August 2020 - US auction previews
31 July, 2020
With the cancellation of this year’s Monterey car week the Big Three announced revised auction formats to fill the void. Bonhams’ live and online Quail Auction on 14 August will be held in association with the virtual Petersen Car Week which has a Concours as its finale. Top lot is a matching-numbers 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Décapotable with a pre-sale estimate of $6,500,000 – 7,500,000. One of just five cabriolets bodied by Figoni, chassis 2311239 rewarded its current owner with a Best in Class at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance following a refurbish and repaint in its original scheme.
A three-owner 1959 Porsche 718 RSK with a successful competition career in period is listed at $2,800,000 – 3,200,000. Chassis 718-031 was among the last of the 34 718 RSKs built and was campaigned by Bob Holbert in 1959 and 1960, taking outright and class wins in SCCA events and Bahamas Speed Week.
Barely-used hypercars on offer include a 400-mile 2018 Bugatti Chiron (estimate $2,500,000 – 2,800,000); a one-of-three 2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Meo Costanini' with fewer than 400 miles from new (estimate $1,800,000 – 2,100,000); and a single-owner 2017 Lamborghini Centenario showing an equally scant 700 miles (estimate $2,000,000 – 2,300,000).
[ Bonhams – Quail Motorcar Auction catalogue here ]
Ferraris dominate the big-ticket entries at RM Sotheby’s online sale on 14-15 August, with nine of Maranello’s finest occupying the top ten. Highlights include a Prodrive-built Ferrari 550 GT1 which won the 2004 FIA GT Championship (estimate $3,850,000 – 4,850,000); a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Independent Competizione driven by David Hobbs and Skip Scott at the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring (estimate $2,250,000 – 2,750,000); and a three-owner 1964 Ferrari 500 Superfast, one of just 36 examples of Ferrari’s flagship model (estimate $2,250,000 – 2,500,000).
Built in even fewer numbers is a 1972 Porsche 916, with just ten pre-production cars constructed before the project was cancelled (estimate $900,000 – 1,000,000). Conceived as a higher-performance version of the 914, RM’s car was delivered new to Louise Piëch, Ferdinand Piëch’s sister, and has covered just 800km since a meticulous two-year restoration was completed in 2011.
A 1980 BMW M1 Procar is set to cross the block with a guide of $600,000 – 800,000. The car achieved multiple podiums with Al Unser Jr and its first owner, Joe Crevier, during the 1981 IMSA GTO Championship, and has more recently made regular appearances at historic races following a three-year overhaul at Graber Sportgarage in 2009.
[ RM Sotheby’s – Shift/Monterey Auction catalogue here ]
Star attraction at Gooding & Company’s timed-online auction from 3-7 August is a six-carb 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose which is offered in an unrestored condition in Bianco over beige hide (estimate $2,750,000 – 3,250,000).
Pre-war offerings include an award-winning 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet, the subject of a nut-and-bolt restoration in 2015 (estimate $1,300,000 – 1,600,000); a 1934 Duesenberg Model J Town Car, one of six Town Cars with coachwork by Murphy (estimate $950,000 – 1,250,000); and a 1931 Packard 840 Deluxe Eight Phaeton (estimate $225,000 – 300,000).
Gooding’s sale also features a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II, the ultimate iteration of a car designed to bring the DTM crown to Stuttgart. This homologation special has spent the majority of its life in Japan before the current owner’s purchase in 2015 and now shows just over 10,000km (estimate $225,000 – 275,000).
[ Gooding & Company – Geared Online Auction catalogue here ]
Classic car auction price estimates for: Alfa Romeo | Porsche | Bugatti | Lamborghini | Ferrari | BMW | Duesenberg | Packard | Mercedes-Benz
From leading auction houses: Bonhams | RM Sotheby’s | Gooding & Company
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