August 2019 - Monterey previews
31 July, 2019
The oldest car to carry the Porsche name goes under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s three-day Monterey sale on 15-17 August. The Type 64 was conceived by Ferdinand Porsche as a sports version of Volkswagen’s KdF-Wagen (Beetle), having been designed to compete in the aborted 1939 Berlin to Rome road race. RM’s car was the personal transport of Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, and is the only one of the three examples built to have survived the war intact.
The sale also features a 21,500-km 1994 McLaren F1, one of only two ‘standard’ F1s upgraded by the factory to LM spec (estimate $21,000,000 – 23,000,000). As part of these enhancements chassis 018 received the unrestricted 680hp GTR engine modifications, plus an Extra-High Downforce Kit and 18-inch GTR wheels.
Other big-ticket entries include a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 ‘Bond Car’, one of two built for Eon Productions with a full complement of working gadgets to promote the James Bond film Thunderball (estimate $4,000,000 – 6,000,000); a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider with Ferrari Classiche certification (estimate $10,500,000 – 13,000,000); the 1953 Goodwood 9 Hour-winning ex-Works Aston Martin DB3S (estimate $8,750,000 – 10,500,000); and a 1962 Ferrari 196 SP that competed as a Works entry at the 1962 Nürburgring 1000km – albeit in 2.6 litre ‘268 SP’ guise – in the hands of Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez (estimate $8,000,000 – 10,000,000).
Competition cars also head the entries at Bonhams on 15-16 August. The catalogue cover star is a matching numbers 1959 Porsche 718 RSK which achieved success in period, including wins at Leopoldville and Montlhéry.
The top five is rounded off with a unique 1951 Ferrari 340 America Coupe Speciale in single family ownership for more than 50 years; a 1931 Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged Birkin Le Mans Replica that won the Easter Short Handicap at Brooklands in 1938 (estimate $2,750,000 – 3,750,000; a 1937 Delahaye 135 M Competition Court Roadster (estimate $3,250,000 – 3,750,000); and a 1965 Shelby De Tomaso P70 Can-Am Sports Racer, the only example ever produced (estimate $2,000,000 – 3,000,000).
Italian machinery is much in evidence at Gooding and Company’s Pebble Beach sale on 16-17 August, headed by a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider at $11,000,000 – 13,000,000. Chassis 1055 GT was the subject of a recently completed restoration at Motion Products Inc. and subsequently carried off Platinum Awards at both the 2018 Cavallino Classic and FCA National Meet.
Niki Lauda’s 1975 French Grand Prix-winning Ferrari 312T is set to cross the block with a pre-sale estimate of $6,000,000 – 8,000,000. Chassis 022 – one of two main cars campaigned extensively by Lauda on his way to clinching the 1975 F1 World Drivers’ title – was retired from racing in 1976, being stored by Ferrari until its subsequent sale in 1979. The consignor commissioned a meticulous restoration which was rewarded with an Amelia Award at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours, and a recent track airing confirmed it to be “performing beautifully”.
Significant highlights also include Pinin Farina’s one-of-a-kind show car-bodied 1953 Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow IV, displayed at the Paris and Geneva Motor Shows (estimate $6,000,000 – 8,000,000); a one-of-40 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I, originally owned by Prince Alessandro “Dado” Ruspoli (estimate $7,000,000 – 8,000,000); and a one-owner 300-km 2015 Aston Martin Vulcan (estimate $2,000,000 – 2,500,000).
Classic car auction price estimates for: Porsche | McLaren | Aston Martin | Ferrari | Bentley | Delahaye | Shelby | De Tomaso | Alfa Romeo
From leading auction houses: RM Sotheby’s | Bonhams | Gooding and Company
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