Pebble Beach 2015: Auction totals near record high
A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM sold for $17.5 million at RM Sotheby’s on Aug. 17 at Monterey Car Week.
The auction action at this year’s Monterey Car Week ended Sunday night short of predictions and below 2014’s record total, but still enough to enter the books as the annual gathering’s second-highest week.
Estimates put the full week’s auction totals at just above $390 million, below last year’s total of $428 million, yet far above the $305 million registered in 2013, according to the classic-vehicle insurance company Hagerty.
The difference comes down to the price of a single car. Last year’s auctioning saw a vintage Ferrari sell for $38 million, the highest price ever paid for a single vehicle in a public auction and about the difference between the 2014 and 2015 dollar totals.
The 2015 bottom line got a big boost Sunday night when, after the conclusion of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Co. held its final auction.
Vehicles on the Gooding block included a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider, which sold for $16.8 million to become the second-most-valuable vehicle sold at this year’s auctions -- behind a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM Coupe sold by RM Sotheby’s for $17.6 million earlier in the week.
Gooding also sold a 1934 Packard Twelve-Series 1108 Dietrich Sport Sedan for $3.6 million, apparently the highest price paid for a very old car at this year’s auctions.
By brand, the Ferrari marque led the league, as was the case in 2014. Seven of the top 10 vehicles sold this year, including the top three, were from the Maranello, Italy-based automaker.
By company, RM Sotheby’s closed the week in first place, with a cumulative total of $172 million. Gooding rang up $128 million in total sales, Bonhams $47 million and Mecum $42 million. Russo and Steele finished the week with $8.5 million, and JR with $624,000.
Twitter: @misterfleming
