | 1937 | 40000-48000 | 49000 | Sold |
| Bugatti Type 38 Chassis (8 Cyl., 2 L) | 1926/7 | 38000-50000 | 40000 | Sold |
| Meroedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster | 1957 | 28000-33000 | 32000 | Sold |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster | 1960 | 24000-27000. | 26000 | Sold |
| Zedel type C 16 11CV Tourer | 1923 | 19000-23000 | 26000 | Sold |
| Delahaye Type 148 L 20 'CV Coach (Guillore) | 1950 | 27900-33000 | 22000 | Sold |
| Alfa Romeo 6 C 2500 S Spider (Pinin Farina) | 1947 | 22000-24000 | 20000 | Sold |
| BMW 503 (V8, 3.2 L, convertible 2+2) | 1957 | 9500-13000 | 17000 | Sold |
| Armstrong-Siddeley Star Sapphire 4 L | 1959 | 7000-10000 | 6800 | Sold |
| Lancia Flaminia Coupe (Pininfarina) | 1962 | 3500-6500 | 4000 | Sold |
| Hotchkiss Gregoire 11 CV Lim. | 1953 | 3500-5000 | 3500 | Sold |
| Alfa Romeo 8 C 2300 (short sports two-seater) | 1933 | 100000-112000 | 85000 | presumably not sold |
| Alfa Romeo 1750 GS (Zagato) | 1932 | 75000-85000 | 72000 | verm. not sold |
| Bugatti Type 57 4 portes (8 Cyl., 3.3 L) | 1939 | 85000-95000 | 70000 | presumably not sold |
| BMW Hurrican 2000 Tl (single piece) | 1976 | 70000-90000 | 45000 | verm. not sold |
| Cadillac 31 25 HP V-63 Tourer 7 Pass. | 1924 | 50000-65000 | 40000 | verm. not sold |
| Lotus 44 F 2 (monoposto) | 1965 | 20000-60000 | 40000 | presumably not sold |
| Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP Sport (4 door) | 1934 | 32000-39000 | 30000 | verm. not sold |
| Alfa Romeo 1750 Turismo (4 porte) | 1930 | 27000-32000 | 28000 | verm. not sold |
| Cord Model 810 Sport-Sedan (V8, 4.7 L) | 1936 | 28000-36000 | 20000 | verm. not sold |
| Jaguar 3 1/2 Litre Mk V Convertible (4 seats) | 1949 | 20000-27000 | 19000 | verm. not sold |
| Fiat 501 S Sport-Torpedo (posti) | 1924 | 20000-28000 | 18000 | presumably not sold |
| Delahaye T 135 20 CV Sport-Coach (Chapron) | 1938 | 22000-29000 | 18000 | verm. not sold |
| Renault Type AG 9 HP (2 places, 2 Cyl.) | 1912 | 24000-27000 | 18000 | verm. not sold |
| Alfa Romeo 1750 Turismo Spider (4 posti) | 1930 | 19000-23000 | 16000 | verm. not sold |
| Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Sports-Saloon (Park Ward) | 1926 | 22000-25000 | 16000 | verm. not sold |
| Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Sports-Saloon (Park Ward) | 1937 | 17000-21000 | 16000 | presumably not sold |
| Ford T-Model 2-seater-Coupe | 1927 | 18000-21000 | 14000 | presumably not sold |
| Shelby Cobra GT 500 KR Convertible (V8, 7 L) | 1968 | 14000-19000 | 13000 | verm. not sold |
| Alvis 4.3 Litre 4-door Sports-Saloon | 1938 | 14000-17000 | 12000 | verm. not sold |
| Ford Thunderbird Convertible (V8, 4.8 L) | 1955 | 12500-16000 | 9500 | verm. not sold |
| Jaguar XK 150 Coupe 2+2 (3.4 L) | 1960 | 12000-16000 | 9500 | verm. not sold |
| Cadillac Series 6267 Convertible (V8, 6.4 L) | 1960 | 10000-14500 | 8500 | verm. not sold |
| Alvis Crested Eagle Series TF 20'HP (4 door) | 1936 | 12000-14000 | 8000 | presumably not sold |
| Faoel-Vega HK 500 (Coupe 2+2, V8, 6,3 L) | 1961 | 11000-16000 | 8000 | verm. not sold |
| MG A Twin-Cam Roadster (1.6 L) | 1960 | 8500-11000 | 7500 | presumably not sold |
| Triumph TR 3A Roadster (2 L) | 1961 | 6500-8000 | 7000 | presumably not sold |
| Lancia Aprilia 4 porte (Farina) | 1948 | 9000-12000 | 7000 | presumably not sold |
| Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS (Touring) | 1955 | 7500-10000 | 6000 | verm. not sold |
| Salmson 2300 S13 CV Gran Sport Coupe 2 + 2 | 1954 | 8000-11500 | 6000 | verm. not sold |
| Iso-Rivolta GT Coupe (Bertone) | 1965 | 10000-12000 | 5000 | presumably not sold |
| Studebaker 24 HP President Sky Hawk | 1956 | 6500-8000 | 4500 | presumably not sold |
| Packard Patrician 56th series 4-door-Sedan | 1956 | 4000-6500 | 3000 | presumably not sold |
| Citroen C 3 5 CV Cabriolet (unrest.) | 1923 | 5500-7000 | 2200 | presumably not sold |
