Newport Beach : 9,000 Turn Out for Collector Car Auction

About 9,000 spectators turned out at the Newporter Resort hotel and watched cars owned by Rona Barrett, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the late Rick Nelson auctioned off on Sunday, including a 1929 Packard Phaeton which went for $230,000.

As Nelson’s song “Marylou” played in his memory, Nelson’s 1973 DeTomaso Pantera sold for $24,100 to a man who did not wish to be identified, auction spokesman Joe Molina said.

“At one time we had one of (Nelson’s) former mechanics and former schoolmates bidding against each other. At the last minute, a longtime Nelson fan raised his hand and bought it for what he described as ‘nostalgia,’ ” auctioneer Rick Cole said.

Rona Barrett’s 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow also hit the auction block Sunday, but failed to attract the $25,000 minimum that the Hollywood gossip reporter was asking.

Nine Rolls-Royces formerly owned by cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh were up for sale. Four went for about $65,000 each, but the other five failed to draw the minimum bids. Two that were sold Friday had ordinary paint jobs--one was silver and blue and one was maroon--but the two that went Saturday were more gaudy, with murals painted on the sides and glitter spattered across the hoods.

The three Rajneesh cars that did not sell Sunday “were the most sedate of the bunch. They only had two shades of metal flake paint,” Cole said.

The two-tone maroon Packard Phaeton was sold to John Crean of Corona del Mar.

On Saturday, California Angels owner Gene Autry presided over the sale of his 1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II, which brought $51,000 from Louis Pacent of Palm Springs.

A 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SE Coupe that belonged to the late Ozzie Nelson, Rick Nelson’s father, sold for $3,800, and a black 1956 Ford Thunderbird once owned by Frank Sinatra went for $23,000, Molina said.

Molina said the semi-annual three-day auction is “a barometer for the collector car field.”